Marine pollution
The human population is increasing rapidly (and set to pass 8 billion by 2020), with much of the population concentrated in coastal ‘mega cities’. The potential for this population to impact coastal and shelf seas is immense. Balancing these impacts against the needs and livelihoods of the population is a great societal challenge.
-
Pollution
We rely on the seas and their ecosystems to provide us with a whole host of goods and services. For example, about 400 million people get more than 50% of their animal protein from fish, and many of these people live in less developed countries without ready access to other protein sources, making this a real food security issue. Less tangible are the benefits the marine environment provides for global biogeochemical cycles, such as its absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and its cultural and aesthetic value.Read more →
-
Sewage
Sewage is an unusual pollutant. Were it pure human domestic waste it would be as much a useful potential fertiliser as a potential pollutant. Unfortunately, sewage is almost always contaminated with various industrial wastes and other toxic materials added from surface water drainage. There is also the concern that it may contain viral and microbial particles hazardous to human health.Read more →
-
Chemical pollution
The deep ocean is subject to chemical pollution from a variety of sources, as shown most dramatically following the blow out at the Macondo oil well at around 1500 m depth in 2010. As well as oil pollution following disasters, the deep ocean receives chemical input from a wide range of sources including run-off from land, waste disposal (litter, sewage, radioactive waste, mine/dredge tailings, clinker etc.), pollution from shipping, routine oil drilling (from drilling mud, cuttings and produced water) and inadvertent dumping (such as from ship wrecks).Read more →
