Humans And The Environment Exam 3

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Neolithic Revolution

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was a fundamental change in the way people lived. The shift from hunting & gathering to agriculture led to permanent settlements, the establishment of social classes, and the eventual rise of civilizations.

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Industrial Revolution

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was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840.

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vital rates (birth and death)

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relative frequencies of vital occurrences that affect changes in the size and composition of a population. When calculated per 1,000 inhabitants—as is conventional in vital-statistics publications—they are referred to as crude rates. More refined rates often must be used in the more meaningful analysis of population change. Principal among “BLANK” are the crude birth rate and the crude death rate; i.e., annual numbers of births or of deaths per 1,000 population, based on the midyear population estimate. The difference between these two rates is the rate of natural increase (or decrease, if deaths exceed births). Rates of natural increase are a net result of fertility trends, health conditions, and variations in the age composition of the population. They approximate rates of population growth, a result of natural increase and the balance of migration (immigrants minus emigrants), when the latter is comparatively small.

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demography

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the study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human populations.

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atmosphere

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the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth

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troposphere

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the lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from the earth's surface to a height of about 3.7–6.2 miles

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stratosphere

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the layer of the earth's atmosphere above the troposphere, extending to about 32 miles (50 km) above the earth's surface

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mesosphere

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the region of the earth's atmosphere above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere, between about 30 and 50 miles (50 and 80 km) in altitude.

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thermosphere

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the region of the atmosphere above the mesosphere and below the height at which the atmosphere ceases to have the properties of a continuous medium. The “BLANK” is characterized throughout by an increase in temperature with height.

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thermal inversion

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is an atmospheric condition that occurs when a layer of warm air settles over a layer of cool air that is near ground level. This prevents pollutants such as smog from rising and being dispersed.

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L.A. Smog

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where pollutants can be trapped by inversions and the surrounding mountains, has frequent problems with smog, as do other major urban areas.

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London Smog

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In early December of 1952, a cold fog descended upon “BLANK”. Because of the cold, people began to burn more coal than usual. At the same time, the final conversion of “BLANK”'s electric trams to diesel buses was completed. The resulting air pollution was trapped by the heavy layer of cold air, and the concentration of pollutants built up dramatically. The smog was so thick that it would sometimes make driving impossible. It entered indoors easily, and concerts and screenings of films were cancelled as the audience could not see the stage or screen.

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Sulfur dioxide

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enters the atmosphere as a results of both natural phenomena and anthropogenic activities, such as fossil fuel combustion, oxidation of organic materials in soils, volcanic eruptions and biomass burning. Coal burning is the single largest man-made source of “BLANK”, accounting for about 50% of annual global emissions, with oil burning accounting for a further 25 to 30%. “BLANK” reacts on the surface of a variety of airborne solid particles (aerosols), is soluble in water and can be oxidised within airborne water droplets, producing sulphuric acid. This acidic pollution can be transported by wind over many hundreds of kilometres, and is deposited as acid rain.

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NOx

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oxides of nitrogen, esp. as atmospheric pollutants.

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particulates

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are small, distinct solids suspended in a liquid or gas

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Methane

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a colorless, odorless flammable gas that is the main constituent of natural gas. It is the simplest member of the alkane series of hydrocarbons.

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carbon monoxide

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a colorless, odorless toxic flammable gas formed by incomplete combustion of carbon.

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carbon dioxide

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a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning carbon and organic compounds and by respiration. It is naturally present in air (about 0.03 percent) and is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis.

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heavy metals

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is a toxic metal. There is no standard definition assigning metals as “BLANK”s. Some lighter metals and metalloids are toxic and thus are termed “BLANK”, which some “BLANK”s, such as gold, typically are not toxic. Most “BLANK”s have a high atomic number, atomic weight and a specific gravity greater than 5.0 “BLANK”s include some metalloids, transition metals, basic metals, lanthanides and actinides.

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Greenhouse Effect

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the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

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Global Warming

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a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.

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Greenhouse Gas

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a gas that contributes to the “BLANK” effect by absorbing infrared radiation, e.g., carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons.

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ozone

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a colorless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odor and powerful oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light. It differs from normal oxygen (O2) in having three atoms in its molecule (O3).

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Chlorofluorocarbons

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Any of various halocarbon compounds consisting of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine, once used widely as aerosol propellants and refrigerants. “BLANK” are believed to cause depletion of the atmospheric ozone layer.

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UV rays

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electromagnetic radiations found just beyond the violet edge of the visible spectrum, with wavelengths extending to the beginning of x-rays. The wavelengths range from 390 to 290 nm for near “Blank”s to 290 to 20 nm for far ultraviolet wavelengths. Ultraviolet radiation in the region of 260 nm can cause photochemical reactions in deoxyribonucleic molecules, causing mutations and destroying microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses.

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acid rain

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rainfall made sufficiently acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm, typically to forests and lakes. The main cause is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, the waste gases from which contain sulfur and nitrogen oxides, which combine with atmospheric water to form acids.

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hydrologic cycle

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the natural sequence through which water passes into the atmosphere as water vapor, precipitates to earth in liquid or solid form, and ultimately returns to the atmosphere through evaporation.

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precipitation

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the fall of water, ice, or snow deposited on the surface of the Earth from the atmosphere

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runoff

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the water flow that occurs when the soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle, and the primary agent in water erosion.

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ground water

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the water beneath the surface of the ground, consisting largely of surface water that has seeped down: the source of water in springs and wells.

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aquifer

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a body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater.

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evaporation

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is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor. “BLANK” is the primary pathway that water moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor.

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transpiration

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is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as from leaves but also from stems and flowers.

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marine

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A kind of water. > 3.8% salt (ex) Atlantic Ocean

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fresh

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A kind of water. Also known as aquatic. <.5% salt (ex) Lake Erie

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brackish

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A kind of water. in between fresh and marine (found in estuary) (ex) Chesapeake Bay

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Eutrophication

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excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

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cultural eutrophication

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is an increase in biological productivity and ecosystem succession caused by human activity. It is mainly caused by increased nutrient input into a water body. Increased productivity in an aquatic system sometimes can be beneficial. Fish and other desirable species may grow faster, providing a welcome food source. “BLANK” produces blooms of algae or thick growths of aquatic plants stimulated by elevated phosphorus or nitrogen levels. The water then becomes cloudy and foul smelling and can accelerate the aging in a body of water. (ex) silt and fertilizer running off Lake Erie from our culture

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oligotrophic

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a swimming pond; clean clear body of water (ex) Lake Superior

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mesotrophic

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A pond a little more murky, better fishing(ex) Lake Huron

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eutrophic

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Less water a little fishing (ex) Lake Erie

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Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

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refers to microscopic bubbles of gaseous oxygen (O2) that are mixed in water and available to aquatic organisms for respiration—a critical process for almost all organisms. Primary sources of “BLANK” include the atmosphere and aquatic plants.

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Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

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The index of organic pollution (ex) carbon based materials, the higher the BOD the more pollution there is.

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Red tide

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is a common name for a phenomenon known as an algal bloom when it is caused by a few species of dinoflagellates and the bloom takes on a red or brown color.

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dinoflagellate

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a single-celled organism with two flagella, occurring in large numbers in marine plankton and also found in fresh water. Some produce toxins that can accumulate in shellfish, resulting in poisoning when eaten.

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diatoms

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a single-celled alga that has a cell wall of silica. Many kinds are planktonic, and extensive fossil deposits have been found.

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phosphorous

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a limiting factor for aerobic bacteria. If you increase "blank" you will increase the bacteria activity.

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Mercury

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will affect your nervous system and is hard for it to escape the body. "BLANK" is a byproduct of many industrial processes (ex) gold mining, paper mills

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Minamata disease

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is methyl mercury (MeHg) poisoning that occurred in humans who ingested fish and shellfish contaminated by MeHg discharged in waste water from a chemical plant (Chisso Co. Ltd.). It was in May 1956, that M. d. was first officially "discovered" in Minamata City, south-west region of Japan's Kyushu Island. The marine products in Minamata Bay displayed high levels of Hg contamination (5.61 to 35.7 ppm). The Hg content in hair of patients, their family and inhabitants of the Shiranui Sea coastline were also detected at high levels of Hg (max. 705 ppm).

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Point Source Pollution

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is a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. A “BLANK” has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other pollution source geometries. The sources are called “BLANK” because in mathematical modeling, they can be approximated as a mathematical point to simplify analysis. (ex) Water pollution from an oil refinery wastewater discharge outlet

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Non-point source pollution

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generally results from land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage or hydrologic modification. The term “BLANK” is defined to mean any source of water pollution that does not meet the legal definition of "point source" in section 502(14) of the Clean Water Act.

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Wastewater treatment

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is defined as primary, secondary, or tertiary according to the extent of pollutant removal and the mechanisms (physical, biological, or chemical) through which pollutants are removed.

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pretreatment

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is defined as primary, secondary, or tertiary according to the extent of pollutant removal and the mechanisms (physical, biological, or chemical) through which pollutants are removed.

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primary treatment

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a basic wastewater treatment method that uses settling, skimming, and often chlorination to remove solids, floating materials, and pathogens from wastewater.

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secondary treatment

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is the second stage of wastewater treatment that takes place after the primary treatment process. The process consists of removing or reducing contaminants or growths that are left in the wastewater from the primary treatment process. Usually biological treatment is used to treat wastewater in this step because it is the most effective type of treatment on bacteria, or contaminant, growth.

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trickling filter

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is a type of water pollution treatment system. It consists of a fixed bed of rocks, lava, coke, gravel, slag, polyurethane foam, sphagnum peat moss, ceramic, or plastic media over which sewage or other wastewater flows downward and causes a layer of microbial slime (biofilm) to grow, covering the bed of media. Aerobic conditions are maintained by splashing, diffusion, and either by forced air flowing through the bed or natural convection of air if the filter medium is porous.

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activated sludge

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refers to a mass of microorganisms cultivated in the treatment process to break down organic matter into carbon dioxide, water, and other inorganic compounds. The activated sludge process has three basic components: 1) a reactor in which the microorganisms are kept in suspension, aerated, and in contact with the waste they are treating; 2) liquid-solid separation; and 3) a sludge recycling system for returning activated sludge back to the beginning of the process. There are many variants of activated sludge processes, including variations in the aeration method and the way the sludge is returned to the process.

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tertiary treatment

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is to provide a final treatment stage to further improve the effluent quality before it is discharged to the receiving environment (sea, river, lake, wet lands, ground, etc.). More than one “BLANK” process may be used at any treatment plant. If disinfection is practiced, it is always the final process. It is also called "effluent polishing."