Module 48
Human Impacts on Wetlands and Mangroves, Eutrophication, and
Thermal Pollution
Module 48
• 48-1: Humans are altering the availability of water by controlling
its movement
• 48-2: Humans are impacting wetlands and mangroves through
development, dams, overfishing, and pollutants
• 48-3: Aquatic ecosystems are being harmed by eutrophication
and sediment inputs
• 48-4: Thermal pollution comes from warming water bodies while
noise pollution comes from human sounds
Humans are altering the availability of water
by controlling its movement
• Levees – enlarged bank built up on each side of the river
• Dikes – structures built to prevent ocean waters from flooding
adjacent land
• Dams – barrier that runs across a river or stream to control the
flow of water
• Fish ladder – stair-like structure with water flowing over them,
which allows migrating fish to get around a dam
• Aqueducts – canals, ditches, or pipes used to carry water from
one location to another
Levees and Dikes
• Rivers naturally overflow periodically and make floodplains fertile
• Levees
• Flood protection b/c of residential and commercial use
• Reduces fertility of surrounding land
• Sediment enters the ocean instead of floodplains
• Can cause flooding downstream – human safety and economic risk
• Hurricane Katrina in 2005 broke 50 levees
• Dikes
• Common in northern Europe (Netherlands)
• Functionally similar to levees
• Combined with pumps to move water back to ocean
Dams
• Runs across river/stream
• Reservoir – body of water the dam creates upstream
• Purpose – human consumption, electricity generation, flood
control, recreation
• 800,000 dams in the world; 84,000 in US
• In US, 3% of dams for electricity, 18% for flood control, 38% for
recreation
Dams
• Costs
• Displaces people
• Interrupts natural flow of water, so messes up animal adaption (salmon)
• Fish ladders mitigate the issue with salmon being unable to migrate upstream
• Turbines kill millions of fish each year
• Seasonal flooding is a natural disturbance for ecosystems – affects
biodiversity
• People can simulate seasonal flooding
• Removing dams can fix a lot of issues
Aqueducts
• Examples
• Catskill Aqueduct – from Catskill Mountains to NYC – over 200km
• Colorado River Aqueduct – from Colorado River to LA – over 400km
• Costs
• Above ground aqueducts can cause fragmentation
• Rivers lose water – can dry out certain areas -> soil erosion
• Can reduce freshwater in estuaries
• Reduced bodies of water can affect climate
Humans are converting salt water into
freshwater by desalination
• Desalination/desalinization – remove salt from salt water
• Middle East produces 50% of world’s desalinated water
• Two processes
• Distillation – boil water, capture steam, condense into water
• Uses a lot of energy
• Reverse osmosis – force water through a membrane at high pressure
• More efficient and cheaper than distillation
Humans are impacting wetlands and mangroves
through development, dams, overfishing, and
pollutants
• Wetland ecosystem services
• Remove pollutants and excess nutrients
• Reduces flooding
• Reduces damage from storms
• Critical habitat for fish and wildlife
• Carbon sink
• 50% less wetland habitat in US compared to 1600s
• A lot of wetlands have been drained to turn into farmland
Aquatic ecosystems are being harmed by
eutrophication and sediment inputs
• Eutrophication – excess nutrients altering food web and harming
water quality
• Algal blooms – improperly treated sewage, fertilizer leeching, storm runoff
• Some blooming algae produce toxins
• Oxygen sag curve – less oxygen closer to point source, more
oxygen downstream
• Sewage and other organic pollutants that decay uses oxygen
• Sediment input
• Can make water more shallow – bad for boats
• Less photosynthesis, clogs gills, reduces visibility, bury organisms
Thermal pollution comes from warming water
bodies while noise pollution comes from human
sounds
• Thermal pollution – humans cause a substantial change in the
temperature of a body of water
• Causes
• Logging
• Use of cold water to absorb heat in industry
• Problems
• Can cause thermal shock – change in temp killing species
• Warmer water contains less dissolved oxygen – suffocates animals
• Solutions
• Cooling towers or cooling ponds – cools through evaporation
Noise Pollution
• Sounds emitted by ships and submarines
• Sonar
• Firing torpedoes
• Detonating bombs
• Air guns to search for oil deposits
• Solutions
• Quieter ship propellers