Environmental Systems and Pollution Quiz

Environmental Systems

• Environmental systems are made up of living and non-living elements.
• Elements are created and operated by society.
• Ecosystems are subsets of environmental systems.

Catacacts

• Cataracts represent rocky sections that obstruct navigation and influence dam construction.

Dam's

• Dams regulate floods, generate hydroelectric power, store water from annual floods, and reduce evaporation.

Mining

• Cyanide extraction methods for gold generate toxic mining sludge.

Pollution Impacts

• Poor disaster management plans and infrastructure lead to pollution incidents.
• Cyanide pollution affects aquatic life (fish kills) and decreases plant and crustacean species.

Heavy Metals

• Spills of heavy metals settle in river sediments, causing long-term contamination.

Mitigation and Monitoring

• Pollution management involves filling bodies of water to dilute toxins and reduce cyanide concentration.
• Research shows heavy metals in rivers can return to normal (but more research required)
• Sediment from these areas can pose long-term ecological risks (e.g., containing heavy metals Zn, Pb) and water flushing operations are required.

Alpine Systems

• Glaciers are large masses of perennial ice formed by snow recrystallization and movement.
• Movement leads to features like terminal moraines.
• Glacial zones occur above the climatic snowline.
• Periglacial zones are found near past glacial regions, appearing rocky and cold.
• Altitudinal zones transition from snow and ice regions to vegetation regions.
• Climate change is impacting glacier melting, soil temperatures, and snowfall.
• Reduced snowfall decreases the material required for glacier formation.

Cryconites

• Dark, granular sediments on glacier surfaces, comprised of organic and inorganic materials.
• Absorb solar radiation, accelerating glacier melting and acting as a reservoir for nutrients and pollutants.

Pollutant Accumulation

• Cryconites store pollutants (e.g., black carbon, trace metals, microplastics).
• Pollutants redistribute into periglacial soils.

Nutrient and Pollutant Cycles

• Cryconites play a part in carbon fluxes between glaciers and surrounding environments.
• Nutrients cycle through glacier ecosystems, primarily during melting phases.
• Pollutants enter cryconites via natural and anthropogenic activities (mining, construction). Redistribution of pollutants into downstream ecosystems.

Periglacial Soils

• Soil development influenced by cryconite material transfer.
• Cryconite material aids primary soil formation after glacial retreat.
• Cryconites affect glacier melting and are significant for nutrient and pollutant storage.
• Periglacial soils are essential for ecosystem development and depend on cryconite material.

Anthropogenic Geomorphology

• Geomorphology is impacted by human activities.
• Natural systems are altered or accelerated by human activities.
• Risk and impact assignments are used to predict changes caused by human activity.
• Avoiding dangerous changes and safeguarding the environment are important goals.

Human Impact on Processes

• Human activities trigger new processes, accelerate existing ones, or modify system sensitivity.
• Examples of balanced activities include crop rotation, fallowing, and nomadic pastoralism.
• Human activities disrupt natural processes and cause cumulative effects, such as soil erosion, species eradication, and salinization.
• Accelerated impacts in the 20th century from energy production, industry, and transportation increased consumption and environmental problems.

Anthropogenic Surface Transformations

• Types of human surface transformations include surface mining, with direct impacts like excavation of pits and quarries.
• Accumulation of mining and waste materials and spreading debris impact land surfaces.
• Indirect impacts result from landslides, erosion, gullies, and formation of depositional features.
• Examples include coal waste slides that impact villages and copper mine waste flooding areas with acidic water.
• Underground mining causes subsidence, and land sinking.

Industrial Impacts

• Industrial activities impact soil and water quality.
• Examples include alkaline waste spills from alumina plants, and pollution from cooling ponds and waste dumps of coal-fired power plants.

Water Management

• Dams are built for irrigation, flood prevention, and energy production.
• Impacts include sediment accumulation upstream, decreasing sediment flow and fertility downstream in deltas.
• Landslides can lead to tsunamis, flooding, and loss of human life.

Agrogenic Transformations

• Agriculture affects land surfaces through activities like ploughing, soil erosion, and water pollution.
• Salinization happens due to irrigation and evaporation.
• Deforestation worsens soil erosion and leads to sedimentation and barren lands.

Impacts of Land Use Changes

• Urbanization and overuse of land leads to more frequent flooding, water pollution, and narrower channels.
• Deforestation accelerates erosion and sediment transport.

Impacts of Climate Change

• Warmer conditions promote thermal stratification.
• Hypolimnion development releases phosphorus.
• Land use changes cause urban expansion, runoff, and salinity.
• Urbanization intensifies problems like salinity, pollution, and introduces more pollutants, leading to lake-related issues.

Floating Plastic Impacts

• Floating plastic islands, like large patches of marine debris in ocean currents, accumulate due to pollution from land and sea-based sources.
• These pieces of plastic (big and small) impact ocean ecosystems and cause problems.
• Large pieces cause entanglement resulting in injury or death to marine life.
• Small pieces can be ingested by marine life, impacting their nutrition, and leading to death.
• Humans are also impacted (through food contamination).

Plastic Pollution Solutions

• Stricter laws can help reduce plastic production.
• Recycling and beach/river cleanup are crucial for plastic removal and management.

Bioaccumulation

• Microplastics absorb through ingestion or contact with plastics.
• Ingestion or contact with plastics can cause health problems.
• Plastic debris can transport invasive species.

Socio-economic Effects

• Fisheries are impacted by plastic debris that pollutes fishing equipment and contaminate food.
• Tourism might decline due to pollution of beaches and coastal areas.

Lake Impacts

• Lakes are used for wastewater dilution, cooling plants, and irrigation for agriculture.
• Thermal stratification in lakes occurs, impacting water quality and aquatic life.
• Lakes can be polluted in several ways (e.g. industrial waste, run-off, and urban pollutants)
• This results in a decrease in the commercial fishing industry and impacts tourism.

Test your knowledge on environmental systems, pollution impacts, and mitigation strategies. This quiz covers various elements of ecosystems, the influence of dams, and the effects of mining on aquatic life. Understand how human activities affect natural environments and what can be done to monitor and manage these impacts.