Awakening the Dead Zone

The report 'Awakening the Dead Zone' evaluates policy options to reduce agricultural nutrient runoff in the Mississippi River Basin to mitigate hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, identifying market-based mechanisms as the most cost-effective approach.

• The 'Dead Zone' in the Gulf of Mexico is an oxygen-depleted or hypoxic area primarily caused by the loss of nitrogen from agricultural land located in the Mississippi River Basin.
• Among the policies explored for the agricultural sector to reduce nutrients reaching the Gulf of Mexico, market-based mechanisms like nutrient trading were found to be the most cost-effective and provided benefits for local water quality and climate change.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Awakening the Dead Zone. https://www.wri.org/awakening-dead-zone

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Awakening the Dead Zone. n.d. https://www.wri.org/awakening-dead-zone.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Awakening the Dead Zone |url=https://www.wri.org/awakening-dead-zone |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendawakening, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Awakening the Dead Zone}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/awakening-dead-zone}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }