AP ENVIRONMNENTAL SCIENCE UNIT 8 (AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL POLUTION)

point-source of pollution

a single, identifiable source of a pollutant, such as a smokestack or waste discharge pipe

nonpoint-source of pollution

source of pollution that is diffused and can therefore be difficult to identify, such as pesticide spraying or urban runoff

what might organisms experience if they fall out of range of tolerance for being exposed to pollutants

physiological stress, limited growth, reduced reproduction, and in some extreme cases, death

how have coral reefs been suffering damage?

increasing ocean temperature, sediment runoff, and destructive fishing practices

how do oil spills impact marine organisms?

they cause them to die from hydrocarbons in oil, oil that floats on the surface of the water can coat the feathers of birds and fur of marine mammals, some components of oil sink to the ocean floor, killing some bottom-dwelling organisms

oil that washes up on the beach can affect what industries?

fishing and tourism industries

oceanic dead zones

areas of low oxygen in the world’s oceans caused by increased nutrient pollution

oxygen sag curve

a plot of dissolved oxygen levels versus the distance from a source of pollution, usually access nutrients and biological refuse

how can heavy metal used for industry, especially mining and burning fossil fuels, affect drinking water supply?

it can reach groundwater

how can litter that reaches marine ecosystems, besides being not pleasant to the sight, affect their organisms?

it can create intestinal blockage and chocking hazard for the wildlife and introduce toxic substances to the food chain

how can increased sediment in waterways affect primary producers and visual predators? also disrupt habitat?

-it can reduce light infiltration

-the sediment can settle

methylmercury

this is created when elemental sources of mercury enter aquatic environments and bacteria converts it high-toxic methylmercury (impacts humans through consumption of fish, causing neurological damage particularly in fetuses)

endocrine disruptors

chemicals that can interfere with the endocrine system of animals

what can endocrine disruptors lead to?

birth defects, developmental disorders, and gender imbalances in fish and other species

wetlands

areas where water covers the soil, either part of all of the time

what ecological services do wetlands provide?

water purification, flood protection, water filtration, and habitat

what are some threats to wetlands and mangroves?

commercial development, dam construction, overfishing, and pollutants from agriculture and industrial waste

eutrophication

when a body of water is enriched in nutrients

explain how eutrophication can lead to die-offs of fish and other aquatic organisms

-an increase in nutrients in eutrophic aquatic environments can lead to an algal bloom

-when the algal bloom dies, microbe digest the algae, along with the oxygen in the water, leading to a decrease in the dissolved oxygen levels in the water

-the lack of dissolved oxygen can result in large die-offs (cause of suffocation)

hypoxic waterways

bodies of water that are low in dissolved oxygen

oligotrophic waterways

they have very low amount of nutrients compared to eutrophic waterways, stable algae population, and high dissolved oxygen

anthropogenic causes of eutrophication

agricultural runoff and wastewater release

thermal pollution

occurs when heat released into the water produced negative effects to the organisms in that environment

how does variations in water temperature affect the concentration of dissolved oxygen?

warm water does not contain as much oxygen as cold water

characteristics of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and two examples

-they do not easily break down in the environment because they are synthetic, carbon-based molecules

-DDT and PCBs

how are persistent organic pollutants toxic to organisms?

true or false: persistent organic pollutants can travel over long distances via wind and water before being deposited

true

bioaccumulation

biomagnification

what are some effects that occur in the ecosystem when a persistent substance is biomagnified in a food chain?

what harmful affects do humans experience from biomagnification?

what are three substances that bioaccumulate and have significant environmental impacts?

solid waste

where is solid waste most often disposed at?

electronic waste (e-waste)

leach

sanitary municipal landfill

what are two factors in landfill decomposition?

solid waste can also be disposed through incineration, which is?

pro and con of incineration

some items are not accepted in sanitary landfill and may be disposed of illegally, leading to environmental problems. what is one examples and its consequences?

what are the effects/consequences of countries disposing their waste by dumping it into the ocean?

recycling

pro and con of recycling

composting

pro and con of composting

how can e-waste be reduced? what does e-waste contain and what can this product do in landfills?

what are two landfill mitigation strategies?

how can the combustion of gases produced from decomposition of organic material in landfills reduce landfill volume?

primary treatment of sewage

secondary treatment of sewage

tertiary treatment of sewage

what is the last stage (prior to discharge) of sewage treatment?

lethal dose 50% (LD_50)

dose curve response

why can it be difficult to establish a cause and effect between pollutants and human health issues

dysentery

mesothelioma

what can respiratory problems and overall lung function be impacted by?

how do pathogens infect and spread through human populations?

true or false: specific pathogens can occur in many environments regardless of the appearance of sanitary conditions

true

what happens to pathogens, infectious diseases, or associated vectors, when equatorial-type climate zones spread north and south into what are currently subtropical and temperate climate zones?

why poverty-stricken, low-income areas often have havens and opportunities for the spread of infectious diseases?

Plague

Tuberculosis

Malaria

West Nile virus

severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

Zika

Cholera

DDT

PCBs