Essays on Eutrophication

Eutrophication is the phenomenon caused by the increasing amount of nutrients in the water bodies which results to the decrease in the oxygen concentration and death of aquatic animals. The main nutrient which commonly caused eutrophication in some of the water bodies is the phosphates. In this process, nutrients from soil are carried to the water bodies through erosion (Chislock et al., 2013). The high amounts of nutrients in the water bodies results to the increase in aquatic plants and algae such as the phytoplankton. The decay of these plants and algae converts oxygen to other by-products resulting to ...

Response: The Effects and Implications of

The paper explored the concept of eutrophication, since it appears to be a pressing problem that has a negative impact on various organisms and the environment as a whole. A small clarification was provided that the increased number of nutrients within the ecosystem can be natural or anthropogenic. Thus, eutrophication When it comes to the structure of the research, the abstract gives a brief idea about the whole paper and owing to clear table of contents, specific sections are well organized. It should be noted that eutrophication has a significant influence on farming. Human activities tend to be a ...

The issues faced by the Indian River Lagoon is quite similar to that of many rivers, lakes, and even oceans from various locations of the world. The steady decline in the marine population of the lagoon escalated to alarming rates by the end of the last decade. A few legislations that were passed in the early nineties to limit trawling in the estuarine region and as well as the direct dumping of untreated sewage wastes, had proved effective in the past. But later into the decade, the rescue efforts to salvage the lagoon and the ecosystem associated with it, ...

Introduction

Seagrass beds are amongst the most productive marine habitats and their wide-ranging distribution. They provide homes and food sources for many marine animals, prevent erosion and provide nurseries for many commercial and recreational fish species. Despite their importance to the environment, seagrass beds are increasingly being decimated by the results of human activities. The destruction of seagrass beds may have serious consequences on the biodiversity of coastal regions and as a consequence, may negatively impact on commercial and recreational fishing, and ultimately all marine species.

Description of Issue

Seagrasses are flowering plants that live in marine and estuarine habitats. They are rooted ...

Nursing:

Introduction Every so often, it is increasingly becoming important to reset and re-envision what a sustainable, prosperous future might look. This article seeks not only to highlight the importance of sustainability but also point to the various efforts taken by regions in the recent past to become more sustainable. Throughout the world, studies show that the ecological footprints of urban areas are one of the heavy contributors to the un-sustainability of the Earth (Greinetz, 2014). Despite this, cities continue to become, the primary human living space. Over half (50%) of the world’s population lives in urban areas. This ...

With the world population expected to hit the 9 billion mark by the year 2050, food production and security have become major issues of concern in social circles, both locally and internationally. As a way of responding to the ever decreasing ratio between the population and the viable arable land, the US government has come up with various strategies aimed at improving plenty supply of food for the American citizenry. The most notable examples of such strategies are the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and the steady supply of fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. These two approaches, coupled with ...

Impact of climatic change on the Great Barrier Reef

Climatic changes refer to lasting and significant changes in the weather patterns characterized by statistical distribution over a period spanning decades or hundred thousands of years. These changes may encompass extreme weather conditions and may happen due to variations in solar radiation reaching earth, biotic processes, volcanic eruptions, melting of the polar caps and plate tectonics. Certain activities undertaken by humans have also been recognized as contributing to negative climatic changes such as global warming. This climate change has threatened earth's ecosystems. The recent harsh change in the climate such as an increase in temperature takes a great toll on the ...

Abstract

Solid waste and wastewater are primary sources of pollution from food processing industries. The wastewaters usually contain high suspended solids, organic starch and sugars that may contain toxic substances to the environment. Solid wastes come from organic materials while the mechanical preparation processes need biological treatment before releases into the environment. When untreated, they find their way into other water plants like lakes and streams. Since they have higher nutrient content, they result of eutrophication of the water systems hence causing algal growth. It, therefore, compromises the stability of the aquatic ecosystems as the water quality is changed. It ...

Introduction

As defined by the Brundtland Commission, sustainability is a "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (EPA 2014). Food production and consumption patterns and trends are one of the main contributing factors to environment pollution today. In the event of a growing global population and demographic change, the sustainability issues arising out of the food system are likely to turn more serious in the near future. It is expected that the economic prosperity and the growth of population will increase the demand for food beyond the natural capacity, ...

Abstract

Cars have always played an important role in the course of human development. In the past, man had a vision to introduce an invention to transport people along long distances. To turn the vision of a self-propelling automobile into reality, it took the development of a reliable combustion engine that operated on liquid fuel. In 1672, the first steam-powered vehicle as a toy for the Chinese emperor was built by Ferdinand Verbiest, a member of a Jesuit mission in China. As the automobile industry grew, so did the rate of environmental pollution. Car engines are considered to be the prime source of air pollution. The ...

The term pollution in the simplest and most basic meaning refers to the condition, situation and circumstance where harmful and toxic materials and substances find their way to the environment thereby making human life inhabitable and unhealthy. In the recent history and empirical evidence has confirmed that human activities have contributed to pollution to the environment and in effect exposing the human race to danger and threats. They hazardous human activities are evident in the most developed nation in the planet, whereby the industrial refuse are deposited to water bodies. With the above background in mind, marine or water ...

INTRODUCTION

The research capitalizes on the condition of coastal marine environment due to eutrophication (Gray, Shiu-sun Wu and Or). This process of enrichment that is suppose to foster growth to marine and aquatic life is believed to have an adverse effect due to the disturbance that it creates in the marine system. According to the authors, eutrophication facilitates for excessive nutrient absorption of most aquatic plants and microorganism. As a result, it increases the rate of sedimentation that results to hypoxia. When this happens, fishes and other marine life forms do not receive sufficient oxygen. Malabsorption of oxygen stags growth. This ...

Lab Report:

Abstract The tidal cycle of natural water bodies present challenges for sampling and interpreting physical, chemical and biological data. The Rainbow Channel at Morton Bay was the location for a field work project on sampling characteristics about the biota and about water quality parameters. Rainbow Channel experiences ocean flushing dependent on daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual at regular natural time intervals. Both daytime and night time sampling took place to better understand 24 hourly and daily cycles of nutrient concentrations, salinity, temperature, fluorescence and currents. Primary productivity takes place at different three different depths. The rate of productivity depends ...

Introduction

The public concern about food production sustainability has increased of late because of the increase in the world population as well as the growing natural resources insufficiency. Although numerous sustainable practices of cultivation have been developed up to now, the overall impacts of the introduction of these sustainable practices into the farm management are still vague. The life cycle assessment plays a crucial role in assessing the environmental impact of the whole systems of production from the life cycle point of view. Although some countries have applied LCA to the agricultural systems, its applications to the production of rice are ...

Historians link the origin of food waste with the urbanization which emerged due to industrial revolution. Crowding within industrial towns was characterized with indiscriminate disposal of organic wastes and recurring epidemics of communicable diseases. Food wastes if not properly managed, is bad to the economy and environment, and is the second largest generator of the waste stream within American landfills. After food waste is sent to landfills, they emit green house gases like methane and carbon dioxide which have adverse impacts or effects on climate change. Moreover, resources like water, energy, fossil fuels, and land used for generating wasted ...

Eutrophication refers to the development of algal in water bodies due to an increase in nutrients in the environment, which flow to the rivers and lakes. The growth of algal is contributed to by the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients (Goel, 2006). The main contributor to Eutrophication as a form of water pollution is the increase in nitrogen and phosphorus in the atmosphere. Eutrophication is a process that occurs regularly, but due to human activities, more nutrients are generated hence increasing the growth rate of algae in lakes. Population growth, which has lead to food scarcity, has prompted human ...

Food security remains one of the challenges facing the world today. Nations across the globe have embraced mechanized agriculture, which encourage use of synthetic fertilizers, reclamation of wetlands, and use of chemicals thus interfering with soil fertility, marine life, ground water, and estuarine environments. Synthetic fertilizers contain high levels of nutrients such as nitrogen, calcium, ammonia, phosphate, phosphorus, and magnesium, which increase crop yields and maturity. However, prolonged use of synthetic fertilizers has detrimental effects on the environment as it alters nitrogen cycle and facilitates accumulation of nitrogen compounds in water, soil, and atmosphere. Large amount of nitrogen in ...

Phosphorus exists as phosphate (PO4) when in water. The phosphate is a requirement in aquatic life. It stimulates the growth of plants such as planktons in waterways which provide food for the fish. The increment in fish population improves the overall water quality (Oram). However, excess phosphates are detrimental to the waterways. They cause algae and other aquatic plants to grow wildly and cause eutrophication or the choking up of waterways. Eutrophication is detrimental to aquatic life. As the plants die and decompose, they use up massive amounts of oxygen diminishing the oxygen levels in the water. Low levels of ...

Gulf of Mexico dead zone

Diaz and Rosenberg (2008), define dead zones as low oxygen areas (hypoxic) found around oceans. The specific regions that they are found are near inhabited coastlines where aquatic life is prominent. The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is an area that would be analysed in this paper and will encompass the threat it poses to the environment, root cause, proposed solutions, and consequences if unchecked. The relevance of the issue to values of the university will then be brought out in through a personal statement.

Environmental threat

The Gulf of Mexico is found at the mouth of Mississippi river covering approximately 7000 ...

Benefits of Cultural Eutrophication

Eutrophication is the development where lakes age as a result of addition of nutrients (Miller & Spool, 2011). The process is commonly slow but is quickly facilitated by either natural or human activities. The nutrients have an effect of stimulating the growth of free floating marine plants called phytoplankton that negatively influence animal life in the system. Cultural Eutrophication is caused by man-made activities such as land clearing, farming, and industrial activities that result in addition of phosphates and nitrates in bays, estuaries, lakes and even rivers (Laws, 2000). Sediments arising from human activities are considered to be pollutants in ...