oceans 2.2.10 to be continued Flashcards
What is the main source that causes ocean pollution
Run off from the land (terrestrial run of)
What pollutants from that land can end up in the oceans name all 5
- Nitrates from farming
- Sediment causes turbid water (not ideal when it settles on coral reefs)
- Sewage release- toxins and excessive nutrients
- Heavy metals and chemicals released- toxins introduced into food chains
- Plastics- blown or washed into rivers
what happens to pollutants when they go into the sea
either D or C
Either Disperse or Concentrate
what is the impact of pollutants on the coral reefs
The pollutants change the chemical makeup of the water, leading to sun being blocked out from the reef
explain the eutrophication process in 5 points
- nitrate fertilisers are carried off land and into rivers
- rivers wash the nutrients into the sea, making it rich in nutrients
- An algal bloom forms due to the nitrates
- The bloom deprives the water of oxygen, so fish ect suffocate
- This leads to the ecosystems collapsing as dead zones form
In terms of marine dead zones what are they also known as
Hypoxic (low oxygen) areas
Where is the main place dead zones are located
what river does it run off into
what % of water ect drains into this river
In the gulf of Mexico because of terrestrial run off into the Mississippi because 40% of US water drains into this river- including fertilizers, sewage
how many million tons of nutrients is deposited into the gulf of Mexico every year
1.7 mill nutrients are deposited each year
What is the other main source of pollutants into the sea other than terrestrial run off
Oil Spills
Deposited from ships, what other pollutants is thrown into the sea
what will happen do these pollutants
- waste
- washing out oil tankers
- accidental spills
- deposited dredging material (heavy metals)
They will either disperse or be concentrated through the food web
What are the 2 examples of oil spills that were colossal
Gulf war oil spill 1991
Deep water Horizon
Explain what happened in the gulf war oil spill in 1991
In the Persian gulf a war between Iraq and US
The Iraqi forces intentionally opened their oil valves and emptied out 240 million gallons of crude oil, as a military tactic, and tried to blame it on the US
What were the effects of the Gulf war oil spill in 1991
The effect on marine life was extensive and is the worst ever oil spill recorded, where it still has effects today 34 years later
explain what happen in the deep water horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico 2010
what were the effects
The deep water horizon is a vessel that drills for oil
200 million gallons of crude oil was spilled into gulf of mexico
12,000 barrels a day for 3 months, due to cap of the well exploding
8,000 animals reported dead 6 months after
What are the general effects of oil spills
what does water and crude oil create
Water and crude oil creates ‘mousse’ which sticks to fur and feathers of animals, which restricts them and it breaks down their fur causing the animals such as seals to suffer from hypothermia
- any ingestion of the toxins leads to increased amounts going up the food chain, resulting in production of babies less successful (thinner egg shells in birds and reptiles)
In relation to managing Ocean Pollution
What is meant by the term ‘Surface Gyres’
what 2 things drive them
Surface Gyres are large circular currents in the major oceans that occur due to
-wind patterns
-Coriolis force
What is the metaphorical term used to describe Surface Gyres
It is like ‘soup’
They are also known as garbage patches (the same size as Texas) where millions of pieces of plastic are concentrated together
What is the main location and ocean that is split into 2 main ‘pools of plastic soup’ located
The North Pacific Garbage patch is split into the Eastern and Western patches
What causes Despoiling of the wilderness
Surface gyres and ocean currents are both what facilitate plastic distribution, causing despoiling of the wilderness
What demonstrates that plastic is despoiling the wilderness
Plastic waste makes landfall (deposited) along the shorelines of many wilderness regions that are far from civilisation
Name two locations where despoiling of the wilderness is evident
- Islands in the Arctic circle e.g. Muffin Island
- Pacific Hawaiian Islands
Demonstrate despoiling of the wilderness because they are completely isolated from humans and yet plastic is washing up on their shores
What is the criteria for a ‘wicked problem’
- problem that forms do to interrelated causes
- Not having one correct solution
- Many stakeholders (so everyone owns it but no one takes responsibility)
- links to other challenges
- It is a dynamic problem, so there’s constantly new inventions being created
- the problem has long lasting effects
What is the main wicked problem we can mention in this topic
Marine waste being a wicked problem
List the 5 reasons why marine waste is classed as a wicked problem
Marine waste is a problem due to:
- bad management
- multiple sources of marine plastic (stakeholders)
- Over-consumption (in fish perhaps)
- There are conflicting interests in the economy
- Plastics have a continuous effects because they last hundreds of years.
Name the 3 scales of management for marine plastics
- Global conventions
- National government actions (legislation)
- Local actions to raise awareness
Name the 2 main Global conventions used to help manage marine plastics
what were their laws
- UNCLOS
enforced the law that you can’t dump waste purposefully at sea - MARPOL
trys to prevent ships polluting plastics
- so banned ships from disposing plastic at sea
What is a limitation to consider about the global convention MARPOL
An issue is ensuring enforcement because how can you monitor is a ship is disposing plastic out at sea
What the 3 strategies used by National Governments to help prevent marine plastic pollution
National Governments took action by:
1. Plastic bag charges
2. Environment Act 2021
3. Microbead ban
Explain the strategies/ legislations national governments have acted on
- Putting a charge on plastic bags when shopping, has reduced usage by over 95% in the last decade in UK
- Environment Act 2021- used the ‘Deposit Return Scheme’ (DRS) to reduce waste
- Banning Microbeads in 2018 from care and cosmetics products because of it’s effects on the marine
What is a limitation of the 3 National government management strategies
- Limitation of putting a charge on plastic bags is that it doesn’t address other plastic sources
- Limitation of Environment Act 2021 is that the schemes can face delays
- Limitation of the Micro bead ban is that the industrial use of Micro beads is not banned
Name the 3 actions the local do to raise awareness of marine plastic being a wicked problem
- Community clean ups (of the beaches and waterways)
- Educational Campaigns - plastic free july and schemes with schools
- NGOs such as Green peace, Marine Conservation Society which campaigned for 2 of the national government actions
What is the UNESCO world heritage case study we need to know about
The Great Barrier Reef
Where is the GBR located
The GBR is located in the north east of Australia, off the coast of Queensland
Describe the two components of coral reefs and their relationship
In a coral reef is made up of coral polyps and algae
The coral polyps is classed as an animal
The coral polyp and the algae have a symbiotic relationship with the algae
If the conditions change, then the polyps become stressed and push the algae out of their tissue, causing coral bleeching
What is the main threat to Coral Reefs
Climate change
What are the main conditions that are essential for coral reefs to thrive
- Warm ocean temp (23-29)
- Clear water, so sunlight can penetrate through tot he reef, for photosynthesis
-Aerobic water so the presence of wave action so the water becomes oxygenated and has nutrients, to increase rate of photosynthesis - shallow corals, so the sunlight can reach the reefs
How can climate change, change these conditions to result in coral bleeching
- Increase in frequency of storms due to higher temperatures of water, ( because they form over warm waters), then this leads to too much wave action which may end up damaging the coral if some is broken off
- Increase in sea level, results in the coral reefs becoming deeper, which means less light can successfully reach the coral- so the rate of photosynthesis decreases
- Ocean Acidification- when more co2 is added to the atmosphere the pH decreases in the oceans because it becomes more acidic when the carbon is absorbed into the ocean- leads to a decrease in growth rates in corals
- Tourism- The GBR attracts 1/6 million visitors annually, which helps the economy, but also tourists damage the reef
What does UNESCO stand for
United nations educational, scientific cultural and organisation agency which aims to promote world peace
Is the GBR classed as a world heritage site in relation to the UNESCO criteria
It is because the GBR does have:
- Universal value
- Superlative natural phenomena
- Significant natrual habits for conservation of biodiversity
Why does the GBR need protecting
It is the most extensive coral ecosystem in the world
What are the threats of the GBR
- Adverse impacts of CC (like sea level rise)
- Coral bleaching and ocean acidification
- Decline in water quality associated with an increase in catchment run off
- A loss of coastal habitats in coastal development
- Fishing and illegal fishing
- Increase in industrial infrastructure along the coast
How is the GBR managed
The australian national government as well as the Queensland gov,make cooperative agreements, alongside international environment agreements
- GBR is part of the world heritage site due to it’s outstanding natural heritage
-
