LEC 20 - MARINE RESOURCES (PT 2)

Question 1

oil is not a renewable resource. what are some other outlets we are exploring (4)?

Answer 1

• wind energy
• ocean current energy
• wave force energy
• tide energy (generators are placed around estuaries that generate energy when the tide goes in/out)

Question 2

what does petroleum refer to? how valuable is it?

Answer 2

oil + gas

95% of economic value of marine resources (still a really big number!)

Question 3

what are gas hydrates?

Answer 3

solid ice-like hydrates formed mostly of water and methane (solid due to high pressure + low temps in ocean)

huge potential for energy but we havent figured it out yet

Question 4

if oil natural why bad? what are some challenges faced with cleaning up oil spills?

Answer 4

most oil is in the ground where it doesnt cause problems –> we cause spills etc

ex response to oil spill
- if we don’t clean it, microbes in sand get fucked over, cascading to fuck the entire intertidal zone
- if we do clean it, we wash oil into the ocean + destroy habitats by intense pressure

Question 5

what are the long term impacts of oil spills? what is PAH and how does it relate? how do galapagos iguanas respond, for ex?

Answer 5

• PAH is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which attach to sediments and are known to induce cancer
• stress response documented following oil spills (iguanas in galapagos)
  this was caused by oil killing algae, as well as oil killing off gut microbiome required to eat algae

Question 6

how does climate affect animals (el nino abnormal vs normal la nina years)

Answer 6

episodic el nino years result in high surface temps, which we know are bad for mixing + upwelling

Question 7

what are some mining resources we get from the ocean (5)?

Answer 7

• phosphates for fertilizer
• nitrates (though nowadays we split nitrogen from air to get ammonia, but it isnt perfect bc it prod nitrous oxide in the process)
• manganese nodules for alloys
• metal sulfides for metals
• copper from hydrothermal vents

Question 8

how is deep sea mining regulated? how does the island of nauru exemplify this?

Answer 8

international seabed authority (ISA) regulates it + profits made must improve the international comm

island of nauru was getting fucked by miners but they invoked regulation req by the ISA