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Don’t forget about monitoring the hydrosphere!

Don’t forget about monitoring the hydrosphere!. Spectral Analysis: involves looking at the spectrum of electromagnetic energy reflected or absorbed from the Earth’s surface .

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Don’t forget about monitoring the hydrosphere!

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  1. Don’t forget about monitoring the hydrosphere! Spectral Analysis:involves looking at the spectrum of electromagnetic energy reflected or absorbed from the Earth’s surface. Remote Sensing: the scanning of the earth by satellite or high-flying aircraft in order to obtain information about it. Works best over LARGE areas. Ground Truthing: is when a person visits a site and gathers data to draw a map of the site. Works best over small areas.

  2. THE Quality of water and its importance to all life Created by: Amanda Bednar 

  3. Water is essential to life….

  4. Water quality determines the sustenance of ecosystems, human activity (such as fishing, swimming, etc.), and human existence. It supports the human, animal, plant, and ALL living organisms functions. With out it the world would be a dry desert land with NO life.

  5. It creates the weather that makes life possible. The oceans are a huge store of energy that regulates the temperature of the planet and keeps it at a level that allows us to live on the planet. It also allows for things like rain to fall giving us a source of fresh water. Without rain all of the water would eventually end up in the oceans and be too salty to support life.

  6. What are the different terms to describe water quality?

  7. Water quality can be described in terms it is used for… • An array of chemical, physical, and biological measurements is used to define water quality: • Potable water- water that is safe to drink (drinking water) • Safe water- can be used for cleaning and bathing (NOT drinking)

  8. How do we monitor what is potable water and what is safe water?

  9. U.S. Environmental protection agency • An independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment • Sets maximum levels for the 90 most commonly occurring water contaminants. • Outlines the goals for a body of water by identifying its uses, protecting those uses, and establishing provisions to protect and preserve the water bodies for long term.

  10. What is water pollution? http://www.twigcarolina.com/films/pollution-water-3390/

  11. Create two columns: Point source pollution & Non-point source pollution

  12. Water pollution is any contamination of water with chemicals or other foreign substances that are detrimental to human, plant, or animal health. • Worldwide, nearly 2 billion people drink contaminated water that could be harmful to their health. • Point sources pollution- a specific source of pollution that can be identified. • Example: An industrial company spewing sewage into a nearby stream through a single pipe. • Non-point sources pollution- a widely spread source of pollution that can’t be tied to a specific point of origin. • Example: Acid rain entering the water cycle from pollutants being released from smokestacks. It enters the cycle and is harmful to fish and other creatures in fresh water lakes and streams.

  13. Different types of pollutants • Pesticides: chemicals that are used to kill insects and other organisms. These chemicals are washed off of plants (chemical run off) when it rains and are soaked up in the ground soil or flushed in a nearby water source. The chemicals tend to build up in human and animals bodies causing long term health problems. (Arsenic and DDT) • Human waste: human activities cause most water pollution. 150 years ago, human waste was dumped into drinking water causing diseases like cholera to spread and kill. Dumping of human waste, such as septic tank leakage, and illegal dumping are still issues today. • Industrial waste- is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills and mines. It has existed since the outset of the industrial revolution. Sewage treatment can be used to clean water tainted with industrial waste. • Some examples of industrial waste are paints, sand paper, paper products, industrial by-products, metals, radioactive wastes,etc.

  14. Chemical waste- factory processes involve toxic chemicals and strong acids. Toxic waste is released as a result of manufacturing. Laws try and control point sources of many chemical pollutions, however some factories still illegally release these chemicals. • Stored chemical wastes in barrels cause nonpoint sources of pollution. These barrels tend to leak and can affect wildlife and water sources from afar.

  15. Smoke and exhaust : The burning of coal or other harmful materials from factories and car engines are another nonpoint source of water pollution. When coal, oil, and gasoline are burned they are released into the atmosphere as nitrogen and sulfur. This is pollution entering the water cycle as acid rain. • Acid rain: when rain or any other form of precipitation is highly acidic, causing damage to human and wildlife.

  16. Video link  • http://www.exploratorium.edu/tv/index.php?project=9&program=736

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