AICE Environmental Management Exam Questions With 100% Correct Answers

AICE Environmental Management Exam Questions With 100% Correct Answers Surface Water - answerAll the bodies of fresh water that are found above the ground. River Basin - answerA flowing network of rivers and streams draining a river basin. Watershed - answerThe area of land that is drained by a water system. Groundwater - answerThe water that is beneath the Earth's surface. Aquifer - answerIs a body or rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows the flow of groundwater. Porosity - answerThe percentage of the total volume of a rock or sediment that consists of open spaces. Permeability - answerThe ability of a rock or sediment to let fluids pass through it open spaces or pores Recharge Zone - answerAn area in which water travels downward to become part of an aquifer. Potable - answerSuitable for drinking. Pathogen - answerA virus, microorganism, or other substance that causes disease. Irrigation - answerA method of providing plants with water. Dam - answerA structure that is built across a river to control a river's flow. Reservoir - answerAn artificial body of water that usually forms behind a dam. This can be used for flood control, drinking water, irrigation, recreation, and industry. Desalination - answerThe process of removing salt from ocean water. (a) With reference to Fig. 4.1, describe and explain the effect of the pumping well on the groundwater and water table. - answer- There are no confined or unconfined aquifers, which is why water is being pumped from the water table. - The well goes down deeper than the water table and is extracting too much water. - Arrows show all of the ground water going to the wellhead instead of the stream. - Water pumped from the groundwater system causes the water table line to lower and alters the direction of groundwater movement. -Some water that flowed to the stream no longer does so and some water may be drawn in from the stream into the groundwater system, thereby reducing the amount of streamflow. - Water-level declines may affect the environment for plants and animals. - Plants that grew because of the close proximity of the water table to the land surface may not survive as the depth to water increases. - The environment for fish and other aquatic species also may be altered as the stream level drops. (b) With references to examples with which you are familiar, discuss how efforts to achieve a sustainable supply of water can have both positive and negative effects on human activity and the environment. - answer- Central Florida is already reaching the sustainable limits of its predominant source of water, the Floridan Aquifer. - The three water management districts in this five county area - the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), South Florida Water Management District and Southwest Florida Water Management District - created the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) to identify alternative sources of water to meet demand. - The CFWI released water supply plans that include projects that could remove up to 160 million gallons a day of surface water from the St. Johns River at a cost of up to $1.79 billion. Positive: -Water demands are met for Agricultural, Industrial, and Domestic uses. Negative: - The River's surface water level will go down along with the water table line, which will affect the groundwater movement. - Removing millions of gallons a day from the flow of the St. Johns will worsen existing pollution problems, increase salinity levels, and adversely impact the fisheries, wildlife, and submerged vegetation in and along the river. (a) Briefly describe and explain both the advantages and the disadvantages of pipeline projects, such as the one shown in Fig. 4.1. - answerAdvantages - Arid lands that are rapidly being developed will not be able to sustain their people or their land use practices without an alternative water resource that can be provided through pipelines. - In Libya, a country dominated by the Sahara Desert, water is scarce. - With the growing population of Libya's coastal cities, the demand for fresh water is increasing. - These massive pipelines pump water from a large source and transfer it across a great distance to areas in need. - The purpose of water pipelines is to transport surface water or groundwater from one area to another without causing erosion and reducing the chance of evaporation (Usually in LEDCs). - Water pipelines provide a solution to areas lacking a continual and sustainable water source. Disadvantages - The construction of a major water pipeline is extremely expensive. - Pipelines need to be monitored continually and water quality must be constantly checked. - Thousands of miles of massive pipes can disrupt ecosystems, ruin scenery, and act as an obstruction. - The pumping of water out of an aquifer, a reservoir, or a watershed basin can cause severe damage, such as water level drawdowns, which can affect coastlines, aquatic life, plant life, and economic activity. - The water replenishment rate is not fast enough to rejuvenate water sources that are being reduced through large-scale transfer. (b) Using examples with which you are familiar, assess the extent to which MEDCs find it easier to achieve a sustainable supply of water than LEDCs. - answerThere are problems in supplying water in LEDCs. These are: - lack of availability of clean water - diseases spread via the water supply - water pollution As LEDC cities grow, so does the demand for water. The problem doesn't end when water supplies have been improved and pipes put in place. The water has got to come from somewhere, and the source of supply may be scarce. There is also a lack of vegetation in LEDCs compared to MEDCs; vegetation holds sediments together and acts as a reservoir for water. (a) Fig. 3.1 shows groundwater withdrawals in cubic metres per person per year. With references to Fig. 3.1, briefly describe and explain the regional variation in the quantities of water withdrawn from groundwater. - answer- There are large withdrawals in North America and the Middle East; in arid, drought affected regions, where the supply from the surface water is limited and where demand outstrips the supply of water from surface water. - The regions north of the tropic of cancer (above 30) has a greater groundwater withdrawal than annual recharge because that is where the greatest amount of population is on the earth. - Water withdrawn from groundwater is greater than the annual recharge in these areas and also in some of the mid-range areas. - In Southeast Asia as a result of high population density or in North America where water demand from both agricultural and industrial sectors is high and there are increasing demands upon groundwater. - Pollution of surface water sources also increases the demand upon groundwater. - Low withdrawals are found in South America, Canada and North Europe, in areas of plentiful supply of surface water or areas of low population density. (b) There are growing concerns regarding the consequences of the depletion and degradation of groundwater supplies due to increasing human demand on groundwater. Explain the risks to groundwater supply and the issues arising from their depletion and degradation. Using examples with which you are familiar, assess to what extent measures taken to manage these problems are effective. - answer- explosive population growth is leading to a huge increase in groundwater demand. - depletion of groundwater is becoming a massive problem as there are a lack of regulations to protect confined aquifers. - in MEDCs, water is severely underpriced and abused heavily by domestic and agricultural uses. - many corporations use artesian wells to drill into confined aquifers, this is entirely unregulated and can lead to major environmental damage over time. - after a confined aquifers is depleted, it can take hundreds, or even thousands, of years for the water cycle to recharge it through infiltration and percolation. - less water in our aquifers can lead to a massive slowing of the global water cycle and result in a loss of necessary plant life and biodiversity. - degradation takes place through gradual pollution from human activity, industry and automobiles. - pollution in the atmosphere can be return as acid rain, some corporations dump waste directly into water sources, and fertilizer in lawns can also seep into rain gutters. - this polluted water gradually seeps into the ground and enters our wager supply. - pumping this water out can lead to health issues in humans, and detrimental impacts to our crops. - ultimately, the groundwater supply is being depleted much faster than nature can recharge it and this is adversely affecting human life, the local and global environments, and our agriculture and industry. - the ways to fix this are to seek alternative sources of water, cut back on human demand, or begin a aquifer replied program. - the Florida aquifer is one of the most productive in the world, however, it still faces the issue of rapid depletion. - many protocols are put into place to stop this, they include limitation on withdrawal, standards of recycled water that can be put back into circulation, and Eutrophication - answerenrichment of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients. nitrates and phosphates leading to algae blooms. Tectonic Process - answerthe way in which plates interact with eachother resulting in the formation of mountains volcanoes and drifts Nam the tectonic process - answersubduction zone when the lighter plate is forced under the heavier plate trench - answerformed when two plates collide causing the heavier plate to dive under the lighter plate describe trench features - answercauses the formation of rolling mountains magam to rise and the deformation of the lighter plate features of eruption - answertremors and seismic activiy, then the emission of smoke ash and gases then piroclastic flow