Ocean Pollution

Ocean pollution is a growing problem in our generation and can be caused by many things such as littering, burning of fossil fuels, and oil spills. This type of pollution is very harmful to all the ecosystems located in the ocean.

Chemical pollution refers to the improper release of human made substances. Chemical pollution can start from simply releasing oil into a river ,and from there it makes its journey to the deep blue sea. According to “Oil Pollution in Water” by the marine biologist Casper Ohm “Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the ocean. The rest come from shipping travel, drains and dumping.” This type of pollution enters the system of the animals living in the ocean and causes indigestion and death.

One specific substance that is often released into the ocean is fertilizers. When fertilizer is released into the ocean it causes a rapid increase in the amount of algae. When the algae begins to die and decompose, the decomposition takes in most of the oxygen located in the water which then causes fish and other animals to begin to die off. Over the years humans have caused the amount of Co2 to rapidly increase by the burning of fossil fuels of which the ocean absorbs 30%. This causes the ocean water to become more acidic. The lower pH due to the increased acidity of the water causes a lot of problems for the animals because over the years they’ve had an environment with a stable ph; this change barely gives them any time to adapt which could lead to the death of more animals.

Coral bleaching occurs when corral is placed under stress caused by change in the environment. Like change in temperature, light or nutrients. Coral bleaching doesn’t alway kill the corral but if it does survive it becomes vulnerable and more at risk when change occurs.

The second type of ocean pollution is trash pollution. If you ever visit a beach you will probably notice things like soda cans or chip bags floating in the water. Some nicer beaches have volunteers who go around and gather the trash left by the visitors. The trash left on beaches travel deep into the ocean where animals mistake it as food or become tangled within it. Animals that digest plastic have very low chances of survival. Some of these plastics aren’t visible to the human eye but can be just as deadly. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic that pollute different environments. When the animals in the ocean eat microplastics it causes indigestion which could affect their eating habits and cause them to starve to death. Some things we can do to limit the amount of ocean pollution is to be mindful of the ecosystems in the ocean and not litter, especially on the beaches.

Works Cited

Casper Ohm. “Oil Pollution in Water.” Water Pollution, 7 Jan. 2020,

www.water-pollution.org.uk/oil-pollution-in-water/.

Delp, Rachel. “The Use of Fertilizers & Eutrophication.” Home Guides | SF Gate, 7 Oct.

2016, homeguides.sfgate.com/use-fertilizers-eutrophication-77917.html.

Johnson, Ashanti, and Melanie Harrison. “The Increasing Problem of Nutrient Runoff

on the Coast.” American Scientist, 29 Apr. 2018,

www.americanscientist.org/article/the-increasing-problem-of-nutrient-runoff-on-

the-coast.

Landrigan, P. “Chemical Pollution.” Ocean Health Index, 2005,

www.oceanhealthindex.org/methodology/components/chemical-pollution.

National Geographic Society. “Marine Pollution.” National Geographic Society, 27