At a Glance

A new study found ocean "dead zones" have quadrupled in size since 1950.Coastal waters with no oxygen grew 10 times larger since 1950, the study added.Climate change, sewage and fertilizer runoff are cited as reasons for the increasing dead zones.

Ocean "dead zones" have grown at an alarming rate, quadrupling in size since 1950, according to a new study.

in the journal Science, the findings revealed that the oceans have been rapidly losing oxygen in certain areas. Locations where no oxygen remains in the water, known as dead zones,have quadrupled in size in the time studied, and they're 10 times larger along coastlines.

Such dead zones can be responsible for mass die-offs of sea creatures, which can totally alter the ecosystem.

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"Under the current trajectory, ,"study leader Denise Breitburg, who works at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, told the Guardian. "But the consequences to humans of staying on that trajectory are so dire that it is hard to imagine we would go quite that far down that path."

Worldwide, the total area of oxygen-depleted water is larger than the size of the European Union, the study also said. The cause of the problem is largely due to climate change; warmer waters can't hold as much oxygen, according to the Guardian. Along the coast, sewage and fertilizer runoff is more to blame, the report added.

The solution to this problem is dramatically reducing emissions, but the study expects further oxygen declines in our oceans throughout the 21st century – even if steps are taken to curb global warming.

"If you can’t breathe, nothing else matters," Breitburg told the Associated Press. "As seas are losing oxygen, those areas are no longer habitable by many organisms."