Oceans and Migration Flashcards
What is ocean acidification?
A reduction in ocean pH due to absorption of atmospheric CO2. This harms marine life, especially organisms with calcium carbonate shells.
What are the main causes of ocean pollution?
Plastic waste, oil spills, agricultural runoff (e.g. nitrates), untreated sewage, and shipping emissions.
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
A massive collection of plastic debris floating in the North Pacific, caused by ocean currents (gyres).
[Diagram: Ocean Gyres]
What is overfishing and what are its impacts?
Overfishing is removing fish from the ocean faster than they can reproduce, leading to ecosystem collapse and loss of livelihoods.
Name an example of marine conservation.
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) like the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia - restricts fishing and tourism to preserve biodiversity.
[Map: GBR]
What are Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs)?
Areas 200 nautical miles from a country’s coastline where it has rights to marine resources.
[Diagram: EEZ boundaries]
How do oceans regulate the climate?
Through heat transport (via currents), absorbing CO2, and storing solar energy.
[Diagram: Ocean Conveyor Belt]
What is ocean governance?
The rules and institutions managing the sustainable use of the ocean, including UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).
What is a gyre?
A large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and Earth’s rotation.
[Diagram: Global gyres]
What are the impacts of rising sea levels?
Coastal flooding, habitat loss, saltwater intrusion, displacement of communities, especially in low-lying islands (e.g. Maldives).
[Map: Sea level rise impact]
What is migration?
The movement of people from one place to another, either voluntarily or forced, short- or long-term.
What are push factors in migration?
Negative reasons for leaving an area, e.g., war, poverty, unemployment, natural disasters.
What are pull factors in migration?
Positive attractions of a destination, e.g., job opportunities, safety, better living conditions.
What is a refugee?
Someone forced to flee their country due to conflict, persecution, or disaster.
What is internal migration?
Migration within a country, often from rural to urban areas (e.g., urbanisation in China).
What is remittance?
Money sent back by migrants to their home countries. Major source of income for countries like Nepal or the Philippines.
Name a significant international migration case study.
Syrian refugee crisis - over 6 million Syrians displaced due to civil war since 2011; many moved to Turkey, Lebanon, and Europe.
[Map: Syrian migration routes]
What is brain drain?
Loss of skilled workers from a country due to emigration, often harming development.
How does migration impact source countries?
Loss of labor, but gains in remittances; potential social effects like family separation.
How does migration impact host countries?
Economic contribution, cultural diversity, but may cause pressure on housing, services, and tensions.
Contested spaces
a geographic area that two or more groups claim, use, or value in different ways, leading to conflict or tension over ownership, control, or access.
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the supreme authority or power of a state to govern itself without external interference.
It includes:
Control over land, airspace, and waters
The ability to make and enforce laws
Control over borders, resources, and population
