This article that I have found deals with water quality in our oceans. The article starts by saying," The solution to pollution is dilution." which was the saying since no one believed that the oceans could be filled with trash back in the day. Which is totally ridiculous if you ask me. Also it list the major types of pollutants dumped in our oceans directly and indirectly like: pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizer, detergents, oil, sewage, plastics, and other solids just to cover a few. It goes on to explain how farmers use fertilizers and pesticides on their crops, and with rain and watering that stuff makes it to our runoffs which leads to our rivers and streams and eventually into our oceans or lakes which cause algea blooms which starve the ecosystems of oxygen killing off marine plants and small animals in time. Also things like shipping accidents dump oil, sewage, plastics, and other solids into the oceans were it gets trapped in places like the pacific trash vortex, which is about the size of Texas, or in the Mississippi Delta area. Also they have discovered a new vortex of trash in the Atlantic ocean in 2010. besides just pollution people have decided to dilute in our oceans the article mentions noise pollution like underwater bomb testing, sonar testing, noise from oil rigs, and even earthquakes. even though earthquakes cant be prevented it still, along with noise from oil rigs, sonar testing, and bomb testing they all mess with migration of marine mammal species, reproduction, communication, and hunting. However steps have been taken in the right direction to end dilution with marine sanctions, national laws, and international protocol which prohibits the dumping of pollution into our oceans.
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-marine-pollution/
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| Photograph by Ed Kashi for National Georaphic |
If you ask me what I think about this article I would tell you that it is an eye opener to how much trash and pollution we dump into our oceans which we know so little about. With the additives of polutants causing algea blooms starving marine species of oxygen and choking out marine plants which throws off the balance of the ecosystem in that area there may be nothing left of our oceans and we may as well call them the big blue wet things, because there may not be a big diversity of life left if we keep polluting our oceans. Also the discoveries of the trash vortexes in the pacififc and atlantic, and also the trash just floating in the Mississippi Delta, just tells me that the solution to pollution is dilution is not the way. The people of times past have created quite a mess for our generation but with the help of Marine sanctions and international and national law we will be able to shink the sizes of the trash vortexes and clean up Mississippi delta so we may save our oceans and have something we can continue to explore and enjoy.
Yes, it's shocking just how much we use our oceans as a toilet for our wastes. Nice that you hit on all of the pollution we dump there--including noise pollution. When reviewing your article, was there any one or two types or sources of pollution that seemed to most interest you? If so, why don't you choose your next article that focuses more on these.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Dr. Woodall's comment, once you identify a source of pollution that interests you, another article you may want to consider is one that addresses solutions on how to clean it up as well as prevent future pollution by the substance(s). An organization that may interest you is the Sea Education Association.
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