Ocean and coastal pollution
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Flip to reveal answersDefine marine (ocean) pollution.
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All 12 Flashcards — Ocean and coastal pollution
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Question
Define marine (ocean) pollution.
Answer
Harmful waste entering the ocean - **plastics, oil, chemicals and nutrients** - mostly **land-based** and carried out by rivers and run-off.
Question
Roughly what share of marine pollution is land-based?
Answer
About **80%**, reaching the sea through **rivers and run-off**.
Question
Why does plastic build up on coastlines?
Answer
Coasts are **closest to the source** and **waves, currents and onshore winds** trap floating plastic near the shore.
Question
What are microplastics?
Answer
Tiny plastic fragments **under 5 mm**, formed as larger plastic breaks down; they spread through the food chain.
Question
Define eutrophication.
Answer
**Nutrient pollution** (sewage, fertiliser) that triggers **algal blooms** and low-oxygen **dead zones** that kill marine life.
Question
Name an environmental problem from aquaculture.
Answer
**Eutrophication** under cages, **sea lice/disease**, **escaped farmed fish**, or **depleted feeder-fish** stocks.
Question
Define ocean acidification.
Answer
Falling seawater **pH** as the ocean absorbs atmospheric **CO2**, forming carbonic acid and removing carbonate ions.
Question
Why does acidification harm coral reefs?
Answer
Lower pH means fewer **carbonate ions**, so corals build **calcium-carbonate skeletons** more slowly and existing skeletons can dissolve.
Question
Why are reef impacts 'not uniform'?
Answer
Acidification combines with **warming/bleaching** and depends on local conditions - cooler, deeper, well-flushed reefs cope better.
Question
Why is ocean plastic hard to manage?
Answer
It is **durable**, breaks into **microplastics**, spreads into **gyres**, and crosses borders in a **shared** open-ocean resource.
Question
Name a marine pollution case study.
Answer
The **Great Pacific Garbage Patch** (plastic in a gyre) or **Deepwater Horizon** 2010 (an oil-spill coastline disaster).
Question
What does a top [10] essay on pollution need?
Answer
**Both sides** of the argument, a **named example**, and a **justified judgement** (e.g. why some pollution is harder to manage).
Read the notes
Full study notes for Ocean and coastal pollution
Topic 8.3 hub
Managing coastal margins
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Geography exam skills
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