Red Tides- excessive nitrogen causes explosive growth of toxic algae that poisons fish and some marine mammals Oil Pollution: What happened to the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in 1989? The oil tanker went off course, hit rocks, and released 10 million gallons into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The oil killed a large number of seabirds, fish, and otters. The cleanup and settlement claims cost the company over $4 billion! What is actually the largest source of ocean oil pollution? Oil spills get a lot of publicity, but urban and industrial runoff is actually the largest source of oil pollution in the ocean. What affect does oil have on marine life? Volatile Organic Hydrocarbons immediately kill many aquatic organisms, globs of oil coat the feathers of birds and fur of marine mammals which destroys their natural heat insulation and buoyancy, causing many of them to drown. Heavy oil that sinks to the bottom of the ocean smothers benthic organisms like crabs, oysters, mussels, and clams. Oil slicks that wash onto beaches can have a massive economic impact. Options for cleaning up Oil Spills: Floating booms, skimmer boats, dispersant chemicals, fire, oil eating bacteria List prevention and cleanup solutions to coastal water pollution. Prevention: Ban dumping of waste by ships, reduce input of toxic chemicals, separate sewage and storm lines, ban ocean dumping of hazardous materials Clean Up: Improve oil spill cleanup capabilities, use nanoparticles on sewage to dissolve the sewage, require secondary treatment of coastal sewage water, use wetlands to treat sewage 20-5: How Can We Best Deal With Water Pollution? Ways to reduce water pollution from nonpoint sources: Reduce soil erosion by keeping cropland covered with vegetation. Reduce fertilizer runoff by using slow release nitrogen fertilizer, not using fertilizer on steeply sloped land, and planting buffer zones (riparian zones). Organic farmers use manure instead of synthetic nitrogen based fertilizers. Apply pesticides only when needed and use an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plan as often as possible.
Red Tides- excessive nitrogen causes explosive growth of toxic algae that poisons fish and some marine mammals Oil Pollution: What happened to the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in 1989? The oil tanker went off course, hit rocks, and released 10 million gallons into Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The oil killed a large number of seabirds, fish, and otters. The cleanup and settlement claims cost the company over $4 billion! What is actually the largest source of ocean oil pollution? Oil spills get a lot of publicity, but urban and industrial runoff is actually the largest source of oil pollution in the ocean. What affect does oil have on marine life? Volatile Organic Hydrocarbons immediately kill many aquatic organisms, globs of oil coat the feathers of birds and fur of marine mammals which destroys their natural heat insulation and buoyancy, causing many of them to drown. Heavy oil that sinks to the bottom of the ocean smothers benthic organisms like crabs, oysters, mussels, and clams. Oil slicks that wash onto beaches can have a massive economic impact. Options for cleaning up Oil Spills: Floating booms, skimmer boats, dispersant chemicals, fire, oil eating bacteria List prevention and cleanup solutions to coastal water pollution. Prevention: Ban dumping of waste by ships, reduce input of toxic chemicals, separate sewage and storm lines, ban ocean dumping of hazardous materials Clean Up: Improve oil spill cleanup capabilities, use nanoparticles on sewage to dissolve the sewage, require secondary treatment of coastal sewage water, use wetlands to treat sewage 20-5: How Can We Best Deal With Water Pollution? Ways to reduce water pollution from nonpoint sources: Reduce soil erosion by keeping cropland covered with vegetation. Reduce fertilizer runoff by using slow release nitrogen fertilizer, not using fertilizer on steeply sloped land, and planting buffer zones (riparian zones). Organic farmers use manure instead of synthetic nitrogen based fertilizers. Apply pesticides only when needed and use an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Plan as often as possible.