Pollution and the Health

of the OceansChapter 18

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►Global Habitat Destruction

►Sensitive Marine Habitat Destruction

►Pollutants and Their Effects

►Toxic Pollutants

►Nutrient Pollutants

►Energy Pollutants

►Refuse Pollutants

►Efforts and Solutions

WHAT’S GOING WRONG?

Global Warming...our fault??

Donald Trump's stance on climate change

The greenhouse effect

Brainstorm with the person next to you whether you believe in global warming (based on what you currently know about it).

Climate science: what you need to know

Global Warming

Greenhouse gases like water vapor, carbon

dioxide, methane and CFC's trap and hold solar

heat, this keeps Earth's climate stable and

inhabitable.

The rate of warming has increased dramatically

since the industrial revolution. This happens

because the natural balance of these chemicals

in the atmosphere is upset.

Data that supports global warming

Increase in CO2 in the atmosphere

Rise in the sea level (amount of ice in polar ice

sheets controls the sea level)

Glacial samples

Tree rings

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Global Warming

Several data sources support scientists’ concerns that the Earth’s average

surface temperature is rising.

Scientists estimate that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was about 290

parts-per-million (ppm) in 1850 compared to the present 386 ppm in 2008.

This is a 33% increase.

It would be worse without the

ocean absorbing a lot of the

released carbon dioxide.

So What?

What are the possible effects of global

warming

Why don’t people believe in climate science?

Effects of global warming

Coral reef bleaching

Changes in weather patterns

Habitat destruction from climate

changes

Increase in violent storms

What is the solution?

Alternative energy sources:

Nuclear

Solar

Wind

Tidal and wave

Hydrogen fuel cells

Internal combustion fuels from biological sources

(plants)—Ethanol, biodiesel, cooking oil?

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Damage to the Ozone Layer

The stratosphere has an ozone layer that is vital

to life on Earth because it protects us from

ultraviolet radiation. Without this protection,

life in its current form could not exist.

Some chemicals (primarily CFCs) destroy ozone.

This is thought by many scientists to have caused

or contributed to the hole in the ozone layer

above Antarctica.

In September 2000, scientists recorded the largest

hole there yet. It was about three times the size

of the continental US.

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Damage to the Ozone Layer

Ozone is important because ultraviolet radiation (UV) damages DNA and

protein.

In June 1990, 53 nations agreed on an international ban of ozone-depleting

chemicals.

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Non-Native Species

Although non-native species sometimes enter a

new environment by being carried there

intentionally, today the most common method is

unintentional transportation.

The new species may have characteristics that

allow it to out compete local organisms.

The pace of species transplantation is so rapid

and countermeasures have been so ineffective

that many ecologists think the world could

become a one large homogeneous ecosystem.

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Non-Native Species

Although a marine species, the zebra mussel adapted to freshwater life in the Great Lakes, where they had neither competitors nor predators.

They multiplied so quickly.

The zebra mussel clogged water intake pipes, attached to ships, and grew thickly on docks and other structures.

The species has actually improved the water clarityof the lakes by filtering outsuspended matter.

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Non-Native Species The suspended matter removed by the zebra mussel is algae - the

base of the food chain.

The mussels are voracious secondary consumers - without natural

predators. They’re cutting off the supply to higher trophic levels.

There are thousands of examples of non-native species damaging local

environments.

What can you do?

Be a responsible pet owner The Exotic Pet Amnesty Program is an effort to reduce the

number of nonnative species being released into the wild

by pet owners who can no longer care for their pets or no

longer wish to keep them. Another goal of the program is

to foster responsible pet ownership. One-day-only

Amnesty Day events are held around the state to provide

the opportunity for people to surrender their exotic pets

free of charge with no penalties.

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Sensitive Marine Habitat Destruction

Coastal Wetland Destruction

The primary cause of coastal wetland destruction is the

tendency for people to live near the coast. (About two-thirds of

the world population concentrates along the coast. )

Sewage and toxic materials pollute coastal waters.

One of the most significant is that coastal areas are prime real estate.

There’s tremendous economic pressure to fill wetlands and use them for housing, commercial zones, and even airports.

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Coastal Wetland Destruction

In South America and Southeast Asia, aquaculturists

destroy large areas of mangrove to make shrimp ponds, or

burn mangrove trees as firewood.

In Ecuador, shrimp mariculture has displaced about a third

of all mangrove forests.

Philippines mangroves are in danger also.

Worldwide, mangroves are

disappearing more quickly

than tropical rainforests.

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Pollutants and Their Effects

It began with the belief in the late 1800s and early 1900s

that “The solution to pollution is dilution.” THIS IS

NOT TRUE!!!

Definition of Pollution

With respect to the marine environment, pollution is:

products of human activities that have harmful or

objectionable effects to the water quality or affect the

physical, chemical or biological environment.

This definition includes organic or natural compounds, as

well as unnatural, manufactured substances like sound

and hot water discharge.

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Sources of Pollution

Researchers have growing data about the types and quantities of pollution.

This is the estimated breakdown of marine chemical pollution:

Sources of Pollution

Sources can be from a known “Point source” location or from “NonPoint sources”

Nonpoint source pollution is difficult to control because it comes from many

different sources and locations.

As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants,

finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters.

These pollutants can harm fish and wildlife populations, kill native vegetation, foul

drinking water, and make recreational areas unsafe and unpleasant.

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Sources of Pollution

Pollutants don’t simply damage the sea because they don’t necessarily stay there.

Through natural processes, they can return to the atmosphere or enter the food web.

The global conveyor belt circulates all the world’s water -eventually pollutants go everywhere.

Since the conveyor belt circulationis slow, it means that pollutantsentering it today may be carriedfor more than 1,000 years beforewe know all their effects.

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Excluding oil, each year more than 5 trillion gallons of

potentially toxic waste, including heavy metals,

hydrocarbons, industrial chemicals, and radioactive

materials enter the ocean.

Heavy Metals – lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, copper

Heavy metals damage organisms by interfering with

cellular metabolism and cannot be easily eliminated from

their bodies.

There are many compounds that include heavy metals.

Anti-fouling paints for boats and ship, etc.

Toxic Pollutants

Some things don’t go away…..

Bioaccumulation is the concentration of heavy metals,

synthetic organic chemicals, and natural organic

chemicals that gradually accumulates in an organism’s

body throughout its lifetime.

Sometimes the concentration of a heavy metal or other

substance increases as it moves up the food web -

biomagnification.

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Heavy Metals Because of bioaccumulation and biomagnification,

predators high on the food web tend to have high levels of

heavy metals.

This presents more risk of heavy-metal poisoning from

consuming high-level organisms, such as tuna, swordfish

and king mackeral.

Heavy metals present significant risks for humans.

Metal poisoning leads to birth defects, brain damage and

behavior disorders

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Synthetic Organic Chemicals

In addition to heavy metals, synthetic chemicals

capable of interacting with organic processes

enter the ocean.

Known as synthetic organic chemicals because

they’re human-made but based on organic

molecule structures, these substances are

particularly dangerous because they can be toxic

in small quantities.

Many can persist in the environment because

bacteria and other processes don’t break them

down.

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Synthetic Organic Chemicals

Synthetic organic chemicals normally exist in very low concentrations in

seawater.

This is a problem because: Organisms bioaccumulate them, just as they do

heavy metals.

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Oil

The primary cause of oil in the ocean is the users, not the producers.

Oil enters aquatic environments through runoff from parking lots and streets

and as waste from sewage treatment plants.

It’s estimated that US treatment plants alone add about 900 million liters

(237.8 million gallons) of oil to the sea annually. That’s 22 times the famous

1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

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Oil

Petroleum in

Ocean Water

Fate of an Oil Spill

Some of the

oil dissolves

in water

Volatile compounds

evaporate, leaving

heavier oil components

Wave action helps

accumulate the oil

into tar balls and

emulsified oil sinks

to seafloor

Benthic organisms

consume these

hydrocarbons or they

get incorporated into

sediments

Eventually the

oil becomes

part of the

Carbon cycle

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Oil Another consideration is that an oil spill can involve either crude

oil or refined oil.

Crude oil spills have so far been the more frequent and larger

spills. Crude oil is biodegradable and some components

evaporate quickly.

Refined oil has chemicals added to it that make it more toxic.

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Oil

Recent analysis of the Exxon Valdez oil spill suggests that

the cleaned areas fared worse than those left alone.

Cleaners used water heated to 65°C (149°F) and high

pressure jets to remove oil from rocks.

The high temperatures killed plankton and other

organisms at the base of the food web.

The jets smothered others with mud and sand.

The effort cost more than $3.5 billion.

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Radioactive Waste

You may not realize it, but seawater is naturally radioactive. BUT……

Radioactive material enters the ocean primarily from people dumping it

there.

Dumping is banned, however, radioactive waste remains a concern for several

reasons - primarily lots has been dumped and they remain for a long time.

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Radioactive Waste

Today radioactive substances come primarily from

nuclear-reactor cooling water and nuclear-power vessel

discharges.

Dumping has been banned since 1975 but

radioactive waste is still a concern.

The amount already dumped

into the sea previously by the US and

more currently by Russia is a threat to

local marine resources.

Despite the obvious danger radiation poses

to living organisms, so far no widespread

effects have been noted. It appears that

marine organisms have a high tolerance

to radioactivity. It is just a matter of time though before

measurable effects become evident – probably genetic

damage.

Munitions

The concerns for the environment regarding

lost munitions range from minor up:

The detonation of unexploded bombs is more of

a safety concern for ships and divers than it is a

long-term, wide-ranging environmental hazard.

Leakage of chemical weapons, on the other

hand, could pose a major threat by

contaminating and killing local wildlife.

Even though banned, some countries

are probably still coastal dumping.

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Eutrophication

Excessive nutrients that throw the local

ecosystem out of balance is called eutrophication.

Eutrophication can hurt ecosystems:

Can create dead zones on the bottom. Areas that

have low oxygen (hypoxic) and no oxygen (anoxic).

Low-oxygen either kills fish, shrimp, etc. or causes

those that can to flee. This can ruin local fisheries.

Some nontoxic algae blooms can cause lethal conditions in surface waters by

clogging the gills of some species and consume all the free oxygen.

Red tides and similar algae blooms are called HABs – Harmful Algae Blooms.

Today, anoxic and hypoxic events cause more massive fish kills than any other

single cause including oil spills.

Sound Pollution

A rising concern is sound pollution.

Human-produced sounds ranging from ship

engines to sonar may be detrimental to marine

species.

Concerns include noise interfering with

whale communications and high-intensity

sound

injuring marine organisms.

Seismic Airguns Seismic airguns are towed behind ships and shoot

loud blasts of compressed air through the water and

miles into the seabed, which reflect back

information about buried oil and gas deposits. These

blasts harm marine mammals, sea turtles, fish and

other wildlife.

Impacts include temporary and permanent hearing

loss, abandonment of habitat, disruption of mating

and feeding, and even beach strandings and death.

For whales and dolphins, which rely on their hearing

to find food, communicate, and reproduce, being

able to hear is a life or death matter.

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Heat Pollution

Heated water is a pollutant because hot water can raise

temperatures above the tolerance level for many

species, causing a die-off or decline in the immediate

areas where the warm-to-hot water is.

Most thermal pollution comes from power plants, which

draw water from the sea for cooling. By using heat

exchangers the discharged hot water remains free of

radiation and contamination. Usually the heat is the only

pollutant.

Some industrial discharges do pollute with both heat

and substances.

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Plastic

Plastics get into the marine environment primarily by being lost or

dumped there.

Including fishing gear, bags, packing materials, balloons, bottles and

syringes.

Plastics are a hazard in the marine environment because they look

like food to some predators.

Sea turtles and sea birds commonly die when they swallow plastic

bags and similar items that resemble jellyfish, their natural prey.

Larger marine animals can swallow small pieces as food. Once

swallowed, the plastic can cause internal blockage and a swift

death. Or, it can accumulate in the gut, inhibiting feeding, resulting

in slow starvation.

Plastics are a hazard through entanglement and entrapment.

Biodegradable plastic in the marine environment is one answer.

Recycling – the best solution is to keep plastic out of the ocean

altogether.

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Dredge Spoil and Industrial Solids

A major pollution source is spoil. Spoil is the soft bottom material removed during the dredging of harbors and ports. More often than not this is dumped at sea.

The bottom of harbors tend to contain toxic chemicals from shipping and development. These chemicals damage the benthic communities when dumped with the spoil at sea and does damage even without toxins.

Benthic organisms die when buried in the spoil. Suspended particles carried from spoil cloud the water and clog the feeding and respiratory organs of organisms.

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International Conservation Efforts 1972 – Ocean Dumping Convention resulted in an international agreement that

prohibited marine dumping of persistent (nonbiodegradable) plastic.

1973 – Marine Pollution Convention (London International Convention for the

Prevention of Pollution from Ships) established regulations that limit and control oil

pollution, packaged substances, sewage, and garbage dumped from ships.

1973 – International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution (MARPOL) took place.

It regulates discharge from ships and has been adopted by more than 80 countries.

1980 – UN Environment Program, the International Union for the Conservation of

Nature and Natural Resources, and the World Wildlife Fund released the World

Conservation Strategy. It provides a strategy and procedures by which nations can

develop their economic potential without destroying their resources.

It recommends that countries with common seas work together to find common

solutions to shared marine problems. This led to the Regional Seas Programmes,

which have establish zones for international cooperation around the world.