This spring, record breaking floodwaters along the Mississippi River caused massive damage in nine states, totaling over $25 billion dollars in damage (Watts, 2011). In most areas the floodwaters have receded, however there is concern that even a little rain could cause more flooding due to the already saturated land. As cities and towns are beginning the restoration process, one thing caused by the flooding waters cannot be restored. Pollutants’ such as nitrogen from fertilizer, due to this area being primarily composed of farming land, is making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico. Every year pollutants traveling in the Mississippi River enter the Gulf and contribute to the Coastal Dead Zone; however, this year the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to be the largest on record (University of Michigan, 2011; NOAA, 2011).
With record breaking flood levels, floodplains are unable to properly filter pollutants, like fertilizer, from entering into streams and rivers. Along the Mississippi River most of the land is farmland, and because there are more fields in this watershed area, excess fertilizer loaded with nitrogen makes its way into rivers and streams. This happens when water travels through the watershed areas and gathers in a floodplain. When this area is flooded, the water comes up on shore, and when the waters recede, the pollutants and sediment from soil erosion flow into the river. Once the nitrogen from the fertilizer enters the river, it stimulates plant growth. When there is too much plant growth, a river can be a very unhealthy place. Plants that grow and thrive, like algae, are usually in the upper levels of the river. Because an increase in algae growth occurs with the increase of nitrogen levels, it chang...
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University of Michigan (2011, June 14). Record Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' predicted due to Mississippi River flooding. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com-/releases/2011/06/110615091057.htm.
University of Virginia (2008, May 18). Excessive reactive nitrogen in environment alarms environmental scientists. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2008/05/080515145419.htm.
Watts, A. (2011, July 6). Widespread flood threat to continue through summer. NOAA-NWS. Retrieved from http://www.worldweatherpost.com/2011/07/06/noaa-%E2%80%93-nws- on-continuing-midwest-flood-risks/.
World Resources Institute. (2011, January 20). New web-based map tracks marine “dead zones” worldwide. Retrieved from http://www.wri.org/press/2011/01/new-web-based-map- tracks-marine-dead-zones-worldwide.
Hydrosphere of the Mississippi River A Case Study of * River management * People interfering in the hydrosphere * A flood management scheme River Basin / Catchment area The source of the river is the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains to the north. There are many hundreds of tributaries including the Red River, Missouri river and the river Ohio. The mountains form the river's watershed. From Minneapolis the river flows South-East into Iowa where it flows south as far as Davenport. At Davenport it is joined by more small tributaries.
The one feature common to the Hoover Dam, The Mississippi river and the three gorges dam is that they all tried to control nature’s swings, specifically in the form of flooding. Before the Hoover dam was built, the Colorado river “used to flood spectacularly…but after 1900 the Colorado provoked a vehement response” (Pg 177). The response was simple, but large. The U.S. built several large dams, including the Hoover dam, on the Colorado to decrease its flooding and increase power and irrigation. Unfortunately, just as human control of the Colorado’s flooding increased, its organisms and habitats were detrimentally influenced, and the water became more and more salinated.
In a passage from his book, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, author John M. Barry makes an attempt use different rhetorical techniques to transmit his purpose. While to most, the Mississippi River is only some brown water in the middle of the state of Mississippi, to author John M. Barry, the lower Mississippi is an extremely complex and turbulent river. John M. Barry builds his ethos, uses elevated diction, several forms of figurative language, and different styles of syntax and sentence structure to communicate his fascination with the Mississippi River to a possible audience of students, teachers, and scientists.
Most of the destructions from the events of August 29th 2005, when Katrina Hit the City Of New Orleans, were not only caused by the storm itself; but also, by failure of the engineering of the levee system protecting the entire infrastructure of the city. The years of poor decision making and avoidance of the levee system led to one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the United States. Throughout our research, we have identified three key players in charge of the levee system design, construction and maintenance. These three organizations are the Unites States Corps of Engineers, the New Orleans Levee District and the Louisiana Department of Transportation. The consequences of the hurricane showed the organizations negligence in the design, construction and maintenance of the protective walls. Later independent sresearch showed that more than 50 levees and food walls failed during the passage of the hurricane. This failure caused the flooding of most of New Orleans and all of ST. Bernard Parish. The Unites States Corps of Engineers had been in charge of the of the levee system and flood walls construction since the 1936 flood act. According to the law, the Louisiana Department of Transportation is in charge to inspect the overall design and engineering practices implemented in the construction of the system. Once the levee systems were finished, they were handed over to the New Orleans Levee District for regular maintenance and periodically inspections. The uncoordinated actions of these three agencies resulted in the complete failure of a system that was supposed to protect the people of New Orleans. The evidence is clear that this catastrophic event did not happened by chance. The uncoordinated response of these...
concentrations increase (Bricker et al., 1999). The effects of TP and TN in an estuary system can
Now it is the third most polluted river in the nation. The pollution on the Mississippi has caused a very negative effect on aquatic life. The Mississippi is home to a variety of animals including sea-lions, crabs, bass, and etc. This pollution is causing “dead zones” in the water which are areas in the water with little to no oxygen where aquatic life cannot survive. Talking about the dead zones, EPA stated, “Also known as hypoxia (dead zones), these areas are caused by algal blooms consuming oxygen as they die and decompose. Aquatic animals must leave the affected area or die. Young fish and seafloor dwellers like crabs and clams are most likely to die in hypoxic areas.”(EPA, 3) The Gulf of Mexico has the largest dead zone in the U.S. measuring 5,840 square miles. Where does this pollution come from? You guessed it, the Mississippi. Not only does the pollution of the Mississippi affect marine life, but it also effects human recreation. People that live on the Mississippi have a hard time doing activities like jet skiing or water skiing because if you fall off you could possibly suck into yourself some of the nasty polluted water and that can cause health problems. People should be realizing these problems and trying to stop them, but instead they just keep on dumping disgusting toxins into the river like it doesn’t affect anything or anyone. If I had more time to research this topic I would like to figure out how many fish die from dead zones every
Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain is his journal about vital river life during the steamboat era and a melancholy remembrance of it after the Civil War. Mark Twain tells of his life on the river, humorous folktales, and a glimpse of Twain's life during his childhood years.
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.
Rivers have been extremely important to the history of the world. They have shaped mountains, valleys, and even cultures. Rivers are extremely important to the individuals who live in the areas around them. Native Americans, colonists, and us today use rivers in some way or another. And one of the biggest rivers in American history is of course the Mississippi River. At 2,340 miles long the Mississippi river is the second longest river in the United States. It flows through 10 states - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and, of course, Mississippi. At the end it empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
Water contamination comes in various different forms. The most common in today’s world is chemical contamination. At the dawn of the industrial era, factories and sewage plants were the main culprits behind water contamination. In her article Water Quality, author Mary Cooper notes that “although the most egregious point-source pollution [factories and sewage treatment plants] has been reduced, a more insidious form of pollution continues to dirty the nation’s waterways – runoff from city streets, suburban construction sites and farms” (955). In farmland America today, the focus of contamination is mostly on runoff. Runoff...
Even though Michigan is known for being the Great Lakes State, the state also has many other inland lakes and rivers. Throughout my schooling, I have learned that in Michigan, you are always within 6 miles of a body of water. Both lakes and rivers are constantly being bombarded with ice and wave movement which causes the shorelines to erode as well as displacing soil particles (“Shoreline Erosion,” 2012). The erosion causes the shapes of shorelines to constantly be changing. The transportation and deposition of soil particles also alters the water and shorelines. The particles can build up in different areas of the lake. They can cover up plants and habitat that other
Use of pesticides & other fertilizers infuse nitrogen oxide into the water bodies acidifying the water which kills the plants and aquatic animals living in
Michener, William K. and Haeuber, Richard A., Bioscience. American Institute of Biological Science. Sep98. Vol. 48. Issue 9. p677.
Freshwater wetlands are a unique and valuable resource constituting about 6% of the land surface on Earth. They sustain a multitude of unique biological species and provide high levels of primary productivity (Graham & Mendelssohn, 2010). Compared to other natural environments, plant primary productivity in wetland ecosystems is among the highest known (Benner, Maccubbin & Hodson, 1884). Wetlands serve essential ecological functions which provide many important services to human society. Flood mitigation and water filtration are essential services. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an acre of wetlands are able to store over 1 million gallons of flood waters. Water Storage by wetlands can slow down water’s momentum and reduce erosion in surrounding areas, as well as reduce flood heights, support groundwater recharge and contribute water to other systems during dry periods. In addition to these benefits, wetlands have high biological productivity. 31 percent of the plant species of the United States are found in wetlands. About half of the bird species in North America depend on wetlands for either feeding or nesting. Because of their high productivity, wetlands are able support commercial shellfish and fishing industries as well as ecotourism activities (such as fishing, bird watching, hunting and photography) that bring in billions of dollars to the national economy annually (EPA.gov, 2001). However, the value of freshwater wetlands has historically been overlooked. According to the Environmental Protection Agency over half of the estimated 220 million acres of wetland that existed in the United States in the 1600s have now been drained or converted t...
Farmers apply nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, manure, and potassium in the form of fertilizers to produce a better product for the consumers. When these sources exceed the plants needs or if these nutrients are applied before a heavy rain then the opportunity for these excess to wash into aquatic ecosystems exists.