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Pollution from land-based sources
Summary
This book chapter reviews how industrial and agricultural activities transport diverse pollutants to marine and coastal ecosystems through runoff, rivers, and atmospheric deposition. It provides context for understanding how land-based plastic waste reaches the ocean and contributes to marine microplastic pollution.
Industrial and agricultural activities have had extreme consequences for marine and coastal ecosystems. This chapter describes the sources, transport pathways and fate of various terrestrial-based pollutants to demonstrate the diversity of human impacts and the efforts that are being made to understand and mitigate them. Case studies explore the impact of legacy metal and persistent organic pollutants; the impact of excess nutrient loads from agriculture and urban landscapes on estuarine ecosystems; the threat of pathogens; and the spread of microplastics and microfibres. The case studies highlight how extremes contribute to the problems of pollution and associated risks to human health and the health of marine ecosystems.
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