Monitoring Water Quality Indicators for Environmental Protection

1. Ozone: protects Earth’s surface from the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation Section 2.0 The quantity of chemicals in the environment can be monitored Monitoring: Keeping track of something for a special purpose. In this unit it pertains to protecting water and air quality.

2. 2.1 Monitoring Water Quality • Water quality is determined according to what the water is used • for. Both provincial and federal governments set guidelines for • water quality. • human drinking water • recreation such as swimming • livestock drinking water • irrigation • protection of aquatic life Scientists and technicians make sure that these guidelines are being met by monitoring water quality, using both biological and chemical indicators.

3. Biological Indicators Scientists use organisms that live in water to help determine water quality. These indicators include fish, plants, worms, insects, plankton (microscopic algae and tiny animals), protozoa, bacteria, and viruses. Microbiological Indicators Microscopic organisms such as bacteria can cause serious health problems if they are present in large enough numbers. One type is Escherichia coli or E. Coli.

4. Aquatic Invertebrates Invertebrates: animals without backbones. They are used for monitoring because different invertebrates prefer different living conditions. For example, the organisms living in a stagnant pond are different from those living in a pond with a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen. Water temperature and pH can also affect the types of organisms found in an area. A lot of variety in aquatic invertebrates usually means the water is healthy. Many leeches and bottom feeders indicates a problem. They survive on decaying material.

5. Midge larva Snail Stonefly nymph Water boatman Cranefly larva Flatworm Leech Mayfly nymph Clam Damselfly nymph Diving beetle Dragonfly nymph Bristleworm Caddisfly larva Amphipod Blackfly larva

6. Most Commonly Monitored Indicators of Water Quality • dissolved oxygen • acidity • heavy metals • plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous • pesticides • salts such as sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate

7. Measuring Chemicals in the Environment The concentration of chemicals in the environment is usually measured in parts per million (ppm) of milligrams per litre (mg/L). One part per million means that one unit of an element or chemical can be found in one million units of solution. Calculate the concentration in ppm: 2 mL of solute in a solution with a final volume of 1000mL 2ml = x . 1000ml 1 000 000 ml Simply cross multiply to get your answer: 2ml x 1 000 000 ml = 2000 ppm 1000 ml

8. Dissolved Oxygen • The level of dissolved oxygen in water depends on: • temperature • turbulence due to wind or the speed of moving water • the amount of photosynthesis by plants and algae in the water • the number of organisms using up the oxygen

9. Phosphorus and Nitrogen Content One factor that can affect dissolved oxygen is an increase in phosphorous and nitrogen in the water. • Large amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen can enter water systems • in different ways. Sewage outfalls and runoff from fertilized fields are • two possible sources. • Higher concentrations of these nutrients in water cause increased • growth of algae and green plants. As more algae and plants grow, • more die. This dead organic matter becomes food for bacteria that • decompose it. • With more food available, the bacteria increase in number and use • up the dissolved oxygen in the water. When the dissolved oxygen • content decreases, many fish and aquatic insects cannot survive.

10. Acidity As the acidity increases, the diversity of plants and animals that live in this water decreases. Most fish disappear if the water’s pH falls to 4.5. Acidic deposition is a major problem wherever the soil and water lack natural bases to neutralize acidic precipitation. As a result, forests and lakes have been damaged. Spring Acid Shock: Concentration of acid that can dramatically lower the pH of the water in a pond, slough, lake, or river for a short period of time; occurs in areas where acid precipitation is a problem and acidic deposits build up in ice and snow in the winter; in spring, when the ice and snow melt, the acid melt water flows into aquatic systems.

11. Pesticides

12. Pesticides • The problem arises when insects produce more than one • generation in a season. One of those generations may become • immune to a pesticide and the following season a stronger poison • must be created. • In other instances, the poison, even though it lasts a short time in • the environment, remains in the tissues of organisms, causing harm. • Another problems occurs when pesticides combine in water • creating a new toxin, poison. Toxicity describes how poisonous • a substance is.

13. Pesticides In the past many pesticides remained in the environment longer than they were needed. Today most pesticides last only a growing season and then are broken down.

14. Measuring Toxicity • Toxins or poisons are substances that produce serious health • problems or death when introduced into an organism. LD50: is the amount of a substance that causes 50% of a group of test animals to die if they are given a specified dose of the substance all at once. LD 50 testing allows scientists to compare toxicity because they are comparing the dosage that will produce the same outcome: Death.

15. Heavy Metals • Heavy metals: metals that have a density of 5 g/cm3 or higher (e.g., • copper, zinc, lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel); heavy metals are • one type if substance monitored to determine water quality. • Many of these metals occur naturally in rocks, soil and sometimes • in water. Other times they are taken from the environment from • fertilizers, lead in pipes, paint, etc.

16. Monitoring Air Quality Air: 78% nitrogen 21% oxygen <1% argon 0.03% carbon dioxide traces of hydrogen and neon • Air quality can be determined in 2 ways: • by measuring the levels of pollutants • in the air. • -by estimating the amount of emissions • from pollution sources

17. Sulfur Dioxide The major source of sulfur dioxide is industrial processes. In Alberta it is caused mainly by the oil and gas industry. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a major pollutant that forms both smog and acid rain. To reduce sulfur dioxide emissions, plants use “scrubbers”. Scrubbers use limestone (calcium carbonate) to convert the pollutant sulfur dioxide to a useful product, gypsum. 2 SO2(g) + 4 H2O(l) + 2 CaCO3(s) + O2(g) 2 CaSO4·2 H2O(s) + 2 CO2(g) sulfur + water + limestone + oxygen gypsum + carbon dioxide dioxide

18. Nitrogen Oxides Nitrogen oxides are a major pollutant that creates both smog and acid rain from mainly the combustion in vehicles. They are also formed by combustion in generating plants and some industrial processes, such as oil refining. Nitrogen forms by the burning of fuels, combines with oxygen to produce nitrogen monoxide. The nitrogen monoxide then combines with the oxygen in the air to produce nitrogen dioxide, the brown smog.

19. Carbon Monoxide The main source of carbon monoxide occurs from motor vehicles. Other sources are wood, natural gas, airplanes, industrial processes And even cigarette smoking. Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer. It forms when there is not enough oxygen in the air to complete combustion. If there is enough oxygen, nitrogen dioxide is formed.

20. Ground – Level Ozone Ozone is an odourless, colourless gas composed of three oxygen atoms. Ozone in the atmosphere protects Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Ozone near the ground is a harmful pollutant. The major source of ground-level ozone is fuel combustion in vehicle engines and industry. As a result, ozone pollution is a problem mainly in larger cities.

21. 2.3 Monitoring the Atmosphere Life on Earth thrives because we live in a natural greenhouse. Some gases in the atmosphere act like the glass in a greenhouse. They trap heat from the Sun’s energy. This heat keeps Earth at temperatures that allow living things to live, grow, and reproduce. The atmospheric gases that trap heat are called greenhouse gases. Water vapour Carbon dioxide Methane Nitrogen oxides are all greenhouse gases.

23. "Al Gore is coming out with a movie about global warming called 'An Inconvenient Truth.' It's described as a detailed scientific view of global warming. President Bush said he just saw a film about global warming, 'Ice Age 2; The Meltdown.' He said, 'It's so much better than that boring Al Gore movie.'" --Jay Leno "Al Gore is coming out with a movie about global warming called 'An Inconvenient Truth.' It's described as a detailed scientific view of global warming. President Bush said he just saw a film about global warming, 'Ice Age 2; The Meltdown.' He said, 'It's so much better than that boring Al Gore movie.'" --Jay Leno "President Bush said global warming is happening much quicker than he thought, and then his staff pulled him aside and said 'It's just springtime.'" --Jay Leno

24. Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: greenhouse effect made greater by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and clearing land, that add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Global Warming: increased average temperatures worldwide caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect. To slow down global warming countries have started to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through various means. They have also started to plant trees to offset the company’s carbon dioxide production.

25. The ozone layer provides Earth with protection from the Sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. Exposure to greater UV rays could cause cancer, cataracts and plankton deaths. Chlorofluorocarbons have caused the thinning of our ozone layer. They are used in refrigerators, aerosol cans and fire extinguishers.