Ocean Resources and Pollution

Learn how garbage patches, sewer line leaks, wastewater and sewage are causes of ocean pollution, their effects and the methods we may take to counteract them.

Ocean Pollution

In today’s globe, ocean pollution is becoming more of an issue. Chemicals and trash are the two primary sources of pollution in our ocean.

Chemical contamination, often known as nutrient pollution, is hazardous to one’s health, the environment and the economy. When human activities, such as using fertilisers on farms, result in chemical runoff into waterways that eventually flow into the ocean, this sort of pollution happens. Increased levels of chemicals in the coastal water, like nitrogen and phosphorus, encourage the establishment of algal blooms, which can be poisonous to species and detrimental to humans.

Marine trash refers to all man-made items that wind up in the ocean, most of which are made of plastic. Littering, storm gusts, all of these factors, as well as poor waste management, contribute to the accumulation of this trash material, which comes from terrestrial sources 80 per cent of the time. Various plastic items, such as beverage bottles and shopping bags, as well as food wrappers, cigarette butts, fishing gear and bottle caps, are common types of marine garbage. Because of its lengthy lifespan, plastic trash is a particularly hazardous pollutant.

Both humans and animals are at risk from this trash. Fish become hooked up in the trash and become wounded, and other animals mistake plastic bags for food and consume them. Small organisms eat microplastic, which is made up of microscopic fragments of broken-down plastic, and absorb the toxins from the plastic into their tissues. Microplastics have been found in various marine species, including plankton and whales, with diameters of smaller than five millimetres (0.2 inches). When larger animals consume microplastic-eating microscopic organisms, the hazardous compounds become ingrained in their tissues. Microplastic contamination thus moves up the food chain, and it eventually becomes a part of the food consumed by people.

Ocean Pollution due to Garbage Patches

Garbage patches are huge ocean areas where litter, fishing gear and other marine debris amass. Gyres, or rotating ocean currents, are responsible for their formation. They resemble large whirlpools that draw stuff in. The gyres pull debris into one spot, usually the gyre’s centre, where it forms “patches.”

The ocean is divided into five gyres: one in the Indian Ocean, two in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific. Garbage patches of varied sizes can be found in each gyre. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, situated between Hawaii and California, is the world’s greatest concentration of ocean plastic. The Ocean Cleanup’s scientists have completed the most comprehensive investigation of this area to date.

Pollution due to Sewer Line Leaks

In metropolitan settings, sewer line leaks must be recognised as potential causes of groundwater contamination. The medium-sized city of Rastatt in Germany, which has a population of 50,000 people, was the subject of a series of sewer line leakage examinations described and analysed in this paper. The degree of contamination is determined, among other things, by chemical composition of the wastewater and the amount of exfiltration. The groundwater beneath the city exhibited an anthropogenic effect, with enhanced boron, potassium and sodium contents and an overall rise in electrical conductivity.

Pollution due to Wastewater and Sewage

Sewage is wastewater that contains faeces, urine and laundry waste. Because the world’s population is so large, sewage treatment is a primary priority. Because many people lack access to sanitation and clean water in developing countries, waste disposal is a major concern. Untreated sewage water can contaminate the environment and cause illnesses like diarrhoea in these areas. Sewage is quickly and hygienically carried away from the house in modern countries via sewage pipes. Sewage treatment plants handle the waste frequently thrown into the sea.

The majority of sewage is biodegradable, and the bulk of it harms the environment. Sewage typically causes problems in affluent countries when people flush chemical and pharmaceutical compounds down the toilet. When individuals are unwell, sewage releases dangerous viruses and germs into the environment, causing health problems.

Conclusion

Several foundations and agencies are working closely to decrease causes of ocean pollution like garbage patches, sewer line leaks, wastewater and sewage. A variety of factors can cause water contamination. Point-source contamination occurs when pollution originates from a single source, such as an oil spill. Nonpoint-source contamination originates from multiple sources. The majority of pollution impacts the area immediately surrounding the source.