Marine Pollution Flashcards
What 3 characteristic determine the danger of a pollutant?
Quantity, toxicity and persistance
Bioaccumulation
the accumulation of a toxin in organisms as you move up the trophic levels.
What trophic levels will have the highest levels of toxins?
The highest trophic levels
what happens when plastics are in the ocean?
break down to microplastics.
what % of plastics in the ocean are from land?
80%
When is there a potential fo an oil spill caused by humans? (3)
Extraction
Transport
Consumption
what happens to spilt oil?
some is degraded, some evaporates and some sinks
hypoxia
low oxygen levels <2ml/L
enough to impair metabolism
anoxic
no oxygen
eutrophication
addition of fertilizers to water that stimulates plankton growth. Organic material then sinks an is degraded by bacteria leading to low O2 levels
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone is caused by ….
the run off of fertilizers from the Mississippi
Dead zone on Oregon coast caused by»_space;»
the upwelling of O2 poor water from depth, increases warming leading to greater winds =more up-welling along continental shelf
results of the oregon dead zone
the death of benthic organisms
what % is victorias sewage
99% liquid
True or False: raw sewage contains heavy metals
True
