Сборник материалов международной научной конференции студентов, магистрантов, аспирантов

К.В. Фельдшерова, Т.Л. Бриштен

Республика Беларусь, Брест, БрГУ имени А.С. Пушкина

Научный руководитель – Л.М. Калилец

THE POLLUTION OF THE WORLD OCEAN

The ocean remains one of the most expansive, mysterious and diverse places on Earth. But marine life is dying, and as a result the whole oceanic ecosystem is threatened simply by various sources of pollution. If we are to preserve ocean and its natural beauty, drastic measures have to be taken to combat this pollution and keep what we hold most dear. Four oceans have suffered as a result of human consequence for over millennia by now, it has accelerated in the past few decades. Oil spills, toxic wastes, floating plastic and various other factors have all contributed to the pollution of the ocean [1].

8 June is World Oceans Day, an event to raise global awareness about threats to the oceans and promote marine conservation. The special day has been recognized by the United Nations since 2008.

Pollution from oil spills can negatively impact the health of the oceans and both the creatures and people who depend on them. The vast oceans act as a tremendous carbon sink, absorbing about one-third of carbon dioxide emissions. Climate-changing gases from offshore oil and other fossil fuels are changing ocean chemistry, saturating the oceans with carbon dioxide and making them increasingly acidic. Acidification is already leading to the degradation of coral reef habitats and negatively impacting some commercially important fisheries.

Our oceans also face multiple threats to their health due to pollution from aquaculture, coal-burning, land-based runoff, plastics, shipping pollution and mine tailings. Industrial plants continue to release toxic chemicals directly into the oceans. And, power plants continue to be sited adjacent to the oceans (and even directly next to marine reserves) where they emit air pollution, as well as pump super-heated water and anti-fouling chemicals directly into the seas [2].

Pollution of the oceans is one of the global geo-ecological problems. We can distinguish natural (abrasion, volcanism, the decay of organic t. d.) and anthropogenic pollution of the oceans. The main sources of anthropogenic pollution include:

1) land-based sources (give 70% of marine pollution) – waste water coastal settlements, pollution of river runoff;

2) atmospheric sources – emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere from industry, transport and energy facilities;

3) marine sources – pollution from marine accidents, pollution of sea transport for oil leakage [5].

The most dangerous pollutants of the ocean include:

- Oil and oil entering the ocean in the accident vessels discharging ballast water, oil extraction, removal of contaminated river water. Oil film on the surface of the ocean violates the exchange of energy, heat, moisture and gases between the ocean and the atmosphere.

- Heavy metals (mercury, lead, copper, cadmium and others) absorbed by microorganisms and phytoplankton, and then transmitted through the food chain by higher organisms. As a result, marine aquatic organism accumulates heavy metals after their consumption of a person having a psycho-paralytic disease syndrome (Minamata et al.).

- Pesticides are found in significant quantities in various organs of marine animals (milk penguins DDT). Their sources of income are agriculture and forestry.

- Household wastes (feces, dregs, waste water contaminated with pathogens) are dangerous because they are a factor in the transmission of infectious diseases (typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, and others.).

- Radioactive substances.

Protection of the oceans is a complex of international, national and regional administrative and economic, political and social measures to ensure the physical, chemical and biological functioning of the oceans to the extent necessary from the point of view of marine aquatic organisms and human health and welfare. The main directions of protection of the oceans are [4]:

- international cooperation in the use and protection of the oceans;

- installation of devices on ships to clean polluted water and containers for the collection of garbage and sewage;

- mechanical cleaning of water contaminated with petroleum products, the courts and the use of special chemicals (floating – dispersants, drowning – adsorbents);

- the construction of tankers with double bottom;

- prohibition of the discharge of untreated sewage into the ground water and of bathing;

- the establishment of more stringent MPC for marine waters;

Тhe most striking examples of pollution of the oceans and seas are:

1. 
   Atlantic Ocean - North Atlantic Garbage Patch
   

This patch was first documented in 1972 and is entirely composed of man-made marine debris floating in the North Atlantic Gyre.

Scientists estimate that the North Atlantic Garbage Patch is hundreds of kilometers in size and has a density of 200,000 pieces of trash per square kilometer in some places [3].

2. 
   Mediterranean Sea
   

The Mediterranean is probably the most polluted ocean in the world.

The United Nations Environment Programme has estimated that 650,000,000 tons of sewage, 129,000 tons of mineral oil, 60,000 tons of mercury, 3,800 tons of lead and 36,000 tons of phosphates are dumped into the Mediterranean each year.

Because it is so enclosed by land, the warm waters of the Mediterranean take more than 100 years to clean and renew themselves, according to Greenpeace.

Due to the high rates of pollution, many marine species are at risk of extinction, among them the Mediterranean Monk Seal, one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals [3].

3. 
   Indian Ocean
   

A garbage patch in the Indian Ocean was discovered in 2010. This patch, mainly formed by plastic debris and chemical sludge, is the third major collection of plastic garbage in the world’s oceans.

According to the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX), the Indian Ocean is gravely polluted by plastic debris and chemical runoff, resulting in hypoxia.

INDOEX has documented widespread pollution covering about 10 million sq km (3.86 million sq miles). According to scientists, tropical cyclones that cause large numbers of deaths around the Arabian Sea (region in the northern Indian Ocean) are becoming increasingly common as a result of pollution [3].

The ocean cannot continue to thrive as a dump site for people. There are the most well-known facts about the pollution of the world ocean.

1. 
   The biggest source of pollution in the ocean is directed from land based sources, such as oil, dirt, septic tanks, farms, ranches, motor vehicles, among larger sources. Thousands of tons of waste and trash are dumped into the ocean on a daily basis.
   
2. 
   Over one million seabirds are killed by ocean pollution each year. Three hundred thousand dolphins and porpoises die each year as a result of becoming entangled in discarded fishing nets, among other items. One hundred thousand sea mammals are killed in the ocean by pollution each year.
   
3. 
   Oil is the fastest source of deterioration to the ocean, being far more harmful than trash and waste. However, only a small percentage of oil (around 12%) dumped in the ocean comes as a result of actual oil spills.
   
4. 
   Small animals at the bottom of food chain absorb the chemicals as part of their food. These small animals are then eaten by larger animals that again increase the concentration of chemicals. Animals at the top of hierarchy of food chain have contamination levels millions times higher than the water in which they live.
   
5. 
   People get contaminated easily by eating contaminated seafood that can cause serious health problems, from cancer to damage to immune system.
   
6. 
   Until 1970’s, the chemicals and garbage was deliberately dumped into the oceans and became as common practice for disposing everything including, assuming that it would get dissolved to safe levels [1].
   

Ocean pollution is really a very serious problem that must be urgently addressed, as long as humanity does not begin to pay for the environmental damage. We propose to use only biodegradable materials, prohibit the discharge of garbage in the oceans, in the hope that he makes to a safe level. You must give the job to scientists around the world to develop a mechanism that would be processed non-degradable materials. All these measures are not new, but if people start to follow them, we will achieve a result.

1. 
   What is Ocean Pollution? [Electronic resource] / Conserve Energy Future. – Mode of access: http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-ocean-pollution-facts.php. – Date of access: 13.03.2015.
   
2. 
   Addressing Ocean Pollution and Climate Change [Electronic resource]. - Mode of access: http://oceana.org/our-campaigns/stop_ocean_ pollution/campaign. - Date of access: 13.03.2015.
   
3. 
   World Oceans Day 2014: World’s Most Polluted Seas Revealed [Electronic resource] / International Business Times. – Mode of access: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/world-oceans-day-2014-worlds-most-polluted-seas-revealed-1451638. – Date of access: 14.03.2015.
   

В статье раскрываются проблемы экологии океана – одного из самых дорогих, загадочных и разнообразных мест на Земле. Но морская жизнь умирает, и в результате вся океаническая экосистема находится под угрозой. Если мы хотим сохранить океан и его естественную красоту, решительные меры должны быть приняты для борьбы с загрязнение окружающей среды.