Ozyorsk Secondary School Named After D.

Tarasov

PROJECT

THREAT TO OCEANS

Made by Tkacheko Andrew

Teacher: E.Yuldasheva
Ozyorsk
2018
 CONTENT
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 1.OCEAN ................................................................................................................4
1.1. OCEAN PROBLEMS .........................................................................................................4
1.2.WHAT IS THE OCEAN? ....................................................................................................4
1.3.THE OCEAN AS A MAJOR GEOLOGICAL FEATURE. ....................................................5
1.4. DEPENDENCE OF HUMANITY FROM THE OCEAN. ....................................................6
CHAPTER 2. MAJOR THREATS TO THE WORLD'S OCEANS. ............................................7
2.1.UNSUSTAINABLE FISHING..............................................................................................7
2.2.INADEQUATE PROTECTION. ..........................................................................................7
2.3.TOURISM & DEVELOPMENT. .........................................................................................8
2.4.SHIPPING. .........................................................................................................................8
2.5.OIL & GAS. .........................................................................................................................9
2.6.POLLUTION. ......................................................................................................................9
2.7.AQUACULTURE. ............................................................................................................. 10
2.8. CLIMATE CHANGE. ....................................................................................................... 10

CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 11

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 INTRODUCTION

Oceans. For centuries people have regarded them as an inexhaustible supply of food, a
useful transport route, and a convenient dumping ground - simply too vast to be affected
by anything we do.
But human activity, particularly over the last few decades, has finally pushed oceans to
their limit.

HYPOTHESIS
Overfished, polluted, taken for granted, carelessly abused and destroyed, and much more
fragile and complex than we once thought... the largest living space on Earth is fast
deteriorating.

This doesn’t just threaten marine habitats and species - many of which have only recently
been discovered - but also our own health, way of life, and security.

RELEVANCE
Problem: Pollution of the world's oceans is quickly becoming a major problem on Earth.
We know very little about the effect that pollution has on the oceans but we continue to
dispose of chemicals, sewage and garbage into it.

PURPOSE

To consider the problem of pollution of the oceans.

TASKS
1. The importance of the ocean for people

2. To explore the information suitable for my project on the Internet.

3. To write urgency, purpose, tasks.

4. To prepare a report.

5. To make a presentation.

6. To tell about the done work to their classmates.

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 CHAPTER 1. OCEAN.
1.1. OCEAN PROBLEMS.
Covering over half the Earth’s surface and making up 80% of its living space, or
biosphere, these open oceans and deep sea environments are some of the least-explored
areas on the planet. There are few regulations for commercial fishing, oil and gas
exploration, mining, shipping, bioprospecting, and pollution on the High Seas - and even
where regulations do exist, there are few nations that will enforce them.
As a result, many High Seas areas have already become degraded. New management
regimes are required to protect High Seas species and habitats while allowing for
sustainable resource use.

1.2.WHAT IS THE OCEAN?

The ocean covers roughly 71% of our planet's surface,some 360 million square
kilometers,an area in excess of the size of 36 U.S.A.'s.It's such a vast spread,when
viewed from space,the ocean is, by far, the dominant feature of our planet.Speaking of
space,the ocean currently holds over 1.3 billion,that's billion with a "b",cubic kilometers
of water.Put another way,that's enough water to immersethe entire United Statesunder a
body of salt waterover 132 kilometers tall,a height well beyond the reach of the highest
cloudsand extending deep into the upper atmosphere.With all that volume,the ocean
represents 97%of Earth's total water content.On top of all that,the ocean contains
upwards of 99%of the world's biosphere,that is, the spaces and places where life
exists.Now let that sink in for a second.The immediate world as we know it,indeed the
totality of all the living spaceencompassed by the continents themselves,all of that
represents only 1% of the biosphere.1%!

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1.3. THE OCEAN AS A MAJOR GEOLOGICAL FEATURE.
The ocean is everything else. So, the ocean is physically massive. It's importance to life
is practically unparalleled. It also happens to hold the greatest geological features of our
planet. Quickly, here are four of the most notable. The ocean contains the world's largest
mountain range, the mid-ocean ridge. At roughly 65,000 kilometers long, this underwater
range is some 10 times longer than the longest mountain chain found purely on dry land,
the Andes. Beneath the Denmark Strait exists the world's largest waterfall. This massive
cataract carries roughly 116 times more water per second over its edge than the Congo
River's Inga Falls, the largest waterfall by volume on land. The world's tallest mountain
is actually found in the ocean, hiding in plain sight. While 4200 meters of Hawaii's
Mauna Kea sit above sea level, its sides plummet beneath the waves for another 5800
meters. From its snow-covered top to it's silt-covered bottom, then, this Hawaiian
mountain is roughly 10,000 meters in height, dwarfing tiny Everest's paltry peak by well
over a kilometer. Then, since we're picking on poor Everest, let's consider the world's
deepest canyon, the Challenger Deep, existing 11 kilometers below the ocean's surface,
some six times deeper than the Grand Canyon. That's deep enough to sink Mount Everest
into and still have over 2.1 kilometers of water sitting atop its newly submerged peak. Put
another way, the depth of the Challenger Deep is roughly the same height that
commercial airliners travel. So, pretty much however you choose to slice it, the ocean is
capital. It defines our planet, home to the greatest geological features, comprises the
largest living space, and accordingly, is home to the greatest numbers and forms of life
on Earth. It is practically incomprehensible in scope. But it is not so big, so vast, so
extraordinary as to be untouchable.

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1.4. DEPENDENCE OF HUMANITY FROM THE OCEAN.
In fact, with roughly 50% of the world's population living within 100 kilometers of the
coastline and with most of the remainder living close enough to lakes, rivers, or swamps,
all of which ultimately lead to the ocean, virtually every single person on the planet has
the opportunity to influence the general health and nature of the world ocean. Evidence
of human influence is seen in every part of the ocean, no matter how deep, no matter how
distant. The ocean defines our planet, but, in a very real sense, we define the ocean.

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 CHAPTER 2. MAJOR THREATS TO THE WORLD'S OCEANS.
2.1.UNSUSTAINABLE FISHING.
90% of the world's fisheries are already fully exploited or overfished, while billions of
unwanted fish and other animals die needlessly each year. Unsustainable fishing is the
largest threat to ocean life and habitats ... not to mention the livelihoods and food
security of over a billion people.

2.2. INADEQUATE PROTECTION.

They might cover over 70% of our planet’s surface, but only a tiny fraction of the oceans
has been protected: just 3.4%. Even worse, the vast majority of the world’s few marine
parks and reserves are protected in name only. Without more and better managed Marine
Protected Areas, the future of the ocean’s rich biodiversity - and the local economies it
supports - remains uncertain.

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2.3. TOURISM & DEVELOPMENT.
The beach is not just a favourite holiday destination, it’s our favourite place to live.
Around the world, coastlines have been steadily turned into new housing and tourist
developments, and many beaches all but disappear under flocks of holiday-makers each
year. This intense human presence is taking its toll on marine life.

2.4. SHIPPING .
The oceans are huge highways, across which we ship all kinds of goods. Like other
human activities, this heavy traffic is leaving its mark: oil spills, ship groundings, anchor
damage, and the dumping of rubbish, ballast water, and oily waste are endangering
marine habitats around the world.

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2.5. OIL & GAS.
Important reserves of oil, gas, and minerals lie deep beneath the seafloor. However,
prospecting and drilling for these poses a major threat to sensitive marine habitats and
species.

2.6. POLLUTION.
Untreated sewage, garbage, fertilizers, pesticides, industrial chemicals, plastics ... most of
the pollutants on land eventually make their way into the ocean, either deliberately
dumped there or entering from water run-off and the atmosphere. Not surprisingly, this
pollution is harming the entire marine food chain - all the way up to humans.

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2.7. AQUACULTURE.
Fish farming is often touted as the answer to declining wild fish stocks. But more often
than not, the farming of fish and shellfish is actually harming wild fish, through the
pollution the farms discharge, escaped farmed fish, increased parasite loads, and the need
to catch wild fish as feed.

2.8.CLIMATE CHANGE.
Coral bleaching, rising sea levels, changing species distributions - global warming and
climate change are already having a marked affect on the oceans. Strategies are needed to
deal with these phenomena, and to reduce other pressures on marine habitats already
stressed by rising water temperatures and levels.

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 CONCLUSION
In order to talk about the problems we face today, we must go back hundreds of years to
take a look at the effects pollution had on human beings in the past. The Industrial
Revolution in both America and Europe let factories pollute the air without regulation.
Because of that, the air pollution in certain areas of the world is causing death to this day.
Certain cities in the Northeast United States have air that sometimes has 5 or 10 times
more soot in it than the International Standard. The English “Black Country” is aptly
named that because of the color of the air. For years, people there have lived in an area
with the lowest quality of life in Western Europe. “The average live expectancy in
“Black Country”, England, is 10 years less than the rest of the country.” One of the
problems with pollution is that if it becomes common, then people stop caring. Another
problem stemming from years ago is waste disposal. For many years, human waste was
just let out into rivers and streams, spreading disease and sickness. A prime example of
that is London, England. “By the 1850’s, the Thames River was so polluted that it was
portrayed in cartoons with Death rowing along it.” A public outcry then prompted the
city to develop a proper sewage system, but years of damage had been done, and the river
is still not clean to this day. Another problem dealing with waste disposal is the fact that
human waste is still dumped into rivers, lakes, and oceans without the proper treatment.
Although the oceans aren’t greatly affected by a small amount of waste, over time it
could definitely begin to hurt human interests in them, such as the fishing industry. In
rivers and lakes though, there is usually no way for the waste to find its way out of the
water. Because of the water systems we use on earth, this could be highly dangerous.
“Using dirty water can make everyday activities like washing clothes and bathing
dangerous, due to the infection that lies within the bacteria that live on human waste.” If
people continue to use dirty water, that disease will spread to unimaginable levels.

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 REFERENCES
1. http://wwf.panda.org/
2. https://medium.com/@carlsafina/threats-to-the-oceans-and-what-
we-should-do-about-them-4591b78df5df
3. https://studfiles.net/preview/3220009/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_of_natural_resources

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