Chapter 1516 Freshwater/Water pollution Flashcards
How much water on Earth’s surface is usable by humans? (%)
Only about 1/100 of 1% of that water is usable. 0.001%.
Where is most of Earths freshwater?
80% of the freshwater on the planet is trapped in ice caps at the poles and glaciers around the world.
What are the stages of the water cycle (hydrologic cycle)?
- Heat from sun causes water to evaporate from surface evaporation, and at the same time plants root up water from soil into atmosphere through: evapotranspiration
- That water condenses into clouds: condensation
- Water falls back down: precipitation
Who uses the most water?
We, Canadians do, using up to 350 litres of water per day (per person).
How many people lack sufficient access to clean water?
one in three people. (more than 2 billion)
What is an aquifer?
How is it related to a water table?
An underground, permeable region of soil or rock that is saturated with water.
The uppermost water level of the saturated zone of an aquifer is the water table.
What’s the biggest use(s) of water worldwide?
Agriculture that uses about 70% and thermal power that uses about 60%.
Are reservoirs created by dams stable?
No they are not stable because the water is stagnant because it is dammed of and allows for a lot of it to be lost to evaporation.
What is a flux?
a movement of water from one state to another.
Fossil (ground) water
water that infiltrated the ground millennia ago under climatic conditions different from the present, and that has been stored underground since that time.
Desalination
the de-salting of ocean water; it is a very expensive and uses a lot of energy.
What are the steps of Eutrophication
- Excess of nutrients in water body stimulates accelerated algal photosynthesis
- increase in productivity drives algal blooms: rapid and dramatic increases in algal populations and biomass
- problems:
- algal dies quickly- giving abundant source of energy for bacteria
- prevent sunlight from reaching plants: less oxygen for fish
- lead to hypoxia: so little oxygen in water it can’t support life
What is Eutrophication
the nutrient enrichment of a water body, which alters the food web of that lake by promoting algal growth and depleting oxygen, and may result in hypoxia and fish mortality. Mostly caused
Where, geographically, do all bodies of water form?
They form in low-lying areas because surface water runs off to these areas- or in localized landscape depressions. This is due to the force of gravity and the pattern is determined by topography.
How do wetlands forms?
they form when plants fill in margins of lakes and rivers, and along coastlines.
Problems with zebra mussels
- Selectively excrete excess phosphorus (P)
- clarify water by efficiently filtering out particulate matter, greater sunlight penetration stimulates algae growth, which further promotes eutrophication.
