This can't be good. The amount of life being supported in these "deserts" - aka parts of the ocean where little to no life exists - is dwindling, and quickly. There are 5 total ocean deserts, one each in North and South Atlantic, one in each North and South Pacific, and one in the Indian Ocean. You could easily fit the entire United States inside any of these.

With each passing year, less and less nutrients are available, and the areas continue to grow larger and larger. A study due to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters features satellite data that illustrates empty portions of the oceans, that have expanded 5 million square kilometers from 1997 to 2007 (that is about half the size of the US).

Note: The more green in the ocean, the more chlorophyll being produced by microscopic phytoplankton (that's good!). The blue areas are ocean deserts, with less nitrate (NO3) and phosphate (PO4) available for plankton to feed on. As with land deserts, ocean deserts also tend to be warmer than surrounding areas.

Aside from vast stretches of deep, deep water with nothing in them just being utterly creepy, it's also very dangerous for existing marine life and could potentially impact global fish stocks. Scientists aren't really sure yet what all this means, but our feelings are: es no bueno.

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via Discovery