It turns out there may be an upside to a busy Gulf of Mexico hurricane season — if you happen to be a shrimp or a clam.

The silver lining on the storm clouds has to do with the effect of tumultuous tropical weather on the Gulf’s oxygen-depleted “dead zone” — a subject that inspired one of three questions in this edition of “Ask AP,” a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers’ questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you’d like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions(at)ap.org, with “Ask AP” in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.

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Did this year’s hurricane season affect the oxygen-depleted “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico?

Walton McNutt, Tampa, Fla.

“Most certainly,” says Steve DiMarco, a Texas A&M University oceanography professor who for 16 years has studied the Gulf of Mexico, which has a “dead zone” where oxygen-depleted water can kill marine life.

In early July, most of the Texas-Louisiana shelf from Freeport, Texas, to the Mississippi River Delta was hypoxic — meaning the salt water has lost large amounts of oxygen. Later in July, Hurricane Dolly disrupted the dead zone and re-oxygenated the shallow waters south of Louisiana and the entire shelf off Texas. Oxygen levels started to drop again within days after the storm.

In early August, Hurricane Eduard re-oxygenated the entire Louisiana shelf but by mid-August the oxygen concentrations dropped to hypoxic levels.

Again, winds from Hurricane Gustav re-oxygenated the dead zone Sept. 1 and oxygen levels began receding after that storm.

And guess what? Hurricane Ike re-oxygenated the shelf when it made landfall Sept. 12 in Texas.

The latest data collected in October showed oxygen concentrations nearly all at normal levels, DiMarco said.

“The system should stay oxygenated until next spring when winter runoff increases, and summer heating makes conditions more favorable for hypoxia (and dead zone formation) to exist,” he said.

Michael Graczyk

Associated Press Writer

Houston

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I know the Secret Service gives protection to all our ex-presidents. But do their families get protection too — and if so, for how long?

Did Lady Bird Johnson have Secret Service protection up to her death? What about JFK’s children, and Amy Carter? Does Hillary Clinton get protection even though she’s in the Senate? And what about ex-vice presidents and their families?

Finally, how much does all this cost us as taxpayers?

Gary Forte, Selma, Ala.

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The Secret Service provides lifelong protection to former presidents and their spouses if they were president before 1997. Subsequent presidents receive 10 years of protection for themselves and their spouses, though a spouse loses protection if divorced from the former president or if the former president dies.

So President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, will receive 10 years of protection, though Laura Bush would lose that protection before the 10-year mark if her husband died or if they divorced. President Bill Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, will receive protection their entire lives regardless of whether they divorce or the former president dies.

Lady Bird Johnson — the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson — received protection until her death in 2007.

As of this year, vice presidents and their spouses receive six months of protection after leaving office. They’ve been getting this type of protection for the past 40 years, but it only became a law this year.

Children of former presidents get Secret Service protection for 10 years or until they are 16 years old, whichever comes first. So John F. Kennedy Jr. received protection until he was 13 years old; Caroline Kennedy until she was 16; and Amy Carter also until she was 16. Children of former vice presidents are not given protection.

For security reasons, the Secret Service does not disclose the cost of its protective missions.

Eileen Sullivan

Associated Press Writer

Washington

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I have seen several articles on the possibility of a deflationary spiral. I am on a fixed income — military retirement and Social Security. Assuming that neither would be terminated or significantly reduced, isn’t deflation a good deal?

Tom Armstrong, Klamath Falls, Ore.

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Yes, fixed income offers protection during a period of deflation — a persistent fall in overall prices. The steady income actually gains in buying power during deflationary periods, just as inflation eats away at fixed-income returns.

But deflation isn’t healthy for the overall economy, and it can be very hard to get rid of once it settles in.

During deflation, as companies cut prices to encourage spending, savvy consumers put off purchases in order to get the best deals. This causes declines in corporate profit and revenue, and companies cope by cutting jobs to save on costs. The souring employment market causes nervous consumers to reduce spending even more, fueling the cycle.

Shaila Dani

AP Business Writer

New York

Have questions of your own? Send them to newsquestions(at)ap.org.