cost will only increase as the dead zone gets bigger

Since these dense lower waters don't mixwith the warmer freshwater above,it can take four months for tropical storms to fully circulate oxygenated water back into the gulf.This dead zone currently costs U.S. seafood and tourism industries as much as $82 million a year,and that cost will only increase as the dead zone gets bigger.On average the gulf dead zone is roughly 15,000 square kilometers,but in 2019 it grew to over 22,000 square kilometers approximately the size of New Jersey.