Yessica Pacheco

Enriching the Sea to Death

Author: Scott W. Nixon
Major Ideas:
An excess of nutrients flowing from the land into the sea has created serious environmental problems in many coastal waters. Various methods failed to extract the elements nitrogen and phosphorus, nutrients indispensable to human life and abundant in human waste. Only recently have measures been taken to forestall the worst effects. Nitrogen and phosphorus are the essential ingredients of plant fertilizers. Where nutrients are scarce, phytoplankton are sparse and the water is usually crystal clear. North Americans pour nutrients into bays and estuaries at alarming rates. Phytoplankton oating near the surface of nutrient-rich lakes fare better in the O2 equation. Complex aquatic food chains may be broken apart. Thick layers of phytoplankton may block sunlight for sea grasses and seaweeds The human population consumes and excretes more nitrogen than ever. The typical diet is also higher in protein which has an abundance of nitrogen As human numbers have grown so have livestock numbers. To manage enough crops for both livestock and humans, farmers have added fertilizers which have extra Nitrogen and Phosphorus. The rain washes these nutrients into the rivers and streams which ultimately leads to lakes and oceans Farmers have increased the number of legumes they plant. These legumes live in partnership with microorganisms which convert nitrogen to nutritive form. Enriching nitrogen compounds about equal to fertilizers have become available like this Researchers have found that Phosphorus induces aquatic plants to bloom in most freshwater areas rather than nitrogen. This was good news since Phosphorus is easier to manage Phosphorus has a sticky characteristic and binds to other substances with ease. It is less likely to leach through fertilized fields. Phosphorus can also be removed from sewage by taking advantage of the stickiness. Phosphate has also been removed from products such as laundry detergent making decreasing eutrophication. The burning of fossil fuel has produce high amounts of nitrogen oxides. Rain and wind carries this compound into waters, further enriching it Sewers in developing countries are bound to carry raw sewage initially until treatment will occur. This means nitrogen will not be removed for many years

Running water has given us the ability to be more efficient, It is beneficial to humans, but not to the ocean or organisms who lives it. Ever since humans excrements have been disposed into the water

Yessica Pacheco instead of the ground, it has caused water pollution to increase a lot. Not only was the water polluted, it also caused more land pollution because as the fish dies, they get washed back to the land by waves along with other trashes that got disposed into the water. As humans are polluting the water, they are also adding nutrients into it because human waste contains nitrogen and phosphorus. Too much of it is a problem because too much nutrients can lead to blooms. When there is a high amount of phytoplankton, the oxygen level will deplete causing marine organisms to die; therefore it is not beneficial to marine organisms when there is too much amount of nutrients in their habitat. Conclusion: Human disposal was not originally disposed in the water; therefore it should not be continue to get disposed into the ocean. Oceans do need a certain amount of nutrients, but the ecosystem needs to be balanced; therefore too much amount or too little amount of nutrients can affect the organisms that are in the ecosystem, which eventually triggers a chain of reaction and affects the rest of the ecosystem As for now, humans do not have the technology or intelligence to completely dispose things without waiting for it to decompose, hopefully we come up with a better system of how we decompose things and then dont create as much eutrophication. With our agriculture and excrement, we are adding too many nutrients to the environment. Runoff and leaching from farm fields are adding unnecessary nutrients as well as our raw sewage. We have to find a way to prevent all the excess nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus from entering our waters and disrupting the ecosystem. So What? We should all make a difference because if we don't, dead zones will keep on spreading throughout the ocean, and too much nutrients will hurt the ocean. We should all start by letting more people become aware of the issue, and make a difference by working together. We all care, so why don't we all reremind ourselves. Says Who? Says I, who cares about the sea animals and our ocean. Says the Scientists, environmentalists, people who care about the ocean. Says all of us who want to make a difference and protect our world. What if? What if we don't do anything about it, and let the whole sea become a dead zone. We let all of the animals die and the ocean die. Our children and grandchildren will never be able to see wild life in the oceans. We all could help and make a difference. We can improve agriculture ways and pollute less, and also releasing less Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to this world. The ocean provides us with more than 50% of the Earth's Oxygen (O2), it provides us the air we breathe, transportation, the weather, and life for the marine animals. What Does This Remind Me Of?

Yessica Pacheco This reminds me of the Ocean Acidification Lab. This reminds me of the lab because both have to do with Carbon Dioxide, and how it affects our oceans and marine life. Both are major problems, and if we could stop releasing too much Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere, then we could end with both of problems.