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Limnology > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

What is an inland water?

A

All freshwater bodies. All water landward on land-ocean boundary.

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2
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

All biotic and abiotic factors in an environment. “…a biotic community or assemblage and its associated physical environment in a specific place.”

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3
Q

What are natural alterations an ecosystem can have/go through?

A

-Climate -Nutrients -Light -Turbidity

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4
Q

What are examples of human impacts that alter ecosystems?

A

-Nutrient and sediment input -Climate change -Toxins -Habitat destruction

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5
Q

True/False: Water bodies are independent from one another.

A

False.

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6
Q

What are estuaries?

A

A mix of salty and fresh water, tidal dependent. A river’s connection to the ocean.

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7
Q

What are the physical gradients of aquatic systems?

A

Turbulence and currents

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8
Q

How does physics influence aquatic ecosystems?

A

-Influences the type of life-form (drifting vs. attached) -Vertical movement: temperatures, sunlight -Horizontal movement: habitat, **depth**, turbidity, etc.

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9
Q

What are the chemical gradients of aquatic systems?

A

Dissolved ion concentrations (salts) -ex: High salinity lakes have fewer biodiversity. **Osmotic pressure**

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10
Q

How do geological gradients influence aquatic ecosystems?

A

By the amount and type of substrates, both dissolved and undissolved, as well as the hydrology via underwater slope and basin infrastructure (seepage, groundwater, etc.)

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11
Q

What biological factors influence and distinguish ecosystems?

A

Presence/ absence of food resources, predators, refuges, etc.

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12
Q

What are lentic systems?

A

Lakes, wetlands, ponds

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13
Q

What are lotic systems?

A

Streams, rivers, anything that flows

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14
Q

What does athalassohaline mean?

A

Not sea salt inland water. They typically contain Ca & Mg carbonates and sulfates.

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15
Q

What part per thousand defines saline/freshwaters?

A

3ppt dissolved salts

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16
Q

Why are the oceans generally saltier than inland waters?

A

Oceans receive inland water runoff and water evaporates more quickly thus increasing salt concentrations. Evaporation rates > precipitation rates.

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17
Q

What is ocean acidification?

A

Increased CO2 content. CO2 diffuses into oceans from atmosphere.

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18
Q

What distinguishes different kinds of aquatic ecosystems?

A

The physical, chemical, geological, biological, and climate-scale gradients.

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19
Q

What are the commonalities and major differences of different aquatic systems?

A

Standing vs running water. Salt content.

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20
Q

What makes lakes saline?

A

The difference between precipitation and evaporation rates. Net evaporation processes.

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21
Q

Where are the saline lakes in North America?

A

West side of the continent. Many, but not all, are formed from inland extensions of the sea that became isolated over geological time.

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22
Q

Hypersaline lakes tend to have very simple food webs of few trophic levels, why?

A

Very few species are able to live in these high salinity environments due to the hyper-osmotic pressure.

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23
Q

What characteristics do freshwater wetlands differ in?

A

Permanence, depth, vegetation wetlands tend to be small and seasonal

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24
Q

What characteristics do lakes differ in?

A

Climatic zone, mixing regime, trophic status (fertility), electrolytes (alkalinity, hardness) lakes are larger and are more affected by large scale features

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25
Q

What is the significance of 4 degrees C?

A

It is the highest density of water. Water sinks at this temperature and causes mixing to occur.

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26
Q

What is the significance of the mixing regime?

A

It controls the biology of the water.

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27
Q

What are the physical factors that cause lakes to mix on different time scales and at different frequencies?

A

Temperature, latitudinal location of lake.

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28
Q

How do you calculate the water hardness?

A

Sum of cations

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29
Q

What can water hardness determine?

A

Productivity of lake

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30
Q

What is the maximum hardness a lake can reach?

A

50 ml/L CO2

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31
Q

What is an oligotrophic lake?

A

A lake with low nutrients, low organic matter, and high hypolimnion O2 content.

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32
Q

What is a eutrophic lake?

A

A lake with abundant nutrients, abundant organic matter, and low hypolimnion O2 content.

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33
Q

What does a higher volume in lakes mean for nutrient levels?

A

Higher dilution of nutrients.

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34
Q

What mostly controls plant growth in lakes?

A

Nutrients!

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35
Q

Describe the Strahler classification. (aka stream order)

A

Smallest permanently flowing stream is called a “first order” Union of two streams of order n creates a stream of order n+1 Union of a stream of order n with a stream of order <n></n>

36
Q

**Implication of stream order**

A

**

37
Q

What orders are the Ohio, Mississippi, and Amazon rivers?

A

8th, 10th, 12th respectively

38
Q

What is the pattern with stream order and size?

A

Increase in stream order, results in an increase of size. *Exponentially increasing but with lots of variability within a given order

39
Q

Name two properties of water then compare with other substances and explain its importance to aquatic systems.

A

Density - Under standard pressure, maximum is 3.94*C, not 0. Expands upon freezing. Allows lake stratification and surface freezing rather than bottom freezing. Absorption of radiation - Large in the infrared region, but moderate in the photosynthetic/visible region. Allows greater heat absorption in surface water, but reduced surface absorption at shorter wavelengths, allowing a greater penetration of PAR.

40
Q

What is the most important factor in lake water column stability?

A

Density - it affects phytoplankton growth and hence entire food web.

41
Q

What is surface tension and its importance in the water column?

A

A measure of the strength of film at the water surface. It keeps surface waves from breaking; alters heating and cooling. It allows organisms to live in surface film. It decides what wavelength and how much light gets through.

42
Q

What is viscosity and its importance in the water column?

A

A measure of resistance to flow. It alters heating and cooling. It makes water act like a “gel” to small organisms. It offers good resistance for swimming.

43
Q

What amount of absorption is in the infra-red region? And what does it do for the water system?

A

Large; it moderates temperature extremes.

44
Q

What amount of absorption is in the photosynthetic region? And what does it do for the water system?

A

Small; it allows plants to grow deep in clear water.

45
Q

How much of continental freshwater is frozen in glaciers and icecaps?

A

77%

46
Q

How much of Earth’s water is in the oceans?

A

97.2%

47
Q

How much of Earth’s water is continental water?

A

2.8%

48
Q

How much of Earth’s water is in the atmosphere?

A

0.001%

49
Q

What percentage does the deepest water make up Earth’s radius?

A

0.07%

50
Q

T/F: Small lakes cover more area than large ones.

A

True

51
Q

T/F: Small lakes make up the largest number of water impoundments.

A

True

52
Q

T/F: Larger lakes make up the largest area of impoundments.

A

True

53
Q

What are the three categories of water usage and their impact in water quality?

A

Consumption (large changes in quality), physical uses (moderate to severe changes), passive uses (little impact on quality)

54
Q

T/F: Ohio uses more water annually on average than the US.

A

True

55
Q

Why are surface freshwaters used disproportionately (i.e., vs. groundwater) for industrial, agricultural, and domestic supplies?

A

It’s cheap to use, can be pumped rapidly, usually renewed quickly, traditional water sources, i.e., infrastructure is already in place.

56
Q

Why have hydroelectric power usage on the decline?

A

Awareness of dam-effects

57
Q

T/F: Recreational boating (as a passive water use) is on the decline.

A

False.

58
Q

T/F: Freshwater anglers’ expenditures (as a passive water use) are on the decline.

A

True

59
Q

Where does our local water come from?

A

Griggs Reservoir

60
Q

What happens to water after precipitation?

A

It is lost in evaporation and evapotransiration

61
Q

T/F There is a balance between evaporation from ocean and what returns to the ocean via precipitation.

A

False

62
Q

What is residence time? (in regards to water)

A

The amount of time the average water molecule resides in that “box” before moving into another “box” retention time in a body of water

63
Q

What is a watershed?

A

An area of land that intercepts and drains precipitation and collects water for a particular stream, lake, or other water body (aka drainage basin or catchment)

64
Q

T/F Everything that happens to a watershed can affect what ends up in the water.

A

True

65
Q

What is flux?

A

The movement of mass and time

66
Q

What do the watershed/catchment exports reflect?

A

Geology, land cover, soils, vegetation, slope, human impacts (fertilizer use, sewage treatment), deposition from air pollutants (acidity, Hg), variation in hydrology (timing and amounts of precip and runoff)

67
Q

What do the watershed/catchment loading reflect?

A

Integrated export from watershed, watershed (aquatic system area ratio, aka drainage ratio), upstream aquatic systems (lakes upstream reduce export downstream)

68
Q

What is the hydraulic water residence time?

A

The length of time (days or years) required to completely flush a water body. gamma = V/Q

69
Q

Why should we care about water budgets?

A

They affect human society.

70
Q

What are the three sources of storage?

A
  1. Precipitation (falls DIRECTLY on water bodies) 2. Surface runoff from watershed 3. Groundwater
71
Q

What are the four losses in storage?

A
  1. Surface outflow 2. Groundwater seepage 3. Evaporation 4. Evapotranspiration
72
Q

What input and loss terms are easy to measure in the water budget?

A

Precipitation, surface outflow, evaporation, surface runoff

73
Q

What input and loss terms are difficult to measure in the water budget?

A

Underground things, groundwater input, seepage

74
Q

Give the equation(s) of the hydrological mass balance equation.

A

Inputs = Outputs + dStorage (or dStorage = Inputs - Outputs)

Precipitation (P) + Runoff (R) + Groundwater (G) = Evaporation (E) + Seepage (S) + Surface Outflow (O) + dStorage

dStorage = P + R + G - E - S - O

75
Q

Draw a diagram depicting all inputs and outputs of the hyrological balance equation.

A
76
Q

If storage is equal to 0, what is the hydrological mass balance equation?

A

P + R + G = E + S + O

77
Q

Often P, R, E, and O can be measured, so at a steady state: (list balance equation)

A

G - S = E + O - P - R

Difficult to measure = Easy to measure

78
Q

What factors should be considered when choosing a tracer?

A

Reactivity, negative effects, solubility, ease of measure, toxicity

79
Q

How was groundwater input in the West Basin of Long Lake determined?

A

Tracer: LiBr

Outflow was estimated by labeling the lake with LiBr and measuring decline over time, change in storage was measured as change in lake height (staff gauge), R = 0 (no surface inflows), precipitation was measured with a rain gauge, evaporation was estimated as proportion of precipitation (~30%)

80
Q

Seepage was assumed to be constant for Mirror Lake in both wet and dry weather conditions, but what did a study find to actually be true and what does this show about variables?

A

A huge variation in runoff, precipitation, and outflow between wet and dry conditions was found, thus seepage has to be variable. This shows that variables are truly difficult to estimate.

81
Q

What fluxes and other factors can a water budget help estimate?

A

Chemical fluxes, impacts of nutrients, toxins, pH balance

82
Q

What different processes lead to lake formation?

A

Tectonic, volcanic, glacial, etc

83
Q

How would you predict the distribution of lentic ecosystems relates to vegetation and human population density?

A

Higher, nutrient-rich vegetation because of a water source and higher amount of farms around lakes for irrigation purposes. Higher human population density - source of water, irrigation for farms, etc

84
Q

At what latitudes are most of the world’s lakes located? Why?**

A

45*N, 0*, 45*S

**

85
Q

T/F Small lakes were initially thought to cover more area of the Earth than large lakes

A

False. Large lakes initially thought

86
Q

Why were larger lakes originally thought to cover more area of the Earth?

A

Small lakes were previously under-sampled

87
Q
A

Limnology (1 decks)

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