marine pollution

Marine pollution

"Introduction of man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment (including estuaries) resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazard to human health, hindrance to marine activities including fishing, impairment of quality for use of sea-water, and reduction of amenities.” – GESAMP

Definition

Impacts on living resources Hazards to human health Hindrance to marine activities Impairment of quality of seawater Reduction of amenities Loss of aesthetic beauty Impacts on the sensitive habitats

General impacts

Marine pollutionContd..

Sources of pollution

Land-based sources Agricultural run-off Municipal and industrial wastes

Sea-based sources Oceanic dumping Offshore oil spills

Point and Non-Point SourcesPoint source – refers to a single identifiable source of pollutants eg. effluent outfall

Non-point source – refers to diffuse source of pollutants eg. Acid rain, dust storms

NONPOINT SOURCES

POINT SOURCES

Urban streets

Suburban development

Wastewater treatment plant

Rural homes

Cropland

Factory

Animal feedlot

Contd..

Discrete vs. Chronic Pollution

Discrete (short term) – eg. an oil spill, the effects of which diminish with time

Chronic (long term) – eg. nutrient input, effluent discharge

Types of pollution

Types of pollution

Pollution

Oil(Petroleum

hydrocarbons)

Eutrophication

Conservative

Metals

Halogenated hydrocarbons

Thermal

Radioactive

Litter & Plastic debris

Contd..

Oil pollution

Oil pollution is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters.

Oil spills are due to the following: crude oil from tankers offshore platforms drilling rigs and wells spills of refined petroleum

products (such as gasoline, diesel) spill of any oily refuse or waste

oil

Oil pollution

Sources

Contd..

62%

1%

10%

7%

3%

15%2%

Industrial wasteRefineries/TerminalsNatural sourcesTanker operationsTanker accidentsOther shippingOffshore

Source: UNEP

When oil is spilled on sea it spreads over the surface to form a thin film – called oil slick

Light oil spreads faster than heavy wax oil

Low molecular weight fractions evaporate

Water soluble components dissolve Non-water soluble components

emulsify and forms a viscous mass – “chocolate mousse”

Heavy residues form tar balls

Oil pollution

Fate

Contd..

Chocolate mousse

Tar balls

Oil pollution

Fate

Contd..

Effects – Impairment of marine life Plankton, esp. neuston at highest

risk – exposed to water soluble components leaching from oil

Fixed vegetation –Sea grass beds– killed or flowering inhibited

In Mangroves – lenticels clogged with oil oxygen level in sediments drops – death

Sea birds –buoyancy and thermal insulation lost

Oil pollution

Impacts

Contd..

Commercial damage Mortality of fish, reduction

in catch Death of fish eggs and

larvae Tourism – becomes

nuisance – avoided by beach goers – loss of revenue

Loss of sensitive marine habitats – loss of flora and fauna

Oil pollution

Impacts

Contd..

Eutrophication

“The enrichment of water by nutrients, especially nitrogen and/or phosphorus, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of water concerned” - OSPAR (Oslo/Paris convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic)

Eutrophication

Wastewater effluent (municipal and industrial)

Runoff and leachate from waste disposal systems

Runoff from agriculture/irrigation Runoff from pasture and range

Runoff from mines, oil fields, unsewered industrial sites

Overflows of combined storm and sanitary sewers

Untreated sewage

Sources

Contd..

Over-productivity Reduction in phytoplankton

species diversity Growth of harmful algal

blooms Reduction in dissolved oxygen

content Anoxia and mass mortalities of

marine organisms

Contd..

Impacts

Eutrophication

Global map of dead zones related to human-caused eutrophication (Scientific American, 2008)

Contd..Eutrophication

An example of Marine outfalls in Tarut BaySafwa STP Sanabis STP

Awamiya STP & Nasira Agricultural

Jaruadiyah STP

Majidia Agricultural Discharge

Anak North Agricultural Discharge

Anak South Agriculture discharge


Total estimated discharges (m3/day)


PME Receiving body Water Quality Standards

Parameter Unit Red Sea Industrial

(C3)

Arabian GulfIndustrial

(C3)

Water Quality ParametersTKN mg/l 5 5

Inorganic Nitrogen(Nitrite & Nitrate)

mg/l 2 2

Total Phosphorus mg/l 1 1

Dissolved oxygen mg/l >3 >5

BOD mg/l 15 20


Discharge Parameters (mean for 2006-2007)Discharge

(30 day avg.)Flow Rate(m3/day)

Ammonia(mg/L)

BOD(mg/L)

pH(units)

TKN(mg/L)

PME Allowable Effluent

Level1.0 25 6-9 5

Al Jesh STP 15,161 16.52 61.96 - 20.19Anak-North 42,422 - - 3.61 -Anak-South 31,882 - - 3.65 -

Awamiya STP 17,188 17.02 64.17 - 20.22Dammam STP 230,128 13.72 22.58 7.45 16.51Jaruadiyah STP 65,736 13.06 3.23 - -

Joyaima GP - 6.55 8.03 9.14Majidia 8,510 - - 3.61 -

Nasira Plant 10,238 - - 3.63 -Ras Tanura Refinery 137,908 - - 7.74 -

Safwa STP 14,265 2.65 4.17 7.08 -Sanabis STP 23,988 16.54 63.50 - 21.11

In excess of PME standards for direct discharge to receiving waters for a 30 day average.


Conservative pollutants - Metals

A heavy metal is a member of a loosely-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties.

It mainly includes the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides.

There is an alternative term for heavy metal and is called as toxic metal

The major sources of metals are: Natural sources Manmade sources

Erosion of ore-bearing rocksAtmospheric inputs - wind blown dustVolcanic activityForest firesRiverine inputs into oceans

Conservative pollutants - Metals Contd..

Natural Sources

Industrial discharge Sewage Re-suspension of sediments by dredging and trenching


Manmade Sources

Metal Natural sources(in thousand tonnes/year)

Anthropogenic sources

(in thousand tonnes/year)

Arsenic 12 18

Cadmium 1.3 7.6

Copper 28 35

Lead 12 332

Nickel 30 56

Zinc 45 132

World-wide emissions (Clark, 2001)


Arsenic (As) Phytoplankton most sensitive & accumulate from water

column Higher trophic levels accumulate via food.Cadmium (Cd) Divalent cadmium is more toxic Tends to bioaccumulateLead (Pb) Forms strong complex with clay and suspended material Bioaccumulates in most marine organisms – no

significant problems.


Impacts

An example of Mercury pollution in Minamata Bay, Japan (1953-1960)

SourcePollution from plastic plant- dumped mercuric chloride into the bayImpact Shellfishes contaminated with

mercury People who consumed shellfish

severely affected 43 dead and 700 permanently

disabled Bay is still unusable for fishing and

shell fishing


Impacts of metal pollution by Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification

Bioaccumulation

Increase in concentration of a substance(s) in an organism or a part of that organism

The affected organism has a higher concentration of the substance than the concentration in the organism’s surrounding environment

Not excreted or metabolised and failure of the target organ

An example of bioaccumulation in Arabic Gulf

Bioaccumulation

Also called bioamplification Increase in concentration of a substance in a food chain,

not an organism

Biomagnification

Hydrocarbons containing chlorine, fluorine, bromine or iodine

Differs from petroleum hydrocarbons – not degraded by chemical oxidation or by bacteria

Low molecular weight compounds – eg., Dichloroethane, Freons etc.

High molecular weight compounds – eg., DDT, Drins, PCBs

Conservative pollutants – Halogenated hydrocarbons

Aerial transport Aerial spraying of pesticides as aerosols – travel great

distances

Freshwater inputs Rain washing of pesticides carried into sea by rivers Silt from flood

Direct inputs By industrial outfalls – especially by Pesticide manufacturing

companies.

Sources

Contd..Conservative pollutants – Halogenated hydrocarbons

Low solubility in water persist for long durations

Fat-soluble , so incorporated into the tissue of marine organisms and sediments

Lethal to the animal

Possibility of transmission through food webs – established in a number of animals

Impacts

Contd..Conservative pollutants – Halogenated hydrocarbons

Thermal pollution

Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature.

Outfall from Qurrayah power plant, Saudi Arabia

Thermal pollution

Sources

Industrial wastewater Power plant discharges Desalination plant discharges Urban runoff

Contd..

Thermal shock Decrease in dissolved oxygen Increase in photosynthesis Increase in metabolic rate of

fish Increase in oxygen consumption

Thermal pollution

Impacts

Contd..

Radioactive pollution

Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of research and medicine.

Radioactive waste is hazardous to human health

Pollution due to radioactive wastes – Radioactive pollution

Weapons testing – Testing of nuclear weapons – when exploded underwater release fission products and isotopes

Liquid wastes – Discharge from the cooling water of nuclear reactors

Solid wastes – Dumping of radioactive wastes in Sea (now no longer practiced).


Sources

Contd..

Highly lethal - Even low doses causes fatal damage

Possibility of bioaccumulation – especially in algae and bivalves

eg. Porphyra near a nuclear power plant location had 10 times more caesium-137 than in the surrounding waters


Impacts

Contd..

Litter and Plastics pollution

Marine litter, is human created waste that has deliberately or accidentally become afloat in a the sea or ocean.

It tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack.


Sources Up to 80% of the pollution is land-based. A wide variety of anthropogenic artifacts can

become marine debris Plastic Bags, Balloons, Buoys etc.

Contd..


Impacts Many animals that live on or in the sea consume flotsam by

mistake, as it often looks similar to their natural prey Blocks the passage of food and causing death through

starvation or infection. Tiny floating particles also resemble zooplankton, which

can lead filter feeders to consume them and cause them to enter the ocean food chain.

In samples taken from the North Pacific Gyre in 1999 by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, the mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton by a factor of six.

Contd..

Solution to pollution

Reduce input of toxic pollutants Treat sewage primary, secondary and tertiary treatment Ban dumping of wastes and raw sewage in nthe sea Ban ocean dumping of sludge and hazardous dredged material Protect sensitive areas from development, oil drilling, and oil

shipping Regulate coastal development

THANK YOU

marine pollution

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