Ocean HotSpots - List of areas of the oceans with critical flora and fauna

What are hotspots in the ocean?

     Oceanic Hotspots are the most polluted places in the world's oceans. For many years, man has thrown garbage into the ocean, some of it sinks to the bottom, some decays, and some remains on the surface of the ocean. Under the influence of the sun and water, the trash is ground into 2-3 cm fragments, which accumulate in certain areas of the ocean and pose a real threat to the breathing system and life in general of whales, dolphins, and other marine animals. In addition, fishing in prohibited areas, as well as poaching, has led to the emergence of oceanic fishing hotspots.

How do hotspots appear in the ocean?

     Hotspots of the ocean did not form overnight. It occurred over many years due to reckless human activity and natural factors. Today, Oceanic Hotspots can be found almost anywhere in the world's oceans. Ocean currents in the North Pacific Ocean have formed compact and long-lived accumulations of floating debris called "garbage islands. One of the largest Ocean Hotspots is located between Hawaii and California. The concentration of trash is so high that about 9 percent of fish have plastic residue in their stomachs. Scientists estimate that the fish "eat" nearly 20,000 tons of plastic every year.

     The trash has begun to destroy the natural ecosystem. Crabs, shells, and some species of fish have learned to use trash as a hiding place. The sea spiders Halobates sericeus proliferate on plastic particles, laying their eggs on them. The fauna of the trash island and the nearby clean parts of the ocean are seriously different.

     But what is more frightening to scientists is the growth rate of garbage Ocean Hotspots. They have grown 100 times in 40 years. Today scientists count hundreds of millions of hotspots of the ocean in the world's oceans that already have a solid surface.

Main types of oceanic hotspots

The development of civilization has led to increased pollution of the world's ocean basins. The situation began to worsen around the middle of the twentieth century, due to the development of the chemical and oil refining industries. Today we can distinguish several types of pollution:

● Physical. Garbage, and especially plastic, which hardly decomposes, is a huge problem for the ecology of the oceans. Millions of tons of plastic waste drift across the surface of the world's oceans, and experts estimate that 80% of this garbage has entered the ocean from the land, and only 20% has been dumped or washed off by ships. Plastic pollution harms more than 250 species of marine animals and birds and releases toxic substances into the water;
● Biological. Oceans pollution with alien bacteria and various microorganisms, as well as organic waste, is steadily disrupting the fragile ecological balance;
● Chemical. Chemicals and heavy metals are used in a wide variety of industries. Together with sewage, they enter the ocean, and in huge quantities. Mercury, which also accumulates in living organisms, and pesticides are especially dangerous. But it is not only large factories that are responsible for chemical pollution of the ocean: a lot of chemicals also get into the water from sewage because we constantly use synthetic detergents, thus creating oceanic hotspots of nitrogen loss.
● Oil. Oil and petroleum products are the main sources of pollution in the world's oceans. Oil gets into the water as a result of man-made disasters, tanker wrecks, and drilling wells, but a lot of oil products are dumped by ordinary marine transport as well. Oil spills kill large numbers of marine animals, fish, and birds, and prevent normal heat exchange between water layers;
● Thermal. Wastewater that is discharged into the oceans by power plants locally raises the temperature of the water, leading to the mass death of creatures unable to survive at such high temperatures. This disrupts food chains and leads to the extinction of many species. At the same time, some species of algae begin to multiply too actively, resulting in water blooms;
● Radioactive. The ocean has long been a dumping ground for radioactive waste. According to studies, there is so much radioactive material in the world's oceans today that there would be enough for 30 Chernobyls.

Why is there a need for increased attention to oceanic hotspots?

     Ocean hotspots are places in the world's oceans where the problem of aquatic pollution is catastrophic or close to disastrous. Even though in the modern world much attention has already been paid to the problem of pollution of the environment, and in particular the problem of pollution of the world's oceans, the situation is still acute and far from being resolved. The garbage thrown into the ocean forms very real floating continents, the most famous of which is the Pacific Garbage Patch, which can be seen even from the ISS. It is a giant accumulation of garbage in the North Pacific Ocean.

     The area of the spot, according to the most optimistic estimates, is at least 700 thousand square kilometers. Two Germany could be located on this slick. And if the problem has already reached such a scale, the rate of pollution of the World Ocean may triple in the next 25 years if no action is taken. This is why it is so essential to draw public attention to the world's ocean hotspots. So that in the future they will not occupy an area larger than the other continents of the Earth.

List of Ocean HotSpots

23 Eco Hot Spots

Rising sea levels threaten Tuvalu

The water level rises in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Coral reefs off East Africa are dying

Rising sea levels are forcing Fiji's villagers to relocate

Water level rises in Calcutta, India

Kiribati risks becoming the first country to lose its land territory

Caribbean coral reefs are dying

Coral reef degradation in Hawaii, USA

Massive bleaching of the coral on the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef

Coral reefs dying in Indonesian

Stressed Coral Reefs in Bolinao, Philippines

Bottom trawling, UK

Montara oil spill in timor sea, Australia

Sewage crisis in Durban, Republic of South Africa

Rising sea levels threaten Seychelles

High levels of sediment and toxic contamination in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Mass death of pilot whales on the Isle of Lewis, United Kingdom

Osborne Reef

Coral bleaching in Taiwan

Deep-sea mining of copper and other critical materials, Norway

Mauritius oil spill in the Indian Ocean

Seismic blasting plans threaten to disrupt whale migration superhighway in North-west Australia

What are hotspots in the ocean?

How do hotspots appear in the ocean?

Main types of oceanic hotspots

Why is there a need for increased attention to oceanic hotspots?