The Effects of Mono Lake's Hydrology on its Ecosystem
Situated at the foothills of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mono Lake has an unusual and unique hydrology that is highly influential in shaping the water chemistry (specifically the water's salinity and alkalinity) and biological life that survives there.
Mono Lake is a hypersaline, highly alkaline, hydrographically closed basin in which the only natural means of water export is through evaporation. The basin itself was carved out by faulting of tectonic plates that occurred atleast 500,000 years ago. Mono Basin contains up to 7,000 ft. of glacial, fluvial, lacustrine and volcanic deposits in a large structural depression formed in part by down-dropping along the Sierra Nevada fault (Pakiser 1976).
In addition to the water evaporated, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) began diverting Mono Lake's water and approximately 58% of its natural inflow (annually) to supply 13% of the city of Los Angeles's water supply in 1940 (Stine 1991). Because lake volume fluctuates in response to varying inflow and evaporation, the late-water concentration and composition can experience substantial change through time (Rogers 1992). A high concentration of soluble compounds and salts formed inherently as evaporation occurred, and minerals and compounds were left behind.
Runoff, erosional sediments and precipitation (rain and snowfall are limited in the Eastern side due to the rainshadow effect) from the Sierra Nevada accumulate in the Mono Basin. Also ephemeral perennial streams from the Sierra Nevada flow into the Mono Basin. Because of this, a great deal of the groundwater and the groundwater hydrological system is dominated by stream losses from the mountains. Fault lines can also be highly influential to the production of groundwater.
According to USGS's Ronald Oremland, The lake is usually monomictic, and undergoes one complete winter mixing event induced by the sinking of cold surface waters. However, inputs of large amounts of freshwater into the lake in the early 1980s and again in the late 1990s resulted in episodes of meromixis (Oremland 2000). Jellison predicts that the meromixis phase that is currently occurring will last several decades. Meromixis generally produces buildup of ammonia, sulfide and methane.
In many cases diversions of freshwater inputs for irrigation or other human uses have resulted in diminished size and increased salinity (Jellison 1992). Diverting Mono Lake's streams has not only stirred political and environmental controversy over rights but has also led to the waters of Mono Lake being halved in lake volume, reduced by 45 ft.
The geological processes that formed and continue to influence Mono Lake began approximately 215 million years ago when the Farallon sea floor plate began subducting, or pushing, under the North American plate. The North American plate was pushed over the sea floor plate by the force of the African and South American plates rifting apart. The friction from the North American plate rubbing against the Farallon plate melted some of the continental rocks, which then erupted in a long volcano chain, the Sierran Arc, stretching from Alaska to Mexico inland from the coast. Over time, the unerupted magma chambers from the Sierran Arc cooled into the granitic batholith that is the Sierra Nevadas (Tierney, 26-27).
First let's focus on the fact that gang related crime is one of the most dangerous challenges facing society and law enforcement today. They are younger, more brutal, unafraid of consequences and becoming increasingly more vicious. Gang members work together as cliques, they commit all sorts of violent crimes including murders, rapes, robberies and kidnappings. "They live in aimless and violent presents; have no sense of the past and no hope for the future; they commit unspeakably brutal crimes against other people often to gratify whatever urges of desires drive them at the moment and their utter lack of remorse is...
The quality of any water sources is imperative to every creature in the ecosystem due it being vital to survival. For example, humans can’t go without water for a few days while can survive for days without food. Hence protecting water sources is imperative. Lake Merritt is a tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland California, a refuge for animals. Lake Merritt was created by Dr. Samuel Merritt, the Mayor of Oakland, who at that time owned a majority of the properties near the shorelines of the lagoon ("A Brief History"). He proposed to construct a dam to manipulate the flow of the water to enable the water level inland to rise, thus turning the lagoon into a lake. Sewages and storm drains were later directed into the lake, thus the condition of the lake reflects the community level of pollution within the ecosystem. Throughout the years, Lake Merritt has deteriorated and still is due to the pollution and the stagnant state of the water. The pungent stench releases during the drought seasons and the summer’s heat cause the lake once beautify state to decline. However, in November 2002, Oakland voters approved a $198 million dollar bond measure to fund restoration and clean water projects throughout the city. A total of $115 million was allocated for Lake Merritt’s restoration (Miller). However, there are critics conveying the misused of funds and that Oakland can’t afford to fund this project. The enormous loan from the projects will have to be pay off from the people of Oakland through higher charge for public services and tax’ rates. With the restoration project, not only will the stench of the lake be resolve, but the ecosystem around the lake will have major improvements. The constant influx o...
There are small fractures on the surface of mountain rocks and they only absorb a small amount of water. So the surface of a smooth mountain rock will have a higher runoff rate.
The American Great Lakes; Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario make up 21% of the world’s surface, fresh water. These lakes are home to a variety of wildlife species and fish that are a concern. The lakes also provide drinking water for 40 million people. Commercial fishing, sport fishing and Native American fishing are the major industries providing jobs in the Great Lakes Region and this impacts the fragile ecosystem. The urban runoff and sprawl, sewage disposal, agriculture and toxic industrial waste also affect human health, fish populations, and aquatic food chains. The Great Lakes Restoration initiative is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. There is a task force of 11 federal agencies that developed an action plan to implement the initiative. The action plan is to cover fiscal years 2010-2014 and addressed five urgent issues. Those issues include; 1. Cleaning up toxics and areas of concern. 2. Combating invasive species, 3. Promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from polluted runoff, 4. Restoring wetlands and other habitats. 5. Tracking progress and working with strategic partners. In 2012 and 2013 with the input of citizens 3 key priorities helped to guide the restoration project. They were cleaning up areas of concern, reducing nutrients entering the lakes and preventing the introduction of new, invasive species. New technologies, such as a swimming video camera and an all-terrain robot, are granting researchers their first glimpse of a region critical to the Great Lakes’ health.
The Colorado River is formed by small streams created by a huge amount of snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains. The ecology and flow of the river varies highly by region. The river is divided into two different regions, the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin. Beginning in the early 1900s, western states began to build dams in the Colorado river, diverting the water flow to fast growing cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix. The river now services over 30 million in the southwestern parts of the United States and Mexico (Patrick 1). Diverting the water of the nation’s seventh-longest river may be seen has a great accomplishment, however to others this is a great crime against nature. Over the past couple years the river has been running significantly low, since a drought has come up the southwest. At the lakes edge, “bathtub rings”, lines in the rock walls, can be seen showing the decrease in water level. It is recorded in some areas of the river that the water has lowered 130 feet since 2000. Some water resource officials say those areas will never be filled back to normal. The surrounding states must adjust to living with less water or further actions need to be taken to save the river’s water. There has been some talk about adding water to the river to replenish the river but nothing has hap...
Poor water management is a key issue causing the de-vitalization of the Colorado River. Our current methods of managing water lead to wasted water through evaporation, leaks, over pumping and unnecessary use. Also any use we put to water degrades it and in most cases the water is sent back into the river at this reduce...
Gangs are responsible for ten to twenty percent of the criminal activity in the United States, which estimates to an approximate thirty to sixty billion dollars of taxpayers' money a year. Gangs are often associated with the use of drugs, including heroine and marijuana. Gangs also are connected to the illegal use of many weapons and as a result, many bloody murders. So, it is...
Groundwater remained the main supply until 1971 which was when Las Vegas became more dependent on Colorado River water due to the “Southern Nevada Water System” (Brown, n.d.; Larsen et al., 2015). Since then up to 90,000 acre-feet of groundwater has been pumped on a yearly basis, this value surpasses the natural groundwater recharge (Laczniak et al., n.d.). Rain as well as snow serves as the primary sources of groundwater recharge for the aquifers while precipitation plays a minor role (Laczniak et al., n.d.). Due to there not being balanced discharge and recharge this has led to subsidence and as a result of this subsidence the storage capacity of aquifers has decreased due to compaction (Laczniak et al., n.d.). It is estimated that 187,000 acre feet of storage capacity in the aquifers has been lost due to compaction (Laczniak et
EPA, U. (Producer). Dissolved Oxygen Concentration- Lake Erie Central Basin Hypolimnion [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lakeerie/erdo8893.gif
The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system on Earth, with a basin that is home to around 30 million people (USEPA, 2015). Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that lies entirely within the United States, with a maximum length of 307 miles and maximum width of 118 miles. The Lake Michigan shoreline, composed mainly of sand and pebble beaches, stretches 1,640 miles along the coasts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as some islands (NOAA, 2015a). The Illinois portion of the Lake Michigan watershed (Figure 1) is only 100 square miles (0.22% of the lake’s total area) and the state’s coastline borders the lake for a short 63 miles (IEPA, 2014). However, despite this relatively small area of Lake Michigan, half of the state’s population lives within the watershed. Recreational water activities are popular throughout the Great Lakes and along Illinois’ Lake Michigan coastline. Lake Michigan is Illinois’ biggest recreational resource, as well as the state’s largest supply of drinking water and a major economic boon (IEPA, 2014). With so many people engaging in water activities, and both affecting and being affected by the lake in turn, it is important to frequently monitor the lake for potential health hazards.
The term gang refers to “a group of people with a discernible structure, a recognized territory, and distinctive beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors” (Pearce and Pettis, 2011). Gang violence is a wide spread phenomena. Gang violence can be found in all fifty states and in most major cities. With gang violence being so common, it is no surprise that this type of violence is not only affecting are youth, but they are also becoming a main cause of this violence (Graulich, 2010). Youth gang violence has grasped the attention of the communities. Members of the community are joining forces to put a stop to this type of violence (O’Brien, Daffern, Chu, and Thomas, 2013). It is important to learn and understand the history
These issues are of utmost importance, gang membership does not only present an issue on an individual level, but on a societal level as well. Gangs are well-known for their proclivity for violence, even to those who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Youth gang crime is no longer limited to big cities; these problems have now spread beyond those boundaries into suburbs, small cities, and even rural areas (Spergel & Grossman, 1997). These organizations put us all at risk, and are a threat to public safety. Furthermore, these groups put our youth at risk and threaten to destroy their
Critical Analysis: According to FBI.gov, gangs poison streets with drugs, violence, and all manner of crime. The FBI statistics show that there are 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs within the United States today. Today gangs consists of 1.4 million members. The copyright of, An Introduction to Juvenile Justice, was in 2013. In a little over two years, gangs have increased by 5,000 and consists of over 269,000 new members. In my critical opinion, that shows our efforts need to be reevaluated and adjusted accordingly.
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of time. These kind of groups, or gangs, usually participate in several criminal and illegal activities that negatively affect society. These activities include theft, robbery, extortion, rape, and many types of vandalism. Gangs have increasingly became a problem society has often had to deal with. People wonder where and how it all started. It is in fact evident that gangs can change a person’s life in a negative way. Many fall into these bad steps by peer pressure or even movies. Being influenced by what the media projects, accepting peer pressure, and how a person is raised in the wrong household are all examples of how one is led into a gang. These groups have had many negative effects on society for many years. The impacts that gang membership lead to affect society are what people should be aware of.