IBESS Test 4: Water and its ways

This will go over pretty much everything haveing to do with water, pollution, and aquaculture/fishing. It is interesting stuff.

What are the major sinks for water?

Oceans, Atmosphere, Glaciers, Ground Water (aquafers), surface water, and in living organisms.

What are the different flows of water?

Condensation, precipitation, infiltration, sublimation, transpiration, and runoff

What % of earth’s surface is water?

About 71%

\

How little water is there really..?

\-About 97% of the water on earth is saltwater

\-of the 3% that isn’t, 69% is glaciers and icecaps and 30% is groundwater. Freshwater on the surface or in other sinks makes up only about 1% of it.

Unconfined Aquafer

Doesn’t have a top and refills every time it rains but it is very susceptible to pollutants and pathogens

Confined Aquafer

Has a top and pollutants can rarely get into it but water can be finite

Water Treatment

The Process of removing pathogens, heavy metals, and debris to make water potable (safe to drink)

Water treatment Flow

Intake Pipe - bar-screen - traveling water screen - chemical plant (usually chlorine) - coagulant (to take the chemical/heavy metal out) - floculate (mix) - Anthracite/Sand/Gravel Filter - add flouride - then it goes to your house. Et Voila.

Desalinization

Removes salt from water by boiling it out - useful if you have a lot of energy to dispose

Reverse Osmosis

Uses a semi-permeable filter to get the water clean - can be very expensive

Irrigation

The method by which you flood an area with water to hydrate it - as much as 80% of the water evaporates and never reaches the roots

How you can save..

\-Using low-flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets

\-Dual flush toilets

\-Xeriscaping, rainwater/rainwater barrels for irrigation

Types of Treatment systems:

1: Septic Tanks: typically small volumes of waste in a tank under the ground that holds your waste and releases it back into the ground around it.

2: Wastewater treatment Plant: Typically will treat larger volumes of municipal or industrial waste

Effluent

Liquid part of sewage (ONLY the fluids)

Point Source

A source that is easily identifiable as a single point of pollution of pathogen spread (you could literally point at it)

Nonpoint Source

Some larger point of pollution that does not have a singular root (carbon emissions would be a good example of this)

Different Ways to assess aquatic Systems

\-pH

\-Temperature

\-Turbidity (clarity of water)

\-Chemical Analysis

\-Biological Indicators

Types of Pollutants (long list)

\-Pathogens: Disease-Causing agents

\-Sound: Effects Echolocation

\-Oxygen Demanding Agents: Organic Waste like manure

\-Water-Soluble Inorganic Chemicals: Nitrogen and phosphorus

\-Organic Chemicals: oil, pesticides, and detergents among others

\- Floating Debris: plastics, styrofoam (Pacific Garbage Patch)

\-Water-soluble radioactive isotopes (whatever that means) - radon, uranium

\-Sediments or Suspended Material: Erosion, soil

\-Heat: thermal pollution from electric and nuclear power plants

\-Genetic Pollution

Waterborne Bacteria (list)

E. Coli

Vibrio sp

Gardia sp

Hepatitus A Virus

Hepatitus E virus

Norwalk Virus

Rota Virus

Coliform Test *common for waterborne viruses*

\-Take a sample and grow it in a Petri dish to study

What causes increase Biological Oxygen Demand

\-Oxygen is removed from the water when organic matter is consumed by bacteria

\-Low oxygen Conditions may kill fish and other organisms

\-Anaerobic Decomposition can also create toxic gases

Sources for Organic Matter

\-Natural inputs: bogs, swamps, leaf fall, and vegetation

\-Human Inputs: pulp and paper mills, meatpacking plants

\-Nonpoint sources: runoff form urban areas, agricultural areas, and feedlots

How much Dissolved Oxygen is a good amount? (parts per million)

\-above 7 is great

\-Below 4 is toxic (dying)

Order of an area with a high BOD?

Clean Zone - Decomposition Zone - Septic Zone - Recovery Zone - Clean Zone

Nutrient Pollution

\-Phosphorus and Nitrogen are the majority concerns

\-sources: humans, animals, storm water, soil erosion, excessive use of fertilizers

High Nutrient Concentration can cause…

Eutrophication:

\-rapid increase of plant-life

\-algae blooms block the sunlight so plants below die

\-Decomposition of dead plants consumes the oxygen

\-Hostile living conditions for fish as the DO is not enough to meet the BOD

What are Heavy Metals?

\-Any metallic element having a density of “> 5 g/cm^3”

\-They are a concern because they can be water soluble and can be readily absorbed into plants and animal tissue as well as bioaccumulate within them.

\-One of the more famous examples was mercury and the Minamata disease.

Sources for Heavy Metals

\-Natural: redistributed by geologic and biologic cycles

\-Burning of fossil fuels

\-Industrial emissions and spills

\-Environmental Pollution

Sedimentation :(

\#1 Source of water pollution

\-Bare soil easily washed into storm drains and streams, increasing the turbidity of the water tremendously

Effects of Sedimentation

\-Destruction of spawning beds (where fish grow)

\-absorption and transport of other pollutants

\-reducing light penetration and aquatic vegetation

\-Greater nutrient loadings/oxygen demand

\-Interference with navigation, flood control, recreation, and industry

Solutions to some sedimentation problems

\-Place straw/ground cover over barren soil

\-Sod, seed, grow plants, or build terraces on slopes.

\-Rock gardens can be effective at slowing the flow of water and minimizing erosion

US water quality standards

Epa has recorded 700 contaminants in municipal drinking water (many harmful to humans)

\-Epa currently requires the monitoring and reporting of some 83 variable and have set maximum contamination levels (MCL’s)

Tap water or Bottled?

Tap water is guaranteed to be cleaner or as clean due to how closely monitored it is.

Cuyahoga river Fire (1969)

The river itself caught on fire due to all the chemicals sitting on and within it

\-They couldn’t put it out with water so they just had to let it burn

Federal Water Pollution Control Act (1972)

\-Amended to create the Safe drinking Water Act of 1974 where water needed to be tested very regularly

\-Led to the Clean water Act of 1977 where a state-federal partnership became common

London Dumping Convention of 1975

Any vessel cannot just dump the waste/trash aboard into the oceans

MARPOL 73/78

\-Activated in the US to prevent pollution from ships and enforced by the Coast Guard

One thing that is illegal to dump anywhere in the oceans at any time is…

Plastics - no exceptions

Safe Drinking Water Act of 1979

focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether above or below ground, must be monitored and kept to ensure their safety as the name implies

Clean Water Act of 1977

an amendment to the federal water pollution control act of 1972

\-Gives EP

A authority to set water quality standards

\-Makes it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutants unless an NPDES/permit is obtained which regulates the amount of stuff you can get rid of

Fish that we are overeating currently

Shrimp, Tuna, Salmon, and Cod

Shrimp Downsides

Very Carbon intense + with every pound of shrimp caught, 10-15 pounds of fish were use (unequal tradeoff there). They are also requiring us to kill of some of the already limited Mangrove forests because that is the best place to grow Shrimp efficiently.

Tuna Downsides

\-Not good at all for aquaculture and farming

\-Warm-blooded fish with 40 mph swimming speed

Salmon Downsides

There are 30,000 Dams in connecticut and 35,000 dams in NC, leading to the constant restriction of salmon and their growth.

\-It costs 1-2 pounds of fish/chicken to get 1 pound of Salmon (not bad but not great). Good news is that aquaculture grows 70% of it every year.

Cod downsides

You know why based on the video you watched but they are slow to grow/slow to mature so if you overfish them then you wind up with smaller fish and smaller populations

\-Tilapia as an alternative

Aquaculture and Wild fish baseline knowledge

Wild fish stocks are being fished at maximum capacity or being overexploited flat out

\-Human populations are growing so naturally, the demand for fish is as well

\-By 2010, aquaculture was = to wild fishing and aquatic foods

Gill Nets

Giant Nets that catch onto the gills of a very specific fish that you are looking for. There is a lot of bycatch of other, mainly larger species, however. Bycatch…

Long Lines

\-Long ass lines (up to 150 km long) that catch a target species. This has a lot of bycatch envolved.

Purse-Seine Net

You create a wall of nets around a small population of fish and sea creatures and you slowly reel in the space to trap the fish in. Can be done at a large scale.

Bycatch

When you unintentionally catch a species of fish or marine animal that was not your target species. Usually harmful to the populations in most scenarios.

Bottom Trawling

Weighted Nets go along the bottom of the ocean and catch anything living or feeding on the bottom. Can be very disruptive and destructive to the populations that live down there. It has been outlawed by many major nations across the world.

Purpose of AquaCulture

Produce the most fish using farming and growth methods within their own space.

\-The aim is to produce most of the fish and molluscs of the world this way by the end of the molluskscentury and by doing this, marine ecosystems can recover from the strain put on them.

BagandRack

\-Managed at low tide

\-Bags and racks are seeded with juveniles from hatchery and because the shellfish are filter feeders, there is practically no extra input

\-Have to be careful that you aren’t accidentally implementing a non-native species or else they could become invasive.

Suspended Culture

\-Ocean Rope that grows shellfish on it

\-Shellfish, who leave a very low carbon footprint, reduce that carbon as filter feeders. They are a very effective form of protein and you only need a rope and fuel to grow them.

Shrimp Farming

Pond Systems

\-Often made in cleared-out areas of mangrove forests

\-Destroyed Mangroves destroy Fish Nurseries, protection from flooding, and centers of biodiversity

Open Net Pens or Cages

\-Nets kept out in open waters

\-Anything placed in nets can leach out andnd enter the local environment such as antibiotics or pesticides

\-Fish often escape and if they are GMO’s, they could genetically pollute the local ecosystem.

Recirculating System

\-Fish Farming that uses closed sustem to produce fish.

\-reduced disease, escaped fish, and use of pesticides

\-Water filters remove waste and pollutants from entering the natural ecosystem

\-Waste is still produced

\-Carnivorous fish still need to be fed meat (usually more fish)

Integrated Aquaculture

\-Model system for how a fish farm should be run to maximize output while limiting the input.

\-Green Plants Absorb the waste, shellfish to filter out the water, and Seaweed absorbs some of the D.O. and reduce acidification.

\-Pesticides and antibiotics are still necessary but shells could help with the carbon footprint of the operation.

Why does dissolved Oxygen Decrease when nutrient levels in a lake or river increase significantly?

Eutrophication Essentially. The Mass amount of nutrients causes bloom in the upper layers which block out the sunlight for the bottom fauna and plants and when they die, D.O. is used to decompose them, lowering the D.O. entirely.

Why are wetlands important to the ecosystem and to us?

We get our water from it, it houses many species of animals, and it protects us from natural disasters and flooding by acting like a big sponge. They are also important filters for the water coming into the mainland because a lot of filter feeders live in this area, filtering out many many gallons of water every day.

Where did the arsenic that was found in the wells in Bangladesh come from?

Washed down from the Himalayas some thousands of years ago and sat until we drilled into the aquafer. It was coming from the Clay in the Aquafer.

What are the ecological impacts of bottom trawling on marine habitats?

Destroyed Floor of the ocean, less wildlife to absorb some of the environmental impacts of fishing, and loads of bycatch. If done in the wrong areas, it could even put endangered/endemic species are risk.

Why is it important to know the Maximum Sustainable Yield of resources?

If you want to feasibly feed as many mounts as possible while still maintaining consistent numbers of your resources, this number is something you have to know. It is not advised to take at the MSY because if disaster were to strike the population you are using for the resource, you might be shit out of luck.

What are percentages of available fresh water on the planet? How is that water distributed? What is it used for?

About 1% of 3% of all water is available for consumption. It’s about 21% in lakes, 69% in the ground as water, ice, or permafrost. The rest is locked up between soil moisture, the atmosphere, swamps and marshes, rivers, and living things.

How does the water cycle impact available freshwater. What is an aquafer? What is groundwater recharge? What factors impact groundwater recharge?

For us to continue to use aquafers infinitely, they must be unconfined aquafers that recharge after it rains. Groundwater recharge is the refilling of the aquafer after rainwater seeps through the ground into it. The climate, whether arid or frozen, can affect the amount of recharge your aquafer gets (less rain or frozen temperatures)

What is a watershed? Why is understanding the watershed / river basin concept important? What is the difference between lentic and lotic water bodies?

It's a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays, and the ocean. It is important to know because anything you spill or litter in that river basin will one day end up in the outflow point.

Lentic-Slow moving, still aquatic systems. IE swamps, marshes, ponds, etc…

Lotic- Swift moving aquatic ecosystems like rivers and streams

How can we increase available freshwater? What issues impact our available freshwater? How does Agriculture affect groundwater and surface water recources? How does the average water use of a US citizen compare to the rest of the world?

Recycling wastewater (like in coastal regions),

collecting fresh rainwater for irrigation, conserving water in general, and turning saltwater into freshwater via reverse-osmosis or multi-stage flash boiling. Agriculture easily uses the most water and in the American Midwest, farmers are going to start running out of water in the future because they are using up the aquafer there at a faster rate than it can replenish. Average US citizens are #2 for water consumption a day behind the UAE. Compared to the rest of the world we use a lot of water. This is due partly to a wasteful culture but mainly due to the incredible amount of agriculture present in the US.

What is water scarcity? Which regions of the world face (or will face) water shortages? How can we solve water scarcity problems locally or regionally?

Water scarcity is simply not having enough water to hydrate your population fully. Mainly arid and poor regions will face water shortages like certain parts of Africa. We could see water wars being waged in our lifetime. Conservation or regenerative agriculture is also introduced to help infiltration and soil moisture retention through mulching and no-tillage approaches could see many of these nations helping the problem of water scarcity.

How does groundwater withdrawal impact the functioning of the ecosystem and its parts? How does it impact surface waters, aquifers, wildlife, etc…

Water being underground is actually used to support that land above it. When we take too much out, the ground sinks, affecting the habitats of nearby streams and rivers, thus destroying some of the plants and animals that live in that area.

What are two methods that can be used to assess the quality/health of a body of water? (found online might not be what he is looking for): Advantages and Disadvantages

The conductivity of a water body is an early indicator of the water quality. Conductivity affects the salinity and total dissolved solids (TDS) content, which in turn affects the concentration of oxygen in the water. Reliability and repeatability are excellent. The principle drawback of conductivity is that it is a nonspecific measurement; it cannot distinguish between different types of ions, giving instead a reading proportional to the combined effect of all ions present.

What is BOD? What is it used to assess? How can we alter it? (both positively and negatively)

BOD is Biological Oxygen Demand. It is used to assess how much D.O. you need to have a healthy ecosystem. We can alter it by cleaning out/keeping out organic matter from our water bodies (keeping leaves and waste out of the water). We can alter it negatively by adding organic matter to the water, causing decomposition and lowering the D.O.

What is eutrophication? What is the source of human-caused (or cultural) eutrophication? How does the process impact organisms in the water body? What can be done to control it?

When intense nutrient pollution occurs due to an excessive amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in water, intense algae bloom occurs, blocking out the sun for bottom-dwelling pollution plants. When they inevitably die, the decomposition of their organic leftovers uses oxygen within the water, lowering the Dissolved Oxygen Content of the water. This, after a while, makes a hostile living environment for fish who will suffocate if the issue persists for too long. We can affect this by putting too much waste or fertilizers into places where runoff into bodies of water is easy. We can control it by making sure that our waste/fertilizers never make it to the body of water or that they are kept moving, unable to affect the area of water for long enough to make a difference.

What is the state of our global fisheries? What can be done to help them? What is the projected future for them? Why have global fisheries declined so much in the last century?

Global fisheries are currently on the decline as aquaculture begins to rise in importance. They can be helped by setting reasonable MSY limits and fair capture guidelines. If we make it as sustainable as humanly possible, then these fishermen will have that same yield and same income for an indefinite amount of time. They are projected to fall off by the end of the century as aquaculture and facilities begin to outnumber them.