ENV100Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Biomagnification, Geosphere, Isolated System

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Central case: the plight of the st. lawrence belugas: the beluga is vulnerable and is an indicator for the great lakes st. Lawrence ecosystem: decreasing population gi cancers, pollutants come downstream from great lakes, agrochemicals (ex. hypoxia, eutrophication) and organochlorides (e. g. , pcbs, biomagnification of contaminants, requires a systems-based approach. Categorizing systems makes earth"s complexity more understandable: major earth spheres: lithosphere (geosphere), atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, boundaries overlap, systems and subsystems interact. Types of systems: network of relationships, both inside and outside of the system"s boundaries, types of systems, properties of boundaries. Individual components of the system include leaves, acorns, branches, trunk, water and chloroplast: the middle of the system includes the tree. Systems and cycles consist of interconnected reservoirs: cycle: a system of two or more connected reservoirs, in which material (or energy) is transferred in a cyclical fashion. 1021 kg (total mass of the ocean) = 15. 1 x 1021 g = burden of na (as nacl) in seawater.