The Gulf of Mexico had chemical problems before the oil spill and will have problems afterward, according to one Mississippi State University professor. But these problems can be solved through better care of inland water.
Robert “Robbie” Kroger, an assistant professor in the Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department at MSU, spoke to the Columbus Kiwanis Club Wednesday about landscape stewardship. He says the way we treat our inland rivers and creeks has a cumulative effect on downstream ecosystems, like the Gulf of Mexico.
“In the South, the problem was agricultural runoff (prior to the oil spill),” said Kroger.
The chemicals spilling into the gulf via the Mississippi River, says Kroger, do their own damage to the food chain, harming or killing juvenile fish and shellfish.
The effect of the chemicals could be mitigated at the source, but would require more than common-sense solutions like keeping litter out of the water.
Adequate drainage, Kroger”s specialty, serves several purposes. First, it reduces flooding, which prevents the disruption of sediment vital to aquatic ecosystems. Second, the natural biological processes taking place in drainage ditches — especially those ditches with vegetation — serve to purify water by breaking down toxins before the water reaches rivers and, eventually, the gulf.
“The longer the water sits, the longer those plants can work on (toxins),” said Kroger.
The effects of sediment disruption can also be counteracted by putting more nutrients back into the earth, which will find their way into the water. But fertilizer is expensive, which is why corn has overtaken cotton in much of Mississippi since it requires less fertilizer to grow.
Kroger admits he”s no expert in the harmful hydrocarbons being released into the gulf via the oil spill. His specialty is in drainage ditches and their positive effect on rivers and marshlands. But he says surfactants, which are being placed in the gulf to disperse the oil, are likely causing the oil to sink to the bottom of the gulf, where it will settle into sediment and wreak havoc on the food chain at the most basic level for years.
“In the marshes, it”s going to be in the sediments for quite a long time. I don”t think you”ll see the fisheries you”re used to for a while,” said Kroger.
Once the oil is in the marshes, Kroger says not much can be done to remove it. But states can cut down on other manmade toxins in the water.
He says Mississippi is especially important in the campaign against agricultural toxins for two reasons. First, Mississippi is thought of as one of the most change-resistant states, so taking initiative to prevent harmful runoff would set an impressive precedent. Second, Mississippi”s proximity to the Mississippi River means toxins spend less time in slow-moving bodies of water and are subjected to fewer natural detoxification processes.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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