Black Sea Pollution

Formerly known to the ancient Greeks as Pontus Euxinus (the friendly sea) but it was re-named the Black Sea by the Turks who were more familiar with the inhospitable nature of the waters and the sudden squalls and storms that could arrive seemingly out of the blue. and black it certainly appears; as a virtually landlocked mass of water, open only to the Aegean via the Dardanelles, it is not 'stirred' as much as other oceans and an inflow of salty sea water has been capped by a layer of fresh water from, mainly, the Danube, Dnieper and Dniester. This has created an oxygen-depleted region from a depth of 80 to 100 metres downwards which has led to the accumulation of hydrogen sulphide and as a consequence the lower depths of this deep sea - it goes down to around 2,200 metres - are biologically dead.

To add to the environmental problems we must add fertilising nutrients and industrial pollution which have been washed down by the rivers since around the 1960s and which have little chance of biological degradation in the sterile depths. With only the Dardanelles as an outlet to the sea much of this pollution has stayed trapped in the sea and problems have been made worse by oil spillages, sewage outpourings, over-fishing and farm pesticides. It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Economic recession has caused a decrease in the former Soviet Union and the countries bordering the Danube and this has relieved the flow of pollutants. A general adoption of more environmentally-friendly detergents has helped considerably and an increased awareness of environmental issues has led to a more responsible approach to the use of fertilisers and pesticides on the land and the treatment of waste water so although phosphate levels remain high they are at least falling from their peak, lower levels of alge bloom are being recorded and fish stocks are increasing. Conservation efforts are therefore starting to work but there is a long way to go and it is essential that vigilance is maintained.