Human impact on the oceans Brielle Arnold Human impact on the oceans ‐ Glacial melting ‐ Fertilizer run-off ‐ Pesticides ‐ Plastic
‐ Dumping Toxic Waste plastic-pollution.org epa.gov nbcnews.com nytimes.com Plastic pollution overview
- 8 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 alone (NOAA). - Possibly 150 million metric tons of debris in marine environments (Kollar)
bbc.com National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Garbage Patches - Vortexes of "plastic waste and debris
broken down into smaller particles by
the ocean" (National Geographic) (National Geographic) - 5 major gyres - North Atlantic, South Atlantic,
Indian, North Pacific, South Pacific
- Caused by global wind patterns
and forces created by Earth's rotation National Geographic The great pacific garbage patch
- Located between Hawaii & California - 7.7 million square mi: twice the size of Texas - Warm water from South Pacific and cool
water from Arctic (Kornan) (www.MarineDebris.noaa.gov)
- Two sections: Eastern & Western Garbage Patches - 54% of garbage from N. America & Asia - 20% from boaters, offshore oil rigs, and cargo ships
(National Geographic, on the NOAA) The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, (forbes.com) Impact on oceanic ecosystems - Ghost-fishing - Plastic consumption: - 60% of all sea birds - Fish ingest 12,000 to 24,000 tons of
Plastic each year (Nat'l Geographic) National Geographic, above and below - Transportation of Invasive Species
National Geographic Microplastic - - "More than 5.2 trillion particles were swirling in
the planet's oceans, and, in time,much of it would
be ingested by ocean dwellers and creatures
National Geographic that eat fish, including people" (Kormann).
- Microplastic ingestion is transferred up the food chain - ¼ of fish in California markets contain microplastics (National Geographic). - 83% of tap water samples contain microplastics; the rate in the USA is 94% (Kormann). New challenges - COVID-19 PPE production - 129 billion face masks and
65 billion gloves are being used ft.org each month (Giuliani-Hoffman)
- Cut the straps on face masks (RSPAC)
Seagull, BBC News Peregrine Falcon, BBC News Dumping toxic waste - Nonpoint source: run-off
- Point source: Oil Spills
- Largest oil spill: politicalgrafitti.wordpress.com
- BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of
nationalgeographic.com National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Mexico in April, 2010
- 4 million barrels of oil spilled
- Finally stopped the spill in July, 2010
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) How did this spill, and others, impact aquatic animals? - Ridley turtles, which are under the Endangered Species Act, were hard-hit. Up to 20% of the turtles present during the spill died from oil
Exposure (NOAA). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Louisiana bottleneck dolphins: experienced a 50% population decline - Oil can… - Destroy insulating/water repellency - Impact lung function & reproduction - Poison animals if ingested - Reduce growth, lead to changes in heart and respiration rates, fin erosion, etc.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fertilizer - Fertilizer: "a substance (such as manure or
a chemical mixture) used to make soil
more fertile" (Merriam-Webster).
- Contains: Nitrogen and Phosphorus - How does it end up in our waters? (EPA) thelawninstitute.org - Precipitation: rain, snow - Leaches into ground water - Gases (Nitrogen Oxide, Ammonia, etc.) are
deposited onto the surface of water
almanac.com Harmful Algal Blooms
seagrant.sunysb.edu
(Harmful Algal Blooms, EPA). Red Tide, nytimes.com Algal Blooms, livescience.com Red Tide, nytimes.com Brown Tide
- Aureococcus anophagefferens = Brown Tide Algae - Studied impact of glucose, urea (which contains
Organic nitrogen, and is common in fertilizer), and Brown Tide, seagrant.sunysb.edu Nitrate (inorganic nitrogen)
- Results: net increase in population growth is the greatest in the presence of organic nitrogen (as is found in fertilizers) but not inorganic nitrogen What is eutrophication? oceanservice.noaa.gov earthhow.com - An overabundance of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in bodies of water, increasing the amount of plant and algae growth - Chain Reaction: (NOAA) - Excess algae and plant matter decompose - Large amounts of CO₂ are produced - Lowers the pH of the water = Ocean Acidification eniscuola.net - Growth of fish & shellfish is stunted; shell formation can be prevented in bivalve mollusks (scallops, oysters, clams) How does this impact the oceanic ecosystem? - Bivalve mollusks (Maryland Dep't of Resources) - Help maintain equilibrium with filter-feeding
- Regulating species population decreases phys.org - Less nitrogen and phosphorus filtered out; algae can grow even more - Coral Reefs (EPA, Effect of Ocean…) - Important habitats for ¼ of sea life - Calcium carbonate skeletons
Scientific - Anoxia (NOAA) American .com - Low-oxygen environments become unliveable nature.com
pesticides - Two main kinds: - 1.) Pyrethoids food.ndtv.com target.com - Less toxic to humans, but still harmful to aquatic organisms - 2.) Organophosphates - Target nervous system - Malathion, acephate, disulfoton: toxic threat to aquatic life - Highly water soluble
((University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources)
homedepot.com (Pesticides and Drinking Water) domyown.com Table of Aquatic Impact on Organisms
(https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-science-and-assessing-pesticide-risks/aquatic-life-benchmarks-a nd-ecological-risk) How Do Pesticides Enter Our Waterways and Oceans?
- Pyrethoids: attach to soil particles, washed into waterways on sediment (Pesticides & Water Quality) - Washed down storm drains or sewer pipes - Sewage treatment plants do not filter out pesticides - To Learn More about Pesticides:
-
(Celeste Rusconi = artist, Pesticides and Water Quality) If none of this worried you, maybe its impact on humans will
- Pesticides: can contaminate surface and groundwater, which are critical sources of drinking water (US Geological Survey) - Eutrophication: has been financially detrimental to Long Island based commercial shellfisheries since 1985 - Without intervention, by 2030, ⅔ of the Long Island Sound could lack enough oxygen for fish to survive (NOAA). Besides Reduce, REuse, REcycle, What can you do to help? formplastics. - Cut the loops/handles of plastic carrier bags, elastic com bands, balloons, disposable gloves and mask straps change.org - Clean and empty containers after use and pinch cans shut or cut containers in half before recycling (RSPAC)
- Research the best times and ways to use fertilizer George Waldenberger, a Florida meteorologist - Properly dispose of pesticides at your local Household Hazardous Waste site thebocavoice.com - 1-800-CLEANUP to find a Disposal site in your area Works cited Chichester, F. W. (1977). Effects of Increased Fertilizer Rates on Nitrogen Content of Runoff and Percolate From Monolith Lysimeters.
Journal of Environmental Quality, 6(2), 211-217. doi:10.2134/jeq1977.00472425000600020023x
“Deepwater Horizon – BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 19 Apr. 2017,
www.epa.gov/enforcement/deepwater-horizon-bp-gulf-mexico-oil-spill.
Effects of Ocean and Coastal Acidification on Ecosystems. (2019, October 04). Retrieved October 05, 2020, from
https://www.epa.gov/ocean-acidification/effects-ocean-and-coastal-acidification-ecosystems
Eriksen, M., Lebreton, L. C., Carson, H. S., Thiel, M., Moore, C. J., Borerro, J. C., . . . Reisser, J. (2014, December). Plastic Pollution in the
World's Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea. Retrieved October 1, 2020, from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.stonybrook.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=c198f77b-98d3-4672-8e85-768142de1407
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“Fertilizer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fertilizer. Accessed 1 Oct.
2020. Giuliani-Hoffman, F. (2020, June 24). Conservationists warn Covid waste may result in 'more masks than jellyfish' in the sea. Retrieved
October 05, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/24/us/plastic-pollution-ocean-covid-waste-trnd/index.html
Harmful Algal Blooms. (2019, December 19). Retrieved October 04, 2020, from
https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/harmful-algal-blooms
Harmful Algal Blooms in Maryland. (n.d.). Retrieved October 04, 2020, from
https://dnr.maryland.gov/waters/bay/Pages/algal_blooms/Brown-Tide-Impacts.aspx
Kana, T. M., Lomas, M. W., Maclntyre, H. L., Cornwell, J. C., & Gobler, C. J. (2004, November). Stimulation of the brown tide organism,
Aureococcus anophagefferens, by selective nutrient additions to in situ mesocosms. Retrieved October 2, 2020, from
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.stonybrook.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=60649e41-7337-4384-98ef-958c62c0cffe%
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Kollar, S., Leonard, G., & Mallos, N. (2020, October 02). Plastics in the Ocean. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from
https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/plastics-in-the-ocean/ Korrman, C. (2020, February 04). The Widening Gyre. Retrieved October 01, 2020, from
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.stonybrook.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=55ccfa11-36b8-4f25-a864-d96ad6a0aa15%
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Learn about Ocean Dumping. (2020, September 11). Retrieved October 03, 2020, from
https://www.epa.gov/ocean-dumping/learn-about-ocean-dumping
National Geographic Society. (2012, October 09). Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
Ocean pollution. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2020, from https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-pollution
Ocean Plastics Pollution. www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/.
Pesticides and Water Quality. (n.d.). Retrieved October 04, 2020, from http://ipm.ucanr.edu/WATER/U/watqual.html 'Snip the Straps' off Face Masks as Great British September Clean Launches (2020, September 10). Retrieved October 1, 2020, from
https://www.rspca.org.uk/-/news-face-masks-spring-clean?inheritRedirect=true
The Sources and Solutions: Agriculture. (2020, July 30). Retrieved October 04, 2020, from
https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture
NY Sea Grant: NYSG: Brown Tide Research Initiative (News - 'Tis the Season for Brown Tide, July '11). (n.d.). Retrieved October 04, 2020,
from https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/t/tis-the-season-for-brown-tide-brown-tide-research-initiative-news
Thomson, Peter. “Preserving Ocean Life Is Essential to Preserving Human Life.” TIME Magazine, vol. 194, no. 11/12, Sept. 2019, p. 66.
EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=138582370&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Deepwater Horizon: Effect on Marine Mammals and Sea
Turtles, 2 Feb. 2017, oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/apr17/dwh-protected-species.html. Waters, R., Faulkowski, P. G., Nuzzi, R., Wyman, K., Wallace, D. W., & LaRoche, J. (1997, October). Brown tide blooms in Long Island's
coastal waters linked to interannual variability in groundwater flow. Retrieved October 2, 2020, from
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"What is Eutrophication?" National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2019, April 02). What is eutrophication? Retrieved October
04, 2020, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html