human impact Flashcards
describe the biological comsequences of pollution of the air by carbon monoxide
carbon monoxide is formed through incomplete combutsion fuels (not enough 02) carbon monxide pairs with haemeglobinnin red blood cells which reduces their capacity to carry oxygen which means individual suffering from carbon monoxide posining, might not be able to carry out enough aerobic respiration.
what are all the greenhouse gases?
CFCs, methane, carbon dioxide, water vapour, nitrous oxide
what is the greenhouse affect on earth caused by greenhouse gases?
greenhouse gases create a layer around the earth which traps in heat from the sun, preventing it from escaping back out into space. sunlight enters the earths atmosphere, earth reflects the heat as infared rays, ghgs absorb and trap some heat which makes the earths temp rise
how do humans contribute to greenhouse gases?
activities like gasoline and disel transport, burning coal, operating factories that burn fossil fuels, deforestation (trees absorb c02 for photosynthesis, cutting them down means they cant do that), farming activities involve cattle which release methane.
how does an increase of greenhouse gases result in an enhanced greenhouse affect that may lead to global warming
greenhouse gases trap some heat from the earths atmosphere by absorbing infared rays emitted from the planets surface, normally some of the heat escapes into space, but high levels of greenhouse gases prevent more heat from leaving, causing earths atmosphere to warm. with more trapped heat it makes ice caps melt, sea levels rise, which will cause floods, high temp, disrupted weather patterns, extreme weather events, ocean change, human health risk.
what are the consequences of global warming?
rising sea levels, melting ice caps, extreme weather events, disrupted weather patterns, flooding, human health risk
what are the biological consequences of pollution of water by sewege
it affects aquatic and human life, increases spread of disease, reduction of oxygen in water which can kill fish and aquatic life (sewege contains organic matter that bacteria can break down consuming oxygen in the process0, poor water quality
what is meant by indicator species and explain how they can be used in the managment of pollution
an indicator species is where you have an organism that is sensitive to something so we dont have to use chemicals to find if something is clean, so if there is a specifc plant or animal growing/thriving in a certain place then you know its clean because it wouldnt be able to grow in dirty places, they help us identify if an area is dirty or clean.
what are the affects of deforesation, including leeching, soil erosion, and the disturbance of evaportranspiration, information about the impact on carbon cycle and the balance of atmospheric gases are not required at this stage.
leeching- trees and plants absorb nutrients from the soil through their roots, when they are removed, the soil loses its ability to retain nutrients. without the roots binding the nutrients rainwater washes away minerals, this can lead to nutrient poor soil and water pollution.
