Salinity in the Murray Darling-Basin

Mangroves are halophyte plants that are physiologically amended to survive in habitat containing high concentration of salt in the soil water even though salt is not a physical requirement for growth; hence they are facultative halophytes (Dictionary, 2015). Mangroves at Nudgee Beach have developed three special mechanisms to manage the excess salt levels in their environment due to the disability of enzymes function at high salt concentration. Each species of mangroves are able to either: exclude (prevent salt entering), extrude (take salt out) or accumulate large amounts sodium chloride, enabling them to survive in their ecosystem (University of Sydney, 2015). Some species of mangrove have more than one of the above characteristics. The process

How serious is the problem? Since 1930, the aquifer's water has been reduced by 11 percent (Lewis). The volume of water has decreased because the use of irrigation has increased so much since World War II. In 1949, 2.1 million acres were under irrigation. In 1969, the amount of irrigation land rose to 9.0 million acres; and in 1978, it rose to 13 million acres

Warmer temperatures in Arizona in river has been leading to more evaporation. The water that is being used by plants and soil experience evapotranspiration which has accounted for a loss of at least half-million acre-feet of water annually.

Because the GBR is such a highly visited tourist attraction for snorkeling and diving, there has been a large number of human structures that have been built in natural areas. Every five years, the Australian government publishes an Outlook Report that examines the Great Barrier Reef’s health, pressures, and likely future. “The report is required under Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (section 54) and aims to provide a regular and reliable means of assessing reef health and management in an accountable and transparent way.” The report shows the actions that have been taken since 2009, including the focus on improving the quality of water that runs off the land. The increased freshwater run-off is in direct relation to the coastal development that has occurred since the major bleaching events have begun. The report released in 2009, states that the greatest risks to the Reef are still climate change, land-based runoff, coastal development, and some remaining impacts of fishing and illegal fishing and poaching. The report points out climate change as being the main cause of the destruction or bleaching of the reef (Department of Environment and Energy 2017). Most observers conclude that the climate change is a direct result of human

Wetlands improve water quality by helping with nearby flood control. The bottomland hardwoods areas contain large amount of nutrient rich soil which is capable of soaking up excess water from floods or runoff. These types of wetlands also contain marshes or swamps where the water is gathered to create a new environment for other

It takes all of them to change the land to where it was thousands of years ago. It is still changing today, and will continue to change for as long as we can imagine. The causes range from human causes to natural causes. The beautiful state of Michigan is a prime example of how water has shaped us to what we are now. We take for granted the beautiful Great Lakes we have. We need to conserve what we have. We are lucky enough to have such a beautiful lake such as Lake Superior that we need to count our blessings and remember that it could be taken away within

Ground water is a very important part of our fresh water supply and yet, it’s depleting at a faster rate than what can be replenished. According to Kally Worm “Groundwater is the second largest reserve of freshwater on earth. It also makes up 40% of the freshwater used in the U.S. alone.” This ground water is usually found in what is called an aquifer. An aquifer is found towards the lower layers of the soil. The problem with these aquifers it that their recharge rate is slow making it non- renewable. These water supplies being non- re We are overusing these water supplies. When ground water is used to a level of where it can’t recover, it affects the ground. Sinkholes can be formed when there is a aquifer that has water being drawn from it, but not letting it get back to par. Other problems can also occur is too much ground water is pumped out near coasts. This creates what’s called salt water intrusion. Salt water intrusion is when the ocean water mixes with the fresh ground water. This increases the salinity of the water making

(Salton Sea Symposium, 1998) However , the condition of the Sea has drastically changed and so has the amount of healthy living organisms in the Sea. By the 1980�s the water level rose greatly and gave way to abandoned businesses, deteriorating structures and empty beaches. The above was due to the fact that evaporation is the only outlet to the Salton Sea , in fact 1.35 million acre feet of water is lost each year , thus increasing its salinity even more. The salinity of the Salton Sea has increased to 45,000 parts per thousand or 45 PPT; the Pacific Ocean is currently 35 PPT.

Although natural salinity contributions are somewhat unavoidable, manmade contributions can be fixed. Just being more mindful with the runoff we release could help a lot and maybe even also taking the step to use water treatments to improve the river’s water (Patrick 216).

No one knows how much ground water there is. Pumping too much ground water can deplete the watershed and cause sink holes. I have seen these sinkholes in Florida and California. The government allows farmers to pump limitless quantities of water. They are told if they don’t pump the water, they will lose their water rights. When more water is pumped than can be returned to the ground, the ground dries up. We are becoming a desert in many places. We are draining the land of its moisture and life. As we dry the land, it turns from green to

Saline environments tend to hinder agricultural production by lowering crop yields, often quite substantially. The traditional response to the threat of salinity-induced crop yield reductions is to apply water in excess of plant requirements so as to leach the salts out of the root zone. (Letey and Dinar, 1986).

In detail, as air gets mixed in with the water and soil, the soil begins to decompose creating peat. (Sourced: Wiki). When groundwater gets removed it compacts the layers where water was in between causing it to deteriorate. The extensive ground-water pumping, but also and not limited to oil and gas extraction has caused an increase in the occurrence of flooding which badly damages developed or developing

Climate change creates significant impacts in the Australian context: in considering sea level rise is one of the most critical condition and as per the IPCC report, in 2100 it will increase by79 centimeters (Department of climate change, 2009). Further, it enhances natural hazards affect on the coastal region as flood, inundation, erosion, and storm surges, which will be a significant threat to the coastal community (Button et al.2013). In addition, sea level rise causes a significant change to beaches, coral reefs, estuaries, wetlands and low-lying islands.

During the 1990s scientist were able to collect 5,000 different salinity profiles. From their findings they were able to estimate a 20 percent increase in freshwater. Due to this increase there was a rise of fresh water by 8,400 cubic kilometer, which can be compared to the volume of fresh water and ice that is released in lower latitudes from the Arctic each year.

Plants in natural environments are being exposed to increasing amounts of salinity. One-third of the land being irrigated worldwide is affected by salinity, but salinity also occurs in non-irrigated land (Allen et al., 1994). There are large areas of primary salinity, but secondary salinity can be detected within one hundred years of settlement on an area of land. Drought and salinity are connected because in many regions, raising plants requires irrigation. The irrigation water contains calcium, magnesium, and sodium (Serrano et al., 1999). As the water evaporates and transpires, calcium and magnesium