Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Marine plastic pollution is a type of marine pollution by plastics, ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags, down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material. Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on, or is suspended in the ocean. Eighty percent of marine debris is plastic.
Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may result in consequences as yet unrecognised for the biodiversity and continuation of marine life forms.
While marine pollution can be obvious, as with the marine debris shown above, it is often the pollutants that cannot be seen that cause most harm.. Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial, agricultural and residential waste, particles, noise, excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there.
Clay – A smooth, fine-grained material made of fine particles of hydrous aluminium phyllosilicate minerals (such as kaolinite). [2] [3] Mud – A mixture of water with silt, clay, or loam. Sand – Mineral particles between 0.06 and 2 mm in diameter. Granule – Between 2 and 4 mm in diameter. Pebble – Between 4 – 64 mm in diameter.
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. [153]: 6 It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come ...
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released in seas or the ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines , frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack.
This effect is known as Biofouling, and has been combated by Anti-fouling paint, which is now known to introduce toxic metals to the marine environment. [ 1 ] Fouling communities have a variety of species, and many of these are filter feeders, meaning that organisms in the fouling community can also improve water clarity.
The notion of "biological pollution" and "biological pollutants" described by Elliott (2003) [2] is generally accepted in invasion biology; it was used to develop the concept of biopollution level assessment (Olenin et al., 2007 [3]) and criteria for a Good Ecological Status descriptor in the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Olenin ...