ENV 1301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Profundal Zone, Trophic State Index, Silt
7 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Central case study: starving the louisiana coast of sediment. Louisiana"s vital coastal wetlands: support biodiversity, protect the coast from storms. Mississippi river sediments: keep soil levels high, water stable and plants healthy. Oil and gas extraction promote wetland losses: withdrawal compacts land and lowers soil levels, canals fragment wetlands and increase erosion, oil spills destroy vegetation. Diverting the mississippi river: can restore the wetlands, will cost millions. Water may seem abundant, but drinkable water is rare. Fresh water: relatively pure, with few dissolved salts, most is tied up in glaciers, ice caps, and aquifers. Groundwater plays a key role in the water cycle. Groundwater may occur in unconfined aquifers above impermeable layers on in confined aquifers under pressure between impermeable layers. Is vital for our survival and ecological systems. Water merges in reciters and ends up in a lake or ocean. A smaller river flowing into a larger one. The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
