The first thing that comes to mind when we think pollution is health issues and the ongoing issues, car emission and so on.
But, were here to discuss the ocean impact on all pollution and the power mother nature has to repair or take back what belongs to it. So what is really causing the water levels to rise? We might not think about this, but the list can be endless. A simple one that many won’t think about is sunscreen, yes beach goers, swimmers, divers. Most sunscreens one in touch with water, start leaving an oil residue and this oil like residue affects the marine life, specially the coral reefs and anything that may be nearby.
The Effects of Pollutants in the Ocean
Many of us can’t help but to think what will the future be, not only us but our kids? Well you’re not alone. It’s hard to define specific indicators of pollution and the effect on the ocean’s life due to the size of the ocean and the animals involved. But we can certainly state that the oceans are rising due to many factors. Glaciers at the poles, Alaska, Canada and Norway are simply not generating ice as fast as the ice melts. The impact on 2 simple degrees in the oceans waters have truly impacted many countries.
Many people blame this from the industrial era, where no one was worried about any long-term greenhouse impact. So, what is greenhouse gasses? The greenhouse is a normal process that warms the earth. This happens when the Sun’s energy touches the earth’s atmosphere, while some will bounce back into orbit some of it will stay as a form of green gases. These gases include water vapor, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, methane and other chemicals that today are banned to the known impact to the ozone layer. Some of this may be seen as bad, but it also creates life, by maintaining the earth’s temperature at the degree that will spark life.
The formation of glacier can take century’s, the melting of them is also normal due since we depend on the fresh water. After years, the scientist studying these issues, they have determined that this happened a few generations back and as of present time we are feeling the problems today. Countries are starting to feel the effects of the rising oceans. Many people live near an ocean, some of these coastlines are staring see the shrinking issues. Currently in the Pacific, there are a small island that have started to implement evacuation plans due to the rising levels. Its’ estimates that by the end of 2050 this island may not be around anymore, with an estimated 3 feet of rising water per year many coastal cities may be losing large amounts of land.
We see that the oceans are bigger than anything I this planet. So how are they impacted? So how does this all work, let’s say you’re at the airport and you’re waiting for the luggage. The luggage, travel from the airplane to a conveyor belt, ultimately making it to the carousel where we would pick them up. The Oceans play a big part in the balance of weather patterns, land and the atmosphere will absorb some light, but the greater of the sun’s heat is absorbed by the ocean. So when we visit the Caribbean and enjoy the warm waters thing that they will not stay there.
Ocean water currents work like a conveyer belt, moving warm water and the precipitation from the equator and moves it between the poles to the out areas like the Caribbean. Making the war waters move everywhere. The currents caused by the oceans help regulate the global climate, the weather would be extreme in many places. Having lived on the Caribbean years ago, I have been able to see the impact on the rising waters. As a kid, I would visit my grandparent and go to some of the best beaches because the sand. As the years have passed, these beaches no longer are good or safe beach to be. The high tides have taken the coastal sand and exposed corrals that may be under the sand making it impossible to beach in. Furthermore, My aunt lived in the beach and I mean so close that all we need to do is jump across the back yard neighbors and were at the beach. At one point the area had a hill that we would walk down to the sand and we had the water.
Due to the much higher tides, the erosion has been taking aware beach, and the actual hill that we once walk down to is no longer there. The erosion has taken an would estimate around 3 to 4 feet of actual land, forcing some of the closer residents to the beach to move due to the new risk of potential landslides. The erosions is not the only challenges here, as the oceans get warmer the hurricanes also become stronger, the Caribbean can get hit hard creating substantial damage. As these Hurricanes pass, they create tidal waves that can exceed 20 feet, in an area that is already impacted by coastal erosion that is constantly taking land away. When these waves happen, the impact to the coast will be felt and coastal land will be claimed by the oceans. The oceans are not the only issue here. As the oceans rise so will rivers. This is another area that is also a big factor for coastal towns that are at the same level. While this is still in the hypothesis stages, it can be determined at this point that the meet point of Oceans and rivers will be greatly impacted.
In conclusion, many people were not taking the increasing temperatures using the weather patterns like El Nino or La Nina as a way to say that things will go back to normal. Oceans waters are certainly getting warmers at the poles and glaciers are melting. Its estimated that there is around 60 million habitants that live near or at sea levels that may be under the actual sea levels. Between 1996 and 2011, the Atlantic coast lost an estimated of twenty square miles of what once was dry or wetland and simply made it part of the Oceans (coast.noaa.gov).
Todays, Miami is in a terrible situation where the high tides back up against the city’s sewers dumping sea water and sand the actual city. If all of this is caused by simple .03 degree of increase, I can even imagen what 2 degrees will do to society.
