Flashcards
Envisci test
Cards in this deck (53)
- 1Scientific methodQuestion, hypothesis, design ways to achieve hypothesis, data gathering, analysis and interpretation
- 2Methods in environmental scienceField studies, lab studies and modeling
- 3Field studies describenaturally occurring things eg, testing flow of
a river - 4Lab studies describeSomething from the environment and
tested in controlled environment - 5Modeling describeA physical model of the environment, bringing something to life or computer modeling
- 6EnvironmentMany definitions
1) the natural world we live in
2) all the external abiotic and biotic factors --> survival of organism or community
3) the environment is everything that isnt me - 7SystemsAs assemblages of parts that generates a regular or predictable pattern. can be open or closed
- 8EcosystemsAbiotic and biotic factors coexisting and interacting in one location
- 9Ecosystem servicesprovide us with capital and natural capital. Provisioning services, supporting services, regulating services and cultural services
- 10Provisiong services (ecosystem goods) :Food, timber, fibre, water, medicines, energy
- 11Supporting serviesSoil formation and nutrient cycling
- 12Regulating serviesWater and air purification, climate regulation and waste decomposition
- 13Cultural servicesSpiritual, heritage and recreational
- 14Natural capitalcapital that exists naturally without requiring humans
- 15What did Costanza et al. (1997) study try to quantifyTried to quantify natural capital in dollar value
- 16What ecosystem service was worth least --> mostsoil formation 53, climate regulation 684, recreation 815, water supply 1682, nutrient cycling 17075.
- 17Examples of development of environmental scienceYellowstone, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, NASA and Brundtland commission.
- 18Aldo Leopold - think like a mountain means ...Think like a mountain means to have a complete appreciation for the profound interconnectedness of the elements in the ecosystems.
- 19Environmental scienceThe systematic study of our environment and our proper place in it.
- 20Interdisciplinarynot just one thing, made up of lots of things. to study it have to be aware of all theories. More than one branch of knowledge
- 21Traditional ecological knowledgeIndigenous accumulated knowledge through years of experience
- 22MalthusFirst predicted population concerns/studies in 1798
food production incrementally and human population growth exponential - 23Exponential population growth. More births than deaths each year When people are unable to meet their basic needsExponential population growth. more births than death. when people are unableto make their basic needs
- 24Carrying capacity UN 2010 - 4-16 billion (size of population that can be sustained Difficult to determine But it’s important (David Suzuki)UN (2010) 5-16 billion - size of population that can be sustained
difficult to determine but its important - 25ecological footprintA measure of consumption using space required for : a resource used and capacity of the environment to neutralize waste
- 26OverconsumptionWhen people are more than able to meet their basic needs. Able to access food and shelter
- 27SustainabilityPresent generations have the responsibility of ensuring that the needs and interests of present and future generations are fully safeguarded
About intergenerational justice. Making sure generations to come have the same opportunities that we have had - 28Sustainable developmentDevelopment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
- 29Weak sustainabilityAssumes equality between types of capital
Allows environmental degradation for economic gains and industrial productivity - 30Strong sustainabilitySees difference between natural capital and manufactured capital.Loss of natural capital irreversible.
Aspirational
Goal, weak sustainability (kinda way things going). Governments putting in policies to restore the environment but still many parts of the world where the environment has turned to capital - 31Marine Ecosystem servicesFIshing, source of water, recreation, oxygen production, climate regulation, determines weather systems, economic, transport, energy, minerals, aggregate, waste
- 32Point source pollutionEnters directly into a body of water at point of release - eg oil spills
- 33OIl SpillsType of point source pollution. Oil id hydrocarbon so is biodegradable but requires time, oxygen, nutrients and is encouraged by warmer water.
- 34DispersantsOil spils managed using dispersants. chemical that seperate masses of oil into droplets. can transfer threat to species under water rather than on the water.
- 35Non-point source pollutionTransported from point of release to body of water. Usually transported by runoff. Difficult to determine the origin
- 36RunoffPrecipitation minus evaporation. all of the waters in the rivers, lakes and groundwater that eventually flows to the sea.
- 37EutrophicationNutrients from agriculture - nitrogen and phosphorus from animal waster and fertilizer. Population growth in algae and phytoplankton. Algae require oxygen for respiration and decomposition, deplets oxygen levels and creates hypoxic zones - dead zones
- 38BiomagnificationMultiple organisms going up the food chain, start with smaller fish going to bigger ones. Bigger the fish the higher toxins.
- 39Minimata diseaseDiscoverd in 1956 caused by mercury poisoning leading to biomagnification in the local populace.
- 40PlasticDeveloped in 1862. Lightweight, durable, inexpensive, versatile, photodegradable
- 41The Great Pacific Garbage PatchTwo each size of Texas. Discovered when Charles J Moore was sailing in 1997. Gyre - rotating ocean current. 100 million tonnes of rubbish - but unknown. Containing mostly plastic
- 42Effects of plastic in marine environmentsEntanglement, Ingestion, POP accumulation and spread of invasive species
- 43NanofragmentationPlastic Marley breakdowns to smaller and smaller pieces. Eventually become smaller than current methods are able to detect
- 44BiofoulingPOP's - persistent organic pollutants mainly pesticides and industrial chemicals. They are hydrophobic - repel water molecules
But are attracted to plastic, to which is absorbed and accumulates - 45The Tragedy of the commonsDescribes a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users acting indepednently acording to their own self-interests behave contray to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling that resource through their collective action
- 46Fishing downContinually catching fish further down the food chain as more desirable fish become overexploited and less available
- 47Exclusive economic zoneIn 1982, UN conference on the Law of the Sea. Extends 200 nautical miles offshore (322 km). Rights to all organic and mineral resources.
- 48Quota management system Relies on honest reporting by operatorsTradable rights to catch fish - overseen by MPI. 1) total allowable catch determined then 2) total allowable commerical catch determined 3) divided into individual transferable quotas
- 49BycatchUnintentional catch of non-target species - including birds. Not part of legal quota so are thrown back. 25% of global catch is things people don’t want
- 50Types of fishing methodsPole and line, Purse seine, bottom trawling, longline and set nets
- 51High-gradingDumping less desirable fish back in the ocean to maximise profit eg, Hoki
- 52Marine protected areasLimits human harvest which allows the recovery of fish populations, fish size increases, species diversity increases. Often contentious - some highlight intensification of fishing outside protected areas and loss of rights of locals, others asy restrictions aren’t strong enough or enforced strongly enough.
- 53—
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- Flashcards on Envisci test , created by Claudia Waite on 02/08/2018.
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- Claudia Waite
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