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Water Quality Research

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Title: Water Quality Research


1
Water Quality Research
  • Cymone Morris, Tyler Lannon, Rickea White, and
    DaNesha Curry

Burroughs Wellcome Fund August 17, 2007
2
Problem
  • The causes and impacts of water pollution in and
    around Elizabeth City.

3
Outline
  • I. Introduction
  • A. Problem
  • B. What is water quality?
  • II. Hydrosphere
  • A. Surface Runoff
  • B. Diseases found in poor water quality
  • C. Impact of water level
  • III. Lithosphere
  • A. Impacts of elevation
  • B. Speed of Runoff
  • C. Soil
  • IV. Atmosphere
  • A. Acid Rain
  • B. Thermal Pollution
  • C. Atmospheric Changes

V. Biosphere A. Death of animals
and plants B. Oil spills
C. Things that are hazardous to water
quality VI. Conclusion A. Suggestions B.
Reflections C. Acknowledgments D. References
4
What is water quality?
  • Water quality is determined by the physical,
    chemical, and biological characteristics of water.

5
Surface Runoff and its effect on water quality
  • What is surface runoff?
  • Surface runoff is the flow of water, rain and
    snow (hydrosphere). It is also a main component
    of the water cycle.

6
Causes and effects of runoff
  • When the water runs along the ground it picks
    up soil contaminations, (man-made chemicals)
    petroleum, (crude oil) pesticides (bug
    preventions, and fertilizers. These contaminants
    then go into our water causing its quality to
    decline

7
Does Elevation Influence the amount and Speed of
Runoff?
  • In areas of high elevations such as mountains,
    runoff effects can be more apparent in the form
    of flash floods and mudslides.
  • Areas around the Pasquotank are already at a low
    elevation.
  • Runoff carries sediment, raising the bed level
    which causes increased flooding.

8
Does the Speed of Runoff have an Impact on Water
Quality?
  • The speed of runoff has a great impact on water
    quality. This is because if the Runoffs speed
    picks up, it can pick up more sediment and
    man-made chemicals such as fertilizer and
    pesticides.
  • Forests and Swamps are much more capable of
    slowing water than farmlands and grasslands.
  • Impervious surfaces such as parking lots and
    roads increase the speed of Runoff because there
    is nothing to slow it down.

9
ELEVATION AROUND PASQUOTANK RIVER
10
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11
Does the type of soil have an Impact on Water
Quality?
  • The soil acts as a natural filter when water
    percolates down into the groundwater.
  • Soil type has a significant effect as well as
    soil depth, and how clean the soil is, and
    surrounding vegetation.
  • Different types of soil have different rates of
    percolation. For example, water percolates
    through sand much faster than clay (this is
    because of the size of the soil particles sand
    has much larger particles than clay).

12
What diseases are found in water of poor quality?

13
The impact of water level on water quality
  • High Water Levels
  • When the precipitation builds up it causes an
    area to flood. Flooding washes materials from
    land (lithosphere) into the water, often causing
    a decline in water quality.

14
About Acid Rain
  • Acid rain is a term used to describe how acidic
    materials build up in the atmosphere and return
    to earth in the form of precipitation.
  • Cause The burning of fossil fuels creates nitric
    acid and sulfuric acid.

15
Effects of acid rain
  • Acid rain has a negative effect on the quality of
    water. Low pH levels in water kills plants,
    diminishes oxygen and increases bacteria growth,
    furthermore decreasing water quality.

16
Thermal Pollution
  • A sudden change in water temperature
  • Cause Rainfall flows on asphalt and becomes
    heated and is then deposited into nearby water.
  • Effects Increased temperature results in the
    reduction of dissolved oxygen causing rapid
    growth of algae and bacteria, which in turn
    decreases water quality.

17
Atmospheric changes and water quality
Negative Effects
Increased amounts of sulfur and nitric oxides
result in acid rain or dry deposition of these
acidic particles Increased atmospheric
temperatures can contribute to thermal pollution
by raising water temperatures Storms that occur
in the atmosphere can provide the soil with more
water than it can absorb or result in increased
flooding and runoff
18
How does the death of animals effect the
Pasquotank River?
  • Animals such as herring, white perch, and catfish
    live in the Pasquotank River.
  • If one animal from the food chain dies, other
    animals will die because each animal lives off
    each other.
  • When the animal decompose in the water their body
    begins to decay making the water contaminated
    making it unsuitable for humans to use.

19
How does the death of plants effect the
Pasquotank River?
  • Just like animals, plants have a big impact on
    the Pasquotank River. Plants in the river
    provide oxygen to the animals as well as a home .
    So if the plant begin to die off then that will
    cause the animals to die off also. Leaving the
    water contaminated.

20
What are the effects of oil spills on water
quality?
  • Oil pollution is a growing problem, that
    particularly devastates coastal wildlife.
  • Most man-made oil pollution comes from land based
    activity such as factories, ships, and oil
    tankers.
  • When oil starts to leak into the river it harms a
    numerous amount of things such as the oceanic
    habitat and the animals living in the river, and
    it contaminates the water which provides the us
    with less drinking water.

21
What is hazardous to the water quality of the
Pasquotank River?
  • There are many things known to cause the decline
    of water quality such as runoff from farms which
    includes fertilizers, animal waste, and
    chemicals.
  • Dissolved oxygen occurs when organic waste
    consumes oxygen making it harder for animals to
    live.
  • Large amounts of hazardous substances like nitric
    acid can kill vegetation and destroy an animals
    habitat.

22
Conclusion
  • Through the Earth System Science (ESS), our team
    was able to discover the ways that the four
    spheres interact and impact our water quality.
  • For example, the atmosphere releases
    precipitation which forms runoff (hydrosphere)
    causing erosion (lithosphere) and damages the
    biosphere.

23
Suggestions
  • Properly dispose of hazardous materials such as
    detergents and paints.
  • Use organic fertilizers
  • Save Water!!! Dont leave the water running when
    youre not using it!
  • Recycle and dispose of trash properly
  • The use of BMP (Best Management Practices) would
    greatly help the situation in the Pasquotank
    River

24
Acknowledgments
  • Mrs. Julie Stamper
  • Dr. Leon Pringle
  • Dr. Thomas Rossbach
  • Dr. Jim Botti
  • Dr. Liz Noble
  • Dr. William Porter

25
References
  • http//ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/acidrain.html
  • http//www.mbgnet.net/fresh/pollute.htm
  • http//www.pollutionissues.com/Te-Un/Thermal-Pollu
    tion.html
  • http//www.answers.com/topic/acid-rain?cathealth
  • http//www.eoearth.org/article/Acid_rain
  • http//www.windows.ucar.edu/earth/Atmosphere/water
    _watersheds.backup_CopyrightChange
  • http//ga2.er.usgs.gov/peachtree/droughtsqa.cfm

26
  • http//www.chesapeakebay.net/air_pollution.htm
  • http//www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/544
  • http//h2o.enr.state.nc.us/basinwide/chapter_2.htm
  • http//www.umich.edu/gs265/society/waterpollution
    .htm
  • http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_pollution
  • http//www.fws.gov/contaminants/Issues?waterQualit
    y.cfm

27
  • http//www.ecsu.edu/ECSU/AcidDept/Geology/pruqp.ht
    m_To452353485
  • http//www.ncfisheries.net/habitat/chppdoc4/E_SAV.
    pdf
  • http//wikipedia.org/
  • http//www.aacounty.org/SevernRiver/pollution1.cfm
  • http//www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/fenlewis/Waterqua
    lity.html
  • http//www.fivecreeks.org/monitor/do.html

28
Reflections
  • These two weeks have been wonderful! Weve
    learned how to apply our knowledge to the events
    that occur in real life. Weve been to The Great
    Dismal Swamp, where we learned why it is
    important to protect our swamps. The trip to the
    Currituck Sound allowed us to gain hands-on
    experience on how scientists collect and analyze
    data. Through Problem Based Learning (PBL) and
    the Earth System Science (ESS) we have all gained
    invaluable skills that will last a lifetime!

29
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