International Journal of Marine Science, 2024, Vol.14, No.2, 83-93 http://www.aquapublisher.com/index.php/ijms 86 Figure 2 Temporal representation of extreme events and habitat impacts (Babcock et al., 2019) 2 Current Status and Impact of Marine Pollution With the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, marine pollution has become a major environmental challenge facing the world. Climate change, plastic pollution and chemical pollution are increasingly damaging the marine environment, not only threatening the survival of marine life, but also having a major impact on human health and economic activities. 2.1 Impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems An alarming amount of plastic waste is produced around the world every year, and a significant portion of it ends up in the ocean. Beaumont et al. (2019) examined the global ecological, social and economic impacts of marine plastic pollution through a semi-systematic literature review of 1191 data points. All study themes showed evidence of moderate to high frequency of global impacts, severe impacts on species, turtles, birds and mammals, with moderate to high irreversibility, the study showed. In addition, the negative impact on zooplankton and invertebrates is even more significant (Figure 3). Plastic waste in the ocean not only destroys the natural beauty of the ocean, but more importantly, it has an extremely serious impact on the marine ecosystem. Microplastics, especially small particles no larger than 5 millimeters in diameter, have been found in every corner of the ocean, from shallow coastal waters to the deepest trenches. Marine life, including fish, turtles, seabirds and even plankton, are at risk of ingesting these microplastics. Microplastics may not only clog the digestive systems of these organisms, but may also carry harmful chemicals into the food chain, ultimately affecting human food safety. 2.2 Chemical pollution and its long-term effects Chemical pollution originates from a variety of human activities, including industrial emissions, agricultural pesticide and fertilizer use, and chemical emissions in daily life. After these chemicals enter the ocean, they may have toxic effects on marine organisms, interfere with their physiological functions and reproductive capabilities, and even cause genetic mutations. In particular, some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are difficult to degrade in the marine environment and can accumulate through the food chain, ultimately affecting top predators, including humans (Landrigan et al., 2020). In addition, eutrophication of water bodies caused by excessive nutrient input has become a problem faced by many sea areas around the world. This not only triggers harmful algal blooms, but may also form anoxic zones in the bottom water bodies and destroy marine biodiversity.
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