Posted: April 10th, 2023

Trans-ocean Transportation: Environmental Study

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Trans-ocean Transportation: Environmental Study

Trans-ocean transportation is the movement of goods and people across the oceans using various modes of transport, such as ships, airplanes, and submarines. Trans-ocean transportation has many benefits, such as facilitating global trade, tourism, and cultural exchange. However, trans-ocean transportation also has significant environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, noise pollution, marine litter, oil spills, and invasive species. This paper will examine the environmental effects of trans-ocean transportation and discuss some possible solutions to mitigate them.

Greenhouse gas emissions

One of the main environmental impacts of trans-ocean transportation is the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). These gases trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming and climate change. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), shipping accounted for 2.89% of global CO2 emissions in 2018, while aviation accounted for 2.4% (IMO, 2020; ICAO, 2019). Moreover, these emissions are projected to increase by 50-250% by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario (IMO, 2014). Some of the factors that influence the GHG emissions of trans-ocean transportation are the type and size of the vehicle, the fuel used, the speed and distance traveled, the load factor, and the operational efficiency.

Some possible solutions to reduce GHG emissions from trans-ocean transportation are:

– Improving the energy efficiency of vehicles and operations, such as using more aerodynamic designs, optimizing routes and speeds, reducing idling and waiting times, and implementing energy management systems.
– Switching to low-carbon or renewable fuels, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), biofuels, hydrogen, or electricity.
– Adopting alternative propulsion technologies, such as sails, solar panels, wind turbines, or batteries.
– Implementing market-based measures, such as carbon pricing, emissions trading schemes, or fuel taxes.
– Enhancing international cooperation and regulation, such as setting emission standards, reporting requirements, and reduction targets.

Air pollution

Another environmental impact of trans-ocean transportation is the emission of air pollutants, such as sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These pollutants can harm human health and the environment by causing respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, acid rain, smog, ozone depletion, and reduced visibility. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution caused 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2016 (WHO, 2018). Moreover,

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Air pollution is one of the major environmental impacts of trans-ocean transportation, which involves the movement of goods and people across oceans by ships, planes, and other modes. Trans-ocean transportation emits various air pollutants, such as sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These pollutants have negative effects on human health and the environment, as they can cause respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, acid rain, smog, ozone depletion, and reduced visibility.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution caused 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2016 (WHO 2018). Moreover, air pollution contributes to climate change by increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Trans-ocean transportation accounts for a significant share of global air pollution, especially from ships. According to a study by Corbett et al. (2007), ships emitted about 1.12 billion metric tons of CO2, 26.3 million metric tons of NOx, 9.6 million metric tons of SOx, and 1.7 million metric tons of PM in 2001. These emissions are expected to increase by 150% to 250% by 2050 due to the growth of international trade and tourism (Corbett et al. 2007).

Several measures have been proposed and implemented to reduce the air pollution from trans-ocean transportation, such as improving the fuel efficiency and engine technology of ships and planes, switching to cleaner fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) or biofuels, installing emission control devices such as scrubbers or selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, imposing emission standards and regulations such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) sulfur cap or the European Union (EU) emission trading system (ETS), and promoting alternative modes of transportation such as rail or road (Wang et al. 2018). However, these measures face various challenges and limitations, such as high costs, technical feasibility, availability of infrastructure and supply chains, enforcement and compliance issues, and potential trade-offs with other environmental impacts such as water pollution or noise pollution (Wang et al. 2018).

Therefore, more research and innovation are needed to develop and implement effective and sustainable solutions to mitigate the air pollution from trans-ocean transportation. Furthermore, more cooperation and coordination are needed among different stakeholders, such as governments, industry, academia, civil society, and international organizations, to address the complex and transboundary nature of this problem. By reducing the air pollution from trans-ocean transportation, not only the environment but also the human health and well-being can be improved.

References
Corbett JJ, Wang C, Winebrake JJ. The effectiveness and costs of speed reductions on emissions from international shipping. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. 2009 Dec 1;14(8):593-601.

Wang C, Corbett JJ, Firestone J. Modeling energy use and emissions from North American shipping: Application research paper writing service of the ship traffic, energy, and environment model. Environmental science & technology. 2007 Jun 15;41(12):4226-32.

WHO. Ambient air pollution: Health impacts [Internet]. World Health Organization; 2018 [cited 2023 Oct 19]. Available from: https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient