Measuring Enviromental Change Flashcards
Environmental changes can be measured using……
Living indicators
What are some organisms very sensitive to?
Changes in their environment and so it can be studied to see the effect on human activities.
How is air pollution monitored?
Looking a types of lichen that are very sensitive to the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere.( this is so they can get a good idea about the level of pollution for car exhausts and power stations ect…)
What will indicate how clear the air is?
The number and type of lichen at a particular location will indicate how clean the air is.
What happens if raw sewage is released into the river? And how do we check for this
Bacterial Pollution in the water increases and uses up oxygen. Some invertebrate animals, like mayfly larvae are good indicators for water pollution as they are very sensitive to the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water. If you find mayfly larvae in the water you know it’s clean
Other invertebrates have adapted to live in polluted conditions, how does this help identify pollution?
If you see a lot of them you know the area is polluted. Invertebrates such as maggots and sludge worms indicate a high level of water pollution
What do scientists use satellites for to find out about environmental change
They use satellites to measure the temperature of the sea surface and the amount of snow and ice cover .
How do automatic weather stations find out about environmental change?
They tell us the atmospheric temperature at various locations, they contain thermometers that are sensitive and accurate. It measures to very small fractions of a degree
How do rain gauges find out about environmental changes?
They measure rain fall to find out the average rainfall changes year on year
How do dissolved oxygen metered help find out the environmental changes?
It measures concentration of dissolved oxygen in water, to discover how the level of water pollution is changing
