Beyond Science into Policy: Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia and the Mississippi River

• Published in: Bioscience 2002-02, Vol.52 (2), p.129-142
• Main Authors: Rabalais, N N, Turner, R E, Scavia, D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0006-3568
• DOI: 10.1043/0006-3568(2002)052(0129:BSIPGO)2.0.CO;2

A clearer understanding of the causes and consequences of Gulf of Mexico hypoxia has emerged over the past two decades through numerous peer-reviewed publications and reports, whose highlights are summarized in this article. That increased knowledge has been instrumental in the garnering of political, societal, and institutional support in recent years for nutrient management strategies to improve water quality in the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River basin. The Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force 2001), which was recently agreed to by government agencies at the federal, state, and tribal levels and delivered to Congress, prompted us to review the development of knowledge on hypoxia and how it has influenced public policy. Our emphasis in this article is on showing how scientific understanding of the linked riverine-oceanic system grew along with science-based resource management strategy. The lessons learned from the interactions of science and policy in the context of an issue of such massive scale will, we hope, be applicable to other regions and to other large-scale ecological issues.