Copper plays a vital role in enzymic activities in humans and fishes. Copper in small quantity is needed for survival and growth. But if the concentration of copper increases then it acts as a poison. Generally, ocean water has very little concentration of copper, but with increasing industrialization and on-surface activities, its concentration is also increasing. This copper can also react with other gaseous molecules or organic molecules, eventually making ocean water toxic and unsuitable for the growth of marine animals. Ocean Acidification is reducing the carbonate concentration, making it an even more suitable environment for copper to react with organic ligands (L) like thiols, exopolysaccharides etc. It is predicted that by the end of this century the concentration of free copper ions in the ocean will increase by 50%. This will greatly change the chemistry of the ocean and will affect the physiological processes of marine species. By 2100, environmental factors wi...
Man-made activities have accelerated the rate of ocean pollution. The oil spill is the quickest way to destroy our oceans. A large volume of petroleum products gets leaked into the ocean result in a spill. The oil spills mostly occur due to tankers, cargo accidents, oil platforms and wells. When an oil spill occurs in a coastal area than it also harms humans. But these spills have a greater effect on marine species than humans. Humans might stop the potential damage from the oil spills but marine species cannot. They are the ones who suffered the most due to such accidents. However, these spills also occur due to natural reasons. In fact, about 40 to 50% of the total oil released into the ocean is from the natural seeps from the seafloor rocks. This means approx. 600,000 tonnes of oil is released into the ocean due to natural reasons. However, these releases have very little damage because these are natural processes and are part of the ecosystem. It is discovered that special bacteria...
Coral bleaching happens when the algae on the coral die and the coral turn white. These algae and coral live in a symbiotic relationship. The algae are responsible for about 90% of coral's energy generation. Bleached coral cannot survive for a longer time. Eventually, they will die due to starvation. The main reason for bleaching is the increasing temperature of the ocean. Many other factors like ocean acidification and heavy metal pollution are also responsible for bleaching. Corals in almost every part of the world are affected due to increasing temperature. Many bleaching events have occurred in the past few decades. But the bleaching event of El Nino from 2014 to 2017 was the deadliest bleaching event ever. Between 1980 and 1990 sixty major coral bleaching events have occurred. The longest bleaching event was recorded in 2016. Over 70% of the world's corals were affected during that time. According to a study, the oldest bleaching event was that of Frasnian time of the Lat...
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