Meghan Hodges
Oceans are being flooded with pollutants, from plastic debris to chemical runoff, crude oil, and carbon emissions. The consequences of this are far-reaching and affect both marine life and human health. Marine animals are frequent victims of ocean pollution, with oil spills ensnaring and suffocating them, and plastic debris being ingested or animals becoming entangled in it. As debris slowly degrades, it uses oxygen, resulting in less oxygen in the ocean. Furthermore, the increased concentration of chemicals in the ocean promotes the growth of algal blooms, which are toxic to wildlife and humans. If we continue to pollute ocean waters, we risk degrading the health of our oceans and the ecosystems they support, including our own.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Impact on marine life | Marine animals are frequent victims of ocean pollution. Oil spills, for instance, will ensnare and suffocate marine animals by permeating their gills. Animals that aren’t killed by crude oil may suffer from cancer and behavioral changes and become unable to reproduce. Animals most vulnerable to harm from plastic debris in the ocean include dolphins, fish, sharks, turtles, seabirds, and crabs. |
| Impact on humans | Heavy metals and other contaminants can accumulate in seafood, making it harmful for humans to consume. |
| Impact on the environment | As excess debris in the ocean slowly degrades over many years, it uses oxygen to do so, resulting in less oxygen in the ocean. When dumped at sea in large amounts, agricultural nutrients such as nitrogen can stimulate the explosive growth of algae. When the algae decompose, oxygen in the surrounding waters is consumed, creating a vast dead zone that can result in mass die-offs of fish and other marine life. |
| Types of pollutants | Plastic debris, chemical runoff, crude oil, carbon emissions, and noise pollution. |
| Sources of pollutants | Human activities along the coastlines and far inland. Nonpoint source pollution, which occurs as a result of runoff, can come from septic tanks, vehicles, farms, livestock ranches, and timber harvest areas. Pollution that comes from a single source, like an oil or chemical spill, is known as point source pollution. Discharge from faulty or damaged factories or water treatment systems is also considered point source pollution. |
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What You'll Learn
Marine life and ecosystems are harmed
Marine animals frequently ingest plastic debris, mistaking it for food, or become entangled in plastic bags and discarded fishing nets. Species such as dolphins, fish, sharks, turtles, seabirds and crabs are particularly vulnerable to harm from plastic pollution. In addition, microplastics can be ingested by filter-feeding species, and heavy metals and other contaminants can accumulate in seafood, making it harmful for human consumption.
Another impact of ocean pollution is the alteration of the underwater acoustic landscape due to increasing human-generated noise pollution. This "acoustic smog" shrinks the sensory range of marine wildlife, disrupting vital behaviours such as foraging and mating. High-intensity sonar used by the U.S. Navy and seismic blasts from ships searching for offshore oil and gas have been linked to mass whale strandings and may push some species towards extinction.
Agricultural nutrients, such as nitrogen, dumped into the sea in large amounts can stimulate the explosive growth of algae. When the algae decompose, they consume oxygen in the surrounding waters, creating dead zones that result in mass die-offs of fish and other marine life.
Finally, the burning of fossil fuels contributes to ocean acidification, which makes it more difficult for bivalves such as mussels, clams and oysters to form shells, decreasing their likelihood of survival and impacting the food chain and the shellfish industry.
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Human health is negatively impacted
Oceans account for 70% of the surface of the Earth and play a pivotal role in the health of our ecosystems, including humans. Oceans are the endpoint for much of the pollution we produce on land, and the types of ocean pollution that humans generate are vast.
The health of over 3 billion people is at risk due to ocean pollution. When toxic chemicals are dumped into the ocean, they eventually make their way into the human food chain, especially through the consumption of seafood. Heavy metals and other contaminants can accumulate in seafood, making it harmful for humans to consume. Long-term exposure to pollutants such as mercury, lead, and other heavy metals can lead to serious health issues, including:
- Hormonal issues: Many chemical pollutants act as endocrine disruptors, interfering with hormone function and potentially leading to reproductive issues.
- Kidney and liver issues: The body's filtration organs are vulnerable to damage from toxic substances. Prolonged exposure to pollutants like heavy metals can impair kidney and liver function, leading to chronic health problems.
- Neurological problems: Toxins can cause severe neurological impairment and even rapid death.
- Respiratory issues: HAB toxins can become airborne and cause respiratory diseases.
- Gastrointestinal diseases: Pathogenic marine bacteria can cause gastrointestinal diseases and deep wound infections.
- Vibrio infections: With climate change and increasing pollution, the risk of Vibrio infections, including cholera, will likely increase in frequency and extend to new areas.
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Oceans absorb carbon emissions, causing acidification
The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is due to human activities, such as burning fossil fuels (e.g., car emissions) and changing land use (e.g., deforestation). As a result, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean also increases. When carbon dioxide is absorbed by seawater, a series of chemical reactions occur, leading to an increased concentration of hydrogen ions. This process has far-reaching implications for the ocean and its inhabitants.
Organisms that rely on calcium and carbonate from seawater to build hard shells and skeletons, such as oysters and corals, are already being impacted by ocean acidification. As the ocean becomes more acidic, available carbonate ions bond with excess hydrogen, resulting in fewer carbonate ions available for these organisms to build their shells and skeletons. This can lead to a collapse in populations of these animals or a change in their habitat range.
The economic impact of ocean acidification is also significant. For example, a study in the United States found that the country's shellfish industry could lose more than $400 million annually due to ocean acidification by 2100. Additionally, ocean acidification can have negative health outcomes for humans and marine ecosystems. Heavy metals and other contaminants can accumulate in seafood, making it harmful for human consumption.
While it is important to develop adaptation solutions, addressing the root cause of the problem is crucial. This involves reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and finding more carbon sinks, such as regrowing mangroves, seagrass beds, and marshes, known as blue carbon. Nuclear and isotopic techniques, such as radiotracers, can also be used to better understand the biological effects of ocean acidification and inform potential solutions.
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Noise pollution impacts marine wildlife
Marine wildlife relies on sound for vital life functions, including communication, prey and predator detection, and orientation. However, with the intensification of human activities in the ocean, underwater noise pollution is escalating at an alarming rate. This noise pollution is known to cause significant disturbance to marine wildlife, including migratory species such as whales and dolphins, as well as their prey.
Noise pollution can cause adverse changes to entire marine ecosystems. Animals exposed to elevated or prolonged anthropogenic noise can suffer direct injury and temporary or permanent auditory threshold shifts, compromising their communication and ability to detect threats and find food, sometimes leading to death. It can also impact their critical life processes such as reproduction and feeding. For example, high-intensity sonar used by the U.S. Navy for testing and training has been linked to mass whale strandings.
Noise pollution can also displace wild animals from critical habitats, including their migration routes, and mask important natural sounds, such as the call of a mate. While much of the research on the impact of marine noise focuses on cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), a wide range of other species, including polar bears, sirenians (Dugong and manatees), pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses), marine turtles, marine otters, fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods, are known to be affected by human-made noise.
Shipping, seismic airgun surveys used in oil and gas exploration, and pile driving used for offshore wind farms and other marine infrastructure are the major sources of noise pollution. The application of quieting technologies that reduce sound at the source is the most effective way to reduce the negative impacts of underwater noise on marine wildlife. These quieting methods may also have additional benefits, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to the mitigation of climate change, another major threat to marine wildlife.
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Plastic waste is ingested by marine animals
Marine animals ingesting plastic waste is a significant consequence of ocean pollution. The oceans are the endpoint for much of the pollution we produce on land, and plastic waste is a major contributor to this. Marine animals, from fish to seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals, mistake plastic debris for food, leading to severe health issues and even death.
Plastic pollution in the ocean comes from various sources, including single-use plastic items such as bags, bottles, straws, and containers that are not properly recycled. These plastics can find their way into the ocean through littering, illegal dumping, poor waste disposal, and natural events like storms and tsunamis. Once in the ocean, plastic can persist for hundreds to thousands of years without biodegrading.
Small plastic fragments can float on the water surface, deceiving seabirds and other species into consuming them. This ingestion can lead to suffocation, starvation, and toxic contamination. A study found that sea turtles that ingested just 14 pieces of plastic had an increased risk of death, and plastic waste is estimated to kill up to a million seabirds annually. Young sea turtles are especially vulnerable as they are less selective about their food choices and tend to drift with ocean currents, similar to floating plastic debris.
Fish are also susceptible to plastic ingestion, with over two-thirds of 500 studied fish species having consumed plastic. Molluscs like mussels and oysters, when filtering seawater for feeding, inadvertently take in microplastics. A study of mussels from UK waters found that all samples contained microplastic particles. These microplastics can adsorb up to a million times more toxic chemicals than the surrounding water, leading to bioaccumulation in the food chain.
Marine apex predators, such as great white sharks and orcas, face a significant threat from the cumulative impact of microplastics and toxic chemical bioaccumulation in their prey. As plastic pollution continues to infiltrate the ocean, the weight of plastics is predicted to exceed the combined weight of all the fish in the seas by 2050, according to scientists. This dire forecast underscores the urgent need for action to address the plastic pollution crisis in our oceans.
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Frequently asked questions
Marine life is severely impacted by ocean pollution. Oil spills, for instance, can ensnare and suffocate marine animals by permeating their gills. Seabirds may be unable to fly or feed their young when oil gets into their feathers. Marine animals also mistake small plastic debris for food or become entangled in plastic bags and discarded fishing nets. Dolphins, fish, sharks, turtles, seabirds, and crabs are among the animals most vulnerable to harm from plastic debris in the ocean.
Oceans account for 70% of the surface of planet Earth and play a pivotal role in the health of our ecosystem, including humans. Heavy metals and other contaminants can accumulate in seafood, making it harmful for humans to consume. Ocean pollution is now tied to negative health outcomes in humans.
The majority of the garbage that enters the ocean each year is plastic. Plastic debris has been found at the bottom of the deepest ocean trench. While some is dumped directly into the seas, 80% of marine litter makes its way there gradually from land-based sources via storm drains, sewers, and other routes.
An increasing barrage of human-generated ocean noise pollution is altering the underwater acoustic landscape, harming and even killing marine species worldwide. The underwater racket created by commercial tanker and container ships results in a kind of "smog" that shrinks the sensory range of marine wildlife. High-intensity sonar used by the U.S. Navy has been linked to mass whale strandings.
Solutions for marine pollution include prevention and cleanup. Many countries are taking action by enacting regulations to limit or ban the use of disposable plastic items. It is important to change society's approach to plastic use, move towards a circular economy, and prevent plastic and harmful chemicals from entering the ocean.
