Many people in their day to day lives don’t realize the massive effects they have on other people and even the environment. Our actions affect others and bigger things such as the ocean. Humans are violent to the marine life in the oceans, they are dying due to pollution, climate change and not enough regulations on protecting our seas, there needs to be a change if we want to see life in the ocean in the future.
The oceans and life that surround us are being destroyed. One of the major problems with the ocean is that it is running out of oxygen, which is scientifically called deoxygenation. As this continues to happen, marine life in the ocean will die. According to Lisa Levin, who is a biological oceanographer at the University of California
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This is extremely alarming to many people, because the oxygen is so low in parts of the ocean it is creating dead zones. Where animals cannot live they either relocate if they can, or they are left to suffocate and die with little to none oxygen. Another source that is harming the ocean is carbon dioxide. This gas is the same one that is in the air that we breathe today. “Carbon dioxide is the same gas that is mounting in the atmosphere today. It is the cause, many climate researchers agree, of global warming” (Westrup 10+). The amount of carbon dioxide has increased by more than 30% in our atmosphere. So then this is the how much more the ocean has to absorb. The ocean has parts that naturally absorb carbon dioxide. “The oceans sponge it up through molecular diffusion” (Westrup 10+). If the Earth didn’t have the oceans, climate change would be double the intensity it is now. All of the left over carbon dioxide the ocean is not able to absorb has now modified the acidity in the ocean. The water has a pH of 8.0 to 8.3 which …show more content…
We as human beings need to be aware of our surroundings, and how we affect the environment that we live in. Furthermore, if we continue to do things at the rate we are doing them now. The amount of damage we are doing and that will happen is frightening.
Works Cited:
Pereira, Sydney. "Oxygen Is Disappearing From the World's Oceans at an Alarmingly Rapid Pace; The ocean can't seem to catch a break--or its breath." Newsweek, 26 Jan. 2018. Student Edition, http://link.galegroup.com.proxy.elm4you.org/apps/doc/A524354431/STOM?u=mnsminitex&sid=STOM&xid=30f2444e. Accessed 16 Apr. 2018.
Creary, Marcia. "Impacts of climate change on coral reefs and the marine environment." UN Chronicle, Apr. 2013, p. 24+. Student Edition, http://link.galegroup.com.proxy.elm4you.org/apps/doc/A333450060/STOM?u=mnsminitex&sid=STOM&xid=baf6042d. Accessed 16 Apr. 2018.
Westrup, Hugh. "Acid test: rising C[O.sub.2] content in the air is acidifying the oceans. What will that do to marine life?" Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication, 3 Nov. 2006, p. 10+. Student Edition, http://link.galegroup.com.proxy.elm4you.org/apps/doc/A154332909/STOM?u=mnsminitex&sid=STOM&xid=a1b77bc4. Accessed 16 Apr.
Climate change and Global Warming are out of control. This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This also has permanent impacts of the ecology not just of those immediate areas but also the ocean as a whole.
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.
Climate change has been affecting coral reefs in a negative way. If the climate continues to get warmer more of our coral reef become bleached, the structure of the reefs will become weak, and algae that keeps coral healthy will die. In the essay, “A framework for understanding Climate change impacts on Coral Reefs” by Joshua Clinner (2016), he emphasizes our climate change has become one of the long-term threats to coral reef. The article “Climate change and human impacts are damaging the world’s coral reefs”, which didn’t include an author (2001), states that the sea temperatures throughout the tropics has increased dramatically leaving much of the coral unhealthy. Spencer Hall (2008), discussed in his article “Coral Reefs and Climate Change”, how the increase in climate change puts a lot of stress on coral reefs because they are very sensitive to the change of temperature. Rigel B (2003) states in his essay, “Climate Change and Coral Reefs”, that coral reef has already been negatively impacted by
The ocean has always absorbed CO2 from the air. An article presented in Nature August 2012 enlightens that about half of all CO2 generated by human is absorbed by the ocean. This chemical reaction is occurring naturally and the rate at which carbon is being absorbed, the concentration of carbonic acid is increasing. This has overwhelming concerns, particularly for shelled creatures. Animals such as corals, crabs, and calms need calcium carbonate to build their shells. Calcium Carbonate is dissolved by carbonic acid and consequently these animals are incapable of maintaining casings of calcium. Bio geosciences in 2010, suggested that carbon confiscation by oceans and land is lessening, which has the potential to further worsen the impact of carbon emissions.
Carbon dioxide disturbs ecosystems candidly, both positively and negatively. On land it increases growth in various trees and plants, an influence occasionally called ‘CO2 fertilisation’. Absorption of CO2 into the oceans triggers ‘ocean acidification’, obstructing shell formation by organisms like corals and affecting coral deterioration or
Some studies have found “that atmospheric CO2 concentration is approximately 383 parts per million by volume (ppmv), a level not seen in at least 650,000 years, and it is projected to increase by 0.5% per year throughout the 21st century.” (Guinotte) “This is because…the ocean absorbs about a third of fossil fuel emissions, but this amount is likely to increase to 90% in the future.” (Bralower) As a result, “the chemistry of the world's oceans is changing at a rate not seen for 65 million years, with far-reaching implications for marine biodiversity and food security, according to a new United Nations study...” (Knight) “…This change is cause for serious concern [for] many marine organisms…, [because they] may not be able to adapt quickly enough to survive these changes.” (Guinotte)
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.
Water pollution has had devastating effects on the environment, which include irreversible effects on the oceans ecosystem. People often underestimate the importance of the ocean. They don’t realize how much damage pollution has caused to the ocean and the thousands of creatures that inhabit it. Earth is a huge place, but resources are actually very limited and will not last forever unless there is a balance. We must protect the resources we have in order for them to last into the next generation.
Oceans cover 71% of the earth’s surface. The talk of climate change can often seem to focus on what is happening in our atmosphere, but there is a lot of change going on in our oceans. The oceans have absorbed 90% of the excess heat and 28% of the carbon pollution generated by human consumption of fossil fuels (Nuccitelli 2015). The purpose of this paper is to show how the effects of climate change effect the coral reefs in our oceans, with a focus on the coral reef systems in the Caribbean and of the Great Barrier Reef. The Caribbean coral reefs are well known to have suffered more damage between the two reef systems. That’s not to say that the Great Barrier Reef has not suffered its own damage. It has and will continue to suffer in the future.
"Ocean Pollution." MarineBio Conservation Society ~ Marine Biology, Ocean Life Conservation, Sea Creatures, Biodiversity, Research... Web. 19 May 2014.
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
By the oceans being polluted not only are animals affected humans are too. What some people don't know is that they are killing of and disturbing offspring by polluting waters. "Ocean pollution results in smaller catches of fish all over the world, either by killing fish directly, preventing them from breeding, or causing birth abnormalities. Seabirds are unable to breed and whales are poisoned. Pollution also seems to be responsible for a new disease among seals. Without even swallowed, plastic can kill seabirds, turtles, and other creatures by trapping them. People drinking water from polluted seas can become sick. Deadly infectious diseases like cholera and typhoid can break out." There are many different types of sizes of plankton everywhere in our ocean waters.
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.
Did you know that more than 90 percent of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct? According to Pandey, the author of Humans Pushing Marine Life toward ‘Major Extinction’, nearly 10,000 species go extinct each year, and this rate is estimated to be 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate (1). Human beings are causing irreversible damage to the oceans and their wildlife, which is being led by two major reasons: Commercial fishing or over-fishing, which damaged the marine environment and caused a loss in the marine life diversity, and pollution, which is a primary way of the extinction causes that drastically modifies the marine life habitat. As a result of the commercial fishing and pollution, many of the marine species will start disappearing of the oceans. Briggs emphasizes that over-fishing “has induced population collapses in many species. So instead of having less than a hundred species at risk, as was the case some 30-40 years ago, there are now a thousand or more (10).”
These results agree with the hypothesis that our “untouched and super-productive world” is affecting marine life ecosystems (Vannela, 2012). All of these results combined confirm the overall hypothesis that pollution is getting worse in the ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there