Essay --

â€Å"The sandy beach is a harsh, constantly changing environment,† explained by the UKMCS (2). This is the ocean is constantly moving because of the wind in the earth’s atmosphere (Crawford 4). Along the edge of most coastlines, a commonly found zone is an estuary (Marine Conservation Society (UK) SouthEast 1). This is where brackish waters, an area where freshwater is released and mixed with the ocean’s salt water, is created (1). However, even though there are small amounts of freshwater added, this does not change that the salinity of the ocean is remarkably high. Salt is carried into the ocean by rain, rivers, streams, and underwater volcanoes (Office of Naval Research 3). Because of the multiple sources of salt, the levels of salinity within the ocean shoot up rapidly. The Office of Naval Research states, â€Å"Salinity is expressed by the amount of salt found in 1,000 grams of water† (3). Marine ecologist created an expression for the amount of salt inside a given area. If there is one gram of salt within 1,000 grams of water, then it is represented as 1 pound per ton (3). The oceans salinity varies between about 32 and 37 ppt (3). Most humans would not be able to live in an ecosystem with salinity levels being this high, however some organisms have adapted to surviving is such an environment. Osmosis is an animal’s way of adapting to different types of salinities (Office of Naval Research 3). All marine mammals have special traits that they adapted to help them survive in or around marine habitats (Marietta College 1). As prompted by the Marietta College of Ohio â€Å"Many organisms in saltwater are osmoconformers.† (1). An osmoconformer is an organism that has the same concentration of salt within its body as the surrounding water (1).... ...terials into the water and can threaten organisms (1). Most NSP is located close to people’s homes. Most importantly is the hazard material that is used and not properly cleaned or disposed of. If people have a septic tank on their property, and it is not the correct size, they can leak and pollute surrounding ground water (1). Poisonous materials from cars and other vehicles such as oil, brake fluid, grease, and gasoline, can be washed off and channel into storm drains, giving them direct access to the ocean (1). If it is not being washed off, then another large problem is when it is spilled or dumped out (Hemminger 4). These products can be picked up by rain and pushed down into storm drains (Natural Resources Defense Council 1). The last most common NSP is when non-degradable products are flushed down the toilet, which can damage the sewage treatment process (1).