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RAS question

Which of the following statements about marine pollution is/are correct? 1. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010) in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. 2. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch consists primarily of large plastic bottles and containers visible from satellites. 3. Microplastics have been found in deep ocean trenches including the Mariana Trench. 4. MARPOL (International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships) was adopted in 1973.

Correct answer: (A) 1, 3 and 4 only.

Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct: Deepwater Horizon was the largest accidental marine oil spill, microplastics have been found in the Mariana Trench, and MARPOL was adopted in 1973.

  1. (A)

    1, 3 and 4 only

  2. (B)

    1 and 3 only

  3. (C)

    All four statements

  4. (D)

    2 and 4 only

Explanation

Deepwater Horizon released about 4.9 million barrels of oil, and Britannica identifies it as the largest marine oil spill in history. NSF-supported research reports microplastics at the extreme depths of the Mariana Trench, including around 11 km below sea level. IMO records MARPOL as adopted in 1973, later combined with the 1978 Protocol and entering into force in 1983. NOAA explains that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not a continuous, satellite-visible island of bottles and containers; much of its debris is tiny microplastic by count and may not be obvious even from a ship.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (B) MARPOL was adopted in 1973, so statement 4 is a true treaty-chronology fact.
  • (C) NOAA rejects the image of a satellite-visible island of large plastic bottles and containers, and the patch is dominated by microplastics and small fragments.
  • (D) The satellite-visible-island claim about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is false, while the Deepwater Horizon and Mariana Trench facts in statements 1 and 3 are true.

Concept

Marine pollution under Environment and Ecology covers oil spills, plastic debris, microplastics and international anti-pollution conventions. RAS often links environmental science with treaty chronology and common factual traps.

Source

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