environmental

recharge zone

area where water infiltrates into an aquifer

What is a constructed wetland?

A constructed wetland is an artificial marsh or lagoon in which sunlight, aeration, and living organisms clean water.

What is a dead zone? What causes it?

A dead zone is more precisely a hypoxic, or low-oxygen zone. Low oxygen results from excessive nutrients. Low oxygen causes death or evacuation of fish and other organisms in the hypoxic area.

Point sources

discharge pollution from specific locations

rain shadow

dry area on the downwind side of a mountain

aquifer

porous, water bearing layers of sand, gravel, and rock below the earths surface, reservoirs for groundwater

Nonpoint Sources

scattered or diffuse, having no specific location of discharge.

atmospheric deposition

sedimentation of solids, liquids,, or gaseous material from the air

discharge

the amount of water that passes a fixed point in a given amount of time, usually expressed as liters or cubic feet of water per second

Aerosols

tiny solid particles or liquid droplets that remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long time

groundwater

water held in gravel deposits or porous rock beneath the earths surface, does not include water or crystallization held by chemical bonds in rocks or moisture in upper soil layers

coliform bacteria

- intestinal bacteria; used to detect water contamination by animal wastes

Define water scarcity and water stress.

-Water scarcity occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount. -Water stress occurs when renewable water supplies are inadequate to satisfy essential human or ecosystem needs.

What percentage of water on the planet is fresh (non-salty)?

2.4%

chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs)

A family of gases containing the elements chlorine, fluorine, and carbon used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, foams, and solvents. They are inert and exceptionally stable, but break down in the upper atmosphere in ozone consuming reactions.

How does bioremediation clean water?

Bioremediation involves treatment with plants or microorganisms that absorb or degrade pollutants.

Give an example in which water policies and prices have encouraged conservation

Charging the actual cost of storing and delivering water can encourage conservation. Requiring conservation measures can discourage waste. Treating water as a precious and finite resource can change our attitudes about how we use it. Restricting development in areas where there isn't an adequate water supply can also help avoid crises

Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)

Chemical emissions that pose a health risk of serious illness such as cancer or birth defects with small inhalation exposures

Describe some effects of dams and diversion projects.

Dams and diversion projects allow us to store water during dry seasons and to live and grow crops in desert areas that otherwise wouldn't be suitable for agriculture or human habitation. On the other hand, dams displace people and natural ecosystems, often have high evaporation rates. They collect sediment, which starves beaches and riparian habitat downstream. Dams can also increase landslides and earthquakes.

What is drip irrigation, and why is it beneficial?

Drip irrigation applies water in tiny amounts just to the roots of the plants you want to cultivate. It is beneficial because it uses water efficiently and doesn't encourage growth of weeds.

Effluent Sewerage

Hybrid between traditional septic tank and full sewer system

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Organic (carbon-based) chemical compound that evaporates readily, is a significant air pollutant, a potential irritant to building occupants, and, in some cases, a greenhouse gas

Oligotrophic

bodies of water that have clear water and low biological productivity

Define primary air pollutants and secondary air pollutants.

Primary pollutants are released directly from the source into the air in a harmful form. Secondary pollutants are converted to a hazardous form after they enter the air.

Describe the process of municipal sewage treatment

Primary treatment includes screening and settlement to remove solids. Secondary treatment involves biological degradation (usually by bacteria) of dissolved organic materials in a filter bed. Tertiary treatment removes plant nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus).

How might climate change affect our water supplies?

Some areas will become wetter with climate change, but many will get drier, especially areas that rely on winter snow accumulation for spring and summer water supplies. Melting of glaciers that provide a relatively stable water supply for about half the earth's population will cause water shortages and water stress. More powerful storms will cause surface water to run off faster, and may, ironically, cause water shortages.

What are the six criteria pollutants in the original Clean Air Act? Why were they chosen?

Suspended particulate materials, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and lead. They were chosen because they were considered the most serious threat to human health.

Explain the idea of "synergistic effects."

Synergistic effects in which the injury caused by exposure to two factors together is more than the sum of exposure to each factor individually.

How has the Clean Water Act reduced sewage discharge into public waterways?

The Clean Water Act established standards and monitoring systems to control effluent, and it provided funding to help communities build sewage treatment plants and upgrade storm drain systems.

hydrologic cycle

The cycle through which water in the hydrosphere moves; includes such processes as evaporation, precipitation, and surface and groundwater runoff

Which conventional pollutants have decreased most and least?

The greatest reduction in criteria pollutants has been in (particulate materials and volatile organic compounds.) The least improvement has been in (nitrogen oxides.)

What is the hydrologic cycle, and how does it redistribute water around the globe?

The hydrologic cycle is the movement of water from the oceans, through the atmosphere, onto the surface as rain or snow, through the soil as groundwater, and across the surface back to the oceans in rivers and streams.

What are some sources of air pollution in developing areas?

The largest sources of pollution in the developing world are (coal-burning power plants, vehicle traffic, and un-regulated industry.)

Describe some examples of domestic water conservation.

We can conserve water by (taking shorter showers, flushing less often, avoiding letting the faucet run while washing dishes or brushing your teeth.)

What percentage of all water withdrawals are for agricultural uses?

Worldwide, agriculture claims about 70 percent of total water withdrawal, and that use is increasing rapidly.

carbon monoxide

a colorless, odorless toxic flammable gas formed by incomplete combustion of carbon.

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

a disease that results in a gradual loss of lung function

Subsidence

a settling of ground surface caused by the collapse of porous formations that result from the removal of large amounts of underground material such as oil or groundwater

particulate matter

a small discrete mass of solid or liquid matter that remains individually dispersed in gas or liquid emissions (usually considered to be an atmospheric pollutant)

Eutrophic

bodies of water that are rich in organisms and organic material

List several illnesses that are made worse by dirty air.

heart attacks, asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer, immune suppression, and abnormal fetal development, among other health problems.

Cultural Eutrophication

increase in biological productivity caused by human activities.

primary pollutants

pollutants that are put directly into the air by human or natural activity.

secondary pollutants

pollutants that form from chemical reactions that occur when primary pollutants come in contact with other primary pollutants or with naturally occurring substances, such as water vapor.