Mitigating the Impacts of Marine-Related Hazards and Pollution

Coastal zones are home to some of the world’s most densely populated areas. These regions rely on the ocean not just for food and livelihoods, but also for essential offshore infrastructure that supports entire industries, global trade and communications.


 

Impacts of marine hazards and pollution can be devastating - damaging ecosystems, destroying infrastructure, and disrupting lives. Some effects may be irreversible. To better prepare for future disasters, we need an internationally connected community of researchers and decision-makers, supported by new tools and techniques to detect, understand and respond to these events.

Understanding Marine Hazards

We help to gain the deeper knowledge of drivers, interactions, implications and mitigation measures concerning marine-related hazards and pollution that is required to effectively protect people, infrastructure and ecosystems.

Marine-related hazards come in many forms, each with the potential to threaten communities, economies and ecosystems. Some of these include:

Weather and Climate-Driven Events

Storm surges, wave overtopping and saltwater intrusion are often unpredictable and are worsening with climate change.
 

Pollution and Biological Impacts

Pollution in the ocean (e.g. release of microplastics, oil spills, radioactive materials, sewage, pesticides etc) and invasive species can devastate marine environments with knock-on effects for health and the people who depend on them.
 

Marine Geohazards

Tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides pose some of the most extreme threats to life and infrastructure.
 

Research Spotlights

Future Marine Heatwaves Could Devastate UK Marine Ecosystems

Future Marine Heatwaves Could Devastate UK Marine Ecosystems

Microplastic in the Arctic Ocean Could Weigh 21 Million Tonnes

Microplastic in the Arctic Ocean Could Weigh 21 Million Tonnes

European Summer Weather May Be Predictable Months to Years in Advance

European Summer Weather May Be Predictable Months to Years in Advance

Protecting Subsea Global Telecommunications Network

Protecting Subsea Global Telecommunications Network

Unlocking the Role of High-Temperature Fluids in Explosive Volcanic Eruptions

Unlocking the Role of High-Temperature Fluids in Explosive Volcanic Eruptions

Hear From Hazard Experts

Why Are We Experiencing Marine Heatwaves and How Do We Tackle Them? (Dr Jules Kajtar)

Why Are We Experiencing Marine Heatwaves and How Do We Tackle Them? (Dr Jules Kajtar)

What Factors Are Increasing the Likelihood of Extreme Sea Levels? (Dr Kiko Calafat)

What Factors Are Increasing the Likelihood of Extreme Sea Levels? (Dr Kiko Calafat)

The Changes Needed to Reduce Plastic Pollution in Our Ocean (Professor Richard Lampitt)

The Changes Needed to Reduce Plastic Pollution in Our Ocean (Professor Richard Lampitt)

How Do We Protect Coastal Communities From Extreme Weather Events? (Dr Jenny Brown)

How Do We Protect Coastal Communities From Extreme Weather Events? (Dr Jenny Brown)

Test Your Knowledge

Do you know the dangers posed by marine geohazards? Try this quiz now and find out more.

Hazards and Pollution

Marine Geohazards: Do You Know The Dangers?


Think you know about the dangers of marine geohazards? Take the quiz and find out how much you know about their characteristics and impacts!

Start Quiz
Question 1/8

Which of these is NOT a potential impact of volcanic eruptions on communities and the environment?

Which event is most likely to trigger a tsunami?

Damage to what type of technology has helped us learn more about turbidity currents?

Which country was disconnected from the internet in 2022 after the Hunga volcano erupted and wiped out subsea cables?

One of the largest landslides in history occurred in Norway over 8,000 years ago. The landslide moved an area equivalent to which country?

Which of the following is a characteristic of an underwater landslide?

Turbidity currents triggered by underwater landslides can reach which speed?

According to recent studies, an earthquake emanating from which fault zone is most likely to cause a tsunami that would affect the UK coastline?

WELL DONE!
WELL DONE!
WELL DONE!
You got out of 8 questions right!
You got out of 8 questions right!
You got out of 8 questions right!

Support Our Pollution Research

Plastic pollution reaches even the most remote parts of our ocean, from marine protected habitats to the deepest ocean trenches.

NOC’s pollution research is closing the knowledge gap on microplastics: where they go, how they move through ocean currents, and what harm they’re causing to marine life.