AP Environmental Science Unit 8 - Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution

AP Environmental Science Unit 8 - Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution

Point Source

Point Source

A pollutant that enters the environment from an easily identified and confined place.

Nonpoint Source

Pollutants entering the environment from many places at once, making it difficult to identify one individual source.

Animal waste runoff from a CAFO

Example of a point source pollutant, including ammonia and fecal coliform bacteria.

Emissions from smokestack of a coal power plant

Example of a point source pollutant, including CO2, NOx, SO2, and PM.

BP Oil Spill

Example of a point source pollutant, including hydrocarbons and benzene.

Urban runoff

Example of a nonpoint source pollutant, including motor oil, nitrate fertilizer, road salt, and sediment.

Pesticides sprayed on agricultural fields

Example of a nonpoint source pollutant, carried by wind and washed off into bodies of water.

Pollutants

Specific chemicals or groups of chemicals from specific sources with specific environmental and human health effects.

Pollution

A vague term for any substance that is harmful to the environment, not acceptable on an APES FRQ.

Range of Tolerance

The range of abiotic conditions or pollutants that an organism can tolerate in its habitat.

pH Tolerance

As pH decreases (more acidic) outside the optimal range for a species, the population declines.

Temperature Tolerance of Reef Algae

Algae in coral reefs have a narrow temperature tolerance and leave the reef when the temperature rises.

Human Impacts on Coral Reef

Human activities such as greenhouse gas emissions, overfishing, and urban and agricultural runoff disrupt coral reef ecosystems.

Hydrocarbons in crude oil

Toxic to many marine organisms and can kill them, especially if ingested or absorbed through gills/skin.

Oil Spill Clean Up

Methods of cleaning up oil spills include containment booms, vacuum tubes, physical removal, chemical dispersants, and burning.

Bioaccumulation

The absorption and concentration of compounds, especially fat-soluble ones, in the cells and fat tissues of organisms.

Biomagnification

The increasing concentrations of fat-soluble compounds in each level up the trophic pyramid or food web/chain.

DDT Biomagnification

DDT persists in sediments and biomagnifies in higher trophic levels, causing thinning of eggshells in birds.

Methylmercury Biomagnification

Mercury is converted into toxic methylmercury, which biomagnifies in higher trophic levels and can damage the nervous system.

Endocrine Disruptors

Chemicals that interfere with the hormonal systems of animals, often found in human medications and industrial water pollutants.

Atrazine

A herbicide that binds to receptors and disrupts hormone conversion in male frogs, leading to feminization and low sperm count.

DDT

A broad-spectrum insecticide that biomagnifies in higher trophic levels and caused the decline of bald eagles.

Phthalates

Compounds used in plastic and cosmetic manufacturing that can enter surface and groundwater and disrupt hormones.

Mercury

Naturally occurring and released by anthropogenic activities, mercury is an endocrine disruptor and teratogen that can accumulate in the brain.

Arsenic and Lead

Naturally occurring elements that can dissolve into drinking water and have carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting effects.

Coal Ash

Coal ash can be a source of mercury, lead, and arsenic, which can contaminate groundwater and surface waters.

Wetlands

Areas with soil submerged in water for part of the year, providing various ecosystem services such as habitat, water filtration, and flood control.

Eutrophication

Excess nutrient input, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, leading to algae blooms, decreased oxygen levels, and the death of aquatic animals.

Cultural Eutrophication

Anthropogenic nutrient pollution that leads to eutrophication, causing algae blooms, hypoxia, and dead zones.

Oligotrophic Waterways

Waterways with low nutrient levels, stable algae populations, and high dissolved oxygen, often due to lack of nutrient pollution or the age of the body of water.

Oligotrophic

A term used to describe a pond that has low nutrient levels and supports a small number of species.

Mesotrophic

A term used to describe a pond that has moderate nutrient levels and supports a moderate number of species.

Eutrophic

A term used to describe a pond that has high nutrient levels and supports a large number of species.

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

The amount of oxygen that is dissolved in water, which is necessary for aquatic life to carry out respiration.

Dead Zone

An area in a body of water where there is a decrease in dissolved oxygen levels, leading to a lack of oxygen for aquatic organisms and causing a decline in species diversity.

Hypoxia

A condition where there is a decrease in dissolved oxygen levels in water, leading to a dead zone.

Thermal Pollution

The negative effects on aquatic organisms caused by the release of heat into water, which can increase respiration rates and decrease oxygen levels.

Solubility

The ability of a substance to dissolve into a liquid, such as oxygen dissolving into water.

Solubility of Oxygen

The relationship between water temperature and the amount of oxygen that can dissolve in water, with higher temperatures leading to lower oxygen solubility.

Power Plants

Facilities that use cool water from surface or groundwater sources to cool steam and generate electricity, which can contribute to thermal pollution.

Cooling Towers

Structures used to cool steam back into water and hold warmed water before returning it to nearby surface waters, which can be optimized to cool water better and reduce thermal pollution.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Synthetic compounds that do not easily break down in the environment and accumulate in water and soil, often accumulating in animal fat tissue and impacting organisms over time.

DDT

An outdated insecticide that is an example of a persistent organic pollutant.

PCBs

Additives used in plastic and paint that are examples of persistent organic pollutants.

E-Waste

Waste from electronic devices that often contain heavy metals and should be disposed of at special facilities for recycling.

Sanitary Landfills

Facilities where solid waste is disposed of, with features such as a clay or plastic bottom liner, leachate collection system, methane recovery system, and clay cap to prevent pollution and capture methane gas.

Composting

The controlled decomposition of organic matter under specific conditions, which reduces landfill volume and produces valuable compost.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The three principles of waste reduction, with reducing consumption being the most sustainable, followed by reusing products, and recycling as the least sustainable due to the energy required.

Tertiary Treatment

The final stage of sewage treatment that uses chemical filters to remove additional pollutants, such as nitrates and phosphates, before discharge into surface waters.

Combined Sewage and Stormwater Runoff Systems

Systems that can cause wastewater treatment plants to flood during heavy rains, leading to the release of raw sewage into surface waters.

LD50

The dose or concentration of a chemical that kills 50% of the population being studied.

Dose-Response Curve

Graphical representation of the relationship between the dose concentration of a chemical and the response (effect) on an organism.

ED50

The dose concentration of a toxin or chemical that causes a non-lethal effect in 50% of the population being tested.

Acute vs

Acute studies measure short-term effects, while chronic studies examine long-term and developmental impacts.

Routes of Exposure

Different ways that pollutants enter the human body, such as through water, air, or food.

Synergism

The interaction of two or more substances to cause an effect greater than each of them individually.

Dysentery

Bacterial infection caused by contaminated food or water with feces, resulting in intestinal swelling and severe dehydration.

Mesothelioma

Cancerous tumor primarily affecting the respiratory tract, heart, or abdominal cavity caused by exposure to asbestos.

Tropospheric Ozone (O3)

Ozone in the lower atmosphere that worsens respiratory conditions and irritates the respiratory tract and eyes.

Pathogen

A living organism that causes an infectious disease, such as a virus, bacteria, fungus, protist, or worm.

Vector

A living organism that carries and transmits infectious pathogens to other organisms.

Plague

Bacterial infection transmitted by fleas that attach to mice and rats, causing symptoms like fever and treatable with antibiotics.

Tuberculosis (TB)

Bacterial infection targeting the lungs, transmitted through respiratory droplets and causing symptoms like coughing blood.

Malaria

Parasitic protist infection transmitted by infected mosquitoes, causing recurring flu-like symptoms and most common in sub-Saharan Africa.

West Nile

Virus infection transmitted by infected mosquitoes, causing brain inflammation and primarily affecting birds but can be transmitted to humans.

Zika Virus

Virus infection transmitted by infected mosquitoes and sexual contact, causing birth defects in infants and no known treatment.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

Coronavirus infection transmitted through respiratory droplets, causing pneumonia-like symptoms.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

Virus respiratory infection transmitted from animals to humans, originating in the Arabian peninsula.

Cholera

Bacterial infection caused by drinking contaminated water, resulting in severe dehydration and symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.