Skip to main content

Impact of Physical and Chemical Processes on Marine Environment

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Current Status of Marine Water Microbiology

Abstract

The marine and coastal environment is a highly productive zone made up of several subsystems, including seagrass beds and coral reefs. It is a diverse habitat with a vast variety of living organisms that includes simple primitive to highly developed organisms. The famous marine ecosystems in which humans have invaded include Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic Ocean basins. Since the origin of life on Earth, the seas have been responsible for preserving a healthy balance in the ecosystem of the entire planet. The waste products that are produced as a result of human activities eventually end the ocean ecosystem continuously. There are various chemical pollutants frequently drained in to the coastal and marine habitats. The ocean occupied a total area of about 360 million square kilometres, which is accounting for 71% of the Earth’s surface area. The most significant means of commercial transportation for import and export is sea route. The ocean along with the ocean ecosystem is a very significant part of our everyday lives. It can be said that the ocean has become the most important part of people’s life around the world. Hence, the state of the marine environment at the moment is not encouraging, and marine pollution has emerged as a major issue in modern civilisation. Moreover, the chemical and oil leakage incidents also affect the entire ecosystem. Thus, it is today’s urgent need to recover the maritime environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams SM (2005) Assessing cause and effect of multiple stressors on marine systems. Mar Pollut Bull 51:8–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alcaro L, Amato E, Cabioch F, Farchi C, Gouriou V (2007) DEEPP Project, Development of European Guidelines for Potentially Polluting Shipwrecks. ICRAM, Instituto Centrale per la Ricerca scientifica e tecnologica Applicata al Mare. CEDRE, CEntre de Documentation de Recherché et d’Epérimentations sur les pollutions accidentelles des eaux

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen JI (2011) Marine environment and human health: an overview. In: Hester RE, Harrison RM (eds) Marine pollution and human health - issues in environmental science and technology. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Amato E, Alcaro L, Corsi I, Della Torre C, Farchi C, Focardi S, Marino G, Tursi A (2006) An integrated ecotoxicological approach to assess the effects of pollutants released by unexploded chemical ordnance dumped in the southern Adriatic (Mediterranean Sea). Mar Biol 149:17–23

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amos HM, Jacob DJ, Streets DG, Sunderland EM (2013) Legacy impacts of all-time anthropogenic emissions on the global mercury cycle. Global Biogeochem Cycles 27:410–421

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Andersson ME, Sommar J, Gårdfeldt K, Jutterström S (2011) Air-sea exchange of volatile mercury in the North Atlantic Ocean. Mar Chem 125:1–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Annibaldi A, Illuminati C, Truzzi C, Scarponi G (2011) SWASV speciation of Cd, Pb and Cu for the determination of seawater contamination in the area of the Nicole shipwreck (Ancona Coast, Central Adriatic Sea). Mar Pollut Bull 62:2813–2821

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bakke T, Klungsøyr J, Sanni S (2013) Environmental impacts of produced water and drilling waste discharges from the Norwegian offshore petroleum industry. Mar Environ Res 92:154–169

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baršienė J, Butrimavičienė L, Grygiel W, Lang T, Michailovas A, Jackūnas T (2014) Environmental genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in flounder (Platichthys flesus), herring (Clupea harengus) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from chemical munitions dumping zones in the southern Baltic Sea. Mar Environ Res 96:56–67

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Batrakova N, Travnikov O, Rozovskaya O (2014) Chemical and physical transformations of mercury in the ocean: a review. Ocean Sci 10:1047–1063

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beddington J, Kinloch AJ (2005) Munitions dumped at sea: a literature review. IC Consultants Ltd., Imperial College, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Benn AR, Weaver PP, Billet DSM, van den Hove S, Murdock AP, Doneghan GB, le Bas T (2010) Human activities on the deep seafloor in the north East Atlantic: an assessment of spatial extent. PLoS One 5:e12730

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Berne S, Marchand M, D’Ozouville L (1980) Pollution of sea water and marine sediments in coastal areas. Ambio 9:287–293

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonaventura R, Poma V, Costa C, Matranga V (2005) UVB radiation prevents skeleton growth and stimulates the expression of stress markers in sea urchin embryos. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 328:150–157

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boszke L, Głosinska G, Siepak J (2002) Some aspects of speciation of mercury in a water environment. Pol J Environ Stud 11:285–298

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cahill RA, Unger MT (1993) Evaluation of the extent of contaminated sediments in the west branch of the grand Calumet River, Indiana-Illinois, USA. Water Sci Technol 28:53–58

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Calmano W, Hong J, Forstner U (1993) Binding and mobilization of heavy metals in contaminated sediments affected by pH and redox potential. Water Sci Technol 28:223–225

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman PM, Wang F (2001) Environ Toxicol Chem 20:3–22

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • CHEMSEA (2014) Results from the CHEMSEA project – chemical munitions search and assessment. http://www.chemsea.eu/admin/uploaded/CHEMSEA%20Findings.pdf

  • Christensen ER, Phoomiphakdeephan W, Ab Razak IA (1997) Water quality in Milwaukee, Wisconsin vs. intake crib location. ASCE J Environ Eng 123:492–498

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R, Farley J (2007) Ecological economics of coastal disasters: introduction to the special issue. Ecol Econ 63:249–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R, d’Arge R, de Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M, Hannon B et al (1997) The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387:253–260

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R, de Groot R, Sutton P, van der Ploeg S, Anderson SJ, Kubiszewski I, Farber S, Turner RK (2014) Changes in the global value of ecosystem services. Glob Environ Chang 26:152–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crain CM, Kroeker K, Halpern BS (2008) Interactive and cumulative effects of multiple human stressors in marine systems. Ecol Lett 11:1304–1315

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dafforn KA, Lewis JA, Johnston EL (2011) Antifouling strategies: history and regulation, ecological impacts and mitigation. Mar Pollut Bull 62:453–465

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Daniel P (2009) Available chemotherapy in Mediterranean fish farming: use and needs. In: Rogers C, Basurco B (eds) The use of veterinary drugs and vaccines in Mediterranean aquaculture, Options Méditerranéennes: Série A. Séminaires Méditerranéens, vol 86. CIHEAM, Zaragoza, pp 197–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Dash B, Sahu N, Singh AK, Gupta SB, Soni R (2021) Arsenic efflux in Enterobacter cloacae RSN3 isolated from arsenic-rich soil. Folia Microbiol 66:189–196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deblonde T, Cossu-Leguille C, Hartemann P (2011) Emerging pollutants in wastewater: a review of the literature. Int J Hyg Environ Health 214:442–448

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • EC (2012) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: blue growth—opportunities from the marine and maritime sustainable growth. COM 494

    Google Scholar 

  • Eriksen M, Lebreton LCM, Carson HS (2014) Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans: more than 5 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons afloat at sea. PLoS One 9:e111913

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming LE, Laws E (2006) Overview of the oceans and human health. Oceanography 19:18–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox KR, Lytle DA (1994) Cryptosporidium and the Milwaukee incident: critical issues in water and wastewater treatment. In: Ryan JN, Edwards M (eds) Proceedings, 1994 ASCE national conference on environmental engineering. ASCE, New York, pp 51–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavrilescu M, Demnerová K, Aamand J, Agathos S, Fava F (2015) Emerging pollutants in the environment: present and future challenges in biomonitoring, ecological risks and bioremediation. New Biotechnol 32:147–156

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geissen V, Mol H, Klumpp E, Umlauf G, Nadal M, van der Ploeg M, van de Zee SEATM, Ritsema CJ (2015) Emerging pollutants in the environment: a challenge for water resource management. Int Soil Water Conserv Res 3:57–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Göransson G, Apler A, Dahlberg A, Löfroth H, Josefsson S, Wiberg K, Frogner-Kockum P, Nylander P, Hedfors J, Snowball I (2021) Assessing the risk of contaminant dispersion from fibrous sediments of industrial origin. Front Mar Sci 8:729243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guardiola FA, Cuesta A, Meseguer J, Esteban MA (2012) Risks of using antifouling biocides in aquaculture. Int J Mol Sci 13:1541–1560

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Harley CDG, Hughes AR, Hultgren KM, Miner BG, Sorte CJB, Thornber CS, Rodriguez LF, Tomanek L, Williams SL (2006) The impacts of climate change in coastal marine systems. Ecol Lett 9:228–241

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hector A, Bagchi R (2007) Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. Nature 448:188–190

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • HELCOM (2013) Chemical munitions dumped in the Baltic Sea. Report of the ad hoc expert group to update and review the existing information on dumped chemical munitions in the Baltic Sea (HELCOM MUNI). In: Baltic Sea environment proceeding no. 142

    Google Scholar 

  • Hermanson MH (1993) Historical accumulation of atmospherically derived pollutant trace metals in the Arctic as measured in dated sediment cores. Water Sci Technol 28:33–41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heyman J, Bohorquez P, Ancey C (2016) Entrainment, motion, and deposition of coarse particles transported by water over a sloping mobile bed. J Geophys Res Earth 121:1931–1952

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howarth, RW (2008) Coastal nitrogen pollution: a review of sources and trends globally and regionally. Harmful Algae 8:14–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang HH (2016) The Eh-pH diagram and its advances. Metals 6:23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huxley TH (1883) Address at the international fisheries exhibition, London

    Google Scholar 

  • IAEA (2015) Inventory of radioactive material resulting from historical dumping, accidents and losses at sea. IAEA-TECDOC-1776, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • IMO (International Maritime Organization) (2000) Protocol on preparedness, response and co-operation to pollution incidents by hazardous and noxious substances (OPRC-HNS Protocol)

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston EL, Roberts DA (2009) Contaminants reduce the richness and evenness of marine communities: a review and meta-analysis. Environ Pollut 157:1745–1752

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson J, Ytreberg E, Eklund B (2010) Toxicity of anti-fouling paints for use on ships and leisure boats to non-target organisms representing three trophic levels. Environ Pollut 158:681–687

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar P, Dash B, Suyal DC, Gupta SB, Singh AK, Chowdhury T, Soni R (2021) Characterization of arsenic-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae RnASA11 from contaminated soil and water samples and its bioremediation potential. Curr Microbiol 78:3258–3267

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Landquist H, Hassellöv IM, Rosén L, Lindgren JF, Dahllöf I (2013) Evaluating the needs of risk assessment methods of potentially polluting shipwrecks. J Environ Manag 119:85–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lawler JJ, Aukema JE, Grant JB, Halpern BS, Kareiva P, Nelson CR, Ohleth K, Olden JD, Schlaepfer MA, Silliman BR, Zaradic P (2006) Conservation science: a 20-year report card. Front Ecol Environ 4:473–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesser MP, Barry TM (2003) Survivorship, development, and DNA damage in echinoderm embryos and larvae exposed to ultraviolet radiation (290–400 nm). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 292:75–91

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin P, Yang X, Werner JM, Honaker RQ (2021) Application of Eh-pH diagrams on acid leaching systems for the recovery of REEs from bastnaesite, monazite and xenotime. Metals 11:734

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liquete C, Piroddi C, Drakou EG, Gurney L, Katsanevakis S, Charef A, Egoh B (2013) Current status and future prospects for the assessment of marine and coastal ecosystem services: a systematic review. PLoS One 8:e67737

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Liu G, Li Y, Cai Y (2012) Adsorption of mercury on solids in the aquatic environment. In: Liu G, Cai Y, O’Driscoll N (eds) Environmental chemistry and toxicology of mercury, 1st edn. Wiley, New York, pp 367–387

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockhart WL, Wilkinson P, Billeck BN, Brunskill GJ, Hunt RV, Wagemann R (1993) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and mercury in sediments from two isolated lakes in central and northern Canada. Water Sci Technol 28:43–52

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Sheu GR (2002) Role of the ocean in the global mercury cycle. Global Biogeochem Cycles 16:1093

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Fitzgerald WF, Morel FMM (1994) The biogeochemical cycling of elemental mercury: anthropogenic influences. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 58:3191–3198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McMahon TA, Halstead NT, Johnson S, Raffel TR, Romansic JM, Crumrine PW, Rohr JR (2012) Fungicide-induced declines of freshwater biodiversity modify ecosystem functions and services. Ecol Lett 15:714–722

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Missiaen T, Söderström M, Popescu I, Vanninen P (2010) Evaluation of a chemical munition dumpsite in the Baltic Sea based on geophysical and chemical investigations. Sci Total Environ 408:3536–3553

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moura JF, Cardozo M, Belo MS, Hacon S, Siciliano S (2011) A interface da saude publica com a saude dos oceanos: producao de doencas, impactos socioeconomicos e relacoes beneficas. Ciencia & saude coletiva 16:3469–3480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson ED, McConnell LL, Baker JE (1998) Diffusive exchange of gaseous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls across the air-water interface of the Chesapeake Bay. Environ Sci Technol 32:912–919

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nualphan (2013) Types and sources of marine debris in BangSaen Beach. Chonburi Province, Master Thesis, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

    Google Scholar 

  • OSPAR (2010a) Quality status report (2010) assessment of the impact of shipping on the marine environment

    Google Scholar 

  • OSPAR (2010b) Overview of past dumping at sea of chemical weapons and munitions in the OSPAR maritime area-2010 update. Biodiversity series 2010. OSPAR Commission, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Parnell PE, Groce AK, Stebbins TD, Dayton PK (2008) Discriminating sources of PCB contamination in fish on the coastal shelf off San Diego, California (USA). Mar Pollut Bull 56:1992–2002

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson SD (2009) Water analysis: emerging contaminants and current issues. Anal Chem 81:4645–4677

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richmond R (2015) Coral reefs: present problems and future concerns resulting from anthropogenic disturbance. Integr Comp Biol 33:524–536

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers CJ, Furones MD (2009) Antimicrobial agents in aquaculture: practice, needs and issues. In: Rogers C, Basurco B (eds) The use of veterinary drugs and vaccines in Mediterranean aquaculture, Options Méditerranéennes: Série A. Séminaires Méditerranéens, vol 86. CIHEAM, Zaragoza, pp 41–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Roose P, Albaigés J, Bebianno MJ, Camphuysen C, Cronin M, de Leeuw J, Gabrielsen G, Hutchinson T, Hylland K, Jansson B, Jenssen BM, Schulz-Bull D, Szefer P, Webster L, Bakke T, Janssen C (2011) Chemical pollution in Europe’s seas: programmes, practices and priorities for research, marine board position paper 16. In: Calewaert JB, McDonough N (eds) Marine Board-ESF, Ostend, Belgium 103 pages

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosevelt C, Los Huertos M, Garza C, Nevins HM (2013) Marine debris in Central California: quantifying type and abundance of beach litter in Monterey Bay, CA. Mar Pollut Bull 71:299–306

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schroder HC, Di Bella G, Janipour N, Bonaventura R, Russo R, Müller WEG, Matranga V (2005) DNA damage and developmental defects after exposure to UV and heavy metals in sea urchin cells and embryos compared to other invertebrates. In: Matranga V (ed) Echinodermata, vol 39. Springer, Berlin, pp 111–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Science for Environment Policy (2012) Offshore exploration and exploitation in the Mediterranean. Impacts on Marine and Coastal Environments. Future briefs 3, April 2012

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma H, Ahmad Z (2014) Transverse mixing of pollutants in streams: a review. Can J Civ Eng 41:472–482

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sousa A, Ikemoto T, Takahashi S, Barroso C, Tanabe S (2009) Distribution of synthetic organotins and total tin levels in Mytilus galloprovincialis along the Portuguese coast. Mar Pollut Bull 58:1130–1136

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strode S, Jaegl’e L, Emerson S (2010) Vertical transport of anthropogenic mercury in the ocean. Global Biogeochem Cycles 24:GB4014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunderland EM, Mason RP (2007) Human impacts on open ocean mercury concentrations. Global Biogeochem Cycles 21:GB4022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • TEEB (2010) The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity: mainstreaming the economics of nature: a synthesis of the approach, conclusions and recommendations of TEEB. UNEP, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Thushari GGN, Senevirathna JDM (2020) Plastic pollution in the marine environment. Heliyon 6:e04709

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Torre DC, Petochi T, Farchi C, Corsi I, Dinardo MM, Sammarini V, Alcaro L, Mechelli L, Focardi S, Tursi A, Marino G, Amato E (2013) Environmental hazard of yperite released at sea: sublethal toxic effects on fish. J Hazard Mater 248–249:246–253

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tuncer GT, Tuncel SG, Tuncel G, Balkas TI (1993) Metal pollution in the Golden Horn, Turkey: contribution of natural and anthropogenic components since 1913. Water Sci Technol 28:59–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wei H, Li A (2010) Semi-volatile organic pollutants in the gaseous and particulate phases in urban air. In: Zereini F, Wiseman C (eds) Urban airborne particulate matter: origins, chemistry, fate and health impacts. Springer, Berlin, pp 339–362

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Yokota Y, Matranga V (2006) Physical and chemical impacts on marine organisms. Mar Biol 149:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ytreberg E, Karlsson J, Eklund B (2010) Comparison of toxicity and release rates of Cu and Zn from anti-fouling paints leached in natural and artificial brackish seawater. Sci Total Environ 408:2459–2466

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zagar D, Sirnik N, Cetina M, Horvat M, Kotnik J, Ogrinc N, Hedgecock IM, Cinnirella S, De Simone F, Gencarelli CN, Pirrone N (2014) Mercury in the Mediterranean. Part 2: processes and mass balance. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21:4081–4094

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely acknowledge the Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi, India for help and support.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have declared that there is no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kishore, N., Gondwal, M., Soni, R., Verma, G.K., Lal, R., Gautam, B.P.S. (2023). Impact of Physical and Chemical Processes on Marine Environment. In: Soni, R., Suyal, D.C., Morales-Oyervides, L., Fouillaud, M. (eds) Current Status of Marine Water Microbiology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5022-5_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics