Oceans and Plastics Assignment (1) (2) (1)

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Dec 6, 2023

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LAB 4: OCEANS AND PLASTIC 100 points Due at the beginning of lab next week. LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this lab, you will be able to 1. Explain where the ocean’s water and salt come from. 2. Explain how sea level varies over geologic time. 3. Define ocean currents and factors that influence them. 4. Identify human-caused issues impacting the ocean. INTRODUCTION Oceans are an important part of Earth and necessary for humanity to exist. The ocean is important because it produces over half of the world’s oxygen, absorbs 50 times more CO 2 than the atmosphere, transports heat from the equator to the poles, and it regulates climate and weather patterns ( NOAA ). The ocean is a dynamic environment in constant motion and full of life. Ocean waters flow over vast distances in currents, and the surface elevation changes due to tides and the development of waves. Despite constant motion, ocean waters are nonhomogeneous because salt content and temperature vary regionally and with depth. Ocean pollution is a complex mixture of chemicals and trash. More than 80% of pollution comes from land-based sources and it reaches the ocean through rivers, runoff, atmospheric deposition, and direct dumping. Ocean pollution is heaviest near the coast and highly concentrated along coastlines of low-income and middle-income countries. Ocean pollution can also be found in the deepest oceanic trenches and along the shores of remote islands ( National Geographic ). Chemical pollution is a concern for health, environmental, and economic reasons. It is often related to human activities such as fertilizer use on farms, which will runoff into local waterways and eventually end up in the ocean. Increased concentrations of chemicals have negative effects on wildlife and human health ( National Geographic ). Trash encompasses all manufactured products created by humans that end up in the ocean. Trash poses dangers to both humans and animals. Sea animals can become tangled and injured in debris. Small organisms feed on bits of broken-down plastic and absorb the chemicals into their bodies. The smaller organisms are eaten by larger and larger animals; thus, these chemicals migrate through the food chain and can be consumed by humans ( EHS ). 1 1

Solutions for ocean pollution include prevention and cleanup ( NOAA ). Disposable and single-use plastic is commonly used in society, so changing society’s approach to plastic use will take a long time and be an economically challenging process. Cleanup is possible to a degree; however, it will take an even longer amount of time. Some debris do not float and are lost deep in the ocean. Plastics that do float collect in large patches in ocean gyres. The “Pacific Garbage Patch” is one example of a collection of plastics floating at the surface between California and Hawaii ( National Geographic ). Figure from NOAA . 1 2

LAB 4: OCEANS AND VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP Name: _____________________________ Section: _____________________________ This lab has two parts: 1) a virtual group field trip and 2) an exploration of ocean properties. For the overview, use the Marshak and Rauber textbook and the suggested websites to answer the lab questions. For the virtual field trip we will be visiting Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary in California. We will be investigating the geological and coastal properties of this region as well as examining some of the environmental issues of the area and the means of mitigating them. At the end of the trip, you will take what you have learned and write a short summary focusing on a human-induced ocean issue and finding solutions to remedy it. [100 pts]. Oceans and Plastic Pollution StoryMap Presentation Part I: Virtual Field Trip (together as a class) Go to Google Earth , and search for “Monterey Bay” 1. Where is the bay? [4 pts] __________California____________________________________ 2. What ocean is the bay in? [4 pts] _______Pacific___________________________________________ Monterey Bay is a marine sanctuary. Visit this website and answer the following questions. (https://montereybay.noaa.gov/intro/welcome.html) 3. Describe four physical characteristics of the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. (size, shoreline, depth, etc.) [4 pts] shoreline length 276 miles which is about one quarter of California’s coast and 6,094 square statute miles of ocean one of the largest marine wildlife sanctuaries and bigger than yellowstone Deepest Point: 12,743 feet or 3,884 meters in Davidson Seamount Management Zone Average Ocean Surface Temperature: 55F (13C) 1 3

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Now, let’s look at the current physical condition of the water in the Bay. Visit this website and answer the following questions. https://www.swellinfo.com/surf-forecast/monterey-california Use data for the following Tuesday (1/31/2023) for all your answers for question 4-9. If you can’t, list here which date you used instead 9/19_____________. 4. Surf height at 9 a.m. (include units). [4 pts] ____flat 0 feet______________________________________________ 5. Height and time of a.m. Low Tide. [4 pts] ___6:57 2.2ft___________________________ 6. Height and time of a.m. High Tide. [4 pts] ______1:49 3.8ft________________________ 7. Wind direction and speed at 9 a.m. [4 pts] __NNW 8mph__________________________________________ 8. Swell direction and speed at 9 a.m. [4 pts] __ south 0.0 ft at 0 sec_______________________ 9. Ocean temperature (include units). [4 pts] ______57 F___________________________________________ Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary is federally protected by the U.S. Department of Commerce. However, its proximity to the coastline makes it vulnerable to pollution from watershed areas that drain to it. Visit this website to learn more. https://montereybay.noaa.gov/resourcepro/water-pro.html 10. Name three contaminants that can pollute the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary and describe why they are dangerous. [4 pts] 1 4

sediments, nutrients, fecal bacteria, pesticides, oil, grease, metals, and detergents Today, most coastal regions are threatened by human activities and pollution. Although protected, Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary is still at risk and currently experiences a variety of environmental issues. Visit this website and answer the following questions. https://montereybay.noaa.gov/resourcepro/resmanissues/issues.html 11. Using the table below, list and describe at least 6 issues the bay is experiencing. Explain at least 1 solution for each issue. [6pts] Issue Cause Effect Solution(s) desalination California’s growing need for water Possible harm to the wildlife as desalination plants are installed and then operated Find a way to mitigate the impact of a plant Find another water source so that there is no need for desalination Noise impacts Humans’ machines sonars and other radars Affects growth and reproduction among several marine animals Also affects the food chain Impose new laws that would ban/restrict sonar and boats in certain areas. This would give the animals a safe space to be Emergency response and oil spills municipal sewage overflows, vessel groundings , airplane crashes, whale entanglements, and oil spills to coastal landslides, domoic acid poisoning, and disease Damaging and poisoning to the environment and the animals Nothing much to do besides continue to improve in response time and in prevention of spills in various ways Marine debris Trash and other man made materials that get dumped into the ocean Litter washes ashore Animals get tangled and injured in trash Launch efforts to clean the junk off the floor of the ocean Put strict anti littering policies in place Introduced species There is an invasion of a lot of foreign species There are around 250 spices in the San Francisco bay The impacts are often unknown but it can lead to extinction of local species due to the lack of resources and food Eradication is often impossible Put in place regulations to prevent further invasions Look for natural ways to hurt invasive species Military activities Various boats airplanes and other vehicles are disturbing the wildlife and the sonar and occasional weapons use causes disturbances too Disturbed certain roosting areas of certain seabirds Sonars can affect marine mammal communication Make sure that proper precautions are being taken by the military, but only so much can be done since they have to do most of what they do. The best solution may be to invent 1 5

new technology that doesn’t harm animals and replaces sonar Part II: Overview of Ocean Properties The ocean is different from other water bodies on Earth. This is because the ocean is a solution containing dissolved salts. Using your lecture textbook or this website , answer the question. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/why_oceans.html#:~:text=The%20ocean%20formed%20billions%20of,know %20as%20our%20world%20ocean. 1. How did the ocean form? [5 pts] the atmosphere and the ocean accumulated gradually over millions and millions of years with the continual escape of gas from the Earth's interior Using your textbook or this website , answer the following questions. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/whysalty.html 2. What are the sources of ocean salts? [4 pts] Runoff from land Openings in the seafloor Rocks on land 3. What factors affect the salinity of ocean water? [4 pts] temperature, evaporation, and precipitation A layer of saltwater forms a single global ocean. The continents and the equator divide the ocean into distinct geographic regions, and partial enclosure of oceanic regions by land defines seas and bays. Mean sea level, the average elevation of the sea surface, has varied across geologic time. Using your textbook and this website , answer the question. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level#:~:text=What's %20causing%20sea%20level%20to,expanding%20as%20the%20water%20warms. 4. What factors cause change in sea level? How do they change sea level? [5 pts] Global warming- melts icebergs and glaciers and the volume of the ocean expands as it warms 1 6

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Visit this website . Click on the “earth” button and change the “mode” to “Ocean,” “Animate” to “Currents,” and “Overlay” to “Currents.” Explore the globe, then answer the following questions. https://earth.nullschool.net/ 5. Define ocean currents and what affects them? What are the units of the “Overlay”? [4 pts] Currents are the movement of water from one place to another and are affected by wind, water density difference, and tides m/s is the unit of the overlay 6. What is the pattern of oceanic currents in the Northern Hemisphere? The Southern Hemisphere? [4 pts] In the north ocean currents are deflected to the right and in the south ocean currents are deflected by the wind to the left 7. If tons of plastic pollution were dumped off the coast of the California, where would they end up: Canada or Mexico? Why? [4 pts] Mexico because the main surface water current at the coast flows down towards Mexico 8. Why do currents circle the ocean? [4 pts] The differences in water density, wind patterns, and the rotation from the earth cause the currents to circle the ocean Ocean water is in constant motion due to currents, upwelling and downwelling, and thermohaline circulation. Visit this website and answer these questions. https://ocean-climate.org/en/awareness/ocean-circulation/ 9. Describe ocean circulation. What is it? What does it do? What drives it? [4 pts] Ocean circulation transports heat, carbon, and nutrients all over. It is driven by wind on the surface of the ocean and driven by heat and density on the ocean floor. 10. Why does downwelling of ocean water occur at polar latitudes and upwelling at the equator? [4 pts] 1 7

Because a divergence is caused by two opposite flowing currents which are found near eachother at the equator and they push the cold water to the top and downwelling happens at the poles because of lack of freshwater Visit this website about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and answer the following questions. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/ 11. Describe it. What is it? Where is it? How large is it? What are the sources of pollution contributing to it? And where does the pollution come from (name countries)? [4 pts] It is a giant island of trash in the North Pacific Ocean. It is about 20 million square kilometers. 80 percent of plastic in the ocean comes from land, with the remaining 20 percent coming from boats and other marine sources. 12. How did it form? [4 pts] It formed from the currents bringing all the trash that was thrown into the ocean together continually until now there is a giant island of it, due to the continual cycle of the current. 13. Why is it a problem? [4 pts] Most of the island is microplastics which are not good to have in your water cycle. Secondly microplastics are bad for the ocean animals and the ecosystem down there as well. The last reason why this is such a big problem is that there is no good way to go about solving it yet, and currently the island is only getting bigger. 1 8

Oceans and Plastics Assignment (1) (2) (1)

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