In this process acidic water flows over and through the ground and affects varieties of plants and animals. The water has become too acidic, and this creates a problem to the environment because all living things depend on water. Dry deposition is also a form of acid deposition, but refers to acidic gases and particles. “Half the acidity in the atmosphere falls back to earth through dry deposition”. The wind blows these acidic gases into building, cars, homes and trees.
Lake Huron is one of the Great Lakes and a major part of our fresh water system, which contains many wildlife and species. The lake however, is in a real danger, adversely effecting habitats, fish, wildlife, and human lives. Lake Huron has become a dumping ground for many companies, dumping waste that contains many pollutants. Bacteria levels have increased in the lake which can cause serious illness. These pollutants have reduced water quality, contaminated soils, and damaged the Lake’s ecosystems.
Course # Student name / Names of members of group Date: Exp # : Estimating the effects of acid rain Introduction: Precipitation that measures a pH value below 5.6 is generally considered as acid rain. Burning fossil fuels is the main reason for the elevated levels of gaseous oxides in a polluted atmosphere that in-turn forms acid rain. Gaseous oxides such as that of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen and phosphorus could dissolve in water to form an acidic solution. A generalized reaction sequence on the formation of acid rain is as follows; One of the determinants of clean water in the natural environment is its alkalinity. Alkalinity can be defined as the capacity to neutralize acids.
Water Quality and Contamination Report 1 Schrita Scott Water Quality and Contamination SCI207: Dependence of Man on the Environment Instructor Carrie Myers February 25, 2014 Water Quality and Contamination Report 2 Water Quality and Contamination Introduction: When it comes to water quality and contamination, first and foremost ground water is present below the surface in porous rocks and is prone to contamination by natural and human activities. Large amounts of chemicals like soap, detergents, fertilizers, pesticides, and pharmaceutical are often times discharged into fresh water aquifers almost daily. These contaminants leak into the soil in which it then dissolves into ground water. Different contaminants have different rates of solubility and degradation once they reach the underground water table, either by simple flow or by the downward movement of rain water. The ground water may become contaminated with both organic and inorganic substances which may include heavy metals like Cadmium, Chromium and Nickel, etc.
Introduction Storm water runoff is unfiltered water which flows across impervious surfaces and goes into creeks, rivers, lakes, and the ocean (“Stormwater Runoff”, 2010). When contaminated materials are included in storm water’s pathway, the storm water carries pollutants. Also, storm water erodes materials on its pathway. Pollution caused by storm water is called “storm water runoff pollution”. In the U.S., the storm drain system (it is connected to the drain of gutters, driveways, and streets) is usually separated from the sanitary sewer drain system (connected to toilet and sink, for example) which deals with pollutants.
Many of the aquatic invertebrates are responsible for keeping the ecosystem clean by feeding on litters. Extinction of theses invertebrates would totally disrupt the balance of the ecosystem. The aim of this study is to bring awareness about the harmful impact global warming has on the local aquatic invertebrates and on the ecosystem at a global scale. The hypothesis for this study is that the biotic diversity of the slow moving water and fast moving water are driven by abiotic factors. To support this hypothesis, three predictions were made.
They form a mutualistic relationship with the plants, they provide the plant with nitrogen and the plants provide them with carbohydrates. The second stage is ammonification where nitrogen sources in dead organisms are turned into ammonium compounds by decomposers. The third stage of the nitrogen cycle is nitrification. Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium compounds to nitrites, and then other nitrifying bacteria convert these to nitrates. The last stage is denitrification where nitrates in the soil are converted into nitrogen gas by denitrifying bacteria that use the nitrates in the soil to carry out respiration and produce nitrogen gas.
Prof: M K L P SCI204: Environmental Science DeVry University Date: 04/03/2014 Exercise: 1 Discuss two sources of pollution that have affected Lake Erie. Lake Erie has exhibited a high level of plastic pollution and algae blooms related to chemical pollution. This is all a direct result of human activity along the water ways leading to the lake as well as along the shoreline of the lake itself. One article pointed to plastics from a variety of things including food wrappers, toys and disposable drink bottles making their way to the lake via sewer lines and other sources. Another item pointed to pesticides, fertilizers and road salt as additional contributors to the pollution problem.
To summarize what this article talked about it was a study done on the effects of soil degradation and the effects on the vegetation in areas around watering points and normal grazing lands. The study showed that in these ecosystems the overgrazing reduced the ecosystem diversity of plants in poor soils. It also talked about how overgrazing around certain areas can not only destroy the soil but it can also cause the destruction of certain types of species. Overgrazing differs in all areas of the world but it still has a common problem which is that when there is overgrazing no matter what type of environment you are in that environment will be
Water is essential for healthy living and is important in meeting with Agricultural, Industrial and Domestic needs in both urban and rural areas. It is a common denominator required by all classes of society. However, due to an overburden of population, unplanned urbanization and industrialization, the quality of water has gone through high levels of degradation caused by the release of contaminants, detrimental to human health, into waterways such as streams and Rivers (Kumarasamy, 2015). When pollutants enter into a water system, they cause distortions within the water body as it moves downstream. It is common to consider pollution to streams as being transported from industries and cities which release waste water into water courses such as lakes, rivers and streams through designated and established point sources.