Green Flashcards
Climate
A regions long-term pattern of atmospheric conditions
Global warming
An increase in earths average surface temperature
Greenhouse gases
Atmospheric gases that absorb the emanating radiation from the earths surface
5 of humanities top problems over the next 50 years
- Energy, water, food, environment, disease
Global climate change
Changes in earths climate including temperature, precipitation and other variables
3 factors that influence climate?
Sun, atmosphere, oceans
Describe the greenhouse effect
Solar radiation passes through the atmosphere. Halfish is absorbed by the earths surface, some is reflected. Radiation is converted to heat energy causing emission of longwave (infared) radiation back to the atmosphere. Some infrared passes through the atmosphere and into space, some is absorbed and remitted by the greenhouse gas molecules
Milankovitch cycles
Are natural factors that may cool the climate. Can also have a long-term effect. Wobble of the earths axis, variation of earths tilt, variation of earths orbit.
La Nina
Naturally occurring interaction between ocean and climate. Opposite to el Nino. Refers to the periodic cooling of the oceans surface temperatures in the central and east central equatorial pacific.
Global warming potential
Relative ability of one molecule of a given greenhouse to contribute gas to global warning. Coz =1, methane =23, nitrous oxide =296, hydroflorocarbon = 12,000 cheat trapping ability in coz equivalents.
Montreal protocol
An international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for the ozone layer depletion. Slows effect of halocarbon gases.
El Nino
In an el Nino event, winds weaken, warm water sloshes to the east and prevents the cold upwelling.
Coupled general circulation models
CGCMs models combine/ couple the effects of both atmosphere and ocean. Complex models use many factors to predict future climate changes. Natural/ anthropogenic factors only = poor fit. Both factors = excellent fit.
Environmental pollution
Presence in the environment of an agent which is potentially damaging to either the environment or human health.
Pollutants and examples
Pollutants can come in many forms including chemicals, organisms, biological materials and energy (noise, radiation, heat).
-Inorganics/heavy metals
- Organics
- PPCPs
- PFAs (forever chemicals, strong C-F bond, toxic at ng/L)
- emerging contaminants
- Nano/micro plastics
- biological (bacteria, pathogens)
Dissolved oxygen
Amount of gaseous oxygen dissolved in water. Oxygen gets into the water by diffusion from the surrounding air, by aeration and by photosynthesis.
- 5-6 mg/L to support diverse population
- DO < 2 mg/L HYPOXIA
- increase in temperature decreases the amount of dissolved gases
Salinity
Salinity is the classification of groundwater, composition is based on total dissolved solids content.
Turbidity
Estimates light scattering by suspended particles. Photocell set at 90° to the direction of the light beam to estimate scattered rather than absorbed light.
Conductivity
Measures the electrical conductivity of water. Increase when more salt is dissolved. Dirty has a higher conductivity. Clean water has less resistivity.
Alkalinity
Acid neutralising capacity of the water. Important as it buffers the water from changes in pH. Alkalinity includes the carbonate and di-carbonate ions. Total alkalinity is measured by measuring the amount of acid needed to bring the sample to a sample pH of 4.2
What water parameters are typically monitored in agricultural water supply?
Sodium, TDS
What water parameters are typically monitored in shellfish harvesting?
Do, bacteria
What water parameters are typically monitored in public water supply
Turbidity, TDS, inorganic and organic compounds, microbes
What water parameters are typically monitored in water contact recreation
Turbidity, bacteria, toxic compounds
Disinfection by-products formed
DBPs are formed when water/wastewater disinfectants react with organic present in the matrix to form more toxic compounds.
NZ drinking water standards
Is the maximum acceptable value (MAV) for drinking water. The concentration of a determinant below which the presence of the determinant does not result in any significant risk to a consumer over a lifetime of consumption.
Describe pH
It measures the hydrogen ion concentration. 0-7 - high H+concentration…
13 water quality parameters
pH, alkalinity, conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, total dissolved solids, hardness temperature, pathogens, biochemical oxygen demands, chemical oxygen demands, emerging contaminants,
What water parameters are typically monitored in Fish propagation and wildlife
DO, chlorinated organic compounds
What water parameters are typically monitored in industrial water supply
Suspended and dissolved constituents → hardness…
National environmental standards
Are regulations which prescribe technical standards methods, or requirements for land use and subdivision, use of coastal marine area, and beds of lakes and rivers, water take and use, discharges or noise. Also useful for monitoring.
Endocrine disrupters
Are substances that mimic a hormone in the endocrine system in our body and disrupt the function of the hormone. e.g. BPA, birth control, fire retardants.
5 Emerging contaminants
Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disrupters, disinfection by products, plastics.
Environmental compartments
Parts of the physical environment that are defined by a spatial boundary that distinguishes them from the rest of the world. Air, water, soil and sediments
Explain why ocean pH is dropping
C Oz gets into the water and forms bicarbonate and H+. Ocean acidification due to the H+ ions decreasing the seawaters pH.
Solids
As the term is used in water analysis, refers to residue left upon evaporation and maybe dissolved or undissolved species.
Total solids
Is the combination of all solids. Determined by evaporation of a water sample, and drying up the reside (at 110°C). Every thing that doesn’t evaporate below 110°C e.g. Organic, inorganic salts, metals etc.
Settleable solids
Solids that will form sediment if not stirred up. Can be determined by singly allowing the material to sit in an imhoff cone for 1hr.
Undissolved solids
Are responsible for turbidity or sediment, these can be isolated simply by filtering (remains in suspension).
Dissolved solids
Are responsible for the hardness of water. Specifically refers to samples isolated by drying at 180°C which removes any bound water.
Volatile solids
Are those solids that will burn off at 550°C or lower. This includes the vast majority of organic compounds.
TVS = Total solids - Total fixed solids
Fixed solids
Are those remaining after pyrolysis (burning at 550°C) and consists largely of inorganic salts. These salts are most directly related towards hardness.
Concentration of suspended solids
Are isolated by filtering.
Weight of solid in Imhoff come + (final paper weight - initial paper weight)
Hardness
Is the presence of divalent cations in water.
= M2+(mg/L) x 50/EW
Total hardness
Total hardness is the sum of the carbonate and non carbonate hardness. If hardness is less than alkalinity, non-carbonate hardness is zero.
Chemical equivalence (meq/L)
The equivalent by which one molecule / one unit of the substance compares with the equivalence of another substance.
EC = concentration/ EW
EW = formula weight/charge
Non-carbonated hardness
Is the hardness that is left if there exists Ca and Mg salts that are not combined with carbonate and bi-carbonate.
Methods of hardness determination
- Complete cation analysis
- Titrimetric method
