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Chapter 15

Terms in this set (73)

Artesian aquifers
A water bearing porous layer of rock sand or gravel that is trapped between an upper and lower layer of less permeable substrate, Such as clay. The water in a confined aquifer is under pressure because it is trapped between two impermeable layers.
Benthic zone
The bottom layer of water body
Confined aquifer
Artesian aquifers A water bearing porous layer of rock sand or gravel that is trapped between an upper and lower layer of less permeable substrate, Such as clay. The water in a confined aquifer is under pressure because it is trapped between two impermeable layers.
Consumptive use
Freshwater use in which water is removed from a particular aquifer or surface water body and is not returned to it. Irrigation for agriculture is an example of consumptive use.
Dam
Any obstruction places in a river or stream to block the flow of water so that water can be tried in a reservoir. Dams are built to prevent floods, provide drinking water, facilitate irrigation, and generate electricity
Desalination
The removal of salt from seawater
Floodplain
The region of land over which a river has historically wandered and periodically floods
Freshwater Water
that is relatively pure, holding very few dissolved salts
Limnetic zone
In a water body, the layer of open water through which sunlight penetrates
Littoral zone
The region ringing the edge of a water body
Non Consumptive use
Freshwater use in which the water from a particular aquifer or surface water body either is not removed or is removed only temporarily and then removed. The use of water to generate electricity in hydroelectric dams is an example.
Nonpoint source
A diffuse source of pollutant often consisting of many small sources
Point source
A specific spot such as a factories smokestacks where large quantities of pollutants are discharged
Pollution
Any matter or energy released into the environment that causes undesirable impacts on the health and well being of humans or other organisms. Pollution can be physical, chemical, or biological, and can affect water, air, or soil.
Profundal zone
In a water body , the volume of open water that sunlight does not reach
Secondary treatment
A stage of wastewater treatment in which biological means are used to remove contaminants remaining after primary treatment. Wastewater is stirred up in the presence of aerobic bacteria, which degrade organic pollutants in the water. The wastewater then passes to another settling tank, where remaining solids drift to the bottom.
Septic systems
A wastewater disposal method, common in rural areas, consisting of an underground tank and series of drainpipes. Wastewater runs from the house to the tank where solids precipitate out. The water proceeds downhill to a drain field of perforated pipes laid horizontally in gravel filled trenches, where microbes decompose the remaining wate
Sinkholes
An area where the ground has given way with little warning as a result of subsidence caused by depletion of water from an aquifer
Unconfined aquifer
A water bearing porous layer of rock sand or gravel that lies atop a less permeable substrate the water in an unconfined aquifer is not under pressure because there is no impermeable upper layer to confine it.
Wastewater
Any water that is used in households. businesses industries or public facilities and is drained or flushed down pipes, as well as the polluted runoff from streets and storm drains
Xeriscaping Landscaping
using plants adapted to arid conditions
Groundwater
water held in aquifers underground
recharge zones
areas where water infiltrates through the permeable rock and sediment
discharge zones
areas in which the groundwater has a flow component directed away from the groundwater zone
aquifer An underground water reservoir
effluent:
streams gains water from groundwater and may not started as runoff
influent streams:
losing stream, stream that loses water throughout its process.
Hydrologic cycle
The flow of water-- in liquid, gaseous, and solid forms -- through our biotic and abiotic environments.
Discuss the growing global water shortage (not abundance but availability); link to food production
Irrigate crops and water livestock. Manufacturing needs water.. residential.municipal, agricultura, and industrial. Fresh water is needed for these processes. Over-extraction, rivers water for agricultural needs run dry. Rio Granda has over extraction by Mexican and US farmers
What are the following: Water budgets: balance input, output; use in analyzing water supply problems and solutions
How a municipality looks at how much water goes into agriculture, industrial, and residential use. And then from that, determine how to use water in a more efficient manner.
Water supply: droughts, groundwater desalination
Droughts: a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water. (Colorado river)
Groundwater: water found underground in between two layers of sediments, rocks, and sand (Asia)
Desalination: taking salt out of water (Saudi Arabia)
Water use: off-stream, consumptive, in-stream
Consumptive: remove aquifers or surface water without returning it (Ex. agriculture uses)
In-stream: non-consumptive use, things are taken and given back (Ex. water taken in through dam to turbines then released)
Off-stream: water used off of the stream (Ex. agriculture or drinking water)
Describe water conservation in the following context: quantity, quality; agricultural, irrigation, domestic, industry and manufacturing
Water conservation can be quite difficult. The quantity of water does not always lead to quality agricultural products. It can be smart economically to put in place safe water practices.
Agricultural: solutions can include linen irrigation canals, leveling fields, and shaving low pressure irrigation that can conserve water. Also matching crops with the type of climate that best suits its water needs.
Residential and Industrial and manufacturing: decrease the consumption of meat, low flow faucets and utilities, water law at night and adapt xeriscaping... less water leads to less costs so implementing recycles water, catching runoff and leaks
Water sustainability and management
Dikes and levees can work as flood control, flooding can help with natural systems and human agriculture. The use of reservoirs and water diversion help to put water in the most effective places. (colorado river)
Wetlands: function, restoration, preservation
Wetlands are a combination of freshwater and dry land. Since the water is shallow, plants grow above the surface such as cattails and bulrush. They function to slow runoff, filter pollutants, reduce floods, and support diverse ecosystems. Restoration includes the creation of artificial wetlands to provide for the same habitats. Government regulations help with preservation. EPA plays role
Dams, reservoirs, canals: impacts, benefits (how we use water section)
Dam: Any obstruction placed in a river or stream to block the flow of water so that water can be tried in a reservoir. Dams are built to prevent floods, provide drinking water, facilitate irrigation, and generate electricity
Canals: an artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships inland or to convey water for irrigation.
Reservoirs: a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply.
Impacts: since these are artificial ways of collecting water, surrounding ecosystems and the ecosystems that are affected by the designated water system are often deprived of previous water resources) Ex. The Colorado River gets used by many dams along the path from Colorado to California so at the Gulf of California the fish and invertebrate populations have decreased. Ecology has changed.
Benefits: prevent floods, collect drinking water, irrigation, and generate electricity
Water pollution: major types , causes, and concerns
- Nutrient Pollution (fertilizers, farms, sewage, lawns, golf courses)
Comes from runoff of fertilizers, detergents, and animal manure. Point sources included sewage, power plants, and agriculture. Non-point source animal manure, detergent, storm runoff. It creates dead zones from eutrophication. Algae bloom is a result of eutrophication which emits toxins harmful to human systems. Treating wastewater and using fewer fertilizers and filtering out phosphorus is a solution.
- Pathogens and waterborne diseases (pathogenic viruses, protists, bacteria i.e. giardiasis, typhoid, hepatitis A)
Comes from Animal feedlots and improper disposal of human waste and animal feedlots. know point and nonpoint. Comes mainly from fecal waste and improper hygiene which goes into water systems and is spread through rainwater. Climate change encourages the growth of harmful bacteria. Can cause serious issues in humans. Hygiene and enforcement of the government is a possible solution.
- Toxic chemicals (pesticides, petroleum products, synthetic chemicals, arsenic, lead, mercury, acid rain)
discharged from power plants and contaminates water. From illegal dumping, nonbiodegradable, septic system leaks. Causes cancer and nervous system health. Solution: reverse osmosis and sweep fertilizer from grass.
- Sediment (mining, clear-cutting, land clearing careless cultivation)... buildings → sediment buildup → hurt habitat.
Water polluted from sediment, runoff, natural erosion, stormwater, hurts fish, prohibits the growth of algae, changes fish migration, increases cancer.
- Thermal Pollution... heat cannot hold dissolved oxygen
Degradation of water quality changes water temperature from smokestacks, drainage pipes, herbicides, hurts fertility of organisms, and reduces the animal population, less food for animals.
Stream chemistry
- Dissolved oxygen is the amount of oxygen in the water.
- Turbulence, water mixes with airstream water tumbles over rocks... affects dissolved oxygen.
- Water warms up, oxygen and dissolved gases bubble out and are lost in the atmosphere. Oxygen waste through photosynthesis leads to higher dissolved oxygen. Cellular respiration decreases oxygen.
- Acidity affects stream life (more acidic, worse life since cannot break down things). Phosphorus supports growth, too much leads to eutrophication.
- Phosphate is among fertilizers and detergents which when in the water systems are bad. Nitrogen is a gas that helps support the growth, reproduction, metabolism of plants, animals, and microbes. Lives in soil. Too much nitrate can hurt the digestive tract and hurt blood ability to carry oxygen.
Colorado River case study
Major river flowing through 7 states which comes from the snowmelt in the Rocky Mts. Full of over 14 dams, canals and reservoirs, etc.. used to hold and move the water. Water is being overused to the point that it runs out before it gets to the ocean. 80% goes to irrigation
How has the quantity of water that reaches the Gulf of California from the Colorado River changed in the last hundred years? (pg 423)
Initially water was moved through mountain tunnels to Denver. Then, Las Vegas needed more water to support agriculture and populations. Further down, water gets to the Parker Dam then Colorado River Aqueduct to support LA and San Diego. Water is taken to Coachella valley and by the time it reaches the Gulf of California there are only drops left.
Ignoring human alterations to the landscape, what causes floods, and what is their value ecologically?
Causes: large rain, drought, melting ice caps, overflow rivers, broken dams
Value ecologically: able to revitalize the groundwater in an area, increase fish populations, revitalize wildlife and marsh habitats, soil fertility
What are the goals of dam removal?
restore riparian ecosystems, establish fisheries for economic benefit, allow for recreational fly fishing and rafting to come back. It is not economically smart to continue to fix old dams so removal and allowing old recreational and economic jobs to come back. Edwards Dam on Main Kennebec River FERC environmental benefits outweighed keeping the dam.
Describe two ways that salt can be removed from seawater.
Desalination The removal of salt from seawater, mimic hyperbolic cycle by distilling freshwater
Middle east has many desalination since lack groundwater
It is expensive and uses many fossil fuels
Reverse osmosis: forcing water through membranes to filter out salt
Reverse osmosis plan in Yuma Arizona from Colorado river, helps reduce salinity of runoff entering rivers, but it is very expensive to maintain
Why is too much plant growth, as a result of eutrophication, a problem in a freshwater system?
Too much plant growth is a problem because when there is overgrowth of algae, sunlight cannot get into the water and thus creating dead zones. Places like gulf of mexico is considered a dead zone from the amount of fertilizers in the water from runoff → eutrophication
the "Klamath crisis" focuses on an as yet unresolved dispute between ____
farmers (want irrigation) and government (want to save fish).
Overpumping of groundwater in coastal areas can cause __ into aquifers, making the water undrinkable.
salinization
The best-known technological approach to increasing water supply by generating freshwater is , the removal of salt from seawater.
desalination
One way to conserve water is by , replacing lawns and water-loving plants with drought-tolerant species adapted to arid environments.
xeriscaping
What is meant by the statement, "We are truly 'replumbing the planet' "? Provide an example.
We are truly replumbing the planet means that our erection of dams and irrigation is changing the 'plumbing' of our planet and thus changing ecosystems. Example is the Glen Canyon Dam which has impacted all the ecosystems starting in Colorado all the way down to California and Mexico. The Colorado River has seen changes in fish and water pollutants then, in the gulf of Mexico, eutrophication has caused algae overgrowth. Also, the creation of reservoirs and marshes are changing the way in which our water systems work.
Using the Three Gorges Dam on China's Yangtze River as an example, what are the benefits and costs associated with building dams?
Benefits: allows boats to travel upstream, flood control, replace coal and nuclear energy with hydroelectric energy
Costs: flood 22 cities and displace 1.13 million people, 10,000 archaeological sites under water, sediment settles and downstream water does not get the sediment → deprive ecosystem, trap pollutants and high levels of bacteria.
How can agricultural irrigation practices be altered to decrease loss of freshwater?
Overirrigation → waterlogging and salinization
Subsidize irrigation → agricultural self sufficiency
Drip irrigation,
Define water pollution, point source, and nonpoint source pollution. Which of the two (point source or nonpoint source) is easier to identify? Which is easier to legislate? Which currently poses the greatest threat to freshwater?
Point source: water pollution from discrete location such as factory or sewer
Non-point-source: cumulative inputs over larger areas farms, city, residential
Point source is easier to identify and legislate. It led to the creation of the U.S. clean water act. Non-point-source poses the greatest threat since it is harder to identify and builds up slowly over time.
Describe the benefits obtained by the creation of artificial wetlands.
Artificial wetlands cleanse wastewater that has gone through primary treatment. The microbes in the wetland naturally filter the water. The water is then released back into the waterways. The artificial wetlands are a sustainable way of filtering water and also offer habitats for wildlife that otherwise would have been destroyed.
Water shed
A watershed is a channel that concentrates runoff to the main discharge point. ... These streams and rivers can diverge and create subwatersheds, but all of the runoff discharges into one point, a lake or ocean.
Salton Sea
Imperial Valley water flow from Colorado River, tried to increase water flow and the flood created. Super salty and is part of pacific flyway. Place disposal agricultural rainwater. Solution, government can fund restoration.
Aral Sea
lake that has lost 80% of water volume from irrigation projects; runoff with chemicals inside it flows into this lake and has made it polluted
Compare water diversion influences on the Colorado River with the Salton Sea and the Aral Sea.
The Aral Sea and the Colorado River used water for irrigation. There is toxic salinity in the Aral Sea after the sea goes away. The Salton sea was for agriculture and a drainage reservoir. The Aral Sea was open to two rivers which were flooded for the dry land areas that went into the Aral Sea.
The Yangtze River, Three Gorges Dam
The disruption of human life
Inorder for the Dam to be erected, they displaced a large amount of villages. If the Dam broke it would be a large issue, many people were moved for the creation of the Dam. It was built in an area with seismic activity so the structural integrity is threatened and makes risk of flooding even more devastating.
Impact on the environment
Three Gorges has eroded shoreline and flooded to dislocate many of the environment's ecosystem.
How archeological sites are impacted
Archaeological sites were destroyed due to the flooding from the dam.
Local Culture and natural Beauty
The dam is flooding many of the cultural and natural beauty of the area.
Death in Water reading
Arsenic from groundwater is causing major health issues since access to clean water from wells is difficult
Describe 2 conflicts that have occurred over water use in the C.R. How are these conflicts generally resolved?
The seven states, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming had signed the Colorado river compact. Then California had to exceed its allotted portion because the other six states did not need their full allotments, causing the U.S.interior department to have California reduce their withdrawals and altering the plan. After forming a plan for upper-basin states and lower-basin states, Las Vegas, Nevada's population has grown since the Colorado River. Other states worry that Las Vegas may back out of the Colorado River Compact or challenge it to court if not allowed adequate water from somewhere.
Compare the problems associated with water diversion with the Colorado River.
Water is diverted to supply water to Denver and Front Range and also Utah, New Mexico, and parts of the west coast. There are many native fish but over 50 percent of the native fish have gone extinct or are very vulnerable. Water diversion has caused the muddy and seasonally warm water to become clear and cold. Habitat affected and species endangered from development dams. Hoocer and Glen Canyon Dam have led to drought. Drier and warmer with snowfall runoff reducing.
On a field trip to two local ponds, a group of students observed a difference between the two ponds in the diversity of worms and insect larvae living in the mud and debris near the edges of the ponds. Numerous factors, both biotic and abiotic, influence the distribution of aquatic organisms.
a. the students decided that they would investigate some of the abiotic factors. List three water-quality tests that could be conducted and explain what information each test provides. Include in your answers a description of the impact of each factor on the distribution of aquatic organisms.
- Test for dissolved oxygen allows seeing how much has decomposed.
- Test nearby metals those metals lead to fish deformities
- Carbon dioxide increase leads to less PH while less carbon dioxide leads to fewer photosynthesis.
- Check nitrate and phosphate levels, increased levels lead to algal bloom and eutrophication
- PH, alkaline, temp, color, odor
On a field trip to two local ponds, a group of students observed a difference between the two ponds in the diversity of worms and insect larvae living in the mud and debris near the edges of the ponds. Numerous factors, both biotic and abiotic, influence the distribution of aquatic organisms.
b) Larvae of a certain insect are found in pon A but not in pond B. Design a controlled experiment that would help explain the observed districution of these insect larvae.
1. Hypothesis
2. Variable be manipulated
3. Procesdue, describe data collect
4. Possible results and relate to insect districution
1. pond A insect larvae can only survive in water with a dissolved oxygen level of 8 ppm (parts per million) or higher.
2. describe data
3. dependent variable (size, mortality)
4. Elaborate, repeated trials, how either variable is controlled
On a field trip to two local ponds, a group of students observed a difference between the two ponds in the diversity of worms and insect larvae living in the mud and debris near the edges of the ponds. Numerous factors, both biotic and abiotic, influence the distribution of aquatic organisms.
c. What are the indicator species and how are they used to assess environmental quality? Give specific example of such a species and its use.
Indicator species are species whose presence or absences serves as an early warning sign of environmental change or degradation of the natural community.
- ex. invertebrates (mayfly, frog, traut)
- "use" --> species linked to env, change (algal bloom indicated increased levels of phosphate)
The Colorado river runs 1450 miles from the headwaters of the Rocky Mountains to the gulf of California. The river has many dams, aqueducts, and canals that divert water in order to supply water for electricity, irrigation, recreation, and domestic use.A) describe and discuss two environmental problems that are associated with water diversion.
- Decreased nutrition sediment downstream --> decreased plant, disruption of the food chain
- Increased salinity with decreased water volume --> decreased plant and animal growth and health (flies in a mono lake)
- Flooding --> submerge ecosystem
- irrigation --> eutrophication
B)if there is a shortage of water, choices will have to be made as to whether water should be diverted to urban areas, agricultural areas, or natural ecosystems. Make an argument for diverting water for urban consumption and an argument for permitting the flow of water to natural resources.
Natural areas need water plant function (provide air) recharge grounder water for hydrolic cycle, we land filter water, sustain food chain and keep biodiversity ethical.
C) identify another example of a large scale water diversion project. Discuss two environmental problems that have resulted, or might result, from this project.
Three Gorges Dam/Yangtzee River
Students in an environmental science class at Fremont High School tested the water quality in a stream near their school. They were concerned about the possible pollution of the stream, which flows through a farm on which hogs are raised. Shown below are a diagram that indicates the sites where the students collected water samples and a table of the students' water tests.
...
Assess the likelihood that animal waste is contaminating the water. Discuss the scientific basis of your assessment.
- Animal waste is likely contaminated if
- Decreased dissolved oxygen to decomposition animal waste
- Increased phosphate to animal waste
- Trend stream recovery as evidence contamination of animal waste
Describe two additional tests that could be used in monitoring the quality of the water in the stream. For each test, describe the patterns you would expect from sites A through D.
- Fecal coliform
- Temp
- Turbidity/total suspended solids
- Salinity
- Biodiversity
Describe a sequence of ecological changes that might result from the discharge of animal waste into a body of water.
- as stream fertility increased due to higher [hostphate --> algal bloom
- as dead algal decompose --> reduction level dissolved o2
- increase suspended solids --> increased temp
- Shift in indicative species that pollution sensitive such as mayfly nymph and stonefly nymphs
The Clean Water Act was first passed in the United States in 1972 and has been amended several times since then. Describe two specific provisions of this legislation that would be likely to apply to the quality of the stream water.
- Regulate discharge pollutants into U.S. waterways
- Attain water quality levels that make waterways safe to fish
- Set water quality standards to limit pollutants
- Reduce runoff from municipalities and animal feedlot operation
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