AICE Marine A Notes #18 Vocab

Conservation

the protection of plants, animals and other organisms along with their habitats from extinction

Ecotourism

Sustainable tourism that is associated with an appreciation of the natural world and that minimizes damage to the environment can benefit both the environment and local populations

Bioaccumulation

The accumulation of substances, such as pesticides, or other chemicals in an organism

Global Warming

The observed and projected increases in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans due to an enhanced greenhouse effect

Renewable Energy

Energy that is taken from sources that are naturally replenished quickly (For example, sunlight, wind and tides)

Sewage

Liquid and solid waste material such as waste water or urine

Refuse

Material that has been discarded

Desalination Plants

Industrial facilities that remove salts from seawater to manufacture fresh water

Dredging

The removal of material from ocean and river beds

Blast fishing

The use of explosives to catch fish

Biomagnification

The increasing concentration of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain

Microplastics

Plastics particles that are less than 5mm in diameter

Primary Plastics

Microplastics, such as beads found in cosmetics, that are released directly into water

Secondary Plastics

Microplastics produced from the breakdown of larger pieces of plastics

Oxygen Dead Zone

When oil sinks to the seabed, it is decomposed by bacteria that use it as energy. If large amounts of oil are released, there will be more bacteria and the more respiration causes less oxygen to be available, this causes a dead zone

Suction Dredging

Specialized dredging ships carry giant suction tubes that operate like very strong vacuum cleaners

Mechanical Dredging

Bucket dredgers carry a series of buckets on a rotating belt that scrape the seabed

Water-injecting Dredging

Ships have large hosepipe-like structures that force water along the seabed