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It affects everything from the economy to giant blue whales. We know it is a problem, yet there is much we can still learn about this situation. Let’s take a look at the sources, causes and effects, and possible solutions of marine debris.
Marine debris can be defined as “any manufactured or processed solid waste material that enters the marine environment from any source” (Ten Things). Usually, we just call it litter. But, where does this litter come from? All marine debris comes from man-made waste. Most of this makes its way into our waterways from land, while 20% comes from ocean-based sources, such as fishing vessels and cargo ships (Problem). Once this waste enters the ocean it moves from currents and wind. It does not stay put, and it is usually carried far from its origin, which makes it difficult to determine where this waste comes from. Not only is it difficult to locate because of relocation, but this debris comes in many different forms, ranging from small plastic cigarette buds to 4,000-pound fishing nets (Ten Things). Plastic, rubber, Styrofoam, glass, metal, rope; the list is innumerable. The most known of all these, is plastic. “Plastic marine debris affects at least 267 species worldwide; 86 percent of all sea turtles, 44 percent of all sea bird species, and 43 percent of marine mammal species” (Problem). Other than plastic, these are just a few things that marine animals might mistake as food and ingest. On top of that, we can accidentally eat marine animals that have ingested this waste, causing us to get sick. Marine animals might even become entangled and can lead to suffocation, starvation, drowning, increased vulnerability to predators, or other injuries (Impacts).
As the human population grows rapidly...
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...ng to associations like NOAA so they can do something about this problem.
While people know little about marine debris, it continues to progress and affect a substantial part of our environment and economy. Lending a helping hand will not be easy, unless you learn more about this situation. Creating less waste, picking up litter, recycling, reusing, disposing trash everywhere; let’s lend the hand, and make the world a cleaner and safer place by eliminating marine debris once and for all.
Works Cited
“Marine Debris Impacts.” Water.epa.gov. (n.p.), n.d.). Web. 17, Apr., 2014.
Singh, Neha. “What is Marine Debris?” marineinsight.com. (n.p.), 13, Apr., 2011. Web. 11, Apr., 2014.
“Ten Things You Should Know About Marine Debris.” NOAA.gov. (n.p), (n.d.). Web. 10, Apr., 2014.
“The Problem with Marine Debris.” www.coastal.ca.gov. (n.p.), (n.d.). Web. 15, Apr., 2014.
The author gave a brief explanation about sea skaters including how they live and what they eat. Sea skaters can stand and literally walk on the surface of the ocean and that is why these insects were given this nickname. Sea skater are used to live by the water, but after they reproduce,, they have to find something solid where they can lay their eggs and this is where microplastic becomes an advantage for them. Also, the author described where exactly huge amounts of microplastic are located in the world. Hitchings mentioned that there is a specific place between Asia and North America where most of the microplastic has been accumulated in the past years, best know as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”. This amount of trash has been compared to the size of the United States because of its identical size. (Hitchings, 2012)
Joe, Brancatelli. "What Is Polluting Our Beaches?" Popular Science 1 Mar. 2003. Database. 23 Oct. 2005.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, is a collection of litter which has ended up in oceans, seas and other large bodies of water. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch spans from the West Coast of America to Japan. These areas are linked together by the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone; this convergence zone acts as a highway for litter to move from one patch to another. It has also been theorised that the ocean floor beneath the Great pacific garbage patch is also littered with a lot of rubbish on its own. This is a valid theory because it has been proven by Oceanographers and Ecologists that 70% of marine debris actually sinks down to the ocean floor. Although the scientists have researched this garbage vortex, they did not find it. However, when the founder of this garbage vortex, Charles Moore, was boat racing, he found this garbage vortex while he was travelling from Hawaii to California. He and his crew members noticed that their ship was surrounded by millions of
The plastic apocalypse is upon us. Our oceans are currently burdened by massive expanses of floating plastic products and shreds extending farther than the eye can see in multiple locations. The biggest of these, located in the North Pacific Ocean,1 is known by many as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This dangerous collection of trash is surrounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre,1 or a series of circling currents located in the Southern Hemisphere that carry plastics and other slow-degrading garbage and trap them inside its bounds.2 This specific Garbage Patch stretches from North America to Japan and the plastic-to-water ratio varies throughout.1 Because of this phenomenon, plastic is being distributed throughout oceans and deposited
As a mariner its important to know about the marine life, that was one reason I have chosen this topic for my today’s short presentation.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is sometimes referred to as the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch and the Pacific Trash Vortex is a floating patch of garbage that has collected in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, which is located in the middle of two high-pressure areas between Hawaii and California. The majority of the garbage, which is also called marine debris, in the patch is plastic, but items made from other materials such as glass and rubber are also present. Though the garbage patch is too large and goes too deep under the surface of the ocean for scientists to determine exactly how much garbage is in it, they have collected up to 750,000 bits of plastic one square kilometer (CITE). This sort of debris floating around in the ocean is dangerous for several reasons. One important reason is that marine animals mistake some of the garbage, especially plastics, for food (CITE). Another reason that the floating debris is so dangerous is because it can block sunlight from reaching deeper levels of the ocean, and thus, it removes the energy source for many autotrophs like alga...
Harmfull Effects of Ocean dumping include animals in danger with trash in their habitat, as well as contamination of public waters.
The ocean is an abundant source of life. It is home to thousand of different creatures, provides a great source of food, and provides the earth with about one half of the oxygen needed to sustain life. (National Geographic) Pollution especially plastic, is a catastrophic problem. Ironically plastic, which is a material designed to last forever is generally used for things we tend to throw away. Every year about one hundred to two hundred billion pounds of plastic are manufactured. Only 31% of that plastic is actually recycled. Biomass packaging estimates 10% of that plastic ends up in the ocean annually. About 20% of it coming from ships and other platforms, and the other 80% coming from land derived sources, such as international garbage dumping, winds or tides either way it finds its way to the ocean.(Biomass Packaging Co., et al)
Litter can have an impact on the coral reefs. Don 't leave line, hooks or other equipment on the beach or out in the ocean if you can help it. Litter pollutes the water and can be detrimental to the reefs as well as other ocean wildlife.
"Ocean Pollution." MarineBio Conservation Society ~ Marine Biology, Ocean Life Conservation, Sea Creatures, Biodiversity, Research... Web. 19 May 2014.
NOAA Marine Debris Program. “De-mystifying the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch.’” Marine Debris. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2010.
The existence of the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” was predicted by many oceanographers and climatologists. However, the actual discovery of the patch was made by a racing boat captain, Charles Moore. Moore was sailing from Hawaii to California, after competing in a yachting race crossing the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Moore and his crew noticed millions of pieces of plastic surrounding his ship. (National Geographic)
Research from the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that species in the ocean consume a projected 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic every year in the Pacific Ocean (Nall, 2014). Pollution of recyclable materials in the oceans is one of the leading causes of why some marine species are nearing extinction. Many authors of articles and books analyzing this topic tend to agree that pollution of our oceans is a problem. The future of this problem is where their ideas tend to differ. The following four literature reviews attempt to demonstrate and support my belief that pollution is getting worse in the ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there are things that we as humans can do to change this. Imagine a world where we didn’t have to constantly worry about the vicious cycle of humans affecting animals and then animals in turn affecting us through consumption.
The sand is a sand. Birds and marine life are affected by it. More than fifty species of birds are known to ingest plastic. When they eat plastic, they feel full, so some of them die of starvation. Algal blooms are another thing that kills marine life.
...harges of Human-made Debris Comprise the Largest Source of Marine Debris in Oceans World-wide (nearly 80%)." Plastic Debris Rivers to Sea Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.