Exam 12: Fresh Water, Oceans, and Coasts

The primary effect of thermal pollution on aquatic ecosystems is ________________.

Read the following scenario and answer the question below. On a September day in 1999, folks began to notice that Lake Jackson in the panhandle region of northern Florida was shrinking. Within a few days, it was almost gone. A sinkhole had opened beneath the lake and drained it, along with all of the fish and alligators. As aquifers lose water, their substrates can become weaker and less capable of supporting overlying strata and any human structures built upon them. In such cases, the land surface above may subside. Sometimes subsidence can occur locally and suddenly, in the form of sinkholes, areas where the ground gives way with little warning. Once the ground subsides, soil becomes compacted, losing the porosity that enabled it to hold water. Recharging a depleted aquifer may therefore become more difficult. -A serious problem that results from excessive water withdrawn from aquifers is that ________________.

You want to maintain a healthy pond at your school site. Last year another pond became eutrophic; to avoid that, you want to ________________.

Define water pollution, point source, and nonpoint source pollution. Which of the two (point source or non-point source) is easier to identify? Which is easier to legislate? Which currently poses the greatest threat to freshwater?

In thermohaline circulation of global current systems, surface water is ________________.

Artificial wetlands ________________.

Explain the NADW in the context of global climate change.

Wastewater that is stirred and aerated so that aerobic bacteria consume most of the small pieces of organic matter in the wastewater is being subjected to ________________.

Summarize some of the positive effects of establishing marine reserves.

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following: -Any obstruction placed in a river or stream to block flow