15035551
Description
Flashcards by Olivia Gniadek, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Olivia Gniadek
about 6 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Why do we need to monitor aquatic ecosystems? | Source of biodiversity The Support of a wide range of organisms e.g. microorganisms, invertebrates, insects, plants and fish Over-extraction of water and overuse results in terrestrial impacts e.g. marine populations decline, plants die. |
| What are the benefits of dams? | Recreation Flood control Water supply Hydroelectric power Waste management River navigation Wildlife habitat |
| What are the tradeoffs of dams? | Sediment storage Large-scale wildlife habitat destruction due to flooding Disrupts marine migration patterns People displacement Reduces the number of areas for recreation Expensive Interferes with the natural flow Can interfere with the fishing business:. Harming livelihoods of people who rely on fisheries Maintenance Can catastrophically fail |
| What causes salinity? | rock erosion Sedimentary rocks salt from the ocean carried by the wind and rain Removal of vegetation Applying additional water through irrigation Salt and water - brought in, lost in evapotranspiration, salt accumulates at plant roots |
| What is primary salinisation? | causes but naturally occurring salts (rock erosion) Sedimentary rocks formed under marine conditions e.g. salt from the oceans that are carried by the wind and rain |
| What is secondary salinisation | Irrigation with slightly saline water Evaporation Root zone salinity Water table rise with change of vegetation |
| What is salinity | Salinity impacts on vegetation, salt transport and deforested areas |
| What is sodicity | Sodium attached to clay and modified particles, it is less sticky, erodes quicker, becomes impermeable to water and soils and makes vegetation productivity very minimal |
| How is salinisation linked to land clearing | Plants absorb water and transport it to the roots however they lose water through their leaves in a process of transportation (evapotranspiration) Plants keep hydrology in balance, imbalance - water table rise & effected vegetation Deep roots keep salt at bay Farmers cleared land for pasture and planted crops with shallow roots Plants have become salt adapted |
| What are the management actions are available to counter salinity? | More rain for salt flush Maintain natural water balance processes Land use: high water-use cropping and pasture, revegetation of trees or Agro-forestry, retire marginal irrigation properties On paddock surface: banks and drains Larger scale measures: deep drains, sub-surface drains, pumps, interception and diversion Reuse water Introduce salt tolerant plants Introduce salt tolerant aquaculture |
| Why are rivers regulated | Regulation provides: Water for irrigation Domestic consumption Industry |
| How does this impact the hydrology? | Occasional increase - inter-basin transfer Reduction of variability in river flow Changes of small and medium flood frequencies Changes in water temperature - de-oxygenates water, affects marine life Changes rates of rising water, recession and duration Geomorphological change e.g. bank slumping Plant response to changing water levels Energy resources |
| What are the environmental benefits can be achieved by the return of river flow? | Gets rid of pollutants Improved water quality for marine and terrestrial flora and fauna Can virtually 'reset' lakes Balancing effect on nutrient content Hydroelectric power Helps nutrient transportation Brings silt and fertile soils |
| What is a natural flood | an overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal limits, especially over what is normally dry land |
| What is watering with a regulator or pump | weir-like structures that are built to raise water levels to enable inundation of large areas |
| What conditions lead to algal blooms in the river Torrens? | high nitrogen and phosphorous levels runoff of fertilisers erosion of riverbanks land clearing sewage flow into river system Thermal stratification: temperature at surface is higher than river floor therefore forms water column, reduces turbulent mixing and allows algae to grow more rapidly |
| What management options are available to improve water quality in the catchment and the lake? | Hydrogen peroxide Environmental flows which dilate nutrient levels and keeps waters well mixed. Will be occurring from kangaroo creek reservoir to henley beach Sediment management Capping agents Phoslock Wetland and pondweed for nutrient removal Mixers aerators Re-establish habitats |
| What is a point source | Localised and stationary source of pollution e.g. discharges from wastewater treatment plants, operational industry waste, sewer outfalls Pollutes water, makes it murky, too much can kill the marine life, water becomes toxic |
| What is diffuse pollution | Release of potential pollutions from activities that may have no effect on water environments but can have a significant effects on the catchment scale. E.g. loss of nutrients (nitrate and phosphorous), pesticides, soil loss, sedimentation, bacteria from manures. Not noticeable at first but becomes a detrimental thing overtime. Little amounts build up. |
| Describe how mining has impacted on water quality with particular reference to heavy metals and acid mine drainage? | Acid mine drainage increasing toxicity of water Metal contamination of water with heavy metals e.g. mercury and zinc Increased sediment levels |
| Draw a conceptual model of the hydrological cycle including groundwater? | |
| What are the imputs to the hydrological cycle | Precipitation Rain Hail Sleet Snow Frost Dew |
| What are the major outputs of the hydrological cycle | Evaporation- water on surface can turn to vapour from suns energy, wind can also aid this process Transpiration - from plant leaves which has been taken up from the roots and transported to leaves Evapotranspiration River discharge - when river reaches sea/lake and ends |
| Describe how the water budget can inform water allocation | one way to manage the state's water resources sets out how much water is available from a particular resource and how much water needs to be left in the system to ensure its sustainability |
| what does the water allocation do | provides consistent, transparent process for liscensing ensures the long-term sustainability of a region's water resources brings certainly for water users protects water resources and water dependent environments |
| what is the water allocation planning model? | |
| How does the water budget identify whether the system is over-allocated | drought and overuse of resources leads to fresh water levels falling increased salinity levels damaged the ecosystem and threatened water supplies for people and livestock loss of soi l native flora and fauna under strain due to saltier environment |
| how does land use change affect the hydrological cycle | Human activities can affect evapotranspiration, interception and infiltration from plants can have detrimental impacts of surface and subsurface flows Temperatures can affect with altered precipitation patterns and intensity may have substantial hydrological consequences e.g. accelerating the hydrological cycle, increasing frequency of hydrological extremes particularly in the arid regions Desertification can affect biodiversity in marine and terrestrial ecosystems |
| why can forestry affect groundwater resources? | Prevent groundwater recharge Improve crop productivity and natural regeneration Groundwater management depends on ability to use or evaporate water from the soil Can use more water than other vegetation types Trees can only use as much water as it has been provided with Energy for evaporation for trees comes from sun As leaf area of trees increases so does its water use |
| What is logical induction | logic of evidential support e.g. 1. the three coins i pulled out of my bag are pennies :. all the coins in my bag are pennies (false) 2. All men that are bald are grandfathers, Harold is bald :. he's a grandfather (false) |
| What is logical deduction | the premises of valid deductive argument logically entail conclusion 1. all men are mortal, Harold is a man :. he's mortal 2. All men that are bald are grandfathers, Harold is bald :. he's a grandfather |
| Describe some of the effects of Co2 pollution on the marine environment | Ocean acidification Changes in pH Animal population decline Coral bleaching |
| Given increased nutrient runoff into the ocean causes environmental problems, what solutions could you offer. | Upgrade water treatment plants Detention basins Constructed wetlands Vegetative swales Bioretention facilities (rain gardens) Bagging of dog waste Prohibitions on phosphorous in lawn fertilisers |
| What is a top down system | consumers depress the trophic level on which they feed, and this indirectly increases the next lower trophic level |
| What is a bottom up system | increased production results in greater productivity at all trophic levels |
| describe why fishing causes cascading change within systems sensitive to changes in predator numbers? | exploitation has depleted many marine mammal and bird populations decreasing levels in exploitation have led to increases of predators alters productivity, species assemblages, coastal erosion |
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