Speech on pollution on coastal areas please tell in easy English language not more than two pages
Answers
Abstract
The harmful effects of various substances on the marine environment were reviewed by collecting and studying the relevant
literature. Various sources for the pollution of marine environment were identified and the causes for the same are understood.
Many of the pollutants that are let into the sea are directly or indirectly by human activities. Some of these substances are
biodegradable, while some are not. Several laws and policies have been taken in preventing marine pollution at the national and
international levels. Simulation of oil spills has been done by developing models in some parts of the world. The pollution off the
shore is increasing at an alarming rate and to address this problem of pollution in the oceans is a difficult task, and a variety of
approaches are urgently required. In this paper, the definition of coastal pollution, causes of coastal pollution, its impacts and
preventive measures are discussed.
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015.
Keywords:Marine pollution, Plastic debris, Oil spill, Marine biology.
1. Introduction
The coast is a zone or strip of land extending from the coastline, which borders the sea to where the land rises
inland. Its limit is marked by the level of high tide. The coastline is the triple interface of air, land and sea. The
word pollution comes from the verb pollute, which means to make impure. The definition of coastal pollution by the
World Health Organization goes like this “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 suchas 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.”
The chemical and biological characteristics of coastal waters are really susceptible to addition of biodegradable
and stable compounds from soil. Qasim and Sen Gupta predicted that in 1984, 5 million tonnes of fertilizers, 55000
tonnes of pesticides, and 125000 tonnes of synthetic detergents were used in India (Gupta S. et al, 1983). On an
average, 25% of all these can be anticipated to end up in the ocean every year. More or less of these substances are
biodegradable while others are relentless. Their cumulative impact to the coastal marine environment, over a long
period could be quite harmful (Sen Gupta S. et al, 1989).
It is mainly the human activities that are responsible for a major decline of the world’s biological diversity, and the
problem becomes more complicated when combined human impacts could have enhanced present loss rates to
1000–10000 times the usual rate (Lovejoy, 1997). In the seas, the marine life faces threats in many ways, such as
overexploitation and harvesting, deposit of waste, contamination, exotic species, soil recovery, dredging and global
climate change. One of the major kinds of human impact constitutes a major threat to marine life: the pollution by
plastic debris (Douglas et al., 1987, Beatley, 1991;, National Research Council, 1995; Irish and Norse, 1996;
Ormond et al., 1997; Tickel, 1997; Snelgrove, 1999; Jose Derraik G.B., 2002). So, the issue of pollution may be
served to analyze the natural events in future. Anticipating the effects of contamination on marine population by the
purpose of simulation models requires that all sources of pollution over the total orbit of the species be considered.
Even though a particular pollutant, waste disposal site, or habitat loss may be judged minor when judged
independently, the cumulative effect might be significant (Cross et al, 1985).
Pollution in marine coastal areas is also considered from point and non-point land-based sources, such as rivers,
drainage ditches, submarine outfalls and coastal cities.
The portion of pollutants in coastal regions is determined by the combination of three mechanisms:
(a) Advection by currents
(b) Turbulent diffusion and
(c) Chemical, biological or other interactions
In relatively shallow and coastal areas with weak tides, wind is the main mechanism for generation of currents
(Jacques, 1991). The shear stresses applied at the sea surface creates a three dimensional circulation, greatly
influenced by the natural process of the Coriolis and inertia forces (Fischer et al., 1979; Baines Knapp, 1965).