Ocean Desertification: Climate Change & Ocean Pollution

Ocean desertification Name Institution Ocean desertification Introduction CITATION Mer18 \l 1033 (Merriam Webster, 2018) dictionary defines desertification as ‘the process of becoming desert (as from land mismanagement or climate change).’ This phenomenon is caused by human activities which threaten the sustainability of mother nature. Typically, most people associate desertification with the growth of deserts and expansion of arid and semi-arid areas where water becomes scarce. However, ocean desertification is a new concept that describes how human activities have adversely affected marine life. Ocean desertification is, therefore, the loss of marine life due to human activities in seas and oceans. As human activities in oceans and on land intensifies, their direct and indirect effects lead to lower oxygen levels in oceans, less light penetration leads to the death of marine life. The marine ecosystem is affected by these factors and over time they die, migrate or become extinct. In the long run, humans will be affected by ocean desertification because it is an important source of our food and supports other industries like cement manufacturing and marine tourism. It is therefore important to come up with innovative solutions and institute stringent policies focused on protecting marine life as our survival partly depends on its sustainability. Human activities cause oceans desertification, and it is preventable. Causes Climate change Climate change is the inevitable fate of our planet caused by unsustainable human practices. It has been accelerated by the industrial revolution and human population increase in the last century. Today, oceans are rising due to increased temperatures experienced on the planet. The ozone layer is continuously being depleted, and a carbon dioxide blanket has formed over our atmosphere which reflects terrestrial radiation back. 2015 was the hottest year recorded in history which shows how human activities have destroyed the planet CITATION Nat16 \l 1033 (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016). Due to the increased temperatures, polar ice caps have started melting and adding to the ocean water. Ice caps on mountains across the world have also significantly reduced due to the increased temperatures experienced around the world. Human activities continue to make the planet inhabitable due to heat, and the oceans have started rising significantly. Rising oceans prevent good sunlight penetration to the ocean floor to support marine life. Therefore, millennia-old corals are dying due to lack of sunlight and most other plant species which carry out photosynthesis on the ocean floor. This leads to reduced oxygen levels and food scarcity for marine life which are an integral part of this ecosystem. Ocean pollution More indecomposable human waste is continuously being dumped in oceans. Today there are thousands of tons of plastic wastes which is floating on the oceans obscuring sunlight penetrations to the depths of the oceans. Oil spills have also become prevalent due to increased human activities on the oceans and more chemicals from industries all over the world find their way to the oceans. Carbon dioxide which has increased steadily in the past century causes acid rains which find it...