• Petroleum hydrocarbons• Plastics• Pesticides• Heavy metals• Sewage• Radioactive waste• Thermal effluents
Marine PollutantsMarine Pollutants
Pollutants Entering the Ocean
Farm runoff 20%Air pollutants 20%
Marine transportation10%
Offshore oil10%
Industrial wastewater5%
Litter 5%
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge100,000 gallons jet fuel spilled 2003.
Petroleum HydrocarbonsPetroleum Hydrocarbons
CasitasNOAA Marine debris vessel Annual collection of 100 metric tons of debris
July 5, 2005Debris cleanup ship grounded 7/5/2005has aboard 30,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 3,000 gallons of gasoline and 200 gallons of lubricating oil
Petroleum HydrocarbonsPetroleum Hydrocarbons
Exxon Valdez (1989)- Prince William Sound, Alaska• 10 million gallons of oil spilled• 400 miles of shore line affected• $3 billion and 2 summers cleaning
• The Prestige: a 26-year-old Bahamas-flagged single hulled vessel
• Sunk with 20 million gallons of viscous fuel oil • Hundreds of miles of rugged coastline have been
fouled by the stricken Prestige's cargo, destroying wildlife and wrecking the area's renowned fisheries and shellfish industry.
Spain November 19, 2002
Lifeboat w/ dead bird
sinking
incident
BP offshore drilling rig (Deepwater Horizon) April 20, 2010; 50 miles off Louisiana Spilling 5,000 barrels/day = 200,000 gal/day
Containing oil spills:
• Floating booms- contain oil and then pump into other ship
• Burning oil off
• Chemical dispersants
• Bioremediation- bacteria
Relative amts of petroleum in the ocean:
River runoff 31.1%Tanker operations 21.8%Coastal facilities 13.1%Atmospheric fallout 9.8%Natural seepage 9.8%Other transportation activities 9.8%Tanker accidents 3.3%Offshore petroleum production 1.3%
• 100,000 marine mammals & 2 million sea birds die each year after ingesting or being trapped in plastic debris
• WHOI 1987 survey off N.E. coast of U.S.: found 46,000 pieces of plastic floating on surface
PlasticsPlastics
• “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”
• Estimate: 46,000 pieces of floating garbage/mi2.
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
135° to 155°W and 35° to 42°N
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html#6
Great Pacific Garbage Patch- Good Morning America 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrVCI4N67M&feature=player_embedded
Large bird rookery and guano miningIn 1857, reported 800,000 birds.
hypersaline lake (120-140o/oo)
Laysan IslandMarine pollution: nets and plastic debris
Bits and pieces of plastic are collected at sea and deposited on the Laysan Lake shoreline
Marine pollution: nets and plastic debris
Nontoxic Chemical SpillsNontoxic Chemical Spills
• Sept. 10, 2013• 233,000 gallons molasses spilled (1400 tons)• Matson Pier on the Sand Island side of Honolulu Harbor
westward into Ke’ehi Lagoon • 30,000 fish dead
• Designed to kill a variety of pests, such as mosquitoes, agricultural pests and weeds.
• Toxin enters food chain and effects non targeted species
• Pesticide toxicity often effects human health
Bioaccumulation biomagnificationBioaccumulation biomagnification
Pesticides & HerbicidesPesticides & Herbicides
• PCBs • DDT
Bioaccumulation biomagnificationBioaccumulation biomagnification
Pesticides, Herbicides & other organochlorines
Pesticides, Herbicides & other organochlorines
Silent Spring began public debate over chemicals
• Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962.– Brought together studies to show DDT risks to
people, wildlife, and ecosystems– In the 1960s, pesticides were mostly untested and
were sprayed over public areas, assuming they would do no harm.
DDTPowerful InsecticideHarmless to humans
Polychloronated biphenyls (PCBs)Toxic chemicals
Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) in killer whales and humans.
Heavy metals resist biodegredation
Natural occurrence- volcanoes
• Mercury (Hg)• Copper (Cu)• Lead (Pb)• Cadmium (Cd)
Toxic MetalsToxic Metals
• Tributyl tin (antifouling paint for boats)• Banned in U.S. 1980s• Acts as an immunosuppressor• Accumulations unusually high in small whales• May be associated with strandings
CopperCopper
• Leaded gasoline invented 1920’s
• Enters water from automobile exhaust, runoff and atmospheric fallout of industrial waste and landfills, mines, dumps
• Leaded gas banned in US in 1980’s has reduced pollution in ocean
Bioaccumulation biomagnificationBioaccumulation biomagnification
LeadLead
Sewage
• Causes disease outbreaks• Contributes to eutrophication
Point Source PollutionPoint Source Pollution
6/13/2006Raw sewage dump in Ala Wai. Beaches Close!
48 million gallonsWhy?• 40 straight days of rain• 42-inch pressurized underground pipe
broke during heavy rains
Sewage Discharge and Agricultural Runoff
Sewage Discharge and Agricultural Runoff
• nutrient enrichment of coastal waters
• physiological consequences on corals
• ecological consequences– phytoplankton bloom reduces light
penetration
– benthic seaweeds overgrow and smother corals
Ocean Dumping
total > 10 million Curiestotal > 10 million Curies
Three Mile Island (‘79) = 17 CuriesChernobyl (‘86) = 100 million CuriesFukushima (‘11)= 60 million Curies
US
Other
Switzerland
GreatBritain
USSR
Non-Point Source PollutionNon-Point Source Pollution
Ala Wai
Constructed 1920-28 to reduce mosquitoes, but failed.
Types of Non-Point Source Pollution
Types of Non-Point Source Pollution
• sediments from coastal urban and agricultural development
• nutrients from detergents, fertilizers, leaky septic tanks, and domesticated animals
• pesticides (home use, agricultural, & golf courses)
Types of Non-Point Source Pollution
Types of Non-Point Source Pollution
• automobile wastes such as combusted motor oil, tire rubber, brake pad dust, coolant, etc.
• waste water from swimming pools and aquaculture ponds
Japan Tsunami 2011Prediction of Marine Debris Drifting Trajectories
Hawaii
http://www.hawaii247.com/2011/04/07/tsunami-2011-japan-debris-likely-to-hit-hawaii-twice/
Munitions Dumping
Millions of pounds of mustard gas canisters were jettisoned into the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey (1964) and elsewhere. (Photo: The U.S. Army)
1. Define bioaccumulation and biomagnification.2. Discuss the process of managing an oil spill.3. Which event was the largest oil spill in
history?4. Distinguish between point source and
nonpoint source pollution.5. What may result when eutrophication occurs?
Inquiry