1998 Year of the Ocean 



Perspectives on Marine Environmental Quality 



Figure 1: Leading Sources of Water Otiality Intpairment 

 (Source: EPA. 1995) 



Sources 



suggest that freshwater discharges from the Mississippi River to the coastal ocean will increase 

 20 percent if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations double. This is likely to affect water 

 column stability, surface productivity, and global oxygen cycling in the northern Gulf of Mexico. 

 Increased temperatures in the open ocean could result in a shifting of the geographical 

 distribution of certain species. 



THE STATE OF MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 



Good environmental quality is essential for sustaining coastal and marine ecosystems,^" 

 commercial and recreational fisheries, and economic growth in coastal communities. It is also an 

 important means of providing natural protection against rising sea levels and storm damage. The 

 health of coastal and marine ecosystems is affected by water quality, and in turn, water quality is 

 dependent upon ecosystem health. If one is impaired, the other is threatened. Despite their value 

 and the programs designed to protect them, many coastal waters are being degraded at an 

 alarming rate. According to the 1994 National Water Quality Inventory, 44 percent of U.S. 

 estuarine waters are not supporting their designated uses (e.g., fishable or swimmable). Figure 1 

 shows the major sources of pollution impairing monitored estuarine waters in the United States. 



20 Marine and coastal areas include a wide variety of systems, such as: wetlands, tidal marshes, sea grass beds, kelp forests, 

 mangrove swamps, coral reefs and deep-sea vents. They provide refuge, food, and nursery areas for shellfish, fish, birds, worms, 

 other wildlife, and a diversity of plant and bacterial life. 



E-11 



