Ocean Resources

Marine Resources, Mariculture, Drugs

Classes of Marine Resources

• Physical Resources– Mineral deposits: Sand, Salt, Gravel, etc.– Fossil Fuels: Petroleum, Natural Gas– Freshwater

• Marine Energy Resources– Electrical Energy derived from:

• Thermal Energy (Heat)• Kinetic Energy (Motion of waves, tides, currents)

Classes of Marine Resources

• Biological Resources– Plants– Animals– Microbes

• Non-Extractive Resources– Transportation– Recreation– Waste disposal

Physical Resources

• Mineral Deposits– Salts and Minerals

• Magnesium• Sodium Chloride• Manganese nodules• Phosphorite

– Used for Cleaners, Preservatives, Fertilizers,• Gold, Silver, Copper, Zinc• Mining for these has a relatively small ecological

footprint. • High Cost

Physical Resources

Physical Resources

• Petroleum & Natural Gas– Oil and gas

• Often found together beneath impermeable caprock. Drilling for oil offshore requires specialized equipment and is more costly than drilling on land.

– Expensive– Pollutes– Non-Renewable

Physical Resources

Physical Resources

• Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill– 5000 15000 barrels/ day

• Containment efforts– Booms -- Domes– Skimming -- Caps– Dispersants -- Siphons– Relief Wells -- Burn off– Biological Components

Physical Resources

• Full Recovery is expected to take many years.– Is currently ahead of what was expected– Economy bounced back quicker than expected as

well.

Physical Resources

• Freshwater– Only 0.071% of Earth’s water is Liquid, fresh, and

available at the surface for humans– Saltwater has to have the salt removed:

Desalination Plants constructed• More than 1500 Desalination Plants world-wide• 3.5 billion gallons/ day & rising

– Needed for Crops, Cooling systems, Drinking, etc.

Physical Resources

• Desalination Types– Reverse Osmosis

• A membrane is used to remove salt• Requires high pressure and energy

Physical Resources

Physical Resources

• Desalination Types (cont.)– Distillation

• Evaporate water and collect condensation of vapor• Can be passive, or require much energy (heat)• Condensed Vapor is pure water• Also can collect the salt that is left behind

Marine Energy Resources

• Energy can be captured from natural motions of the ocean– Waves– Tides– Currents

• Renewable Energy source (green)

Marine Energy Resources

• Wave Energy– Captures and convertsenergy to electricity.

Marine Energy Resources

• Tidal Energy– Uses predictability of high and low tides to

generate electricity.

Marine Energy Resources

• Current Energy– Continuous oceanic currents can generate

electricity.– Work like underwater wind farms

Biological Resources

• Fish– Make up almost 84 % of the ocean’s catch– Cod, Tuna, Halibut, Herring, Anchovies, etc.

• Mollusks– Majority of ocean’s catch that is not fish– Oysters, Clams, Squid, Octopus

• Crustaceans– Shrimp, Lobster, Crab

• Algae/ Protists– Kelp, diatoms

Biological Resources

• Fish– Most major fishing is done within

50 miles of shore. (almost all within 200)

– Technology and Fishing practices have increased the amount harvested

– Unsustainable at current rate– Many fisheries have been

overexploited

Biological Resources

• Mollusks– Squid, octopus, cuttlefish, oysters, clams, etc.– Mostly harvested by Japanese– Over 2.5 million tons of cephalapods harvested

annually

Biological Resources

• Crustaceans– Mostly bottom dwelling (crabs & lobsters)– Some pelagic (krill & shrimp)– Over 4 million tons harvested annually

Biological Resources

• Algae– Kelp forests harvested for products such as:

• Toothpastes, shampoos, cosmetics• Food products (salad dressings, dairy products, frozen

foods)• Pharmeceuticals

– Also being used to create sustainable bio-fuels

Non Extractive Resources

• Tourism– Whale watching

• Travel– Cruises– Sailing

• Shipping– Major means of import and export world wide

• Communications• Recreation

– Snorkeling, Diving

Non Extractive Resources

• Medical Research– Pharmaceuticals can be derived fromaquatic organisms. (i.e. Cancer research)

• Waste Disposal– Unintended trash and debris is washed into the

ocean– Military Submarines and Ships allow all (non

plastic) wastes to sink to the bottom of the ocean.