Lab 4 Oceans and Plastic(1) complete
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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: ___Olivia Cowan_________________
Section: ___2:00 Wednesday_____________
This lab has two parts: 1) a virtual group field trip and 2) an exploration of ocean properties. 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. [100 pts].
Oceans and Plastic Pollution StoryMap Presentation
Part I: Virtual Field Trip Go to Google Earth
, and search for “Monterey Bay”
1.
Where is the bay? [2 pts]
Off the coast of California
2.
What ocean is the bay in? [2 pts] Pacific Ocean
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.) [8 pts]
The sanctuary encompasses a shoreline length of 276 miles. It extends about 30 miles from the shore. At its deepest point, it reaches 12,743 feet. There are around 525 different species of fish that live here.
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 Thursday (9/28/2023) for all your answers for question 4-9. If you can’t, list here which date you used instead _
Wednesday 9/27/2023____________.
4.
Surf height at 9 a.m. (include units). [2 pts] 5-8 ft 5.
Height and time of a.m. Low Tide. [2 pts] 3:30 am at -0.4 ft
6.
Height and time of a.m. High Tide. [2 pts]
9:57 am at 4.8 ft
7.
Wind direction and speed at 9 a.m. [2 pts]
ENE 5 mph
8.
Swell direction and speed at 9 a.m. [2 pts] WNW 7.4 ft at 13 sec
9.
Ocean temperature (include units). [2 pts] Around 58 degrees
1 3
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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. [8 pts]
1. Oil and Grease
2. Pesticides and Herbicides
3. Pet Waste
All of these contaminants can harm not only humans but also the wildlife that are in the ocean. It can get them extremely sick and cause deathly bacteria to inhabit humans and animals.
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 6 issues the bay is experiencing and describe their cause/effect. [4 pts each, 24 pts total]
Issue
Cause
Effect
Climate Change
Burning fossil fuels, global ice melt, coastal structures and communities
Warming seawater temperatures, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and changes in currents
Cruise Ships
Economic benefits, tourists
Sewage, Graywater, Bilge Water, Ballast Water, Hazardous Materials, Solid Wastes
Marine Debris
Man-made materials being littered, or thrown into
sewers, trash being left on the beach
Litter washing upon shore creates dirty beaches, and
sea life being injured or even killed
Motorized Personal
Watercraft
Designed to shed water, enabling an operator to roll or swamp the vessel without serious complications or interruption of vessel performance
Wildlife disturbance
Oil and Gas Development
Oil rigs out in the ocean pumping gas Oil spills could have a major impact on foraging birds, marine mammals and fishes, as well as important habitat like kelp beds, wetlands and rocky
shores, and on tourism and the coastal economy
Wildlife Disturbance
Opportunities for observation of nature, including whale watching, bird watching, pinniped pupping and haulout activity, and viewing of sea otters
Too many tourists are being disruptive towards the sea life, especially during sensitive times such as feeding, breeding, nesting, or resting
1 5
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 this website
, answer the question below. 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? [2 pts]
“Degassing” of the Earth's Interior. The ocean formed from the escape of water vapor and other gases from the molten rocks of the Earth to the atmosphere surrounding the cooling planet.
Using your textbook or this website
, answer the following questions. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/whysalty.html
2.
What are the two main sources of ocean salts? [4 pts]
Runoff from the land and openings in the seafloor
3.
What three factors affect the salinity of ocean water? [6 pts]
Temperature, Evaporation, 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 this website
, answer the question below. 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 two main global warming factors are causing a change in sea level? How do they change sea level? [6 pts]
The first is Glaciers and ice sheets worldwide melting, and the second is the volume of the ocean expanding as the water warms. They can change this by reducing greenhouse gases.
Visit this website
.
The ocean conveyor belt circulates ocean water around the entire planet. Also known as thermohaline circulation, the ocean conveyor belt is essential for regulating temperature, salinity and nutrient flow throughout the ocean. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/04currents2.html
5.
What are ocean currents? [2 pts]
Ocean currents are the movement of water out in the ocean, hot and cold.
6.
Why do currents circle the ocean? [2 pts]
The wind out in the ocean pushes the water.
7.
What is the pattern of oceanic currents in the Northern Hemisphere? The Southern Hemisphere? [4 pts]
In the Northern Hemisphere, warm air around the equator rises and flows north toward the pole. As the air moves away from the equator, the Coriolis effect deflects it toward the right. It cools and descends near 30 degrees North latitude. The descending air blows from the northeast to the southwest, back toward the equator. In the Southern Hemisphere, winds blow from the southeast toward the northwest and descend near 30 degrees South latitude.
8.
If tons of plastic pollution were dumped off the coast of the California, where would they end up: Canada or Mexico? Why? (Visit 1 6
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https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/ocean/surface/currents/overlay=significant_wave_height/orthograp
hic=-122.75,27.93,266
set mode to ocean, animate to currents, overlay to currents) [4 pts]
The plastic pollution would end up in Mexico because that is the direction the currents are flowing. Off the coast of California, the currents would pull the plastic south instead of north.
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 drives it? [2 pts]
Ocean Circulation is the wind carrying the water into circular patterns out in the ocean. They can either be surface circulations or extremely deep-sea circulations.
10.
Why does the downwelling of ocean water occur at polar latitudes and upwelling at the equator? [2 pts]
Divergence of currents will create an upwelling phase and convergence of a downwelling phase (surface waters sink
in the interior ocean), linking surface and interior waters.
Visit this website
about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and answer the following questions. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
11.
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? [2pts]
It is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean.
12.
Where is it? What are the sources of pollution contributing to it? And where does the pollution come from
(name countries)? [6 pts]
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located off the west coast of California, all the way to Japan. The sources contributing to it are plastics and any other microplastics and debris from the land. This can come from any of the coastal states of the USA, all the way over to Japan.
13.
How did it form? [2 pts]
Over time, the plastics and trash started to accumulate at the sea floor, and pile up
14.
Why is it a problem? [2 pts]
It causes a ton of harm in many ways. The biggest issue is that it is killing many sea life in the area. It also isn’t easy to get rid of considering how much of it there is, and the fact that it lies at the bottom of the ocean.
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