Lab4_Assignment (1)

LAB 4: OCEANS AND PLASTIC 100 points Due at the beginning of lab next week in physical or digital forms. 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

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 Sunday (9/28/2022) for all your answers for question 4-9. If you can’t, list here which date you used instead _____________. 4. Surf height at 9 a.m. (include units). [4 pts] ______Ankle High_______________ 5. Height and time of a.m. Low Tide. [4 pts] ___6:11am @1.7ft________________ 6. Height and time of a.m. High Tide. [4 pts] ________12:33 @4.5ft______________________ 7. Wind direction and speed at 9 a.m. [4 pts] ________NNW ____________________________________ 8. Swell direction and speed at 9 a.m. [4 pts] _________WNW 1.6ft @4sec________________ 9. Ocean temperature (include units). [4 pts] _________________62 degree_______________________ 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

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) Acoustic (Noise) Impacts Noise Impacts Research suggests that anthropogenic noise may alter their behavior, resulting in lower chances of survival and reproduction for individual animals. Noise can lead to long term effects on individuals and populations because there are reduced opportunities for hearing sounds used for navigation, finding food, finding mates, avoiding predators, and communicating, such as between mothers and offspring and other group dynamics Marine mammals have been observed deviating from their migration paths to avoid noise and interrupting their communications in response to elevated noise levels. For example, introduced noise sources may displace small Climate Change Sea rise, costal erosion storm and wave damage Climate change's effects on the marine environment, including warming seawater temperature Through regional collaboration and coordination, the Monterey Bay coastal community is preparing for the impacts of climate change in a time of limited funding and resources, and ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Cruise ships Sewage, graywater, bilge water, Ballast water, Hazardous water, solid water These substances can be toxic or carcinogenic to marine life. According to a report published by the Government Accounting Office, there were eighty-seven confirmed illegal discharge cases from cruise ships between 1992 and 1998 in U.S. waters. Eighty-one of these cases involved oil, and six involved plastic or garbage. Seventy-five percent of these violations were accidental (human or mechanical error). Fishing and harvesting The Monterey Bay Sanctuary has also partnered with The Nature Conservancy, NMFS, and California State University Monterey Bay to study the impacts of modified There is a need to increase the public's understanding of fishes, their role in the ecosystem, the various fishing activities that occur in the sanctuary, and how they are managed. ban krill harvesting along the west coast in 2009 1 5

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 the land and openings in the seafloor - Rocks on land are the major source of salts dissolved in seawater - Another source of salts in the ocean is hydrothermal fluids 3. What factors affect the salinity of ocean water? [4 pts] Salinity is generally low at the equator and at the poles, and high at mid-latitudes. The average salinity is about 35 parts per thousand. Stated in another way, about 3.5 percent of the weight of seawater comes from the dissolved salts. 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 is causing global mean sea level to rise in two ways. First, glaciers and ice sheets worldwide are melting and adding water to the ocean. Second, the volume of the ocean is expanding as the water warms 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] which influence how much and where the deeper layers of the ocean store heat. 6. What is the pattern of oceanic currents in the Northern Hemisphere? The Southern Hemisphere? [4 pts] 1 7

The pattern currents in the northern hemisphere is going downwards, while the currents from the southern hemisphere is going upward` 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] It would end in Canada because the current is going upward towards Canada. 8. Why do currents circle the ocean? [4 pts] Because it’s part of earth rotation and it’s a continuous motion throughout earth atmosphere 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 is a key regulator of climate by storing and transporting heat, carbon, nutrients and freshwater all around the world. Ocean circulation can be conceptually divided into two main components: a fast and energetic wind-driven surface circulation, and a slow and large density-driven circulation which dominates the deep sea. 10. Why does downwelling of ocean water occur at polar latitudes and upwelling at the equator? [4 pts] prevent deep waters formation, slowing down global circulation. 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] 1 8