Assignment: Ocean Health Paper
Students describe an environmental issue relating ocean health, outline the issue’s potential impacts on sustainability of marine systems and climate change, and identify potential short- and long-term solutions. Students may select their own topic or choose one from a list provided by the instructor. This assignment increases students’ awareness of factors affecting ocean health and the potential impacts to sustainability of Earth’s natural processes. Students are assessed on their ability to apply course concepts, synthesize supporting evidence, reflect on diverse perspectives, and write cohesive paragraphs including a thesis statement that is fully supported throughout the paper.
Topic: Ocean Health and Climate Change
The oceans make up over 75% of the world’s surface and the health of these bodies directly affect life on planet Earth. For this assignment, choose an issue from the list below and narrow it further into a clear research topic.
The paper must include the following information:
Outline the issue’s potential impacts on sustainability of marine systems and climate change
Identify potential short- and long-term solutions.
The paper must include the following elements:
Title page
Abstract
A well-organized five- or six-page body (your introduction section must have a clearly defined thesis statement)
Reference page with at least four scholarly sources
Formatted in APA Style.
Please pick one topic from the list below:
Keystone species
Tourism and human leisure activities
Overfishing
Sea temperature
Pollution
The effects of rising levels of mercury in the marine food chain
Unsustainable aquaculture
Marine engineering and oil drilling
Destruction of marine habitats
Ocean acidification or coral bleaching
Marine wetlands
Implications of mining deep sea mineral resources
How the Law of the Sea is addressing ocean health
The impacts of melting sea ice and icebergs
The findings of ice core analysis
Earth’s heat budget
Technology used
Wave power
Tidal power
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone or other marine environments
Marine organisms
Effects of climate patterns impact commercial fisheries
Antarctic ozone hole
