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Significant habitat loss is occurring particularly in seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and coral reefs, all of which are in global decline due to human disturbances. Coral reefs are among the more productive and diverse ecosystems on the planet, but one-fifth of them have been lost in recent years due to anthropogenic disturbances.
A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Worldwide there is about 620,000 kilometres (390,000 mi) of coastline. Coastal habitats extend to the margins of the continental shelves, occupying about 7 percent of the ocean surface area.
Coastal upwelling is the best known type of upwelling, and the most closely related to human activities as it supports some of the most productive fisheries in the world. Coastal upwelling will occur if the wind direction is parallel to the coastline and generates wind-driven currents.
The researchers analyzed killer upwelling events in the Indian Ocean’s Agulhas Current and the East Australian Current, using 41 years of sea surface temperature data and 33 years of wind ...
Stratification occurs in all ocean basins and also in other water bodies. Stratified layers are a barrier to the mixing of water, which impacts the exchange of heat, carbon, oxygen and other nutrients. [1] The surface mixed layer is the uppermost layer in the ocean and is well mixed by mechanical (wind) and thermal (convection) effects.
Dead zones occur in the ocean when phosphorus and nitrogen from fertilizers in land runoff cause excessive growth of microorganisms, which depletes oxygen and kills fauna. Worldwide, large dead zones are found in coastal areas with high human population density.
Collapsed Ordovician limestone bank showing coastal erosion.NW Osmussaar, Estonia.. Coastal geography is the study of the constantly changing region between the ocean and the land, incorporating both the physical geography (i.e. coastal geomorphology, climatology and oceanography) and the human geography (sociology and history) of the coast.
Coastal erosion is one of the most significant hazards associated with the coast. Not in terms of a rare massive release of energy or material resulting in loss of life, as is associated with tsunami and cyclones, but in terms of a continual chronic release that forms a threat to infrastructure, capital assets and property.