Marine pollution Flashcards
List an incident that causes pollution by oil
There have been several incidents in recent years where supertankers have been damaged in a number of ways resulting in vast quantities of crude oil
What does the oil do (like what does it do in the ocean)?
This oil floats forming huge slicks and sometimes can be driven onto beaches killing much of the plant and animal life there.
What is a source of oil spills?
Oil also leaks from offshore oil drilling rigs and pipelines that bring the oil to land from the ocean.
Also supertankers
How are oil slicks sometimes dispersed?
They are dispersed using detergents
What do the detergents do?
It breaks the oil into smaller droplets so that it disperses more easily.
What is the disadvantage of detergents?
- the detergents also break up the natural oil in the skin and feathers of many animals, as well as the lipids in the cell membrane.
- In addition, breaking the oil into smaller droplets makes it easier for animals to absorb the oil and so increases its toxicity.
What do oil slicks do?
Block oxygen and light, killing marine life
What is pollution by organic waste?
Organic Matter from untreated sewage pollutes the coastal waters of many countries.
Where is organic matter derived from?
It is derived from untreated sewage from housing, ships and farms
What can pollution by organic waste lead to?
eutrophication and also causes numerous diseases like
- typhoid
- cholera
- dysentery among people who drink and use contaminated water
What does excreta often contain?
pathogens
What is organic matter in sewage broken down by?
Bacteria, which multiply rapidly and use up oxygen in the water
What does the lack of oxygen cause?
it causes fishes and other marine organisms to die
What does the surviving anaerobic bacteria from the lack of oxygen do?
The surviving anaerobic bacteria then continue to breakdown the waste and release foul-smelling gases such as methane and hydrogen sulphide
