In late 2008, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation awarded a grant to Oregon State University to investigate the history of oxygenation and microbial activities in seasonal oxygen minimum zone environments off the coasts of Oregon and Chile. Instrumental to the project is the use of underwater gliders that measure ocean conditions as they maneuver along guided trajectories. Through a National Science Foundation webcast, Dr. Jack Barth shares some of what he and his team have discovered so far about the dead zones of the Pacific Northwest.

See the NSF special video report “Dead Zones: Mysteries of Ocean Die-Offs Revealed” here:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/deadzones/index.jsp

Watch the NSF webcast here:

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_videos.jsp?cntn_id=115533&media_id=65752&org=NSF