National Geographic documentary: Chasing Ice. Huge glaciers that are the size of the tip of Manhattan,
about 5 miles long and 300 to 400 feet tall from the surface of the water are melting. Chapter 12 is about the coastal New Jersey and the rising waters that affect it. The lower 2/3 of New Jersey's 130 mile long coast is composed of sandy barrier islands. This system of coastal barriers minimizes the impacts of storms and winds, yet many have been altered or destroyed by the storms. These islands aren't meant to stay still, but more according to the wave action. For some reason though, people thought it would be smart to build multi-million dollar beachfront homes on these islands which are constantly moving. The government tried very hard (and spent lots of money) engineering structures to stop the erosion such as jetties, groins, or bullheads along the beach, but it is hard to stop nature from taking its course. This can be seen with the devastation of Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina over topped the barrier islands and drowned New Orleans and many communities all along the Gulf Coast. Not only do these storms affect our coast, but the rising of the water caused by the melting of the ice sheets. Which are happening all over the world. A large mass of ice melted right off a glacier in Iceland. National Geographic documentary, Chasing Ice showed huge glaciers melting off, some that are the size of the tip of Manhattan, about 5 miles long and 300 to 400 feet tall from the surface of the water, are melting. 0.34% of ice is being lost a year and it seems small, but in 200 years it will be gone and the sea level will have rose drastically. "It noted that 'spring is arriving earlier, summers are growing hotter, and winters are becoming warmer and less snowy.' Average temperatures across the northeastern United States have risen more than 1.5°F since 1970, with a 20 to 30 percent increase in winter precipitation" (218). Without the change in pollution and chemicals being emitted into our environment, the sea level is said to rise between 10 inches to 2 feet by the end of the 21st century. It is one huge cycle: as the earth heats, the ice melts, and the sea level rises destroying land and the sea heats us killing our marine species since the ice isn't there to reflect off the suns rays thus keeping the ocean cool. Our poor marine life is being affected by the heating water and the chemicals. Photochemical smog consisting of ozone, nitric, and sulfuric acid, all air pollutants would be deposited in the ocean and absorbed by all the creatures in the water. Not only does it harm them and destroy their ecosystem, but it also will harm the people on the shore who would eat these poisonous fish. Barnegat bay is one example of a body of water being affected by the chemicals which is causing nutrient loading. "Excessive levels of these nutrients stimulate the growth of algae, and as the algae grow, they block sunlight needed by the submerged aquatic vegetation of the bay. Then when the algae die and decay, they reduce the level of oxygen in the water, which can result in large fish kills. The inputs of these nutrients come from many sources, such as street runoff, leaking or failed septic systems, animal wastes, and fertilizer used in landscaping and agriculture. Today, most of the surplus nutrients in Barnegat Bay come from non-point sources such as lawn fertilizers, mainly through stream and river discharges and groundwater influx, although atmospheric deposition is also a major source, making up 39 percent of the nitrogen load dropping into the bay" (214).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Gabriella Brycea Junior at Seton Hall University studying Elementary and Special education with Environmental Studies. Archives
April 2018
Categories |