The Ocean Environment Essay examples -- Marine Environment Essays

Ocean Environment     The sea is the more or less obvious feature of the earths surface.Approximately seventy per centum of this surface is cover by urine system, in one way oran separate. Beneath this water be the familiar sands of the beaches, bottoms ofbays, and the inshore ocean. Farther offshore this water covers an amazingsubmarine topography of underwater canyons, trenches, mountains, and plains.Unlike the continents, which are physically marooned from one another, theoceans are continuous and interconnected. Since the "world ocean iscontinuous"(M.J. Keen) it has akin characteristics throughout. In the early1870s oceanographers collected seawater samples from all of the seas of theworld at a variety of depths. When analyzed, the samples were found to havequite similar characteristics. These findings convinced(p) many that a method ofstudy was needed. The study of oceans was named oceanography.     Density, salinity, and t emperature are actually important concepts in thestudy of oceanography. The salinity and temperature of the water influence itsdensity, and the differences in density are the study factor in understandingthe formation of currents and the positions of water masses in the sea. Inaddition, temperature and salinity play major roles in influencing thedistribution of plants and animals.     The sediments of the sea floor may be change integrity into lithogenous,hydrogenous, biogenous, and cosmogenous sediments. Lithogenous sediments arethe major sediments on the ocean floor. They are derived from the chemical and automatic weathering of rocks. Biogenous sediments are composed primarily ofthe protective outter covering of scummy marine animals and plants. If theseremains comprise at least thirty percent of the sediment it is called an "ooze"."Oozes" were named for the types of organisms that formed them. Hydrogenoussediments form as a go away of th e chemical reactions that occur in the seawater.These reactions result in the formation of undersized particles, which are depositedon the sea floor. Currents move these particles and cause them to collide withthe other particles. If many of these collisions occur they may form nodules.Nodules are found on some portions of the deep-sea floor. The sediment typefrequently determines the type of organ... ...discarge of vegetable oil fromships, and the development of emergency response systems to oil pollutionaccidents have contributed to the spurn of ship-based souces of oil pollutionover the last two decades. The moratorium on chuck out of radioactive waste atsea under the London toss Convention also represents another response toconcerns about the risks posed by such diposal. Some regions have concludedagreement which ban toss of any radioactive waste at sea. In theMediterranean and blushing(a) Sea, all discharge of oily wasted from ships is alsobanned.    &nb spThe differences between terrestial regions are surface known. Less wellknown are the features that distingush the Atlantic from the peaceable Ocean, orthe coast of South America from those of Southern Africa. Regardless of this,the unhomogeneous regions of the worlds oceans are all affected by human activity,with pollution and proceeds of resouces of resouces being common to all seasand oceans. The various marine resources, as well as the extent of humanimpacts on them, are examined region by region, illustrating hos stresses on themarine environmet treatened the very resistance of some habitats and species.