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SMA 500, Autumn 2004
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Unit 4. Marine Environmental Quality |
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UNIT 4. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY Overview Protecting the marine environment,
and restoring the environment whenever possible, has become an accepted goal
virtually everywhere in the world.
Sources of environmental degradation have broadened and include the
traditional sources from factories and runoff, to the “newly discovered” ones
of airborne pollutants, non-indigenous species, discarded nets and vessels,
non-point source pollutants, and hydromodification (including wetlands). Increasingly there is a pressure to
restore degraded environments, mitigate for any unavoidable losses, treat
contaminants to reduce potential harm, and prevent pollution from occurring
in the first place. There also
exists the challenge of how clean is clean, and who pays. This unit can only address a sampling
of these many issues. Required Reading Pew Oceans Commission, 1999. Marine Pollution in the United
States. Available online at
www.pewoceans.org This brief report provides a
succinct summary of the status of the nation's marine pollution problems,
together with recommendations for changes in traditional approaches to
dealing with pollution problems.
The interdependent nature of problems of pollution and other aspects
of marine environmental quality is emphasized. White Paper, “Marine and Estuarine
Shoreline Modification Issues”, Submitted to Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of
Transportation (Available online at www.wdfw.wa.gov/hab/ahg/finalsl.pdf). While pollution is the most
commonly considered factor in marine environmental quality, physical
modifications to nearshore environments are becoming increasingly recognized
as having ecosystem-wide impacts. This white paper discusses the issue in the
context of Puget Sound, where nearshore issues are becoming more and more
pertinent as residential and commercial development along shorelines
continues to spread. Guest Speakers Tom Leschine, Director and
Professor, School of Marine Affairs University of Washington and Adjunct
Professor, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, specializing in
environmental decisionmaking and management. Areas of study include oil spill prevention and response,
the management of long-lived hazards, ocean disposal, contaminated sediments,
marine and aquatic environmental restoration, and risk assessment and
management. Andrea Copping, Assistant Director
of Washington Sea Grant, Affiliate Associate Professor, School of Marine
Affairs. Andrea’s background is in biological oceanography with research
interests in environmental monitoring design, effects of pollutants in marine
environment, phytoplankton/water column dynamics, and food chain interactions.
As assistant director of Washington Sea Grant she is involved in a range of
projects including the NW Straits Initiative, PSNERP, and marine science
education and outreach efforts Aimee Kinney, Marine Biologist,
Seattle District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Resources
Section. Aimee has worked for
the Seattle District since 1999.
During her tenure with the Corps, she has served as the environmental
coordinator for a wide variety of projects, including the Grays Harbor and
Chehalis River Navigation Project; various estuarine restoration, military
construction, and beach nourishment efforts; and coastal erosion studies. She
is a graduate of the School of Marine Affairs. Fred Goetz - Senior Fish
Biologist, Seattle District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental
Resources Section. Since 1993, Fred has worked for the Seattle District as a
senior Fish Biologist, acting as a resource specialist on the ecology of
salmon and bull trout. He has been
the lead or co-lead biologist responsible for ongoing fisheries
investigations of juvenile and adult salmon and bull trout in several western
Washington basins and estuaries within Puget Sound. Fred currently co-leads
an interagency science-team charged with developing technical studies to assess
and monitor the Puget Sound nearshore marine ecosystems called the Puget
Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Study. Russ Herwig, Research Associate
Professor, School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of
Washington. Dr. Herwig's current
research includes ballast water microbiology and high-pressure treatment of
seafoods to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms. His laboratory is examining
the microbiology and zooplankton composition in the ballast water of
commercial ships that enter Puget Sound and working with scientists and
engineers at other institutions to design treatment systems that can be used
to inactivate organisms in ballast water. The second project involves
collaboration with a local company that has designed high hydrostatic pressure
equipment for the food industry. Charles “Si” Simenstad, Research
Associate Professor, School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of
Washington, and Coordinator of the Wetland Ecosystem Team. Dr. Simenstad has studied estuarine
and coastal marine ecological communities throughout Puget Sound, the
Washington coast, and Alaska for over twenty-six years. His research has focused on the role
of ecosystem structure and change, and the associated ecological (e.g., food
web) interactions that are regulated by strong ecological interactions (e.g.,
keystone species such as sea otters), natural disturbance, or sensitivity to
anthropogenic effects, such as wetland alteration. Suggested General Reading Brooks, L. Anathea and Stacey D.
VanDeveer, Editors, 1997. Saving
the Seas: Values, Scientists, and International Governance. College Park, Md.: Maryland Sea
Grant. Clark, John R., 1998. Coastal
Seas: The Conservation Challenge. Malden MA.: Blackwell Science, Ltd. Clark, R.B. 2001. Marine Pollution (5th Ed.) Oxford:
Oxford University Press. Thorne-Miller, Boyce. 1999. The
Living Ocean: Understanding and Protecting Marine Biodiversity. 2nd Edition.
Washington, D.C.: Island Press. Dean, Cornelia, 1999. Against the
Tide: The Battle for America’s Beaches.
New York: Columbia University Press. |
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