Pollution Flashcards
How much plastic is released into the ocean a year?
4.8 to 12.7 million tons
What are the sources of plastic polluiton?
Ships, fishing gear, pacakging, street litter.
What are the ecosystem services the oceans provide?
Provisioning
Regulation
Supporting
Cultural
What regulation services do the ocean provide?
Carbon sequestration, water quality and climate regulation
What supporting services does the ocean provide?
Photosynthesis, nutrient cycling and O2 production
Where do microplastics come from?
Cosmeitc products and mainly degradataion of larger plastics.
Which microplastic float due to low density?
Polypropylene and polyethylene
Which microplastics sink due ti high density?
Polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyamid and polyethylene terepthalate.
What is plastic broken down by?
Sunlight, oxidation, wave friction or marine animals.
How much ocean plastic is soruced by freshwater input?
75%
WWhat are the major effects on marine life?
Ingestion and entanglement.
How does entangling affect marine life?
Reduces reporduction ability, inability to escape predation, motility inhibition, decreased growth.
What species are affected by microplastics?
Green sea turtles, hawksbill turtles, seals, sea lions, puffins, albatross and uflmar.
Why are filter feeders particularly susceptible to microplastic consumption?
Microplastics are about the same size as zooplaknton
What do <80nm plastic particles do to the body?
Deposit in epithelium of digestive tract from the gastrointestinal tract and can cause inflammation.
What toxic chemicals are plastics often associated with?
Biphenol-A, metal ions, antibiotics, persistent organic pollutantes, pthalta etc.
Why are persistent organic pollutants bad?
They have heavy resistance to biodegradation, etnering the food chain.
What biologically detrimentantal toxin types do microplastics ocntain?
Mutagens and carcinogens.
How much plastic does the average person consume?
About 5 grams a week.
What is an example of plastic promoting spread of invasic species?
Plastic rafting micro-algae like black-band disease in coral reefs.
How much plastic in curclation in marine envrionments?
150 million metric tonnes
What is the fate of the 6.3 billion plastics produced a year?
9% recycled, 12% incinerated and 79% dumped.
What are the two strategies to dealing with plastic pollution?
Prevention of plastic entering the ocean and direct removal
How many plastic-policies were introduced between 2000 and 2019?
28
