Unit 1.B Flashcards
What percent of earths water is in the oceans
97
Where is majority of freshwater located
Frozen in ice caps and glaciers
What percent of water is used for agricultural sectors
~70
What is an aquifer
Water stored underground in sand and bedrock through which groundwater flows
What is a water table
The uppermost level at which water satuates the rock and soil
What is a recharge area
Supplies water to aquifer through infiltration and percolation of precipitation
What is the Ogallala aquifer
Largest aquifer in the U.S.
Beneath Great Plains
Removing excessive ground water can cause:
Cones of depression near the withdrawn well
Salt water intrusion near coastlines
Sink holes, land subsidence
What happens in Primary Treatment for waste water
Physical separation
Screening and grit removes most suspended solids
Primary clarifiers separate liquids and solids
Solids go to digestion and turn to sludge
What happens in Secondary Treatment for waste water
Anaerobic bacteria is used to digest the waste
Secondary clarifiers remove bacteria from liquids
What happens in Tertiary Treatment for waste water
Chemical and physical processes aimed at removing special pollutants
What happens in Disinfection for waste water
UV light or chlorine is used to kill pathogenic bacteria and viruses
After being treated, where does waste water go
Into local surface water or pumped into aquifers
What is industrial waste
Waste produced by mining, agriculture, etc providing us with goods and services
What is municipal solid waste (MSW)
Waste produced by homes and businesses
What are hazardous wastes
Wastes that are poisonous, chemically reactive, flammable, dangerous
What is the composition of MSW for the U.S.
- Paper
- Food wastes
- Plastic
Where does most trash in the U.S. go
Landfills
What are open clump landfills
Fields and holes in the ground for trash
What are sanitary landfills
Spread MSW in layers, cover and compact with clay, dries trash, reduces leachate leakage
What are landfill issues
Anaerobic conditions slow decomposition rates
Anaerobic conditions produce methane which is flammable and a greenhouse gas
Where are most incinerators found
Europe
What are incinerators/waste-to-energy-burn plants
Burns trash to boil water and generate electricity
What are plastics
Variety of materials made of polymer-containing compounds
Plastics are a type of petrochemical, what is that
Means it is most often generated from natural gas or petroleum
What are microplastics
Floating just below the surface trapped in vortexes of rotating ocean currents
What percent of open waters have floating plastic debris with plastic on the seafloor
90
What is primary recyclling
Closed loop, using materials again for the same purpose
What is secondary recyclling
Open loop, waste materials are converted into different products
What is planned obsolescence
Objects are designed to be trashed rather than fixed or reused
What is traditional waste management
Treats all wastes by burning, burying, or shipping them to focus on object’s end and getting rid of it
What is integrated waste management
Emphasizes waste reduction b4 its even produced
What is source reduction
Using less materials in design and manufacturing that would become waste, prevent waste generation
What is cradle-to-cradle
Approach to manufacturing, a circular economy. No waste leftover
What is the Basel Convention
Bans the export of hazardous wastes, plastics, and e-waste to other countries without permission
What is the Superfund Act/CERCLA
Cleans up hazardous waste sites
What is the Toxic Release Inventory/TRI
Published to notify residents of storage and release of toxic chemicals in their regoin
What is the Resource Conservation and Recoverey Act/RCRA
Established cradle-to-grave system of recordkeeping and permitting for generation, transport, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous wastes
What is the lithosphere
The outermost, cooler, rigid of rock on earths surface. Where the tectonic plates are
What is the asthenosphere
The layer on top of the mantle that consists of hot, molten rock. In motion
Oceanic crust properties
Underwater
More dense bc of a greater amount of metals
Floats lower on the asthenosphere
Continential crust properties
Less dense
Made of silicate rock
Floats higher on the asthenosphere
Where do convection currents occur within earth
Asthenosphere
What do convection currents do related to earths surface
They force themselves through tectonic plates which force the plates to either collide or diverge
What is subduction
A more dense tectonic plates goes underneath a less dense tectonic plate
What occurs when a continental plate and an oceanic plate converge
Where/world example
Trenches
South america/Andes mountains
What occurs when an oceanic plate and an oceanic plate converge
Where/world example
Islands
Southeast Asia- japan and indonesia
What occurs when a continental plate and a continental plate converge
Where/world example
Nonvolcanic mountains
Himalayas
What occurs when an oceanic plate and an oceanic plate diverge
Where/world example
Mid ocean ridges
Iceland and mid-atlantic ocean ridge
What occurs when a continental plate and a continental plate diverge
Where/world example
Rift valleys
African rift valley
What occurs when a continental plate and a continental plate transform into eachother
Where/world example
Earthquakes and fault lines
San Andreas fault line
What is a reserve
A known quality of resource that can be economically recovered
What is ore
Concentration of mineral from which valuable materials can be extracted
What are gangue minerals/tailings
Material extracted with the ore that has no value and is considered waste
What is placer mining
Obtaining minerals from river sediments
What is subsurface mining
Used when ores are more than 100m below earths surface. Dig straight down and then towards ores.
What are the types of surface mining
Strip, open-pit, and mountaintop removing
What is strip mining
Mining in a straight line when ore is parallel to earths surface.
Spoils, removed overburden, is returned to hole and topsoil is replaced
What is open-pit mining
Digging a large hole in the ground if ore runs horizontal and vertically beneath earths surface, removing layer by layer.
What is mountaintop removal mining
Where is it commonly done
Uses explosives to access ore within a mountain
Appalachian mountains
What is acid mine drainage
Sulfuric acid produced by anaerobic bacteria acting on sulfur compounds in mining waters. Releases toxic heavy metals from soil or bedrock
