topic 4 - water Flashcards
what are ocean currents driven by?
wind, tide, changes in water density and the rotation of the earth
what are the two types of currents
surface (top 10%)
deep ocean currents (90%)
what are gyres
big circular surface currents in the middle of oceans, they go clockwise in the north and anti clockwise in the south
what is the Coriolis effect
its the earths rotation causing the wind to go in certain directions. the spin of the earth makes things veer off to the side dependent on north or south instead of straight
what are surface currents driven by?
wind
what are deep ocean currents driven by?
by density differences and changes
what is the thermohaline circulation
when colder water sinks because of density and warm water is pulled up from the depths as it gets replaced by the cold water. the warm water brings up things with it
what does warm water bring up in the thermohaline circulation
nutrients and decomposed things, called upwelling
what is the el nino and la nina?
the changing wind patterns has an effect on the water movements and the equatorial region of the earth, it disturbs the displacement of the warm and cold water
where is the most salty water, and why?
salt is not trapped when ice forms as it is more dense so the north is more salty
what are invasive species
non native organisms that were introduced in an environment
how do non native species negatively impact native species
○ Cause pollution by altering nutrient cycling in ecosystem
○ Out compete native species for resources like sunlight and water
- Example - zebra mussels release heavy metals and PCB’s which is polluting
what does light pollution do?
repels fish
stresses coral and disrupts circadian rhythms
alters colours and freqs that animals are used to
disrupts feeding schedules and reproductive cycles
what does light polluaiton do to zooplankton
○ They’ll go into the darkness to hide from predators and then go up to feed on phytoplankton and migrate vertically
○ This is dependent on the sun and it can mess up the amount of food other animals get as well
what does sound pollution do
temporary or permanent hearing loss
cause panic
ascend too quickly
become disorientated
can cause decompression sickness
what can toxic metals do
they arent biodegradable meaning they will last and just build up
what are toxic metals?
- Group of persistent organic pollutants and last for years in environment
- Found in geological pharmaceutical, industrial, agricultural and atmospheric
what does floating debris do?
- Disturbs the ecosystems natural operation such as recreation and navigation
- Not biodegradable so they accumulate
- Impact water quality
- Source of ingestion, suffocation and entanglement of marine species
- Biggest issue is the volume of it
why are organic compounds bad
harm the ecosystem due to human acitivy
all herbicides, and pesticides that run off from farm waste
what are inorganic compounds
heavy metals
acids
non metallic salts
why is thermal pollution bad
hot water is realsed into rivers and changed the temperature
what is cloud seeding
type of water modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation
it disperses substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud
what are artificial glaciers
ice stupas are made using a simple irrigation system designed to store fresh water for use during arid summer months
what is rain water harvesting
- Rainwater harvesting is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit, aquifer, or reservoir with percolation so that it seeps down and restores the groundwater.
