Water Crisis is a term that refers to the status of the world’s water resources relative to human demand. The term has been applied to the worldwide water situation by the United Nations and other world organizations. The major aspects of the water crisis are overall scarcity of usable water and water pollution.
The Earth has a finite supply of fresh water, stored in aquifers, surface waters and the atmosphere. Sometimes oceans are mistaken for available water, but the amount of energy needed to convert saline water to potable water is prohibitive today, explaining why only a very small fraction of the world's water supply derives from desalination.
There are several principal manifestations of the water crisis.
* Inadequate access to safe drinking water for about 1.1 billion people
* Groundwater overdrafting leading to diminished agricultural yields
* Overuse and pollution of water resources harming biodiversity
* Regional conflicts over scarce water resources sometimes resulting in warfare
Waterborne diseases and the absence of sanitary domestic water are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. For children under age five, waterborne diseases are the leading cause of death. At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from waterborne diseases. According to the World Bank, 88 percent of all diseases are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.
Historically the manifestations of the water crisis have been less pronounced, but 20th century levels of human overpopulation have revealed the limited quantity of fresh water. Drought dramatizes the underlying tenuous balance of safe water supply, but it is the imprudent actions of humans that have rendered the human population vulnerable to the devastation of major droughts.
A 2006 United Nations report focuses on issues of governance as the core of the water crisis, saying "There is enough water for everyone" and "Water insufficiency is often due to mismanagement, corruption, lack of appropriate institutions, bureaucratic inertia and a shortage of investment in both human capacity and physical infrastructure".
Health impacts of the water crisis
Not only are there 1.1 billion without adequate drinking water, but the United Nations acknowledges 2.6 billion people are without adequate water for sanitation (e.g. wastewater disposal). The issues are coupled, since, without water for sewage disposal, cross-contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage is the chief adverse outcome of inadequate safe water supply. Consequently, disease and significant deaths arise from people using contaminated water supplies; these effects are particularly pronounced for children in underdeveloped countries, where 3900 children per day die of diarrhea alone.
While these deaths are generally considered preventable, the situation is considerably more complex, since the Earth is beyond its carrying capacity with respect to available fresh water. Often technology is advanced as a panacea, but the costs of technology presently exclude a number of countries from availing themselves of these solutions. If lesser developed countries acquire more wealth, partial mitigation will occur, but sustainable solutions must involve each region in balancing population to water resource and in managing water resources more optimally. In any case the finite nature of the water resource must be acknowledged if the world is to achieve a better balance.
Damage to biodiversity
Vegetation and wildlife are fundamentally dependent upon adequate freshwater resources. Marshes, bogs and riparian zones are more obviously dependent upon sustainable water supply, but forests and other upland ecosystems are equally at risk of significant productivity changes as water availability is diminished. In the case of wetlands, considerable area has been simply taken from wildlife use to feed and house the expanding human population. But other areas have suffered reduced productivity from gradual diminishing of freshwater inflow, as upstream sources are diverted for human use. In seven states of the U.S. over 80 percent of all historic wetlands were filled by the 1980s, when Congress acted to create a “no net loss” of wetlands.
In Europe extensive loss of wetlands has also occurred with resulting loss of biodiversity. For example many bogs in Scotland have been drained or developed through human population expansion. One example is the Portlethen Moss in Aberdeenshire, that has been over half lost, and a number of species which inhabited this moss are no longer present such as the Great Crested Newt.
On Madagascar’s central highland plateau, a massive transformation occurred that eliminated virtually all the heavily forested vegetation in the period 1970 to 2000. The slash and burn agriculture eliminated about ten percent of the total country’s native biomass and converted it to a barren wasteland. These effects were from overpopulation and the necessity to feed poor indigenous peoples, but the adverse effects included widspread gully erosion that in turn produced heavily silted rivers that “run red” decades after the deforestation. This eliminated a large amount of usable fresh water and also destroyed much of the riverine ecosystems of several large west-flowing rivers. Several fish species have been driven to the edge of extinction and some coral reef formations in the Indian Ocean are effectively lost.
In October 2008, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and former chief executive of Nestle, warned that the production of biofuels will further deplete the world's water supply.
Water politics
There are approximately 260 different river systems worldwide, where conflicts exist crossing national boundaries. While Helsinki Rules help to interpret intrinsic water rights among countries, there are some conflicts so bitter or so related to basic survival that strife and even warfare are inevitable. In many cases water use disputes are merely an added dimension to underlying border tensions founded on other bases.
The Tigris-Euphrates River System is one example where differing national interests and withdrawal rights have been in conflict. The countries of Iran, Iraq and Syria each present valid claims of certain water use, but the total demands on the riverine system surpass the physical constraints of water availability. As early as 1974 Iraq massed troops on the Syrian border and threatened to destroy Syria’s al-Thawra dam on the Euphrates.
In 1992 Hungary and Czechoslovakia took a dispute over Danube River water diversions and dam construction to the International Court of Justice. This case represents a minority of disputes where logic and jurisprudence may be the path of dispute resolution. Other conflicts involving North and South Korea, Israel and Palestine, Egypt and Ethiopia, may prove more difficult tests of negotiation. International leaders, notably former Czech President Vaclav Havel, have suggested that the supply of clean water for drinking and sanitation is essential for peace in the Middle East.
Overview of regions suffering crisis impacts
There are many other countries of the world that are severely impacted with regard to human health and inadequate drinking water. The following is a partial list of some of the countries with significant populations (numerical population of affected population listed) whose only consumption is of contaminated water:
* Sudan 12.3 million
* Venezuela 5.0 million
* Zimbabwe 2.7 million
* Tunisia 2.1 million
* Cuba 1.2 million
Several world maps showing various aspects of the problem can be found in this graph from a New Scientist article.
According to the California Department of Water Resources, if more supplies aren’t found by 2020, the region will face a shortfall nearly as great as the amount consumed today. Los Angeles is a coastal desert able to support at most 1 million people on its own water; the Los Angeles basin now is the core of a megacity that spans 220 miles (350 km) from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. The region’s population is expected to reach 22 million by 2020. The population of California continues to grow by more than a half million a year and is expected to reach 48 million in 2030. But water shortage is likely to surface well before then.
Water deficits, which are already spurring heavy grain imports in numerous smaller countries, may soon do the same in larger countries, such as China and India.[18] The water tables are falling in scores of countries (including Northern China, the US, and India) due to widespread overpumping using powerful diesel and electric pumps. Other countries affected include Pakistan, Iran, and Mexico. This will eventually lead to water scarcity and cutbacks in grain harvest. Even with the overpumping of its aquifers, China is developing a grain deficit. When this happens, it will almost certainly drive grain prices upward. Most of the 3 billion people projected to be added worldwide by mid-century will be born in countries already experiencing water shortages. Unless population growth can be slowed quickly by investing heavily in female literacy and family planning services, there may not be a non-violent & humane solution to the emerging world water shortage.
After China and India, there is a second tier of smaller countries with large water deficits — Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Mexico, and Pakistan. Four of these already import a large share of their grain. Only Pakistan remains self-sufficient. But with a population expanding by 4 million a year, it will also likely soon turn to the world market for grain.
According to a UN climate report, the Himalayan glaciers that are the sources of Asia's biggest rivers - Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Yellow - could disappear by 2035 as temperatures rise. Approximately 2.4 billion people live in the drainage basin of the Himalayan rivers. India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar could experience floods followed by droughts in coming decades. In India alone, the Ganges provides water for drinking and farming for more than 500 million people. The west coast of North America, which gets much of its water from glaciers in mountain ranges such as the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada, also would be affected.
By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly known as the outback. In June 2008 it became known that an expert panel had warned of long term, maybe irreversible, severe ecological damage for the whole Murray-Darling basin if it does not receive sufficient water by October.[30] Water restrictions are currently in place in many regions and cities of Australia in response to chronic shortages resulting from drought. The Australian of the year 2007, environmentalist Tim Flannery, predicted that unless it made drastic changes, Perth in Western Australia could become the world’s first ghost metropolis, an abandoned city with no more water to sustain its population.
Outlook
Wind and solar power such as this installation in a village in northwest Madagascar can make a difference in safe water supply.
Year 2025 forecasts state that two thirds of the world population will be without safe drinking water and basic sanitation services. Construction of wastewater treatment plants and reduction of groundwater overdrafting appear to be obvious solutions to the worldwide problem; however, a deeper look reveals more fundamental issues in play. Wastewater treatment is highly capital intensive, restricting access to this technology in some regions; furthermore the rapid increase in population of many countries makes this a race that is difficult to win. As if those factors are not daunting enough, one must consider the enormous costs and skill sets involved to maintain wastewater treatment plants even if they are successfully developed.
Reduction in groundwater overdrafting is usually politically very unpopular and has major economic impacts to farmers; moreover, this strategy will necessarily reduce crop output, which is something the world can ill afford, given the population level at present.
At more realistic levels, developing countries can strive to achieve primary wastewater treatment or secure septic systems, and carefully analyse wastewater outfall design to miminise impacts to drinking water and to ecosystems. Developed countries can not only share technology better, including cost-effective wastewater and water treatment systems but also in hydrological transport modeling. At the individual level, people in developed countries can look inward and reduce overconsumption, which further strains worldwide water consumption. Both developed and developing countries can increase protection of ecosytems, especially wetlands and riparian zones. These measures will not only conserve biota, but also render more effective the natural water cycle flushing and transport that make water systems more healthy for humans.
There are also a range of local, low tech solutions that are currently being pursued by the likes of Sodesa, Aqua-Aero WaterSystems, and AquaDania, which are centred around the use of solar power to distill water at just under boiling temperature. The idea is that any water source can be purified, and that local business models can be built around these new technologies, thus helping to accelerate uptake.
Desalination
As new technological innovations continue to reduce the capital cost of desalination, more countries are building desalination plants as a small element in addressing their water crises.
* Israel desalinizes water for a cost of 53 cents per cubic meter
* Singapore desalinizes water for 49 cents per cubic meter and also treats sewage with reverse osmosis for industrial and potable use (NEWater).
* China and India, the world's two most populous countries, are turning to desalination to provide a small part of their water needs
* In 2007 Pakistan announced plans to use desalination
* Australia uses desalination
* In 2007 Bermuda signed a contract to purchase a desalination plant
* The largest desalination plant in the United States is the one at Tampa Bay, Florida, which began desalinizing 25 million gallons (95000 m³) of water per day in December 2007. In the United States, the cost of desalination is $3.06 for 1,000 gallons, or $0.008 per cubic meter. In the United States, California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida use desalination for a very small part of their water supply.
* After being desalinized at Jubail, Saudi Arabia, water is pumped 200 miles (320 km) inland though a pipeline to the capital city of Riyadh.
A January 17, 2008, article in the Wall Street Journal states, "World-wide, 13,080 desalination plants produce more than 12 billion gallons of water a day, according to the International Desalination Association."
The world's largest desalination plant is the Jebel Ali Desalination Plant (Phase 2) in the United Arab Emirates. It is a dual-purpose facility that uses multi-stage flash distillation and is capable of producing 300 million cubic meters of water per year.
Nuclear power is one way to provide the energy for desalination.
A typical aircraft carrier in the U.S. military uses nuclear power to desalinize 400,000 gallons of water per day.
However, given the energy intensive nature of desalination, with associated economic and environmental costs, desalination is generally considered a last resort after water conservation. But this is changing as prices continue to fall.
Global experiences in managing water crisis
It is alleged that the likelihood of conflict rises if the rate of change within the basin exceeds the capacity of institution to absorb that change. Although water crisis is closely related to regional tensions, history showed that the 37 records of acute conflict over water are far less than the record of cooperation. In the last 50 years 157 treaties were signed, 1,288 crises turned out to be a co-operative opportunities.
The key lies in strong institutions and cooperation. The Indus River Commission and the Indus Water Treaty survived two wars between India and Pakistan despite their hostility, and was proved to be a successful mechanism in resolving conflicts by providing a framework for consultation, inspection and exchange of data.The Mekong Committee has also functioned since 1957 and it survived the Vietnam War. In contrast, regional instability resulted when there is an absence of institutions to co-operate regional collaboration, like Egypt’s plan for a high dam on the Nile. However, there is currently no global institution in place for the management and management of transboundary water sources, and international co-operation had happened through ad hoc collaborations between agencies, like Mekong Committee was formed due to alliance between UNECAFE and US Bureau of Reclamation. Formation of strong international institutions seems to be a way forward: They fuel early intervention and management, preventing the costly dispute resolution process.
One common feature of almost all disputes resolved is that the negotiations had a “need-based” instead of a “right –based” paradigm. Irrigable lands, population, technicalities of projects define "needs". The success of a need-based paradigm is reflected in the only water agreement ever negotiated in the Jordan River Basin, it focuses in needs not on rights of riparians. In the Indian subcontinent, irrigation requirements of Bangladesh determine water allocations of The Ganges River. A need based, regional approach focuses on satisfying individuals with their need of water, ensures that minimum quantitative needs are being met. It removes the conflict that arises when countries view the treaty from a national interest point of view, move away from the zero-sum approach to a positive sum, integrative approach that equitably allocated the water and its benefits.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Eutrophication
Lakes and rivers
Though this image has a noticeable cyan tint, the eutrophication of the Potomac River is evident from its bright green water, caused by a dense bloom of cyanobacteria.
Eutrophication is frequently a result of nutrient pollution such as the release of sewage effluent and run-off from lawn fertilizers into natural waters although it may also occur naturally in situations where nutrients accumulate (e.g. depositional environments) or where they flow into systems on an ephemeral basis. Eutrophication generally promotes excessive plant growth and decay, favors certain weedy species over others, and is likely to cause severe reductions in water quality. In aquatic environments, enhanced growth of choking aquatic vegetation or phytoplankton (that is, an algal bloom) disrupts normal functioning of the ecosystem, causing a variety of problems such as a lack of oxygen in the water, needed for fish and shellfish to survive. The water then becomes cloudy, colored a shade of green, yellow, brown, or red. Human society is impacted as well: eutrophication decreases the resource value of rivers, lakes, and estuaries such that recreation, fishing, hunting, and aesthetic enjoyment are hindered. Health-related problems can occur where eutrophic conditions interfere with drinking water treatment.
Eutrophication was recognized as a pollution problem in European and North American lakes and reservoirs in the mid-20th century.Since then, it has become more widespread. Surveys showed that 54% of lakes in Asia are eutrophic; in Europe, 53%; in North America, 48%; in South America, 41%; and in Africa, 28%.
Although eutrophication is commonly caused by human activities, eutrophication can also be a natural process in lakes; thus, eutrophy is a natural condition for many lakes (e.g., in temperate grasslands). Paleolimnologists now recognise that climate change, geology and other external influences are critical in regulating the natural productivity of lakes. Some lakes also demonstrate the reverse process (meiotrophication), becoming less nutrient rich with time.
Eutrophication can also be a natural process in seasonally inundated tropical floodplains such as the Barotse Floodplain of the Zambezi River. The first floodwaters to move down the floodplain after the onset of the rainy season, called "red waters", are usually hypoxic and kill many fish as a result of eutrophication brought on by material picked up by the flood from the plain such as cattle manure, and by the decay of vegetation which grew during the dry season. The process may be made worse by the use of fertilisers in crops such as maize, rice and sugarcane grown on the floodplain.
Human activities can accelerate the rate at which nutrients enter ecosystems. Runoff from agriculture and development, pollution from septic systems and sewers, and other human-related activities increase the flux of both inorganic nutrients and organic substances into terrestrial, and aquatic ecosystems. Elevated atmospheric compounds of nitrogen can increase nitrogen availability.
Phosphorus is often regarded as the main culprit in cases of eutrophication in lakes subjected to point source pollution from sewage. The concentration of algae and the trophic state of lakes correspond well to phosphorus levels in water. Studies conducted in the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario have shown a relationship between the addition of phosphorus and the rate of eutrophication. Humankind has increased the rate of phosphorus cycling on Earth by four times, mainly due to agricultural fertilizer production and application. Between 1950 and 1995, 600,000,000 tonnes of phosphorus were applied to Earth's surface, primarily on croplands. Control of point sources of phosphorus have resulted in rapid control of eutrophication, mainly due to policy changes.
Ocean waters
Eutrophication is also a common phenomenon in marine, coastal waters. In contrast to freshwater systems, nitrogen is more commonly the key limiting nutrient of marine waters; thus, nitrogen levels have greater importance to understanding eutrophication problems in salt water. Estuaries tend to be naturally eutrophic because land-derived nutrients are concentrated where run-off enters the marine environment in a confined channel. Upwelling in coastal systems, also promotes increased productivity by conveying deep, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, where the nutrients can be assimilated by algae.
The World Resources Institute has identified 375 hypoxic coastal zones the world, concentrated in coastal areas in Western Europe, the Eastern and Southern coasts of the US, and East Asia, particularly in Japan.
In addition to runoff from land, atmospheric anthropogenic fixed nitrogen can enter the open ocean. A study in 2008 found that this could account for around one third of the ocean’s external (non-recycled) nitrogen supply and up to three per cent of the annual new marine biological production. It has been been suggested that accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment may prove as serious as putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Terrestrial ecosystems
Although traditionally thought of as enrichment of aquatic systems by addition of fertilizers into lakes, bays, or other semi-enclosed waters (even slow-moving rivers), terrestrial ecosystems are subject to similarly adverse impacts. Increased content of nitrates in soil frequently leads to undesirable changes in vegetation composition and many plant species are endangered as a result of eutrophication in terrestric ecosystems, e.g. majority of orchid species in Europe. Ecosystems (like some meadows, forests and bogs that are characterized by low nutrient content and species-rich, slowly growing vegetation adapted to lower nutrient levels) are overgrown by faster growing and more competitive species-poor vegetation, like tall grasses, that can take advantage of unnaturally elevated nitrogen level and the area may be changed beyond recognition and vulnerable species may be lost. Eg. species-rich fens are overtaken by reed or reedgrass species, spectacular forest undergrowth affected by run-off from nearby fertilized field is turned into a thick nettle and bramble shrub.
Chemical forms of nitrogen are most often of concern with regard to eutrophication because plants have high nitrogen requirements so that additions of nitrogen compounds stimulate plant growth (primary production). This is also the case with increased levels of phosphorus. Nitrogen is not readily available in soil because N2, a gaseous form of nitrogen, is very stable and unavailable directly to higher plants. Terrestrial ecosystems rely on microbial nitrogen fixation to convert N2 into other physical forms (such as nitrates). However, there is a limit to how much nitrogen can be utilized. Ecosystems receiving more nitrogen than the plants require are called nitrogen-saturated. Saturated terrestrial ecosystems contribute both inorganic and organic nitrogen to freshwater, coastal, and marine eutrophication, where nitrogen is also typically a limiting nutrient.However, because phosphorus is generally much less soluble than nitrogen, it is leached from the soil at a much slower rate than nitrogen. Consequently, phosphorus is much more important as a limiting nutrient in aquatic systems.
Ecological effects
Eutrophication is apparent as increased turbidity in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, imaged from orbit.
Many ecological effects can arise from stimulating primary production, but there are three particularly troubling ecological impacts: decreased biodiversity, changes in species composition and dominance, and toxicity effects.
* Increased biomass of phytoplankton
* Toxic or inedible phytoplankton species
* Increases in blooms of gelatinous zooplankton
* Decreased biomass of benthic and epiphytic algae
* Changes in macrophyte species composition and biomass
* Decreases in water transparency (increased turbidity)
* Color, smell, and water treatment problems
* Dissolved oxygen depletion
* Increased incidences of fish kills
* Loss of desirable fish species
* Reductions in harvestable fish and shellfish
* Decreases in perceived aesthetic value of the water body
Decreased biodiversity
When an ecosystem experiences an increase in nutrients, primary producers reap the benefits first. In aquatic ecosystems, species such as algae experience a population increase (called an algal bloom). Algal blooms limit the sunlight available to bottom-dwelling organisms and cause wide swings in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. Oxygen is required by all respiring plants and animals and it is replenished in daylight by photosynthesizing plants and algae. Under eutrophic conditions, dissolved oxygen greatly increases during the day, but is greatly reduced after dark by the respiring algae and by microorganisms that feed on the increasing mass of dead algae. When dissolved oxygen levels decline to hypoxic levels, fish and other marine animals suffocate. As a result, creatures such as fish, shrimp, and especially immobile bottom dwellers die off.In extreme cases, anaerobic conditions ensue, promoting growth of bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum that produces toxins deadly to birds and mammals. Zones where this occurs are known as dead zones.
New species invasion
Eutrophication may cause competitive release by making abundant a normally limiting nutrient. This process causes shifts in the species composition of ecosystems. For instance, an increase in nitrogen might allow new, competitive species to invade and out-compete original inhabitant species. This has been shown to occur in New England salt marshes.
Toxicity
Some algal blooms, otherwise called "nuisance algae" or "harmful algal blooms," are toxic to plants and animals. Toxic compounds they produce can make their way up the food chain, resulting in animal mortality. Freshwater algal blooms can pose a threat to livestock. When the algae die or are eaten, neuro- and hepatotoxins are released which can kill animals and may pose a threat to humans. An example of algal toxins working their way into humans is the case of shellfish poisoning. Biotoxins created during algal blooms are taken up by shellfish (mussels, oysters), leading to these human foods acquiring the toxicity and poisoning humans. Examples include paralytic, neurotoxic, and diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning. Other marine animals can be vectors for such toxins, as in the case of ciguatera, where it is typically a predator fish that accumulates the toxin and then poisons humans. Nitrogen can also cause toxic effects directly. When this nutrient is leached into groundwater, drinking water can be affected because concentrations of nitrogen are not filtered out. ‘Blue baby syndrome, or methaemoglobinaemia is caused when nitrate (NO3) contaminated water is given to human babies. The anaerobic environment in their stomach causes the nitrates to be converted into nitrites (NO2). Nitrite binds to hemoglobin to form methemoglobin, a form that does not carry oxygen. The baby essentially suffocates as its body receives insufficient oxygen. The problem does not happen in breast fed babies.
Sources of high nutrient runoff
Characteristics of point and nonpoint sources of chemical inputs ( modified from Novonty and Olem 1994) Point Sources
* Wastewater effluent (municipal and industrial)
* Runoff and leachate from waste disposal systems
* Runoff and infiltration from animal feedlots
* Runoff from mines, oil fields, unsewered industrial sites
* Overflows of combined storm and sanitary sewers
* Runoff from construction sites <20,000 m²
* Untreated sewage
Nonpoint Sources
* Runoff from agriculture/irrigation
* Runoff from pasture and range
* Urban runoff from unsewered areas
* Septic tank leachate
* Runoff from construction sites >20,000 m²
* Runoff from abandoned mines
* Atmospheric deposition over a water surface
* Other land activities generating contaminants
In order to gauge how to best prevent eutrophication from occurring, specific sources that contribute to nutrient loading must be identified. There are two common sources of nutrients and organic matter: point and nonpoint sources.
Point sources
Point sources are directly attributable to one influence. In point sources the nutrient waste travels directly from source to water.
Nonpoint sources
Nonpoint source pollution (also known as 'diffuse' or 'runoff' pollution) is that which comes from ill-defined and diffuse sources. Nonpoint sources are difficult to regulate and usually vary spatially and temporally (with season, precipitation, and other irregular events).
It has been shown that nitrogen transport is correlated with various indices of human activity in watersheds, including the amount of development.Agriculture and development are activities that contribute most to nutrient loading. There are three reasons that nonpoint sources are especially troublesome:
Soil retention
Nutrients from human activities tend to accumulate in soils and remain there for years. It has been shown that the amount of phosphorus lost to surface waters increases linearly with the amount of phosphorus in the soil. Thus much of the nutrient loading in soil eventually makes its way to water. Nitrogen, similarly, has a turnover time of decades or more.
Runoff to surface water and leaching to groundwater
Nutrients from human activities tend to travel from land to either surface or ground water. Nitrogen in particular is removed through storm drains, sewage pipes, and other forms of surface runoff. Nutrient losses in runoff and leachate are often associated with agriculture. Modern agriculture often involves the application of nutrients onto fields in order to maximise production. However, farmers frequently apply more nutrients than are taken up by crops[25] or pastures. Regulations aimed at minimising nutrient exports from agriculture are typically far less stringent than those placed on sewage treatment plants and other point source polluters.
Atmospheric deposition
Nitrogen is released into the air because of ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide production. The combustion of fossil fuels is a large human-initiated contributor to atmospheric nitrogen pollution. Atmospheric deposition (e.g., in the form of acid rain) can also affect nutrient concentration in water, especially in highly industrialized regions.
Other causes
Any factor that causes increased nutrient concentrations can potentially lead to eutrophication. In modeling eutrophication, the rate of water renewal plays a critical role; stagnant water is allowed to collect more nutrients than bodies with replenished water supplies. It has also been shown that the drying of wetlands causes an increase in nutrient concentration and subsequent eutrophication blooms.
Prevention and reversal
Eutrophication poses a problem not only to ecosystems, but to humans as well. Reducing eutrophication should be a key concern when considering future policy, and a sustainable solution for everyone, including farmers and ranchers, seems feasible. While eutrophication does pose problems, humans should be aware that natural runoff (which causes algal blooms in the wild) is common in ecosystems and should thus not reverse nutrient concentrations beyond normal levels.
Effectiveness
Cleanup measures have been mostly, but not completely, successful. Finnish phosphorus removal measures started in the mid-1970s and have targeted rivers and lakes polluted by industrial and municipal discharges. These efforts have had a 90% removal efficiency. Still, some targeted point sources did not show a decrease in runoff despite reduction efforts.
Minimizing nonpoint pollution: future work
Nonpoint pollution is the most difficult source of nutrients to manage. The literature suggests, though, that when these sources are controlled, eutrophication decreases. The following steps are recommended to minimize the amount of pollution that can enter aquatic ecosystems from ambiguous sources.
Riparian buffer zones
Studies show that intercepting non-point pollution between the source and the water is a successful means of prevention.Riparian buffer zones are interfaces between a flowing body of water and land, and have been created near waterways in an attempt to filter pollutants; sediment and nutrients are deposited here instead of in water. Creating buffer zones near farms and roads is another possible way to prevent nutrients from traveling too far. Still, studies have shown that the effects of atmospheric nitrogen pollution can reach far past the buffer zone. This suggests that the most effective means of prevention is from the primary source.
Prevention policy
Laws regulating the discharge and treatment of sewage have led to dramatic nutrient reductions to surrounding ecosystems, but it is generally agreed that a policy regulating agricultural use of fertilizer and animal waste must be imposed. In Japan the amount of nitrogen produced by livestock is adequate to serve the fertilizer needs for the agriculture industry. Thus, it is not unreasonable to command livestock owners to clean up animal waste — which when left stagnant will leach into ground water.
Nitrogen testing and modeling
Soil Nitrogen Testing (N-Testing) is a technique that helps farmers optimize the amount of fertilizer applied to crops. By testing fields with this method, farmers saw a decrease in fertilizer application costs, a decrease in nitrogen lost to surrounding sources, or both. By testing the soil and modeling the bare minimum amount of fertilizer needed, farmers reap economic benefits while the environment remains clean.
Organic Farming
Researchers at the National Academy of Sciences found that organically fertilizing fields "significantly reduce harmful nitrate leaching" over conventionally fertilized fields.
Natural state of algal blooms
Although the intensity, frequency and extent of algal blooms has tended to increase in response to human activity and human-induced eutrophication, algal blooms are a naturally-occurring phenomenon. The rise and fall of algae populations, as with the population of other living things, is a feature of a healthy ecosystem. Rectification actions aimed at abating eutrophication and algal blooms are usually desirable, but the focus of intervention should not necessarily be aimed at eliminating blooms, but towards creating a sustainable balance that maintains or improves ecosystem health.
Though this image has a noticeable cyan tint, the eutrophication of the Potomac River is evident from its bright green water, caused by a dense bloom of cyanobacteria.
Eutrophication is frequently a result of nutrient pollution such as the release of sewage effluent and run-off from lawn fertilizers into natural waters although it may also occur naturally in situations where nutrients accumulate (e.g. depositional environments) or where they flow into systems on an ephemeral basis. Eutrophication generally promotes excessive plant growth and decay, favors certain weedy species over others, and is likely to cause severe reductions in water quality. In aquatic environments, enhanced growth of choking aquatic vegetation or phytoplankton (that is, an algal bloom) disrupts normal functioning of the ecosystem, causing a variety of problems such as a lack of oxygen in the water, needed for fish and shellfish to survive. The water then becomes cloudy, colored a shade of green, yellow, brown, or red. Human society is impacted as well: eutrophication decreases the resource value of rivers, lakes, and estuaries such that recreation, fishing, hunting, and aesthetic enjoyment are hindered. Health-related problems can occur where eutrophic conditions interfere with drinking water treatment.
Eutrophication was recognized as a pollution problem in European and North American lakes and reservoirs in the mid-20th century.Since then, it has become more widespread. Surveys showed that 54% of lakes in Asia are eutrophic; in Europe, 53%; in North America, 48%; in South America, 41%; and in Africa, 28%.
Although eutrophication is commonly caused by human activities, eutrophication can also be a natural process in lakes; thus, eutrophy is a natural condition for many lakes (e.g., in temperate grasslands). Paleolimnologists now recognise that climate change, geology and other external influences are critical in regulating the natural productivity of lakes. Some lakes also demonstrate the reverse process (meiotrophication), becoming less nutrient rich with time.
Eutrophication can also be a natural process in seasonally inundated tropical floodplains such as the Barotse Floodplain of the Zambezi River. The first floodwaters to move down the floodplain after the onset of the rainy season, called "red waters", are usually hypoxic and kill many fish as a result of eutrophication brought on by material picked up by the flood from the plain such as cattle manure, and by the decay of vegetation which grew during the dry season. The process may be made worse by the use of fertilisers in crops such as maize, rice and sugarcane grown on the floodplain.
Human activities can accelerate the rate at which nutrients enter ecosystems. Runoff from agriculture and development, pollution from septic systems and sewers, and other human-related activities increase the flux of both inorganic nutrients and organic substances into terrestrial, and aquatic ecosystems. Elevated atmospheric compounds of nitrogen can increase nitrogen availability.
Phosphorus is often regarded as the main culprit in cases of eutrophication in lakes subjected to point source pollution from sewage. The concentration of algae and the trophic state of lakes correspond well to phosphorus levels in water. Studies conducted in the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario have shown a relationship between the addition of phosphorus and the rate of eutrophication. Humankind has increased the rate of phosphorus cycling on Earth by four times, mainly due to agricultural fertilizer production and application. Between 1950 and 1995, 600,000,000 tonnes of phosphorus were applied to Earth's surface, primarily on croplands. Control of point sources of phosphorus have resulted in rapid control of eutrophication, mainly due to policy changes.
Ocean waters
Eutrophication is also a common phenomenon in marine, coastal waters. In contrast to freshwater systems, nitrogen is more commonly the key limiting nutrient of marine waters; thus, nitrogen levels have greater importance to understanding eutrophication problems in salt water. Estuaries tend to be naturally eutrophic because land-derived nutrients are concentrated where run-off enters the marine environment in a confined channel. Upwelling in coastal systems, also promotes increased productivity by conveying deep, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, where the nutrients can be assimilated by algae.
The World Resources Institute has identified 375 hypoxic coastal zones the world, concentrated in coastal areas in Western Europe, the Eastern and Southern coasts of the US, and East Asia, particularly in Japan.
In addition to runoff from land, atmospheric anthropogenic fixed nitrogen can enter the open ocean. A study in 2008 found that this could account for around one third of the ocean’s external (non-recycled) nitrogen supply and up to three per cent of the annual new marine biological production. It has been been suggested that accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment may prove as serious as putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Terrestrial ecosystems
Although traditionally thought of as enrichment of aquatic systems by addition of fertilizers into lakes, bays, or other semi-enclosed waters (even slow-moving rivers), terrestrial ecosystems are subject to similarly adverse impacts. Increased content of nitrates in soil frequently leads to undesirable changes in vegetation composition and many plant species are endangered as a result of eutrophication in terrestric ecosystems, e.g. majority of orchid species in Europe. Ecosystems (like some meadows, forests and bogs that are characterized by low nutrient content and species-rich, slowly growing vegetation adapted to lower nutrient levels) are overgrown by faster growing and more competitive species-poor vegetation, like tall grasses, that can take advantage of unnaturally elevated nitrogen level and the area may be changed beyond recognition and vulnerable species may be lost. Eg. species-rich fens are overtaken by reed or reedgrass species, spectacular forest undergrowth affected by run-off from nearby fertilized field is turned into a thick nettle and bramble shrub.
Chemical forms of nitrogen are most often of concern with regard to eutrophication because plants have high nitrogen requirements so that additions of nitrogen compounds stimulate plant growth (primary production). This is also the case with increased levels of phosphorus. Nitrogen is not readily available in soil because N2, a gaseous form of nitrogen, is very stable and unavailable directly to higher plants. Terrestrial ecosystems rely on microbial nitrogen fixation to convert N2 into other physical forms (such as nitrates). However, there is a limit to how much nitrogen can be utilized. Ecosystems receiving more nitrogen than the plants require are called nitrogen-saturated. Saturated terrestrial ecosystems contribute both inorganic and organic nitrogen to freshwater, coastal, and marine eutrophication, where nitrogen is also typically a limiting nutrient.However, because phosphorus is generally much less soluble than nitrogen, it is leached from the soil at a much slower rate than nitrogen. Consequently, phosphorus is much more important as a limiting nutrient in aquatic systems.
Ecological effects
Eutrophication is apparent as increased turbidity in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, imaged from orbit.
Many ecological effects can arise from stimulating primary production, but there are three particularly troubling ecological impacts: decreased biodiversity, changes in species composition and dominance, and toxicity effects.
* Increased biomass of phytoplankton
* Toxic or inedible phytoplankton species
* Increases in blooms of gelatinous zooplankton
* Decreased biomass of benthic and epiphytic algae
* Changes in macrophyte species composition and biomass
* Decreases in water transparency (increased turbidity)
* Color, smell, and water treatment problems
* Dissolved oxygen depletion
* Increased incidences of fish kills
* Loss of desirable fish species
* Reductions in harvestable fish and shellfish
* Decreases in perceived aesthetic value of the water body
Decreased biodiversity
When an ecosystem experiences an increase in nutrients, primary producers reap the benefits first. In aquatic ecosystems, species such as algae experience a population increase (called an algal bloom). Algal blooms limit the sunlight available to bottom-dwelling organisms and cause wide swings in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. Oxygen is required by all respiring plants and animals and it is replenished in daylight by photosynthesizing plants and algae. Under eutrophic conditions, dissolved oxygen greatly increases during the day, but is greatly reduced after dark by the respiring algae and by microorganisms that feed on the increasing mass of dead algae. When dissolved oxygen levels decline to hypoxic levels, fish and other marine animals suffocate. As a result, creatures such as fish, shrimp, and especially immobile bottom dwellers die off.In extreme cases, anaerobic conditions ensue, promoting growth of bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum that produces toxins deadly to birds and mammals. Zones where this occurs are known as dead zones.
New species invasion
Eutrophication may cause competitive release by making abundant a normally limiting nutrient. This process causes shifts in the species composition of ecosystems. For instance, an increase in nitrogen might allow new, competitive species to invade and out-compete original inhabitant species. This has been shown to occur in New England salt marshes.
Toxicity
Some algal blooms, otherwise called "nuisance algae" or "harmful algal blooms," are toxic to plants and animals. Toxic compounds they produce can make their way up the food chain, resulting in animal mortality. Freshwater algal blooms can pose a threat to livestock. When the algae die or are eaten, neuro- and hepatotoxins are released which can kill animals and may pose a threat to humans. An example of algal toxins working their way into humans is the case of shellfish poisoning. Biotoxins created during algal blooms are taken up by shellfish (mussels, oysters), leading to these human foods acquiring the toxicity and poisoning humans. Examples include paralytic, neurotoxic, and diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning. Other marine animals can be vectors for such toxins, as in the case of ciguatera, where it is typically a predator fish that accumulates the toxin and then poisons humans. Nitrogen can also cause toxic effects directly. When this nutrient is leached into groundwater, drinking water can be affected because concentrations of nitrogen are not filtered out. ‘Blue baby syndrome, or methaemoglobinaemia is caused when nitrate (NO3) contaminated water is given to human babies. The anaerobic environment in their stomach causes the nitrates to be converted into nitrites (NO2). Nitrite binds to hemoglobin to form methemoglobin, a form that does not carry oxygen. The baby essentially suffocates as its body receives insufficient oxygen. The problem does not happen in breast fed babies.
Sources of high nutrient runoff
Characteristics of point and nonpoint sources of chemical inputs ( modified from Novonty and Olem 1994) Point Sources
* Wastewater effluent (municipal and industrial)
* Runoff and leachate from waste disposal systems
* Runoff and infiltration from animal feedlots
* Runoff from mines, oil fields, unsewered industrial sites
* Overflows of combined storm and sanitary sewers
* Runoff from construction sites <20,000 m²
* Untreated sewage
Nonpoint Sources
* Runoff from agriculture/irrigation
* Runoff from pasture and range
* Urban runoff from unsewered areas
* Septic tank leachate
* Runoff from construction sites >20,000 m²
* Runoff from abandoned mines
* Atmospheric deposition over a water surface
* Other land activities generating contaminants
In order to gauge how to best prevent eutrophication from occurring, specific sources that contribute to nutrient loading must be identified. There are two common sources of nutrients and organic matter: point and nonpoint sources.
Point sources
Point sources are directly attributable to one influence. In point sources the nutrient waste travels directly from source to water.
Nonpoint sources
Nonpoint source pollution (also known as 'diffuse' or 'runoff' pollution) is that which comes from ill-defined and diffuse sources. Nonpoint sources are difficult to regulate and usually vary spatially and temporally (with season, precipitation, and other irregular events).
It has been shown that nitrogen transport is correlated with various indices of human activity in watersheds, including the amount of development.Agriculture and development are activities that contribute most to nutrient loading. There are three reasons that nonpoint sources are especially troublesome:
Soil retention
Nutrients from human activities tend to accumulate in soils and remain there for years. It has been shown that the amount of phosphorus lost to surface waters increases linearly with the amount of phosphorus in the soil. Thus much of the nutrient loading in soil eventually makes its way to water. Nitrogen, similarly, has a turnover time of decades or more.
Runoff to surface water and leaching to groundwater
Nutrients from human activities tend to travel from land to either surface or ground water. Nitrogen in particular is removed through storm drains, sewage pipes, and other forms of surface runoff. Nutrient losses in runoff and leachate are often associated with agriculture. Modern agriculture often involves the application of nutrients onto fields in order to maximise production. However, farmers frequently apply more nutrients than are taken up by crops[25] or pastures. Regulations aimed at minimising nutrient exports from agriculture are typically far less stringent than those placed on sewage treatment plants and other point source polluters.
Atmospheric deposition
Nitrogen is released into the air because of ammonia volatilization and nitrous oxide production. The combustion of fossil fuels is a large human-initiated contributor to atmospheric nitrogen pollution. Atmospheric deposition (e.g., in the form of acid rain) can also affect nutrient concentration in water, especially in highly industrialized regions.
Other causes
Any factor that causes increased nutrient concentrations can potentially lead to eutrophication. In modeling eutrophication, the rate of water renewal plays a critical role; stagnant water is allowed to collect more nutrients than bodies with replenished water supplies. It has also been shown that the drying of wetlands causes an increase in nutrient concentration and subsequent eutrophication blooms.
Prevention and reversal
Eutrophication poses a problem not only to ecosystems, but to humans as well. Reducing eutrophication should be a key concern when considering future policy, and a sustainable solution for everyone, including farmers and ranchers, seems feasible. While eutrophication does pose problems, humans should be aware that natural runoff (which causes algal blooms in the wild) is common in ecosystems and should thus not reverse nutrient concentrations beyond normal levels.
Effectiveness
Cleanup measures have been mostly, but not completely, successful. Finnish phosphorus removal measures started in the mid-1970s and have targeted rivers and lakes polluted by industrial and municipal discharges. These efforts have had a 90% removal efficiency. Still, some targeted point sources did not show a decrease in runoff despite reduction efforts.
Minimizing nonpoint pollution: future work
Nonpoint pollution is the most difficult source of nutrients to manage. The literature suggests, though, that when these sources are controlled, eutrophication decreases. The following steps are recommended to minimize the amount of pollution that can enter aquatic ecosystems from ambiguous sources.
Riparian buffer zones
Studies show that intercepting non-point pollution between the source and the water is a successful means of prevention.Riparian buffer zones are interfaces between a flowing body of water and land, and have been created near waterways in an attempt to filter pollutants; sediment and nutrients are deposited here instead of in water. Creating buffer zones near farms and roads is another possible way to prevent nutrients from traveling too far. Still, studies have shown that the effects of atmospheric nitrogen pollution can reach far past the buffer zone. This suggests that the most effective means of prevention is from the primary source.
Prevention policy
Laws regulating the discharge and treatment of sewage have led to dramatic nutrient reductions to surrounding ecosystems, but it is generally agreed that a policy regulating agricultural use of fertilizer and animal waste must be imposed. In Japan the amount of nitrogen produced by livestock is adequate to serve the fertilizer needs for the agriculture industry. Thus, it is not unreasonable to command livestock owners to clean up animal waste — which when left stagnant will leach into ground water.
Nitrogen testing and modeling
Soil Nitrogen Testing (N-Testing) is a technique that helps farmers optimize the amount of fertilizer applied to crops. By testing fields with this method, farmers saw a decrease in fertilizer application costs, a decrease in nitrogen lost to surrounding sources, or both. By testing the soil and modeling the bare minimum amount of fertilizer needed, farmers reap economic benefits while the environment remains clean.
Organic Farming
Researchers at the National Academy of Sciences found that organically fertilizing fields "significantly reduce harmful nitrate leaching" over conventionally fertilized fields.
Natural state of algal blooms
Although the intensity, frequency and extent of algal blooms has tended to increase in response to human activity and human-induced eutrophication, algal blooms are a naturally-occurring phenomenon. The rise and fall of algae populations, as with the population of other living things, is a feature of a healthy ecosystem. Rectification actions aimed at abating eutrophication and algal blooms are usually desirable, but the focus of intervention should not necessarily be aimed at eliminating blooms, but towards creating a sustainable balance that maintains or improves ecosystem health.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Water pollution-Contaminants
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities, which can be harmful to organisms and plants which live in these water bodies.
Although natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water, water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not support a human use (like serving as drinking water) or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities. Water pollution has many causes and characteristics. The primary sources of water pollution are generally grouped into two categories based on their point of origin. Point-source pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway through a discrete "point source". Examples of this category include discharges from a wastewater treatment plant, outfalls from a factory, leaking underground tanks, etc. The second primary category, non-point source pollution, refers to contamination that, as its name suggests, does not originate from a single discrete source. Non-point source pollution is often a cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. Nutrient runoff in storm water from sheet flow over an agricultural field, or metals and hydrocarbons from an area with high impervious surfaces and vehicular traffic are examples of non-point source pollution. The primary focus of legislation and efforts to curb water pollution for the past several decades was first aimed at point sources. As point sources have been effectively regulated, greater attention has come to be placed on non-point source contributions, especially in rapidly urbanizing/suburbanizing or developing areas.
The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical or sensory changes. While many of the chemicals and substances that are regulated may be naturally occurring (iron, manganese, etc) the concentration is often the key in determining what is a natural component of water, and what is a contaminant. Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. Alteration of water's physical chemistry include acidity, electrical conductivity, temperature, and eutrophication. Eutrophication is the fertilization of surface water by nutrients that were previously scarce. Water pollution is a major problem in the global context. It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.
Contaminants
Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances.
Some organic water pollutants are:
* Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalides and other chemicals
* Bacteria, often is from sewage or livestock operations
* Food processing waste, including pathogens
* Tree and brush debris from logging operations
* VOCs (volatile organic compounds), such as industrial solvents, from improper storage
* DNAPLs (dense non-aqueous phase liquids), such as chlorinated solvents, which may fall at the bottom of reservoirs, since they don't mix well with water and are more dense
* Petroleum Hydrocarbons including fuels (gasoline, diesel, jet fuels, and fuel oils) and lubricants (motor oil) from oil field operations, refineries, pipelines, retail service station's underground storage tanks, and transfer operations. Note: VOCs include gasoline-range hydrocarbons.
* Detergents
* Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products
* Disinfection by-products (DBPs) found in chemically disinfected drinking water
Some inorganic water pollutants include:
* Spill of oil over the seas is the biggest danger.
* Heavy metals including acid mine drainage
* Acidity caused by industrial discharges (especially sulfur dioxide from power plants)
* Pre-production industrial raw resin pellets, an industrial pollutant
* Chemical waste as industrial by products
* Fertilizers, in runoff from agriculture including nitrates and phosphates
* Silt in surface runoff from construction sites, logging, slash and burn practices or land clearing sites
Macroscopic, that is, large visible items polluting the water are termed marine debris, and can include such items as:
* Nurdles, small ubiquitous waterborne plastic pellets
* Shipwrecks, large derelict ships
Transport and chemical reactions of water pollutants
Most water pollutants are eventually carried by the rivers into the oceans. In some areas of the world the influence can be traced hundred miles from the mouth by studies using hydrology transport models. Advanced computer models such as SWMM or the DSSAM Model have been used in many locations worldwide to examine the fate of pollutants in aquatic systems. Indicator filter feeding species such as copepods have also been used to study pollutant fates in the New York Bight, for example. The highest toxin loads are not directly at the mouth of the Hudson River, but 100 kilometers south, since several days are required for incorporation into planktonic tissue. The Hudson discharge flows south along the coast due to coriolis force. Further south then are areas of oxygen depletion, caused by chemicals using up oxygen and by algae blooms, caused by excess nutrients from algal cell death and decomposition. Fish and shellfish kills have been reported, because toxins climb the foodchain after small fish consume copepods, then large fish eat smaller fish, etc. Each successive step up the food chain causes a stepwise concentration of pollutants such as heavy metals (e.g. mercury) and persistent organic pollutants such as DDT. This is known as biomagnification which is occasionally used interchangeably with bioaccumulation.
The big gyres in the oceans trap floating plastic debris. The North Pacific Gyre for example has collected the so-called "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" that is now estimated at 100 times the size of Texas. Many of these long-lasting pieces wind up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. This results in obstruction of digestive pathways which leads to reduced appetite or even starvation.
Many chemicals undergo reactive decay or chemically change especially over long periods of time in groundwater reservoirs. A noteworthy class of such chemicals are the chlorinated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene (used in industrial metal degreasing and electronics manufacturing) and tetrachloroethylene used in the dry cleaning industry (note latest advances in liquid carbon dioxide in dry cleaning that avoids all use of chemicals). Both of these chemicals, which are carcinogens themselves, undergo partial decomposition reactions, leading to new hazardous chemicals (including dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride).
Groundwater pollution is much more difficult to abate than surface pollution because groundwater can move great distances through unseen aquifers. Non-porous aquifers such as clays partially purify water of bacteria by simple filtration (adsorption and absorption), dilution, and, in some cases, chemical reactions and biological activity: however, in some cases, the pollutants merely transform to soil contaminants. Groundwater that moves through cracks and caverns is not filtered and can be transported as easily as surface water. In fact, this can be aggravated by the human tendency to use natural sinkholes as dumps in areas of Karst topography.
There are a variety of secondary effects stemming not from the original pollutant, but a derivative condition. Some of these secondary impacts are:
* Silt bearing surface runoff from can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column, hampering photosynthesis in aquatic plants.
* Thermal pollution can induce fish kills and invasion by new thermophilic species. This can cause further problems to existing wildlife.
Sampling and monitoring
Sampling water can be done by several methods, depending on the accuracy needed and the characteristics of the contaminant. Many contamination events are sharply restricted in time, most commonly in association with rain events. For this reason 'grab' samples are often inadequate for fully quantifying contaminant levels. Scientists gathering this type of data often employ auto-sampler devices that pump increments of water at either time or discharge intervals.
Regulatory framework
In the UK there are common law rights (civil rights) to protect the passage of water across land unfettered in either quality of quantity. Criminal laws dating back to the 16th century exercised some control over water pollution but it was not until the River (Prevention of pollution )Acts 1951 - 1961 were enacted that any systematic control over water pollution was established. These laws were strengthened and extended in the Control of Pollution Act 1984 which has since been updated and modified by a series of further acts. It is a criminal offense to either pollute a lake, river, groundwater or the sea or to discharge any liquid into such water bodies without proper authority. In England and Wales such permission can only be issued by the Environment Agency and in Scotland by SEPA.
In the USA, concern over water pollution resulted in the enactment of state anti-pollution laws in the latter half of the 19th century, and federal legislation enacted in 1899. The Refuse Act of the federal Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 prohibits the disposal of any refuse matter from into either the nation's navigable rivers, lakes, streams, and other navigable bodies of water, or any tributary to such waters, unless one has first obtained a permit. The Water Pollution Control Act, passed in 1948, gave authority to the Surgeon General to reduce water pollution.
Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. As amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the basic mechanisms for regulating contaminant discharge. It established the authority for the United States Environmental Protection Agency to implement wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. Further amplification of the Act continued including the enactment of the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002.
Although natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water, water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not support a human use (like serving as drinking water) or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities. Water pollution has many causes and characteristics. The primary sources of water pollution are generally grouped into two categories based on their point of origin. Point-source pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway through a discrete "point source". Examples of this category include discharges from a wastewater treatment plant, outfalls from a factory, leaking underground tanks, etc. The second primary category, non-point source pollution, refers to contamination that, as its name suggests, does not originate from a single discrete source. Non-point source pollution is often a cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. Nutrient runoff in storm water from sheet flow over an agricultural field, or metals and hydrocarbons from an area with high impervious surfaces and vehicular traffic are examples of non-point source pollution. The primary focus of legislation and efforts to curb water pollution for the past several decades was first aimed at point sources. As point sources have been effectively regulated, greater attention has come to be placed on non-point source contributions, especially in rapidly urbanizing/suburbanizing or developing areas.
The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical or sensory changes. While many of the chemicals and substances that are regulated may be naturally occurring (iron, manganese, etc) the concentration is often the key in determining what is a natural component of water, and what is a contaminant. Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. Alteration of water's physical chemistry include acidity, electrical conductivity, temperature, and eutrophication. Eutrophication is the fertilization of surface water by nutrients that were previously scarce. Water pollution is a major problem in the global context. It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.
Contaminants
Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances.
Some organic water pollutants are:
* Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalides and other chemicals
* Bacteria, often is from sewage or livestock operations
* Food processing waste, including pathogens
* Tree and brush debris from logging operations
* VOCs (volatile organic compounds), such as industrial solvents, from improper storage
* DNAPLs (dense non-aqueous phase liquids), such as chlorinated solvents, which may fall at the bottom of reservoirs, since they don't mix well with water and are more dense
* Petroleum Hydrocarbons including fuels (gasoline, diesel, jet fuels, and fuel oils) and lubricants (motor oil) from oil field operations, refineries, pipelines, retail service station's underground storage tanks, and transfer operations. Note: VOCs include gasoline-range hydrocarbons.
* Detergents
* Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products
* Disinfection by-products (DBPs) found in chemically disinfected drinking water
Some inorganic water pollutants include:
* Spill of oil over the seas is the biggest danger.
* Heavy metals including acid mine drainage
* Acidity caused by industrial discharges (especially sulfur dioxide from power plants)
* Pre-production industrial raw resin pellets, an industrial pollutant
* Chemical waste as industrial by products
* Fertilizers, in runoff from agriculture including nitrates and phosphates
* Silt in surface runoff from construction sites, logging, slash and burn practices or land clearing sites
Macroscopic, that is, large visible items polluting the water are termed marine debris, and can include such items as:
* Nurdles, small ubiquitous waterborne plastic pellets
* Shipwrecks, large derelict ships
Transport and chemical reactions of water pollutants
Most water pollutants are eventually carried by the rivers into the oceans. In some areas of the world the influence can be traced hundred miles from the mouth by studies using hydrology transport models. Advanced computer models such as SWMM or the DSSAM Model have been used in many locations worldwide to examine the fate of pollutants in aquatic systems. Indicator filter feeding species such as copepods have also been used to study pollutant fates in the New York Bight, for example. The highest toxin loads are not directly at the mouth of the Hudson River, but 100 kilometers south, since several days are required for incorporation into planktonic tissue. The Hudson discharge flows south along the coast due to coriolis force. Further south then are areas of oxygen depletion, caused by chemicals using up oxygen and by algae blooms, caused by excess nutrients from algal cell death and decomposition. Fish and shellfish kills have been reported, because toxins climb the foodchain after small fish consume copepods, then large fish eat smaller fish, etc. Each successive step up the food chain causes a stepwise concentration of pollutants such as heavy metals (e.g. mercury) and persistent organic pollutants such as DDT. This is known as biomagnification which is occasionally used interchangeably with bioaccumulation.
The big gyres in the oceans trap floating plastic debris. The North Pacific Gyre for example has collected the so-called "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" that is now estimated at 100 times the size of Texas. Many of these long-lasting pieces wind up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. This results in obstruction of digestive pathways which leads to reduced appetite or even starvation.
Many chemicals undergo reactive decay or chemically change especially over long periods of time in groundwater reservoirs. A noteworthy class of such chemicals are the chlorinated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene (used in industrial metal degreasing and electronics manufacturing) and tetrachloroethylene used in the dry cleaning industry (note latest advances in liquid carbon dioxide in dry cleaning that avoids all use of chemicals). Both of these chemicals, which are carcinogens themselves, undergo partial decomposition reactions, leading to new hazardous chemicals (including dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride).
Groundwater pollution is much more difficult to abate than surface pollution because groundwater can move great distances through unseen aquifers. Non-porous aquifers such as clays partially purify water of bacteria by simple filtration (adsorption and absorption), dilution, and, in some cases, chemical reactions and biological activity: however, in some cases, the pollutants merely transform to soil contaminants. Groundwater that moves through cracks and caverns is not filtered and can be transported as easily as surface water. In fact, this can be aggravated by the human tendency to use natural sinkholes as dumps in areas of Karst topography.
There are a variety of secondary effects stemming not from the original pollutant, but a derivative condition. Some of these secondary impacts are:
* Silt bearing surface runoff from can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column, hampering photosynthesis in aquatic plants.
* Thermal pollution can induce fish kills and invasion by new thermophilic species. This can cause further problems to existing wildlife.
Sampling and monitoring
Sampling water can be done by several methods, depending on the accuracy needed and the characteristics of the contaminant. Many contamination events are sharply restricted in time, most commonly in association with rain events. For this reason 'grab' samples are often inadequate for fully quantifying contaminant levels. Scientists gathering this type of data often employ auto-sampler devices that pump increments of water at either time or discharge intervals.
Regulatory framework
In the UK there are common law rights (civil rights) to protect the passage of water across land unfettered in either quality of quantity. Criminal laws dating back to the 16th century exercised some control over water pollution but it was not until the River (Prevention of pollution )Acts 1951 - 1961 were enacted that any systematic control over water pollution was established. These laws were strengthened and extended in the Control of Pollution Act 1984 which has since been updated and modified by a series of further acts. It is a criminal offense to either pollute a lake, river, groundwater or the sea or to discharge any liquid into such water bodies without proper authority. In England and Wales such permission can only be issued by the Environment Agency and in Scotland by SEPA.
In the USA, concern over water pollution resulted in the enactment of state anti-pollution laws in the latter half of the 19th century, and federal legislation enacted in 1899. The Refuse Act of the federal Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 prohibits the disposal of any refuse matter from into either the nation's navigable rivers, lakes, streams, and other navigable bodies of water, or any tributary to such waters, unless one has first obtained a permit. The Water Pollution Control Act, passed in 1948, gave authority to the Surgeon General to reduce water pollution.
Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. As amended in 1977, this law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the basic mechanisms for regulating contaminant discharge. It established the authority for the United States Environmental Protection Agency to implement wastewater standards for industry. The Clean Water Act also continued requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. Further amplification of the Act continued including the enactment of the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002.
Marine debris-Ghost nets- Nurdles and plastics bags-Ownership of debris
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally become afloat in a lake, sea, ocean or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter.
Some forms of marine debris, such as driftwood, occur naturally, and human activities have been discharging similar material into the oceans for thousands of years. Recently however, with the increasing use of plastic, human influence has become an issue as many types of plastics do not biodegrade. Waterborne plastic is both unsightly and dangerous, and poses a serious threat to fish, seabirds, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, as well as to boats and coastal habitations. Ocean dumping, accidental container spillages, and wind-blown landfill waste are all contributing to this problem.
Types of debris
A wide variety of anthropogenic artefacts can become marine debris; plastic bags, balloons, buoys, rope, medical waste, glass bottles and plastic bottles, cigarette lighters, beverage cans, styrofoam, lost fishing line and nets, and various wastes from cruise ships and oil rigs are among the items commonly found to have washed ashore. Six pack rings, in particular, are considered a poster child of the damage that garbage can do to the marine environment.
Studies have shown that eighty percent of marine debris is plastic – a component that has been rapidly accumulating since the end of World War II. Plastics accumulate because they don't biodegrade as many other substances do; although they will photodegrade on exposure to sunlight, they do so only under dry conditions, as water inhibits photolysis.
Ghost nets
Fishing nets left or lost in the ocean by fishermen – ghost nets – can entangle fish, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, seabirds, crabs, and other creatures. Acting as designed, these nets restrict movement, causing starvation, laceration and infection, and, in those that need to return to the surface to breathe, suffocation.
Nurdles and plastics bags
Nurdles, also known as mermaids' tears, are plastic pellets typically under five millimetres in diameter, and are a major component of marine debris. They are used as a raw material in plastics manufacturing, and are thought to enter the natural environment after accidental spillages. Mermaids' tears are also created by the physical weathering of larger plastic debris. Nurdles strongly resemble fish eggs, but instead of finding a nutritious meal, any marine wildlife that ingests them will likely starve, be poisoned and die.
Plastic shopping bags act similarly in that they also clog digestive tracts when consumed.Plastic bags can cause starvation through restricting the movement of food, or by filling the stomach and tricking the animal into thinking it is full. A 1994 study of the seabed using trawl nets in the North-Western Mediterranean around the coasts of Spain, France and Italy reported a particularly high mean concentration of debris; an average of 1,935 items per square kilometre. Plastic debris accounted for 77%, of which 93% was plastic bags.
Source of debris
It has been estimated that container ships lose over 10,000 containers at sea each year (usually during a storm). One famous spillage occurred in the Pacific Ocean in 1992, when thousands of rubber ducks and other toys went overboard during a storm. The toys have since been found all over the world; Curtis Ebbesmeyer and other scientists have used the incident to gain a better understanding of ocean currents. Similar incidents have happened before, with the same potential to track currents, such as when Hansa Carrier dropped 21 containers (with one notably containing buoyant Nike shoes). In 2007, MSC Napoli was beached in the English Channel, and dropped hundreds of containers, most of which washed up on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.
Though it was originally assumed that most oceanic marine waste stemmed directly from ocean dumping, it is now thought that around four fifths of the oceanic debris is from rubbish blown seaward from landfills, and urban runoff washed down storm drains. In the 1987 Syringe Tide, medical waste washed ashore in New Jersey after having been blown from the Fresh Kills Landfill.
Legality of ocean and river dumping
Ocean dumping is the deliberate disposal of wastes at sea, a practice controlled by international law:
* The London Convention (1972) – a United Nations agreement to control ocean dumping
* MARPOL 73/78 – an international convention designed to minimise pollution of the seas, including dumping, oil and exhaust pollution.
European law
In 1972 and 1974, conventions were held in Oslo and Paris respectively, and resulted in the passing of the OSPAR Convention, an international treaty controlling marine pollution in the north-east Atlantic Ocean around Europe. similar Barcelona Convention exists to protect the Mediterranean Sea. The Water Framework Directive of 2000 is a European Union directive committing EU member states to make their inland and coastal waters free from human influence.In the United Kingdom, the proposed Marine Bill is designed to "ensure clean healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas, by putting in place better systems for delivering sustainable development of marine and coastal environment".
United States law
In 1972, the United States Congress passed the Ocean Dumping Act, giving the Environmental Protection Agency power to monitor and regulate the dumping of sewage sludge, industrial waste, radioactive waste and biohazardous materials into the nation's territorial waters. The Act was amended sixteen years later to include medical wastes. It is illegal to dispose of any plastic in all US waters. In 2008, the California State Legislature considered several bills aimed at reducing the sources of marine debris, following the recommendations of the California Ocean Protection Council.
Ownership of debris
Property law, admiralty law, and the law of the sea may be of relevance when lost, mislaid, and abandoned property is found at sea. Salvage law has as a basis that a salvor should be rewarded for risking his life and property to rescue the property of another from peril. On land the distinction between deliberate and accidental loss led to the concept of a "treasure trove". In the United Kingdom, shipwrecked goods should be reported to a Receiver of Wreck, and if identifiable, they should be returned to their rightful owner.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Once waterborne, debris is far from immobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of oceanic gyres where currents are weakest. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one such example of this, comprising of a vast region of the North Pacific Ocean rich with anthropogenic wastes. Estimates have described its size as comparable to Texas. The mass of plastic in our oceans may be as high as one hundred million tonnes.
Islands situated within gyres frequently have their coastlines ruined by the waste that inevitably washes ashore; prime examples are Midway and Hawaii. Clean-up teams around the world patrol beaches to clean up this environmental threat.
Environmental impact
Many animals that live on or in the sea consume flotsam by mistake, as it often looks similar to their natural prey. Plastic debris, when bulky or tangled, is difficult to pass, and may become permanently lodged in the digestive tracts of these animals, blocking the passage of food and causing death through starvation or infection. Tiny floating particles also resemble zooplankton, which can lead filter feeders to consume them and cause them to enter the ocean food chain. In samples taken from the North Pacific Gyre in 1999 by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, the mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton by a factor of six.
Toxic additives used in the manufacture of plastic materials can leach out into their surroundings when exposed to water. Waterborne hydrophobic pollutants collect and magnify on the surface of plastic debris, thus making plastic far more deadly in the ocean than it would be on land. Hydrophobic contaminants are also known to bioaccumulate in fatty tissues, biomagnifying up the food chain and putting great pressure on apex predators. Some plastic additives are known to disrupt the endocrine system when consumed; others can suppress the immune system or decrease reproductive rates.
Not all anthropogenic artefacts in the oceans are harmful however. Iron and concrete do little damage to the environment as they are generally immobile, and can even be used as scaffolding for the creation of artificial reefs, increasing the biodiversity of a coastal region. Entire ships have been deliberately sunk in coastal waters for that purpose.Some organisms have adapted to live on mobile plastic debris, which has allowed the inhabitants to disperse all over the world and become invasive species in remote ecosystems.
Measures of prevention and reduction
A September 2008 report of the United States Congress determined measures to prevent and reduce ocean debris as inadequate and the problem will likely worsen. Despite all the regulations and limitations, from 1988 to 2008, there are still large quantities of waste and litter in the oceans.
Some forms of marine debris, such as driftwood, occur naturally, and human activities have been discharging similar material into the oceans for thousands of years. Recently however, with the increasing use of plastic, human influence has become an issue as many types of plastics do not biodegrade. Waterborne plastic is both unsightly and dangerous, and poses a serious threat to fish, seabirds, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, as well as to boats and coastal habitations. Ocean dumping, accidental container spillages, and wind-blown landfill waste are all contributing to this problem.
Types of debris
A wide variety of anthropogenic artefacts can become marine debris; plastic bags, balloons, buoys, rope, medical waste, glass bottles and plastic bottles, cigarette lighters, beverage cans, styrofoam, lost fishing line and nets, and various wastes from cruise ships and oil rigs are among the items commonly found to have washed ashore. Six pack rings, in particular, are considered a poster child of the damage that garbage can do to the marine environment.
Studies have shown that eighty percent of marine debris is plastic – a component that has been rapidly accumulating since the end of World War II. Plastics accumulate because they don't biodegrade as many other substances do; although they will photodegrade on exposure to sunlight, they do so only under dry conditions, as water inhibits photolysis.
Ghost nets
Fishing nets left or lost in the ocean by fishermen – ghost nets – can entangle fish, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, seabirds, crabs, and other creatures. Acting as designed, these nets restrict movement, causing starvation, laceration and infection, and, in those that need to return to the surface to breathe, suffocation.
Nurdles and plastics bags
Nurdles, also known as mermaids' tears, are plastic pellets typically under five millimetres in diameter, and are a major component of marine debris. They are used as a raw material in plastics manufacturing, and are thought to enter the natural environment after accidental spillages. Mermaids' tears are also created by the physical weathering of larger plastic debris. Nurdles strongly resemble fish eggs, but instead of finding a nutritious meal, any marine wildlife that ingests them will likely starve, be poisoned and die.
Plastic shopping bags act similarly in that they also clog digestive tracts when consumed.Plastic bags can cause starvation through restricting the movement of food, or by filling the stomach and tricking the animal into thinking it is full. A 1994 study of the seabed using trawl nets in the North-Western Mediterranean around the coasts of Spain, France and Italy reported a particularly high mean concentration of debris; an average of 1,935 items per square kilometre. Plastic debris accounted for 77%, of which 93% was plastic bags.
Source of debris
It has been estimated that container ships lose over 10,000 containers at sea each year (usually during a storm). One famous spillage occurred in the Pacific Ocean in 1992, when thousands of rubber ducks and other toys went overboard during a storm. The toys have since been found all over the world; Curtis Ebbesmeyer and other scientists have used the incident to gain a better understanding of ocean currents. Similar incidents have happened before, with the same potential to track currents, such as when Hansa Carrier dropped 21 containers (with one notably containing buoyant Nike shoes). In 2007, MSC Napoli was beached in the English Channel, and dropped hundreds of containers, most of which washed up on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site.
Though it was originally assumed that most oceanic marine waste stemmed directly from ocean dumping, it is now thought that around four fifths of the oceanic debris is from rubbish blown seaward from landfills, and urban runoff washed down storm drains. In the 1987 Syringe Tide, medical waste washed ashore in New Jersey after having been blown from the Fresh Kills Landfill.
Legality of ocean and river dumping
Ocean dumping is the deliberate disposal of wastes at sea, a practice controlled by international law:
* The London Convention (1972) – a United Nations agreement to control ocean dumping
* MARPOL 73/78 – an international convention designed to minimise pollution of the seas, including dumping, oil and exhaust pollution.
European law
In 1972 and 1974, conventions were held in Oslo and Paris respectively, and resulted in the passing of the OSPAR Convention, an international treaty controlling marine pollution in the north-east Atlantic Ocean around Europe. similar Barcelona Convention exists to protect the Mediterranean Sea. The Water Framework Directive of 2000 is a European Union directive committing EU member states to make their inland and coastal waters free from human influence.In the United Kingdom, the proposed Marine Bill is designed to "ensure clean healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas, by putting in place better systems for delivering sustainable development of marine and coastal environment".
United States law
In 1972, the United States Congress passed the Ocean Dumping Act, giving the Environmental Protection Agency power to monitor and regulate the dumping of sewage sludge, industrial waste, radioactive waste and biohazardous materials into the nation's territorial waters. The Act was amended sixteen years later to include medical wastes. It is illegal to dispose of any plastic in all US waters. In 2008, the California State Legislature considered several bills aimed at reducing the sources of marine debris, following the recommendations of the California Ocean Protection Council.
Ownership of debris
Property law, admiralty law, and the law of the sea may be of relevance when lost, mislaid, and abandoned property is found at sea. Salvage law has as a basis that a salvor should be rewarded for risking his life and property to rescue the property of another from peril. On land the distinction between deliberate and accidental loss led to the concept of a "treasure trove". In the United Kingdom, shipwrecked goods should be reported to a Receiver of Wreck, and if identifiable, they should be returned to their rightful owner.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Once waterborne, debris is far from immobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of oceanic gyres where currents are weakest. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one such example of this, comprising of a vast region of the North Pacific Ocean rich with anthropogenic wastes. Estimates have described its size as comparable to Texas. The mass of plastic in our oceans may be as high as one hundred million tonnes.
Islands situated within gyres frequently have their coastlines ruined by the waste that inevitably washes ashore; prime examples are Midway and Hawaii. Clean-up teams around the world patrol beaches to clean up this environmental threat.
Environmental impact
Many animals that live on or in the sea consume flotsam by mistake, as it often looks similar to their natural prey. Plastic debris, when bulky or tangled, is difficult to pass, and may become permanently lodged in the digestive tracts of these animals, blocking the passage of food and causing death through starvation or infection. Tiny floating particles also resemble zooplankton, which can lead filter feeders to consume them and cause them to enter the ocean food chain. In samples taken from the North Pacific Gyre in 1999 by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, the mass of plastic exceeded that of zooplankton by a factor of six.
Toxic additives used in the manufacture of plastic materials can leach out into their surroundings when exposed to water. Waterborne hydrophobic pollutants collect and magnify on the surface of plastic debris, thus making plastic far more deadly in the ocean than it would be on land. Hydrophobic contaminants are also known to bioaccumulate in fatty tissues, biomagnifying up the food chain and putting great pressure on apex predators. Some plastic additives are known to disrupt the endocrine system when consumed; others can suppress the immune system or decrease reproductive rates.
Not all anthropogenic artefacts in the oceans are harmful however. Iron and concrete do little damage to the environment as they are generally immobile, and can even be used as scaffolding for the creation of artificial reefs, increasing the biodiversity of a coastal region. Entire ships have been deliberately sunk in coastal waters for that purpose.Some organisms have adapted to live on mobile plastic debris, which has allowed the inhabitants to disperse all over the world and become invasive species in remote ecosystems.
Measures of prevention and reduction
A September 2008 report of the United States Congress determined measures to prevent and reduce ocean debris as inadequate and the problem will likely worsen. Despite all the regulations and limitations, from 1988 to 2008, there are still large quantities of waste and litter in the oceans.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Light pollution- Impact on energy usage-Light trespass-Clutter-Sky glow
Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excess or obtrusive light created mainly by humans. Among other effects, and like any other form of pollution, it disrupts ecosystems, can cause adverse health effects, obscures the stars for city dwellers, and interferes with astronomical observatories. Light pollution can be construed to fall into two main branches: annoying light that intrudes on an otherwise natural or low light setting and excessive light, generally indoors, that leads to worker discomfort and adverse health effects. Since the early 1980s, a global dark-sky movement has emerged, with concerned people campaigning to reduce the amount of light pollution.
Light pollution is a side effect of industrial civilization. Its sources include building exterior and interior lighting, advertising, commercial properties, offices, factories, streetlights, and illuminated sporting venues. It is most severe in highly industrialized, densely populated areas of North America, Europe, and Japan and in major cities in the Middle East and North Africa like Cairo, but even relatively small amounts of light can be noticed and create problems. Like other forms of pollution, such as air, water and noise pollution, light pollution causes damage to the environment.
With recent advances in private spaceflight, the prospect of space-based orbiting billboards appearing in the near future has provoked concern that such objects may become another form of light pollution. With this in mind, the United States Federal Aviation Administration sought permission, in May 2005, to enforce a law prohibiting "obtrusive" advertising in earth orbit. Similar intentions are yet to be expressed by authorities in most other countries.
Impact on energy usage
Energy conservation advocates contend that light pollution must be addressed by changing the habits of society, so that lighting is used more efficiently, with less waste and less creation of unwanted or unneeded illumination. The case against light pollution is strengthened by a range of studies on health effects, suggesting that excess light may induce loss in visual acuity, hypertension, headaches and increased incidence of carcinoma[citation needed]. Several industry groups also recognize light pollution as an important issue. For example, the Institution of Lighting Engineers in the United Kingdom provides its members information about light pollution, the problems it causes, and how to reduce its impact.
Since not everyone is irritated by the same lighting sources, it is common for one person's light "pollution" to be light that is desirable for another. One example of this is found in advertising, when an advertiser wishes for particular lights to be bright and visible, even though others find them annoying. Other types of light pollution are more certain. For instance, light that accidentally crosses a property boundary and annoys a neighbor is generally wasted and pollutive light.
Disputes are still common when deciding appropriate action, and differences in opinion over what light is considered reasonable, and who should be responsible, mean that negotiation must sometimes take place between parties. Where objective measurement is desired, light levels can be quantified by field measurement or mathematical modeling, with results typically displayed as an isophote map or light contour map. Authorities have also taken a variety of measures for dealing with light pollution, depending on the interests, beliefs and understandings of the society involved. Measures range from doing nothing at all, to implementing strict laws and regulations about how lights may be installed and used.
Types
Light pollution is a broad term that refers to multiple problems, all of which are caused by inefficient, unappealing, or (arguably) unnecessary use of artificial light. Specific categories of light pollution include light trespass, over-illumination, glare, clutter, and sky glow. A single offending light source often falls into more than one of these categories.
Light trespass
Light trespass occurs when unwanted light enters one's property, for instance, by shining over a neighbor's fence. A common light trespass problem occurs when a strong light enters the window of one's home from outside, causing problems such as sleep deprivation or the blocking of an evening view.
A number of cities in the U.S. have developed standards for outdoor lighting to protect the rights of their citizens against light trespass. To assist them, the International Dark-Sky Association has developed a set of model lighting ordinances. The Dark-Sky Association was started to reduce the light going up into the sky which reduces visibility of stars, see sky glow below. This is any light which is emitted more than 90 degrees above nadir. By limiting light at this 90 degree mark they have also reduced the light output in the 80-90 degree range which creates most of the light trespass issues. U.S. federal agencies may also enforce standards and process complaints within their areas of jursidiction. For instance, in the case of light trespass by white strobe lighting from communication towers in excess of FAA minimum lighting requirements the FCC maintains a database of Antenna Structure Registration information which citizens may use to identify offending structures and provides a mechanism for processing consumer inquiries and complaints. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has also incorporated into their environmentally friendly building standard known as LEED, a credit for reducing the amount of light trespass and sky glow.
Light trespass can be reduced by selecting light fixtures which limit the amount of light emitted more than 80 degrees above the nadir. The IESNA definitions include full cutoff (10%), cutoff (10%), and semi-cutoff (20%). (These definitions also include limits on light emitted above 90 degrees to reduce sky glow.)
Ordinances have also been written to limit the amount of light at the property line and beyond, but may be unrealistic or vague. Realistic limits and clarity in measurement need to be provided. Stating "zero light at the property line" is too vague. Absolute zero means that even if a light fixture is a mile away and the light source is visible, it is in violation, and would require hoods to be placed over every light fixture. What is realistic may vary according to whether an area is residential or industrial, urban, suburban or rural. The credit offered by LEED provides limits at the property line and 10-15 feet beyond it. At the 10-15 foot distance LEED limits light to 0.01 fc. (For comparison, a full moon provides 0.03 fc and a moonless night 0.004 fc). This is a very difficult limit to comply with while providing even light on a parking lot and driveway. How is the light to be measured? Horizontal measurements are common for interior and exterior lighting calculations. However, for light trespass the concern is how much light shines into a person's eye. Measurements may be made at approximate eye level (5' high) of the vertical light level facing into the site, or aimed at the brightest light source. Exceptions might be allowed where drives enter the street. This would permit street lights at the drive entrance to make cars more visible as they pull into traffic. Limiting pole height is another common ordinance tactic to reduce light trespass. This becomes counterproductive when the ordinance also has max:min ratios for safety concerns. Reducing pole height will increase dark spots on a site. Increasing the number of poles is only viable to a certain point due to the width of the aisles & parking. Otherwise poles would need to be placed in the parking spaces and aisles to maintain even lighting.
Over-illumination
Office building illuminated by high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps shining upward, of which much light goes into the sky and neighboring apartment blocks and causes light pollution. Location: Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Office building illuminated by high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps shining upward, of which much light goes into the sky and neighboring apartment blocks and causes light pollution. Location: Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Over-illumination is the excessive use of light. Specifically within the United States, over-illumination is responsible for approximately two million barrels of oil per day in energy wasted. This is based upon U.S. consumption of equivalent of 50 million barrels per day (7,900,000 m³/d) of petroleum.It is further noted in the same U.S. Department of Energy source that over 30 percent of all energy is consumed by commercial, industrial and residential sectors. Energy audits of existing buildings demonstrate that the lighting component of residential, commercial and industrial uses consumes about 20 to 40 percent of those land uses, variable with region and land use. (Residential use lighting consumes only 10 to 30 percent of the energy bill while commercial buildings major use is lighting.) Thus lighting energy accounts for about four or five million barrels of oil (equivalent) per day. Again energy audit data demonstrates that about 30 to 60 percent of energy consumed in lighting is unneeded or gratuitous.
An alternative calculation starts with the fact that commercial building lighting consumes in excess of 81.68 terawatts (1999 data) of electricity. according to the U.S. DOE. Thus commercial lighting alone consumes about four to five million barrels per day (equivalent) of petroleum, in line with the alternate rationale above to estimate U.S. lighting energy consumption.
Over-illumination stems from several factors:
* Not using timers, occupancy sensors or other controls to extinguish lighting when not needed
* Improper design, especially of workplace spaces, by specifying higher levels of light than needed for a given task
* Incorrect choice of fixtures or light bulbs, which do not direct light into areas as needed
* Improper selection of hardware to utilize more energy than needed to accomplish the lighting task
* Incomplete training of building managers and occupants to use lighting systems efficiently
* Inadequate lighting maintenance resulting in increased stray light and energy costs
* "Daylight lighting" can be required by citizens to reduce crime or by shop owners to attract customers, so over-illumination can be a design choice, not a fault. In both cases target achievement is questionable.
* Substitution of old mercury lamps with more efficient sodium or metal halide lamps using the same electrical power
* Indirect lighting techniques, such as lighting a vertical wall to bouce photons on the ground.
Most of these issues can be readily corrected with available, inexpensive technology; however, there is considerable inertia in the field of lighting design and with landlord/tenant practices that create barriers to rapid correction of these matters. Most importantly public awareness would need to improve for industrialized countries to realize the large payoff in reducing over-illumination
Glare
Glare is often the result of excessive contrast between bright and dark areas in the field of view. For example, glare can be associated with directly viewing the filament of an unshielded or badly shielded light. Light shining into the eyes of pedestrians and drivers can obscure night vision for up to an hour after exposure. Caused by high contrast between light and dark areas, glare can also make it difficult for the human eye to adjust to the differences in brightness. Glare is particularly an issue in road safety, as bright and/or badly shielded lights around roads may partially blind drivers or pedestrians unexpectedly, and contribute to accidents.
Glare can also result in reduced contrast, due to light scattering in the eye by excessive brightness, or to reflection of light from dark areas in the field of vision, with luminance similar to the background luminance. This kind of glare is a particular instance of disability glare, called veiling glare.
Glare can be categorized into different types. One such classification is described in a book by Bob Mizon, coordinator for the British Astronomical Association's Campaign for Dark Skies. According to this classification:
* Blinding Glare describes effects such as that caused by staring into the Sun. It is completely blinding and leaves temporary or permanent vision deficiencies.
* Disability Glare describes effects such as being blinded by an oncoming cars lights, or light scattering in fog or in the eye reduces contrast, as well as reflections from print and other dark areas that render them bright, with significant reduction in sight capabilities.
* Discomfort Glare does not typically cause a dangerous situation in itself, and is annoying and irritating at best. It can potentially cause fatigue if experienced over extended periods.
Clutter
Clutter refers to excessive groupings of lights. Groupings of lights may generate confusion, distract from obstacles (including those that they may be intended to illuminate), and potentially cause accidents. Clutter is particularly noticeable on roads where the street lights are badly designed, or where brightly lit advertising surrounds the roadways. Depending on the motives of the person or organization who installed the lights, their placement and design may even be intended to distract drivers, and can contribute to accidents. Clutter may also present a hazard in the aviation environment if aviation safety lighting must compete for pilot attention with non-relevant lighting. For instance, runway lighting may be confused with an array of suburban commercial lighting and aircraft collision avoidance lights may be confused with ground lights.
Sky glow
Sky glow refers to the "glow" effect that can be seen over populated areas. It is the combination of all light reflected from what it has illuminated escaping up into the sky and from all of the badly directed light in that area that also escapes into the sky, being scattered (redirected) by the atmosphere back toward the ground. This scattering is very strongly related to the wavelength of the light when the air is very clear (with very little aerosols). Rayleigh scattering dominates in such clear air, making the sky appear blue in the daytime. When there is significant aerosol (typical of most modern polluted conditions), the scattered light has less dependence on wavelength, making a whiter daytime sky. Because of this Rayleigh effect, and because of the eye's increased sensitivity to white or blue-rich light sources when adapted to very low light levels (see Purkinje effect), white or blue-rich light contributes significantly more to sky-glow than an equal amount of yellow light. Sky glow is of particular irritation to astronomers, because it reduces contrast in the night sky to the extent where it may even become impossible to see any but the brightest stars.
The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, originally published in Sky & Telescope magazine, is sometimes used to quantify sky glow and general sky clarity. The Bortle Scale rates the darkness of the sky and the visibility of night sky phenomena such as the gegenschein and the zodiacal band, easily masked by sky glow, on a scale of one to nine, providing a detailed description of each step on the scale.
Light is particularly problematic for amateur astronomers, whose ability to observe the night sky from their property is likely to be inhibited by any stray light from nearby. Most major optical astronomical observatories are surrounded by zones of strictly-enforced restrictions on light emissions.
"Direct" sky glow can be reduced by selecting lighting fixtures which limit the amount of light emitted more than 90 degrees above the nadir. The IESNA definitions include full cutoff (0%), cutoff (2.5%), and semi-cutoff (5%). "Indirect" skyglow produced by reflections from vertical and horizontal surfaces is harder to manage; the only effective method for preventing it is by minimizing over-illumination.
Light pollution is a side effect of industrial civilization. Its sources include building exterior and interior lighting, advertising, commercial properties, offices, factories, streetlights, and illuminated sporting venues. It is most severe in highly industrialized, densely populated areas of North America, Europe, and Japan and in major cities in the Middle East and North Africa like Cairo, but even relatively small amounts of light can be noticed and create problems. Like other forms of pollution, such as air, water and noise pollution, light pollution causes damage to the environment.
With recent advances in private spaceflight, the prospect of space-based orbiting billboards appearing in the near future has provoked concern that such objects may become another form of light pollution. With this in mind, the United States Federal Aviation Administration sought permission, in May 2005, to enforce a law prohibiting "obtrusive" advertising in earth orbit. Similar intentions are yet to be expressed by authorities in most other countries.
Impact on energy usage
Energy conservation advocates contend that light pollution must be addressed by changing the habits of society, so that lighting is used more efficiently, with less waste and less creation of unwanted or unneeded illumination. The case against light pollution is strengthened by a range of studies on health effects, suggesting that excess light may induce loss in visual acuity, hypertension, headaches and increased incidence of carcinoma[citation needed]. Several industry groups also recognize light pollution as an important issue. For example, the Institution of Lighting Engineers in the United Kingdom provides its members information about light pollution, the problems it causes, and how to reduce its impact.
Since not everyone is irritated by the same lighting sources, it is common for one person's light "pollution" to be light that is desirable for another. One example of this is found in advertising, when an advertiser wishes for particular lights to be bright and visible, even though others find them annoying. Other types of light pollution are more certain. For instance, light that accidentally crosses a property boundary and annoys a neighbor is generally wasted and pollutive light.
Disputes are still common when deciding appropriate action, and differences in opinion over what light is considered reasonable, and who should be responsible, mean that negotiation must sometimes take place between parties. Where objective measurement is desired, light levels can be quantified by field measurement or mathematical modeling, with results typically displayed as an isophote map or light contour map. Authorities have also taken a variety of measures for dealing with light pollution, depending on the interests, beliefs and understandings of the society involved. Measures range from doing nothing at all, to implementing strict laws and regulations about how lights may be installed and used.
Types
Light pollution is a broad term that refers to multiple problems, all of which are caused by inefficient, unappealing, or (arguably) unnecessary use of artificial light. Specific categories of light pollution include light trespass, over-illumination, glare, clutter, and sky glow. A single offending light source often falls into more than one of these categories.
Light trespass
Light trespass occurs when unwanted light enters one's property, for instance, by shining over a neighbor's fence. A common light trespass problem occurs when a strong light enters the window of one's home from outside, causing problems such as sleep deprivation or the blocking of an evening view.
A number of cities in the U.S. have developed standards for outdoor lighting to protect the rights of their citizens against light trespass. To assist them, the International Dark-Sky Association has developed a set of model lighting ordinances. The Dark-Sky Association was started to reduce the light going up into the sky which reduces visibility of stars, see sky glow below. This is any light which is emitted more than 90 degrees above nadir. By limiting light at this 90 degree mark they have also reduced the light output in the 80-90 degree range which creates most of the light trespass issues. U.S. federal agencies may also enforce standards and process complaints within their areas of jursidiction. For instance, in the case of light trespass by white strobe lighting from communication towers in excess of FAA minimum lighting requirements the FCC maintains a database of Antenna Structure Registration information which citizens may use to identify offending structures and provides a mechanism for processing consumer inquiries and complaints. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has also incorporated into their environmentally friendly building standard known as LEED, a credit for reducing the amount of light trespass and sky glow.
Light trespass can be reduced by selecting light fixtures which limit the amount of light emitted more than 80 degrees above the nadir. The IESNA definitions include full cutoff (10%), cutoff (10%), and semi-cutoff (20%). (These definitions also include limits on light emitted above 90 degrees to reduce sky glow.)
Ordinances have also been written to limit the amount of light at the property line and beyond, but may be unrealistic or vague. Realistic limits and clarity in measurement need to be provided. Stating "zero light at the property line" is too vague. Absolute zero means that even if a light fixture is a mile away and the light source is visible, it is in violation, and would require hoods to be placed over every light fixture. What is realistic may vary according to whether an area is residential or industrial, urban, suburban or rural. The credit offered by LEED provides limits at the property line and 10-15 feet beyond it. At the 10-15 foot distance LEED limits light to 0.01 fc. (For comparison, a full moon provides 0.03 fc and a moonless night 0.004 fc). This is a very difficult limit to comply with while providing even light on a parking lot and driveway. How is the light to be measured? Horizontal measurements are common for interior and exterior lighting calculations. However, for light trespass the concern is how much light shines into a person's eye. Measurements may be made at approximate eye level (5' high) of the vertical light level facing into the site, or aimed at the brightest light source. Exceptions might be allowed where drives enter the street. This would permit street lights at the drive entrance to make cars more visible as they pull into traffic. Limiting pole height is another common ordinance tactic to reduce light trespass. This becomes counterproductive when the ordinance also has max:min ratios for safety concerns. Reducing pole height will increase dark spots on a site. Increasing the number of poles is only viable to a certain point due to the width of the aisles & parking. Otherwise poles would need to be placed in the parking spaces and aisles to maintain even lighting.
Over-illumination
Office building illuminated by high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps shining upward, of which much light goes into the sky and neighboring apartment blocks and causes light pollution. Location: Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Office building illuminated by high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps shining upward, of which much light goes into the sky and neighboring apartment blocks and causes light pollution. Location: Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Over-illumination is the excessive use of light. Specifically within the United States, over-illumination is responsible for approximately two million barrels of oil per day in energy wasted. This is based upon U.S. consumption of equivalent of 50 million barrels per day (7,900,000 m³/d) of petroleum.It is further noted in the same U.S. Department of Energy source that over 30 percent of all energy is consumed by commercial, industrial and residential sectors. Energy audits of existing buildings demonstrate that the lighting component of residential, commercial and industrial uses consumes about 20 to 40 percent of those land uses, variable with region and land use. (Residential use lighting consumes only 10 to 30 percent of the energy bill while commercial buildings major use is lighting.) Thus lighting energy accounts for about four or five million barrels of oil (equivalent) per day. Again energy audit data demonstrates that about 30 to 60 percent of energy consumed in lighting is unneeded or gratuitous.
An alternative calculation starts with the fact that commercial building lighting consumes in excess of 81.68 terawatts (1999 data) of electricity. according to the U.S. DOE. Thus commercial lighting alone consumes about four to five million barrels per day (equivalent) of petroleum, in line with the alternate rationale above to estimate U.S. lighting energy consumption.
Over-illumination stems from several factors:
* Not using timers, occupancy sensors or other controls to extinguish lighting when not needed
* Improper design, especially of workplace spaces, by specifying higher levels of light than needed for a given task
* Incorrect choice of fixtures or light bulbs, which do not direct light into areas as needed
* Improper selection of hardware to utilize more energy than needed to accomplish the lighting task
* Incomplete training of building managers and occupants to use lighting systems efficiently
* Inadequate lighting maintenance resulting in increased stray light and energy costs
* "Daylight lighting" can be required by citizens to reduce crime or by shop owners to attract customers, so over-illumination can be a design choice, not a fault. In both cases target achievement is questionable.
* Substitution of old mercury lamps with more efficient sodium or metal halide lamps using the same electrical power
* Indirect lighting techniques, such as lighting a vertical wall to bouce photons on the ground.
Most of these issues can be readily corrected with available, inexpensive technology; however, there is considerable inertia in the field of lighting design and with landlord/tenant practices that create barriers to rapid correction of these matters. Most importantly public awareness would need to improve for industrialized countries to realize the large payoff in reducing over-illumination
Glare
Glare is often the result of excessive contrast between bright and dark areas in the field of view. For example, glare can be associated with directly viewing the filament of an unshielded or badly shielded light. Light shining into the eyes of pedestrians and drivers can obscure night vision for up to an hour after exposure. Caused by high contrast between light and dark areas, glare can also make it difficult for the human eye to adjust to the differences in brightness. Glare is particularly an issue in road safety, as bright and/or badly shielded lights around roads may partially blind drivers or pedestrians unexpectedly, and contribute to accidents.
Glare can also result in reduced contrast, due to light scattering in the eye by excessive brightness, or to reflection of light from dark areas in the field of vision, with luminance similar to the background luminance. This kind of glare is a particular instance of disability glare, called veiling glare.
Glare can be categorized into different types. One such classification is described in a book by Bob Mizon, coordinator for the British Astronomical Association's Campaign for Dark Skies. According to this classification:
* Blinding Glare describes effects such as that caused by staring into the Sun. It is completely blinding and leaves temporary or permanent vision deficiencies.
* Disability Glare describes effects such as being blinded by an oncoming cars lights, or light scattering in fog or in the eye reduces contrast, as well as reflections from print and other dark areas that render them bright, with significant reduction in sight capabilities.
* Discomfort Glare does not typically cause a dangerous situation in itself, and is annoying and irritating at best. It can potentially cause fatigue if experienced over extended periods.
Clutter
Clutter refers to excessive groupings of lights. Groupings of lights may generate confusion, distract from obstacles (including those that they may be intended to illuminate), and potentially cause accidents. Clutter is particularly noticeable on roads where the street lights are badly designed, or where brightly lit advertising surrounds the roadways. Depending on the motives of the person or organization who installed the lights, their placement and design may even be intended to distract drivers, and can contribute to accidents. Clutter may also present a hazard in the aviation environment if aviation safety lighting must compete for pilot attention with non-relevant lighting. For instance, runway lighting may be confused with an array of suburban commercial lighting and aircraft collision avoidance lights may be confused with ground lights.
Sky glow
Sky glow refers to the "glow" effect that can be seen over populated areas. It is the combination of all light reflected from what it has illuminated escaping up into the sky and from all of the badly directed light in that area that also escapes into the sky, being scattered (redirected) by the atmosphere back toward the ground. This scattering is very strongly related to the wavelength of the light when the air is very clear (with very little aerosols). Rayleigh scattering dominates in such clear air, making the sky appear blue in the daytime. When there is significant aerosol (typical of most modern polluted conditions), the scattered light has less dependence on wavelength, making a whiter daytime sky. Because of this Rayleigh effect, and because of the eye's increased sensitivity to white or blue-rich light sources when adapted to very low light levels (see Purkinje effect), white or blue-rich light contributes significantly more to sky-glow than an equal amount of yellow light. Sky glow is of particular irritation to astronomers, because it reduces contrast in the night sky to the extent where it may even become impossible to see any but the brightest stars.
The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, originally published in Sky & Telescope magazine, is sometimes used to quantify sky glow and general sky clarity. The Bortle Scale rates the darkness of the sky and the visibility of night sky phenomena such as the gegenschein and the zodiacal band, easily masked by sky glow, on a scale of one to nine, providing a detailed description of each step on the scale.
Light is particularly problematic for amateur astronomers, whose ability to observe the night sky from their property is likely to be inhibited by any stray light from nearby. Most major optical astronomical observatories are surrounded by zones of strictly-enforced restrictions on light emissions.
"Direct" sky glow can be reduced by selecting lighting fixtures which limit the amount of light emitted more than 90 degrees above the nadir. The IESNA definitions include full cutoff (0%), cutoff (2.5%), and semi-cutoff (5%). "Indirect" skyglow produced by reflections from vertical and horizontal surfaces is harder to manage; the only effective method for preventing it is by minimizing over-illumination.
Noise pollution- Sources of noise- Human health effects- Mitigation and control of noise
Noise pollution (or environmental noise) is displeasing human- or machine-created sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life. A common form of noise pollution is from transportation, principally motor vehicles. The word "noise" comes from the Latin word nausea meaning "seasickness", referring originally to nuisance noise.
Sources of noise
The source of most noise worldwide is transportation systems, motor vehicle noise, but also including aircraft noise and rail noise. Poor urban planning may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential area.
Other sources are car alarms, office equipment, factory machinery, construction work, grounds keeping equipment, barking dogs, appliances, power tools, lighting hum and audio entertainment systems.
Human health effects
Noise health effects are both health and behavioural in nature. The unwanted sound is called noise. This unwanted sound can damage physiological and psychological health. Noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. Furthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to health problems, whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at times panic attacks.
Chronic exposure to noise may cause noise-induced hearing loss. Older males exposed to significant occupational noise demonstrate significantly reduced hearing sensitivity than their non-exposed peers, though differences in hearing sensitivity decrease with time and the two groups are indistinguishable by age 79.[8] A comparison of Maaban tribesmen, who were insignificantly exposed to transportation or industrial noise, to a typical U.S. population showed that chronic exposure to moderately high levels of environmental noise contributes to hearing loss.
High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects and exposure to moderately high levels during a single eight hour period causes a statistical rise in blood pressure of five to ten points and an increase in stress and vasoconstriction leading to the increased blood pressure noted above as well as to increased incidence of coronary artery disease.
Noise pollution is also a cause of annoyance. A 2005 study by Spanish researchers found that in urban areas households are willing to pay approximately four Euros per decibel per year for noise reduction.
Environmental effects
Noise can have a detrimental effect on animals by causing stress, increasing risk of mortality by changing the delicate balance in predator/prey detection and avoidance, and by interfering with their use of sounds in communication especially in relation to reproduction and in navigation. Acoustic overexposure can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing.
An impact of noise on animal life is the reduction of usable habitat that noisy areas may cause, which in the case of endangered species may be part of the path to extinction. One of the best known cases of damage caused by noise pollution is the death of certain species of beached whales, brought on by the loud sound of military sonar.
Noise also makes species communicate louder, which is called Lombard vocal response. Scientists and researchers have conducted experiments that show whales' song length is longer when submarine-detectors are on. If creatures don't "speak" loud enough, their voice will be masked by anthropogenic sounds. These unheard voices might be warnings, finding of prey, or preparations of net-bubbling. When one species begins speaking louder, it will mask other species' voice, causing the whole ecosystem to eventually speak louder.
Zebra finches become less faithful to their partners when exposed to traffic noise. This could alter a population's evolutionary trajectory by selecting traits, sapping resources normally devoted to other activities and thus lead to profound genetic and evolutionary consequences.
Mitigation and control of noise
Technology to mitigate or remove noise can be applied as follows:
There are a variety of strategies for mitigating roadway noise including: use of noise barriers, limitation of vehicle speeds, alteration of roadway surface texture, limitation of heavy duty vehicles, use of traffic controls that smooth vehicle flow to reduce braking and acceleration, and tyre design. An important factor in applying these strategies is a computer model for roadway noise, that is capable of addressing local topography, meteorology, traffic operations and hypothetical mitigation. Costs of building-in mitigation can be modest, provided these solutions are sought in the planning stage of a roadway project.
Aircraft noise can be reduced to some extent by design of quieter jet engines, which was pursued vigorously in the 1970s and 1980s. This strategy has brought limited but noticeable reduction of urban sound levels. Reconsideration of operations, such as altering flight paths and time of day runway use, have demonstrated benefits for residential populations near airports. FAA sponsored residential retrofit (insulation) programs initiated in the 1970s has also enjoyed success in reducing interior residential noise in thousands of residences across the United States.
Exposure of workers to Industrial noise has been addressed since the 1930s. Changes include redesign of industrial equipment, shock mounting assemblies and physical barriers in the workplace.
Legal status
Governments up until the 1970s viewed noise as a "nuisance" rather than an environmental problem. In the United States there are federal standards for highway and aircraft noise; states and local governments typically have very specific statutes on building codes, urban planning and roadway development. In Canada and the EU there are few national, provincial, or state laws that protect against noise.
Noise laws and ordinances vary widely among municipalities and indeed do not even exist in some cities. An ordinance may contain a general prohibition against making noise that is a nuisance, or it may set out specific guidelines for the level of noise allowable at certain times of the day and for certain activities.
Most city ordinances prohibit sound above a threshold intensity from trespassing over property line at night, typically between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and during the day restricts it to a higher sound level; however, enforcement is uneven. Many municipalities do not follow up on complaints. Even where a municipality has an enforcement office, it may only be willing to issue warnings, since taking offenders to court is expensive.
Many conflicts over noise pollution are handled by negotiation between the emitter and the receiver. Escalation procedures vary by country, and may include action in conjunction with local authorities, in particular the police. Noise pollution often persists because only five to ten percent of people affected by noise will lodge a formal complaint. Many people are not aware of their legal right to quiet and do not know how to register a complaint.
Sources of noise
The source of most noise worldwide is transportation systems, motor vehicle noise, but also including aircraft noise and rail noise. Poor urban planning may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential area.
Other sources are car alarms, office equipment, factory machinery, construction work, grounds keeping equipment, barking dogs, appliances, power tools, lighting hum and audio entertainment systems.
Human health effects
Noise health effects are both health and behavioural in nature. The unwanted sound is called noise. This unwanted sound can damage physiological and psychological health. Noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. Furthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to health problems, whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at times panic attacks.
Chronic exposure to noise may cause noise-induced hearing loss. Older males exposed to significant occupational noise demonstrate significantly reduced hearing sensitivity than their non-exposed peers, though differences in hearing sensitivity decrease with time and the two groups are indistinguishable by age 79.[8] A comparison of Maaban tribesmen, who were insignificantly exposed to transportation or industrial noise, to a typical U.S. population showed that chronic exposure to moderately high levels of environmental noise contributes to hearing loss.
High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects and exposure to moderately high levels during a single eight hour period causes a statistical rise in blood pressure of five to ten points and an increase in stress and vasoconstriction leading to the increased blood pressure noted above as well as to increased incidence of coronary artery disease.
Noise pollution is also a cause of annoyance. A 2005 study by Spanish researchers found that in urban areas households are willing to pay approximately four Euros per decibel per year for noise reduction.
Environmental effects
Noise can have a detrimental effect on animals by causing stress, increasing risk of mortality by changing the delicate balance in predator/prey detection and avoidance, and by interfering with their use of sounds in communication especially in relation to reproduction and in navigation. Acoustic overexposure can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing.
An impact of noise on animal life is the reduction of usable habitat that noisy areas may cause, which in the case of endangered species may be part of the path to extinction. One of the best known cases of damage caused by noise pollution is the death of certain species of beached whales, brought on by the loud sound of military sonar.
Noise also makes species communicate louder, which is called Lombard vocal response. Scientists and researchers have conducted experiments that show whales' song length is longer when submarine-detectors are on. If creatures don't "speak" loud enough, their voice will be masked by anthropogenic sounds. These unheard voices might be warnings, finding of prey, or preparations of net-bubbling. When one species begins speaking louder, it will mask other species' voice, causing the whole ecosystem to eventually speak louder.
Zebra finches become less faithful to their partners when exposed to traffic noise. This could alter a population's evolutionary trajectory by selecting traits, sapping resources normally devoted to other activities and thus lead to profound genetic and evolutionary consequences.
Mitigation and control of noise
Technology to mitigate or remove noise can be applied as follows:
There are a variety of strategies for mitigating roadway noise including: use of noise barriers, limitation of vehicle speeds, alteration of roadway surface texture, limitation of heavy duty vehicles, use of traffic controls that smooth vehicle flow to reduce braking and acceleration, and tyre design. An important factor in applying these strategies is a computer model for roadway noise, that is capable of addressing local topography, meteorology, traffic operations and hypothetical mitigation. Costs of building-in mitigation can be modest, provided these solutions are sought in the planning stage of a roadway project.
Aircraft noise can be reduced to some extent by design of quieter jet engines, which was pursued vigorously in the 1970s and 1980s. This strategy has brought limited but noticeable reduction of urban sound levels. Reconsideration of operations, such as altering flight paths and time of day runway use, have demonstrated benefits for residential populations near airports. FAA sponsored residential retrofit (insulation) programs initiated in the 1970s has also enjoyed success in reducing interior residential noise in thousands of residences across the United States.
Exposure of workers to Industrial noise has been addressed since the 1930s. Changes include redesign of industrial equipment, shock mounting assemblies and physical barriers in the workplace.
Legal status
Governments up until the 1970s viewed noise as a "nuisance" rather than an environmental problem. In the United States there are federal standards for highway and aircraft noise; states and local governments typically have very specific statutes on building codes, urban planning and roadway development. In Canada and the EU there are few national, provincial, or state laws that protect against noise.
Noise laws and ordinances vary widely among municipalities and indeed do not even exist in some cities. An ordinance may contain a general prohibition against making noise that is a nuisance, or it may set out specific guidelines for the level of noise allowable at certain times of the day and for certain activities.
Most city ordinances prohibit sound above a threshold intensity from trespassing over property line at night, typically between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and during the day restricts it to a higher sound level; however, enforcement is uneven. Many municipalities do not follow up on complaints. Even where a municipality has an enforcement office, it may only be willing to issue warnings, since taking offenders to court is expensive.
Many conflicts over noise pollution are handled by negotiation between the emitter and the receiver. Escalation procedures vary by country, and may include action in conjunction with local authorities, in particular the police. Noise pollution often persists because only five to ten percent of people affected by noise will lodge a formal complaint. Many people are not aware of their legal right to quiet and do not know how to register a complaint.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Land pollution
Land pollution is the degradation of earth's land surfaces often caused by human activities and their misuse of land resources. Haphazard disposal of urban and industrial wastes, exploitation of minerals, and improper use of soil by inadequate agricultural practices are a few factors. Urbanization and industrialisation are major causes of land pollution.
The Industrial Revolution set a series of events into motion which destroyed natural habitats and polluted the environment, causing diseases in both humans and animals.
Increased mechanization
In some areas, metal ores are extracted from the ground, melted, cast and cooled using river water, which raises the temperature of water in rivers. This reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of the water and affects the aquatic life forms. The excavation of minerals leads to a large scale quarrying and defacing of land. To a large extent, this has been stopped or is more controlled, and attempts have been made to use the quarries profitably e.g. sand pits have been turned into boating lochs and some have been used as landfills. Central Scotland bears the scars of years of coal mining, with pit binges and slag heaps visible from the motorways.
The increase in the concentration of population in cities, along with the internal combustion engine, led to the increased number of roads and all the infra structure that goes with them. Roads cause visual, noise, light, air and water pollution, in addition to land pollution. The visual and noise areas are obvious, however light pollution is becoming more widely recognised as a problem. From outer space, large cities can be picked out at night by the glow of their lighting, so city dwellers seldom experience total darkness.
The contribution of vehicular traffic to air pollution is dealt with in another article, but, suffice to say that sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide are the main culprits. Water pollution is caused by the run off from roads of oil, salt and rubber residue, which enter the water courses and may make conditions unsuitable for certain organisms to live.
Agricultural effects
Increased agricultural land and field size
As the demand for food has grown very high, there is an increase in field size and mechanization. The increase in field size makes it economically viable for the farmer but results in loss of habitat and shelter for wildlife, as hedgerows and copses disappear. When crops are harvested, the naked soil is left open to wind after the heavy machinery has compacted it. Another consequence of more intensive agriculture is the move to monoculture. This is unnatural, it depletes the soil of nutrients, allows diseases and pests to spread and, in short, brings into play the use of chemical substances foreign to the environment.
Pesticides
Pesticides are chemicals used to kill pests. These can cause soil contamination and water contamination as well.pesticides are the chemical used for spaying t0 the crop. it kills the isects near by the crop which affects the crop. the biggest drawback of the pesticide is that that after a certain period of time the fertility of land goes away.
Herbicides
Herbicides are used to kill weeds, especially on pavements and railways. They are similar to auxins and most are biodegradable by soil bacteria. However one group derived from trinitrophenol (2:4 D and 2:4:5 T) have the impurity dioxin, which is very toxic and causes fatality even in low concentrations. It also causes spontaneous abortions, haemorrhaging and cancer. Agent Orange (50% 2:4:5 T) was used as a defoliant in Vietnam. Eleven million gallons were used and children born since then to American soldiers who served in this conflict, have shown increased physical and mental disabilities compared to the rest of the population. It affects the head of the sperm and the chromosomes inside it.
Another herbicide, much loved by murder story writers, is Paraquat. It is highly toxic but it rapidly degrades in soil due to the action of bacteria and does not kill soil fauna.
Fungicides
Fungicides are the group used to stop the growth of smuts and rusts on cereals, and mildews and moulds like Mucor on plants. The problem is that they may contain copper and mercury. Copper is very toxic (at 1ppm) to water plants and fish, and can enter human skin if sprayed and accumulate in the central nervous system. Organomercury compounds have been used to get rid of sedges, which are insidious and difficult to remove. However it also can accumulate in birds’ central nervous systems and kill them.
Insecticides
Insecticides are used to rid farms of pests which damage crops. The insects damage not only standing crops but also stored ones and in the tropics it is reckoned that one third of the total production is lost during food storage. As with fungicides, the first insecticides used in the nineteenth century were inorganic e.g. Paris Green and other compounds of arsenic. Nicotine has also been used since the late eighteenth century. There are now two main groups of synthetic insecticides -
Organochlorines
Organochlorines include DDT, Aldrin, Dieldrin and BHC. They are cheap to produce, potent and persistent. DDT was used on a massive scale from the 1930s, with a peak of 72,000 tonnes used 1970. Then usage fell as the harmful environmental effects were realized. It was found worldwide in fish and birds and was even discovered in the snow in the Antarctic. It is only slightly soluble in water but is very soluble in the bloodstream. It affects the nervous and endocrine systems and causes the eggshells of birds to lack calcium causing them to be easily breakable. It is thought to be responsible for the decline of the numbers of birds of prey like ospreys and peregrine falcons in the 1950s - they are now recovering.
As well as increased concentration via the food chain, it is known to enter via permeable membranes, so fish get it through their gills. As it has low water solubility, it tends to stay at the water surface, so organisms that live there are most affected. DDT found in fish that formed part of the human food chain caused concern, but the levels found in the liver, kidney and brain tissues was less than 1ppm and in fat was 10 ppm which was below the level likely to cause harm. However, DDT was banned in Britain and America to stop the further build up of it in the food chain. The USA exploited this ban and sold DDT to developing countries, who could not afford the expensive replacement chemicals and who did not have such stringent regulations governing the use of pesticides.
Some insects have developed a resistance to insecticides - e.g. the Anopheles mosquito which carries malaria.
Organophosphates
Organophosphates, e.g. parathion, methyl parathion and about 40 other insecticides are available nationally. Parathion is highly toxic, methyl-parathion is less so and Malathion is generally considered safe as it has low toxicity and is rapidly broken down in the mammalian liver. This group works by preventing normal nerve transmission as cholinesterase is prevented from breaking down the transmitter substance acetylcholine, resulting in uncontrolled muscle movements.
Entry of a variety of pesticides into our water supplies causes concern to environmental groups, as in many cases the long term effects of these specific chemicals is not known.
Restrictions came into force in July 1985 and were so frequently broken that in 1987, formal proceedings were taken against the British government. Britain is still the only European state to use Aldrin and organochlorines, although it was supposed to stop in 1993. East Anglia has the worst record for pesticide contamination of drinking water. Of the 350 pesticides used in Britain, only 50 can be analyzed, which is worrying for the global community.
Burial
Burial is the technique used by Jews, Muslims, Christians and other religions with Abrahamic influence, to dispose off the corpse of dead humans and animals. This process leads to regular soil erosion due to loosening of soil. Also, the decomposing fluids act as poisonous herbicides, pesticides and may even lead to epidemics in surrounding areas. It leads to soil pollution, soil erosion and even water pollution.
Increased waste disposal
In Scotland in 1993, 14 million tons of waste was produced. 100,000 tons was special waste and 260,000 tons was controlled waste from other parts of Britain and abroad. 45% of the special waste was in liquid form and 18% was asbestos - radioactive waste was not included. Of the controlled waste, 48% came from the demolition of buildings, 22% from industry, 17% from households and 13% from business - only 3% were recycled. 90% of controlled waste was buried in landfill sites and produced 2 million tons of methane gas. 1.5% was burned in incinerators and 1.5% were exported to be disposed of or recycled. There are 748 disposal sites in Scotland.
Landfills produce leachate, which has to be recycled to keep favourable conditions for microbial activity, methane gas and some carbon dioxide.
There are very few vacant or derelict land sites in the north east of Scotland, as there are few traditional heavy industries or coal/mineral extraction sites. However some areas are contaminated by aromatic hydrocarbons (500 cubic meters).
The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive allows sewage sludge to be sprayed onto land and the volume is expected to double to 185,000 tons of dry solids in 2005. This has good agricultural properties due to the high nitrogen and phosphate content. In 1990/1991, 13% wet weight was sprayed onto 0.13% of the land , however this is expected to rise 15 fold by 2005. There is a need to control this so that pathogenic microorganisms do not get into water courses and to ensure that there is no accumulation of heavy metals in the top soil.
Increased wealth
At the end of twentieth century, people had even more leisure time and available wealth. This means that people can travel more often, increasing the number of cars on the roads. This is related to the increased litter problem in the countryside. This includes packaging, cans, bottles, etc. from picnics, but increasingly people are dumping household rubbish in the countryside instead of taking it to the local dump. Aesthetically, litter is unpleasant but poses threats to the wildlife through razor sharp glass that can be trodden on, plastic bags that can be eaten and choked on, etc. More and more litter is becoming a problem, especially in the more remote areas, which are now more accessible to the general public. Until the public takes responsibility to stop littering, legislation will have little effect and information and education will be the fore runners in the fight against the litter bugs.
The Industrial Revolution set a series of events into motion which destroyed natural habitats and polluted the environment, causing diseases in both humans and animals.
Increased mechanization
In some areas, metal ores are extracted from the ground, melted, cast and cooled using river water, which raises the temperature of water in rivers. This reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of the water and affects the aquatic life forms. The excavation of minerals leads to a large scale quarrying and defacing of land. To a large extent, this has been stopped or is more controlled, and attempts have been made to use the quarries profitably e.g. sand pits have been turned into boating lochs and some have been used as landfills. Central Scotland bears the scars of years of coal mining, with pit binges and slag heaps visible from the motorways.
The increase in the concentration of population in cities, along with the internal combustion engine, led to the increased number of roads and all the infra structure that goes with them. Roads cause visual, noise, light, air and water pollution, in addition to land pollution. The visual and noise areas are obvious, however light pollution is becoming more widely recognised as a problem. From outer space, large cities can be picked out at night by the glow of their lighting, so city dwellers seldom experience total darkness.
The contribution of vehicular traffic to air pollution is dealt with in another article, but, suffice to say that sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide are the main culprits. Water pollution is caused by the run off from roads of oil, salt and rubber residue, which enter the water courses and may make conditions unsuitable for certain organisms to live.
Agricultural effects
Increased agricultural land and field size
As the demand for food has grown very high, there is an increase in field size and mechanization. The increase in field size makes it economically viable for the farmer but results in loss of habitat and shelter for wildlife, as hedgerows and copses disappear. When crops are harvested, the naked soil is left open to wind after the heavy machinery has compacted it. Another consequence of more intensive agriculture is the move to monoculture. This is unnatural, it depletes the soil of nutrients, allows diseases and pests to spread and, in short, brings into play the use of chemical substances foreign to the environment.
Pesticides
Pesticides are chemicals used to kill pests. These can cause soil contamination and water contamination as well.pesticides are the chemical used for spaying t0 the crop. it kills the isects near by the crop which affects the crop. the biggest drawback of the pesticide is that that after a certain period of time the fertility of land goes away.
Herbicides
Herbicides are used to kill weeds, especially on pavements and railways. They are similar to auxins and most are biodegradable by soil bacteria. However one group derived from trinitrophenol (2:4 D and 2:4:5 T) have the impurity dioxin, which is very toxic and causes fatality even in low concentrations. It also causes spontaneous abortions, haemorrhaging and cancer. Agent Orange (50% 2:4:5 T) was used as a defoliant in Vietnam. Eleven million gallons were used and children born since then to American soldiers who served in this conflict, have shown increased physical and mental disabilities compared to the rest of the population. It affects the head of the sperm and the chromosomes inside it.
Another herbicide, much loved by murder story writers, is Paraquat. It is highly toxic but it rapidly degrades in soil due to the action of bacteria and does not kill soil fauna.
Fungicides
Fungicides are the group used to stop the growth of smuts and rusts on cereals, and mildews and moulds like Mucor on plants. The problem is that they may contain copper and mercury. Copper is very toxic (at 1ppm) to water plants and fish, and can enter human skin if sprayed and accumulate in the central nervous system. Organomercury compounds have been used to get rid of sedges, which are insidious and difficult to remove. However it also can accumulate in birds’ central nervous systems and kill them.
Insecticides
Insecticides are used to rid farms of pests which damage crops. The insects damage not only standing crops but also stored ones and in the tropics it is reckoned that one third of the total production is lost during food storage. As with fungicides, the first insecticides used in the nineteenth century were inorganic e.g. Paris Green and other compounds of arsenic. Nicotine has also been used since the late eighteenth century. There are now two main groups of synthetic insecticides -
Organochlorines
Organochlorines include DDT, Aldrin, Dieldrin and BHC. They are cheap to produce, potent and persistent. DDT was used on a massive scale from the 1930s, with a peak of 72,000 tonnes used 1970. Then usage fell as the harmful environmental effects were realized. It was found worldwide in fish and birds and was even discovered in the snow in the Antarctic. It is only slightly soluble in water but is very soluble in the bloodstream. It affects the nervous and endocrine systems and causes the eggshells of birds to lack calcium causing them to be easily breakable. It is thought to be responsible for the decline of the numbers of birds of prey like ospreys and peregrine falcons in the 1950s - they are now recovering.
As well as increased concentration via the food chain, it is known to enter via permeable membranes, so fish get it through their gills. As it has low water solubility, it tends to stay at the water surface, so organisms that live there are most affected. DDT found in fish that formed part of the human food chain caused concern, but the levels found in the liver, kidney and brain tissues was less than 1ppm and in fat was 10 ppm which was below the level likely to cause harm. However, DDT was banned in Britain and America to stop the further build up of it in the food chain. The USA exploited this ban and sold DDT to developing countries, who could not afford the expensive replacement chemicals and who did not have such stringent regulations governing the use of pesticides.
Some insects have developed a resistance to insecticides - e.g. the Anopheles mosquito which carries malaria.
Organophosphates
Organophosphates, e.g. parathion, methyl parathion and about 40 other insecticides are available nationally. Parathion is highly toxic, methyl-parathion is less so and Malathion is generally considered safe as it has low toxicity and is rapidly broken down in the mammalian liver. This group works by preventing normal nerve transmission as cholinesterase is prevented from breaking down the transmitter substance acetylcholine, resulting in uncontrolled muscle movements.
Entry of a variety of pesticides into our water supplies causes concern to environmental groups, as in many cases the long term effects of these specific chemicals is not known.
Restrictions came into force in July 1985 and were so frequently broken that in 1987, formal proceedings were taken against the British government. Britain is still the only European state to use Aldrin and organochlorines, although it was supposed to stop in 1993. East Anglia has the worst record for pesticide contamination of drinking water. Of the 350 pesticides used in Britain, only 50 can be analyzed, which is worrying for the global community.
Burial
Burial is the technique used by Jews, Muslims, Christians and other religions with Abrahamic influence, to dispose off the corpse of dead humans and animals. This process leads to regular soil erosion due to loosening of soil. Also, the decomposing fluids act as poisonous herbicides, pesticides and may even lead to epidemics in surrounding areas. It leads to soil pollution, soil erosion and even water pollution.
Increased waste disposal
In Scotland in 1993, 14 million tons of waste was produced. 100,000 tons was special waste and 260,000 tons was controlled waste from other parts of Britain and abroad. 45% of the special waste was in liquid form and 18% was asbestos - radioactive waste was not included. Of the controlled waste, 48% came from the demolition of buildings, 22% from industry, 17% from households and 13% from business - only 3% were recycled. 90% of controlled waste was buried in landfill sites and produced 2 million tons of methane gas. 1.5% was burned in incinerators and 1.5% were exported to be disposed of or recycled. There are 748 disposal sites in Scotland.
Landfills produce leachate, which has to be recycled to keep favourable conditions for microbial activity, methane gas and some carbon dioxide.
There are very few vacant or derelict land sites in the north east of Scotland, as there are few traditional heavy industries or coal/mineral extraction sites. However some areas are contaminated by aromatic hydrocarbons (500 cubic meters).
The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive allows sewage sludge to be sprayed onto land and the volume is expected to double to 185,000 tons of dry solids in 2005. This has good agricultural properties due to the high nitrogen and phosphate content. In 1990/1991, 13% wet weight was sprayed onto 0.13% of the land , however this is expected to rise 15 fold by 2005. There is a need to control this so that pathogenic microorganisms do not get into water courses and to ensure that there is no accumulation of heavy metals in the top soil.
Increased wealth
At the end of twentieth century, people had even more leisure time and available wealth. This means that people can travel more often, increasing the number of cars on the roads. This is related to the increased litter problem in the countryside. This includes packaging, cans, bottles, etc. from picnics, but increasingly people are dumping household rubbish in the countryside instead of taking it to the local dump. Aesthetically, litter is unpleasant but poses threats to the wildlife through razor sharp glass that can be trodden on, plastic bags that can be eaten and choked on, etc. More and more litter is becoming a problem, especially in the more remote areas, which are now more accessible to the general public. Until the public takes responsibility to stop littering, legislation will have little effect and information and education will be the fore runners in the fight against the litter bugs.
Desertification- Prehistoric patterns-Countering desertification
Desertification is the degradation of land in arid and dry sub-humid areas, resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations. A major impact of desertification is biodiversity loss and loss of productive capacity, for example, by transition from land dominated by shrublands to non-native grasslands. In the semi-arid regions of southern California, many coastal sage scrub and chaparral ecosystems have been replaced by non-native, invasive grasses due to the shortening of fire return intervals. This can create a monoculture of annual grass that can not support the wide range of animals once found in the original ecosystem. In Madagascar's central highland plateau, 10% of the entire country has been lost to desertification due to slash and burn agriculture by indigenous peoples. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.
Causes
Landsat image of sand dunes advancing on Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
Landsat image of sand dunes advancing on Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
Desertification is induced by several factors, primarily anthropogenic beginning in the Holocene era. The primary reasons for desertification are overgrazing, over cultivation, increased fire frequency, water impoundment, deforestation, overdrafting of groundwater, increased soil salinity, and global climate change.
Deserts may be separated from surrounding, less arid areas by mountains and other contrasting landforms that reflect fundamental structural differences in the terrain. In other areas, desert fringes form a gradual transition from a dry to a more humid environment, making it more subtle to determine the desert border. These transition zones can have fragile, delicately balanced ecosystems. Desert fringes often are a mosaic of microclimates. Small hollows support vegetation that picks up heat from the hot winds and protects the land from the prevailing winds. After rainfall the vegetated areas are distinctly cooler than the surroundings.
In these marginal areas human activity may stress the ecosystem beyond its tolerance limit, resulting in degradation of the land. By pounding the soil with their hooves, livestock compact the substrate, increase the proportion of fine material, and reduce the percolation rate of the soil, thus encouraging erosion by wind and water. Grazing and collection of firewood reduce or eliminate plants that bind the soil and prevent erosion. All these come about due to the trend towards settling in one area instead of a nomadic culture.
Sand dunes can encroach on human habitats. Sand dunes move through a few different means, all of them assisted by wind. One way that dunes can move is through saltation, where sand particles skip along the ground like a rock thrown across a pond might skip across the water's surface. When these skipping particles land, they may knock into other particles and cause them to skip as well. With slightly stronger winds, particles collide in mid-air, causing sheet flows. In a major dust storm, dunes may move tens of meters through such sheet flows. And like snow, sand avalanches, falling down the steep slopes of the dunes that face away from the winds, also moving the dunes forward.
It is a common misconception that droughts by themselves cause desertification. While drought is a contributing factor, the root causes are all related to man's overexploitation of the environment.[citation needed] There is no geological evidence that deserts expanded significantly before the advent of civilization. Droughts are common in arid and semiarid lands, and well-managed lands can recover from drought when the rains return. Continued land abuse during droughts, however, increases land degradation. Increased population and livestock pressure on marginal lands has accelerated desertification. In some areas, nomads moving to less arid areas disrupt the local ecosystem and increase the rate of erosion of the land. Nomads typically try to escape the desert, but because of their land-use practices, they are bringing the desert with them.
Some arid and semi-arid lands can support crops, but additional pressure from greater populations or decreases in rainfall can lead to the few plants present disappearing. The soil becomes exposed to wind, causing soil particles to be deposited elsewhere. The top layer becomes eroded. With the removal of shade, rates of evaporation increase and salts become drawn up to the surface. This increases soil salinity which inhibits plant growth. The loss of plants causes less moisture to be retained in the area, which may change the climate pattern leading to lower rainfall.
This degradation of formerly productive land is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Desertification may intensify a general climatic trend toward greater aridity, or it may initiate a change in local climate. Desertification does not occur in linear, easily mappable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well under way. Often little data are available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation.
Combating desertification is complex and difficult, usually impossible without alteration of land management practises that led to the desertification. Over-exploitation of the land and climate variations can have identical impacts and be connected in feedbacks, which makes it very difficult to choose the right mitigation strategy. Investigating the historic desertification plays a special role since it allows better distinguishing of human and natural factors. In this context, recent research about historic desertification in Jordan questions the dominant role of man. It seems possible that current measures like reforestation projects cannot achieve their goals if global warming continues. Forests may die when it gets drier, and more frequent extreme events as testified in sediments from earlier periods could become a threat for agriculture, water supply, and infrastructure.
Prehistoric patterns
Desertification is a historic phenomenon; the world's great deserts were formed by natural processes interacting over long intervals of time. During most of these times, deserts have grown and shrunk independent of human activities. Paleodeserts are large sand seas now inactive because they are stabilized by vegetation, some extending beyond the present margins of core deserts, such as the Sahara. Many deserts in western Asia arose because of an overpopulation of prehistoric species and subspecies during the late Cretaceous era.
Dated fossil pollen indicates that today's Sahara desert has been changing between desert and fertile savanna. Studies also show that prehistorically the advance and retreat of deserts tracked yearly rainfall, whereas a pattern of increasing amounts of desert began with human-driven activities of overgrazing and deforestation.
A chief difference of prehistoric versus present desertification is the much greater rate of desertification than in prehistoric and geologic time scales, due to anthropogenic influences.
Historical and current desertification
Overgrazing and to a lesser extent drought in the 1930s transformed parts of the Great Plains in the United States into the "Dust Bowl". During that time, a considerable fraction of the plains population abandoned their homes to escape the unproductive lands. Improved agricultural and water management have prevented a disaster of the earlier magnitude from recurring, but desertification presently affects tens of millions of people with primary occurrence in the lesser developed countries.
Lake Chad in a 2001 satellite image, with the actual lake in blue. The lake has shrunk by 95% since the 1960s.
Lake Chad in a 2001 satellite image, with the actual lake in blue. The lake has shrunk by 95% since the 1960s.
Desertification is widespread in many areas of the People's Republic of China. The populations of rural areas have increased since 1949 for political reasons as more people have settled there. While there has been an increase in livestock, the land available for grazing has decreased. Also the importing of European cattle such as Friesian and Simmental, which have higher food intakes, has made things worse.
Human overpopulation is leading to destruction of tropical wet forests and tropical dry forests, due to widening practices of slash-and-burn and other methods of subsistence farming necessitated by famines in lesser developed countries. A sequel to the deforestation is typically large scale erosion, loss of soil nutrients and sometimes total desertification. Examples of this extreme outcome can be seen on Madagascar's central highland plateau, where about seven percent of the country's total land mass has become barren, sterile land.
Overgrazing has made the Rio Puerco Basin of central New Mexico one of the most eroded river basins of the western United States and has increased the high sediment content of the river. Overgrazing is also an issue with some regions of South Africa such as the Waterberg Massif, although restoration of native habitat and game has been pursued vigorously since about 1980.
Another example of desertification occurring is in the Sahel. The chief cause of desertification in the Sahel is slash-and-burn farming practised by an expanding human population. The Sahara is expanding south at an average rate of 30 miles per year.
The Desert of Maine is a 40 acre dune of glacial silt near Freeport, Maine. Overgrazing and soil erosion exposed the cap of the dune, revealing the desert as a small patch that continued to grow, overtaking the land. The site is maintained as a tourist attraction.
Ghana and Nigeria currently experience desertification; in the latter, desertification overtakes about 1,355 square miles (3,510 km2) of land per year. The Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, are also affected. More than 80% of Afghanistan's and Pakistan's land could be subject to soil erosion and desertification. In Kazakhstan, nearly half of the cropland has been abandoned since 1980. In Iran, sand storms were said to have buried 124 villages in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in 2002, and they had to be abandoned. In Latin America, Mexico and Brazil are affected by desertification.
Countering desertification
Desertification has been recognized as a major threat to biodiversity. Numerous countries have developed Biodiversity Action Plans to counter its effects, particularly in relation to the protection of endangered flora and fauna.
A number of solutions have been tried in order to reduce the rate of desertification and regain lost land; however, most measures treat symptoms of sand movement and do not address the root causes of land modification such as overgrazing and unsustainable farming. Leguminous plants, which extracts nitrogen from the air and fixes it in the soil, can be planted to restore fertility. Stones stacked around the base of trees collect morning dew and help retain soil moisture. Artificial grooves can be dug in the ground to retain rainfall and trap wind-blown seeds. In Iran, petroleum is being sprayed over semi-arid cropland. This coats seedlings to prevent moisture loss and stop them being blown away. Windbreaks made from trees and bushes to reduce soil erosion and evapotranspiration were widely encouraged by development agencies from the middle of the 1980s in the Sahel area of Africa.
In developing countries, with many local people using trees for firewood and cooking the problem has become acute. In order to gain further supplies of fuel the local population add more pressure to the depleted forests; adding to the desertification process. Solar ovens and efficient wood burning cook stoves are being advocated as a means to relieving some of this pressure upon the environment.
While desertification has received some publicity by the news media, most people are unaware of the extent of environmental degradation of productive lands and the expansion of deserts. In 1988 Ridley Nelson pointed out that desertification is a subtle and complex process of deterioration.
At the local level, individuals and governments can partially or temporarily forestall desertification. Sand fences are used throughout the Middle East and the US, in the same way snow fences are used in the north. Placement of straw grids, each up to a square meter in area, will also decrease the surface wind velocity. Shrubs and trees planted within the grids are protected by the straw until they take root. However, some studies suggest that planting of trees depletes water supplies in the area. In areas where some water is available for irrigation, shrubs planted on the lower one-third of a dune's windward side will stabilize the dune. This vegetation decreases the wind velocity near the base of the dune and prevents much of the sand from moving. Higher velocity winds at the top of the dune level it off and trees can be planted atop these flattened surfaces.
Oases and farmlands in windy regions can be protected by planting tree fences or grass belts. Sand that manages to pass through the grass belts can be caught in strips of trees planted as wind breaks 50 to 100 meters apart adjacent to the belts. Small plots of trees may also be scattered inside oases to stabilize the area. On a much larger scale, a "Green Wall of China", which will eventually stretch more than 5,700 kilometers in length, nearly as long as the Great Wall of China, is being planted in north-eastern China to protect "sandy lands" – deserts created by human activity.
Africa, with coordination from Senegal, has launched its own "green wall" project. Trees will be planted on a 15 km wide land strip from Senegal to Djibouti. Aside from countering desert progression, the project is also aimed at creating new economic activities, especially thanks to tree products such as gum arabic
More efficient use of existing water resources and control of salinization are other effective tools for improving arid lands. New ways are being sought to use surface-water resources such as rain water harvesting or irrigating with seasonal runoff from adjacent highlands. New ways are also being sought to find groundwater resources and to develop more effective ways of irrigating arid and semiarid lands. Research on the reclamation of deserts is also focusing on discovering proper crop rotation to protect the fragile soil, on understanding how sand-fixing plants can be adapted to local environments, and on how grazing lands and water resources can be developed effectively without being overused.
Causes
Landsat image of sand dunes advancing on Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
Landsat image of sand dunes advancing on Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
Desertification is induced by several factors, primarily anthropogenic beginning in the Holocene era. The primary reasons for desertification are overgrazing, over cultivation, increased fire frequency, water impoundment, deforestation, overdrafting of groundwater, increased soil salinity, and global climate change.
Deserts may be separated from surrounding, less arid areas by mountains and other contrasting landforms that reflect fundamental structural differences in the terrain. In other areas, desert fringes form a gradual transition from a dry to a more humid environment, making it more subtle to determine the desert border. These transition zones can have fragile, delicately balanced ecosystems. Desert fringes often are a mosaic of microclimates. Small hollows support vegetation that picks up heat from the hot winds and protects the land from the prevailing winds. After rainfall the vegetated areas are distinctly cooler than the surroundings.
In these marginal areas human activity may stress the ecosystem beyond its tolerance limit, resulting in degradation of the land. By pounding the soil with their hooves, livestock compact the substrate, increase the proportion of fine material, and reduce the percolation rate of the soil, thus encouraging erosion by wind and water. Grazing and collection of firewood reduce or eliminate plants that bind the soil and prevent erosion. All these come about due to the trend towards settling in one area instead of a nomadic culture.
Sand dunes can encroach on human habitats. Sand dunes move through a few different means, all of them assisted by wind. One way that dunes can move is through saltation, where sand particles skip along the ground like a rock thrown across a pond might skip across the water's surface. When these skipping particles land, they may knock into other particles and cause them to skip as well. With slightly stronger winds, particles collide in mid-air, causing sheet flows. In a major dust storm, dunes may move tens of meters through such sheet flows. And like snow, sand avalanches, falling down the steep slopes of the dunes that face away from the winds, also moving the dunes forward.
It is a common misconception that droughts by themselves cause desertification. While drought is a contributing factor, the root causes are all related to man's overexploitation of the environment.[citation needed] There is no geological evidence that deserts expanded significantly before the advent of civilization. Droughts are common in arid and semiarid lands, and well-managed lands can recover from drought when the rains return. Continued land abuse during droughts, however, increases land degradation. Increased population and livestock pressure on marginal lands has accelerated desertification. In some areas, nomads moving to less arid areas disrupt the local ecosystem and increase the rate of erosion of the land. Nomads typically try to escape the desert, but because of their land-use practices, they are bringing the desert with them.
Some arid and semi-arid lands can support crops, but additional pressure from greater populations or decreases in rainfall can lead to the few plants present disappearing. The soil becomes exposed to wind, causing soil particles to be deposited elsewhere. The top layer becomes eroded. With the removal of shade, rates of evaporation increase and salts become drawn up to the surface. This increases soil salinity which inhibits plant growth. The loss of plants causes less moisture to be retained in the area, which may change the climate pattern leading to lower rainfall.
This degradation of formerly productive land is a complex process. It involves multiple causes, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Desertification may intensify a general climatic trend toward greater aridity, or it may initiate a change in local climate. Desertification does not occur in linear, easily mappable patterns. Deserts advance erratically, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly to barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well under way. Often little data are available to indicate the previous state of the ecosystem or the rate of degradation.
Combating desertification is complex and difficult, usually impossible without alteration of land management practises that led to the desertification. Over-exploitation of the land and climate variations can have identical impacts and be connected in feedbacks, which makes it very difficult to choose the right mitigation strategy. Investigating the historic desertification plays a special role since it allows better distinguishing of human and natural factors. In this context, recent research about historic desertification in Jordan questions the dominant role of man. It seems possible that current measures like reforestation projects cannot achieve their goals if global warming continues. Forests may die when it gets drier, and more frequent extreme events as testified in sediments from earlier periods could become a threat for agriculture, water supply, and infrastructure.
Prehistoric patterns
Desertification is a historic phenomenon; the world's great deserts were formed by natural processes interacting over long intervals of time. During most of these times, deserts have grown and shrunk independent of human activities. Paleodeserts are large sand seas now inactive because they are stabilized by vegetation, some extending beyond the present margins of core deserts, such as the Sahara. Many deserts in western Asia arose because of an overpopulation of prehistoric species and subspecies during the late Cretaceous era.
Dated fossil pollen indicates that today's Sahara desert has been changing between desert and fertile savanna. Studies also show that prehistorically the advance and retreat of deserts tracked yearly rainfall, whereas a pattern of increasing amounts of desert began with human-driven activities of overgrazing and deforestation.
A chief difference of prehistoric versus present desertification is the much greater rate of desertification than in prehistoric and geologic time scales, due to anthropogenic influences.
Historical and current desertification
Overgrazing and to a lesser extent drought in the 1930s transformed parts of the Great Plains in the United States into the "Dust Bowl". During that time, a considerable fraction of the plains population abandoned their homes to escape the unproductive lands. Improved agricultural and water management have prevented a disaster of the earlier magnitude from recurring, but desertification presently affects tens of millions of people with primary occurrence in the lesser developed countries.
Lake Chad in a 2001 satellite image, with the actual lake in blue. The lake has shrunk by 95% since the 1960s.
Lake Chad in a 2001 satellite image, with the actual lake in blue. The lake has shrunk by 95% since the 1960s.
Desertification is widespread in many areas of the People's Republic of China. The populations of rural areas have increased since 1949 for political reasons as more people have settled there. While there has been an increase in livestock, the land available for grazing has decreased. Also the importing of European cattle such as Friesian and Simmental, which have higher food intakes, has made things worse.
Human overpopulation is leading to destruction of tropical wet forests and tropical dry forests, due to widening practices of slash-and-burn and other methods of subsistence farming necessitated by famines in lesser developed countries. A sequel to the deforestation is typically large scale erosion, loss of soil nutrients and sometimes total desertification. Examples of this extreme outcome can be seen on Madagascar's central highland plateau, where about seven percent of the country's total land mass has become barren, sterile land.
Overgrazing has made the Rio Puerco Basin of central New Mexico one of the most eroded river basins of the western United States and has increased the high sediment content of the river. Overgrazing is also an issue with some regions of South Africa such as the Waterberg Massif, although restoration of native habitat and game has been pursued vigorously since about 1980.
Another example of desertification occurring is in the Sahel. The chief cause of desertification in the Sahel is slash-and-burn farming practised by an expanding human population. The Sahara is expanding south at an average rate of 30 miles per year.
The Desert of Maine is a 40 acre dune of glacial silt near Freeport, Maine. Overgrazing and soil erosion exposed the cap of the dune, revealing the desert as a small patch that continued to grow, overtaking the land. The site is maintained as a tourist attraction.
Ghana and Nigeria currently experience desertification; in the latter, desertification overtakes about 1,355 square miles (3,510 km2) of land per year. The Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, are also affected. More than 80% of Afghanistan's and Pakistan's land could be subject to soil erosion and desertification. In Kazakhstan, nearly half of the cropland has been abandoned since 1980. In Iran, sand storms were said to have buried 124 villages in Sistan and Baluchestan Province in 2002, and they had to be abandoned. In Latin America, Mexico and Brazil are affected by desertification.
Countering desertification
Desertification has been recognized as a major threat to biodiversity. Numerous countries have developed Biodiversity Action Plans to counter its effects, particularly in relation to the protection of endangered flora and fauna.
A number of solutions have been tried in order to reduce the rate of desertification and regain lost land; however, most measures treat symptoms of sand movement and do not address the root causes of land modification such as overgrazing and unsustainable farming. Leguminous plants, which extracts nitrogen from the air and fixes it in the soil, can be planted to restore fertility. Stones stacked around the base of trees collect morning dew and help retain soil moisture. Artificial grooves can be dug in the ground to retain rainfall and trap wind-blown seeds. In Iran, petroleum is being sprayed over semi-arid cropland. This coats seedlings to prevent moisture loss and stop them being blown away. Windbreaks made from trees and bushes to reduce soil erosion and evapotranspiration were widely encouraged by development agencies from the middle of the 1980s in the Sahel area of Africa.
In developing countries, with many local people using trees for firewood and cooking the problem has become acute. In order to gain further supplies of fuel the local population add more pressure to the depleted forests; adding to the desertification process. Solar ovens and efficient wood burning cook stoves are being advocated as a means to relieving some of this pressure upon the environment.
While desertification has received some publicity by the news media, most people are unaware of the extent of environmental degradation of productive lands and the expansion of deserts. In 1988 Ridley Nelson pointed out that desertification is a subtle and complex process of deterioration.
At the local level, individuals and governments can partially or temporarily forestall desertification. Sand fences are used throughout the Middle East and the US, in the same way snow fences are used in the north. Placement of straw grids, each up to a square meter in area, will also decrease the surface wind velocity. Shrubs and trees planted within the grids are protected by the straw until they take root. However, some studies suggest that planting of trees depletes water supplies in the area. In areas where some water is available for irrigation, shrubs planted on the lower one-third of a dune's windward side will stabilize the dune. This vegetation decreases the wind velocity near the base of the dune and prevents much of the sand from moving. Higher velocity winds at the top of the dune level it off and trees can be planted atop these flattened surfaces.
Oases and farmlands in windy regions can be protected by planting tree fences or grass belts. Sand that manages to pass through the grass belts can be caught in strips of trees planted as wind breaks 50 to 100 meters apart adjacent to the belts. Small plots of trees may also be scattered inside oases to stabilize the area. On a much larger scale, a "Green Wall of China", which will eventually stretch more than 5,700 kilometers in length, nearly as long as the Great Wall of China, is being planted in north-eastern China to protect "sandy lands" – deserts created by human activity.
Africa, with coordination from Senegal, has launched its own "green wall" project. Trees will be planted on a 15 km wide land strip from Senegal to Djibouti. Aside from countering desert progression, the project is also aimed at creating new economic activities, especially thanks to tree products such as gum arabic
More efficient use of existing water resources and control of salinization are other effective tools for improving arid lands. New ways are being sought to use surface-water resources such as rain water harvesting or irrigating with seasonal runoff from adjacent highlands. New ways are also being sought to find groundwater resources and to develop more effective ways of irrigating arid and semiarid lands. Research on the reclamation of deserts is also focusing on discovering proper crop rotation to protect the fragile soil, on understanding how sand-fixing plants can be adapted to local environments, and on how grazing lands and water resources can be developed effectively without being overused.
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