ENV100Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 40: Coral Reef, Overfishing, Natural Resource
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ENV100Y5 Full Course Notes
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Env100y5- lecture 40- marine and coastal system (continuation) Mangrove forests: salt-tolerant trees with aerial roots, filter pollutants, protect from storm surges; extremely biodiverse, 35% lost in 10 years (aquaculture, industry, development) Salt marshes: emergent plants on intertidal flats, critical habitat for fish, migrating birds; filter pollution; sabilize shoreline, threatened by invasive species; draining; disruption of food webs; contamination, ~70% lost. Estuaries: freshwater meets saltwater in estuaries, where rivers flow into the ocean, wide fluctuations in salinity, critical habitat for shorebirds and shellfish, often subject to pollution; spills. Transportation routes: human travel on the ocean = substantial impact, ballast water transplants organisms, which may become invasive. Energy: crude oil and natural gas, renewable sources- waves, tides, ocean thermal energy, methane hydrate. Also called methane clathrate, hydromethene, methane ice. : significant deposits under sediments on ocean floor, potential impact on climate (methane is a greenhouse gas)
