Editing Atlantic Ocean (section)

=== Waste and pollution ===
[[Marine pollution]] is a generic term for the entry into the ocean of potentially hazardous chemicals or particles. The biggest culprits are rivers and with them many agriculture [[fertilizer]] chemicals as well as livestock and human waste. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals leads to [[Hypoxia (environmental)|hypoxia]] and the creation of a [[dead zone (ecology)|dead zone]].<ref>Sebastian A. Gerlach "Marine Pollution", Springer, Berlin (1975)</ref>

[[File:Nesocichla eremita -Inaccessible Island, British overseas territory-8 (3).jpg|thumb|[[Marine debris]] strewn over the beaches of the South Atlantic [[Inaccessible Island]]]]
[[Marine debris]], which is also known as marine litter, describes human-created waste floating in a body of water. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of [[Oceanic gyres|gyres]] and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter. The [[North Atlantic garbage patch]] is estimated to be hundreds of kilometers across in size.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2 March 2010|title=Huge Garbage Patch Found in Atlantic Too|work=National Geographic|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/3/100302-new-ocean-trash-garbage-patch/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828221810/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/3/100302-new-ocean-trash-garbage-patch/|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 August 2019}}</ref>

Other pollution concerns include agricultural and municipal waste. Municipal pollution comes from the eastern United States, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; [[oil pollution]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]], [[Gulf of Mexico]], [[Lake Maracaibo]], [[Mediterranean Sea]], and [[North Sea]]; and industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.

A USAF [[C-124 Globemaster II|C-124]] aircraft from [[Dover Air Force Base]], Delaware was carrying three [[nuclear bombs]] over the Atlantic Ocean when it experienced a loss of power. For their own safety, the crew jettisoned two nuclear bombs, which were never recovered.<ref>{{Cite web|last=HR Lease|date=March 1986|title=DoD Mishaps|url=http://www.afrri.usuhs.mil/outreach/reports/pdf/SP86-2.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218233551/http://www.afrri.usuhs.mil/outreach/reports/pdf/SP86-2.pdf|archive-date=18 December 2008|publisher=[[Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute]]}}</ref>