UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS
B.Sc. DEGREE COURSE IN MARINE SCIENCE
SEMESTER SYSTEM WITH CREDITS
(Effective from the Academic Year 2003-2004)

SYLLABUS

Semester VI - Paper XII - Marine Pollution

Duration of Examination: 3 hrs
Maximum Marks: 100
Credits: 4

Unit I

Ocean pollution: kinds and quantities of pollutants entering oceans - ocean dumping - fate of pollutants - toxic effects and nuclear waste disposal.

Unit II

Oil spills - disposal of oil platforms and other structures at sea - accomplishments and case studies towards reducing pollutant/contaminant inputs to the ocean.

UNIT III

Plastics in the marine environment - Nature of plastic materials - Potential plastic pollutants - Distribution and impact of plastics - Trace metals as pollutants - Factors influencing the toxicity of trace metals to marine organisms - Important contaminant metals in marine systems - Mercury, Cadmium, etc.

Unit IV

Pollution by sewage and nutrients - discharges by rivers and estuaries - piped outfalls to the sea - sewage and micro-organisms - Disposal of persistent organic compounds - Effects of persistent organic compounds on marine organisms.

Unit V

Time scale of global changes in the ecosystem and climate - impact of circulation in atmosphere and ocean on climate, rainfall and agriculture.

Books Recommended

Marine Pollution by Sebastian A. Gerlach, Springer Verlag

Marine Pollution by Johnson, R., Academic Press.

Chemical Oceanography, Volumes 1 to 9, Academic Press

Estuarine Chemistry by Burton and Liss, Academic Press