ENVIORNMENTAL MANAGEMENT NOTES

oil pollution
1.impact of oil pollution
 Main causes of marine oil spills
Offshore oil extraction -Leakage from the rigs, Greater risk of spill on land
- have safety valves fitted, yet accidents are caused
-Enters marine and coastal ecosystems if the oil reaches seabed
-Can be spilled wile transferred to ships or through pipelines to
shore
-Leaks can also be caused if the equipment is outdated or
poorly manages
-Oil rigs are vulnerable to string winds (hurricanes)
Oil pipelines -Leakage in oil pipework
-Most common method of transporting oil to land
-Sometimes leak due to corrosion, metal fatigue and human
error on construction
-Have been incidents where pipelines have been affected
during wars, conflicts, leading to oil entering ecosystems
Shipping -Risk of collision or damage to oil tankers
-Not as common as poplins
-Maritime accidents in oceans
-Can be carried away by ocean currents
-Oil spill can wash up onto nearby shorelines
 Effects of an oil spill:
ORGANISIMS/HABITAT IMAPCT OF OIL
Marine Coastal -when floats on salt water, spreads out swiftly forming an oil
ecosystems slick
-eventually slick thins out, leaves a thin sheen of oil on the
water
-oil itself is toxic to birds, mammals and fish, which encounter
it on the surface and when it washes up, to beaches and reefs.
-clean-up operations are harmful to ecosystem, use detergents
Phytoplankton -oil floats on the surface of the water and blocks the sunlight
from entering the water. Hence the phytoplankton can’t
photosynthesise which in a result causes them to die.
Fish -choking, skin/eye irritation, species decline, chemical burns
-shortage + damage in food-coz reduction in phytoplankton
-inhale oil when breathing on surface
-oil floating on the surface prevents gas exchange.
+direct contact of the fish w oil affects their gills
+fish become short on oxygen hence die
Birds -suffer eye irritation and drowning
-shortage of food as fish and other creatures die-starvation
-may consume/swallow oil when eating the fish (toxic,
 poisoned)
-when hunting, feather gets covered in oil-inability to fly
-long term population decline
Mammals -food sources are depleted
-mammals may also swallow oil while feeding
-coating of oil will affect their skin
-destroys insulation of fur bearing mammals-leads to exposure
Reefs -areas may be covered in oil
-coral bleaching + build up in toxicity
-reduction in photosynthesis result in slow plant growth
-Oil mixed with detergent used for clean-up results in more
damaging + devastation to the reef ecosystem
Beaches - oil absorbed into beach sediment
-tar balls form on the sand
-oil (washed by tides) coats the rocks
-organisms in shallow water and rock pools may die due to toxic
effects of the oil
-clean up operations release detergents onto the beach
-animal food sources affected/poisoned - accumulation of
toxins in clams, crabs, shellfish
-tourism are affected

2.management of oil pollution

 reducing oil spills in marine environments:
o MARPOL (marine pollution):
 international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships
 designed to eliminate marine pollution in the sea
 treaty has 6 sections, and section 1 relates to oil pollution and
specifically bans ships from releasing oil waste from engines and
tanks into the sea
o Regulations of the MARPOL:
 Supervise the transport of oil at sea
 All tankers must be certified to show they have appropriate systems
in use
 If not, it can result in heavy fine, or the ship may not be permitted to
leave the port
o Tanker design
 Oil spills can be caused by damage to the hull (a hole in the hull of the
boat causes it to leak)
 Inc number of compartments in the hull of the ship: if one of the
compartments are damaged, the contents of the whole ship aren’t
lost
  Double-hulled tankers: if the outer layer’s damaged, the contents are
still secure by the inner plate. Though th double-hulled tankers cost
more than the single-hulled tankers, the risks of oil spills are far less
on an comparitive note.

o Minimising the impact of oil spills

 Floating booms: these are barriers used to surround the oil slick,
preventing it from spreading. This process works well when the spill
covers a relatively small area, and the sea is calm.
 Detergent sprays: detergent helps break down the oil slick into
smaller droplets, that eventually degrade and the disperse it. They are
only effective on smaller spills, but cause damage to the coral reefs
themselves as they’re not tolerant to detergent.
 Skimmers: clean the water using material that oil easily catches to.
The skimmers drag the oil off the seawater to the surface that is then
scrapped of into a container. This is used when oil slick is contains
within a boom and the sea is calm.

water and its management

1.global water distribution
 Oceans:
o Cover 71% of earth’s surface
o Contain 97% of all earths water
 Only 3% of water on earth’s surface is fresh
 Nearly 65% (two thirds) of this 3% is fresh
water in the ‘deep freeze’ in the ice sheets
2.the water cycle

  precipitation: moisture that reaches the surface in the form of rain, sleet,
snow or hail
 surface run-off: precipitation that flows over the grounds surface, eventually finding
its way into streams, rivers and other water bodies
 interception: precipitation that doesn’t reach the earth’s surface dure to being
obstructed by trees and plants
  infiltration: precipitation soaks into the sub-surface soils and moves into rocks
through cracks and pore spaces.
 through-flow: down slope movement of water
through the soil, roughly parallel to the ground
surface
 groundwater flow: slow horizontal movement of water
through rock
 evaporation: water from oceans, seas and other water bodies is changes from water
droplets to water vapour (invisible gas) in the atmosphere due to heat
 transpiration: evaporation or diffusion of water from plant leaves
 condensation: water vapour converted back to liquid (water droplets) or solid (ice
particles) due to a decrease in temperature with increasing height by air currents,
e.g., clouds

3.water supply
 surface water: water in lakes, rivers, and swamps.
 Grounds water; water in the soil, ad in rocks under the surface of the ground
 Aquifers: water stored in porous rocks under the grounds
o Varying layers of permeable + impermeable rock trap water in permeable
rock
o Folded layers of rock present, so water accumulates most in the down fold
o Permeable rocks extending on the surface receive new supplies of rainwater
o Water is stored in the limestone and sandstone rocks below the water table
o Mechanical pumps, or human labour are used to rise water on the surface
 Artesian aquifers: an aquifer in which the water is under pressure
o Water from a well sunk into an artesian aquifer will rise to the
surface without the need for a pump
 Potable: safe to drink
 Reservoirs: an artificial lake used as a source of water supply, usually created behind
a dam or by the side of a river (bankside reservoirs)
 Service reservoirs: a reservoir where portable water is stored. E.g., water tower and
cistern
 Wells: a hole bored or dug into a rock to reach the eater stored in it
 Rivers: a large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or
another river.
o They provide surface transfers of water to low-land areas where farms and
villages, towns and cities are concentrated.
 Desalination: removal of salt from sea water by:
o Distillation: water is boiled and release as vapour, leaving salt behind
 the vapour is then condensed as liquid water and can be used
 10-30% efficient and ususes a lot of energy
 Provision of energy and salt water (brine) is a source of pollution
o Reverse osmosis: pumping water at high pressure through a fine membrane
 30150% efficient and requires lesser energy than distillation
4.water usage
DOMESTIC INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURAL
1.at home: 1.in factories for: -mainly used for irrigation
-for drinking and cooking -cooling (plants need water for
(3% if domestic water) -mixing + making products transporting minerals for
2.MEDCs -bottling + canning (food/drink) photosynthesis +
-washing + flushing (50%) -power generation preventing of wilting)
-washing clothes (20%) -for domestic animal
-gardening, washing cars
-lost in leaks

5.water quality and availability

 water rich countries: countries with plentiful fresh water supplies:
o some are large countries with plenty of land for rain to fall on, Russia,
Canada, China etc. and some have the worlds greatest revers flowing through
them, Amazon, Yangtze, Mississippi.
o However, big areas do not ensure water availability, Australia, Argentina,
Sudan, due to containing substantial areas of desert within its borders.
 water-poor countries: countries with scare fresh water supplies
o dominated by desert countries
o except Singapore and Mauritius since they receive high precipitation totals,
but they are tiny islands states that have only small areas for rain to fall on
 water conflict: conflict between countries, states, o groups over an access to water
resources
 physical water scarcity: not enough water to meet both human demands and those
of ecosystems to function effectively
o arid regions frequently suffer from physical water scarcity
o it also occurs where water seeps abundant, but resources are over-
committed.
 economic water scarcity: caused by lack of investment in water infrastructure or
insufficient human capacity to satisfy the demand of water in areas where the
population cannot afford to use an adequate source of water
 unlike rural areas, urban areas have higher access to safe drinking water because:
o cities are more wealthy places with factories and offices
o on average, people’s incomes are higher
o easier to put pressure on the politicians or leaders to make improvements.
o wealthy people are more likely to live in cities
o water pipes are easier and cheaper to build when lots of people live together