Q&A Hero

Q: What direct and indirect damage to fish populations would you expect in marine waters near a city with a busy port, such as Vancouver or Halifax?

Q: Match the following.A) bottom trawlingB) surface zoneC) deep zoneD) pelagic zoneE) salt marshF) neritic zoneG) littoral zoneH) mangrove forestI) pycnocline zoneJ) pycnoclineK) drift nettingL) estuary1.An ecosystem that lies along the shoreline between the farthest reach of the highest tides and the lowest reach of the lowest tide2.Ocean zone where water is most dense3.An ocean-land ecotone in tropical and subtropical latitudes that consists of tree-dominated communities on the gently sloping sandy and silty coastal areas4.Area where a river flows into the ocean, mixing freshwater and saltwater5.Ocean zone that contains approximately 18% of the ocean's water; where density sharply increases and temperature decreases6.Fishing technique used for capturing groundfish

Q: Refer to Figure 13.1. The deep-ocean species should be able to colonize more easily the surface waters near the coast of ________.A) BrazilB) GreenlandC) Nova ScotiaD) BritainE) Florida

Q: Refer to Figure 13.1. Which of the following is TRUE? A) Polar areas lack a distinct deep zone. B) Polar areas lack a pronounced pycnocline. C) Temperate areas lack a distinct deep zone. D) Temperate areas lack a pronounced pycnocline. E) Tropical areas lack a distinct surface layer.

Q: Refer to Figure 13.1. Areas near ________ have the greatest temperature differential with depth. A) the poles B) the equator C) the United States D) Canada E) Europe

Q: Figure 13.1Use Figure 13.1 to answer the following questions.Refer to Figure 13.1. In temperate and tropical regions, water temperature becomes rapidly colder as a function of depth ________.A) from 0 to 500 metresB) in the lowest parts of the deep zoneC) in the superficial deep zoneD) in the surface zoneE) in the pycnocline

Q: You have been hired by a small town on the Florida coast to give its residents advice about avoiding further sinkholes. You tell them that ________. A) if they stay here, sinkholes will occur; they should move B) they should limit development and recycle water C) because sinkholes are a natural occurrence, nothing they do will help D) they should increase groundwater pumping E) pumping in ocean water will recharge the aquifer

Q: In July 2001, the town of Spring Hill, Florida, about 70 km north of Tampa, had 18 sinkholes appear in a single day. The largest holes were nearly 30 m deep. This is an indication that ________. A) earthquakes had recently occurred, and the water table sank B) hurricanes had recently occurred, and the water table rose C) prolonged rainstorms had recently occurred, and the water table rose D) agriculture had increased, and the water table rose with irrigation recharge E) a drought had recently occurred, along with increased development

Q: The number of human-induced sinkholes in North America has doubled since 1930. Insurance claims increased 1200% from 1987 to 1991, costing nearly $100 million. Several areas in Canada are at risk for sinkhole development . A major reason for this is ________. A) global warming B) increased rainfall, eroding underground sediments C) roadway construction, leading to increased runoff D) increased water consumption E) decreases in agriculture

Q: One reasonable way to prevent sinkholes might be to ________. A) install supports to maintain the shape of the underground aquifer B) increase groundwater recharge by constructing artificial wetlands that use treated municipal wastewater C) pump wastewater and sewage directly into the aquifer to maintain the water table D) have the local water company regularly transfer water from one local aquifer to the next, maintaining the average water level E) pump sand and gravel into the aquifer to fill in the bottom levels, thus raising the water table

Q: A serious problem that results from excessive water withdrawn from aquifers is that ________. A) the water tends to overflow and flood the entire area B) the surrounding soils are compacted and the size of the aquifer is reduced C) the soils contaminate the aquifer, making it unfit for human use D) the aquifer increases in size, draining a larger surface area and leaving less water in rivers, streams, and lakes E) the aquifer decreases in size and new aquifers form

Q: Sinkholes are an extreme form of ________. A) aquifer B) water table C) subsidence D) artesian aquifer E) consumptive use

Q: Read the following scenario and answer the questions 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 on 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.Although Canada has several aquifers, it has not yet experienced sinkholes from water being depleted from any of them. However, there is a natural sinkhole in the Sahtu, Northwest Territories, southeast of Normal Wells. As well, there have been sinkholes as a result of broken water mains.Sinkholes can occur when ________.A) too much weight above an aquifer causes it to cave inB) the water level in an aquifer rises, pushing through to the surfaceC) the water in an artesian aquifer is under sufficient pressure that it breaks through to the surfaceD) excessive water use lowers a water table and weakens the substrateE) nonconsumptive use lowers an aquifer

Q: How do mountain glaciers and snow affect water levels in rivers flowing down from the mountains? What other component of the freshwater system can have similar impact on river levels?

Q: What were the environmental and economic consequences of the large-scale irrigation in the former Soviet Union in which waters from two rivers flowing into a big inland sea in Central Asia were used?

Q: What are the arguments for and against export of water from Canada to the United States?

Q: Describe the benefits obtained by the creation of artificial wetlands.

Q: Define water pollution, point source, and nonpoint source pollution. Is point source or nonpoint source pollution easier to identify? Which is easier to legislate? Which currently poses the greatest threat to freshwater in Canada?

Q: How can agricultural irrigation practices be altered to decrease a loss of freshwater?

Q: Using the Three Gorges Dam on China's Yangtze River as an example, what are the benefits and costs associated with building dams?

Q: What is meant by the statement, "We are truly 'replumbing the planet'"? Provide an example.

Q: The second largest dam in the world is in Alberta (around tar sand tailings).

Q: Artificial wetlands can help cleanse water while providing recreational opportunities.

Q: The Great Lakes hold close to 20% of the world's surface freshwater.

Q: The World Commission on Water concluded that over half of the world's major rivers are depleted and polluted.

Q: Automatic dishwashers use more water than washing dishes by hand.

Q: Only 5% of Earth's human population relies directly on groundwater for its needs.

Q: The overuse of groundwater does NOT contribute to the fact that ________.A) many cities, such as Mexico and Bangkok, are sinkingB) drinking water in Venice may be getting more saltyC) sinkholes are createdD) zone of saturation replaces zone of aerationE) soil is compacted

Q: India uses 87% of its water for agriculture, while Lithuania uses 78% for domestic use. The reason for this difference is that ________. A) Lithuania has very little agriculture B) Lithuania is a poor country that cannot afford irrigation C) India has a much higher population D) India has an arid climate E) India is rapidly industrializing

Q: Freshwater resources in Canada are ________. A) mostly used for drinking B) mostly used for industrial needs C) inexhaustible because they are renewed by the hydrological cycle D) used primarily for crop irrigation E) concentrated in western Canada

Q: Global climate change is causing many glaciers to melt rapidly. Should they disappear entirely, this will adversely affect the water supply in areas ________. A) such as the Mississippi watershed, which is supplied by melt water B) such as the Everglades and Okeefenokee wetlands in the southeast United States C) along watersheds in the Urals, Himalayas, and Alps fed by seasonal glacial melts D) such as the Great Lakes E) on large islands adjacent to continents, such as Madagascar and Taiwan

Q: As of 2007, the saga of the Colorado River's water resource allocation is being complicated by ________. A) several years of drought coupled with the rapid growth of Las Vegas B) large numbers of people moving out of Nevada C) sinkhole collapses in Arizona and southern California D) the rapid growth of vegetable farms in southern Arizona E) saltwater intrusion into the Colorado estuary near San Diego

Q: Much of the "biosolids" material that is the end product of a wastewater treatment plant is ________. A) trucked to special biohazard landfills for disposal B) used as part of the "fill" to develop wetlands into agriculture or housing areas C) loaded onto barges and sent to underdeveloped countries to use as fertilizer D) used as crop fertilizer in Canada E) placed in deep injection wells to keep it out of the water table

Q: In a municipal wastewater treatment plant, the primary treatment step consists of ________. A) filtering the sewage B) chlorinating the sewage C) adding bacteria to the sewage D) leaving the sewage to sit in large tanks so suspended solids settle out of it E) stirring the sewage to increase oxidation

Q: A septic system is ________. A) a toxic or badly polluted waterway B) a rural method of handling sewage C) an early version of a wastewater treatment plant D) a second level mechanism to remove bacteria at a wastewater treatment plant E) the use of natural wetlands to cleanse waste water

Q: Which of the following, when it starts disappearing, best describes the initial ecological consequences of falling water tables? A) bird species B) mammals C) lake fish D) permanent wetlands E) agricultural irrigation water

Q: You have been sent out to a small town where residents have recently begun complaining about a funny taste to the water. Which of the following items would you measure as you first begin to assess water quality in this reservoir? A) turbidity, hard water ions, and pH B) buffering capacity C) presence of E. coli D) CO2 level E) amounts of heavy metals

Q: Which of the following has contributed to aquifer contamination? A) natural gases, such as carbon monoxide, dissolving into aquifers B) fungi entering through wells C) hazardous waste disposal, by pumping waste underground D) leaching of excess water into aquifers E) inappropriate use of household detergents

Q: Water pollution has ________. A) decreased in the last 30 years in Canada B) increased in the last 30 years in Canada C) remained constant in the last 30 years D) not been addressed by legislation the way air pollution has E) been addressed only in the last 10 years, so changes will be seen over the next decade

Q: The "blue-baby" syndrome that suffocates infants is a consequence of excess ________ in the water supply. A) E. coli B) nitrates C) phosphates D) chlorine E) carbon

Q: You want to maintain a healthy pond at your school site. Last year another pond became eutrophic; to avoid that, you want to ________. A) increase the carbon-based fertilizers in the littoral zone B) provide nitrogen for good nutrient mixing in the benthic zone C) increase the ozone in the littoral zone D) avoid increasing phosphorus in the limnetic zone E) decrease the calcium available in the profundal zone

Q: The fish in the lake at the local park are dying. A professor from the local college comes to investigate, and first she measures the dissolved oxygen. She wants to check the ________. A) presence of heavy metals B) presence of bacteria C) possibility of eutrophication D) aquatic biodiversity E) influence of acid precipitation

Q: Which of the following is one of the major pollutants of groundwater? A) acid rain B) treated sewage from cities C) agricultural fields D) carbon dioxide E) home garbage

Q: Grey water can ________. A) usually be used with little or no treatment for irrigation B) usually be used with little or no treatment for homes C) not be used for washing cars D) be used for fish ponds and park lakes E) be used in place of tap water to water home vegetable and flower gardens

Q: Which of the following will contribute to water conservation? A) using aerial sprays for crop irrigation B) planting non-native wetland plants for landscaping C) washing dishes by hand D) watering lawns at night, using low-flow faucets, landscaping with native plants E) watering lawns during peak sunlight hours, when plants need water most

Q: Sinkholes result from ________. A) overconsumption of water from aquifers weakening the substrate B) building on floodplains C) flood damage and chemical erosion D) poorly drilled wells in soft soils E) substrates that become weak following rain

Q: Why was the irrigation of Soviet cotton farming operations a problem? A) There was governmental opposition that limited water access, killing crops. B) Irrigation water came from rivers feeding into one of the largest lakes on Earth and resulted in major contamination of that source. C) It drained the Aral Sea and increased the salt content of soils. D) It angered local resort communities, which did not want farming in the region. E) It was, for the most part, not a problem.

Q: Data indicate that the present rate of freshwater consumption in most developed countries is ________. A) sustainable for the foreseeable future B) unsustainable C) irrelevant, as water is not currently limiting D) only a problem in areas not on the coast E) increasing groundwater storage and decreasing surface water storage

Q: Dam removal in Canada ________. A) is controversial because dams provide such good habitats for native species B) will probably continue because there is increased awareness that not all dams are good for the environment C) will assist with our transition to more natural forms of renewable energy D) provides many new jobs and opportunities and so is economically beneficial E) will probably increase rapidly as we move to a more fossil-fuel-dependent society

Q: We build dams to ________. A) drain wetlands for urban development B) generate electricity, prevent flooding, and provide irrigation C) control the spread of waterborne diseases D) transform watersheds into farms, towns, and recreational areas E) improve habitat for native fish

Q: Which of the following best describes floodplains? A) a region of land that is periodically flooded when a river overflows B) an area that is periodically flooded because humans have altered the landscape C) an area that is incidentally flooded when farming or mining operations change the course of rivers D) an area where flood irrigation of crops is used, such as a rice paddy E) a region of land that has been deliberately, permanently flooded because of a human disturbance, such as dam building

Q: Globally, humans use freshwater primarily for ________. A) drinking and cooking B) washing and home use C) agricultural irrigation D) mining and industrial processes E) electrical production

Q: An artesian aquifer occurs when ________. A) there are several aquifers that have merged B) granite is overlain by a sandy substrate, allowing percolation into the aquifer C) a water"‘bearing layer is trapped between two layers that are less permeable D) a well is dug through layers of sand and gravel into the water table E) a water"‘bearing porous layer of rock, sand, or gravel has accumulated groundwater over a long period of time

Q: One-fifth of Earth's total freshwater supply is in ________. A) ponds B) the ocean C) groundwater D) estuaries E) the tundra

Q: Precipitation that falls on Earth's surface ________. A) is usually already unusable because of acid rain B) mostly runs off into salt marshes or the ocean C) almost entirely filters down into the underground aquifers D) may take a variety of pathways through surface water or groundwater flow E) is mostly taken up by plants or other organisms

Q: Wetlands are ________. A) where zone of saturation reaches the surface B) where zone of aeration reaches the surface C) confined aquifers D) artesian aquifers E) profundal aquifers

Q: Only about 2.5% of all the water on our planet is freshwater. However, ________. A) most of this is in large, freshwater lakes B) most of this is far from where humans live C) most of this is in underground aquifers D) over half of this is extremely hard water and is nearly unusable for drinking or agriculture E) over half of this is in wetlands near coastlines and is becoming contaminated with salt water

Q: Several states in the United States and Mexico remove water from the Colorado River for a variety of purposes. (See page 352 for more on the Colorado River problem.) How is this a case of "tragedy of the commons"?

Q: One way to conserve water is by ________, replacing lawns and water-loving plants with drought-tolerant species adapted to arid environments.

Q: The best-known technological approach to increasing water supply by generating freshwater is ________, the removal of salt from seawater.

Q: Overpumping of groundwater in coastal areas can cause ________ into aquifers, making the water undrinkable.

Q: What was the Colorado River dispute with Mexico the result of?

Q: Why is too much plant growth, as a result of eutrophication, a problem in a freshwater system?

Q: Describe two ways that salt can be removed from seawater.

Q: What are the goals of dam removal?

Q: Ignoring human alterations to the landscape, what causes floods, and what is their value ecologically?

Q: How has the quantity of water that reaches the Gulf of California from the Colorado River changed in the last hundred years?

Q: Match the following.A) soft waterB) hard waterC) Ogallala aquiferD) unconfined and confined aquiferE) oligotrophicF) zone of aeration and saturationG) eutrophicH) aquifersJ) Okefenokee aquiferK) artesian reservoirsI) high turbidity1.Porous, sponge-like layers of rock, sand, or gravel that are capable of holding water2.The world's largest aquifer3.Separated by the boundary of a water table4.Rain water from the point of view of its dissolved mineral concentration5.Water carrying a lot of suspended matter6.Lakes that provide good conditions for fast swimming fish such as trout

Q: Refer to Figure 12.1. Rooted freshwater plants cannot live below the ________.A) zone of demarcationB) benthic zoneC) profundal zoneD) littoral zoneE) limnetic zone

Q: Refer to Figure 12.1. Frog eggs are usually attached to vegetation or rocks near the surface of a pond. Tadpoles can use essentially all areas of a shallow pond, or the top metre or so of a deeper pond or lake. Adult frogs can live on land or in the water. A frog's life would be least likely to be disrupted by a change in the ________. A) profundal zone B) limnetic zone C) benthic zone D) littoral zone E) abyssal zone

Q: Figure 12.1Use Figure 12.1 to answer the following questions.Refer to Figure 12.1. The mallard ducks in the figure eat floating plants such as duckweed, seeds of shoreline plants, and very small organisms at or near the surface. They would be most affected by any change to the ________.A) littoral or limnetic zonesB) limnetic or benthic zonesC) littoral or benthic zonesD) littoral or profundal zonesE) limnetic or profundal zones

Q: The mud of swamps is rich in decaying organic matter, dark in colour, and smells of rotten eggs. Based on what you read in this scenario, which of the following is NOT true? A) The water draining out of swamp contains more dissolved toxic metals than the water flowing into the swamp. B) Swamps are inhabited by sulphur-reducing bacteria. C) Swamps are inhabited by heterotrophic bacteria. D) Swamps emit H2S. E) Bacteria in swamps reduce sulphates to sulphides.

Q: Acid mine drainage is not the only source of acidic pollution of the surface waters. Another source is acid rain, which is created when we burn fossil fuels. Based on what you have learned about acid drainage, you might predict that acid rains ________. A) may cause accumulation of toxic metals in fish in rivers and lakes B) are made more acidic by reaction with bicarbonates C) cause precipitation of metal ions dissolved in water D) dissolve zinc sulphates in the rocks exposed to the rain E) cause precipitation of zinc

Q: The treatment described above does NOT ________. A) require adding bicarbonate ions to the bioreactor B) recover valuable metals from waste waters C) neutralize acidity of waste water D) remove toxic substances from waste water E) require adding organic matter to the bioreactor

Q: The treatment described above improves the quality of water because it ________. A) precipitates toxic metals and increases pH B) precipitates toxic metals and decreases pH C) dissolves toxic metals and increases pH D) dissolves toxic metals and decreases pH E) oxidizes sulphates and increases pH

Q: The bacteria in the bioreactor are ________. A) heterotrophic B) photosynthetic C) chemoautotrophic D) autotrophic E) sulphide-reducing

Q: Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.Acid drainage is one of the most prevalent environmental impacts of mining. Mining exposes rock walls to air, sulphide minerals in the rock react with water and oxygen from air, forming sulphuric acid. Metals began to leach from the rock walls into the acidic water, including iron, zinc, aluminum, manganese, nickel, cadmium, cobalt, arsenic, and copper. The metals react with sulphuric acid to form metal sulphates. High concentrations of these dissolved metals make the water toxic to wildlife, and waterfowl landing at the site is often found dead. To alleviate this problem, a group of scientists proposed a cleanup using a bioreactor, in which sulphate-reducing bacteria take sulphate ions ( SO42-) from the mine water and use carbon-based organic compounds (CH2O) to create hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which smells like rotten eggs, and bicarbonate (HCO3- ): SO42-+ 2CH2O → H2S + 2HCO3-. The produced hydrogen sulphide is removed from the bioreactor and fed back to the metal precipitation tanks, where it drives reactions in which metal ions bond to sulphur atoms to form dark-coloured metal sulphides, which are insoluble in water and thus precipitate into a solid, settling to the bottom. For example, with the metal zinc (Zn), the equation would be as follows: H2S+Zn2+ → ZnS + 2H+. The metal sulphides are then removed from the precipitation tanks. Precipitates of the various metals ranged in purity from 75% to 98%. The acidity associated with hydrogen ions H+ is buffered with the help of bicarbonate produced by the bacteria.Which of the following is NOT true?A) Sulphate-reducing bacteria are chemoautotrophic.B) The method mimics some natural processes.C) Metal sulphates are more soluble in water than metal sulphides.D) Bicarbonate can be used to prevent a lowering of pH.E) Zinc in solids is less dangerous to wildlife than zinc in its dissolved form.

Q: What is solution mining? What are its pros and cons?

Q: A mine has closed. What should be done to reclaim the site? What are some problems with such reclamation? Does the replanted vegetation resemble the one destroyed by mining? Why?

Q: Why have some predictions of future mineral availability missed the mark? Give examples.