AICE Environmental Management Review

Complete Review Units 1-8

Low income countries

GNI per capita of $1,145 or less

ex. Chad and Ethiopia

Lower middle income countries

GNI per capita $1,145-$4,515

ex Cube

Higher middle income countries

GNI per capita $4,516-$14,005

ex. Mexico and Iraq

High income Countries

$14,006 or above

ex. USA and Germany

Factors of HIC

• good, clean water supply

• stable government

• buys raw materials and processes into more expensive product

• imports cheaper than exports

• good trade

Factors of LIC

• income inequality

• climate change

• government conflict

• lack of access to basic healthcare

Sustainability

The ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Renewable Resources

Light, air, soil energy, atmosphere, forests

How to protect renewable resources

Communities need to develop judicious land practices for both conserving ecosystems and enhance local economies as they maintain the equilibrium of the environment.

14 Points of sustainability

1. save energy - reduce carbon

2. eat less meat

3. use reuseable alternatives

4. go paperless

5. renewable energy

6. recycle reuse

7. grow fruits and vegetables

8. donate unused items

9. save water

10. buy fair trade products

11. drive less

12. do no waste food

13. wear sustainable clothing

14. use eco-friendly clothing products

3 states of water

solid-ice

liquid-water

gas-water vapor

How to change state of water

adding or removing heat energy

adding - energy in

removing - energy exits

Where does energy come from

Energy comes from the sun

Water cycle

the continuous movement of water into the air, onto the land, and back into the air over and over again.

Water cycle image

Condensation

water vapor in the air that gets cold and changes back into liquid forming clouds

Precipitation

solid or liquid water that falls from the air to the surface

ex. rain, snow, sleet, and hail

Interception

part of the rainfall that is intercepted by the earth’s surface and which subsequently evaporates

• anything that becomes wet after rain

Infiltration

process by which precipitation of water soaks into subsurface soils and moves into rocks through cracks and pore spaces

More absorption(infiltration)

further away from ocean or collection

more surface runoff (infiltration)

closer to collection

Surface runoff

water that flows across land and collects in rivers, streams, and eventually the ocean

Groundwater flow

water located within the rocks below the earths surface

Through-flow

the movement diagonally downslope of water through soil

Evaporation

when the sun heats up liquid water and turns it into water vapor

Transpiration

Process by which plants lose water through the leaves → helps evaporation get water vapor back into the air

Ocean water in hydrosphere

97.2%

Non-ocean compartments in hydrosphere(%)

2.8%

Non-ocean compartments in hydrosphere

• glaciers

• groundwater

• saline lakes and inland seas

• soil moisture

• stream channels

• atmosphere

glaciers hydrosphere(%)

2.15%

Groundwater hydrosphere(%)

0.62%

Saline lakes and inland seas hydrosphere(%)

0.008%

soil moisture hydrosphere(%)

0.005%

stream channels hydrosphere(%)

0.0001%

atmosphere hydrosphere(%)

0.001%

5 factors of water cycle

• recycles earth’s fixed supply of water

• water remains chemically unchanged

• changes physical state

• powered by solar energy and gravity

• works if we do not overload water systems

Interacting water compartments

distribution of water across the earth

residence time

the length of time water typically resides in a water compartment → water may reside in one compartment or stay there for eons

Avg residence time of water in oceans

about 3000 years before the water evaporates and enters the hydrolic cycle

Water compartment examples

Rivers and streams, wetlands, atmosphere, groundwater

Rivers and Streams

precipitation does not evaporate or infiltrate into the ground runs off the surface back towards sea

Wetlands

lush plant growth stabilizes soil and hold surface run-off allowing more aquifer infiltration

Atmosphere

among the smallest water reservoirs and has most rapid turnover rate

Groundwater

stored in slowly flowing and slowly renewed underground reservoirs called aquifers

Running water

streams, rivers, drainage basin

Stream

any channelized flow of water

river

a stream that has at least 1 tributary

drainage basin

land area that contributes to a river system

Atmosphere

protects us from the sun UV light and stores the oxygen we need to breathe → layer of gases occupying above the lithosphere

Atmosphere cycle image

Atmosphere composition of gases

Nitrogen 78%

Oxygen 21%

Water vapor 0-4%

Carbon dioxide 0.037%

Argon 0.93%

4 layers of atmosphere

• Troposphere

• Stratosphere

• Mesosphere

• Thermosphere

Troposphere

• lowest layer extending 10kms from crust

• contains 99% of water vapor and 75% of atmospheric gases

• weather occurs here

• temp cools about 6.5`c per km of altitude

• density of air particles decreases with altitude

Stratosphere

• directly above troposphere 10-15kms above earth’s surface

• temp gets warmer as you increase

• density of air particles increases w/altitude

• major home of OZONE gases

Ozone

• ozone layer absorbs harmful rays from the sun

• layer of 3 atom molecules that protects the earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Pollutants that destroy ozone

→ ozone has large hole over Antartica and a smaller one over the North Pole → currently closing by CFC reduction efforts

Mesosphere

• extends from top of stratosphere to about 85kms above earth

• coldest layer with little ozone

• Meteors or rock fragments burn up here

• Temp decreases with altitude

• Density of air particles decrease with altitude

Thermosphere

• thickets atmosphere layer between 85-500kms above earth

• contains the auroras

• very high temp

• very little air particles

• warmed as it filters out x-rays and gamma rays from sun

Shortwave radiation

Sun emits shortwave radiation b/c it is extremely hot and has a lot of radiation to give off

Longwave radiation

The earth emits longwave radiation b/c earth is cooler than the sun and has less energy to give off

→ once earth’s atmosphere, clouds, and the surface absorbs solar energy

Greenhouse effect

a natural process that warms the earth’s surface

• when suns energy reaches the earth’s atmosphere some is reflected back, and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases

• water vapor

• CO²

• methane

• nitrous oxide

• ozone

• some artificial chemicals

Greenhouse process

absorbed energy warms the atmosphere and the surface of the earth

• process maintains earth’s temp at around 33`c, warmer than it would be otherwise

Climate Change

a change in global climate patterns attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon

Global warming

gradual increase in the overall temp of earth atmosphere by the greenhouse effect caused by increased gases

Climate change vs Global warming

GB - long term warming of the planet

CC - is broader range of changes(rising sea-levels, blooming times)

Ecosystems

the self sustaining structural and functional interaction between living and non-living components

Ecosystem components

• solar radiation

• disturbances

• moisture

• habitat

• plant community

• soil organisms

• minerals

• nutrients

Parts of an ecosystem

an ecosystem is made up of all living and non-living things in an environment

Population

A group of organisms of the same kind living in the same place

Community

all the population that lives in an ecosystem at the same time

Habitat

a place where plants and animals live

→ place where they can meet the needs

• animals get food, water, shelter.

Natural ecosystems

ponds, lakes, oceans, forests, grassland, desert, ets

• are self regulating without much direct human interference or manipulation

Terrestrial ecosystems

grasslands, forests, desert ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystems

a. lentin (stagnant water)

→ lakes, ponds, etc

b. Lotic (flowing water)

→ river, ocean, sea, etc

Artificial ecosystems

a crop land, garden, aquarium, park, kitchen garden

Types of ecosystems

Deserts, grasslands, forest, saltwater, freshwater

Deserts

• very dry

• desert plants survive with very little water

Grassland

• are dry, often flat areas of land that are not in the summer and cold in the water

• they get more rain and snow then deserts, but less than most ecosystems

Forest

• are places in which many trees grow

Saltwater

• are oceans

• oceans cover 3/4ths of the earths surface

  → more saltwater ecosystems than any other

Freshwater

• rivers, ponds, lakes, and streams

• lakes and rivers closely tied

  → some lakes are the source for some rivers

  → important rivers most often originate form lakes

  → some rivers ends lakes

Abiotic factors example

• water

• air

• soil

• sunlight

• minerals

Biotic factors

are living or once living organisms in the ecosystem. these are obtained from the biosphere and are capable of reproduction

Biotic factors examples

• animals

• birds

• plants

• fungi

• other similar organisms

Abiotic components of ecosystem

• sunlight

• temperature

• precipitation

• water or moisture

• soil or water chemistry

Biotic components

• primary producers

• herbivores

• carnivores

• omnivores

• detritivores

Function of ecosystem 1

the producers, the green plants, fix solar energy and with the help of minerals take from their soil where they grow, or aerial environment build up complex organic matter

Function of ecosystem 2

the animals eat up plants and other animals as food so energy is transferred through food to animals

Functions of ecosystem 3

when plants and animals die, their decomposers act on their dead bodies and decompose them into simple minerals like carbon dioxide, water, and minerals, which go back to air, water bodies, and soil where they were taken.

Processes of an ecosystem

energy enters the system in the form of sunlight or photons, which is transformed into chemical energy in organic molecules by cellular processes including photosynthesis, and cellular respiration and ultimately converted into heat energy.

Equilibrium

As the number of carnivores in a community increases, they eat more and more of the herbivores, decreasing the herbivore population. It becomes harder for carnivores to find food, decreasing the carnivore population. This keeps them at a stable equilibrium as they limit each other’s population.

Biomass

Total living material of an organism.

• pyramid of biomass describes the qualitive relationship between the producer and consumer.

• gradual decrease of biomass from each trophic level

• total biomass of producer is MORE than that of what follows

Pyramid of energy

Autotrophs

• producers (energy from the sun)

• self-feed

Photosynthesis equation

6CO² + 6H20 → C6 H12 O6 + 6O2

carbon + water → glucose + oxygen

Carbon

An element: 6 protons, 6 neurons, the basis of life on earth

• found in all earth systems

• carbon atoms repeatedly used on earth

Cycle between: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere

Processes transfer carbon

• photosynthesis

• respiration

• consumption

• decomposition

• combustion

• weathering

• dissolve/vaporize

fossilization

carbon in rocks and underground

• deposits are released very slowly into the atmosphere

• process takes many years and is usually caused by weathering

Ways food chains lose energy

• 90% is lost

1. metabolic heat(released during respiration)

2. through movement

3. in materials that the consumer does not process digestion

4. excretion