Our Oceans Are Dying: Pollution, Global Warming, And Coral Death
By: Dominga Allende
Tags: Coral Bleaching, Ocean, Pollution, Not Cool, Global Warming

PHOTO — Hawaiian Monk Seal sits upon a derelict fishing net in PMNM — 2014 — NOAA

There is no known estimate of the amounts of waste that end up in our oceans. The topic of pollution is one that is commonly taken lightly when discussed, but in reality, the oceans as we know them today are ravaged by junk that affects all aquatic and human life. The image above is a prime example of how the trash we produce affects marine life.

Great Pacific Ocean Patch — Hayden — Thinglink

Pollution In The Water

The image shown above cannot begin to compare to the actual size of the garbage patches that occupy our oceans. CNN, following a three-year study that was published in Scientific Reports, claims that “the mass known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is about 1.6 million square kilometers in size — up to 16 times bigger than previous estimates. That makes it more than double the size of Texas”. Because the patches are usually in the middle of the ocean it is difficult to fully study and comprehend the size. It is crucial to realize how enormous they really are. In fact, on top of being spread over such a vast area, an article written by Sankalan Baidya on the website FactsLegends states that “Ecologists and oceanographers have actually discovered that the ocean floor right beneath the Pacific Trash Vortex also contains heaped debris. According to them, about 70% of the debris from patch actually settles down at the ocean floor.” This means that we are only seeing 30% of what is actually there. The rest is hidden under miles of water. The article also claims that “ The greatest threat is that plastic eventually directly enters the food chain. How does that happen? Because the plastics eventually break up into tiny pieces, it literally becomes difficult for marine animals like fish and turtles to distinguish them from food.” This statement can be rationalized by the hypothetical belief that if a fish was to eat the plastic, and if we were to eat the fish, we would now be unknowingly poisoning ourselves.

Climate Change — Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Oceans Are Warming

What many fail to realize is that the melting of arctic ice, not only increases sea level but also speeds the warming of the ocean. According to UCAR Center For Science Education, this occurs because “as global warming causes more snow and ice to melt each summer, the ocean and land that were underneath the ice are exposed at the Earth’s surface. Because they are darker in color, the ocean and land absorb more incoming solar radiation and then release the heat to the atmosphere.” There is more that happens to the ocean than just ice melting; Which causes even more global warming. The reason for concern is that the overall quality of life for many ocean creatures around the world will become poor and many species may die. The rise in temperature has begun to turn the ocean acidic. In addition Allen, Monica from NOAA (National Ocean atmospheric association) shares that “In recent years, melting sea ice has allowed more Pacific water to flow into the Arctic Ocean and build up there. Pacific Ocean water is already high in carbon dioxide. As the ocean mass moves, it absorbs additional carbon dioxide from decomposing organic matter in the water and sediments, increasing the water’s overall acidity.” This causes many animals to lose thickness to their protective layers and coral reefs to perish. Recently scientists have discovered that many of the ocean’s corals have started to lose color and die off or as they call it “coral bleaching”, and according to the article Coral Reefs and Climate Change by IUCN, “Even temperature changes of 1–2°C during a short number of weeks can cause bleaching in reefs.”

Coral Reef before and after pictures — The Travel

Coral reefs are the rainforests of the oceans, hundreds of species make their homes or migrate there to breed. Despite being the habitat for more than nine million species, coral reefs only make up less than 1% of the ocean. Without the coral reefs, the entire marine ecosystem would be off-balance causing thousands of epipelagic, the zone where coral reefs are established, dwellers to perish around the world. Not only would marine life be negatively impacted by the extinction of corals, but also human life would be greatly disturbed. Due to the fact that according to Scripps Institution Of Oceanography, “Coral ecosystems are a source of food for millions; protect coastlines from storms and erosion; provide habitat, spawning and nursery grounds for economically important fish species; provide jobs and income to local economies from fishing, recreation, and tourism; are a source of new medicines, and are hotspots of marine biodiversity.” Unfortunately, in Florida, we have already lost 80 to 90% of all corals since 1970 and the entire northern part of the great barrier reef has succumbed to the dreaded bleaching.

Why should we care about the ocean?- NOAA

What Our Oceans Do For Us

Our oceans are dying and most of it is our fault. They provide us with so much, such as food, transportation, medicine, climate regulation, oxygen, recreational activities, and boost our economies by opening jobs and producing goods. Pollution, global warming, and coral bleaching are only a few of the causes why our oceans are in such a dire state when compared to oil drilling, oil spills, overfishing, untreated sewage, and etc.

What We Can Do For Them

While the oceans are already damaged, there are many people who work towards the future goal of them being once again prosperous by developing new ways of reducing pollution like the colonization of Ideonella sakaiensis, a bacteria that is capable of consuming plastic as an energy source. There are also ways that anyone can take part in, in order to contribute to the reduction of plastic. By reducing the consumption of single-use plastics, recycling properly, avoiding products that cause direct harm to the ocean and its dwellers, and spreading awareness on the issue, one is already contributing to both pollution and climate change reduction. It is important to remember that without a healthy ocean, there’s no healthy planet.