"Invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there...The majority of this waste (80%) comes from land-based activity, although marine transportation significantly contributes as well."
The study of the sources, effects, and control of pollution in the ocean, including oil spills, plastic debris, and chemical contaminants.
Introduction to marine pollution: This involves providing a definition of marine pollution, its sources, the impact it causes, and the need to control or mitigate it.
Types of marine pollution: This provides an overview of the different types of marine pollution, which include chemical, biological, physical, and litter pollution.
Causes of marine pollution: This focuses on the anthropogenic and natural factors that contribute to marine pollution, such as land-based sources, atmospheric deposition, oil spills, and marine litter.
Impacts of marine pollution: This discusses the short and long-term effects of marine pollution on aquatic life, biodiversity, human health, and the economy.
Dive physiology and marine pollution: This explores the direct and indirect effects of marine pollution on dive physiology, including altered gas exchange, changes in thermal regulation, and increased risk of disease.
Marine debris and plastic pollution: This examines the sources, distribution, and impacts of marine debris, with a focus on plastic pollution and microplastics.
Ocean acidification: This describes the process of ocean acidification, its causes, and its potential impacts on marine ecosystems.
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs): This discusses the occurrence and effects of harmful algae blooms, which are caused by nutrient enrichment, and can be a result of sewage runoff or fertilizer use.
Sustainability and pollution policy: This highlights the importance of sustainable ocean use practices and the need for comprehensive pollution prevention policies.
Oil spills: This examines the causes, effects, and clean-up strategies for oil spills, which can have catastrophic consequences for marine life, human health, and the economy.
Coastal zone management: This discusses the importance of effective coastal management strategies to minimize pollution and maintain the integrity of coastal ecosystems.
Marine monitoring and assessment: This focuses on developing effective monitoring and assessment methodologies to detect, measure, and mitigate the impacts of marine pollution.
Marine biotechnology and pollution treatment: This explores the role of marine biotechnology in developing innovative pollution treatment and mitigation methods.
Climate change and marine pollution: This discusses the relationship between climate change and marine pollution, their potential synergistic effects, and the need for integrated adaptation strategies.
Law and governance: This examines the legal frameworks and governance structures that regulate marine pollution and how they can be improved to better protect the ocean.
Chemical Pollution: The presence of chemicals in seawater from industrial waste, agricultural runoff, oil spills, and sewage, as well as substances that leach from marine debris and plastics.
Plastic Pollution: The accumulation of plastic waste in the marine environment, often due to items such as discarded plastic drink bottles, grocery bags, and fishing gear.
Oil Pollution: This includes oil spills, which occur when oil is accidentally released in the ocean from oil tankers, pipelines or offshore drilling platforms, as well as leaking ships, storage tanks or pipelines.
Thermal Pollution: This occurs when heated water is released into the ocean from power plants, wastewater treatment plants, and factories, causing the water temperature to increase and disrupting marine habitats.
Radioactive Pollution: Nuclear reactors and other nuclear facilities can sometimes leak radioactive materials into oceans and seas.
Agricultural Pollution: Runoff and waste from agricultural lands and livestock operations can lead to algal blooms and dead zones, damaging marine ecosystems.
Marine Debris: Marine debris consists of human-made objects that enter the ocean, such as bottles, cans, plastics, and abandoned fishing gear, which can cause entanglement, ingestion, and other problems for marine life.
Nutrient Pollution: Nutrient pollution comes from fertilizers used in agriculture and landscaping, sewage, and other sources, leading to harmful algal blooms and eutrophication.
Noise Pollution: Shipping, oil and gas exploration, and military exercises can all create noise that harms marine mammals and other wildlife.
Microplastic Pollution: Microplastics are small plastic particles that are less than 5 millimeters long and can be ingested by marine organisms, causing harm to individual organisms and to the ecosystem.
Heavy Metal Pollution: Heavy metals such as mercury and lead can enter the ocean from sources such as mining activities, industrial waste, and wastewater, harming marine life and people who eat contaminated seafood.
Acidification: Oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making them more acidic, which can harm marine organisms and disrupt ecosystems.
"Air pollution is also a contributing factor by carrying off iron, carbonic acid, nitrogen, silicon, sulfur, pesticides, or dust particles into the ocean."
"Pathways of pollution include direct discharge, land runoff, ship pollution, bilge pollution, atmospheric pollution, and potentially deep-sea mining."
"The types of marine pollution can be grouped as pollution from marine debris, plastic pollution, including microplastics, ocean acidification, nutrient pollution, toxins, and underwater noise."
"Plastic pollution in the ocean is a type of marine pollution by plastics, ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags, down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material."
"These nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients (which are also contained in fertilizers) stimulate phytoplankton and macroalgal growth, which can lead to harmful algal blooms (eutrophication) which can be harmful to humans as well as marine creatures."
"Excessive algal growth can also smother sensitive coral reefs and lead to loss of biodiversity and coral health."
"Once in the food webs, these pesticides can cause mutations, as well as diseases, which can be harmful to humans as well as the entire food web."
"Toxic metals can cause a change to tissue matter, biochemistry, behavior, reproduction, and suppress growth in marine life."
"Many animal feeds have a high fish meal or fish hydrolysate content. In this way, marine toxins can be transferred to land animals and appear later in meat and dairy products."
"The majority of this waste (80%) comes from land-based activity."
"This pollution results in damage to the environment, to the health of all organisms, and to economic structures worldwide."
"These nonpoint sources are largely due to runoff that enters the ocean through rivers, but wind-blown debris, and dust can also play a role."
"These toxins are concentrated upward within ocean food chains...causing mutations, as well as diseases, which can be harmful to humans as well as the entire food web."
"Excessive algal growth can smother sensitive coral reefs and lead to loss of biodiversity and coral health."
"A situation that may worsen with climate change as warming reduces vertical mixing of the water column."
"Potentially deep-sea mining" is listed as one of the pathways of marine pollution, suggesting environmental risks associated with it.
"Plastic pollution is harmful to marine life."
"These toxins can be harmful to humans as well as marine creatures."
"One of the types of marine pollution is underwater noise."