1. Marine pollution Definition
"Introduction of man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment (including estuaries) resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazard to human health, hindrance to marine activities including fishing, impairment of quality for use of sea-water, and reduction of amenities.” – GESAMP

2. Marine pollution General impacts Impacts on living resources
Contd..
Marine pollution
General impacts
Impacts on living resources
Hazards to human health
Hindrance to marine activities
Impairment of quality of seawater
Reduction of amenities
Loss of aesthetic beauty
Impacts on the sensitive habitats

3. Sources of pollution Land-based sources Agricultural run-off
Municipal and industrial wastes
Sea-based sources
Oceanic dumping
Offshore oil spills

4. Point and Non-Point Sources
Contd..
Point and Non-Point Sources
Point source – refers to a single identifiable source of pollutants eg. effluent outfall Non-point source – refers to diffuse source of pollutants eg. Acid rain, dust storms
NONPOINT SOURCES
POINT SOURCES
Urban streets
Suburban development
Wastewater treatment plant
Rural homes
Cropland
Factory
Animal feedlot

5. Discrete vs. Chronic Pollution
Types of pollution
Discrete vs. Chronic Pollution
Discrete (short term) – eg. an oil spill, the effects of which diminish with time
Chronic (long term) – eg. nutrient input, effluent discharge

6. (Petroleum hydrocarbons) Litter & Plastic debris
Types of pollution
Contd..
Pollution
Oil
(Petroleum hydrocarbons)
Eutrophication
Conservative
Metals
Halogenated
hydrocarbons
Thermal
Radioactive
Litter & Plastic debris

7. Oil pollution
Oil pollution is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters.
Oil spills are due to the following:
crude oil from tankers
offshore platforms
drilling rigs and wells
spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel)
spill of any oily refuse or waste oil

8. Oil pollution
Contd..
Sources
Source: UNEP

9. Oil pollution
Contd..
Fate
When oil is spilled on sea it spreads over the surface to form a thin film – called oil slick
Light oil spreads faster than heavy wax oil
Low molecular weight fractions evaporate
Water soluble components dissolve
Non-water soluble components emulsify and forms a viscous mass – “chocolate mousse”
Heavy residues form tar balls

10. Oil pollution
Contd..
Fate
Tar balls
Chocolate mousse

11. Oil pollution Impacts Effects – Impairment of marine life
Contd..
Impacts
Effects – Impairment of marine life
Plankton, esp. neuston at highest risk – exposed to water soluble components leaching from oil
Fixed vegetation –Sea grass beds– killed or flowering inhibited
In Mangroves – lenticels clogged with oil oxygen level in sediments drops – death
Sea birds –buoyancy and thermal insulation lost

12. Oil pollution Impacts Commercial damage
Contd..
Impacts
Commercial damage
Mortality of fish, reduction in catch
Death of fish eggs and larvae
Tourism – becomes nuisance – avoided by beach goers – loss of revenue
Loss of sensitive marine habitats – loss of flora and fauna

13. Eutrophication
“The enrichment of water by nutrients, especially nitrogen and/or phosphorus, causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of water concerned”
- OSPAR (Oslo/Paris convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic)

14. Eutrophication Sources Wastewater effluent (municipal and industrial)
Contd..
Eutrophication
Sources
Wastewater effluent (municipal and industrial)
Runoff and leachate from waste disposal systems
Runoff from agriculture/irrigation Runoff from pasture and range
Runoff from mines, oil fields, unsewered industrial sites
Overflows of combined storm and sanitary sewers
Untreated sewage

15. Eutrophication Impacts Over-productivity
Contd..
Eutrophication
Impacts
Over-productivity
Reduction in phytoplankton species diversity
Growth of harmful algal blooms
Reduction in dissolved oxygen content
Anoxia and mass mortalities of marine organisms

16. Contd..
Eutrophication
Global map of dead zones related to human-caused eutrophication (Scientific American, 2008)

17. An example of Marine outfalls in Tarut Bay
Eutrophication
Contd..
An example of Marine outfalls in Tarut Bay
Safwa STP
Sanabis STP
Awamiya STP & Nasira Agricultural
Jaruadiyah STP
Majidia Agricultural Discharge
Anak South Agriculture discharge
Anak North Agricultural Discharge

18. Total estimated discharges (m3/day)
Eutrophication
Contd..
Total estimated discharges (m3/day)

19. Water Quality Parameters
Eutrophication
Contd..
PME Receiving body Water Quality Standards
 Parameter
Unit 
Red Sea 
 Industrial
(C3)
Arabian Gulf
Industrial
Water Quality Parameters
TKN
mg/l 5
Inorganic Nitrogen
(Nitrite & Nitrate) 2
Total Phosphorus 1
Dissolved oxygen
>3
>5
BOD 15 20

20. Discharge Parameters (mean for 2006-2007)
Eutrophication
Contd..
Discharge Parameters (mean for )
Discharge
(30 day avg.)
Flow Rate
(m3/day)
Ammonia (mg/L)
BOD (mg/L)
pH (units)
TKN
(mg/L)
PME
Allowable Effluent Level
1.0 25
6-9 5
Al Jesh STP
15,161
16.52
61.96 -
20.19
Anak-North
42,422
3.61
Anak-South
31,882
3.65
Awamiya STP
17,188
17.02
64.17
20.22
Dammam STP
230,128
13.72
22.58
7.45
16.51
Jaruadiyah STP
65,736
13.06
3.23
Joyaima GP
6.55
8.03
9.14
Majidia
8,510
Nasira Plant
10,238
3.63
Ras Tanura Refinery
137,908
7.74
Safwa STP
14,265
2.65
4.17
7.08
Sanabis STP
23,988
16.54
63.50
21.11
In excess of PME standards for direct discharge to receiving waters for a 30 day average.

21. Conservative pollutants - Metals
A heavy metal is a member of a loosely-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties.
It mainly includes the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides.
There is an alternative term for heavy metal and is called as toxic metal
The major sources of metals are:
Natural sources
Manmade sources

22. Conservative pollutants - Metals
Contd..
Conservative pollutants - Metals
Natural Sources
Erosion of ore-bearing rocks
Atmospheric inputs - wind blown
dust
Volcanic activity
Forest fires
Riverine inputs into oceans

23. Conservative pollutants - Metals
Contd..
Conservative pollutants - Metals
Manmade Sources
Industrial discharge
Sewage
Re-suspension of sediments by dredging and trenching

24. Conservative pollutants - Metals
Contd..
Conservative pollutants - Metals
World-wide emissions (Clark, 2001)
Metal
Natural sources
(in thousand tonnes/year)
Anthropogenic sources
Arsenic 12 18
Cadmium
1.3
7.6
Copper 28 35
Lead
332
Nickel 30 56
Zinc 45
132

25. Conservative pollutants - Metals
Contd..
Conservative pollutants - Metals
Impacts
Arsenic (As)
Phytoplankton most sensitive & accumulate from water column
Higher trophic levels accumulate via food.
Cadmium (Cd)
Divalent cadmium is more toxic
Tends to bioaccumulate
Lead (Pb)
Forms strong complex with clay and suspended material
Bioaccumulates in most marine organisms – no significant problems.

26. Conservative pollutants - Metals
Contd..
Conservative pollutants - Metals
An example of Mercury pollution in Minamata Bay, Japan ( )
Source
Pollution from plastic plant- dumped mercuric chloride into the bay
Impact
Shellfishes contaminated with mercury
People who consumed shellfish severely affected
43 dead and 700 permanently disabled
Bay is still unusable for fishing and shell fishing

27. Impacts of metal pollution by Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification

28. Bioaccumulation
Increase in concentration of a substance(s) in an organism or a part of that organism
The affected organism has a higher concentration of the substance than the concentration in the organism’s surrounding environment
Not excreted or metabolised and failure of the target organ

29. An example of bioaccumulation in Arabic Gulf

30. Biomagnification Also called bioamplification
Increase in concentration of a substance in a food chain, not an organism

31. Conservative pollutants – Halogenated hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons containing chlorine, fluorine, bromine or iodine
Differs from petroleum hydrocarbons – not degraded by chemical oxidation or by bacteria
Low molecular weight compounds
– eg., Dichloroethane, Freons etc.
High molecular weight compounds
– eg., DDT, Drins, PCBs

32. Conservative pollutants – Halogenated hydrocarbons
Contd..
Conservative pollutants –
Halogenated hydrocarbons
Sources
Aerial transport
Aerial spraying of pesticides as aerosols – travel great distances
Freshwater inputs
Rain washing of pesticides carried into sea by rivers
Silt from flood
Direct inputs
By industrial outfalls – especially by Pesticide manufacturing companies.

33. Conservative pollutants – Halogenated hydrocarbons
Contd..
Conservative pollutants –
Halogenated hydrocarbons
Impacts
Low solubility in water persist for long durations
Fat-soluble , so incorporated into the tissue of marine organisms and sediments
Lethal to the animal
Possibility of transmission through food webs – established in a number of animals

34. Outfall from Qurrayah power plant, Saudi Arabia
Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature.
A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers.
When water used as a coolant is returned to the natural environment at a higher temperature, the change in temperature decreases oxygen supply, and affects ecosystem composition.
Outfall from Qurrayah power plant, Saudi Arabia

35. Thermal pollution Sources Industrial wastewater Power plant discharges
Contd..
Thermal pollution
Sources
Industrial wastewater
Power plant discharges
Desalination plant discharges
Urban runoff

36. Thermal pollution Impacts Thermal shock Decrease in dissolved oxygen
Contd..
Thermal pollution
Impacts
Thermal shock
Decrease in dissolved oxygen
Increase in photosynthesis
Increase in metabolic rate of fish
Increase in oxygen consumption

37. Radioactive pollution
Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of research and medicine.
Radioactive waste is hazardous to human health
Pollution due to radioactive wastes – Radioactive pollution

38. Radioactive pollution
Contd..
Radioactive pollution
Sources
Weapons testing – Testing of nuclear weapons – when exploded underwater release fission products and isotopes
Liquid wastes – Discharge from the cooling water of nuclear reactors
Solid wastes – Dumping of radioactive wastes in Sea (now no longer practiced).

39. Radioactive pollution
Contd..
Radioactive pollution
Impacts
Highly lethal - Even low doses causes fatal damage
Possibility of bioaccumulation – especially in algae and bivalves
eg. Porphyra near a nuclear power plant location had 10 times more caesium-137 than in the surrounding waters

40. Litter and Plastics pollution
Marine litter, is human created waste that has deliberately or accidentally become afloat in a the sea or ocean.
It tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack.

41. Litter and Plastics pollution
Contd..
Litter and Plastics pollution
Sources
Up to 80% of the pollution is land-based.
A wide variety of anthropogenic artifacts can become marine debris
Plastic Bags, Balloons, Buoys etc.

42. Litter and Plastics pollution
Contd..
Litter and Plastics pollution
Impacts
Many animals that live on or in the sea consume flotsam by mistake, as it often looks similar to their natural prey
Blocks the passage of food and causing death through starvation or infection.
Tiny floating particles also resemble zooplankton, which can lead filter feeders to consume them and cause them to enter the ocean food chain.
In samples taken from the North Pacific Gyre in 1999 by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, the mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton by a factor of six.

43. Solution to pollution Reduce input of toxic pollutants
Treat sewage primary, secondary and tertiary treatment
Ban dumping of wastes and raw sewage in nthe sea
Ban ocean dumping of sludge and hazardous dredged material
Protect sensitive areas from development, oil drilling, and oil shipping
Regulate coastal development

44. Thank you