Water Resources Flashcards
For flashcards up to the Aral Sea, please see the ’human systems and resource use’ deck, as they are in there. I put them in the wrong deck and cannot be asked to rewrite 37 flashcards.
:)
What does the UN convention on sea law state? (1982)
That all sea within 200 miles of the shore of a country belongs to that country
Why are oil spills in international waters a problem?
If water pollution and oil spills occur in international waters, there is a huge issue for who is meant to clean it up
What does thermohaline circulation do for phytoplankton?
It brings nutrients from deep water for phytoplankton to photosynthesise.
Why are phytoplankton and Whales located in Cold water?
Because cold water is dense and more saline, which is better for phytoplankton and Whales
How do oceans aid the climate change issue?
Oceans are carbon sinks and capture CO2 from the atmosphere and store it this reduces the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and is vital to to reduce the effects of global warming and climate change.
What is meant by the tragedy of the commons? (example definition )
a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource—also called a common—act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource.
e.g. If one place is found to be an ideal fishing area, one fisherman may start with one fishing rod and expand to 10. more fishermen start to know about this area and bring many fishing rods too. This means more fish are caught faster than they can be replenished. causing a loss of bod diversity less fish to take care of the marine environment, less food and habitats
What is maximum sustainable yield?
The maximum population of fish that can be fished so, numbers can replenish themselves without timing future populations
Why does aquaculture get a larger output of fish?
Aquaculture takes up less space and is more reliable as you know how much fish you will catch
Why does wild catching fish not produce as high of an output as aquaculture?
Wild catching is unreliable as one does not always know how much they will catch and due to new fishing laws and quotes wild catching outputs may be heavily reduced.
What is biological oxygen demand?
It is a measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen required to breakdown the organic material in a given volume of water through aerobic biological activity by microorganisms
What are indicator species?
Plants and animals that show something about the environment by their presence, absence, abundance or scarcity
What is the water pollution case study in the UK?
The river Medway
What are the three types of pollution along the river Medway and where did they come from?
– Fertiliser run-off – farmland – sewage – sewers
– industry waste – factories
– plastic pollution – humans, fishing, animals moving plastic
What are the effects of pollution from industry waste?
Chemical waste can change the temperature and pH of the water causing marine species to migrate and loss of biodiversity
What are the effects of pollution from plastic waste?
Plastic in the water can cause micro plastics in our food
What are the effects of fertiliser run-off from farmland?
When fertiliser enters bodies of water, it can cause eutrophication and therefore the loss of bod diversity
What are the effects of sewage pollution from sewers?
The bacteria from sewage can cause eutrophication
What is aquaculture?
Aquaculture is breeding, raising, and harvesting fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants.
What is GPS navigation in aquaculture? + environmental problems.
It allows people to place waypoint on ideal fishing grounds. causes a decrease in fish populations as it becomes overfished
What is at sea refrigeration in aquaculture? + environmental problems.
Way of preserving fish by putting them in a cold air chamber on a ship. Allows them to stay out at sea for longer, meaning they can catch more fish and overdue fishing quotes.
What are factory vessels? + environmental problems.
Large ships equipped with facilities to process and package fish. It depletes fish dos rapidly by fishing large quantities and short amount of time. This puts pressure on the fish and disrupts marine life. Waste products from the factory vessel also negatively impact water quality.
What is indiscriminate fishing gear? + environmental problems.
Fishing gear that is deployed to catch all marine organisms. May result in by-catch (turtles) therefore killing other species and resulting in a loss of biodiversity.
What are trawlers? + environmental problems.
Fishing vessel that has a large net that is dragged along the seafloor to catch fish. This damages the seed and destroys marine life habitats. It may also result by and therefore reducing biodiversity levels.
What are the two case studies for aquaculture systems?
- commercial salmon in norway and scotland
– rice fish farming in Thailand
What are the inputs and outputs of commercial salmon farming?
Input:
– antibiotics
– steroids
– money
– intensive workload
– monoculture
Outputs:
– faeces
– mature salmon
– increased efficiency
What are the environmental impacts of commercial salmon farming?
- Salmon or other species need to be caught to feed them causing a depletion of other species.
– pollution into the local area
– escape salmon may breed with wild salmon causing a reduced diversity.
– monoculture can cause disease with stocks of fish
What are the inputs and outputs of rice fish farming in Thailand?
Inputs:
– farmers
– fish
– water
- Extensive labour
Outputs:
- Increased yields
– increased income.
– increase efficiency
What are the environmental impacts of rice fish farming in Thailand?
– introduction of alien species that may impact local biodiversity
Briefly describe commercial farming
Involves the feeding or breeding of wild fish in open nets. One species is raised (monoculture). e.g. This was undertaken to increase populations of wild Atlantic salmon in the north Atlantic and Baltic seas.
Briefly describe rice, fish farming in Thailand
This is a poly culture system in which trenches are dug and flooded with water. Rice grows in this water and fisher is introduced instead of pesticides. In the end, the farmer has two crops to sell (rice and fish) which gives them an increased economic yield.
What is eutrophication and what are the causes?
Notification is when there is an excess of nitrate and phosphate run-off in a body of water that causes an increase in alga bloom. The lake is more toxic as sunlight is blocked by algae and kills fish and plants. The lack of oxygen means there is more anaerobic decomposition making the lake more ox sick and therefore killing animals and plants making the water dead zone
Describe the process of eutrophication
-Increased nitrates and phosphate in water
– rapid growth of algae
– light is blocked from submerged aquatic plants.
– accumulation of dead matter
– increase activity of decomposes
– removal of oxygen by decomposes
– reduce oxygen kills fish and other organisms
– decrease biodiversity
How might eutrophication become a negative feedback loop?
the algae dies, due to a lack of nutrient run-off
Name three impacts of eutrophication
Loss of biodiversity
– water pollution
-lack of food resources causing a lack of income
What is the case study for eutrophication
gulf Of Mexico
What are the causes and effects of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico?
Causes:
– nutrient run-off
Effect:
Large Algal blooms
– lack of oxygen
– some species can become endangered because they cannot escape
Solutions to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico
– Technology that removes nutrients
– hedges to stop nutrient run-off into the water
- reduce the volume of fertilisers
What are ocean circulation systems?
Ocean circulation systems are driven by differences and temperature and salinity. The resulting differences in water density drive the ocean conveyor belt, which transports heat and energy around the world, and thus affects climate.
Why will our access to freshwater decrease over the years?
Increase demand for water
– contamination and over-extraction of water
– water resources and conflict
- climate change and global warming
How to measure biological oxygen demand
-Indirect pollution monitoring (indicator species)
– taking two samples at each site:
First sample – measures for dissolved oxygen using a dissolved oxygen probe.
Second sample – is incubated in the dark at 20°C for five days and then it tested for dissolved oxygen remaining (so algae cannot photosynthesise)
The difference in oxygen levels between the first and second test is equal to the biological oxygen demand
