3-5 Ocean Pollution

Ocean Pollution - algal bloom, marine debris, hypoxic, pollution

Ocean Pollution

algal bloom, marine debris, hypoxic, pollution
Human Impact Unit

Where does all that garbage come from? Where does it go? Much of it ends up on our beaches washed in
with the waves and tides, some sinks, some is eaten by living things in the ocean mistaking it for food.
Other forms of pollution changing the health of the ocean come from a single known thing, like an oil spill,
or from the building up of many things that spread out over time, like fertilizer from our yards. Pollution is
anything that is put into an environment that is bad for the things that live there.

Most of the pollutants going into the ocean come from things that are done on land. Things that happen by
itself and things that people do, can change the health of our ocean. One case behind pollution comes
when pollutants from many small things, like septic tanks, cars, trucks, and boat, lead to runoff. Runoff is
when the water drains from the land to larger bodies of water, like the ocean. Different pollution can come
from a one time case, like an oil spill. Often this kind of pollution can touch a lot of people and places, but,
lucky for us, they take place less often.

Things that Help Plants Grow and Algal Blooms
From time to time, it is not the kind of stuff, but how much stuff there is in one place that tells us if it is a
pollutant. Here's how this works: nutrients are what help plants grow. However, if there is too much of any
nutrient in a body of water, it can lead to too much algae to grow. An algal bloom is when there is too
much algae growing in water. Some algal blooms are bad because they can hurt living things.

When large amounts of algae sink and break down in the water, the oxygen that ocean animals need is
used up. Most of the living things in the ocean either die or leave the place. When water doesn't have
enough oxygen, it's hypoxic. Places around the world that would often have lots of life, lose many of the
living things that live there, which is why they are often called dead zones.

Ocean Garbage
Ocean garbage is another can of worms for our oceans. Ocean garbage hurts and kills ocean life, gets in

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Ocean Pollution - algal bloom, marine debris, hypoxic, pollution

the way of travel safety, and can be bad for our health. Our oceans and waterways, or path water moves
along, are polluted with many different kinds of ocean junk, from soda cans and plastic bags to fishing gear
left behind boats. Today, there is no place on Earth that is not hurt by this. Most of the garbage that covers
our beaches comes from storm drains and sewers, as well as from the many fun things people do on the
beach. Left behind fishing gear is also dangerous because this garbage can wrap up, hurt, and drown
animals that live in the ocean. We call any kind of solid trash that does not belong in the ocean marine
debris.

Meaning for Seafood
Pollution can change on the food that we eat. Bad things can build up in seafood and make it bad for
people and animals to eat. A large number of the shellfish growing in our country are hurt by pollution on
beaches.

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