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FACT BRIEF

Does a photo show Mississippi River water meeting but never mixing with salt water of the Gulf of Mexico?

By Sarah Thompson
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NO

The photo posted on social media shows river water that has reached the Gulf of Mexico and has flowed out over the top of the denser Gulf salt water.

The abundance of nutrients in the river water, much of them from agriculture, can host an algae bloom that can deplete the available oxygen in the saltwater Gulf as the algae decomposes, a condition called hypoxia. This results in problems for the marine life that must either swim away if it can, or die.

For this reason, the area of oxygen-depleted water is known as a "dead zone."

This identical photo was used in an August 22, 2019, Facebook post by the Environmental Protection Agency announcing $1.2 million for hypoxia study.

Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been mapping the oxygen levels and varying size of the dead zone since 1985. 

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Environmental Protection Agency EPA Provides $1.2 Million to Hypoxia Task Force States and Continues to Promote National Dialogue to Reduce Excess Nutrients and Enhance the Nation's Waters
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration What is a dead zone?
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.