Ocean Pollution Research Paper

Can you imagine an ocean full of trash and plastic drifting effortlessly through the water? Sea creatures are mistaking the trash as food and eating it, consequently they are shortly after dying from consuming too much of the detritus. The marine life is suffering because their home is always full of trash, therefore it’s being contaminated. Can this really happen to the environment around us? Have people ever thought about this horrible problem and wanted to do something to stop it? This is what our world is facing right now. Progressively debris is ending up in the water, harming the beautiful blue ocean in addition to killing the sea life. No one is thinking about where their trash is going and how much it’s harming the innocent marine

life. Not only trash, but also chemicals and other residential waste are ending up in the majestic deep blue sea. Everyone needs to do something to stop all the trash that goes into the water polluting it. Ocean pollution is the cause of why all this trash as well as other dangerous chemicals are ending up in the water. The marine life doesn’t have a voice to stop this happening to their home, but we do. We can help stand up for the aquatic under the sea, find a way to save their home, and make them safe again. This research paper will notify the reader what ocean pollution is, what causes it to happen, why it’s a big problem, how it’s harming the marine life, and what has been done to help conclude it.
Ocean pollution is when harmful, or potentially harmful effects result from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste, noise, as well as the spread of invasive organisms (Marine Pollution). Plastic pollution has been going on for as long as anyone can remember. Plastic was first created in 1862, when Alexander Parkes organized a man-made plastic obtained from organic cellulose, at the Great International Exhibition in London, England. The first fully-synthetic, commercially-successful plastic was made by Leo Hendrik Baekeland in 1907. Leo named the plastic, Bakelite or the more difficult name polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride. Ever since 1907 plastic has been a big issue with the environment (Who invented Plastic?). Plastic has been submerged into the ocean over time as well as causing the marine life’s home to become contaminated and endangered.
As a matter of fact, the reason why we still have plastic pollution currently is because every single piece of plastic ever made still exists in the world today. There is approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic drifting in each square mile of the world’s oceans. Most people only use a plastic bag for about 5 minutes, but that plastic bag can take over 1,000 years or longer to degrade completely (How many animals die from plastic bags each year? Say 'NO' to plastic bags!). Meanwhile, no one actually knows how long it takes plastic to break down. Plastic keeps getting smaller until it furthermore breaks down and turns into microplastic fragments. At this point the plastic becomes less than 1 centimeter and the mass is 1/10 of a paper clip (Our Oceans: A Plastic Soup). Plastic gets weathered by the sun, rain, wind, UV rays, as well as the ocean’s environment. After that, the plastic soon degrades from being in the sunlight with high temperatures for a long period of time. This procedure is known as photo-oxidation, which “...is a chemical reaction that uses oxygen to break the links in the molecular chains that make up plastic.” Photo-oxidation happens much quicker on land than it does in the cooler ocean waters (How Beach Cleanups Help Keep Microplastics out of the Garbage Patches). This is because on land there is nothing to cool the plastic down, unlike the water, so the process happens much quicker out of the ocean. In other words, weathering breaks apart the plastic into smaller pieces. Afterward, plastic turns into microplastic particles and ends up in the ocean.
Aside, from plastic pollution, garbage dumping has also been a major element in why ocean pollution is a big issue.

According to the article Ocean Pollution Causes, “Back in 1975, the National Academy of Sciences estimated that about 14 billion pounds of garbage was being dumped into the ocean every year. That's more than 1.5 million pounds per hour, with an estimated one third possibly contributed by the United States.” This strongly proves that a great deal of our trash that isn’t disposed of properly ends up in the ocean and most of it is possibly from the U.S. There is a profound amount of trash floating in the ocean. Many unusual objects have ended up the water. For instance, plastic bags/bottles, balloons, glass bottles, shoes, packaging material, cigarettes, beverage cans, food wrappers, as well as an exceedingly amount of other types of plastic. An immense amount of garbage is just drifting in the ocean that no one knows about. The trash floating in the ocean is way too much to count. One question is where does all the trash go once it’s in the

ocean?
All the debris that has been dumped and lost in the ocean has created one of the biggest garbage patches in the world. This patch is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The patch is the world’s largest collection of marine detritus located in the North Pacific Ocean. The great patch was first discovered in 1997 by Charles Moore, who was trying to bring awareness through his own organization titled “Algalita Marine Research Foundation.” The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is made entirely of trash that floats and hovers on the surface. However, Oceanographers and ecologists recently uncovered that about 70% of the trash in this patch has sunk to the bottom of the ocean (Great Pacific Garbage Patch). In fact, the majority of the trash located in the “island” which is around 80%, happens to be land based items and the remaining 20% has been lost by boaters as well as other cargo ships. According to Facts, The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is believed to weigh 7 tons, be twice the size of Texas, as well as up to 9 feet deep. Since we don’t dispose of our waste, it ends up in a gargantuan “island” of plastic and trash that no one will clean up.
Not only is there the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but there are also ocean gyres. Ocean gyres are places with some of the largest amounts of plastic located in the ocean around the world. In these gigantic gyres the water circulates like a vortex, as a result all the trash floats to the middle and stays there. According to the excerpt Facts, “The 5 major ocean gyres in the world are the Indian Ocean Gyre, which contains the Indian Ocean Garbage Patch, North Atlantic Gyre, which contains the North Atlantic Garbage Patch, equal to the North Pacific Garbage Patch, North Pacific Gyre, South Atlantic Gyre, along with the South Pacific Gyre.” This proves that we have a great quantity of gyres as well as the biggest garbage patch around the world that incorporate a lot of trash. This debris has nowhere to go so it ends up with these enormous piles of trash. As a matter of fact, there could be even more ocean patches in addition to gyres since the whole ocean hasn’t been explored yet. Scientists have some confirmation that there is also trash that has assembled in the Mediterranean Sea furthermore in the Arctic Ocean (Plastinography.org). This substantiates that there are many trash gyres and could be even more than people have known.
Oil as well is a major problem in the ecosystem. All of the oil reserves are located under the ocean floor. The oil industries are to blame for all the frequent sizeable spills. These spills cause destruction to the fragile marine areas. However, they are also to incriminate for the oil spills that happen on a regular basis. When the gases are burned the toxic gases are released into the atmosphere. At this point, the gases dissipate into rain and the precipitation can form acidic rain. The rain afterwards can ultimately fall back into the ocean (Ocean Pollution Causes). Oil is detrimental for the sea because the crude oil can last for years and is extremely toxic for the marine life. When the crude oil is in the water the oil suffocates the sea life until they are dead. Ships lose thousands of crates every year from storms, emergencies as well as other accidents. All the crude oil causes noise pollution in the water, immoderate algae, along with ballast water. Crude oil can also cause the species to invade other ecosystems. As a consequence, this causes, the nature to clash, and it interrupts the life of other living organisms (What is ocean pollution?). This explains that oil can have a deleterious effect on the ocean, sea life, as well as the ecosystem around it.
The marine life has had to endure plastic, oil, as well as other harmful materials that have been killing an abundance of other sea life. When the oil is exposed to the water, the oil demolishes the fur-bearing of all the mammals surrounding it. Namely, the sea otter and the bird’s feathers. This leaves the animals vulnerable to the severe climate changes. Without their fur-bearings the animals are more likely to get hypothermia and die. An additional way they could die is when they clean themselves. As they clean the off the oil from their fur, they could digest some of the oil, which would furthermore poison them. Fish along with shellfish could also have a serious effect with the oil. As they come into proximity with the oil and it has been mixed within the water column (How does oil impact marine life?). According to How does oil impact marine life, “When exposed to oil, adult fish may experience reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart and respiration rates, fin erosion, and reproduction impairment. Oil also adversely affects eggs and larval survival.” This clarifies that the fish can have major problems when they are in the water swimming with all the oil. The oil doesn’t only affect their lives, but also the life of the larva. When the oil coats the feathers and furs of mammals in the water, it creates a challenge for them to preserve their body temperatures. The fauna that are most affected by the oil spills is the seagull or seabird. Studies show they are the most killed and harmed by the oil. When the oil is located on the shore it creates a harmful environment for the snails, clams, terrestrial animals, as well as other creatures (How Oil Harms Animals and Plants in Marine Environments). This means that not only does oil cause a problem for the animals in the sea, but also for the birds and animals on the shore.
Another big problem that has found in the ocean is mercury The article written by Cherie Winner, How Did Toxic Mercury Get Into Fish, explains that mercury has been toxic to fish is known as monomethylmercury. Some of the methylmercury that has been found in the ocean is from the natural causes of volcanic eruptions, although around ⅔ of the mercury comes from human activities. A huge source of the mercury is from fossil fuels, predominantly from coal. Coal releases 160 tons of mercury per year and that only includes the United States. The rainfall afterward washes the mercury down into the ocean causing ruinous. Scientists found that all of the large predators contain 10 million times as much methylmercury as the surrounding waters (How Did Toxic Mercury Get Into Fish?). This proves that mercury is a serious issue to the ocean, environment, and sea life.
Another problem that is very baleful is sewage.

For the reason of sewage some places aren’t even safe to swim in the water anymore. For instance, in seawifs.gsfa.nasa.gov it states, “Around the world, untreated sewage flows into coastal waters, carrying organic waste and nutrients that can lead to oxygen depletion, as well as disease-causing bacteria and parasites that require closing beaches and shellfish beds.” This explains that when sewage flows into the waters, it carries certain nutrients and diseases that have harmful effects on the environment. When sewage gets into the water, it transfers viral hepatitis, cholera, typhoid fever, and a variation of stomach and intestinal diseases. Sewage is not only harmful to the marine life, but also to you as well. In the passage Raw Sewage it states, “In 1993, beaches were temporarily closed, or advisories against swimming were issued, over 2400 times in the U.S., usually because of high levels of bacteria.” This means that in some places they had to close the beach because the sewage problem got so bad and could cause injurious. Sewage problems are a major cause of the overabundance nitrogen in the American estuaries (Raw Sewage). This elucidates that sewage can be very harmful for your own body and health as well as the well-being of the sea life. As you have read ocean pollution has been going on for awhile and has been very

harmful.
Creatures have been dying from the plastic in the ocean because their body isn’t able to digest the plastic once they’ve eaten it. Since they aren’t able to digest the plastic this causes the animals to feel full, they then stop eating their food source because they are “full” (Pollution Prevention). According to saveourshores.org, “Ingestion can cause damage to the digestive system of marine life, causing malnutrition, dehydration and starvation.” This explains that when animals eat plastic they don’t eat anything else so they eventually starve, as well as lack of water. They aren’t able to get the proper nutrients they need in order to survive. For example, when sea turtles eat the plastic bags mistaking them for jellyfish. They suffocate on the plastic because it blocks their air passageways. This as well causes a problem in their inhibit growth patterns. Fishing line, 6 pack holders, and strapping bands can enmesh the sea life and the marine life can have trouble eating, swimming, or even breathing. In the passage Pollution Prevention, it states “Ocean pollution affects at least 267 species worldwide, including 86 percent of sea turtle species, 44 percent of all seabird species and 43 percent of marine mammal species.” This means that at slightest 267 of the species ubiquitous are all affected a great deal by ocean pollution. The animals mostly affected are sea turtles (86%) and seabirds (44%).
Garbage dumping has had a great impact on the marine life species and befoul the waters. When garbage is discarded into the water the oxygen level gets diminished. As a result it affects the poor health for all the marine life because the oxygen level is low. A few animals that garbage dumping has had a big impact on is seals, dolphins, penguins, sharks, whales, herring and many other sea creatures (The Effects of Ocean Dumping). According to the website environment911.org, studies show that “two thirds of the world’s marine lives have been threatened with chemicals we throw down the drain every day such as household cleaners.” This thus proves that more than half of marine life existence is threatened when we throw our garbage anywhere we want, especially different chemicals. Coral reefs also affect the life cycle of the ocean greatly if they are somehow ruined or damaged. When the sun is blocked the marine plants will die from not getting the sunlight, this will affect the whole photosynthesis process. Fishes gills get clogged by the oil, which will block off their air supply. When fishes get contaminated by the oil, and we eat them we are likely to get food poisoning.
All plastic is made from petroleum, which stands for natural oil or gas. On the plastic labels it doesn’t say anything about the plastic being pernicious to us and animals, although it is. It states in Pollution Prevention, “In the marine environment, plastic breaks down into smaller particles that absorb toxic chemicals, are ingested by wildlife, and enter the food chain that we depend on.” This explains that as the plastic pieces get smaller it absorbs the toxic chemicals. After the marine life eats the plastic with the added toxic chemicals it becomes a part of the food chain, that we depend on. When humans are exposed to phthalates it can cause several issues. The effects to this happening are “...abnormal male sexual development, infertility, premature breast development, cancer, miscarriage, premature birth and asthma...” all because of phthalates (Pollution Prevention). Phthalates are certain chemicals that are used to create soft and flexible plastic, which are mostly used in food with construction industries, as well as in beauty products, pesticides, wood finishes, insect repellents, and solvents. When plastics are consumed by humans, it creates problems as they grow older (saveourshores.org). Other ways plastic is threatening for humans is by direct toxicity. That is when the toxic from plastics comes from lead, cadmium, as well as mercury. The 3 toxins listed has been found in a numerous amount of the fish in the sea, and this as a result is very dangerous to humans. (Plastics in the Ocean Affecting Human Health). Meaning, not only is plastic harmful to everything living in the ocean, but it’s also harmful and dangerous to humans.
A major toxin that is very harmful to humans is mercury. When people eat fish contaminated with mercury it can be very affective to the nerve cells in the brain along with the spinal cord. This results in abnormal brain development. This mostly occurs in unborn babies along with young children. In young children it affects the way they think, learn, as well as problem solving (Mercury). According to publichealth.nc.gov it states, “Effects can also occur in adults at much higher doses. The earliest obvious signs of mercury poisoning in adults are tingling or numbness of the lips, tongue, fingers, or toes; fatigue; and blurred vision.” This proves that mercury in adults can also be harmful to the brain, but only if they eat a great quantity of it. Children’s brains are more likely to get damaged when they are at a young age from the cause of mercury. Mercury can consequently also cause memory and hair loss, fatigue, depression, difficulty concentrating, tremors as well as headaches. Once the mercury builds up it’s hard for your body to eliminate it. After the mercury is built up it can impact your nervous system. Fish like tuna, swordfish, Chilean sea bass, Alaskan halibut, tilefish and King mackerel are known to have an immensely high levels of mercury. The fish that are known to have lower levels of mercury are wild caught salmon, sardines, cod, tilapia, sole, shrimp, along with herring (Fish In Your Diet – Not Health Food Anymore: Mercury in Fish). This explains to be careful of the fish you eat along if they have high or low levels of mercury. You don’t want to consume to much mercury and experience these aftereffects. As you have read when toxins are released into the ocean they can be dangerous to the sea life and they can as well be dangerous to you.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the ocean is very close to global coral bleaching. Many people don’t realize how harmful sunscreen is to the ocean and the effect it has. As stated from scrutiny in the passage This Everyday Product Could Be Killing The World's Coral Reefs, “...research in Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands…the chemical oxybenzone — used in more than 3,500 sunscreen products worldwide, including...popular brands such as Coppertone, L’Oreal and Banana Boat — was extremely harmful to fragile coral reefs.” This piece of evidence means the one chemical used in all the sunscreens and is the cause of coral bleaching is oxybenzone. The tiniest amount of oxybenzone can harm the coral reefs. Oxybenzone is used in several different favorable brands, that many people consider it as an essential product in their daily lives. Not only does oxybenzone kill the coral, it additionally causes detriment in the DNA in adults moreover and impairs the DNA in the coral when it’s at the larval stage. This makes the coral improbable to develop properly. It is said that every year almost 14,000 tons of sunscreen end up in the ocean. Researchers say that because of how much sunscreen is used 80% of the coral reefs in the Caribbean have been lost. When people wear sunscreen to the beach it obviously gets in the water, but it also gets in the water if you wear it quotidian. When you wear it daily and you take a shower the sunscreen water ends up in the ocean (This Everyday Product Could Be Killing The World's Coral Reefs). This means from here on to be careful about the amount of sunscreen you use because it can have an impact on the marine life and the coral reefs. As well to stop the problem of coral bleaching.
To help solve coral bleaching, researchers have created a new type of sunscreen. The new sunscreen is made out of titanium oxide or zinc oxide and doesn’t contain any oxybenzone. They call this sunscreen “reef-friendly” sunscreen. In some places you are not allowed to wear any sunscreen. For instance, in Akumal, Mexico you aren’t able to apply any sunscreen because of all the coral and sea turtles around. They’d like you protect yourself in other ways. For example, wearing hats, rash guards, and scuba suits. The coral reefs are one of the most valuable and various ecosystems on the planet. The reefs need to be protected because they offer shelter to other sea life along with protecting miles of the coastline from storms. The coral reefs are also expected to help with new medicines starting in the 21st century (huffingtonpost.com). It explains in the article This Everyday Product Could Be Killing The World's Coral Reefs, written by Dominique Mosbergen, “Many drugs are now being developed from coral reef animals and plants as possible cures for cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infections, viruses and other diseases.” This explains that we need to keep the coral reefs healthy and be cautious about the amount of sunscreen we apply because one day the coral can help cure some diseases, but they can’t do that if they’re aren’t any left or in poor health.
Some people have tried to come up with solutions that will optimistically stop ocean pollution. A 19 year boy named Boyan Slat came up with an net-like invention to collect and sort through the trash found. In the next 10 years Boyan and his team’s plan is to clean up 42% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Not many know just how much trash is floating around in the ocean. Many of the plastic pieces in the garbage patch is as small as confetti, that’s why Boyan Slat is planning on using ghost nets. Ghost nets were given the name because of all the fishing nets that are discarded. Nets are the most harmful man made trash located in the ocean (Boyan Slat's Ocean Cleanup Takes to the Air to Count Plastic Trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch). According to inhabitat.org, “Slat estimates that a 62-mile long (100km) Ocean Cleanup array could clean up 50 percent of the patch...” His plan to clean up the ocean is said to not start until the year 2020. This proves that Boyan Slat is trying to make an effort and clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch as well as the other detritus in the ocean. He cares about making the ocean clean again and the animals happy and vigorous again. Boyan Slat wants to make a difference in the world.
A few surf wear companies are coming up with ideas on how to clean up the plastic and turn it into something new. Two companies that have started a line is Volcom and Adidas. Adidas started selling 7,000 pairs of running shoes that are mainly created by the abandoned trash from the coast of Maldives. Volcom’s idea is to create jersey’s, swimsuits, as well as shoes from the plastic that they find. Volcom has also released a swimsuit line for women that is made from 78% of recycled nylon materials, incorporated with unused fishing nets. As stated in Adidas and Volcom Make Fashion Statement out of Ocean Plastic Trash, “...material is upcycled into a yarn, which is weaved to create the upper—the part of the shoe that goes over the foot. That portion of the shoe is made up of 95 percent ocean plastic and 5 percent recycled polyester. The rest of the $120 shoe, including the lining, laces, and sole, is mostly made of recycled material.” This elucidates how the syndicate makes the shoes out of the plastic. Adidas’s plan is to make 1 million pairs of UltraBoost shoes in the year 2017, which is equal to 11 million water bottles that can be taken out of the ocean next year. The swimsuit line for 2017 called Simply Solid, prices are between $32-$85. Kelly Slater, left the clothing sponsor Quiksilver in the year 2014 to start her own company Outerknown. Outerknown is a company that she created to use Econyl technology and makes board shorts out of the fishing nets (takepart.com). These brands are trying to come up with ideas to help reduce synthetic waste, and remove all the harmful materials out of the ocean.
Lastly, microbeads have become a major problem for the ocean and are an additional problem to plastic pollution. Microbeads are the tiny plastic beads that are used in hundreds of facial products to scrub your face. The microbeads slip through water treatments as they go down the drain. Studies show that around 17,000 pieces of microbeads were found every square kilometer in the Lake Michigan. In the lakes Huron and Superior they had lower levels, however in lakes Ontario as well as Eric the levels were much higher. The highest level was found in Lake Ontario with a count up to 1.1 million plastic microbeads every per square kilometer. The microbeads are about the same size as fish eggs, so to fish they are food as well as any other living organism. Scientists are concerned that they are making there way into the food web. In the passage Why Those Tiny Microbeads In Soap May Pose Problem For Great Lakes it states, “...if fish eat microbeads, which can soak up toxins like a sponge, scientists suggest that those chemicals could be passed on to humans and wildlife.” This interprets that when fish eat the plastic it contains toxins. Those toxins can be passed to humans as well as other wildlife, which could lead to a big problem. Places like Illinois and New York are the first to put a ban on the use of microbeads. The ban is specifically targeting Minnesota, Ohio and California. The manufacturer ban of microbeads will not be put into effect until 2017, and the distribution ban not until 2018. A spokeswoman in charge of the Personal Care Products Council, has stated that the products made by L'Oreal, Johnson & Johnson as well as Procter & Gamble have tried substitutes for microbeads, some of which are sand and apricot seeds (npr.org). This is means that microbeads are a element in plastic pollution. Microbeads are known to be in face washes and there has been put a ban on them in some places to help protect the fish and wildlife. Some companies are starting to use different ingredients so they no longer contain microbeads.
In conclusion, the waters in the sea have been polluted with rubbish and is harming the sea life. An abundance of the trash goes to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch as well as other ocean gyres. Oil, plastic, garbage dumping, sunscreen, sewage, plus mercury has had a major impact on the environment and sea life. Many people do not realize that these chemicals have had an impact on them as well. In some places it isn’t even safe to swim in the ocean anymore from the sewage entering. People have started creating different sunscreens that will hopefully one day help. Numerous brands have created an idea to help get rid of the plastic. Some of which are Volcom and Adidas. A 19 year boy, created a device to clean up the trash. His goal in the next couple of years is to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Lastly, microbeads are used as skin products, but what if they were an additional problem to plastic pollution? The microbeads are actually a factor in the plastic pollution, companies are coming up with other products to help. The Fresh Quotes said, “Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.” Be a part of the solution to help save the ocean and stop ocean pollution once and for all!

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