Water and Enviro Power Point in PDF

Water andOurEnvironmentPresentation

-Water molecules are composed of one oxygen and two hydrogenmolecules:**The bond formedbetween a H and anO in the samewater molecule is aCOVALENT BOND.Water is considered to be a POLAR molecule because it has partial + and – charges**Each H is slightly positive……..each O is slightly negativeThis property alone is responsible for the various unique and amazing properties ofwater.

*Due to this polarity water is highly attracted to other materials andother water molecules:-COHESION: water sticking to other water molecules+- -+++**The bondformed between aH and an O in 2different watermolecules is aHYDROGEN BOND-ADHESION: water sticking to other materials**A complete salt molecule isNaCl, which is separated intoNa+ and Cl- when it isdissolved in water.

UNIVERSAL SOLVENT: Water has a unique ability to dissolve a hugenumber of other substances.**Water can dissolve nearly any substance that has polarity (positiveand/or negative charge)-Solute: substance that is dissolved.-Solvent: substance that does the dissolving (usually water)This is an example of a simpleoil molecule, which cannot bebroken down and surroundedby polar water molecules.

SURFACE TENSION: The “skin” formed at the top of any body ofwater due to water molecules pulling on one another.**Another property caused by polarity.The water molecules under thesurface pull on each other,causing the tightness across thesurface.

ICE IS LESS DENSE THAN LIQUID WATERNormally when we think of a solid substance, it is more dense than theliquid form because the molecules get closer together as they cool.**At 4 C, water molecules start to spread out (crystallize).**At 0 C, water is completely frozen (least dense it can be)Liquid H20 at 4 CFrozen H2O at 0 CMolecules crystallize

VISCOSITY: The tendency for a fluid to resist flow.**When fluids are cooled, they become more viscous (the resist flow more)**When they are heated, they become less viscous (easier for them to flow)-A 20 C decrease in temperature will increase waters viscosity by over 60%.This becomes a big problem for anyorganism which exerts a lot of energyto move through the water. Itbecomes very difficult for them tokeep moving.For larger organisms who do notexert as much energy to move,this change in viscosity does notmatter.

pH scaleACID – A substance with a pH lower than7.**This is caused by an abundance of H+ions in a solution**Examples**The term pH stands for thepotential of hydrogenBASE – A substance with a pH above7.**Caused by an abundance of OHora lack of H+ ions.**Examples

Freshwater EcosystemsA watershed can be defined as ageographic area of land in whichprecipitation drains to a commonpoint on a stream, river, pond,lake or other body of water suchas wetlands.A wetland is any land area such as abog or marsh, that is covered inwater a large part of the year andsupport specific plant species.The our types are bog, fens,marshes and swamps.All urban, rural and industrial landuses can potentially affect or beaffected by surface andgroundwater water quality andquantity in a watershed.Examples of Wetlands

Human Impacts onFreshwater EcosystemsEutrophication- The process bywhich the surrounding watershedenriches bodies of water withnutrients that stimulate excessiveplant growth, especially algae. Theexcessive algae growth not onlyabsorbs the oxygen from the otherplants and animals in the watershedbut the algae create a blanket onthe surface of the water blockingsunlight to the organismsunderneath.

Examples of Point Source(identifiable source)Water Pollutants:• Sewage discharge• Factory waste from pipes• Dumping of toxic waste in barrels• Oil Spills• Animal Waste from agriculture• Construction sitesWater PollutionExamples of Non Point(unidentifiable source)Source WaterPollutants• Runoff – rain water carryingfertilizers, road salt, leakagefrom vehicles (oil, antifreeze,windshield fluid)• Chemicals from washing cars indriveways• Trash and waste into stormdrains that empty into nearbywatershedsIt has been suggested that it isthe leading worldwide cause ofdeaths and diseases, and that itaccounts for the deaths of morethan 14,000 people daily. Inaddition to the acute problemsof water pollution in third worldcountries.

Human Impacts on Water ResourcesUse of Freshwater• About 75% of our planet is coveredwith water BUT less than 1% issuitable for human use.• About 70% of the water withdrawneach is year is used to irrigate 18% ofthe world’s croplands.• About 23% of freshwater is used forcooling purposes in power plants, foroil and gas production.• About 7% is used for domestic andmunicipal uses around the world.• In the US , about 23%of all freshwateris pumped from aquifers (water filledrocks layers found underground andreplenished by rainfall-provide OUTWATER).In the US alone, 20-35% of watersupplies is lost due to LEAKY toilets,bathtubs and faucets.Water Pollution• Precipitation can also absorb pollutants, such assulfur dioxide from burning of fossil fuels, creatingacid rain which can destroy trees vegetation andancient structures/statues.• Burning of fossil fuels and manufacturing alsoreleases mercury. The mercury is ingested by fish.Bioaccumulation of the mercury levels is causingincreased disease in higher ocean predators such asbears, large cat species, large birds of prey and evenhumans.

Sources of Ocean Pollution44% is Runoff from the land(trash and chemicals runoff roadways into stormsdrains.Storms drainsRiverOceanRiver33% Airborne pollution12% shipping and spills10% Ocean Dumping1% off shore miningOcean PollutionCarbon Sink and CoralBleaching•Carbon Sink is the absorption ofcarbon dioxide from the air intothe water.•Causes increased acidity of theEarth’s oceans.•Coral is caused by warming ofthe oceans (from global warming)and the coral will reject the algaecausing them to die.•Coral Reefs are the mostproductive ecosystem of theworld!•25% have been destroyed, 60%are threatened, and predicted tobe gone in 50 years.Coral bleachingCruise Ships• Grey water refers towaste water that hasbeen tainted by soaps,detergents, and othersources of negativeenvironmental impactbut does not includehuman waste.• Cruise ships dump200,000 gallons of rawsewage and least35,000 gallons of otherwastes weekly!Waste followinga cruise shipTrash in a storm drain

Trash in our oceans• 80% of all trash in the ocean is plastic.• These products are eaten by wildlife, causesuffocation and cause animals to be entangledand injured. Many animals choke to death, die ofstarvation or infection from the plastic “flotsam”.• The Giant Pacific Garbage Patch is roughly the sizeof Texas and up to 90 feet deep!• The Atlantic Garbage Patch’s length is equivalentto the distance from D.C. to the edge to Florida.Oil Spills• Oil pollution causes starvation in seabirds,hypothermia in sea otters and sea mammals,blindness in cetaceans as well as blood poisoningin large sea mammals such as killer whales.• Exxon Valdez in 1989 dumped 11 million off thecoast Alaska• Recent Spills of 2010:– Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion was leaking210,000 gallons a day. Total released 14 milliongallons– Chinese freighter into Great Barrier Reef, released65,000 tons of coal and fuel oil• Worst Oil Spills:1. Kuwait, 1991 520 mill gallons2. Mexico, 1979-1980, 140 mill gallons3. Trinidad and Tobago 1979, 90 mill gallons4. Uzbekistan, 1994, 84 mill gallons5. Persian Gulf, 1983, 80 mill gallonGulf Spill, 2010

Air ResourcesElements of our Air:• Oxygen originated from eruptingvolcanoes over 4.6-4.5bya. Carbondioxide, nitrogen and water vaporwere also released from theseprocesses. After life was created inour first oceans, photosynthesiscontinued the production of oxygen.• The Carbon Cycle is important for lifeon Earth because carbon is the keycomponent of sugars, starches,proteins and other parts of livingthings.• Carbon, stored in organic material, isconverted to fossil fuels over millionsof years. Burning fossil fuels thenproduces the release of CO2.• Nitrogen is needed to build proteinsin tissue but animals cannot use theN directly from the air. We must relyon nitrogen-fixing bacteria making itaccessible for plants and animals.Carbon CycleNitrogenCycle

Human Impacts on Air ResourcesPhotochemical Smog- Theyellow-brown haze/fog neardensely populated that formsmainly from automobileexhaust in the presence ofsunlightOzone Depletion- the destructionof ozone as chlorine fromCFC’s attaches the oxygenwhich stop the three oxygenmolecules from bonding tocreate ozone.Acid Deposition (Rain)- occurswhen the sulfur and nitrogenfrom factories and carsattaches to water vapordropping the pH below 5.LA SmogNatural Air Pollution Sources:• Volcanoes (sulfur dioxide)• Forest Fires (Carbon monoxide)• Radon- colorless and odorless gasreleased from Uranium fromdecayed rocks in soil.

Human Impacts on ClimateGreenhouse Effect:The natural process where greenhouse gases, suchas CO2 and methane, trap heat to the surface anddo not allow the heat to escape back to space butthe over production of CO2 in the atmosphere iscausing for more heat to be trapped. This thenleads to global warming, the increase in averagesurface temperature.Evidence to Global Warming:•Levels of atmospheric methane, a powerful greenhouse gas,have risen 145% in the last 100 years. Methane is derived fromsources such as rice paddies, bovine flatulence, bacteria inbogs and fossil fuel production.•The year 1999 was the fifth-warmest year on record since themid-1800's; 1998 being the warmest year. According to ThomasKarl, director of the National Climatic Data Center (NOAA), thecurrent pace of temperature rise is "consistent with a rate of 5.4to 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit per century." By comparison, theworld has warmed by 5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit since thedepths of the last ice age, 18,000 to 20,000 years ago.•The melting of the Gangotri Glacier in India is accelerating withan average rate of retreat of 30 meters annually. The ratebetween 1935 and 1990 was 18 meters per year and 7 metersannually between 1842 and 1935.•Arctic sea ice has shrunk by 250 million acres.•The park's Grinnell Glacier is already 90% gone.•The Bering Glacier, North America's largest glacier, has lost 7miles of its length, while losing 20-25% of parts of the glacier.• Coral reefs around the Maldives and Seychelles islands in theIndian Ocean have taken the brunt of warming seas, as 90% ofthese corals have been killed over the past two years. Some ofthe coral reefs, long described as undersea rainforests, home tomarine ecosystems that sustain thousands of species of fish andother marine life, have been alive for up to 2.5 million years.

Land ResourcesResources that are commonly mined all overthe world:•Gravel and sand for concrete•Metals such as aluminum, iron ore, gold,silver, cooper, and platinum•Minerals•Fossil fuels•Rocks such as granite, marble and limestoneHow to save and protect the land:•Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977-Mining industries are require restore thetopsoil and vegetation to the land.Impacts ofMiningAcid MineDrainage(waterpollution)Human Impacts on the Earth’s Surface:1. Desertification: the loss of topsoil from mining and overgrazingthat causes all nutrients to be lost from the soil and nothing togrow.2. Increased Runoff: loss of plant life causes increased surfacerunoff and erosion of topsoil.3. Groundwater Pollution: Substances that are being mined or abyproduct of the mining equipment the leaks into thegroundwater.4. Deforestation: Clearing of forested land is another way inwhich topsoil is lost. Thousands of acres a day are torn downfor firewood, charcoal, paper and lumber.5. Urban Development: Dramatic loss of land due to increasedpopulation worldwide. Land is being used from human homesand agriculture.6. Pesticide Usage: Chemicals applied to weeds, insects andfungi. These chemicals have shown to have extremelydangerous impacts on not only humans but as well a otherpredators such as birds of prey, bears and sharks.7. Solid Waste: Each person in the United States generates anaverage of solid waste per day which ends up in landfills.DesertificationAmazon RainforestDeforestationLandfill