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Currents cause and location
Form from heat, more by equator, less by poles.
Thermohaline conveyor belt slowing down due to climate change, effecting weather patterns.
Upwelling impacts
Supports fisheries providing nutrients, Can wash larvae inland decreasing survival chances
Funneling of currents
Increases intensity, washing marine life and plants off the sea floor in that area
Ocean impact on climate
Moderates climate temperature, eddies provide heat and nutrient inland
La Niña
Cools Pacific Ocean, trade winds from East (USA) to West (China)
ENSO
El Niño Southern Oscillation - Heats pacific Ocean, trade winds West (China) to East (USA)
Ocean surface temps and storm power
Increasing surface temperature reflects an increase in storm power - impacts of climate change.
Ocean acidification
CO2 forms carbonic acid, releases H+ ion to stabilise. This increases ocean pH to be more acidic (overall still alkali)
Released H+ ion can bind to calcium carbonate, depriving marine organisms of calcium for shells e.t.c…
Litoral cell system
Each cell is self contained and deposition/erosion is balanced. Changes can have a knock on effect across cells
Wave refraction
Occurs at headlands/bays, impacts the intensity of the waves concentrating them on headlands and dissipating them in bays
Eustatic change
Sea level change due to differences in water volume
Isostatic change
Sea level change due to differences in land level
Emergent coastline
Advancing, caused by local fall in sea level
Submergent coastline
retreating, caused by local rise in sea level
Dune types
Embryo Dune > Dune > Yellow Dune > Grey Dune > Woodlands / vegetated area.
Sea zones
12 nautical miles = territorial
200 nautical miles = EEZ (Exclusive economic zones)
rest = High seas
Manganese nodules
Mg and Fe enriched by Nickel, Copper and Cobalt for electronics
Discharge plumes can effect marine feeding mechanisms and disturb marine life
Ocean pollution
8,000,000 tonnes of plastic per year
ENSO impacts
Environment: 2023 prolonged dry season in Indonesia causing wildfires
Social: 2015 mudslides in Guatemala caused 500 deaths in Oct
Economic/Political: According to WFP, 2.3 million central Americans will need food assistance
Coral reefs
Important for medicine developments
£5.7 trillion estimated global value
Reduces wave energy up to 95%
Pressures: Pollution, bleaching, warming ocean, ocean acidification
The richest reefs in the world in the “coral triangle” in Southeast Asia, consists of two thirds of the worlds coral species and covers 16,500 km2
Example: Cebu, Philippines (part of the coral triangle in west Pacific Ocean)
Threats: Large amounts of tourism. Fuel spills from boats. Overfishing and use of cyanide/dynamite in the practice of stun fishing. Local sewage dispersal and fertilizer runoff. Extraction of limestone for the construction industry. Reef bleaching
Management: Policing of protected areas, sustainable fishing rules for local fishermen (catch quotas), ban of stun fishing/ Education programmes for tourists and local coral farming to develop new reef areas.
Mangrove forests
Transitional zone between land and sea
Huge carbon sinks and nutrient providers for marine life
Example: Sundarbans mangrove forest – Southwest of Bangladesh
Threats: Unsustainable, pollutive and invasive species introduction due to agriculture. Long term damage and corrupt forest rangers giving logging permits to locals by taking bribes. Dangerous species
Management: “The Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) under the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is enabled to manage the Sundarbans in a sustainable manner through co-management by involving local resource users, efficient and standardised patrolling, and a proper ecological monitoring.”
Sustainable use of forest resources and education on regulation and rules for rangers. Working with stakeholders and the “Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART)” as well as ecological monitoring
EEZ and ocean politics issues
Competition over arctic and subcontinental shelfs - Russia staking largest claim planting flag under arctic bed - High likelihood of oil and gas reserves.
Rockall – oil rock in Atlantic fighting for ownership by UK, Ireland, Denmark and Iceland.
East China sea (China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Control of waters and gas fields) - Between median line for Japan and China
Ascension islands (UK claimed, Mineral deposits) - No nearby neighbours so no one to challenge claim
Rias definition
A river valley near the coast that has been inundated be the sea as relative levels have risen
Dalmatian coastline definition
A series of longitudinal river valleys next to the coasty that have been inundated leaving ridges of highland as islands.
Fjard definiton
Glaciated lowland areas that have since been flooded
Relict cliff definition
Features of past coastal erosion, such as caves, arches and stumps that are now well above the active coastal zone.
Fjord definiton
A glaciated U-shaped valley. Glaciers form U-shaped valleys and during the ice age they eroded to below sea level. With ice melt the valleys were flooded, creating deep, narrow inlets. They have steep rising walls, a straighter long profile and are significantly deeper than the rias due to glacial deepening.
Overfishing
40% of catch wasted or unmanaged. Bycatch refers to wasted unwanted fish.
TAC refers to total allowable catch for commercial fish stocks. Studies of stocks are used to determine this number.
Ireland worst (17.8%, 31000 tonnes), Uk second worse (15%, 80,000) at going over TAC.
Exceeding quotas may lead to ecological impacts, if exceed the maximum sustainable yield (amount extracted without reducing reproduction capabilities of fish)
Solutions: Tariffs, Vessel number restrictions, decreased TAC’s and quotas, more regulation on licensing, aquaculture (ocean blue sea farm largest next to Panama Canal)
UNCLOS
UN convention of the law of the sea - 1982
Set out EEZ’s and transit passages.
Legal framework but not obligatory for country to follow recommendations
Sea law examples
UNCLOS
MARPOL
Break free from plastic movement
Deepwater horizon spill
Killed 11 workers and injured 17 others
State of emergency in Louisiana
The spill threatens environmental disaster due to factors such as petroleum toxicity and oxygen depletion.
As of the 25th June, there had been 1539 dead animals found in the spill zone
Coastal management perspectives - south east England Hastings beach
The risks are mainly coastal flooding, resulting from increased storm surge frequency and rising sea levels.
15% of Kents population is at risk from coastal flooding
Up to 2m a year erosion with periods of faster erosion becoming more frequent.
55,000 homes, 5000 commercial properties, 4000ha of agricultural land and £5.6 billion property value at risk from erosion in Kent.
St Lucia
Carribean island
Soufière Marine Management Area (SMMA) introduced in 1955. NGO authorized by the St Lucian government for the promotion of sustainable use and development of the area and marine environment.
The SMMA consists of 11km of coastline divided into 5 distinct categories of use:
Marine reserves - protection
Fishing priority areas – local fishermen
Yacht areas - tourism
Recreational areas - tourism
Multi-use areas – regulated by existing legislation
Illegal sand-mining due to lack of surveillance - high priority on stakeholder value not area upkeep so little/no surveillance