Chapter 12

MapMaster 1.0: Central Asia - Water Part D The glaciers in the highlands of Kyrgyzstan and neighboring Tajikistan are vital to the water supply of Central Asia, but they have been slowly diminishing in size. As they melt, they are a major source of runoff for the __________.

Aral Sea

The source of the Amazon River is the Peruvian Andes in this part of the mountain range.

Cordillera Occidental

Which of the following environmental concerns do both essay discuss?

Dams block passage for migratory fish. Both essays mention the environmental impact of dams on fish passage.

MapMaster 1.0: Central Asia - Water Part B __________ is a lowland area that forms a highly saline bay on the Caspian Sea, suitable for flamingoes. It dried out soon after it was dammed in order to block the flow of saline water bay into the Sea.

Kara-Bogaz-Gol

MapMaster 1.0: Central Asia - Water Part C The filling of Kaptchagayskoye Reservoir on the River Ili has negatively affected the water level, salinity levels, and ecology of this body of water.

Lake Balkhash

MapMaster 1.0: Sub-Saharan Africa - Rivers and Lakes Part E Which of the following lakes lies at the highest elevation?

Lake Tana

How much land is Louisiana losing every year as a result of coastal erosion?

Louisiana is losing 75 km2 of wetlands every year.

Which of the following statements is true?

Most of Earth's fresh water is frozen.

MapMaster 1.0: Sub-Saharan Africa - Rivers and Lakes Part C The Macina is a large area of lakes and floodplains whose ecosystem depends on how much flooding it receives. The delta consists of the middle course of this river in the Sahel. In the river, you can still find sea cows.

Niger

The La Plata River Basin includes the _____ river.

Paraná

Scientists compared the plant biomass and soil structure of restored wetlands to that of natural, undisturbed wetlands. The graph shows their findings. Can you interpret the graph to answer these questions?

Use for part A-G

What is the name of an area of land that is drained by a river and all of its tributaries?

Watershed which is also called a drainage basin.

Oceans have absorbed approximately one-third of the excess carbon dioxide that humans have added to Earth's atmosphere so far. This has slowed the progression of global climate change, but it has led to ________.

a decrease in the pH (ocean acidification)

The rapid melting of Greenland's ice cap could disrupt the NADW formation by ________.

adding huge amounts of less-dense fresh water to the surface of the system

MapMaster 1.0: Central Asia - Water Part E Which of the following crops or animals are supported by the water runoff from the highlands of Kyrgyzstan and neighboring Tajikistan?

cotton wheat fruits sheep All of the listed choices are supported.

The fish in the lake at the local park are dying, and a professor from the local college comes to investigate. First, she measures the levels of dissolved oxygen in order to check for ________.

hypoxia

Part B What does the red graph line represent?

plant biomass

Pathogens and waterborne diseases enter drinking water supplies from ________.

poorly treated wastewater and animal wastes from feed lots

MapMaster 1.0: Sub-Saharan Africa - Rivers and Lakes Part B The introduction of the Nile perch has dramatically altered the freshwater ecosystem of Africa's largest lake. This lake is located in a __________.

tropical savanna

Use the figure above to answer the following question. Most of Earth's liquid fresh water is found ________.

underground

The restoration and construction of wetlands for wastewater treatment offers benefits that go beyond clean water. Wetlands, whether natural or artificial, are productive ecosystems that support a high diversity of plants, fish, invertebrates, birds, and other organisms. To understand the extent to which wetlands benefit biodiversity, it is important for scientists to document the changes observed in plant and animal populations following wetland restoration. Such monitoring was carried out as part of a wetland construction project along the central coast of California. The following graph shows the difference in bird diversity (number of different species) observed at the site before and after the construction of an artificial wetland. Which of the following statements accurately describe(s) changes in bird species diversity following the construction of a wetland in the study area? Select all that apply.

-A decrease in bird species diversity was observed only in August. -An increase in bird species diversity was observed across most months of the study period following wetland construction. In the months during which data were collected at the study site, the number of bird species observed increased in all but one month after construction of the wetland.

MapMaster 1.0: Sub-Saharan Africa - Rivers and Lakes Part D This river's drainage basin includes areas both north and south of the equator. Its flow is stable because there is always a rainy season somewhere along the river.

Congo

If the captain of a fishing fleet wanted to catch fish over a vast expanse of ocean, which of the following would be an effective method to do so?

Driftnets These nets are held vertically near the surface of the ocean using floats at the top and weights at the bottom.

The exceptionally strong warming of the eastern Pacific is referred to as ________.

El Niño

Which of the following is a systematic shift in atmospheric pressure, sea surface temperature, and ocean circulation patterns in the tropical Pacific Ocean that alters weather patterns on a worldwide scale?

El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) El Niño events alter weather patterns around the world, creating rainstorms and floods in areas that are generally dry, such as southern California, and causing drought and fire in regions that are typically moist, such as Indonesia.

What type of coastal feature experiences fluctuations in salinity with daily and seasonal variations?

Estuaries which are where rivers flow into the ocean; this is where ocean water mixes with freshwater.

Tracking changes in species diversity (as exemplified in Part A) is just one of the ways that scientists may track the impact of habitat restoration on native biodiversity. In addition to this, the abundance, or number of individuals, may also be monitored in order to determine if habitat improvements are suitable to support higher populations. The following graph shows how the wetland construction project along the central coast of California impacted the abundance of birds. Compare the monthly bird abundances that were reported pre- and post-construction of the artificial wetland. During the 8 month monitoring period following construction, there was an overall increase in bird abundances in most months when comparing pre- and post-construction data. Based on the bar graph, during which season did bird abundances decline post-construction of the artificial wetland?

Summer During the summer months of July and August, bird abundances declined after construction of the artificial wetland.

Solutions to Fresh Water Needs For the strategies below, decide whether they are best described as demand-side solutions or supply-side solutions to meeting human needs for fresh water. Remember that a demand-side solution reduces demand for fresh water, whereas a supply-side solution increases the supply of fresh water.

Supply-side solutions: -a nation invading a neighboring country to access their rivers -damming a river to create a reservoir -desalinating seawater Demand-side solutions: -requiring low-flow shower heads in all new homes -providing tax breaks for companies that use less water -raising water prices for consumers and businesses -replacing inefficient irrigation with more-efficient drip irrigation to grow crops

MapMaster 1.0: Sub-Saharan Africa - Rivers and Lakes Part A Located in the southern part of the Great Rift Valley, Lake _____ is the world's longest freshwater lake and has been a showcase of cichlid evolution. Many of the endemic fish have made their way into the aquarium trade.

Tanganyika

Which of the following wetland environments only occurs for a short period of time each year?

Vernal pools Vernal pools are formed from snowmelt or spring rains and typically dry out by the end of the summer.

Which of the following will contribute to water conservation?

Watering lawns at night (using low-flow faucets) landscaping with native plants

All of the following are examples of point sources of pollution except ________.

a factory discharging wastes into a lake through a large outlet a car repair shop dumping waste oil into the storm drain a sewer pipe an overturned tanker truck that spills into a creek a large farm

What is the direct cause of death for aquatic animals during eutrophication?

a loss of dissolved oxygen in the water Eutrophication occurs when excess nutrients cause a bloom of algal growth that then is decayed by bacteria, which use up all of the oxygen.

Which of the following best describes a floodplain?

a region of land that is periodically flooded when a river overflows

Part D After 55 years, how does the capacity of a restored wetland to absorb nutrients compare to that of a natural wetland?

about 40% of natural wetland capacity

Part C After 20 years, how much plant biomass does a restored wetland contain?

about 80% of the biomass of a natural wetland

Which of the following is a promising way to reduce global water consumption?

avoiding waste and mismanagement A large amount of water can be saved by more carefully managing the way we use water.

Recent research that analyzed the content of commercial bottled water indicates that ________.

bottled water is no safer or purer than most samples of tap water

Upwelling ________.

brings benthic nutrients to the ocean surface promoting high primary productivity Submit

Part G Is the following statement supported or not supported by the data shown in the graph? The restoration of a wetland takes about 100 years.

cannot be determined from the graph

The area that underlies the shallow water bordering continents is called the ________.

continental shelf

The Mississippi River's flow has been greatly reduced over the last 200 years, preventing much of the sediment carried by the river from reaching the delta in Louisiana. What has caused this?

dams and reservoirs More than 2000 dams and reservoirs exist along the river, slowing and diverting the water. This allows sediment to settle upriver, starving the delta of the sediment needed to maintain the coastal wetlands.

What technology is used to extract freshwater from ocean water?

desalinization This technique is expensive and tends to be utilized only in wealthy, oil-rich nations within desert biomes.

As a result of humans' increased use of the water in the Colorado River, __________.

fisheries in the upper Gulf of California have been hurt The Colorado River no longer carries freshwater, nutrients, and sediments on a regular basis--or anywhere near its historic levels--into the Gulf of California.

Read the following scenario and answer the question(s) below. The formation of sinkholes has become a fairly common phenomenon in the state of Florida. Most sinkholes are small, but some sinkholes have led to catastrophic property damage and loss of life. One September day in 1999, folks began to notice that Lake Jackson in the panhandle region was shrinking. Within a few days, it was almost gone. A sinkhole had opened beneath the lake and drained it, along with all of the fish and alligators. Another sinkhole formed just 10 miles from Walt Disney World in August 2013, swallowing a 48-unit villa at Summer Bay Resort.As aquifers lose water, their substrates can become weaker and less capable of supporting overlying strata and any human structures built upon them. In such cases, the land surface above may subside. Sometimes subsidence can occur locally and suddenly, in the form of sinkholes, areas where the ground gives way with little warning. Once the ground subsides, soil becomes compacted, losing the porosity that enabled it to hold water. Recharging a depleted aquifer may therefore become more difficult. One reasonable way to prevent sinkholes might be to ________.

increase groundwater recharge by constructing artificial wetlands that use treated municipal wastewater

Read the following scenario and answer the question(s) below. The formation of sinkholes has become a fairly common phenomenon in the state of Florida. Most sinkholes are small, but some sinkholes have led to catastrophic property damage and loss of life. One September day in 1999, folks began to notice that Lake Jackson in the panhandle region was shrinking. Within a few days, it was almost gone. A sinkhole had opened beneath the lake and drained it, along with all of the fish and alligators. Another sinkhole formed just 10 miles from Walt Disney World in August 2013, swallowing a 48-unit villa at Summer Bay Resort.As aquifers lose water, their substrates can become weaker and less capable of supporting overlying strata and any human structures built upon them. In such cases, the land surface above may subside. Sometimes subsidence can occur locally and suddenly, in the form of sinkholes, areas where the ground gives way with little warning. Once the ground subsides, soil becomes compacted, losing the porosity that enabled it to hold water. Recharging a depleted aquifer may therefore become more difficult. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the number of human-induced sinkholes has doubled since 1930. Insurance claims increased 1200% from 1987 to 1991, costing nearly $100 million. A major reason for this is ________.

increased water consumption through development and urbanization

Ocean water is 96.5% water by mass. Most of the remainder consists of __________.

ions from dissolved salts These run off from the land and are concentrated through the evaporation of water.

What caused the Aral Sea, the fourth largest lake on Earth, to lose four-fifths of its volume in 40 years?

overconsumption by cotton farmers Water for irrigating cotton, a crop with very high water demands, was the major cause of the Aral Sea disappearing. -also resulted in the loss of 60,000 fishing jobs -reason why the irrigation of Soviet cotton farming operations was a problem

Sinkholes can result from ________.

overconsumption of water from aquifers

Currently, the greatest ecological crisis facing marine food webs is ________.

overharvesting

Which of the following types of pollution is most responsible for large numbers of deaths worldwide because of unsafe drinking water?

pathogen pollution Biological organisms that exist in the water of many developing countries can make people sick, and the diseases that come from them are a leading cause of death worldwide.

Part A What does the y-axis show?

percent of recovery compared to natural wetlands

Part E Is the following statement supported or not supported by the data shown in the graph? Most of the productivity of a wetland can be restored within 50 years, but it takes much longer to restore soil fertility.

supported

Zooxanthellae are ________.

symbiotic algae that provide energy to many species of corals

A watershed is ________.

the area of land that drains into a river or lake

In the past 50 years, the global hydrological environment has experienced great change due to __________.

the construction of more than 40,000 new dams Dams generate electricity for growing human populations and water reserves for cities and irrigation.

The Amazon River Dolphin inhabits both the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. What is the climate in the region of the Orinoco?

tropical savanna

"Biosolids" produced at a wastewater treatment plant are often ________.

used as crop fertilizer

Many present-day fisheries managers ________.

wish to set aside areas of ocean where systems can function without human interference

Suppose you are a community member who is concerned that your city is planning to build a wastewater treatment facility in a conventional style that relies heavily on chemical treatment. You know that incorporating wetlands into wastewater treatment can both reduce the costs of facility construction and provide benefits to local wildlife and people. At the next city council meeting, you plan to present an argument in favor of incorporating artificial wetlands into the plans for the new treatment facility. Which of the following statements reflects how you might use the data from the graphs in the previous parts to make your case? Select all that apply.

-Construction of an artificial wetland in California resulted in an overall increase in the abundance of birds inhabiting that location. -Construction of an artificial wetland in California resulted in an overall increase in the number of bird species inhabiting that location.

It is the second longest river in the world and responsible for about 20 percent of the freshwater that flows into the world's oceans.

Amazon

Sara Nicholas presents the case for dam removal by offering a variety of reasons. Which of the following reasons is her primary argument for removing dams?

All dams harm riparian environments. Nicholas includes a long list of the ways that dams harm riparian environments as support for dam removal.

The Negro River is the largest blackwater river in the world. "Blackwater" refers to the fact that it is a deep river that flows slowly through forested swamps and wetlands, with dark-colored waters as a result of tannins that are leached out of decaying vegetation. What country does this blackwater river flow through?

Brazil

Which is the correct term to describe fish and other ocean organisms that are caught accidentally along with the targeted fish?

Bycatch which is the accidental capture of nontarget species.

MapMaster 1.0: Central Asia - Water Part A The zebra mussel, a disastrous invader in the Great Lakes of North America, is native to this, the largest of the enclosed water bodies of the world.

Caspian Sea

Fresh Water Depletion The following answers for the Causes and Consequences features are examples and are not intended to represent a comprehensive list. In addition, the sequence of items is not meant to connote relative importance. Sort the examples below into the appropriate bin.

Causes: population growth groundwater pumping for agriculture domestic water use for homes and landscaping Consequences: water shortages salinization altered plant communities Solutions: deployment of more efficient irrigation approaches improvement of wastewater treatment technology development of water conservation policies

The essay in support of dam removal avoids one key environmental benefit touted by dam advocates. If the authors were participating in a debate, how might dam advocates state this benefit?

Dams use a renewable "fuel" (water) to generate clean electricity. The pro-dam authors discuss the environmental benefits of generating electricity with dams rather than fossil fuels and their associated environmental impacts.

Thomas Flint and Christine Stallard cite multiple benefits of dams. Which of the following statements represents their primary argument for the importance of dams?

Global water use has increased at twice the rate of population growth, and dams can provide water. The authors link population growth and increasing water demand as a key reason for dams.

Which of the following is a non-consumptive use of water as a resource?

Hydroelectric power Water flows through turbines at hydroelectric dams and is passed on downstream intact.

What is the spatial relationship between the distributions of water and people?

Populations and water resources too often have an inverse relationship (lots of people where there is little water) Canada and the Amazon basin have abundant freshwater but very low population densities, while Pakistan, Iran, and Egypt have high population densities and little freshwater.

You are part of a panel that reviews dam permits for renewal. Your panel hears testimony from both pro-dam and pro-dam removal advocates. Which of the following scenarios is least likely to be controversial?

Removal of a mill dam for a now defunct mill operation A mill dam for a mill that no longer operates is least likely to be controversial, particularly if it does not generate electricity, provide flood control, or provide irrigation and drinking water.

____________ is the rising of deep, cold, dense water toward the surface.

Up-welling Because this water is rich in nutrients from the bottom, upwellings often support high primary productivity and lucrative fisheries, such as those along the coasts of Peru and Chile.

Which term describes a regular periodic change to the ocean's height due to the gravitational influence of the moon and the sun?

Tides Tidal cycles occur on, roughly, a monthly basis.

Classify each pollutant based on the category that best describes its impact on waterways.

Toxic Chemicals: acid drainage from an abandoned coal mine herbicide from a soccer field Pathogens and Waterborne diseases: medical waste from a hospital dumped in an illegal location Thermal pollution: frigid water from the bottom of a reservoir Nutrient Pollution: nitrogen-rich grass clippings from a mowed lawn phosphorus-rich fertilizer from agricultural land Sediment: clay soil from land cleared for home construction eroded topsoil from agricultural land

A septic system is ________.

a rural method of processing wastewater

What is the most cost-effective solution for groundwater depletion and land-level subsidence?

allowing no more water to be withdrawn from an aquifer than is naturally recharged This would be a water conservation measure that would solve both problems with minimal expense.

What is a marine protected area?

any portion of the ocean that is protected from some human activities but may be open to others, such as the laying of cables and some fishing The area is a marine protected area, rather than an area of preservation.

We build dams to ________.

generate electricity, prevent flooding, and provide irrigation and drinking water

Humans use more fresh water for ________ than for any other purpose.

irrigating crops

Most water taken out of the natural world is used for __________.

irrigation About 40% of all food comes from irrigated land. About 70% of all water taken out of rivers, lakes, and aquifers is for irrigation.

The region of a lake where plants are able to attach to the bottom and still reach above the surface is known as the __________.

littoral zone This region contains nutrient-rich edges of a water body, with shallow water and lots of invertebrates that are prey for fish, birds, turtles, and amphibians.

What industry contributes to wetland loss in Louisiana?

oil and natural gas Although oil and gas extraction has benefited Louisiana's economy, it has also promoted wetland losses.

Part F Natural wetlands provide many ecosystem services. When a wetland is restored, which of the following ecosystem services returns most rapidly?

providing food for fish and wildlife