//3.a. There are a variety of pollutants that affect the ocean system

Question 1

What is pollution

Answer 1

The process by which human activity contaminates the environment with adverse effects on the quality of air, water and the health of people and organisms

Question 2

What is a point source

Answer 2

The release of pollutants from a single, clearly identifiable sources e.g. sewage pipe

Question 3

What is a non point source

Answer 3

The release of pollutants from numerous dispersed sources e.g. fumes from shups

Question 4

Name a few ways human activity can lead to pollutants

Answer 4

-untreated sewage
burning fossil fuels
-agricultural run off
-industrial production

Question 5

Why was it thought that the oceans could disperse the pollutants

Answer 5

• because it is so vast and so could render them harmless
• some pollutatnts are so toxic they can cause serious damage to marine ecosystems and food chains. Minamata fishing grounds are an example- in 1950s industrial wastewater led to mercury contamination of fishing grounds

Question 6

Where are pollutants coming from

Answer 6

• challenge oceans face is where the pollutants are coming from- many originate inland and are transported to the ocean by rivers
• oceans can be contaminated by toxins in the atmosphere
• some pollutants causing most conern- nitrate fertilisers, pesticide, noise pollutants
• pollution can come from domestic/industrial sources. Rivers discharge dissolved chemicals into the sea. Pollutants in the atmosphere can be transferred by precipitation

Question 7

How do ACs remove raw sewage or industrial effluence

Answer 7

they don’t! - very rarely discharge untreated effluence into seas and rivers

Question 8

How do EDCs remove raw sewage or industrial effluence

Answer 8

• progress is being made

- HOWEVER environmental improvements are not a priority

Question 9

How do LIDCs remove raw sewage or industrial effluence

Answer 9

• long toxic list of pollutant being discharged and dumped into rivers and the sea
• suspended solids, organic waste, heavy metals, pesticides and fungicides are examples which pollute

Question 10

How do pollutants affect the ecosystem

Answer 10

1) leaching of nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates into the sea
2) rapid growth of algae create an algal bloom
3) algae cover the sea surface and prevent light from reaching the algae lower in the water column
4) large numbers of dead algae form a biomass which bateria and fungi feed
5) aerobic respiration of biomass by decomposers removes much of the dissolved O2 in the water
6) loss of O2 on organisms requiring it e.g. fish. They die and this adds biomass available to decomposers

Question 11

Pollution from fossil fuel burning- global scale

Answer 11

• combustion of fossil fuels produces several pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulates
• total emissions by shipping are significant at the global scale
• there are 90,000-100,000 ocean-going cargo vessels plying the world’s oceans. They operate 24 hours a day for 280 days a year. Their engines consume huge amounts of low grade oil- bunker fuel. Sea transport is responsible for 9% of annual SO2 emissions

Question 12

Pollution from fossil fuel burning- local scale- Long Beach

Answer 12

• air pollution from ships can be a hazard
• Long Beach in Los Angeles is an example of a major US port where air pollution from ships is a serious issue
• between 6 million and 7 million containers move through the port annually
• 30,000 jobs are directly linked with the port so it is vital to the economy

Question 13

Pollution from fossil fuel burning- growth in number and size of cruise ships

Answer 13

• the growth in number and size of cruise ships means localised air pollution is a problem in popular cruise destinations e.g. Alaska
• the concentration of the large vessels into restricted coastal inlets such as Alaskan fjords, can lead to heavy concentration of diesal fumes and the formation of haze
• many of the world’s shipping lines have measures such as increased fuel efficient engines
• slow steaming cuts the speeds from 27 knots to 20 knots
• better ship design with e.g. efficient hulls and propeller shapes, improves fuel efficiency

Question 14

Explain how radioactive waste affects the ocean

Answer 14

• the nuclear industry expanded rapidly after ww2 in Europe, China, USA
• this created a problem of disposing nuclear waste
• oceans were seen as the ideal dumping ground bc radioactivity would be dispersed through vast volume of water- example Russian k-27 as released radioactive material into sea
• Fukushima nuclear power plant leaked radioactive material which accumulated in the marine food chain. Ban on catching and consumption of shellfish