Petroleum products used for fuel are mined from the earth deep below the ocean surfaces. Oil can end up polluting oceans in many ways. Marine environment is submitted to contamination1 that comes in many different forms, such as toxic chemicals (eg, organic compounds, DDT, PCB, metals, pharmaceuticals, gas), solid waste (eg, plastics), increased nutrient (eg, nitrates and phosphates) and sediment inputs due to human activities (eg, industry, agriculture, deforestation, sewage discharge, aquaculture), radioactivity, oil spills, and discarded fishing nets. Marine contamination changes the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the oceans and coastal zones, and potentially threatens marine organism, ecosystem .

Pollution from trash dumping, sewage and industrial waste. Like the rest of the pollution, most of what is found in the ocean comes from land, according to the California Coastal Many people practice open defecation in south Asia. As a result, lot of human waste containing nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enter rivers. Riveurs transport these nutrients to coastal waters. This source of nutrient pollution is, however, ignored in many nutrient models. We quantify nutrient export by large rivers to coastal seas of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, and the associated eutrophication potential in 2000 and 2050. Our new estimates for N and P inputs from human waste are one to two orders of magnitude higher than earlier model calculations.

Plastic pollution in our oceans is one of the most pressing environmental issues we are facing today. A new study released in 2019 reveals that the amount of plastics in our oceans has been increasing significantly since its use became widespread in the 50s, and this problem is likely to get worse. Not only does plastic pollution affect over 600 marine species who can ingest or become entangled in plastic debris – leading to starvation, drowning or suffocation – it also has a negative impact on the economy, with economic costs due to plastic pollution estimated at $6-9 billion USD every year. What’s more, microplastics are threatening human health, with fish and other seafood carrying toxic pollutants to us via the food chain.