4.1 Introduction to Water Systems
- What drives the hydrological cycle?
- What percent of Earth's water storages is freshwater?
- List the storages in the hydrological cycle
- List the flows in the hydrological cycle
- What human activities have a significant impact on surface runoff and infiltration?
- What is the effect of urbanization on water flos and potential of flash floods?
- What drives ocean circulation systems?
- Describe the ocean conveyor belt. How does it affect climate?
- How can climate change affect access to an adequate freshwater supply?
- What factors cause an increase in the demand for freshwater?
- How can we enhance water supplies? Evaluate the strategies that can be used to meet an increasing demand for fresh water.
- Discuss, with reference to a case study, how shared freshwater resources have given rise to international conflict.
- What supports aquatic food webs?
- Where are the highest rates of productivity found?
- What has led to dwindling fish stocks and damage to habitats?
- How can we mitigate unsustainable exploitation of aquatic systems?
- Evaluate strategies that can be used to avoid unsustainable fishing
- Discuss, with reference to a case study, the controversial harvesting of a named species
- What is aquaculture?
- Explain the potential value of aquaculture for providing food for future generations
- What issues are associated with aquaculture?
- Discuss a case study that demonstrates the impact of aquaculture.
- Give examples of freshwater and marine pollution sources
- What parameters can be used to directly test the quality of aquatic systems?
- Describe the effect of biodegration of organic material in a body of water
- What is BOD? How can it be used to indirectly measure the amount of organic matter within a sample?
- Give examples of indicator species that can be indicative of polluted waters
- Describe how a biotic index can be used to indirectly measure pollution
- What is eutrophication (explain the process and impacts)? Where can it occur?
- What are dead zones?
- Evaluate pollution management strategies with respect to water pollution (see the figure and examples below)
- Reducing human activities that produce pollutants (for example, alternatives to current fertilizers and detergents)
- Reducing release of pollution into the environment (for example, treatment of waste water to remove nitrates and phosphates)
- Removing pollutants from the environment and restoring ecosystems (for example, removal of mud from eutrophic lakes and reintroduction of plant and fish species)