Kiera Jefferson
Ocean pollution is a pressing environmental issue that poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of our planet. It is caused by a complex mixture of toxic metals, plastics, manufactured chemicals, petroleum, urban and industrial waste, pesticides, fertilizers, pharmaceutical chemicals, agricultural runoff, and sewage. While the exact amount of pollution in the ocean is hard to measure, it is estimated that the world's oceans are polluted by roughly 171 trillion plastic particles, weighing around 2.3 million tons. The majority of this pollution, about 80%, comes from land-based sources, with human activities such as littering, poor waste management, storm water discharge, and extreme natural events like tsunamis and hurricanes contributing significantly. This land-based pollution reaches the oceans through rivers, runoff, atmospheric deposition, and direct discharges, often accumulating near coastlines and in low- and middle-income countries.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Percentage of ocean pollution from land-based sources | 70% to 80% |
| Percentage of ocean pollution from marine sources | 20% to 30% |
| Main land-based sources | Rivers, coastlines, runoff, atmospheric deposition, direct discharges |
| Main marine sources | Fishing nets, lines, ropes, abandoned vessels |
| Main types of pollution | Plastics, toxic metals, petroleum, pesticides, fertilizers, pharmaceutical chemicals, sewage |
| Percentage of plastic waste that is mismanaged | 25% |
| Percentage of plastic waste that is recycled, incinerated, or stored in sealed landfills | 75% |
| Rivers contributing the most plastic pollution | Yangtze, Xi, and Huangpu (China); Ganges (India); Cross (Nigeria); Amazon (Brazil) |
| Countries with the highest plastic emissions | Philippines, India, Malaysia |
| Main causes of ocean pollution | Human activities, nonpoint source pollution, point source pollution, oil spills, poor waste management |
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What You'll Learn
Marine debris and littering
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released into the sea or ocean. Marine debris is one of the most pervasive threats to the health of oceans, seas, waterways, and coastal areas worldwide. It is a local, regional, national, and international concern.
The majority of marine debris comes from human activities along coastlines and far inland. It is often heaviest near the coasts and most highly concentrated along the coasts of low- and middle-income countries. Marine debris can enter the ocean in many ways. People often leave trash on beaches or throw it into the water from boats or offshore facilities, such as oil rigs. Sometimes, litter makes its way into the ocean from land. This debris is carried by storm drains, canals, or rivers. The wind can even blow trash from landfills and other areas into the water. Storms and accidents at sea can cause ships to sink or lose cargo.
Any kind of trash can become marine debris, from glass bottles to aluminum cans to medical waste. The vast majority of marine debris, however, is plastic. Plastic products can be very harmful to marine life. For example, loggerhead sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, their favorite food. Plastic debris can also resemble zooplankton, which can lead filter feeders to consume them and cause them to enter the ocean food chain. Plastic in the marine environment that contaminates the food chain can have repercussions on the viability of fish and shellfish species.
Marine debris can injure or kill marine and coastal wildlife, damage and degrade habitats, interfere with navigational safety, cause economic loss to fishing and maritime industries, degrade the quality of life in coastal communities, and threaten human health. All marine debris comes from people, with a majority of it originating on land and entering the ocean and Great Lakes through littering, poor waste management practices, stormwater discharge, and extreme natural events such as tsunamis and hurricanes. Some debris, such as derelict fishing gear, can also come from ocean-based sources. This lost or abandoned gear is a major problem because it can continue to capture and kill wildlife, damage sensitive habitats, and even compete with and damage active fishing.
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Nonpoint source pollution
The impact of nonpoint source pollution is far-reaching. It affects the beauty and health of coastal areas, driving down property values and impacting the commercial fishing industry. It also poses risks to human health, with river and ocean water becoming unsafe for humans and wildlife. Nonpoint source pollution is a significant issue that requires collective efforts to address and control.
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Oil spills
One of the significant impacts of oil spills is the contamination of marine life and their habitats. Oil penetrates the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing their insulating abilities and making them more susceptible to temperature changes and less buoyant in the water. It can also affect the reproductive and growth patterns of bottom-dwelling fish, leading to liver disease and other health issues. Oil spills can further contaminate drinking water supplies, posing risks to human health, including respiratory and immune system problems.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 is another notable incident, which resulted in the death of eleven oil rig workers and had significant environmental and economic impacts. The cleanup and recovery process after oil spills can also generate air pollutants, affecting air quality in coastal regions. Additionally, oil spills can contaminate beaches, making them unsafe for human use and disrupting the local economy.
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Atmospheric pollution
One of the primary sources of atmospheric pollution is littering, which accounts for a large portion of the trash that ends up in our oceans. This litter is often blown into waterways and oceans by wind and storm winds, contributing to the growing problem of marine debris. Poor waste management practices further exacerbate the issue, with mismanaged waste, particularly plastic waste, being a significant concern. It is estimated that around one-quarter to one-fifth of plastic waste is mismanaged globally, and this waste often ends up polluting the oceans.
Another factor contributing to atmospheric pollution is runoff from land. Nonpoint source pollution, which arises from various small sources such as cars, boats, farms, and construction sites, is a significant contributor to ocean pollution. This type of pollution occurs when rain or snow moves pollutants from the ground into waterways and oceans. For example, oil leaked from millions of motor vehicle engines onto roads and parking lots can be washed into the ocean during rainstorms. Similarly, dirt, topsoil, and silt from construction sites and fields can run off into waterways, harming fish and wildlife habitats and impacting water quality.
The consequences of atmospheric pollution on ocean health are severe. Marine debris, including derelict fishing gear and abandoned vessels, poses threats to marine life through entanglement, ingestion, and habitat damage. Plastic pollution, in particular, is a rapidly increasing component of ocean pollution, with an estimated 10 million metric tons of plastic waste entering the seas each year. These plastics can take hundreds of years to decompose and have detrimental effects on marine ecosystems and human health.
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Chemical contamination
Marine pollution is a combination of chemicals and trash, with over 80% of it originating from land-based activities. Chemical contamination, or nutrient pollution, is a growing concern for health, environmental, and economic reasons. This type of pollution occurs when human activities, such as the use of fertilizer on farms, lead to the runoff of chemicals into waterways that ultimately flow into the ocean.
The increased concentration of chemicals, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in the coastal ocean promotes the growth of algal blooms, which can be toxic to wildlife and harmful to humans. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, also called nutrient or eutrophic pollution, has a global impact on ocean bodies and is particularly concentrated in coastal areas near the estuaries of major rivers. Agriculture is a primary source of nitrogen and phosphorus, through the runoff of excess nutrients from animal manure and chemical fertilizers.
Chemical pollutants are ubiquitous and contaminate seas and marine organisms from the high Arctic to the abyssal depths. The oceans are the ultimate sink for chemical pollutants, and persistent pollutants that enter the seas from land-based sources will remain in the oceans for years and even centuries. Concentrations of contaminants vary in different parts of the oceans, and tracking these levels is fundamental to predicting patterns of exposure, evaluating health effects, and designing evidence-based strategies for pollution control and disease prevention.
Toxic chemicals also become concentrated in the food chain and can impact human health. For example, small organisms feed on tiny bits of broken-down plastic, called microplastics, and absorb the chemicals from the plastic into their tissues. When these small organisms are eaten by larger animals, the toxic chemicals then become part of their tissues. In this way, the microplastic pollution migrates up the food chain, eventually becoming part of the food that humans eat.
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Frequently asked questions
Ocean pollution comes from a variety of sources, including land-based sources and marine sources. Land-based sources include runoff from roads, farms, and construction sites, as well as littering and poor waste management practices. Marine sources include fishing gear, abandoned vessels, and oil spills from ships.
The biggest source of ocean pollution is nonpoint source pollution, which accounts for 80% of pollution in the marine environment. This includes pollution from sources such as septic tanks, cars, trucks, boats, farms, and ranches.
Nonpoint source pollution can make river and ocean water unsafe for humans and wildlife. It can also cause beaches to be closed after rainstorms due to the high levels of pollution in the water.
Ocean pollution poses serious threats to human health and well-being, as it is the largest environmental cause of disease in the world. It is responsible for premature deaths, economic losses, erosion of human capital, and degradation of ecosystems.
It is estimated that one to two million tons of plastic enter our oceans yearly, with most of it coming from middle-income countries, particularly in Asia. This plastic waste affects wildlife, ecosystems, and human health.
