Abstract
Adequate clean water is essential for the health of every living thing on this planet. Humans create tons of pollution, effect the weather patterns that cause droughts, and there is a history of over-use of the aquifers in the form of wells and pollution from fracking which are detrimental to the survival of all living things. Global climate change, especially since the Industrial age began, has affected the entire planet in various ways. There have been larger storms as a result of climate change. There are serious droughts because of climate change. The ice caps are melting because of climate change. The oceans are rising because the ice caps are melting, and this is caused by climate change. For the Wabash Watershed the change in climate has disrupted the supposed aquafer cycle through droughts, light flooding, and human activity. It is absolutely crucial that humans take a serious look at, analyze scientific data available, and act on the current scientific data which shows how the global climate change will continue to effect the Wabash Watershed.
Climate Change and the Wabash Watershed
Water is stored in three phases on the planet. Water can be stored as liquid in the form of rain, solid in the form of ice and snow, and gas which is the form we see in the clouds, fog, and steam from the sun warming water and turning it into clouds. Typically, the precipitation is in a delicate balance within each phase through precipitation or rain and snow, evaporation through fog and clouds, and runoff when water creates its own path when snow melts or there is too much rain. However, these inter-relationships are slowly being interrupted through climate change and human activity. When the cycle is interrupted through severe changes in the process such as a loss of vegetation cover, which occurs with a lack of soil water, disease, and human activity, soil pollution through automobile and truck chemicals entering the soil through runoff, this can also occur when too many cattle are confined to a small area. When they urinate and defecate, their waste enters the soil and water cycle and can pollute both the water in aquifers and the soil. The soil can also be removed by humans and disrupt the ecosystem, which is dependent on a healthy environment for survival, or through human activity. Changes in natural water flow or diversion from human activity such as dams, dikes, and man-made canals or irrigation ditches, wind which is dependent on the temperature of an area, temperature has an impact on the weather pattern, a disaster will occur within the water cycle. Rain is needed to refill aquifers under the soil and rock. The aquifers provide vegetation with much needed water to survive.
The water contained in the aquifer seeps out to become springs that help feed creeks, which flow to rivers, and then to lakes and oceans to then evaporate into clouds and cycle back as rain. However, it takes weeks, months, years, or longer for a single drop of water to make the journey from raindrop back to a raindrop. The problem is that global climate change is disrupting that cycle faster than anyone had anticipated.
During the years 1961-1990 the climate started to change and although the accuracy of the technology of the time was not computerized like it is today, scientists were able to study the effects that global warming was having on the watersheds of the world. In a report by the Illinois Water Survey, it states that “The accuracy and confidence associated with precipitation measurements depend on the instruments, networks, and observers.” This would mean that insturments and human observation are the closest that humans have to accurately predict what comes next, what could happen next, and try to accurately document the data in the present to find those answers.
In the past, the instruments were not accurate so predictions could only be made on guesses from observations and the observations made the outlook for the future of the climate. Although the science community gave plenty of facts, figures, and data charts to back up their claim that unless humans changed their behavior, the climate would only get worse for everyone around the globe. Humans did not change their behaviors for the better, instead things got worse. The result is that climate change or global warming is very real and very bad. The future does not look great if humans continue on the current path of using non-renewable resources and creating a myrad of chemicals that continue to pollute the planet and every living thing on the planet. There is good news however, and it comes in the form of trees and vegetation. If humans allow the trees and vegetation to do its job, we might have a chance to change.
There have been several huge issues across the globe which are associated with global climate change, since 1961 and the industrial revolution. Some of the issues are larger tropical storms, harsher winter weather patterns, more severe droughts, and devastating floods have occurred and are still a huge concern. All of these are a result of global climate change and according to data collected the outlook seems to have potential negative impacts for the future. If global climate change increases in intensity these natural disasters will become more intense, and more devistating for life on this planet.
The streamflow for the Wabash Watershed is a prime example of how the global warming process is causing a little more water each season and each year. For example, according to the report from Chien, Yeh, and Knouft, “This altered streamflow pattern is potentially driven by changes in the water budget including alteration of evapotranspiration induced by changes in precipitation and temperature. Warmer temperatures may also play an additional role in the alteration of streamflow patterns. When the temperature is warmer in winter, precipitation more frequently falls as rain instead of snow, which could explain why reduced precipitation in January and February can still result in higher streamflow in the four watersheds.” (Chien, Yeh & Knouft, 2013) The models from Chien, Yeh, and Knouft that show possible future outcomes are dismal in the outlook for adequate aquifer clean water storage. Although they seem to show and increase of water the question still remains if that increase will be in the form of flooding and wider groundwater sources. The key word here is clean. If the water is polluted, then an abundance of water is pointless. However, with clean water it is possible for the Wabash Watershed to become a new lake, northern swamp, or inland sea. Of course, not even computer models can predict the outcome of the watershed. It is possible for the climate to even out and normalize to the point that all living things are just fine. However, that will take a huge amount of effort from humans to discontinue activity that alters the climate and the aquafers.
Although some scientists and conspiracy theorists have been busy with versions of theories which tell that global warming will cause more drought and less surplus water, what is ignored is that warmth brings wetness in a closed system. Our planet is a closed system that does not seep water out into space. However, the clean water available may change through human activity. The warming of the planet is like a terrarium bottle with the cork on. The water will continue to evaporate into clouds, which will continue to rain and the water cycle will continue. Some scientists say that the drop of water a person drinks may have been water a dinosaur drank eons ago. Those scientists say that the quantity of water on this planet has not changed, but the form of the water or its matter has changed form millions of times to be solid, liquid, or gas. Through global climate change, the water that the earth contains will be in one of those three forms and will change where it is located. Therefore, it is likely that some areas which do not normally receive an abundance of rain, such as Arizona, Nevada, or Texas may experience more rain or areas that receive adequate rainfall such as the northeast or northwest of the United States may experience significantly less rain. Areas that typically receive an over-abundance of rain. Such as the tropical areas may experience an increase in precipitation or a severe in a rare case the area could potentially see a decrease of rainfall. The global climate will determine the outcome and only human behavior can affect how clean and healthy that rainfall will be.
According to data from Chein, Yeh, and Knouft, the actual streamflow conditions are predicted to continue the cycle that occurs seasonally. However, the difference is in how much or how little precipitation and the mode at which it occurs, such as either in the form of snow or rain. For example, on page 83 of the Journal of Hydrology (2013) Chein, Yeh, and Knouft offer three models, referred to as figure 7, which show the coefficient for variation from 1990 to 1999 through 2095. If a person will look at these three models, and he or she is able to analyze them and understand what he or she is looking at that person may have the insight to see the slow increase of streamflow flow in each sub-basin that is included in the Wabash Watershed. This increase would indicate that they predict a gradual growth of the current streamflow. That would indicate the possibility for increased northern wetlands. However, although these are computer models, they are only possibilities of a future where the Wabash Watershed receives more rainfall than it has in the past or the present.
The current computerized weather and water storage modeling software seems to have the capability that allows the program to predict weather pattern changes fairly accurately. However, the data gleaned from computer simulations cannot be counted on as absolute truth of the future of the planet. There are many factors which are involved in climate change, the largest factor is human activity. There is no certainty that the computer simulations will occur exactly as predicted unless nothing changes in human activity, weather patterns, and current seasonal changes, then the computer predictions are correct.
The most accurate and successful way that humans can alter global climate change is to make an educated choice to only use renewable resources as fuel, power, and packaging. For example, packaging made of plastic adds to the global carbon footprint that continues to harm and destroy the global environment, which adds to the problem of global warming. If packaging were to be recyclable or compostable, it would reduce that global footprint significantly. Another example is the use of fossil fuels. Through the burning of fossil fuels, air, water, and soil is polluted, causing the change in the global climate. Through the drilling process for harvesting fossil fuels, chemicals are pumped into the earth, which seep into aquifers that pollute underground water sources. These polluted underground waters end up killing trees, which are the planet’s air filtration system, adding to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and increase the speed at which the climate is changing across the globe. Through the use of non-renewable resources, humans are killing the planet and changing the climate to become one of those enclosed terrariums sitting under the sun, with the cork on and no ventilation.
It is possible to undo all of the damage that has been done to the planet, however, it will take at least 2 to 7 generations to accomplish this task. The change has to start with education of the masses. Not nessisarily a scare tactic sort of education, but genuine training that needs to start from early childhood into adulthood. Through continued scientific studies of the environment around the globe, and increase in the sensitivity of instruments, the ability to construct more accurate and detailed simulations through more detailed computer software, and the passionate drive of all scientists to preserve and protect this planet that we all call home, perhaps there can be change. It is doubtful that will occur during this writer’s lifetime, but one can never be certain.
Other types of data which may be helpful in predicting what could occur are to take a long look at ancient records of ancient cultures. Perhaps cultures such as the Ancient Egyptians who built amazing structures might have left some record of the state of their environment. For example, the Nile river has moved eastward over time and left a desert where it once was right against the pyramids. ("The Nile", 2016) Another idea is the ice samples from the northern and southern ice caps. Taking data collected from those studies may help resolve some of the uncertainties that need clarification. Perhaps through the ice record we could learn more about what has occurred in the past atmospheric conditions and predict what could happen based on past events. (Lüthi et al., 2008) Tree rungs from the Giant redwoods hold records from centuries ago. For example, in an article in the Huffington Post, “Researchers took samples from more than 70 trees going back to the year 328 and found that, in the past few decades, trees have added record-breaking wood growth and girth. The fastest growing tree researchers discovered was adding 1.6 cubic meters of wood per year.” The climate history of the west coast from 328 CE until now shows a history of cooling and warming periods. The records from polar ice and ancient redwoods as well as what we know from geological and geographical records indicate that the planet has been through a few warming and cooling cycles. If humans continue to cut down forests at an alarming rate, the planet will not have the capability to absorb and transform all the carbon into oxygen. The result is a continued warming will continue. Humans must learn from the past and correct the behaviors that lead to global climate change. Humans need to learn and apply those lessons from the past. ("Paleoclimatology: Explaining the Evidence: Feature Articles", 2016) However, if the past is repeated then humans have learned nothing of the lesson and only how to repeat the events. It would seem that the past is repeated with fervor, however, instead of volcanoes affecting the climate change, humans are the equivalent and seem to be more destructive that the large mountains that have exploded.
References
Chien, H., Yeh, P., & Knouft, J. (2013). Modeling the potential impacts of climate change on streamflow in agricultural watersheds of the Midwestern United States. Journal Of Hydrology, 491, 73-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.03.026
Illinois State Water Survey,. (2007). Climate Change ad Associated Changes to the Water Budget (p. Chapter 6). Champaign. Retrieved from http://www.isws.illinois.edu/docs/books/ww/winstanleywendland07.pdf
Lüthi, D., Le Floch, M., Bereiter, B., Blunier, T., Barnola, J., & Siegenthaler, U. et al. (2008). High-resolution carbon dioxide concentration record 650,000–800,000 years before present. Nature, 453(7193), 379-382. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature06949
Paleoclimatology: Explaining the Evidence: Feature Articles. (2016). Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Retrieved 11 April 2016, from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Paleoclimatology_Evidence/
Study Reveals Unbelievable Tool For Battling Climate Change. (2016). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 April 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/14/redwood-trees-climate-change_n_3756564.html
The Nile. (2016). Reshafim.org.il. Retrieved 11 April 2016, from http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/geography/nile.htm
