CLIMATE · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Gulf of Mexico's Unique Orca Basin Faces Threat of Carbon Dumping
WHY IT MATTERS
If the Orca Basin is allowed to become a carbon dump, it could irreparably harm this unique ecosystem, threatening the delicate balance of the Gulf of Mexico's environment and potentially disrupting the global carbon cycle.
What happened
The Orca Basin, a unique and extraordinary environment in the Gulf of Mexico, is at risk of becoming a carbon dump. Located 168 miles off the Louisiana coast, beneath over a mile of water, the basin is a lake on the seafloor with extremely high salinity levels, nearly 10 times that of normal seawater.
This environment is home to no oxygen and no multicellular animals, with a distinct boundary between the normal ocean and the ancient, strange waters of the Orca Basin.
Researchers have been studying this area for years, using remotely operated vehicles to explore the seafloor and collect sediment cores.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Gulf of Mexico’s unique Orca Basin shouldn’t become a carbon dump (commentary)
Mongabay · Erik Hoffner · Discovery and factual synthesis only; publisher copyright terms apply