This essay will be about the properties of the ocean and the communities within it, let's start with the water itself that forms all oceans. It is composed of two positively charged hydrogen atoms and one negatively charged oxygen atom (Water, The Universal Solvent). The hydrogen atoms stay to one side of the oxygen when attached, and their differences in charge cause the molecule to possess a high level of polarity. This high polarity leads to high strength in the bond between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms and allows for unique interactions with temperature. Specifically, the bond won't shatter when water is boiled or frozen, giving it the unique property of being able to be naturally found in all three states of matter. The state's water can take are solid when frozen, liquid when neutral, and gas when heated. This is unique to water because it's freezing, melting, and evaporating points are relatively close together and perfectly in the temperature range of the earth. The biggest way this property affects the world positively is when water is in its frozen form, as large ice glaciers will absorb heat first before the ocean. This helps to keep the ocean cooler than without them, at the cost of these icecaps melting. Water can be found naturally in these different states in different parts of our world. Ice is found near the cold poles of the world, and water vapor congregates the most near the hot and humid equator. However, regardless of location, there is only one ocean and all of the water in it changes at once. This is a dire truth when a phenomenon caused by global warming known as ocean stratification comes into play. Ocean stratification happens when light, less salty, and warm water at the surface doesn't mix as well with cold, heavy, and saltier water in the deep. This is a threat to the oceans as a whole as this means there is less exchange of vital resources between the depths and surface. Surface water not mixing with cold deep water can cause the surface to overheat and practically cook any life in it. Deep waters in turn cannot accept oxygen from the surface or transfer salt, causing both systems to be knocked off balance and eventually become uninhabitable (Snider). Stratification is not all bad, as these differences in temperature and salinity allow the global water currents to flow, as warm surface water rolls above cold deep water transporting heat around the world. However, too much stratification can accelerate global warming which negatively affects everything. Despite the increasing stratification of the ocean, some aspects are unaffected by the chemically diverging depths and surface. Light is one of these, as it has always been a key factor alongside pressure and heat in affecting how life evolves in the depths. Light cannot fully penetrate the water despite it being partially translucent, and the levels of light based on depth are categorized into zones. The Euphotic zone being situated at the surface possesses the most light, which then transitions into the disphotic zone. This depth possesses much less light and is also where colors start to disappear, red being the first to go (Light in the Ocean). This then leads into the aphotic zone, dwarfing the other two in size while also possessing no light down to the bottom.
The main driving factor of those qualities is the ocean chemistry behind them, and one process known by many is the water cycle. The general concept of it is simple, water starts in the ocean, evaporates into water vapor forming clouds, and then condenses back into water and eventually flows back into the ocean. However, the individual steps are not equal in length, such as the cloud stage lasting days while a drop of water can remain in the ocean for thousands of years (The Fundamentals of the Water Cycle). However, water isn't the only thing that stays in the ocean for large amounts of time. When dissolved many molecules can exist in water for extended periods, and the length one can stay is called residence time. Residence times are an estimate of how long individual molecules stay in the ocean, and the times vary based on the structure. For example, dissolved iron has a residence time of around 300~ years in the ocean (Bruland, 3171-3182). As previously mentioned in the water cycle, water itself has a long residence time, 3,000 years to be specific. (Augustyn). Some molecules are way ahead of the rest in terms of residence time, as sodium ions can have a residence time of 55 million years (Culkin, 789-804)! These residence times are the result of the dissolution quality of water, which ties back to its previously mentioned polarity. Its strong and opposite polarities being on different sides of the molecule lets it attract to and tug on other molecules. Its strength is so high that water can pull apart weaker bonds such as the bond in salt (NaCl) (Water, The Universal Solvent). Water's disassembly of salt means that there are no solid crystals of salt present in the ocean. This is because the sodium and chlorine in salt have split apart and combined with water into a homogenous solution (Water molecules and their interaction with salt). This homogenous solution has different qualities than its parts, and even previously unseen interactions with other parts of our world. Specifically, salt affects some of water's properties relating to temperature and conductivity. First, salt water has a noticeably higher boiling point and lower freezing point due to the sodium and chlorine within the solution. As for conductivity both pure water and dry salt are very poor conductors of electricity. However, homogenous seawater is very good at moving electricity due to the current being able to move between the individual chloride and sodium ions (Test whether solutions formed by ionic or covalent bonds show more electrical resistance). Despite salt mixing so easily and evenly with water, some parts of our single ocean have less salt than others. The topography of land bordering the ocean and water flowing across it has led to the natural formation of brackish deltas and estuaries. These systems are characterized by being transition points where fresh water from a river flow mixes with water from the ocean. The mix of fresh and saltwater forms partially salted brackish water, a telltale sign of the unique estuary ecosystem (Rivers, Estuaries, and Deltas). Liquid fresh water isn't the only substance the ocean absorbs from outside its global mass. Our ocean also absorbs atmospheric gasses of many types, some good and some very bad. Healthy oxygen is one of these gasses and enters the ocean through dissolution at the surface of the water, as do the other common gasses. Dissolved oxygen is breathed by non-mammalian ocean animals while also being produced by underwater plants. Another gas is nitrogen, it enters the water and is changed by special bacteria which convert it into nitrate, a crucial substance for primary production (5.4 Dissolved Gases: Oxygen). One more gas is carbon dioxide, and on the outside, it seems as beneficial as the others. Just like on land plants need carbon dioxide to breathe and also complete photosynthesis. However, a problem arose when too much carbon at a time was dissolving into the ocean. The carbon dioxide that enters the ocean is broken apart by water and afterward combines with it to form carbonic acid. This carbonic acid then further splits into hydrogen and carbonic ions, which lowers the pH of the ocean. Lowered pH causes the ocean to become more acidic, and this acidity can have negative effects on other molecules in the water such as calcium. The measure of this acidities effect on calcium specifically is called the ocean's Calcium Carbonate Compensation Depth. Calcium Carbonate Compensation Depth (CCD) is the depth of the ocean where Calcium Carbonate dissolves completely as deeper waters are far more acidic than surface water. If pH gets lower, the CCD could potentially raise and cause its effects at lower and lower depths, eventually reaching the surface as the ocean becomes more acidic (6.21: Calcium Carbonate Compensation Depth). The reason for this increase in carbon dioxide and the thing that affects all the common gasses are the actions of humanity. Ever since the industrial revolution, more CO2 has entered the atmosphere, and this has affected the other common gasses. Just by sheer percentage, the increases in CO2 mean that more will be entering the ocean while oxygen and nitrogen can't keep up. This could lead to the ocean getting choked out of resources in addition to all the other problems H20 brings.
Sadly CO2 isn't the only harmful thing entering our oceans thanks to humans, multiple types of pollution are also a leading cause of damage in the global waters. One such type is known as runoff, and it originates from a myriad of sources all man-made. Septic tank runoffs, farms, and gas-powered machines are common culprits. These can contain pesticides, oils, and general gunk that muddies the water while choking and poisoning the wildlife within. General marine debris from humans is also a huge threat to the ocean and its animals alike, and can be found individually or in patches globally. This trash whether it be fishing gear or plastic bottle lids can kill marine life when they are entangled in it or ingest it. Animals have no clue of what trash is, and they'll likely recognize it as harmless food or shelter (Ocean pollution and marine debris). There are thankfully ways these issues can be mitigated, replacing gas machines with green energy can limit the runoff of oil and farmers can grow organic crops. There are also several initiatives to reduce our use of plastics and also ways people can do so individually such as reusable bottles. There is much we have and can do to stop trash and pollution from ravaging the ocean, however not all can be undone. Many disruptions to animals and their habitats have sadly already run their course, and more are on their way. Coral reefs are a large victim of these disruptions, bleached by global warming and smothered by ocean debris. The Florida Mangroves are also negatively affected by this ocean trash, it reduces the quality of water and blocks the flow of water to the Mangroves' roots (Habitat Damage). However, not all pollution is physical and some have an invisible effect only noticed until it's too late. Noise-based sound pollution is one of these and can affect ecosystems just as badly as an oil spill. It can have multiple sources, a motorboat skimming across the water, a dragging trawl net, or even simple diving. They all emit noises that mess up the entire soundscape of an underwater environment. Many fish use sounds to locate and communicate, so a large grating sound flying by can disorient and scare many creatures (Ocean pollution and marine debris). All of these issues are deadly in their own way but are smaller scale relatively. One omnipresent issue dwarfs the rest and affects anything, anywhere, land or sea. Climate change. Climate change is currently shifting heavily in the direction of global warming, and large changes tied to humanity are the cause. The largest is the burning of fossil fuels adding carbon dioxide to the air and ocean, and others include cutting forests, melting the ice caps, and even our current food industry. The increase in heat affects animals and their environments alike and in increasingly dire ways. Firstly, animals aren't given time to adapt to these drastic changes unlike with the world's natural temperature cycles. Some animals also simply cannot live under certain temperatures such as corals or polar dwelling species. Speaking of the poles, the heat also causes drastic changes that environments can't exist under. The melting ice ruins both polar and coastal environments via the ice loss reducing land area in both places. Despite the harrowing ordeal climate change presents in front of us, not all hope is lost. People of science have researched and put into play multiple methods of combatting global warming. One of the best is to halt fossil fuel burning and switch to renewable energy sources. Another is to not reduce the amount of CO2 absorbers in our environments, such as trees on land or algae in the water. The final way is tied to methane rather than CO2, but would still be a great climate change counter, and it's to heavily reduce our farming of beef. Ruminators such as cows produce tons of gaseous methane every year, so switching to much more efficient methods such as clean fish farming would do the earth a big favor.
Shifting back to our oceans, there is also a lot that we take from the ocean, both literally and figuratively. There are multiple categories of what we take from the oceans, and the most widespread are animal resources. While better described as Biological Resources, this includes things that are alive, was alive, or are produced by something alive. This includes fishing for food, vanity, and sport, seaweed and kelp farming, harvesting of coral, and collecting of invertebrates. These resources are collected through mass fishing with nets, hands-on individual collection, or farms. An obvious pro of the fish resources especially is that people get to eat, and fish is a very green source of food when farmed. However, the cons of collecting all of these resources are that they deplete the populations of these resources in line with how much they are collected. Poorly done farming can also lead atrophied fish to escape or chemicals to leak into the wild (Hawaii Coastal Use Definitions). Another set of resources we take from the ocean is known as extractive resources, things we take directly from the ocean mass itself. This includes oil, minerals, precious metals, salt, and gravel to name a few. The resources are mostly collected through colossal underwater machinery that digs into the ocean floor in search of them. An advantage to utilizing these resources is that there are just so many in the ocean, considering it covers ~70% of our earth there are many more there than on land. There are many downsides to this however, the heavy machinery by itself causes noise pollution issues and also completely tears up the ocean floor just looking for a viable spot. There is also the dire risk of an oil spill that could have decades-long aftershocks for the environment. The third large category of resources we use from the ocean is renewable energy resources, which is the least harmful category of the ones listed here. These renewable energy resources include water-based wave and current energy, or hydrokinetic energy, as well as ocean wind energy through sea windmills. Hydrokinetic energy works by using the motion of waves/currents to power a physical mill that generates electricity, while ocean wind energy does the same but with the wind as the source. As said earlier these resources don't damage the environment at all, the only risk being noise pollution during their installation (Renewable Energy on the Outer Continental Shelf). The final category is known as Non-Extractive resources, and despite the name, it is tied to every other resource. This category is more about activities in the ocean such as using boats for transport of people and goods, use of boats by the navy, submarines for exploration, and even something like surfing. The advantages and methods of non-extractive uses are pretty self-explanatory, people get to do the activities as they're stated through the use of the water. However, the disadvantages of this resource's use are plentiful and connected. Boats going by cause heavy noise pollution, and contaminated water and fuel can enter the ocean through them (Hawaii Coastal Use Definitions). The navy's use of sonar can destroy underwater life instantly, however, the biggest infraction is its use in the other categories. Every other resource utilizes non-extraction in some way, to fish you need a boat to get out there, machines need to move along the bottom to reach the oil, and someone has to go out to install an ocean mill. We use all of these resources while giving very little back, which is something I and many hope and will work to change.
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