MARINE POLLUTION

Sources, Pathways, Mechanisms, and Impact of

Chemicals Affecting Oceanic Water Quality and
Ecology
MARINE POLLUTION
 The ocean: great volume and continuous motion dissipate
and distribute natural and synthetic substances
 Human have used the sea as a dump
 Limited capacity to absorb the waste

Fundamentals of Oceanography
 The introduction into the ocean by humans of substances or
energy that change the quality of the water or affect the
physical, chemical, or biological environment.
 Some materials labeled as pollutants are produced in large
quantities by natural processes (e.g. volcanic eruption:
carbon dioxide, methane, sulfur compounds, oxides of
nitrogen)
 Excess amount of the substances of volcanic eruption
produced by human activities may cause global warming
and acid rain
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 No one knows the extent of contamination
POLLUTANT CHARACTERISTICS
 Mostly from human activities on land
 Causes damage by interfering directly or
indirectly with the biochemical processes of an

Fundamentals of Oceanography
organism
 Consequences: some may be instantly lethal;
others may weaken an organism over time, or
alter the dynamics of population of which it is a
part, or gradually unbalance the entire
community
 An organism’s response to pollutant will depend
on its sensitivity to the combination of quantity
and toxicity of the pollutant
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POLLUTANT CHARACTERISTICS
 Persistence of pollutants varies in the
environment, from a few minutes to thousands of
years

Fundamentals of Oceanography
 Some pollutants break down into harmless
substances spontaneously or through physical
processes, some may be removed through
biological activity (biodegradable).
 Many synthetic pollutants resist attack by water,
air, sunlight, or living organisms.
 The impact can be difficult to determine and
scientists vary in opinions in pollution effects.
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 TRANSPORT ROUTES OF POLLUTANTS TO THE OCEAN

Fundamentals of Oceanography
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Garrison 2015 “Essentials

of Oceanography”
 OIL SPILLS
 After 17% recovery (10000
people)
 35% evaporated
 8% burned
 5% dispersed by detergents

Fundamentals of Oceanography
 5% biodegraded
 30% left as oil slick (450 km
coastline)
 Consequence? Trade-offs?

Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 TOXIC SYNTHETIC ORGANIC CHEMICALS

Fundamentals of Oceanography
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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 BIO-MAGNIFICATION OF PESTICIDES

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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS FROM CHEMICALS

Fundamentals of Oceanography
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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 THE INFAMOUS TRACE METAL EFFECT

Fundamentals of Oceanography
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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 HYPOXIA AND EUTROPHICATION
 Eutrophication: a set of
physical, chemical, and
biological changes that take
place when excessive
nutrients are released into
the water.

Fundamentals of Oceanography
 It stimulates the growth of
some species to the
detriment of others,
destroying the natural
balance of an ocean area.
 The nutrients usually enter
the ocean from river runoff.
 Enhanced biomass
production consequently
leads to decomposition
occurring near the bottom.
 It can lead to hypoxia (<30%
saturation). 11

Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
EXTENT OF EUTROPHICATION

Fundamentals of Oceanography
12

Breitburg et al., Science

359, 46 (2018)
 THE PLASTIC ISSUE

Fundamentals of Oceanography
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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 BIGGER PLASTIC ISSUE
Garrison 2015 “Essentials of Oceanography”

 A solid form of pollutant.

 Production 115 million
metric tons per year,
10% ends up in the
ocean.

Fundamentals of Oceanography
 The durability and
stability make plastic a
problem in marine
environments.
 “The Asian Trash Trail”,
the “Trash Vortex”, or
the “Eastern Garbage
Patch”,
 70% of the discarded
plastic sinks to the
bottom.
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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
CONTAMINANTS OF EMERGING CONCERN
 "Emerging contaminants" can be broadly defined as any synthetic or naturally
occurring chemical or any microorganism that is not commonly monitored in
the environment but has the potential to enter the environment and cause
known or suspected adverse ecological and(or) human health effects.
 In some cases, release of emerging chemical or microbial contaminants to the
environment has likely occurred for a long time, but may not have been
recognized until new detection methods were developed.

Fundamentals of Oceanography
 In other cases, synthesis of new chemicals or changes in use and disposal of
existing chemicals can create new sources of emerging contaminants.
 Pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PCPs) and endocrine disrupting
compounds (EDCs) are among the prime examples of emerging contaminants.
 Up to 90% of oral drugs pass through the human body and end up in the water
supply.
 Personal care products (soaps, cosmetics, fragrances, etc.) also find their way
into our water.
 Endocrine disruptors are substances that may interfere with the function of
hormones in the body. Trace amounts of these contaminants are being
discovered in water throughout the country.
 Governments, organizations, and institutes around the world are working to
improve its understanding of several emerging contaminants, including
perchlorate, pharmaceuticals, PCPs and EDCs.

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 TRANSPORT OF EMERGING CONTAMINANTS

Fundamentals of Oceanography
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Yang et al., 2014 Env. Res.

Lett. 9(7), IOP Publishing
HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND GLOBAL OCEANIC
CHANGES
 The ocean and the atmosphere are extensions of
each other, and human activity has changed the
atmosphere as it has changed the ocean.

Fundamentals of Oceanography
 Pollutants injected into the air can have global
consequences for the ocean and for all of the
Earth’s inhabitants.
 Perhaps the most destructive atmospheric
problems are depletion of the ozone layer, global
warming, and acid rain.
 For the impact in the ocean, beside warming
issue, another global concern is related to
increasing atmospheric CO2 and its consequences
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occurring in the ocean
 OZONE “HOLE”

Fundamentals of Oceanography
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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 STRATOSPHERIC OZONE LEVELS RECOVERY
(GOOD)

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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 GREENHOUSE EFFECT

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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 GLOBAL CARBON EMISSION
Ends up in the
atmosphere

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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
 WHAT CAUSES THE TEMPERATURE RISE

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Garrison 2015 “Essentials of Oceanography”

 WARMING EFFECT AND SEA LEVEL

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Garrison 2007 “Oceanography:

An Invitation to Marine Science”
BESIDE TEMPERATURE RISE, OCEAN
ACIDIFICATION
 When carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater,
chemical reactions occur that reduce seawater pH,
carbonate ion concentration, and saturation states of
biologically important calcium carbonate minerals.
Calcium carbonate minerals are the building blocks

Fundamentals of Oceanography

for the skeletons and shells of many marine
organisms. In areas where most life now congregates
in the ocean, the seawater is supersaturated with
respect to calcium carbonate minerals.
 However, continued ocean acidification is causing
many parts of the ocean to become undersaturated
with these minerals, which is likely to affect the
ability of some organisms to produce and maintain
their shells.
 Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the
pH of surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units.
Since the pH scale is logarithmic, this change 24
represents appropriately a 30% increase in acidity.
 HOW MUCH HAS PH CHANGED?

Fundamentals of Oceanography
1700s~1990s

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Garrison, 2015, “Essentials

of Oceanography”
BIOLOGICAL IMPACTS FROM OCEAN
ACIDIFICATION
 Ocean acidification is expected to impact ocean species to varying
degrees.
 Photosynthetic algae and seagrasses may benefit from higher
CO2 conditions in the ocean, as they require CO2 to live just like
plants on land.
On the other hand, studies have shown that a more acidic

Fundamentals of Oceanography

environment has a dramatic effect on some calcifying species,
including oysters, clams, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea
corals, and calcareous plankton.
 When shelled organisms are at risk, the entire food web may also be
at risk.
 Today, more than a billion people worldwide rely on food from the
ocean as their primary source of protein. Many jobs and economies
around the world depend on the fish and shellfish in our oceans.

pteropod’s shell placed in

sea water with pH and
carbonate levels projected
for the year 2100 (NOAA’s
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Carbon Program)
EMERGING SUBJECTS
 Marine pollution can be localized (point source, e.g.
wastewater discharges) and traceable, or can have a more
uniform effect globally (warming, CO2)
 Most localized pollutants have more profound impact near
their sources (estuaries, coastal regions), but can also be

Fundamentals of Oceanography
transported to the open ocean (e.g. fine plastic that is
almost invincible)
 Highly industrialized and high population countries are
discharging domestic and industrial wastewater, and new
synthetic chemicals are been developed
 The reduction of fossil fuel usage is not in effect until the
(pending) 2015 Paris Agreement (Paris Climate Conference)
 Ocean acidification (global CO2 issue) and marine pollution
(including contaminants of emerging concerns, or emerging
contaminants) have been recognized as important subjects
that require attention by the field of marine sciences 27
 WHAT ARE BEING DONE?

Fundamentals of Oceanography
 Integrated Marine
Biogeochemistry and
Ecosystem Research
(IMBER)
 Surface Ocean-Lower
Atmosphere Study (SOLAS)
Global
Carbon
 Past Global Changes
Project (PAGES)
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