Tulane teams float ideas to protect lakes, oceans

The five finalists chosen by Tulane University in its "dead zone" challenge recently gathered at the university to present their ideas for protecting the world's lakes and oceans.

The "Tulane University Nitrogen Reduction Challenge" will award $1 million in December to the team that comes up with what is deemed the best way to combat hypoxia, an oxygen deficiency responsible for “dead zones” in lakes and oceans. These zones, which occur yearly, kill marine life and put coastal economies at risk of losing an important revenue source.

Finalists suggested options ranging from using microbes to increase nitrogen availability for crops and electricity to slow nitrogen loss to implementing a type of nutrition management and incorporating simulations to determine necessary rates of nitrogen application.
 
The teams now will field test their ideas on a plot of land in northeast Louisiana, with the winner determined by cost, effectiveness and impact on crop yields.