Marine Pollution and

Coastal Management
 Coastal waters
Relatively shallow areas that adjoin
continents
Heavily used for commerce, recreation,
fisheries, and waste disposal
Experience dramatic changes in salinity and
temperature
Salinity and temperature in the
coastal ocean
 Estuaries
Estuaries are partially enclosed coastal bodies of
water
Examples of estuaries include:
River mouths
Bays
Inlets
Gulfs
Sounds
Formed by a rise in sea level after the last Ice Age
Classifying estuaries by origin

Coastal plain
Fjord
Bar-built
Tectonic

Figure 11-3
 Examples of estuaries

Fjord estuary (Norway) Tectonic estuary

(San Francisco Bay)
Genesis of a Fjord
Coastal wetlands
Coastal wetlands are
saturated areas that border
coastal environments
Brackish water conditions
Two most important types of
coastal wetlands:
1. Salt marshes (mid-latitudes)
2. Mangrove swamps (low
latitudes)
Coastal wetlands: Salt marshes
and mangrove swamps

Figure 11-8
The value of coastal wetlands
Coastal wetlands are high biological
productivity areas that serve as fish
nurseries for many important species
Effectively filter polluted runoff from land
Problem: are viewed as worthless land, so
are often replaced with developments
(roads, housing, shopping, etc.)
 Lagoons
Lagoons are shallow
coastal bodies of
water separated from
the ocean by a
narrow strip of land
such as a barrier
island
Figure 11-9
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80% of all
marine pollution
comes from
land-based
activities!
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Why Focus on Marine and Coastal Areas?
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The sustainable use of coastal and ocean resources is
linked to public health, food security, and economic and
social benefits, including cultural values and traditional
livelihoods.
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Why Focus on Marine and Coastal Areas?
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• Nearly half of the global population resides in coastal

areas

• 2/3rd of the world’s cities are

coastal

• Goods and services provided

by marine coastal ecosystems
are worth US $ 13 trillion per annum, which equals
to half of the annual global GDP
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Contribution of Coastal Resources
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in Global GDP

Estuaries
Terrestrial 12%
38%
Seagrass/
Coastal algae beds
38% 11%
Coral reefs 1%
Open ocean Shelf
25% 13%
 Pollution in coastal waters
Coastal waters are highly affected by
pollution because they are:
Heavily used
Close to sources of pollution
Shallow-water bodies
Not as well circulated as the open ocean
Marine pollution: A definition
The introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of
substances or energy into the marine environment,
including estuaries, which results or is likely to
result in such deleterious effects as harm to living
resources and marine life, hazards to human
health, hindrance to marine activities, including
fishing and other legitimate uses of the sea,
impairment of quality for use of sea water and
reduction of amenities. (World Health Organization)
Main types of marine pollution
Petroleum (oil)
Sewage sludge
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl)
Mercury
Non-point-source pollution
Marine pollution: Petroleum
Oil spills can be
caused by:
Tanker accidents
Intentional
dumping
Drilling/pumping
operations
Figure 11-12
Marine pollution: Petroleum
Petroleum is biodegradable
Many pollution experts
consider oil to be among
the least damaging ocean
pollutants
Data from the 1989 Exxon
Valdez oil spill shows the
recovery of key organisms

Figure 11-13
Marine pollution: Petroleum
Various
processes act
to break up
and degrade
oil in the
marine
environment
Figure 11-18
Marine pollution: Petroleum
When oil washes up
at a beach, it can
negatively affect the
marine environment
Oil can coat marine
organisms and
render their
insulating fur or Macando Blowout
feathers useless Gulf of Mexico
Marine pollution: Petroleum
Deep-water Horizon Oil Spill (2010) – More
appropriately named the Macando Blowout
4.9 million barrels of oil spilled.
Approx. 210,000,000 gallons of oil
Marine pollution: Sewage sludge
Sewage sludge is the
semisolid material
that remains after
sewage treatment
Much sewage sludge
was dumped offshore
until laws restricted
sewage dumping
Figure 11-21
 Marine pollution: DDT
DDT was a widely used pesticide that
became concentrated in marine fish
DDT caused brown pelicans and ospreys to
produce thin egg shells
Worldwide, DDT has been banned from
agricultural use but is still used in limited
quantities for public health purposes
 Marine pollution: PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyl
Liver damage, cancer, changes in estradiol
PCBs are industrial chemicals used as liquid
coolants and insulation in industrial
equipment such as power transformers
PCBs enter the marine environment through
leaks and from discarded equipment
PCBs can accumulate in animal tissues and
affect reproduction
Marine pollution: Mercury and
Minamata disease
Mercury has many industrial uses but is
extremely toxic
A chemical plant released large quantities
of mercury into Minamata Bay, Japan
Residents who ate highly contaminated fish
suffered neurological disease and birth
disorders (Minamata disease)
Marine pollution: Non-point-
source pollution
Non-point-source
pollution comes from
material washed down
storm drains as
“poison runoff”
Includes fertilizers
(atrizine), pesticides, Figure 11-26
road oil, and trash
 Ocean Garbage Patches:
A trash vortex
Approximately twice the size of Texas
At least 100 feet deep
 Plastic in the marine
environment
Plastic:
Does not biodegrade
Floats
Has high strength
Is ingested by and
entangles marine
animals
Figure 11-28
Current law regulating ocean
dumping
The only
substance
that is illegal
to dump
anywhere in
the ocean is
plastic