A Project Description Of The Landscape

While studying water systems and landforms in our lab, we begin to wonder about certain climates and regions. In this paper, I will discuss the water systems and landforms found in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as two other cities in the United States. I will explore the amount of water that comes and leaves their systems, as well as the natural landforms that occupy their regions.

Overall, the more macroinvertebrates in the water, the healthier the stream. pH is a measure of how acidic or basic water is. It is measured on a scale from 0-14. 0 is the most acidic, 14 is the most basic, and 7 is neutral. It is the measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxide ions in the water. Acidic water has more hydrogen ions, and basic water has more hydroxide ions. When water’s pH is around neutral (7), that is a suitable and healthy living environment for fish, and indicates a healthy stream. If the water is too acidic or too basic, it can be harmful to the aquatic life. Dissolved oxygen is a measure of how much oxygen is dissolved in the water. As the amount of dissolved oxygen drops below normal levels in water bodies, the water quality is harmed and creatures begin to die off as a result of eutrophication. The higher the level of dissolved oxygen, the healthier the stream. When there is a lot of dissolved oxygen present it makes for a safe environment for fish to live and reproduce. Having all this healthy fish can provide us with food, so overall the more dissolved oxygen, the better. Nitrates are a compound found in fertilizers that is used to help plants grow. It is what is given off as a result of the use of nitrogen in water. The organisms in the soil eat the nitrates and it helps the metabolism and the health of organisms. Plants, such as Algae use nitrates as a source

The state of Michigan is a fascinating area. From its mitten-like shape, to its historical background, to the presence of the Great Lakes, Michigan has a story unlike any others. One very important part of Michigan’s story is how water has shaped the land making up the state. Seeing as the Great Lakes surround Michigan, it is obvious that the hydrologic system plays a great role in the water supply and the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. The hydrologic cycle includes evaporation, condensation, precipitation, groundwater, transpiration and runoff, all of which keep the Great Lakes functioning year after year. The University Corporation of Atmospheric Research developed an image to simply explain the hydrologic cycle as well as graphs explaining how each of the elements of the hydrologic cycle affects The Great Lakes on a monthly basis (located below).

Harmful chemicals, manure, and pollution factor into it. These can cause large amounts of blue-green algae, which can be more of an issue then the nitrates. They take away oxygen from the water which would cause a decrease in organisms. In the article, “The muted voice in water quality debate is finally heard.” Mike Kilen (2016) says, “But while we focus on nitrates, we also can’t forget the dangerous bacteria and blue-green algae increasingly popping up in our rivers that are even more a danger to public health.” So although the fertilizer problem is important, the nitrates and phosphorous is not the only thing to worry

6. Richter, Brian D., Baumgartner, Jeffrey V., Powell, Jennifer, and Braun, David P. (1996). A method for assessing hydrologic alteration within ecosystems. Conservation Biology 1996:1163. http://libproxy.txstate.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.2387152&site=eds-live&scope=site

They describe the twentieth century as the hydraulic era, which all began do to water engineers. “ It has been argued that water engineering during the hydraulic era was a response to what water planners saw as the need to keep pace with a steadily increasing population and expanding agriculture across the American West” (175). They felt the need to build canals since they noticed the west experiencing periodic floods and droughts, allowing them to use it for items like watering their crops, which looking closely at it explains how Califor alone grows aproximately 60 percent of America’s produce. However others argued otherwise stating that the massive smount of water resources gathered by enginneering is what led to an increase in population growth overduing the amount the regioun could actually substain. Regardless, these actions have highly impacted and harmed the aquatic ecosystems found in lakes, natural rivers, and wet lands across the region.

Stormwater is water produced by rain or melting snow, which can rapidly flow over impervious surfaces into streams. Upland development magnifies the occurrence of stream bank erosion and in-stream nutrient pollution, which also have indirect negative effects. When stream bank erosion occurs, eroding sediment causes an increase in turbidity. Heavy stormwater flows into streams mixes the streambed sediment, which also increases turbidity, and ultimately causes declines in aquatic biota (Waters 1995). Therefore, negative externalities of upland development include

Since this is the twenty-first century, every little bit counts. For example, Massachusetts is a perfect representation of expanding population growth and shortage of natural resources. In Massachusetts, the Quabbin reservoirs are used as its main water source. The increase of the population Massachusetts has to offer increases the water from the reservoir. For this reason, making this incident move residents of four towns in Swift River Valley. Those towns being Greenwich, Enfield, Dana and Prescott plus closure of roads then clearing a huge majority of the forest with 400 billion gallons of water. It then continued to fill with water for the next several

Hydrology is associated with geology. Hydrology consist of the water flow of water in streams and in groundwater. Hydrology deals with many processes that can outcome in numerous features.

We live in an age where most environments on earth have been impacted by anthropogenic activities. For thousands of years, humans have been a natural component of ecosystems across the globe (Chapin et al, 2011). Human-environmental interaction contributes to processes that affect fluvial environments. For example, impervious surfaces are ubiquitous in urban areas; these anthropogenic surfaces reroute runoff (among other things), which can ultimately impact the morphology, water quality, vegetation, and floodplain soils of a local watershed, if it is near an urban area. Regardless of the anthropogenic presence throughout environments across the globe, ecological benchmarks can be set—physical, chemical, and biological—regarding what constitutes a healthy, natural environment. These parameters are important factors in ecological remediation activities and synonymous with the term “reference condition.” Based on a spectrum of watershed conditions—ranging from reference to

Homeowners that water grass may require large amounts of fertilizer that contribute to high levels of nitrates in the aquifer, a major source of drinking water. Water containing nitrates contribute to algae growth and can endanger plants and wildlife in the springs. Lawns with landscaping with non-native plants may also require daily watering and frequent pesticides to keep them healthy and disease-free. Nearly half of all water withdrawn for our supply is used only to water lawns and landscaping. Population increase in Florida has led to more to transforming rural areas and uninhabited land into housing, shopping centers, and buildings. Pavement and roads prevent rainwater absorption into the aquifer and increase run-off of chemicals and other waste. Agriculture also requires chemicals to kill insects and thus absorbed into the ground into our drinking water. Dairy farms produce a lot of animal waste along with the pesticides and chemicals used to maintain the livestock and irrigation that also enter our supply of drinking water. BMP, or best management practices, include water conservation. Humans have a major impact on water contamination and should use caution so that our water is preserves. Contribution efforts on our part are reducing the water usage for lawn care and fertilizers, indoor water

The presence of a certain velocity of water within a river affect the biota within it as it carriers or supports them. In rivers especially discharges vary seasonally, which imposes changes within a biological community. 1 Water velocity can affect the amount of

Some of the most notable effects of urban sprawl are loss of open space and natural habitats such as farmland, more air pollution, an increase in traffic due to longer commutes to work, and a depletion of water quality (Pope, 1999). Farmland is important to residents because it provides open space, absorbs rainwater, which improves water balance, and offers protection against flooding. Also, farmland vegetation helps air pollution by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. Aside from these benefits, nutrient farmland is vital for crop production (Frenkel, 2003). Cities such as Scranton, McKeesport, Wilkes-Barre and New Castle have lost more than a third of their residents due to urban sprawl. Pennsylvania alone has lost more than four million acres of farmland since the 1950s. The area of farmland that has been lost in Pennsylvania is equivalent to the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. One may argue that Pennsylvania had to expand our cities in order to accommodate an influx of population. However, unlike rapidly growing states such as California and Florida, Pennsylvania has only seen a 20 percent population increase in the past fifty years (Hylton, 1998,

The piece I will be writing today is a journal in response to the prompt ‘Ultimately our ties to our landscape shapes our identity’. This piece will appear in an anthology of student writings on the context Imaginative Landscape published by VCAA in order to give other VCE students studying imaginative landscape insight into the ways they can creatively approach a context prompt. The piece is intended to show the reader that our landscape does shape who we are but what we make of our experience is what ultimately builds our identity. Life is going to have it ups and downs. Going through bad times or even good things in life, it doesn’t define you, but what you perceive of it decides whether you grow or shrivel under stress. Our level of connectedness

The amount of runoff water is generally increased due to the removal of vegetation and the rise in impervious areas, resulting in a rise in the frequency and magnitude of floods. The change in land use has a considerable effect on the surface run-off of a watershed (Mondal et al. 2014). Moreover, the increased stream flow power alter the shape of channels and sediment supplies are disturbed. The reduction of perviousness also results in a reduction in groundwater. Finally, the quality of water is lowered due to urban sources of