Describe Two Ways In Which Man Geography Essay

The hydrological rhythm is by and large defined as the circulation of H2O from the ocean and land surfaces into the ambiance and back once more, making an limitless resource in planetary footings ( Jones 1997 ) . It is the largest circulation of affair in the ambiance of the Earth and the ultimate recycling procedure. The system washes off waste merchandises through rainfall and overflow and purifies by vaporization ( ibid ) . The driving force of this procedure is the energy received by the Sun. The procedure begins with the vaporization of H2O from the oceans of the Earth ; this is the transportation of H2O from a liquid into a gaseous province ( H2O vapor ) into the ambiance. The H2O vapor remains in the ambiance for an norm of 10 yearss after which through assorted fortunes it condenses back into a liquid to organize clouds, where it so returns to the surface in the signifier of precipitation. The H2O either returns straight to ocean storage or falls on to set down where it will finally do its manner back via different paths to the ocean. These different paths include rainfall that is intercepted by flora where H2O can vaporize back into the ambiance or collect as surface overflow or it may infiltrate the land. The infiltrated H2O can be used by flora and transpired back into the ambiance or it can filter through the land by surface watercourses and lakes where it will finally make the oceans ( Shaw 1988 ) .

As the hydrological rhythm is so big it is no surprise that Man has had an influence upon it. This study will concentrate on two countries where Man has had interfered/changed the hydrological system frequently doing accidents that have damaged the urban and natural environment. The first country of human impact on the hydrological rhythm will be in river direction ; countries that will be looked at include the building of the Aswan High Dam along the River Nile and the Three Gorges Dam. The 2nd country that will be examined is the affects of leaking sewerage and fertilizers into the hydrological rhythm ( eutrophication ) . Examples will look at nitrate and phosphate taint from fertilizers in Lake Maggori northern Italy and Kuwait Bay.

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One of the chief countries of river direction is the building of dikes along rivers, making reservoirs that can displace human populations and destruct natural environments both up-river and down-river. The edifice of a dike has many effects on the hydrological rhythm which in-turn effects the environment, this can be interrupting animate beings from their home grounds, fish migration, loss of forested/agricultural land, foods in the river that can impact fish in seas and oceans and a danger of salinization caused by irrigation ( Jones 1997 ) .

The Aswan Dam can be used as an illustration of how human influence on the hydrological rhythm has had a negative consequence on the natural and human environment. The dike is located along the River Nile in southern Egypt and was constructed in 1964 bing $ 1 billion and the relocation of 120,000 people ( Jones 1997 ) . The purpose of building the dike was to supply regular irrigation, hydroelectric power and create piscaries in Lake Nasser ( the reservoir created by damming the river ) . The first 10 old ages after building were considered a success by the Egyptian authorities as harvests could now be harvested three times per twelvemonth alternatively of yearly and over 400,000 hectares of land was reclaimed from the desert ( ibid ) . Irrigation from the dike besides helped to salvage the rice and cotton harvests during the 1972-73 drouths. It was after this 10-year period that the long-run environmental impacts were realised. One of the chief impacts was on nutrient production ; the dike prevents the conveyance of 60 million m3 alimentary loaded deposit and silt that fertilised the Nile flood plain. The croplands so became dependent upon semisynthetic fertilizer bing $ 100 million per annum ( ibid ) . This has had an affect on piscaries and fish stocks in the Mediterranean Sea along the Egyptian seashore ( URL1 ) . The lower deposit degrees in the river are besides making eroding jobs along the river channel and at the delta. This is doing structural issues with the substructure where the river is now undermining Bridgess and dikes ( Jones 1995 ) . This illustration demonstrates the environmental effects that adult male can do by interfering with the hydrology system.

Another illustration of damming a river is the Three Gorges Dam along the Yangtze River in China. The dike aims to supply 20 % of Chinas electrical power therefore take downing the sum of energy needing to be generated from fossil fuel power Stationss, take downing the CO2 emanations into the ambiance ( URL2 ) . This is the major merchandising point of the Chinese Government. However there are immense environmental impacts, it is expected that several metropoliss will be flooded with the resettlement of several million people ( ibid ) . The dike is besides expected to do the extinction of the Baigi mahimahi and the devastation of ancient historical artifacts ( ibid ) . As with the Aswan Dam in Egypt the building has had immense impacts on the sediment burden of the river. It has been found that sediment burden in the river has dropped to 30 % of the degrees that were taken five decennaries ago ( URL3 ) . This affects 1000000s of people who rely on the foods in the deposit for farming and fishing, this deficiency of foods causes ecological harm into the East China Sea and Sea of Japan ( ibid ) .

The usage of fertilizers and chemicals in agribusiness is standard pattern throughout most of the universe ‘s states today ( URL4 ) . When fertilizers from agribusiness ( normally nitrogen and P ) and/or human waste enter the hydrological system it enriches land Waterss doing organic affair to turn more quickly. This is known as eutrophication. Problems to the environment caused by eutrophication are ; an addition in production and biomass of phytoplankton and algae, taking to increased toxin in the H2O, increased operating disbursals of public H2O supplies, deoxygenating of H2O when the algae dies ensuing in the decease of fish. A loss of recreational H2O can besides be expected due to slime/weed infestation/smell or a combination of all three and a possible economic loss due to the death/change in fish species ( URL5 ) .

Lake Maggiore in northern Italy can be used as an illustration of eutrophication and recovery. The lake is a popular tourer finish supplying an estimated 12 million visitants to the part. Contamination caused by industrial and economic development and the usage of phosphoric incorporating detergents and fertilizers, the dumping of untreated human waste in the lake besides contributed ( Smith 1999 ) . In the 1070s the concentrations of N and phosphoric twofold compared to 1950s degrees, which in bend caused a treble addition in the degrees of phytoplankton ( ibid ) . In recent old ages the H2O quality has improved with the debut of sewerage intervention workss that serve 70 % of the basin catchments country. This has resulted phosphoric and nitrogen degrees diminishing to 1950s degrees ( ibid ) . A farther decrease has occurred due to limitations in phosphoric incorporating detergents ( ibid ) .

The 2nd illustration is from Kuwait Bay. In the months August – October 2001 the Arabian Gulf experiences a monolithic fish putting to death. An estimation of 2500 metric dozenss of wild Mullet died due to the bacteria Streptococcus agalactiae besides doing the decease of up to 1000 Gilthead Sea Bream per twenty-four hours that were being bread in the Bay country. The build-up of the bacteria was caused my two factors, one being the eutrophication of the Waterss in the country and a higher than mean H2O temperature ( Glibert 2002 ) . The eutrophication was caused by intense sewerage dumping into Kuwait Bay in old old ages, making an addition degree of N from the organic food pool that developed in the country ( ibid ) . A 2nd beginning of alimentary input into the country was from the aquaculture, which involved high volumes of fish provender ( typically rich in foods ) . The ensuing dead and break uping biomass-produced conditions suited for the development of a ruddy tide bloom, intensifying the fish deceases ( ibid ) .

This study demonstrates four existent life illustrations of adult male ‘s influence on the hydrological rhythm and the annihilating effects that it can hold on the natural environment. There are merely two countries of that influence mentioned here and it should be noted that there are many more ways in which environmental harm has been caused, some with terrible effects to human wellness.

Mentions

Glibert, P. M. et Al. ( 2002 ) –A fish putting to death of monolithic proportion in Kuwait Bay, Arabian Gulf,

2001: the functions of bacterial disease, harmful algae, and eutrophication,Harmful Algae, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp 215-231.

Jones, J. A. A. ( 1997 ) –Global Hydrology – Procedures, resources and environmental direction, Addison Wesley Longman Limited, Essex England

Shaw, E. M. ( 1988 ) –Hydrology in Practice,Chapman and Hall, London, Second Edition

Smith, V. H. et Al. ( 1999 ) –Eutrophication: Impacts of extra alimentary inputs on fresh water, Marine and tellurian ecosystem,Environmental Pollution, Volume 100, Issues 1-3, pp 179-196.

Internet

URL1- El-Sayed, S et Al ( 1995 ) –The southeasterly Mediterranean ecosystem revisited: Thirty old ages after the building of the Aswan High Dam-University Texas. Accessed on 15/4/2010. Available at hypertext transfer protocol: //ocean.tamu.edu/Quarterdeck/QD3.1/Elsayed/elsayed.html

URL2- Chaudhuri, A ( 2003 ) –Three Gorges Dam: Fortune or Folly? –Massachusetts Institute of Technology- Undergraduate Research Journal. Accessed on 15/4/2010. Available at hypertext transfer protocol: //www.three.gorges.googlepages.com/Three-Gorges-Dam.pdf.

URL3- Yang, Z. et Al ( 2006 ) –Dam impacts on the Changjiang ( Yangtze ) River deposit discharge to the sea: The past 55 old ages and after the Three Gorges Dam– Water Resources Research, Vol, 42. Accessed on 15/4/2010. Available at hypertext transfer protocol: //ww2.coastal.edu/kxu/WRR06.pdf.

URL4- World Resources Institute ( 1999 ) –Nitrate taint from fertiliser and manure– Accessed on 15/4/2010. Available at hypertext transfer protocol: //www.wri.org/publication/content/8439

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