ENSP 2000 - Exam 3

What has caused Lake Chad to shrink?

climate change, deforestation, human overuse

True of False: Equal amount of water evaporates as precipitates

True

evaporation, flow over land, percolate to ground water

3 Fates of Precipitation

area of land that drains to form a river or lake

watershed aka drainage basins

how are watersheds separated

by mountains and plateaus

watersheds that eventually drain to sea

open

watersheds that do not drain to sea

closed

photosynthesis, nutrient moment, food webs

supporting services - water

temperature regulation, pH buffering

regulatory services - water

drinking water, agriculture

provisioning services - water

water use that returns to streams /aquifiers (hydropower, waste water)

non consumptive uses

water not returned to streams/aquifiers (irrigation, industrial use)

consumptive uses

water that resides in rocks and soil beneath the ground

groundwater

layers of sediment and rock saturated with water

aquifier

from rain that does not run off, percolates through rock to water table

characteristics of groundwater

area from which water enters table from surface

recharge zone

groundwater flows to surface

discharge zone

human uses of groundwater in order

agriculture, industrial, domestic

true or false: groundwater is the primary drinking water source for many

true

how can groundwater get polluted

faulty septic systems, chemical storage tank leaks

increase greenspace, use pervious pavement, green roofs

ways to reduce flooding in cities

sinking of land above an aquifier

subsidence

example of slow subsidence

venice, pole in california

example of quick subsidence

sinkhole

migration of saltwater into freshwater aquifiers

saltwater intrusion

what causes saltwater intrusion

overdrawing

3 characteristics of water quality

physical, chemical, biological

represent maximum amount of pollutants in water before quality is reduced

total maximum daily loads (TMDLs)

true or false: EPA requires states to report impaired waters that surpass TMDLs

true

top impairments of water quality

pathogens, metals, nutrients

using organisms living in the water as an indicator of quality

bioassessment

true or false: only 35 states have developed bioassessment programs

false; all 50 have

devastates biodiversity, filter feeders vulnerable, more than 50% of native muscles endangered, heavy metal from mines, pH altered from mining tailings

effects of water pollution on streams

nutrients accumulate from runoff, eutrophication, algal blooms, large amount of organic material decomposition uses up oxygen, reduces biodiversity

effects of water pollution on lakes

base of watersheds, excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause eutrophication, deadzones

effects of water pollution on estuaries

enrichment of bodies of water with excess nutrients

eutrophication

oxygen so low few marine organisms can survive

deadzones

deadzones, nutrient pollution can harm coral reefs, mercury bioaccumulation in large fish, oil spills, trash

effects of water pollution on oceans

reduction in pH by increasing CO2 input

acidification

true or false: acidification is slowing coral growth and causing a loss of calcareous species

true

if wetland destroyed or impaired through development, equal amount must be restored or protected

No Net Loss Policy (based on Clean Water Act)

percentage of applied water that actually gets used by plants

irrigation efficiency

what irrigation efficiency is the majority of farms at?

40%

reduces need for water, reused water has residual nutrients, reduces fertilizer needs

pros of treated wastewater for irrigation

converting seawater to freshwater

desalination

boiling off fresh water

distillation

filtering out salts

reverse osmosis

sewage, sinks and other household uses, storm water runoff, manufacturing and industry

wastewater sources

large items removed, grease/oil

pretreatment

particles settle out (sludge)

primary treatment

bacteria used to break down organic material in wastewater

secondary treatment

removes inorganic nutrients

tertiary treatment

area where wastewater is discharged from soil from septic tank. Microorganisms break waste down

leach field

water from non-sewage, use for flushing and non-drinking

graywater

water used for toilets and sewage

blackwater

who first used the oil in the keen river oil field?

yokut indians

energy contained in natural resources (coal, oil, sunlight, wind, uranium)

primary energy

when primary energy is converted into another form (electricity)

secondary energy

percentage of primary source energy that is captured in secondary form

energy conversion efficiency

product of all of the energy conversions and end use

energy end-use efficiency

forms of primary energy

non-renewable, renewable

derived from sources that exist in limited quantities (fossil fuels, nuclear)

non-renewable energy

sources that are not depleted used or can be replenished quickly (wind, solar, wind)

renewable energy

factors that future energy production patterns depend on

size of reserves, extraction rates, market price, environmental impacts

what units is electric power measured in?

kilowatt hours (kWh)

what unit is electric current flow measured in?

amperes

what unit is electric potential measured in?

volts

electromagnetic field produced by transmission lines, PCBs in transformers, chemicals from batteries

environmental impacts of electricity

formed from plants hundreds of millions of years ago, deposited in layers of sediment

coal

lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous, anthracite

types of coal

removed from sediments from underground and surface mining

extraction of coal

how is electricity generated from coal?

burned to create steam for steam turbines

mining destroys habitats, mine tailings are acidic, exhaust from coal fires contains toxins/mercury/CO2

environmental impacts of coal

formed from remains of microorganisms millions of years ago, trapped beneath impermeable rock

oil

crude oil is pumped from reservoirs and sent to refineries

extraction of oil

what is the first 20% of oil flow called

primary oil recovery

what is adding water to oil called

secondary oil recovery

injection of CO2 stream in oil, fracking

tertiary oil recovery

threat of spill when handling it, combustion parts

environmental impacts of oil

sent by pipeline to refinery, converted to liquefied natural gas

extraction of natural gas

what industry is the largest user of natural gas?

industrial and power generation

what percentage of natural gas is used to generate electricity?

31%

fewer effects than coal or oil, fracking can contaminate aquifers, burning releases CO2 (half as much as coal)

environmental impacts of natural gas

uses heat generated from fission of atoms, uses decay or uranium

sources of nuclear power

where is the most common place to find uranium

australia

extracted by open pit mines, ore crushed into yellowcake, converted to gas and centrifuged to fuel pellets, rods packed into assemblies, 3,000 assemblies make one reactor core

uranium extraction

large open pit mines, thermal discharge, radiation leak, nuclear waste, does not release greenhouse gases

environmental impacts of nuclear power

falling water, wind, sunlight, earth's heat, ocean tides and waves, biomass

examples of renewable energy

challenges to transitioning to renewable energy

renewables diffuse and are intermittent, technology to harvest

benefits of transitioning to renewable energy

fewer environmental impacts, infinite energy source

unfamiliar technologies, economies of scale, externalized costs, limited consumer knowledge and understanding

categories of challenges of renewable energy

dams creating reservoir

impoundment

portion of river diverted through powerhouse

run of river

what is the most abundant renewable energy use

hydropower

fuel and pollution free, relatively inexpensive, provides floor control and water storage, continuos electricity

advantages of hydropower

loss of land, ecosystem disruption, initial cost

disadvantages of hydropower

driven by sun, kinetic energy from wind collected by wind turbines

sources of wind power

no fuel/no pollution, domestic, CO2 free

advantages of wind power

aesthetics, impacts to wildlife

disadvantages of wind power

uses solar energy without mechanical devices, natural lighting and heating

passive solar technology