The ocean dwellers are virtually helpless, and they will ultimately have to suffer the consequences that have been created mainly by humans. Over the past few years there has been a significant change in marine life. Coral reefs are becoming endangered due to high carbon dioxide levels and effects of warming. Large predators, small fish, and other organisms make their homes in coral reefs. A process called mass bleaching has also become a danger to coral reefs.
(UN Chronicle, 2013). Predictions suggest that coral reef ecosystems could be lost by the end of the 21st century. Carbon dioxide levels will increase in the atmosphere to 600ppm over the next 100 years, the oceans pH will drop by 0.1 to 0.3 units and laboratory and field experiments and climate models show that even the lower acidification levels will slow the calcification of corals and growth by almost 50% by 2050. Under more extreme acidification, coral skeletons will dissolve entirely. (Eoearth, 2008).
The release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon also known as an oil spill has a large negative effect on the ocean. Oil is commonly used by individuals however often oil can be a problem to organisms and their inhabitants. Oils spills are a form of pollution and there are various sources of oil in bodies of water. There are several scientific solutions for oil spills, as well as possible ways to prevent this harmful pollution. In 2010 ,172 million gallons of oil spilled from a whole on the ocean bed in the Gulf of Mexico.
First, the melting of ice caps and glaciers is releasing water into the oceans. Second, human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, combined with natural activities, it causes the rise of the earth's surface temperature.3 Second, climate change is already having a serious effect on every continent and throughout the world’s ocean. The consequences of sea level rise mainly reflected in three aspects: cultural heritages, indigenous communities and coastal lands. 4 First, sea level rise threats cultural world heritage. Data shows that 136 out of 700 listed cultural heritages throughout the world will be affected in the long term.
Solar radiation has been suspected to play a role in coral bleaching. The consequent exposure to high or low temperatures, increased solar radiation, desiccation, and sea water dilution by heavy rains could all play a role in zooxanthellae loss, but could also very well lead to coral death. -Fresh water dilution Rapid dilution of reef waters from storm-generated precipitation and runoff has been demonstrated to cause coral reef bleaching. Generally, such bleaching events are rare and confined to small, near-shore areas. Nearly all of the world’s major coral reef regions (Caribbean/western Atlantic, eastern Pacific, central and western Pacific, Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf, Red Sea) experienced some degree fo coral bleaching and mortality during the 1980s.
Elevated pH can in turn ‘blind' organisms that rely on perception of dissolved chemical cues for their survival by impairing their chemosensory abilities (Figure 3) (Turner & Chislock 2010). When these dense algal blooms eventually die, microbial decomposition severely depletes dissolved oxygen, creating a hypoxic or anoxic ‘dead zone' lacking sufficient oxygen to support most organisms. Dead zones are found in many freshwater lakes including the Laurentian Great Lakes (e.g., central basin of Lake Erie; Arend et al. 2011) during the summer. Furthermore, such hypoxic events are particularly common in marine coastal environments surrounding large, nutrient-rich rivers (e.g., Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico; Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay) and have been shown to affect more than 245,000 square kilometers in over 400 near-shore systems (Diaz & Rosenberg 2008).
This combination makes waters toxic to crayfish, clams, fish, and other aquatic animals. It also affects the food sources of herbivores and insects. How does acid rain affect the environment? Acid rain has a hand in global warming as well which is rapidly changing climates around the world. With the climate changes many plants and animals are having to relocate or are dying because they are not fit for the changes in their surroundings.
Since fish is the main target of mercury contamination, humans are at a lifethreatening risk by toxic effects mercury. Thus, production of toxic methyl-mercury in the upper ocean due to bio-accumulation and build-up of this poisonous compound in marine food web due to bio-magnification is of a vital concern for the humans. Study of marine biochemical cycle of mercury with its potential sources and sinks is really necessary to find effective remedies to diminish the dangerous effects of this shiny-white metal. This review presents biological and physical processes that drive biochemical cycle of mercury in the global oceans with the potential sources (such as river, atmosphere, sediments, and hydrothermal vents) and sinks (such as bioaccumulation in marine fish, and scavenging due to sinking particles). Spatial, vertical and temporal variations of elemental mercury and human exposure to deadly effects of methyl-mercury are also presented in this study.
Ocean acidification began in the industrial Revolution by humans burning large amounts of coal which led the ocean water to become more acidic.This increased carbon dioxide in the earths atmosphere.This is important because it can have an affect on multiple marine organisms. But can also cause and even more drastic effect on marine organisms with an shell or skeleton like coral or an clam. Mainly tiny plants and animals in the marine food web.When acidification takes place it can cause the tiny plants and animals skeletons or shells to just dissolve away. Humans have had an part of this acidification problem and half of the carbon dioxide that has been put into the ocean has been found in the upper part of the ocean and half comes from humans.Which means,.Human activities has been absorbed by the world's oceans,which play a key role in moderating climate change.Without this capacity of the oceans, the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere would have been much higher and global warming and its consequences would be more dramatic.The impacts of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems are still poorly known the oceans are important for the health of all life.They control climate, a food and energy source and are used for all kinds of recreational activities..They have also helped buffer global warming by absorbing the excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.The carbon is now causing fundamental changes in the ocean, lowering the acidification in the oceans and causing them to become more acidic .Marine organisms aren't able to absorb enough calcium carbonate to build strong shells and skeletons, which will lead to effects on coral reefs and food webs worldwide. Measurements are being done by scientist on seawater collected during research cruises, which provide wide space coverage over a short time period, and from automated ocean carbon measurements on
Approximately 30% of species will become extinct by 2050. Changes in one population will have effects throughout the entire food web. For example, temperature fluctuations reduce plankton population. The North Atlantic whale feed on plankton as their main food source. A reduction in the plankton population will