Environmental Geo Review 2

• What is groundwater? What is surface water? (the difference)

o   Groundwater: Water stored below Earth’s surface in soil, sediment, and rock.

o   Surface water: Water found on Earth’s surface (rivers, lakes, streams).

Know the vadose zone, why is it important

o   The unsaturated zone above the water table where rain and contaminants move downward.

o   Critical because pollutants travel through it first before reaching groundwater.

What is an aquifer? What is the water table? What makes the best aquifers?

o   Aquifer: Rock/soil/sediment that stores usable water. Needs porosity + permeability.

o   Water table: The top of the saturated zone where pores are filled with water.

o   Porosity: How much water the material can hold.

o   Permeability: How easily water moves through it.

o   Best aquifers: Materials with high porosity AND high permeability.

Fractured rock aquifers

o   Rock has low porosity/permeability until it cracks.

o   Water moves very fast, meaning little filtration and unpredictable contaminant spread.

§  Example: Woburn, MA contamination

LNAPLs vs DNAPLs

o   First letter L=light D=dense (Hint)

o   LNAPLs (Light Non‑Aqueous Phase Liquids): Float on the water table (e.g., gasoline).

o   DNAPLs (Dense Non‑Aqueous Phase Liquids): Sink deeper (e.g., solvents).

o   Cleanup becomes more complicated depending on which type.

Karts and Plumes

o   Karsts: Dissolved rock → caves, sinkholes, underground rivers.

Plumes: Dissolved pollutants that move with groundwater like a cloud

What is a drainage basin?

o   A drainage basin is the area where streams and rivers channel water toward a single common outlet.

Influent stream vs. effluent stream – what are the differences?

o   Influent stream: Water leaves the stream and enters the groundwater

o   Effluent stream: Groundwater flows into the stream, adding water.

o   Which causes flooding? 

§  Effluent streams — because groundwater is adding water into the river.

o   Why does this complicate contamination tracking? 

§  Because water moves both directions, so pollutants can spread into groundwater or back into the river unpredictably.

Braided streams

o   Braided streams have multiple shifting channels that split and rejoin.

o   Channels move rapidly → pollution spreads unpredictably

o   Vegetation gets stripped → erosion increases

o   Infrastructure (bridges, pipes) becomes vulnerable

Remember why PCB’s are bad, and how rivers affect their contamination

o   PCBs:

§  Persist in the environment

§  Bind strongly to sediments and organic matter

§  Bioaccumulate in fish and move up the food chain

o   Rivers transport contaminated sediment

o   Pollutants settle in floodplains and channel deposits

o   Sediment contamination remains long after discharge stops

Eutrophication – what is it? What cause it?

o   Eutrophication = excess nutrients → algae bloom → oxygen loss → dead zones

o   Cause:

§  Fertilizer runoff

§  Sewage

§  Nutrient-rich wastewater

o   Dead zones occur when oxygen drops too low for marine life.

·      Wetlands – why are they important?

o   Wetlands:

§  Store pollution

§  Provide flood control

§  Offer natural filtration

§  Help store groundwater

o   They act as natural buffers, trapping sediment, metals, nutrients, and contaminants

Ocean basin – what is it? What about a continental shelves?

o   Ocean basin:

§  The deep part of the ocean where the continental shelf drops off (2–3 miles deep).

§  Stores 90% of excess heat and 25% of human CO₂.

o   Continental shelves:

§  Shallow, sunlit areas near coasts.

§  Critical for fisheries, oil/gas, and ecosystems.

§  Highly vulnerable to spills and runoff.

What causes tides? What about extreme/spring tides?

o   Tides: Caused mainly by Moon + Sun gravity.

o   Spring tides: Extreme tides when Sun and Moon align.

What causes ocean waves?

o   Wind — controlled by wind speed, duration, and distance.

Longshore currents and littoral drift?

o   Waves hitting shore at an angle create longshore currents.

o   These move sand along the beach = littoral drift.

Humans stop this with jetties, dunes, vegetation, living shorelines.

Deepwater horizon incident

o   2010 BP rig explosion.

o   134 million gallons spilled over 87 days.

o   Contaminated 1,300 miles of coastline.

o   Killed 22% of nearby whale population.

o   Recovery will take decades due to deep‑sea ecosystem damage.

Weather vs. climate – what’s the difference?

o   Weather: Day‑to‑day conditions (temperature, moisture, wind, pressure).

o   Climate: Long‑term patterns over large regions.

Why is elevation important for air pollution?

o   Higher elevation = lower pressure + colder air, affecting mixing.

o   Mountains can trap air, worsening pollution.

Condensation – what causes it?

o   Warm air holds more moisture.

o   When warm air hits a cold surface, vapor condenses → clouds, fog, dew.

Low vs high pressure in the atmosphere – what does it do? What about fronts? (cold/warm fronts)

o   Cold front: Fast, pushes warm air up → intense storms.

o   Warm front: Slow → long, light rain.

o   Occluded front: Mixed, unstable, hard to track.

Coriolis effect

o   Earth’s rotation deflects moving air sideways.

Explains global wind patterns and how pollution travels long distances

Temperature inversions & Stagnation

o   Stagnation: Light winds trap pollution near ground.

o   Temperature inversion: Warm air sits above cold air → pollution trapped.

o   (Led to the 1952 London smog disaster)

Acid rain

o   Forms when SO₂ + NOx react in the atmosphere.

o   Damages forests, lakes, soils far from source.

o   Reduced by regulations (e.g., catalytic converters).

Understand why military pollution becomes so bad (beyond the fighting)

o   What continues to be a problem after the conflict is over?

§  Pollution continues long after war:

·      Metals, explosives, chemicals remain in soil & water

·      Smoke, ash, fuels contaminate air

·      Unexploded shells remain dangerous

·      (“Explosives, fuels, metals, smoke… keep causing harm LONG after fighting ends.”)

What made military pollution so much worse recently?

o   Technology

§  Industrial chemicals

§  Nuclear weapons

§  Chemical warfare

§  Massive fuel use

§  PFAS foams

§  Modern explosives

Unexploded shells and their impact

o   Remain buried for decades.

o   Cause 20,000 deaths/mutilations per year.

o   Leak metals and chemicals into soil, sediment, groundwater.

Agent orange in Vietnam and NJ

o   Used to destroy forests/crops.

o   Contained dioxins → extremely toxic.

o   Caused cancer, developmental issues, immune damage.

o   3 million+ Vietnamese still affected.

o   Produced in Newark (Diamond Alkali) → waste dumped into Passaic River.

Why fuel and energy resources are attacked during war, black rain

o   Fuel depots = strategic targets.

o   Burning fuel creates toxic smoke plumes.

o   Leads to black rain: ash + combusted particles falling onto cities.

Military base pollution

o   Training grounds leak:

§  PFAS foams

§  Fuel spills

§  Millions of bullets

o   Contamination spreads through soil, groundwater, and runoff.

What defines environmental justice?

o   Fair treatment regardless of race, origin, or income in environmental laws and protections.

Understand why poorer communities suffer more, both in the US and globally

o   Less political power

o   Less legal protection

o   More likely to be treated as sacrifice zones

o   Pollution follows power, not fairness

Bhopal disaster (India)

o   1984 MIC gas leak.

o   Immediate deaths: ~4,000

o   Total deaths: up to 16,000

o   600,000 injured

o   Caused by poor management + safety failures.

Cancer Ally Louisiana

o   85‑mile stretch of chemical & petroleum plants.

o   Built around low‑income communities.

o   Example of a national sacrifice zone.

Citarum river (Indonesia)

o   One of the world’s most polluted rivers.

o   11 million people rely on it.

o   Residents cannot leave due to economic dependence.

o   High disease, infections, tumors, kidney failure.

Understand the importance of a proper mentality to environmental problems

o   Outrage alone doesn’t create policy.

o   Denial delays action → worse damage.

o   Real change requires education + community + policy working together.

o   Improper protest tactics or uneducated