MODULE 6

PEOPLE AND WATER, OCEANS & COASTS

OBJECTIVES:
• To understand the importance of oceans and coastal environments.
• Identify the impacts of humans to oceans and climate change.

OCEANS AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS

Earth is a world of water, with seven tenths of its surface covered by ocean. The
oceans are the engine of our climate system, taking in approximately half of all solar energy
around the equator to power mighty currents that extend up as far as the poles, wind fields
following in their wake.

Their waters also provide us with much of the air we breathe microscopic
phytoplankton populations performing half of all photosynthesis, despite forming less than
1% of global biomass. In addition, the oceans absorb some of the additional CO2 produced
by human activity – lessening the full impact of global warming.

Human beings don't like to venture too far from the sea: 60% of us live less than 60
km from the world's three million square kilometers of coast, which represent major
economic resources, and more than two thirds of all cities with populations of more than
2.5 million people are within coastal zones.

The surface of the sea is ever-changing, but satellites provide us with a means of
mapping it for the very first time.

Envisat's ASAR surveyed ocean wave spectra to increase the safety and efficiency
of marine transport – 90% of world trade crosses the oceans – while ERS's scatter meter
compiled maps of sea surface wind patterns. Envisat's MERIS and other spectrometers
can identify phytoplankton or pollution levels from the slightest shift in water colour, while
AATSR provided a steady record of sea surface temperature and two decades worth of
radar altimetry data tracks a slight but steady increase in sea level of 3 mm per year.

66
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OCEANS

The oceans make up 70 percent of

the planet and contains 97 percent of all the
water on Earth. The vast amount of water
stores the majority of the planet’s moisture,
terrestrial energy, and heat from the Sun.
This energy is transferred between the
equator and the two poles by larger surface
currents by winds and deep ocean currents
driven by differences in ocean density. It
also provides the moisture and energy for
storm systems and ultimately global
climates.

Phytoplankton, microscopic plants, and animals in the oceans provide the foundation of the
global food web of species. The earth’s oceans are so vital for life that over 40 percent of
the world’s population live 7.4 billion people near coastal areas.

MODERATE CLIMATES

As terrestrial creatures, humans

think of the importance of the
planet’s land surfaces, yet Earth is
a planet consisting of 70 percent
water. From space, the dominance
of water is obvious because most
of it is stored in Earth’s oceans.
Earth would not be the same planet
without its oceans. The oceans,
along with the atmosphere, keep
Earth’s surface temperatures fairly

67
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
constant worldwide. While some places on Earth get as cold as -7 degrees Celsius and
others as hot as 55 degrees Celsius, the range is only 125 degrees Celsius. On Mercury
temperatures go from -180 degrees Celsius to 430 degrees Celsius, a range of 610
degrees Celsius. The oceans, along with the atmosphere, distribute heat around the planet.
The oceans absorb heat near the equator and then transport that solar energy to polar
regions. The oceans also moderate climate within a region. At the same latitude, the
temperature range is smaller along coastal areas compared to areas farther inland. Along
coastal areas, summer temperatures are not as hot, and winter temperatures are not as
cold, because water takes a long time to heat up or cool down.

BIOLOGICALLY RICH

The oceans are an essential part of Earth’s

water cycle. Since they cover so much of the planet,
most evaporation comes from the ocean and most
precipitation falls on the oceans. The oceans are also
home to an enormous amount of life. That is, they
have tremendous biodiversity. Tiny ocean plants
create the base of a food web that supports all sorts
of life forms. Marine life makes up the majority of all
biomass on Earth. (Biomass is the total mass of living organisms in a given area.) These
organisms supply us with food and even the oxygen created by marine plants.

CONTINENTAL MARGIN

Recall from the chapter on Plate Tectonics that the ocean floor is not flat: mid-ocean
ridges, deep sea trenches, and other features all rise sharply above or plunge deeply below
the abyssal plains. In fact, Earth’s tallest mountain is Mauna Kea volcano, which rises
10,203 m (33,476 ft.) meters) from the Pacific Ocean floor to become one of the volcanic
mountains of Hawaii. The deepest canyon is also on the ocean floor, the Challenger Deep
in the Marianas Trench, 10,916 m (35,814 ft). The mapping of the ocean floor and coastal
68
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
margins is called bathymetry. The continental margin is the transition from the land to the
deep sea or, geologically speaking, from continental crust to oceanic crust. More than one-
quarter of the ocean basin is continental margin.

AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF THE OCEAN

COMPOSITION OF OCEAN WATER

Water is a polar
molecule so it can
dissolve many
substances such as
salts, sugars, acids,
bases, and organic
molecules. Where
does the salt in
seawater come from?
As water moves
through rock and soil
on land it picks up ions. This is the flip side of weathering. Salts comprise about 3.5% of
the mass of ocean water, but the salt content or salinity is different in different locations. In

69
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
places like estuaries, seawater mixes with fresh water, causing salinity to be much lower
than average. Where there is lots of evaporation but little circulation of water, salinity can
be much higher. The Dead Sea has 30% salinity—nearly nine times the average salinity of
ocean water. It is called the Dead Sea because nearly nothing can survive within it because
of its salinity. Earth guide has an interactive ocean maps can show salinity, temperature,
nutrients, and other characteristics. Differences in water density are responsible for deep
ocean currents. With so many dissolved substances mixed in seawater, what is the density
(mass per volume) of seawater relative to fresh water? Water density increases as: salinity
increases; temperature decreases; pressure increases

In 1960, two men in a specially designed submarine called the Trieste descended
into a submarine trench called the Challenger Deep (10,910 meters). The average depth
of the ocean is 3,790 m, a lot more shallow than the deep trenches but still an incredible
depth for sea creatures to live in. There are three major factors that make the deep ocean
hard to inhabit: the absence of light, low temperature, and extremely high pressure.

VERTICAL DIVISIONS
To better understand regions of the ocean, scientists define the water column by
depth. They divide the entire ocean into two zones vertically, based on light level. Large
lakes are divided into similar regions. Sunlight only penetrates the sea surface to a depth
of about 200 m, creating the photic zone (consisting of the Sunlight Zone and Twilight
Zone). Organisms that photosynthesize depend on sunlight for food and so are restricted
to the photic zone. Since tiny photosynthetic organisms, known as phytoplankton, supply
nearly all of the energy and nutrients to the rest of the marine food web, most other marine
organisms live in or at least visit the photic zone. In the aphotic zone (consisting of the
Midnight Zone and the Abyss) there is not enough light for photosynthesis. The aphotic
zone makes up the majority of the ocean, but has a relatively small amount of its life, both
in diversity of type and in numbers.

HORIZONTAL DIVISIONS
The seabed is also divided into the zones described above, but the ocean itself is
also divided horizontally by distance from the shore. Nearest to the shore lies the intertidal
(littoral) zone, the region between the high and low tidal marks. This hallmark of the
70
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
intertidal is change water is in constant motions in waves, tides, and currents. The land is
sometimes under water and sometimes is exposed. The neritic zone is from low tide mark
and slopes gradually downward to the edge of the seaward side of the continental shelf.
Some sunlight penetrates to the seabed here. The oceanic zone is the entire rest of the
ocean from the bottom edge of the neritic zone, where sunlight does not reach the bottom.
The seabed and water column are subdivided further, as seen in the figure above.

PEOPLE AND OCEANS

GENERAL
The ocean is vast, covering 140 million square miles (363 million square km),
equivalent to approximately 72 per cent of the earth's surface.

More than 600 million people (around 10 per cent of the world’s population) live in
coastal areas that are less than 10 meters above sea level.

Nearly 2.4 billion people (about 40 per cent of the world’s population) live within 100
km (60 miles) of the coast.

Oceans, coastal and marine resources are especially important for people living in
coastal communities, who represent 37 per cent of the global population in 2017.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

Human health is being impacted by the enhanced survival and spread of tropical
diseases due to increasing ocean temperatures.

Fish is one of the most important sources of animal protein. It accounts for about
17 per cent of protein at the global level and exceeds 50 per cent in many least-developed
countries.

The nutrients found in fish are important for optimal neurodevelopment in children
and for improving cardiovascular health.

SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND DECENT WOR

About 97 per cent of the world’s fishermen live in developing countries and fishing
is their major source for food and income. Women account for most of the workers in
secondary marine-related activities such as fish processing and marketing.

71
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
 Overall, 80 per cent of the world’s fish stocks for which assessment information is
available are reported as fully exploited or overexploited. Illegal, unregulated, unreported
fishing affects about 20 per cent of the global fish yields, which cost about $US23 billion a
year. An estimated 27 percent of landed fish is lost or wasted between landing and
consumption.

Small scale fisheries supply almost half of the world’s seafood stock. Small scale
fisheries are however, among others, disadvantaged by lack of access to markets, even
domestically, and a lack of pricing power.

ECONOMY
The ocean-economy, which includes employment, ecosystem services provided by
the ocean, and cultural services, is estimated at between US$3-6 trillion/year.

Fisheries and aquaculture contribute $US100 billion per year and about 260 million
jobs to the global economy.

Shipping is responsible for more than 90 per cent of the trade between countries.
The global oceans-based economy is estimated at $US3 trillion a year, which is around 5
per cent of global GDP.

Approximately 50 per cent of all international tourists travel to coastal areas. In

some developing countries, notably Small Island Development States, tourism accounts
for over 25 per cent of GDP.

MARINE POLLUTION

MARINE DEBRIS
More than 8 million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year, equal to dumping a
garbage truck of plastic every minute. As much as 80 per cent of all litter in our oceans is
made of plastic.

As many as 51 trillion microplastic particles — 500 times more than the stars in our
galaxy — litter our oceans and seas, seriously threatening marine wildlife.

Marine debris is harming more than 800 species. 40 per cent of marine mammals
and 44 per cent of seabird species are affected by marine debris ingestion.

72
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
 According to some estimates, at the rate we are dumping items such as plastic
bottles, bags, and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic mass
than fish, and an estimated 99 per cent of seabirds will have ingested plastic.

Plastic waste kills up to 1 million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals, marine turtles,
and countless fish each year. Plastic remains in our ecosystem for years, harming
thousands of sea creatures every day.

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear in the oceans makes up

around 10 percent (640 000 tons) of all marine litter. This gear continues to catch fish
through so called “ghost fishing”, and also traps turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals.

LAND-BASED ACTIVITIES
80 per cent of all pollution in seas and oceans comes from land-based activities.

Nitrogen loads to oceans roughly tripled from pre-industrial times due to fertilizer,
manure, and wastewater. The global economic damage of nitrogen pollution is estimated
at $200–800 billion per year.

In many parts of the world, (urban) sewage flows untreated, or under-treated, into
the ocean.

Pollution and eutrophication (excessive nutrients in water) are also caused by run
off from the land, which cause dense plant growth and the death of animal life. The five
large marine ecosystems most at risk from coastal eutrophication are: Bay of Bengal, East
China Sea, Gulf of Mexico, North Brazil Shelf and South China Sea.

Increased nutrient loading from human activities, combined with the impacts of
climate change and other environmental change has resulted in an increase in the
frequency, magnitude, and duration of harmful algal blooms worldwide. These algal blooms
can contaminate seafood with toxins, and impact ecosystem structure and function,
recreational activities, fisheries, tourism, and coastal property values.

Nutrient over-enrichment from agricultural, municipal, and industrial sources

contributes to the so called “dead zones”—hypoxic regions that exhibit oxygen levels that
are too low to support many aquatic organisms including commercially desirable species.
The extent and duration of “dead zones” is also increasing worldwide.

73
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
OIL SPILLS

Oil tankers transport some 2,900 million tons of crude oil and oil products every
year around the world by sea. In addition to large tanker incidents, small oil spills happens
every day, due to drilling incidents or leaking motors, and cause the death of birds, marine
mammals, algae, fish, and shellfish. Oil spills remain a concern, though actual spills have
decreased steadily for several decades.

BIODIVERSITY

BIOSPHERE
The world’s oceans contain somewhere between 500,000 and 10 million marine
species.

Marine phytoplankton (the plant components of the plankton community) produces

50 per cent of oxygen on Earth.

Oceans have absorbed as much as half of all anthropogenic carbon emissions over
the past two centuries. “Blue carbon” ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass beds, tidal
marshes and other marine and coastal vegetated ecosystems are among the most intense
carbon sinks on the planet.

The species diversity in the oceans ranges from 0.7 to 1.0 million species, with
millions more bacteria, other microbes, and viruses. Much of the biodiversity in the ocean,
particularly in the deep sea and in the microbial ocean, is unknown, and up to 2,000 new
species are described per year.

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
Coral reefs (both tropical and cold water) are very sensitive to ocean acidification,
with 60 per cent of reefs currently threatened by a combination of ocean warming,
acidification and other anthropogenic impacts, a number that will rise to 90 per cent by
2030 and about 100 per cent by 2050.

About 20 per cent of the world’s coral reefs have been destroyed and show no
immediate prospects for recovery; about 16 per cent of them were seriously damaged by
coral bleaching in 1998, but of these about 40 per cent have either recovered or are
recovering well.

74
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
 1998 was declared the first major coral bleaching event. The second major global
bleaching event was triggered by the El Niño of 2010. The third major global coral bleaching
event was declared in 2015, and it has become the longest, most widespread, and most
damaging event recorded, impacting some reefs in consecutive years and it is continuing
in 2017.

The Great Barrier Reef of Australia, for example, has experienced its worst coral
bleaching event in 2016, and bleaching has already begun again in 2017. The leading
causes of coral bleaching are the above-average sea water temperatures caused by
climate change.

An estimated 20 per cent of global mangroves have been lost since 1980.

Projected increasing temperatures in oceans will likely result in changes in

distribution of marine species and can significantly influence the reproductive cycles of fish.

Pressures on coastal and marine biodiversity continue to increase, as an estimated

40 per cent of the world’s population lives within 100km of the coast, putting unsustainable
strain on coastal resources. Human population is projected to increase to more than 9
billion people by 2050, bringing increasing pressure marine and coastal resources.

CLIMATE CHANGE

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE OCEAN

About 93 per cent of the excess heat energy stored by the Earth over the last 50
years is found in the ocean more than three quarters of the total exchange of water between
the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface through evaporation and precipitation takes place
over the oceans.

The ocean contains 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere and is at present
acting to slow the rate of climate change by absorbing about 30 per cent of human
emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning, cement production, deforestation, and
other land use change.

ICE MELTING IN POLAR REGIONS

Over the last two decades, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing
mass, glaciers have continued to shrink almost worldwide, and Arctic sea ice and Northern
Hemisphere spring snow cover have continued to decrease in extent).

75
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
 Over the past three decades, Arctic summer sea ice retreat was unprecedented
and sea surface temperatures were anomalously high in at least the last 1,450 years.

SEA LEVEL RISE

Between 1901 and 2010, global sea level rise increased at an accelerating rate and
recent sea level rise appears to have been the fastest in at least 2800 years.

During the last four decades, 75 per cent of the sea level rise can be attributed to
glacier mass loss and ocean thermal expansion. This gives Antarctica alone the potential
to contribute more than a meter of sea level rise by 2100 and more than 15 meters by 2500.

Sea level rise leads to coastal erosion, inundations, storm floods, tidal waters
encroachment into estuaries and river systems, contamination of freshwater reserves and
food crops, loss of nesting beaches, as well as displacement of coastal lowlands and
wetlands. In particular, sea level rise poses a significant risk to coastal regions and
communities.

Almost two-thirds of the world's cities with populations of over five million are
located in areas at risk of sea level rise.

The potential costs associated with damage to harbors and ports due to sea level
rise could be as high as $US111.6 billion by 2050 and $US367.2 billion by the end of the
century.

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

Ocean warming has been linked to extreme weather events as increasing seawater
temperatures provide more energy for storms that develop at sea, leading to fewer but
more intense tropical cyclones globally.

Latest figures show that disasters—90 per cent of which are classed as climate
related—now cost the world economy US$520 billion per year and push 26 million people
into poverty every year.

DISPLACEMENT
It is estimated that at least 11 to 15 per cent of the population of Small Island
Developing States live on land with an elevation of 5 meters or lower, and that a sea level
rise of half a meter could displace 1.2 million people from low-lying islands in the Caribbean
76
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Sea and the Indian and Pacific Oceans; with that number almost doubling if the sea level
rises by 2 meters.

It has been reported that an annual average of 21.5 million people have been
forcibly internally displaced by sudden weather-related hazards since 2008.

ACTIVITY: PEOPLE AND WATER, OCEANS & COASTS

Give examples of coastal communities in the country which was recently affected by
weather and climate change.

1. What is government doing to address this?

2. Identify at least one marine reserve sanctuary in the country and discuss
its significance to the environment.

77
Please DO NOT deface, reproduce, modify, distribute, sell, or anything similar in nature the without
permission Polytechnic University of the Philippines