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Book 30, Question 122

Why does the bottom of a lake sometimes run out of oxygen?

A dead zone is a deep part of a lake with so little oxygen that most fish and animals can't live there.

It can happen in summer when a warm top layer keeps the bottom layer from mixing. Algae sink and rot, using up oxygen. In Lake Erie, part of the central basin does this each summer. Cutting nutrients helps reduce it.

Why I wrote this