Researchers at Oregon State University on Friday published a report in the journal Science that suggests that the 2100 square mile "dead zones" of low oxygen water that have appeared off of the Oregon Coast in recent years may be a new phenomenon linked to global warming.

Marine biologists speculate the these dead zones may now be a permanent condition. David Steves reports:

After six years in a row, the scientists are theorizing that such a low-oxygen condition, or “hypoxia,” is here to stay.

“In this part of the marine environment, we may have crossed a tipping point,” said Jane Lubchenco, a marine biology professor at OSU and the lead scientist for the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans. “Levels of oxygen in the summertime have suddenly become much lower than levels in the previous 50 years. And 2006 broke all records, with parts of the shallow shelf actually becoming anoxic, meaning that they lacked oxygen altogether. We’ve never seen that before.”