Runoff is defined as excess water that soil does not absorb after a storm. Runoff collects various particles on its way downhill, such as pesticides and nutrients, from the surrounding area, and moves them into the nearby bodies of water. Some nutrients carried by runoff include: nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate; all of which are found in golf course turf fertilizer (experiment). When these excess chemicals enter the water, they create an imbalance in the ecosystem. This imbalance can be harmful to inhabitants both in, and around the body of water. Those affected in the water may be subjected to a decrease in dissolved oxygen levels, making it harder for the animals to breath. The levels of acidity in the water may increase, causing mutations or other physical harm to the animals. Many land inhabited animals consume their water and sometimes even food from nearby bodies of water; such as lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans. The intake of excess amounts of chemicals would most likely cause the animals to grow very sick, or possibly even die. If the chemicals themselves do not hurt the land bound animals, the lack of aquatic animals to feed on will decrease, causing them to go hungry, or forcing them to move to new habitats. (Thesis)
Some North Carolina golf courses participated in a surface water quality study unveiling the movement of fertilizers and pesticides (Ryals, Genter, & Leidy, 1998). Water samples were collected every two weeks. Ryals, Genter, and Leidy (1998), accounted for four pesticides (atrazine, chlorothalonil [Daconil®], chlorpyrifos [Dursban®], and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and 2 nutrients (nitrogen and phosphate). Minimal impact to the courses’ surface water was shown by the data retrieved from the stud...
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...c plants and algae (Perlman, 2013). The recommended phosphate (PO4) level for a fresh body of water is 0.1-1 mg/L (Bartenhagen, 2013). Ammonium (NH4) levels vary with temperature and pH levels of the freshwater (Bartenhagen, 2013) (DeBrosse,2013). With the healthy pH level of 7 or 8, the corresponding ammonium level should be around 0.1-1 mg/L. Ammonium only exists in the atmosphere before altering to nitrate for about five to ten days by nitrification. Since healthy pH levels are between 7-8, extremes would make the freshwater too acidic or too basic making the water inhospitable for life (DeBrosse, 2013). The recommended dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in cold freshwater is between 6-8 mg/L. Temperature of the freshwater will vary depending on external air temperature. If all these characteristics are met, the body of water will have reached their eutrophic state.
...urkholder, J., Libra, B., Weyer, P., Heathcote, S., Kolpin, D., Thorne, P., et al. (2007). Impacts of waste from concentrated animal feeding operations on water quality. Environmental Health Perspectives, 11(2), 308–312. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1817674/pdf/ehp0115-000308.pdf
brings to the water system. These effects are a direct result of human interaction with the natural
Road salt comes into contact with the natural environment by means of snow and ice melting into water. The salt then runs, with the water, into lakes and streams, habitats and sources of water for both plants and animals. As cars drive along roads and highways, the revolving wheels spray salt on plants. Plants that are sensitive to large quantities of sodium, or salt, can experience potassium deficiency, stunted growth, phosphorus deficiency, toxic amounts of chloride, and premature leaf drop (Gould). Aquatic plants that are sensitive to high levels of salt are likely to die because the salt absorbs the water, causing plant cells to shrivel and die (Gould). When amphibians and other semi-aquatic freshwater organisms swim in salty water they too shrivel up and die, similar to a slug covered in salt (Siegel). The salt running into bodies of water is disrupting the food chain and killing thousands of organisms every day.
About 80% of the State’s surveyed freshwater rivers and streams have good water quality that fully supports aquatic life uses, 17% have fair water quality that partially supports aquatic life uses, and 3% have poor water quality that does not support aquatic life uses. Ten percent of the surveyed rivers do not fully support swimming. The major sources of impairment are agriculture (responsible for 53% of the impaired river miles), urban runoff (responsible for 16%), and construction (responsible for 13%). These sources generate siltation, bacteria, and organic wastes that deplete disssolved opxygen.
As swans drift with the current on a secluded lake in upper Canada they think not of the water they are in but of dreams of the past and wants for the future. On the other hand, seals off the coast of Northern California fear for their lives every day of humans exploiting their natural habitat. Many things can endanger water born animals, and most all of these come directly from humans. The pollutants of water come from many sources both close and far away from the water body itself. Wastes of humans are the major cause of pollution in the water, such materials include sewage, chemicals among other notable items. First, the composition water: water is odorless, tasteless and a transparent liquid. Though in large quantities water appears to have a bluish tint, it maintains the transparent tendency when observed in smaller quantities. Water covers approximately seventy percent of the Earth's surface in the solid and liquid form. Pollutants can be carried over a great distance by combining with evaporating moisture, forming clouds and then the wind taking the clouds to the larger body of water. This process is called acid rain and it is a major source of water pollution. Acid rain has been a problem since the Industrial Revolution, and has kept growing ever since. With acid rain moving over to a fresh water body, the plants and animals could experience pollution that they never had to deal with before and they could possibly die for the sudden change without them having time to adapt, if this is possible.
It ranges from zero to fourteen with seven being neutral. Anything less than seven is considered acidic and anything greater is considered basic. A river can become acidic through acid rain or certain pollutants. A non toxic stream is supposed to be around a pH of seven, and anything too far away could harm aquatic life and drinking water quality. Changing the pH of the water affects the solubility of nutrients and heavy metals in the water that aquatic life needs to survive. Dissolved oxygen is how much oxygen is dissolved in the water. Life in the rivers and streams breath this oxygen in order to survive. If the dissolved oxygen were to drop too low, the life in those waters would begin to die off. The oxygen enters the stream mostly from the atmosphere. When eutrophication occurs, it can cause an oxygen deficiency in the water. Eutrophication is a significant increase in plant life in a river which can kill off much of the aquatic life due to lack of dissolved oxygen. An ideal level of dissolved oxygen is five to six parts per million(ppm). Aquatic life will have difficulty with anything below three ppm. The level of nitrates in the water can affect the plant’s life directly and the aquatic life
Dissolved oxygen is one of the best indicators of the health of a water ecosystem. Dissolved oxygen can range from 0-18 parts per million (ppm), but most natural water systems require 5-6 parts per million to support a diverse population (Phosphates).
Golf courses in America hold themselves to a high standard when it comes to maintaining the thick, weed free and lusciously manicured turf in the fairways of their course. There has been increased focus on pesticides on golf courses since the early 1990s. In recent years however, Golf Course managers have began to realize the effect that they were having on the environment, both positive and negative. Many managers have began to consult with local environment experts to maintain their respective courses in a more environmentally conscious manner and some have even gone organic. There are extreme factors that all golf courses must pay attention to in order to have a luscious and visually appealing facility. Chemicals are a huge one. The chemicals used aren’t always bad either. Almost all the news articles and stories related to chemicals and the usage of them on on golf courses are more often than not, pretty negative. Golf course chemicals are seen as extremely volatile toxins to humans, plants and animals when in reality, that is not always the case. According researchers Raymond H. Snyder and George H. Snyder who are professors at the University of Florida, there have been a lot of misconceptions about golf course chemicals.
Use of pesticides & other fertilizers infuse nitrogen oxide into the water bodies acidifying the water which kills the plants and aquatic animals living in
There are many causes of water pollution, and the effects on the environment are directly related to the primary cause of the pollution. Therefore, each cause has to be examined for harmful effects. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration states nutrient pollution, "can lead to more serious problems such as low levels of oxygen dissolved in the water" (3). The dissolved oxygen levels being low lead to aquatic life dying. Nutrient pollution also can cause algae blooms which cause serious environmental problems affecting aquatic ecosystems, and which can cause dangerous health issues for animals and humans. Water pollution caused by sewage is an environmental problem. When sewage pollutes water it can be dangerous especially if it enters people 's source of drinking water as author Woodford states, "It is possible to catch illnesses such as hepatitis, typhoid, and cholera from river and sea water" (4). Chemical and radioactive runoff can be dangerous to humans as well. When water that is contaminated by chemicals is consumed by humans it can lead to sickness, paralysis or even death depending on the kind of chemical polluting the water and the concentration of the pollutant in the water. The Flint Crisis is an example of the damaging effect of chemical runoff, as the Flint communities ' water was contaminated by the lead pipes that carried the water resulting people in the affected communities ending up with lead poisoning. The environment and the animals are also impacted by chemical and radioactive runoff, increasing the death of organisms and decreasing biodiversity(3). Oil runoff water pollution is yet another example of water pollution. The effects oil runoff has on the environment are especially debilitating. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico for example, hurt not only aquatic life, but also land animals. The oil would get on to anything that touched the
Water pollution is described as one substance or more building up to a certain level and causing problems to animals or humans.
In another case study relating to amphibians, scientists exposed species tolerant Bufo americanus (American toad) and the not tolerant Rana sylvatica (wood frog) to pond sediments in laboratory microcosms. Microcosms are experimental ecosystems created to simulate and predict the behavior of natural ecosystems under controlled conditions. The ecosystems had elevated sediment metal levels and chloride water concentrations. The reason for this experiment was to look at issues in rapidly urbanizing areas and the potential impact of stormwater runoff to natural bodies of water. Roof tops, roads, and parking lots are just a few examples of the typical urban and suburban areas that collect a wide range of pollutants such as metals, salts, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Councell et al., 2004; Davis et al., 2001; Marsalek, 2003; Pitt et al., 1995; Van Metre and Mahler, 2003). The stormwater ponds are a common feature in stormwater management plans, and are designed to detain (detention ponds) or retain (retention ponds) stormwater runoff, allowing pollutants like metals, sediments, and nutrients to be removed from the runoff and reducing the impact of flooding on natural bodies of water (Novotny, 1995; US Environmental Protection Agency, 1991). Since stormwater ponds often have plants and vegetation, they are important in that they often provide habitat for
Cunningham, William, and Mary Ann Cunningham. "Chapter 18: Water Pollution." Environmental Science. ; A Global Concern. 12th ed. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2011. 396-421. Print.
Research from the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that species in the ocean consume a projected 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic every year in the Pacific Ocean (Nall, 2014). Pollution of recyclable materials in the oceans is one of the leading causes of why some marine species are nearing extinction. Many authors of articles and books analyzing this topic tend to agree that pollution of our oceans is a problem. The future of this problem is where their ideas tend to differ. The following four literature reviews attempt to demonstrate and support my belief that pollution is getting worse in the ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there are things that we as humans can do to change this. Imagine a world where we didn’t have to constantly worry about the vicious cycle of humans affecting animals and then animals in turn affecting us through consumption.
And acid rain, which is created when water in the atmosphere mixes with chemicals, ravage through rain forests and can even kill fish.