A REPORT ON MARINE POLLUTION AND EFFECT ON MARINE ECOSYSTEM Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering by NIKHIL NAIR (ROLL NO: B090919ME) K.N. NAVANEETH (ROLL NO: B090588ME) TITTY DANY ABRAHAM (ROLL NO: B090073ME) VIKASH KUMAR (ROLL NO: B090937ME) TONY JHONSON (ROLL NO: B090150ME) DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY CALICUT NOVEMEBER 2011 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the report entitled ―MARINE POLLUTION AND EFFECT ON MARINE ECOSYSTEM‖ is a bonafide record of the Environmental studies Project done by NIKHIL NAIR (Roll No: B090919ME), K.N. NAVANEETH (Roll No: B090588ME), TITTY DANY ABRAHAM (Roll No: BO90073ME, VIKASH KUMAR (Roll No: B090937ME), TONY JHONSON (Roll No: B090150ME) under my supervision, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology Calicut, and this work has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of a degree. Dr. R MANU (Guide) ASSITANT PROFFESOR Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Professor & Head Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Place: NIT Calicut Date: 3rd Nov 2011 Acknowledgements The successful presentation of our discussion would not have been possible without the help from the following people. We extend our gratitude to all those people who have offered aid throughout the preparation period. First of all we thank God Almighty for having given us the opportunity to undertake such an endeavor and complete it. We thank our project guide Dr. R. Manu for his valuable guidance and belief in us. We thank Dr. V. Kripa, Principal Scientist and Head, Fishery Environment Management Department, CMFRI for giving us the necessary data and her valuable suggestions. We also thank the local people who took active part in our questionnaire that we conducted and who helped us sight many points that we required in relation to our case study. -Nikhil Nair K.N. Navaneeth Titty Dany Abraham Vikash Kumar Tony Johnson ABSTRACT There has been a manifold increase of dangerous trends in our marine ecosystem due to pollutant inputs and human interference. One of the vital steps required to counteract this dangerous situation is the collection of information on marine environmental damage created by various sources of pollution and human interference and its analysis to find an optimum solution. It helps us to formulate effective strategies to control the influx of pollutants as well as heal the ecosystem in future. Water quality is a vital aspect for the survival and well-being of the living resources, especially in the coastal and estuarine areas. Some of these areas are now under direct threat from the increasing load of various types of pollution. OBJECTIVES The main objectives of the project undertaken are- To gather information on the marine ecosystem of coastal Kerala, influence of increase in pollution on this ecosystem Methods of alleviating the stress created in this ecosystem due to human interference. Our activities will include data collection, its analysis and case studies CASE STUDY Our case study is divided into two major parts:- Study the amount of pollutants in the coastal waters of Kochi and its effect on marine species, it involves, o Collecting the relevant data from CMFRI (Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute), Kochi. o Interpreting and analyzing the obtained data and draw conclusions. As a continuation, we will study the impact of human interference on the marine life, under it, o We will focus our attention on endangered Olive Ridley turtles of Kannur. o Observe the current situation of turtles and effort on their conservation. o Interact with the local people. o Role of government and local authorities for the conservation of turtles. o Final conclusion regarding the visit. CONTENTS List of tables iv List of figures iv 1) Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Major types of marine pollution 2 1.2.1 Toxic materials 2 1.2.2 Sewage and Eutrophication 2 1.2.3 Garbage 3 1.2.4 Oil spill 4 1.2.5 Radioactive waste 5 1.2.6 Deep sea mining 5 2) Case Study- Marine pollution in coastal areas of Kochi 6 2.1 Heavy metal concentrations and Assimilative capacity of coastal waters of Cochin- 6 2.1.1 Discussion 9 2.1.2 Toxic effects of some heavy metals 10 2.1.3 Prevention methods 11 2.1.4 Remedies 12 i 2.2 Oil spill in inshore waters of cochin 13 2.2.1 Sources of oil spill pollution 14 2.2.2 Effects of oil spill pollution 14 2.2.3 Prevention 15 2.2.4 Remedies 15 2.3 Tarballs and waste materials on the beaches of Kerala 17 2.3.1 Discussion 20 2.3.2 Effects of beach pollution 21 2.3.3 Efforts to reduce debris 21 3) CASE STUDY 22 (EFFECT OF HUMAN INTERVENTION ON AQUATIC SPECIES) 3.1 Olive Ridley Turtles 22 3.2 Distribution 23 3.3 Nesting 23 3.4 Threats 24 3.6 Conservation Status 25 3.7 What Caught Our Attention 26 3.8 What We Saw 27 ii 3.9 Current Hatchery Status 31 3.10 Conclusion 32 3.11 Our Suggestions 37 4) FINAL CONCLUSION 39 5) REFERENCES 40 iii LIST OF TABLES 2.1.a Comparative amount of metal concentration in marine sediment and tissues of finfishes and shell fishes 7 2.1.b Assimilative factors of various contaminants for estuary and the inshore waters of Cochin 8 2.3.a Solid Waste Materials Occurrence Table 19 2.3.b Weight of tar and details of wind observed from some beaches in Kerala during 2000-2001 20 LIST OF FIGURES 2.i Figure showing the estuaries and inshore areas of Cochin where the levels of distribution of Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn 7 2.ii Beach Pollution in beypore, Calicut 17 2.iii Tar Ball 18 iv INTRODUCTION Over two third of Earth's surface is covered by water; less than a third is taken up by land. As Earth's population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet‘s water resources. In a sense, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. We know that pollution is a human problem because it is a relatively recent development in the planet's history. Before the 19th century Industrial Revolution, people lived more in harmony with their immediate environment. As industrialization has spread around the globe, so the problem of pollution has spread with it. When Earth's population was much smaller, no one believed pollution would ever present a serious problem. It was once popularly believed that the oceans were far too big to pollute. Today, with almost 7 billion people on the planet, it has become apparent that there are limits. Pollution is one of the signs that humans have exceeded those limits. How serious is the problem? According to the environmental campaign organization WWF: "Pollution from toxic chemicals threatens life on this planet. Every ocean and every continent, from the tropics to the once-pristine polar regions, is contaminated." Water pollution almost always means that some damage has been done to an ocean, river, lake, or other water source. A 1971 United Nations report defined Marine Pollution as: "The introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment (including estuaries) resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazards to human health, hindrance to marine activities, including fishing, impairment of quality for use of sea water and reduction of amenities." 1 Major types of marine pollution: a) Toxic Materials i) Heavy Metals and slowly degrading chemicals- Cadmium, Mercury, Lead etc. ii) Persistent Organic Pollutants- Dioxin, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Polynuclear Aromatic, Hydrocarbons (PAHs) etc. iii) Sources- (1) Factory waste (2) Agriculture (3) Air pollution (4) Household cleaning supplies iv) Effects- (1) Destroy normal immune function. (2) Organism‘s become susceptible to diseases such as pneumonia and cancer. (3) Toxics can bioaccumulate and biomagnify in an ecosystem, increasing in concentration as they go up the food chain. b) Sewage and Eutrophication i) Sources- (1) Many cities around the world dump their sewage, either treated or untreated, into the ocean. 2 (2) Large vessels, such as cruise ships, can also add substantial amounts of sewage to the environment. ii) Effects- (1) Eutrophication: Having waters rich in nutrients that promote a proliferation of plant life, especially algae. Eutrophication leads to oxygen depletion. (2) Sewage increases nutrient levels in the ocean causing large algae blooms. After the bloom dies, microbes decompose the algae using up all the oxygen in the water. Without oxygen, other organisms, such as fish, die. (3) Pathogens found in human waste enter the food web and may, in turn, infect people who eat fish and shellfish from the contaminated area. c) Garbage i) Sources- (1) Unregulated dumping of garbage from ships and coastal communities. It‘s very hard to enforce bans on ocean dumping. (2) 14 Billion pounds of garbage are dumped in the ocean each year. ii) Effects- (1) Large pieces of garbage can ensnare marine animals, killing them. 3 (2) Many animals ingest the garbage, which can also kill them. 267 marine species have been reported entangled in or having ingested marine debris. d) Oil Spill i) Sources- (1) Runoff (2) Routine Maintenance (3) Air Pollution (4) Natural Seeps (5) Big Spills (6) Offshore Drilling ii) Effects- (1) Kills marine animals. (2) Damages coastal ecosystems, consequences can last decades. (3) Covers coast lines destroying flora and fauna.