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APES > chapter 15 > Flashcards

chapter 15 Flashcards

1
Q

Problems associated with the Colorado River (Past &Present)

A

-people in Las Vegas are drilling for underground water, even though it threatens the area’s ecology

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2
Q

Tributary

A

a smaller river slowing into a larger one

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3
Q

Oxbow

A

an extreme bend in a river

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4
Q

Oxbow lake

A

the bend is cut off and remains as an isolated, U-shaped body of water

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5
Q

Floodplain

A

areas nearest to the river’s course that are flooded periodically
Frequent deposition of silt makes floodplain soils

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6
Q

Riparian

A

riverside areas that are productive and species-rich

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7
Q

Freshwater systems (amount, where it is located, etc.)

A
  • relatively pure, with dissolved salts
  • only 2.5% of earth’s water is fresh
  • most freshwater is tied up in glaciers and ice caps
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8
Q

Wetlands

A

Systems that combine elements of freshwater and dry land

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9
Q

Freshwater marshes

A

shallow water allows plants to grow about the water’s surface

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10
Q

swamps

A

shallow water that occurs in forested areas

can be created by beavers

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11
Q

Bogs

A

ponds covered in thick floating mats of vegetation

a stage in aquatic succession

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12
Q

Why wetlands are valuable

A

slow runoff

  • reduce flooding, recharge aquifers filter pollutants
  • people have drained wetlands, mostly for agriculture
  • southern canada and the US have lost more than half of their wetlands
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13
Q

Littoral zone

A

region ringing the edge of a water body

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14
Q

Benthic zone

A

extends along the bottom of the water body

home to many invertebrates

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15
Q

Limnetic zone

A

open portions of lake or pond where the sunlight penetrates the shallow waters

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16
Q

Profundal zone

A

water that sunlight does not reach

supports fewer animals because there is less oxygen

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17
Q

Oligotrophic lakes and ponds

A

have low nutrient and high oxygen conditions

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18
Q

Eutrophic lakes and ponds

A

have high nutrient and low oxygen conditions

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19
Q

Inland seas

A

large lakes that hold so much water, their biota is adapted to open water

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20
Q

Groundwater

A

any precipation that does not evaporate flow into waterways, or get taken up by organism
makes up one fifth of the earth’s freshwater supply

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21
Q

Aquifers

A

porous sponge-like formations of rock, sand, or gravel that hold groundwater

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22
Q

Zone of aeration

A

pore spaces are partially filled with water

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23
Q

Zone of saturation

A

spaces are completely filled with water

24
Q

Water table

A

boundary between two zones

25
Q

Aquifer recharge zone

A

any area where water infiltrates Earth’s surface and reaches aquifers

26
Q

Confined/artesian aquifers

A

water-bearing, porous rocks are trapped between layers of less permeable substrate
-is under a lot of pressure

27
Q

Unconfined aquifer

A
  • no upper layer to confine it
  • readily recharged by surface water
  • Groundwater becomes surface water through springs or human-drilled wells
  • Ground water may be ancient: the average age is 1,400 years
28
Q

Consumptive use

A

water is removed from an aquifer or surface water body, and is not returned

29
Q

Non-consumptive use

A

does not remove or only temporarily removes, water from an aquifer or surface water

30
Q

Dam

A
  • any obstruction place in a river or stream to block the flow of water so water can be stored in a reservoir
  • to precent floods, provide drinking water, allow irrigation, and generate electricity
31
Q

Benefits & drawbacks of dams (Three Gorges Dam Example)

A

Benefits for three Gorges Dam
Provides flood control, passage for boats, and electricity

Removal
is flooding cities and homes
drowning famland and habitat
pollutants will be trapped

Removal (why & controversies surrounding them) 
Benefits 
Power generation 
Flood control 
shipping 
drinking water

Drawbacks
Habitat alteration
population displacement
Sediment capture

32
Q

water mining

A

withdrawing water faster than it can be replenished

33
Q

Dikes & levees

A

Long raised mounds of earth along the banks of rivers holding rising water in channels
levees can make floods worse by forcing water to stay in channels and overflow

34
Q

Aral Sea - Past & Present

A

location => to the right of the caspian, between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

35
Q

irrigation efficiency

A

only 45% of water is absorbed by crops via “flood and furrow” irrigation
-overirrigation leands to waterlogging, salinization, and lost farming income

36
Q

Sinkholes

A

areas were ground gives way unexpectedly

some cities are slowly sinking

37
Q

Desalinization

A

removal of salt from seawater or other water of marginal quality

38
Q

Distilling vs. reverse osmosis

A

distilling
hastens evaporation and condenses the vapor

reverse osmosis
forces water through membranes to filter out salts

39
Q

Pathogens/waterborne disease

A

enters water supply via inadequately treated human waste and animal waste via feedlots
causes more human health problems than any other type of water pollution

40
Q

Toxic chemicals

A

from natural and synthetic sources
pesticides, petroleum products, synthetic chemicals
arsenic, lead, mercury, acid rain, acid drainage from mines

effects include: poisoning animals and plants, altering aquatic ecosystems, and affecting human health

41
Q

Sediment pollution

A

sediments can impair aquatic ecosystems
clear-cutting, mining, poor cultivation practices
dramatically changes aquatic habitats, and fish may not survive
Solutions: better management of farms and forests; avoid large-scale disturbance of vegetation

42
Q

Thermal pollution

A

water water holds less oxygen
dissolved oxygen decreases as temperature increases
water that is too cold can kill aquatic organisms

43
Q

point source water pollution

A

discrete locations of pollution

factory or sewer pipes

44
Q

Nonpoint sources water pollution

A

pollution from multiple cumulative inputs over a large area

farms, cities, streets, neighborhoods

45
Q

U.S Clean Water Act

A

addressed point sources

targeted industrial discharge

46
Q

Do Nonpoint or point sources have a greater impact on quality?

A

nonpoint sources have a greater impact on quality

47
Q

Biological indicators

A

presence of fecal coliform bacteria and other disease-causing organisms

48
Q

Chemical indicators

A

pH, nutrient concentration, taste, odor, hardness, dissolved oxygen

49
Q

Physical indicators:

A

turbidity, color, temperature

50
Q

Sources of Groundwater pollution

A 
natural 
aluminum, fluoride, sulfates 
pollution from human causes 
wastes leach through soils 
pathogens enter through improperly designed wells
Hazardous wastes pumped into ground

Agricultural pollution
nitrates from fertilizers
pesticides dected in more than half of shallow aquifers tested

51
Q

Wastewater

A

water that has been used by people in some way

sewage, showers, sinks, manufacturing, storm water runoff

52
Q

Septic systems

A

the most popular method of wastewater disposal in rural areas
underground septic tanks separate solids and oils from wastewater
water drains into a drain field decompose the water
solid waste needs to be periodically pumped and landfilled

53
Q

Primary treatment

A

physical removal of contaminants in settling tanks (clarifers)

54
Q

Secondary treatment

A

water is stirred and aerated so aerobic bacteria degrade organic pollutants
water treated with chlorine is piped into rivers or ocean

55
Q

Clean Water Act

A

illegal to discharge pollution without a permit
standards for industrial wastewater
funded sewage treatment plants

APES (2 decks)

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