Environmental Impacts on Oceans

​Point Source Pollution Sources

​NonPoint Source Pollution Sources

​Only 13% comes from activities in the Ocean

​The rest originate on Land

​What is it?

• plastics, glass, foam, metals

​What problems does it cause?

• Animal ​Entanglement

• ​Animals Eat It

• ​It does not degrade- microplastics

• ​Becomes trapped in Gyres

​Located in the Pacific Ocean

​Could be up to 2x the size of Texas

No big efforts to clean it up

• cost

• responsibility

• logistics

​Erosion Runoff

• ​Sediments can clog filter feeders (clams, sponges)

• ​Can block sunlight, increase temperatures

• ​inhibits photosynthesis

can cause photosynthetic marine organisms to die

​nutrients like nitrogen and phosphates cause plants like algae to grow

could come from land based fertilizers, waste, and runoff

causes algae to grow and reproduce quickly and in large numbers

algae can produce harmful toxins

when the die and decompose it uses the Oxygen in the water

other organisms can die from a lack of oxygen

​Coral are very sensitive to temperature changes (even 1 degree)

Coral Bleaching is the loss of color in coral that occurs when stressed coral expel the algae that live in them

This leads to the death of the coral

impacts that whole ecosystem

• food chains

• shelter for other fish

​as the temperature of water increases the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water decreases

as Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere increases the amount of CO2 dissolved in seawater also increases

CO2 mixing with water creates carbonic acidic which lowers the pH of the water

This impacts marine organisms ability to use carbonate and makes it more difficult for them to absorb calcium

• This impacts the strength of their shells, and skeletons

• Can impact the food chain- plankton make protective plates