@Josephine Enders Not really surprised, but definitely pleased

yes!

I was not expecting it to be as diverse a topic.

@@dudadrehmer9964 indeed. I studied Geography (over History) in high school and I remember it being a broad topic.

Absolutely yes!

My school days are long behind me and I know 90% of what's discussed in most of these series. Doesn't matter, I watch them anyway

I have also that reaction even though I‘m in my second Master‘s degree in Geography :)

I can't find them? Could you please put a link?

Glad to hear it! Hope this is helpful additional content for your ocean current material

Basically there are 2 parts to this--firstly, we have to reduce the plastic entering the oceans in the first place. We can do this by reducing our consumption, improving waste management systems and physical barriers, such as finer filtration at water treatment plants and placing mesh barriers at the outflow of rivers. Secondly we have to figure out how to get the plastic out of the water--there are really cool tech based solutions emerging for this, like the ocean cleanup project and Fionn Ferreira's microplastic extraction mechanisms. At both of these stages however there is the issue of practicality and how environmentally friendly these solutions are. They have to be efficient, effective and cheap enough to fund (as this is something that governments don't really want to invest in), but they also should do minimal harm to the ecosystems. There are worries that these solutions may impact migratory fish (nets over river outflows), or impact small animals known as zooplankton and small plants called phytoplankton (in the case of removal technologies). Most of the oceanographers I have talked to about this think that reducing plastics entering the ocean is the most important and practical step. Everyday people can do this by being responsible with our plastic waste, and reducing microplastics (such as microbeads in cosmetics and washing clothes at lower speeds/with guppy bags). It is also important to note however that about 50% of plastic entering the oceans is from boats, and nets are especially harmful, so reducing fish consumption is also beneficial in this respect. Hope this helps😊. Edit: International agreements on marine debris do exist, however often there power is limited and enforcement is low, however they are getting better

@@sharks2571 couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks for your detailed and thoughtful response

Stop using plastics.

Large barges that have on board pyrolysis plants to process the waste it collects, and run off the fuel oil it creates.

The final episode of Crash Course Philosophy dealt with this. The whole series is worth watching.

Just wait until you hear about tides.

Theres a lot of mud and debris from rivers and streams draining into the oceans. You can see this from satellite images of coastal areas.

Most bays (or inlets) are like that. With slow moving water areas you don't get that flushing action. Also you may get a lot mud, river runoff and human activity that contributes to cloudy water near shore.

Don't know about this specific example, but the energy of different habitats, as well as the sediment tyoe really effects how clear the ocean looks. Outflow of rivers, shipping/trawling and phytoplankton blooms can also reduce the visibility

I think that water temperatures and salinity also play a roll here, as well as the plant life under the water, along with the other comment here.

Coastal upwelling plays a role. Rising deeper, colder water is rich with phytoplankton and zooplankton, which make the water appear cloudy.

Not true bud

Why??

"Geography" literally means "earth description", and the hydrosphere is part of that.

It is.

It literally is by definition.

Oh but it absolutely is :)