We could see a huge oxygen-starved dead zone off of Louisiana's coast because of the widespread flooding, according to the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.
The dead zone expected in the summer will cause too little oxygen to support marine life.
It's the lower half of the water column and near the bottom where if the oxygen falls below the number 2 milligrams per liter, then fish will swim away, and things that can't swim away, shrimp will swim away, but things that can't swim away will eventually die off," said LSU researcher Nancy Rabalais.
How big will this dead zone be?
In the neighborhood of 10 thousand square miles," said Rabalais.
Or about the size of the state of Massachusetts. Rabalais said a group of state and federal agencies just met late last week in Baton Rouge.
"All I can say is the solution is within the midwestern states, reduce what's getting to the Gulf of Mexico and it will help their water quality as well as the water quality in the Gulf," Rabalais said.
And Rabalais adds the 2 Bonnet Carre Spillway openings this year has not helped. She says testing during the month of May each year is the best indicator.