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Ocean pollution introduction
Ocean pollution introduction
Ocean pollution environmental issue
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The Earth's surface is roughly 70% covered by the ocean. Little did we know that the ocean is a vital aspect of our lives. The ocean plays a crucial role in maintaining the biogeochemical cycle, and it contributes the most to the aquatic life biodiversity. However, many people aren't aware that their activity on land is also affecting the ocean. The pollution produced from factories and motor vehicles contribute the most to the output of carbon dioxide gas into the air. Over time, this gas will be accumulated in the air and will then be absorbed by the ocean. Recently, environmentalists are raising concerns about Ocean Acidification. Ocean Acidification is a sudden decrease in the pH of the ocean water over an extended time. The decrease in pH is due to the reaction between water and the dissolved carbon dioxide which forms a carbonic acid and hydrogen ions. When at high concentration, this acidic …show more content…
The reason for ocean acidification is clearly due to carbon pollution. One way is to cut down carbon emissions by using fewer fossil fuels and creating more green spaces. However, this method needs a long time for carbon dioxide level to stabilize again. Another method is to implement iron fertilization into the ocean to stimulate photosynthesis in phytoplankton. The phytoplankton will convert the dissolved carbon dioxide into carbohydrate and oxygen. Eventually, it yet has been proven to be truly effective for a large body of water in the ocean. During this time, it’s better of us to move into renewable energy and try to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you use by simple tasks such as turning off lights when not used and walk instead of driving for a short distance trip. Las thing we can do is to educate people about the impacts and prevention of ocean acidification. When more people know about the issue they will be more concerned and thus help in the reduction of ocean
The reduction in photosynthesising biomass led to an increased reliance on the Worlds other carbon sink, Oceans. Between 26-44% of CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by oceans by photosynthesising organisms, mainly phytoplankton (Archer, D. and Pierrehumbert, R., 2011), seawater chemically reacts with aqueous Carbon Dioxide, one of the end products is Hydrogen ions (H+) (NOAA, 2013). The increased concentration of H+ results in the ocean becoming more acidic, since pH is determined by concentration of Hydrogen ions.
With carbon dioxide levels continuing to rise over the past few decades (fig. 1) and now into the future, concern has been brought to what is happening to the carbonate chemistry of the oceans. Because of these changes in chemistry, the ocean is becoming more acidic. Along with climate change, ocean acidification may be one of the greatest threats to our planet. The higher the ocean’s acidity level goes, the lower the calcium carbonate levels will drop. Even though this is a big scale issue, my goal is to focus on and underline what these changes will mean for the marine life that depend on the calcium carbonate in seawater. I will go in depth with specific regards to a study regarding pteropods or sea butterflies.
Somehow our oceans maintain the balance between being some of the most powerful forces on the earth, and the most easily disturbed masses on the planet. There are so many things that could go wrong within the countless cycles, and the delicate processes that stabalize nature and sustain the biosphere; and people are continually interfering with these cycles. Ocean acidification is one of the most obvious results of human interference upon nature. “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we've been ignorant of their value.” ("R. Buckminster Fuller, in Memoriam").
Ocean acidity will spoil marine ecosystems if it remains persistent. Preserving sustainable fishing industries will become unmanageable if the carbon dioxide absorbed by the world’s oceans is not considerably abridged.
Ocean acidification is defined as “…the perturbation to the ocean carbonate system directly caused by ocean uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere.” (Turley) Overtime, our oceans have become more acidic due to rapidly evolving technology and a growing dependence on fossil fuel. In fact, our “oceans have become 26% more acidic since the start of the Industrial Revolution.” (Cullinane) Unfortunately, this acidity continues to rise and “…the pH of surface oceans…is projected to drop another 0.3–0.4 pH units by the end of this century, [which] has not occurred for more than 20 million years of Earth's history.” (Guinotte) Why our oceans today so acidic and what can we to control these pH levels?
Ocean Pollution is a serious issue in today's global politics. The delicate balance of Earth's ecosystem is put in jeopardy when the ocean is not clean. Problem evolving from ocean pollution directly harm marine life and indirectly affect human health and the Earth's many valuable resources. Ocean Pollution is a Broad term that encpompasses any and all foregin matter that directly or indirectly makes its way into the ocean. This includes everything from the extreme: oil spills, Toxic Waste dumping and industrial dumping-- to the small scael: human activities and basic carelessness. Because the oceans and all other water bodies are invariably, somehow connected, and because they account for 3/4 of the Earth's surface, they are an ideal method of transportation for pollution, allowing the rapid spread of seemingly far away toxins into a river near you! It is increasingly important that we educate ourselves as to what, exactly, ocean pollution is, so that we can identify the causes at their source and take action in small and large ways, and hopefully, prevent this terrible form of pollution from getting any worse than it is today.
Ocean acidification is caused due to rising CO2 emissions created by industrial development and greenhouse gases. This increase in carbon dioxide causes changes within the ocean’s biochemistry. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are expected to rise from pre-industrial level of 280 to 540-970 ppm by the year 2100, depending on future emission scenarios (IPCC, 2001). Eventually the oceans will become highly acidic if mankind is unable to control their CO2 emissions. About 30% of CO2 emissions are taken up by the oceans today (Freely et al. 2004) and this percentage will continue to rise if nothing is done to prevent it, potentially leading to enhanced levels of ultraviolet radiation at the earth’s surface (Harley, C. D. G., et al, 2006). While many marine organisms have adapted to thermal fluctuations in the last few million years, the expected changes in pH are higher than any other pH changes inferred from the fossil record over the past 200–300 million years (Caldeira & Wickett 2003; Feelyet al. 2004). The following diagram represents the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on the oceans causing increased CO2, decreased pH, sea level rise, storm frequency and potential upwelling.
"An Ocean Of Trash." Scholastic Action 33.12 (2010): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
To: Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency From: Ann Brown, Open Government Coordinator, Center for Biological Diversity Subject: Regulating Ocean Acidification Date: October 27, 2017 The implementation of a nation-wide standard for water quality, specifically for pH, is the most consistent way to measure the progression of ocean acidification caused by climate change, which is necessary for determining further courses of action, such as introducing carbon-consuming plants, to slow this progression. Increasing Ocean Acidification The increase in the pH of the world’s oceans is one of the most disastrous effects of global climate change. Carbon dioxide emissions caused by humans have resulted in a 30% increase
Our oceans take a large beating every day by the extremely large amount of pollution humans produce. Our society easily dumps their waste into the oceans to dispose of the excessive amount of garbage, sewage, and chemicals, but this small and simple solution is creating an even bigger problem. The way humans dispose of their wastes is causing the death of our beloved marine life. Not only are we killing off our animals, our food source, and our resources, we are also minimizing our usable water. By having a better understanding of the problem on the severe dumping, it will be easier to find ways to help minimize the pollution that is going into the ocean.
Scientific evidence now clearly indicates that the Earth's atmosphere and ocean are warming, and that these changes are foremost due to greenhouse gases obtained from human activities. As temperatures rise, mass coral bleaching events and infectious disease outbreaks are becoming more frequent. Additionally, carbon dioxide absorbed into the ocean from the atmosphere has already begun to reduce freezing rates in reef-building and reef-associated organisms by altering seawater chemistry through decreases in pH. This process is called ocean
Ever since the industrial revolution, humans have been responsible for the releasing of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of industrial and agricultural uses. The ocean absorbs roughly a quarter of this carbon dioxide. Originally, scientists believed this to be a benefit because the ocean was removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Ocean acidification, however, began to change the chemical composition of the water. NOVA’s documentary, Lethal Seas, explores the effects of ocean acidification located in Papua New Guinea, Aurora Australis, and on America’s northwest coast.
Ocean Environment The sea is the most obvious feature of the earth's surface. Approximately seventy percent of this surface is covered by water, in one way or another. Beneath this water are the familiar sands of the beaches, bottoms of bays, and the inshore ocean. Farther offshore this water covers an amazing submarine topography of underwater canyons, trenches, mountains, and plains.
The oceans take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and are responsible for absorbing around a third of the carbon dioxide roughly 22 million tons a day emitted by fossil fuel burning, deforestation, and cement production since the industrial revolution (Sabine et al. 2004). While this is beneficial in terms of limiting the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and hence greenhouse warming due to this carbon dioxide, there are direct consequences for ocean chemistry. Ocean acidification describes the lowering of seawater pH and carbonate saturation that result from increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. There are also indirect and potentially adverse biological and ecological consequences of
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.