Water PDF chapters 3 and 9 (hydrosphere) Flashcards
water resources planning act
provided for plans to formulate and evaluate water and related land resource projects and to maintain a continuing assessment of the adequacy of water supplies in the united states
coastal zone management act
provided funds for state planning and management of coastal areas
water resources development act
established and maintains dam safety programs
national estuary program
designed to identify nationally significant estuaries and to restore and protect them
ramsar convention
international treaty designed to address global concerns regarding wetland loss and degradation (aka convention on wetlands of international importance)
san joaquin valley
groundwater related subsidence related to groundwater extraction
entire valley sinking 30 ft
mexico city
almost entirely dependent on exploiting groundwater for its needs
water table dropping 6ft per year
tragedy of commons
aswan high dam egypt
built to supply irrigation water
evaporation and seepage losses in unlined canals
bangladesh
wells dug to supply freshwater to pop
arsenic from soil began to leech into groundwater
arsenic poisoning
colorado river basin
dams trap large quantities of silt
reduce nutrient levels in farmlands below dam
salt buildup in soil (salinization)
james bay canada
diversion of rivers into hudson bay to generate electrical power has resulted in massive flooding
mercury leeched out of rocks and into water
mercury poisoning
ogallala aquifer
used to hold more freshwater than all freshwater lakes rivers streams on earth
now water shortages due to pumping
three gorges dam, china
required relocation of 1.2 mil ppl
use of freshwater is growing ____ as pop
twice
where are most lakes
n hemisphere
all lakes are
temporary
changes in lake levels are controlled by
differences between input and output compared to total volume
littoral zone
sloped area of a lake close to land
photic (open water) zone
sunlight is abundant
deep water benthic zone
3rd zone of lakes
depth to which sunlight can reach depends on
turbidity
what can be used to determine turbidity
secchi disk
oligotrophic lakes
generally clear due to low nutrient levels and have little plant life
mesotrophic lakes
good clarity and some nutrients
eutrophic lakes
enriches w nutrients, resulting in large amounts of plant growth and algal blooms
hypertrophic lakes
excessively enriched w nutrients, poor water clarity, subject to devastating algal blooms
lakes in daytime
can cool land beside it w local winds (SEA BREEZE)
lakes at night
can warm land beside it w local winds (LAND BREEZE)
stratification
layering of water
stratification is due to
density changes caused by changes in temp
density increases as temp
decreases
hypolimnion
cooler lower layer of lakes
epilimnion
warmer, surface layer of lakes
seasonal turnover
exchange of surface and bottom water in a lake or pond that happens twice a year
defined stratification happens in
summer
thermocline
rapid transition of temp in lake
fall turnover
water cools and becomes heavier, winds move surface water around and mix w deep water, lakes become more uniform
spring turnover
surface ice melts, temps become more uniform
wetlands are characterized by
water table that stands at or near land surface long enough to support aquatic plants
aquifers
geologic formation that contains water in quantities suffient to support a well or spring
perched
groundwater accumulating above an area of low permeability
oceanic crust composed of
dense, thin layer of solitified volcanic basalt
oceanic trench
2 plates move toward each other, one subducts
aphotic zone
less than 1% light penetrates
benthic zone
ecological region at lowest level of a body of water
disphotic zone
dimly lit, not enough to carry out photosynthesis
neritic zone
low tide mark–> edge of continental shelf, shallow depth, good water for photosynthesis, high biodiversity
oceanic zone
region of open sea beyond edge of continental shelf, includes 65% of ocean water
pelagic zone
Includes all open ocean regions
photic zone
depth of water that has enough light for photosynthesis
temp diffs between summer and winter are more extreme in
n hemisphere (land warms and cools more quickly than water)
convection
warm waters near surface and cold waters near bottom move
surface ocean currents are driven by wind patterns that result from
Flow of high thermal energy at tropics (higher pressure) to low energy sources in polar areas (low pressure)
deep water currents are controlled by
diff in temp and salinity
90% ocean water circulates due to
deep water currents
what transports warm water from carribbean northward
gulf stream
n atlantic drift
responsible for bringing warmer temps to europe
as dense water sinks, it creates a
southern circulation pattern
great ocean conveyor belt is driven by
thermohaline currents (density driven)
takes water how many yrs to move through conveyor belt
1600
upwellings
occur when prevailing winds produced through coriolis effect moving clockwise in n hemi push warmer, nutrient poor surface waters away from coastline and replaced by cooler nutrient rich deep water
base of oceanic food chain
phytoplankton
ekman transport spiral
wind drags each consecutive layer down
how much freshwater is used for agriculture
70%
what irrigation is best
drip irrigation
greatest domestic use of freshwater
flushing toilet
recharge zone
surface area where water infiltrates into aquifer
groundwater supplies how much freshwater
40%
subsidence
when removal > recharge
rising sea levels due to
thermal expansion of water
melting of ice caps and glaciers
what is most impacted by rising sea levels
wetlands
how much of pop lives within 120 mi of coast
.5
point source
harmful substances are emitted directly into a body of water
nonpoint source
delivers pollutants indirectly through transport or environmental change
mercury contamination causes
carbonate structures of corals, algae, etc to dissolve
mining exposes
heavy metals and sulfur compounds
iron mountain mine in cali
dumps sulfuric acid and heavy metals into sacramento river
what 2 compounds are plentiful in untreated wastewater
phosphorus and nitrogen
oil affects birds by
reducing insulating ability
less buoyant
less able to fly and escape
deforestation causes
root systems to hold soil in place die, sediment is free to run off
head reduces ability of water to hold
O2
minamata disease
mercury dumped into bay in japan
collected in fish
exxon valdez
crude oil spilled into prince william sound, alaska
gulf of mexico oil spill
deepwater horizon oil rig exploded
cultural eutrophication
process whereby human activity increases amount of nutrients entering surface waters
nitrates
water soluble
more damaging in wetlands
phosphates
adhere to soil particles
more damaging in freshwater systems
buffer zones
vegetation along streambeds slows erosion and absorbs some nutrients
primary wastewater treatment
sand catchers, screens, sedimentation
physical treatment
secondary treatment
filters, activated sludge
biological treatment
tertiary treatment
raises effulent quality to standard required before discharged into environment
sand filtration, constructed wetlands, nutrient removal, microfiltration, disinfecion
federal water pollution control act
eliminate or reduce pollution of interstate water
water quality act
water purity standards
clean water act
basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into water of US
EPA has authority to implement pollution control programs
made illegal to discharge from point source wo permit
funded sewage treatment plants
safe drinking water act
standards for safe drinking water
ocean dumping ban act
illegal to dump sewage into ocaen
oil spill prevention and liability act
strengthened EPAs ability to prevent/respond to catastrophic oil spills
organic waste
2 weeks decomp
radioactive waste
100000 yrs decomp
recyclable waste
paper 10 days
glass never
metals 100s yrs
plastics 1 mil yrs
soiled waste
4 months
toxic waste
100 yrs
