Marine pollution is the discharge of hazardous chemicals or energy from terrestrial sources into the marine environment, causing harm to living resources, dangers to human health, and impediments to marine operations. The primary impacts of this pollution are environmental degradation, which subsequently becomes hazardous to the health of all creatures, including people. The United Nations Environment Programme reported in 2006 that each square mile of water had 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. Furthermore, recent research suggests that by 2050, the number of waste plastics would outnumber the amount of fish in our oceans. Based on these facts and research, we may conclude that plastic is the primary cause of marine pollution. However, plastics is not the only source of marine pollution. Chemical pollution, light pollution, noise pollution, and plastic pollution are all examples of marine pollution that damage the marine ecology.
Chemical pollution is the result of an aggregation of hazardous pollutants. Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, detergents, oil, industrial chemicals, and sewage are all part of it. Nutrient chemical contamination is caused by pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Fertilizer usage on farms causes this sort of contamination. It is a major issue for coastal communities. Fertilizers boosted the concentration of substances like nitrogen and phosphorus, which encourages the huge growth of algal blooms, robbing the water of oxygen and harming local fish. Furthermore, sewage discharge regularly pollutes the maritime environment. Sewage can enter the ocean immediately via rivers or drainage systems. Sewage pollutants cause a decrease in oxygen levels, the destruction of plant life, and a significant drop in the quality of the seawater itself. As a result, the temperature of the ocean may rise, and animals and plants cannot live at higher temperatures. Furthermore, large-scale oil spills from ships are very harmful to marine life, frequently smothering them to death if entrapped. Each year, around 12% of all oil reaches the waters. According to research conducted by the National Research Council of the United States, 36% of the total enters rivers and drains as trash and runoff from cities and industries.
Aside from chemical pollution, light pollution also contributes to the contamination of marine ecosystems. The presence of dangers induced by human activities in utilizing light in the night environment is referred to as light pollution. It is caused by the excessive and erroneous usage of electric light. Since the discovery of the lightbulb, we know that light has traveled throughout the world, reaching nearly every ecosystem. Every day, the active metropolitan environment generates a significant amount of light pollution. It pollutes the marine ecosystem because light penetrates the water, producing a drastically different world for fish that live on shallow reefs near metropolitan areas. Light pollution interferes with the natural signals associated with circadian cycles, which species have developed to time migration, reproduction, and eating. Artificial light at night can make it easier for predators to discover smaller fish prey and can disrupt reproduction in reef fish, causing the food chain of marine ecosystems to become imbalanced since it no longer works naturally.
Furthermore, noise pollution refers to unwanted and disturbing sound levels that might have bad repercussions on people or other living creatures. Noise pollution is caused by the ship and deep-sea mining activities in this example of marine pollution. Pollution isn’t always obvious. Large bodies of water cause sound waves to travel for kilometers. Ships, sonar equipment, and oil rigs enhance the presence of loud or unpleasant sounds, which can interrupt natural soundscapes in the maritime environment. Many marine animals, such as whales and dolphins, have limited vision over long distances, making non-visual underwater communication important. Toothed whales, for example, employ echolocation, or the capacity to generate noises that bounce off objects, to help them “see” in the water. Unnatural noises caused by noise pollution can impair echolocation, causing many marine species’ migratory, hunting, and reproductive habits to be disrupted.
Furthermore, one of the primary sources of marine pollution is plastic waste that is strewn with human goods. Plastic contamination enters the ocean through runoff and even intentional dumping. The quantity of plastic in the Atlantic Ocean has quadrupled since the 1960s. The trash patch drifted in the Pacific Ocean for over 620,000 square kilometers. It is twice as large as Texas. Single-use plastic is a major source of pollution.
Shopping bags, beverage bottles, cigarette butts, bottle caps, food wrappers, and fishing gear are some of the most common forms of single-use plastic waste discovered in the ocean. This single-use garbage endangers both humans and wildlife. The plastic trash entangles and injures the fish. Some of these plastic objects are unintentionally ingested by numerous marine creatures, which is one of the worst impacts of plastics. A small creature, such as plankton, may swallow microscopic particles of broken-down plastic, known as microplastic, and then absorb the toxins contained in the plastics. When tiny creatures ingest microplastics and are devoured by larger animals, the harmful compounds become a part of their organ. As a result, microplastic contamination migrates up the food chain, eventually becoming a component of the food that people consume.
To summarize, numerous human activities contribute to marine pollution. The ocean and water are, as we all know, the most vital aspects of human life. It generates oxygen and serves as a source of nutrient foods for human health. Humans, on the other hand, have contaminated the sea. There are simple but important changes we can all do to help minimize the plastics endangering our oceans, such as lowering our reliance on single-use products like thin plastic bags, plastic water bottles, straws, and cutlery, or participating in local beach cleaning programs. We may also begin to use less electric light, which will help to minimize light pollution. The sustainability of all ecosystems on our planet is dependent on our willingness to safeguard them. Let us all work together to protect the sea and coastal ecosystem, beginning with ourselves.
