Eutrophication

Eutrophication:

the natural nutrient

enrichment of a shallow lake, estuary or
slow moving stream, mostly from runoff
of plant nutrients from the surrounding
land.
Cultural eutrophication: human
activities accelerate the input of plant
nutrients (mostly nitrate- and phosphatecontaining effluents) to a lake.

85% of large lakes near major population

centers in the U.S. have some degree of

Eutrophication

Relation to Pollution
Gets

into our water supply from

runoff, etc.
Not normally in the water
Considered to be pollution

Cause/Effect
CAUSE:

Fertilizers, erosion,
sewage, etc. get into water and
the effect is high photosynthetic
productivity.

EFFECT: Water is cloudy because

of the algae and cyanobacteria
that are supported by the
nutrients.

Environmental Justice
The

fair treatment and

meaningful involvement of all
people regardless of race, color,
national origin, or in income with
respect to the development,
implementation, and enforcement
of environmental laws, regulations
and policies.

EPA (Environmental Protection

Agency)

POLLUTION OF FRESHWATER
STREAMS
Flowing

streams can recover from a

moderate level of degradable water
pollutants if they are not overloaded
and their flows are not reduced.
In a flowing stream, the breakdown of
degradable wastes by bacteria depletes
DO and creates an oxygen sag curve.
This reduces or eliminates populations
of organisms with high oxygen
requirements.

an
an Normal cle
le
C
s
Types of s water organism
s,
s
organism (Trout, perch, bflay)
ayfly, stone
m
Dissolved
oxygen
(ppm)
8 ppm

ne
Clean Zo

Fish
Trash fish absent,
(carp, gar, fungi,
leeches) sludge
worms,
bacteria
(anaerobic)

osition
Decomp
Zone

Septic
Zone

r
al clean wate
rm
o
N
Trash fish
organisms ass,
(carp, gar, (Trout, perch, b y)
fl
leeches)
mayfly, stone
8 ppm

ry
Recove
Zone

ne
Clean Zo

POLLUTION OF FRESHWATER
STREAMS
Most

developed countries have

sharply reduced point-source
pollution but toxic chemicals and
pollution from nonpoint sources
are still a problem.
Stream pollution from discharges
of untreated sewage and industrial
wastes is a major problem in
developing countries.

Global Outlook: Stream

Pollution in Developing
Countries
Water

in many
of central
China's rivers
are greenish
black from
uncontrolled
pollution by
thousands of
factories.

Case Study: Indias Ganges

River: Religion, Poverty, and
Health
Religious

beliefs, cultural traditions,

poverty, and a large population interact
to cause severe pollution of the Ganges
River in India.
Very little of the sewage is treated.
Hindu believe in cremating the dead to
free the soul and throwing the ashes in the
holy Ganges.

Some are too poor to afford the wood to fully

cremate.

Case Study: Indias Ganges

River: Religion, Poverty, and
Health
Daily,

more than
1 million Hindus
in India bathe,
drink from, or
carry out
religious
ceremonies in
the highly
polluted Ganges

POLLUTION OF
FRESHWATER LAKES
Dilution

of pollutants in lakes is less

effective than in most streams because
most lake water is not mixed well and
has little flow.
Lakes and reservoirs are often stratified
(layers!)and undergo little mixing.
Low flow makes them susceptible to runoff.

Various

human activities can overload

lakes with plant nutrients, which
decrease DO and kill some aquatic

POLLUTION OF GROUNDWATER
Can

take hundreds to thousands of

years for contaminated groundwater to
cleanse itself of degradable waste
Non-degradable wastes:
Lead, arsenic, fluoride
Present in water permanently

Slowly

degradable wastes:

DDT
Present for decades

POLLUTION OF GROUNDWATER
Leaks

from a number of sources have

contaminated groundwater in parts of
the world.
According the the EPA, one or more organic
chemicals contaminate about 45% of
municipal groundwater supplies.
By 2003, the EPA had completed the
cleanup of 297,000 of 436,000
underground tanks leaking gasoline, diesel
fuel, home heating oil, or toxic solvents.

Case Study: Arsenic in

Groundwater - a Natural
Threat
Toxic

Arsenic (As) can naturally occur at

high levels in soil and rocks.
Drilling into aquifers can release As into
drinking water supplies.
According to WHO, more than 112
million people are drinking water with
As levels 5-100 times the 10 ppb
standard.

Mostly in Bangladesh, China, and West

Marine Ecology
Importance of
the Ocean
Environment

Area
Saltwater

covers about 71%

of the earths surface
Life:
There are 250,000 known
species of marine plants and
animals, many are food for
other organisms, like us.

Temperature
Solar

heat is distributed by ocean

currents & as ocean water evaporates.
The oceans are major players in the
earths climate & are a gigantic reservoir
for carbon dioxide (storage)
Help regulate the temperature of the
troposphere (where all weather takes place!)

Estuary
Where fresh water and salt water
meet
Coastal body of water, partly surrounded by
land, with access to the open ocean and a
large supply of fresh water from a river

Characteristics

Salinity
Total

amounts of dissolved

salts
Salinity fluctuates with tidal
cycles, the time of year, &
precipitation.
The organisms that live here
must be able to tolerate these
conditions

Fertility of Estuaries
Estuaries

are the most fertile

ecosystems in the world
Greater productivity than
either the adjacent ocean or
the fresh water upriver

Reasons for High Fertility

Nutrients

are transported from the

land into rivers that flow into the
estuary
Tidal action circulates nutrients and
helps remove wastes
A high level of light due to shallow
water
Many plants provide an extensive
photosynthetic carpet

Difficulties-Sandy Beach
Shifting environment that threatens to
engulf them & no protection against wave
action.
Most animals bury into the sand. They
move with the tides, so theyre always
underwater & dont dry out.

Difficulties-Rocky Shore

High wave action at high tide; drying out &

temperature changes during low.
Animals have a way of sealing in moisture
like
a shell & cling to the rocks so they
dont get washed away with waves.