Study Guide for – Ch. 15: Water Resources and Pollution

Name: ______Per. _____ Due Date: ______/30 pts

HW Due on Tuesday, March 4

Read the Simbio Nutrient Pollution Virtual Lab Introduction (Posted on the APES Lecture and Review Materials Page – password needed). Come to class on Tuesday with the prompts on pg. 4 of this packet completed.

HW Due on Friday, March 7

Find one recent news article (published in the last 2 months) about any aspect of the water cycle and dissect it thoroughly by doing the following:

  • Summarize the article
  • Explain what part of the water-cycle this article is addressing
  • Describe the how the water issue connects to at least 1 other APES concept we’ve discussed already (e.g. pollution may relate to the toxicology and indoor hazards in the last unit).
  • Find a solution to the problem that IS NOT outlined in the article. For example, if the article is talking about water-shortages for agriculture, you could discuss how personal conservation would also help solve the problem. Use your textbook, or other reputable source (OTHER than your mind) as a source for the solution.

______

Answer the following questions in complete sentences on a separate sheet of paper. Unless prompted to do so, no credit will be given for answers written on this sheet. Alternatively, you can modify this electronic document and print with your answers included.

  1. You have been introduced to many of the basic terms in this chapter already – when we made the eco-columns at the beginning of the year. This is a refresher, as well as introduction to some new concepts/terms. Define each of the following terms, focusing most on the bold terms (which are new):

1

  • Fresh water
  • Surface water
  • Runoff
  • Watershed
  • Floodplain
  • Groundwater
  • Water table
  • Confined Aquifer
  • Artesian Aquifer
  • Unconfined Aquifer
  • Flooding
  • Dam
  • Reservoirs
  • Desalination
  • Point source pollution
  • Non-point source pollution
  • Septic System
  • Primary Treatment
  • Secondary Treatment

1

  1. 97.5% of the water on earth is in the oceans. Explain where the other 2.5% is and why most of it is inaccessible to immediate use (i.e. we can’t drink it or use it without additional technology)?
  2. Explain why water availability is considered to be one of the critical; global issues of the 21st century.
  1. Describe the waste associated with each of the following water uses and specific ways that we could improve the efficiency:
  2. Agriculture
  3. Industry
  4. Residential use
  5. Please describe the economic, social, and environmental advantages and disadvantages to dikes and levees as well as dams. Please use specific evidence from your textbook.
  6. Water pollution takes many forms. For each of the following describe what it is, how it is caused, and how it is harmful to the environment. Creating your own table for this would be a smart move!
  7. Toxic chemicals
  8. Sediment
  9. Thermal pollution
  10. Nutrient pollution
  11. Pathogens and waterborne disease
  12. Groundwater pollution
  13. Describe three different ways that we monitor water quality.
  14. Explain the importance of municipal wastewater treatment and the steps taken to clean this waste. Be sure to explain why fecal coliform should NOT be a problem if wastewater is treated properly.

Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.

On a September day in 1999, folks began to notice that Lake Jackson in the panhandle region of northern Florida was shrinking. Within a few days, it was almost gone. A sinkhole had opened beneath the lake and drained it, along with all of the fish and alligators.

As aquifers lose water, their substrates can become weaker and less capable of supporting overlying strata and any human structures built upon them. In such cases, the land surface above may subside. Sometimes subsidence can occur locally and suddenly, in the form of sinkholes, areas where the ground gives way with little warning. Once the ground subsides, soil becomes compacted, losing the porosity that enabled it to hold water. Recharging a depleted aquifer may therefore become more difficult.

Question / Why is this answer the best choice?
1)Sinkholes can occur when ______.
A)too much weight above an aquifer causes it to cave in
B)the water level in an aquifer rises, pushing through to the surface
C)the water in an artesian aquifer is under sufficient pressure that it breaks through to the surface
D)excessive water use lowers a water table and weakens the substrate
E)nonconsumptive use lowers an aquifer
2)Sinkholes are an extreme form of ______.
A)aquifer
B)water table
C)subsidence
D)artesian aquifer
E)consumptive use
3)A serious problem that results from excessive water withdrawn from aquifers is that ______.
A)the water tends to overflow and flood the entire area
B)the surrounding soils are compacted and the size of the aquifer is reduced
C)the soils contaminate the aquifer, making it unfit for human use
D)the aquifer increases in size, draining a larger surface area and leaving less water in rivers, streams, and lakes
E)the aquifer decreases in size and new aquifers form
4)One reasonable way to prevent sinkholes might be to ______.
A)install supports to maintain the shape of the underground aquifer
B)increase groundwater recharge by constructing artificial wetlands that use treated municipal wastewater
C)pump wastewater and sewage directly into the aquifer to maintain the water table
D)have the local water company regularly transfer water from one local aquifer to the next, maintaining the average water level
E)pump sand and gravel into the aquifer to fill in the bottom levels, thus raising the water table
5)According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the number of human-induced sinkholes has doubled since 1930. Insurance claims increased 1200% from 1987 to 1991, costing nearly $100 million. A major reason for this is ______.
A)global warming
B)increased rainfall, raising the water level
C)roadway construction, leading to increased runoff
D)increased water consumption through development and urbanization
E)decreases in agriculture
6)In July of 2001, the town of Spring Hill, Florida, about 45 miles north of Tampa, had 18 sinkholes appear in a single day. The largest holes were nearly 100 feet deep. This is an indication that ______.
A)earthquakes had recently occurred, and the water table sank
B)hurricanes had recently occurred, and the water table rose
C)prolonged rainstorms had recently occurred, and the water table rose
D)agriculture had increased, and the water table rose with irrigation recharge
E)a drought had recently occurred, along with increased development
7)You have been hired by a small town on the Florida coast to give its residents advice about avoiding further sinkholes. You tell them that ______.
A)if they stay here, sinkholes will occur; they should move
B)they should limit development and recycle water
C)because sinkholes are a natural occurrence, nothing they do will help
D)they should increase groundwater pumping
E)pumping in ocean water will recharge the aquifer

Nutrient Pollution Lab

The following pre-lab questions are due Tuesday at the beginning of class. The answers can be found in the Simbio Nutrient Pollution Virtual Lab Introduction (Posted on the APES Lecture and Review Materials Page – password needed), and in using your textbook. These questions/prompts need to be answered in your LAB NOTEBOOK.

Pre-lab Questions

1)Draw a food web showing the trophic connections between the 5 species in the lake simulation. Leave some space to annotate your drawing after completing the lab.

2)Explain why phosphorus is a limiting nutrient in aquatic (freshwater) systems.

3)What is the difference between the terms eutrophic and oligotrophic? Which correctly describes most freshwater systems without human inputs?

Lab-Analysis
Exercise 2 Questions

1)Draw the line graphs for prompts 6.2 and 6.4 in your notebook. Use a ruler and/or graph paper (cut and pasted into the space) to create accurate figures.

  1. From your graphs, interpolate the green algae population size and level of dissolved oxygen if the phosphorus treatment levels would have been 1.5x and 2.5x.
  2. From your graphs, extrapolate the green algae population size and level of dissolved oxygen if the phosphorus treatment levels would have been 4x.

2)Write a description of the relationship between dissolved oxygen and phosphorus in the lake.

3)What is the relationship between green algae and dissolved oxygen in the lake? Provide a biological explanation for your answer [hint – there is another trophic level at work here that wasn’t originally included in the food web!].

4)Annotate your food web to include the organisms responsible for increasing the dissolved oxygen and indicate the flow of energy to this trophic level.

Exercise 4 Questions

5)Using the data obtained about the green algae population size and dissolved oxygen levels, add another data line to the graphs you created in question 1. Be sure to add a legend stating the difference in the two lines (i.e. one is with fish present, one is without).

6)Discuss how consumers as well as producers present change the amount of dissolved oxygen in the lake.

7)What eventually causes the dissolved oxygen levels to drop below 2.0 mg/l? Describe the long-term consequences for the lake ecosystem if there one anoxic event.

Notes from Monday’s Lecture

At minimum, please diagram and take notes on the following (these notes are for credit and need to be turned in with this packet)
  • Role of transpiration in creating local rain events
  • Large scale atmospheric circulation of water in a Hadley Cell
  • Global vegetation patterns as a result of atmospheric water circulation
  • Causes of desertification
  • Calculations on amount of land is arid and how quickly this is increasing

1