ASL Sediment Transport System Ordered By Geological Survey of Canada
ASL Environmental Sciences (Sidney, British Columbia, Canada) has received an order from the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) for the provision, deployment and recovery of a specialized, multi-instrument sediment transport platform for use in marine geological research on the Pacific coast of Canada.
advertisement
Click Here
This platform (dubbed NORTON) has been designed by ASL and carries with it an array of off-the-shelf and custom instruments in order to measure and record various parameters.
this instance, NORTON will be deployed on Robert’s Bank on the Fraser River delta. It will be equipped to measure wave height, period and direction, mean current speed and direction at multiple locations above the seabed for bottom boundary layer characterization, optical backscatter for suspended sediment concentration at multiple locations above the seabed and sector scanning sonar images to monitor bedforms. In addition, according to the company, ASL will process all acquired data as specified by the GSC.
For more information, visit www.aslenv.com.
Going by the flow—using acoustics to track stream sediment
Listening to a flowing creek may be just the thing for relaxing on a peaceful afternoon. But ARS hydraulic engineer Roger Kuhnle listens for a different reason. He’s seeking clues about the overall state of the watershed that feeds the creek.
Kuhnle and colleagues use cutting-edge acoustic technology to monitor sediment flow, whose speed and concentration may alert researchers to changes and problems within water systems. The project, undertaken with the University of Mississippi, is being conducted on a model stream channel at the ARS Channel and Watershed Process Research Unit’s laboratory in Oxford, Mississippi, as well as in nearby Goodwin Creek.
“Accurate determinations of the rate of sediment movement by streams are necessary because sediment can fill reservoirs and reduce their capacities,” says Kuhnle, the project’s leader. “It can fill channels and cause flooding, degrade water quality, and destabilize channel banks, destroying land. Monitoring stream sediment also helps us evaluate its potential effect on aquatic organisms.”
Physical, chemical, and biological damage associated with sediment flow in North America costs around $16 billion annually, say ARS and U.S. Geological Survey researchers.
The amount of suspended solid material transported in rivers and streams is often the main indicator of watershed stability–as well as water quality–says Kuhnle. Ideally, early warning signals for watersheds will one day trigger effective preventive care and maintenance strategies. But for now, scientists at the unit are concentrating on the initial step: developing a mobile sensing system that would make such improved care possible. “We need a portable, efficient, automatic system that doesn’t require someone to be on site–one that can provide better data than what we get today, not only in quantity, but also in quality,” says Kuhnle.
He says years of research indicate that acoustic technology is one of the most promising sediment-tracking methods among those tested.
“It is more cost- and time-effective than current methods and the other methods tested,” he says. “The short-duration, high-intensity flows that cause most sediment movement in many streams are best observed by continuous monitoring systems.”
The studies have led to development of the Bedform and Sediment Information System, or BASIS. Devised by former University of Mississippi scientist Robert Derrow in close collaboration with ARS scientists, BASIS emits a pulse of acoustic energy and then gauges the strength and travel time of the back echo to determine sediment’s location and concentration. Like its predecessor–known as the SedBed Monitor–it locates sediment on a stream’s bottom, which can indicate either erosion or accumulation of sediment there.
But the new system’s most important enhancement is its ability to detect sediment suspended in water. It converts the acoustic data into a digital image that portrays suspended sediment as a cloud, in a multitude of colors that signify various concentrations. The main BASIS unit is compact, and the entire system can run from a laptop computer.
Kuhnle says BASIS technology is now available for use by private firms and government agencies. More sophisticated technology under development for total suspended-sediment load sampling will become available after about 3 to 5 more years of experimentation and field testing.
This research is part of Water Quality and Management, an ARS National Program (#201) described on the World Wide Web at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.
Roger A. Kuhnle is with the USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory, P.O. Box 1157, 598 McElroy Dr., Oxford, MS 38655; phone (662) 232-2971, fax (662) 281-5706, e-mail rkuhnle@ars.usda.gov.
Sonar soundings of the Gulf of Mexico: sediment on the move
Patterns in sediments, swirling like plumes of smoke, mantle the mudflow fanning out from the Mississippi River. This seafloor scene in the Gulf of Mexico is a sample of the latest batch of sonar images taken by GLORIA, the sidescan sonar system towed by the British research ship Farnell. The ship surveyed 14,000 squae nautical miles of the gulf last fall as part of the United States’ EEZ-SCAN program–a six-year project to map the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which exends 200 nautical miles off U.S. Shores (SN: 9/21/85, p. 191). The new mosaics of sonar images, processed and compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), show that there’s a lot more activity on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico than previously suspected.
According to Bonnie McGregor, a Reston, Va.-based USGS marine geologist and project chief of the Gulf of Mexico cruises, the swirls of sediments in the Mississippi fan probably resulted from underwater landslides, which she says cover a much larger area than scientists had thought. She suspects that these landslides are generated during times of low sea level, when rivers like the Mississippi deposit piles of mud far out to the edge of the continental shelf. Then the breaking of ocean waves at the shell edge jars the piles, causing them to collapse and slide down the steeper continental slope. McGregor would like to test this idea by seeing if landslides in two coastal gulf areas to the east and west occurred at the same times as thos in the Mississippi fan.
The recent sonar images indicate that river channels are not the only means of carrying sediments to the fan. “Submarine landslides are also an important process in transporting sediments in the deep ocean,” says McGregor. Scientists are especially interested in studying these processes on the Mississippi fan, sh add, as part of an effort to make a model for oil exploration in ancient fans on land.
The recent survey of the gulf also produced images of the continental slope off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. The slope is being extensively deformed by a mass of salt diapirs, or rising domes, which is wedging itself between layers of mud as it flows downslope. At the edge of the salt mass is a 700-meter step called the Sigsbee escarpment. The EEZ-San images reveal that sediment is able to move across this escarpment, forming piles of debris on its seaward side. And engraved in these sediments are wavelike bedforms, indicating the McGregor that “water currents in the gulf are being channeled along the escarpment, reworking the sediments on the seafloor.”
On the eastern side of the gulf, the researchers obtained images of the west Florida escarpment, the edge of the carbonate platform that forms Florida. The images reveal an extensive network of channels that have been eroded into the escarpment edge. According to McGregor, these channels vary in shape and depth along the length of the escarpment. Her group is now studying the images in detail to try to understand the processes that form the channels and how these processes differ at different latitudes. Getting these kinds of images with conventional sonar techniques, which look straight down on the ocean bottom, has been difficult because of the steepness of the escarpment, says McGregor. “The sidescan images [which look at a broad swath, 22 km to either side of the ship] for the first time show us clearly what the topography of the steep escarpment is,” she observes. “Now we can look at the escarpment as a total unit.”
The main advantae of the GLORIA sidescan system is that it can cover large areas very quickly; last summer it surveyed 250,000 square nautical miles off the coasts of Oregon, California and Washington in 100 days and at a cost of about 1^ per acre. According to McGregor, the British are now building another GLORIA system, which the United States will lease or buy. Scientists hope the system will be completed by the time the Farnella, which returned to the United Kingdom for maintenance after surveying the EEZ around Puerto rico, returns early this year to survey the waters around Alaska and Hawaii.
Tombstone - Sediment Hosted Gold Deposit to be Drill Tested
VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 8, 1996– TOMBSTONE EXPLORATIONS (TSE: TSO) Drilling has been completed on 12 holes at Tatanacho and assay results will be announced as they are received. The drill is being moved to San Antonio, approximately 2 km west of Tatanacho where drilling will commence on or about May 15.
The San Antonio sediment hosted gold zone has been mapped and sampled over a strike length of 900 metres and a width ranging from 50 to 200 metres. The west end of the gold zone was tested by diamond drill hole MOR-16, which graded 1.2 g/t of gold over an interval of 143 metres.
Surface trenching and channel sampling has indicated similar grades over the 900 metre strike length. Of particular interest is an outcrop 500 metres east of MOR-16 which grades 1.3 g/t of gold over approximately 100 metres. Other shorter trenches in the same zone, which tested only portions of the zone returned assays of 1.4 g/t over 10 metres and 2.4 g/t over 7 metres.
Management is very encouraged by results to date at San Antonio. The thick mineralized interval in MOR-16 coupled with the widespread gold mineralization in outcrop indicates the potential for a gold deposit of significant size. Once surface sampling is complete, a 10 hole, wide-spaced diamond drill program will commence to test the gold zone.
The Minoro Project is a large copper-gold mineralized system, which contains a number of encouraging targets with multi-million ounce potential. The Joint Venture controls approximately 100 square kilometres and plans to systematically explore and develop each target. Champion Resources Inc. is earning a 40TOMBSTONE EXPLORATIONS CO. LTD. Richard P. Clark, Chief Executive Officer
CONTACT: Tombstone Explorations Co. Ltd.
Richard P. Clark, 604/682-1545
or
800/668-0091 (Toll Free U.S./Canada)
Zircon age constraints on sediment provenance in the Caspian region
Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb ages tor detrital zircons from the Caspian region reveal the age ranges of basement terrains that supplied the sediment. One sample from the modern Volga river has groupings at c. 340-370 Ma. c. 900-1300 Ma and c. 1450-1800 Ma, with a small number of older zircons. This is consistent with derivation from the Precambrian basement of the East European Craton, and Palaeozoic arcs in the Urals. Mid- and Late Proterozoic components may be derived from beyond the present Volga drainage basin, such as the Sveconorwegian orogen. A Bajocian sandstone from the Greater Caucasus has 73% zircons that post-date 350 Ma. Ages cluster at c. 165-185 Ma, c. 220-260 Ma, c. 280-360 Ma and c. 440-460 Ma. This pattern suggests derivation from Palaeozoic basement of the Greater Caucasus itself and/or the Scythian Platform, and igneous rocks generated at a Jurassic are in the Lesser Caucasus. Four samples from the Lower Pliocene Productive Series of the South Caspian Basin have common Phanerozoic grains, and groups between c. 900-1300 Ma and 1500-2000 Ma. Each sample contains zircons dated to c. 2700 Ma. The overall age patterns in the Productive Series samples suggest a combination of East European Craton and Greater Caucasus source components.
This paper presents the first detrital zircon provenance data for one of the world’s major rivers (Volga), mountain belts (Greater Caucasus) and thickest sedimentary basins (South Caspian). These data help define the sediment provenance patterns of the modern Volga and its Pliocene forerunner, the Palaco-Volga. They also help understand the crustalevolution of the sediment source regions: the East European Craton and neighbouring erogenic belts of the Urals and Greater Caucasus.
U-Pb ages of detrital zircons provide insights into the provenance of clastic successions in sedimentary basins. In ancient basins, this gives information on sediment pathways that may not be available by other means, such as palaeocurrent studies (Berry et al. 2001 ). In modern river systems, the age data improve understanding of the basement terrains that directly or indirectly supplied the sediment (Cawood et al. 2003). This paper uses both approaches, by presenting U-Pb ages for detrital zircons from: ( 1 ) a sample of modern river sand from the Volga river; (2) a Mesozoic (Bajocian) sandstone from the eastern Greater Caucasus; (3) four sandstones from the Pliocene Productive Series of the Apsheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan (two from the Kirmaky Suite and two from the Balakhany Suite; Figs 1 and 2). These analyses characterize the provenance of sediment in the modern Volga and the Pliocene Palaeo-Volga, which terminated several hundred kilometres south of the modern Volga delta, in the interior of the South Caspian Basin (e.g. Reynolds et al. 199S). No ‘exotic’ age ranges are identified in the age spectra that cannot be matched to one or more of the known basement provinces around the East European Craton. There are also known crustal segments that are not represented in our data, such as the r. 3.5 Ga crust of Sarmatia. The Greater Caucasus zircons reveal the age and nature of the sediment sources for the Mesozoic depocentre in this region: there is little evidence for involvement of the Prccambrian basement of the East European C’raton. The Greater Caucasus data also reinforce the idea that this range was a sediment source for the South Caspian Basin during its rapid Pliocene-Quaternary subsidence.
Geological background
The modern Volga river delivers sediment into the Caspian Sea from a drainage basin c. 1.3 × 10^sup 6^ km^sup 2^ in area (Kroonenberg et al. 1997; Fig. 1). Most of the bedrock across this area consists of Phanerozoic sediments that form the cover to the East European Craton. The basement to this succession belongs to three main blocks that accreted to each other to form the craton in the Early Proterozoic: Fennoscandia, Sarmatia and Volgo-Uralia (Bogdanova 1993; Gorbatschev & Bogdanova 1993; Claesson et al. 2001; Fig. I ). Basement is exposed in the Baltic and Ukrainian shields (Fig. 1), which contain large areas of late Archaean crust. The Sarmatian province is distinctive for Archaean crust of c. 3.53.6 Ga. which is not found in Fennoscandia or Volgo-Uralia (Bibikova & Williams 1990; Shchipansky & Bogdanova 1996). Most of the Volga drainage basin lies within the Volgo-Uralia segment, but the only exposures of Precambrian rocks in this region are along the western side of the Urals (Puchkov 1997). Here there is structural and geochronological evidence for both Mid- and Eate Proterozoic orogeny, affecting a thick sedimentary succession at the craton margin (Glasmacher et al. 2001 ). At the eastern side of the crnton, Palaeozoic volcanic rocks, granitoids, ophiolites and mctascdiments of the Urals, east of the Main Uralian Fault, record the accretion of arcs to the craton in the late Palaeozoic. Phanerozoic sediments deposited across the craton are presumably derived from a combination of the Precambrian basement blocks and the Uralian erogenic belt, but there are few provenance details based on radiometric age dating. Tectonic subsidence across the craton was generated by a combination of episodic rifting events, such as the late Palaeozoic Dneiper- Donets rift, and subsequent regional thermal subsidence (Nikishin et al. 1996).
How To Remove Solids From Wastewater
Wastewater treatment has assumed a different dimension today against the backdrop of the danger of running out of fresh water. Wastewater is sewage, storm-water and water that have been used for various purposes around the community.
Most communities generate wastewater from both residential and nonresidential sources. Unless properly treated, wastewater can harm public health and the environment.
Here I have discussed about removing the solids from wastewater. How can we remove the settling solids from the wastewater?
Simple. Thru a settling tank. It comprises of the following units:
(a) Sedimentation tanks: either plain or chemical precipitation
(b) Septic (Imhoff) tanks
(c) Sludge digestion tanks
**Sedimentation tanks**
This is carried out with the objective to remove suspended mineral and organic matter from sewage after the wastewater has been subjected to pass through screens and grit chamber. These are the units in which sedimentation is brought about. The lighter organic sewage solids, which settle in the sedimentation tanks, are termed as sludge, while the sewage that has been partially clarified by the settling out of the solids is known as the effluent. Both sludge and effluent should be further treated in order to make them stable and unobjectionable.
The settlement of the solids may either be caused by gravity or by aggregation or flocculation of sewage-particles. If the coagulating chemicals are not added in the sewage, the tanks are referred as plain sedimentation tanks. whereas, if chemicals are used for the purpose of bringing the finer suspended and colloidal solids into masses of large bulk, thus hastening the settlement process, these are then known as chemical precipitation tanks. The chemicals used are alum, lime, ferric chloride, ferric sulfate, chlorinated copper etc.
**Types of sedimentation tanks**
Sedimentation is accomplished either in horizontal-flow or vertical-flow tanks. The former are usually rectangular and the latter circular.
In a rectangular tank, sewage enters continuously at one end and passes at the other end, generally over a weir. Sludge is removed manually into sludge-digestion tanks. The scum formed at the surface is removed by the mechanical scraper with the aid of a second blade called skimmer, through a scum trough.
In the case of a circular or upward-flow tank, sewage enters at the center, rises vertically to be drawn off by flowing over a peripheral weir arranged at the surface. Such tanks are particularly designed to make use of the principle of flocculation whereby, small colloidal particles are agglomerated into bulky wooly masses, which are more easily settled as sludge on the bottom of the tank.
Mechanical scrapers collect the sludge, concentrating it towards the center, from where it is removed for further treatment. The effluent flowing over the outlet weir is collected in an outlet pipe for further treatment.
When only raw sewage is to be treated in these tanks, they may be generally termed as primary settling tanks or primary clarifiers.
While when a sewage that has received secondary treatment, as in trickling filters or aeration tanks, is to be treated in them, then they may be called as secondary settling tanks or secondary clarifiers.
**Design criteria for primary sedimentation tank**
As with the sedimentation tanks in water supply, the capacity is determined by the volume of sewage-flow and the required detention period.
(i) detention period: 1 to 3 hours. Longer periods result in higher efficiency than shorter periods but too long a period induces septic conditions and should be avoided.
(ii) velocity of flow: about 30 cm square/min.
(iii) surface loading: it may be noted that the overall range of surface loading between 30,000 to 50,000 l / m / day is in conformity with that used in case of horizontal flow and vertical flow sedimentation tanks.
(iv) liquid depth of mechanically cleaned settling tanks should not be less that 2.1 m. And for the final clarifier for activated sludge, not less than 2.4 m.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis - A Review Of 3 Methods Used
Know If You Have It
Rheumatoid arthritis is a special type of arthritis that affects a person’s immune system as much as it affects the joints, bones, and muscles. Diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis the moment its symptoms appear is crucial for its treatment and prevention. If not acted on immediately, the chances of lasting joint damages and loss of mobility functions become higher. That means that people with advanced rheumatoid arthritis can become disabled.
This is why rheumatoid arthritis has to be diagnosed as early as possible. You should consider seeing your doctor if you suffer from any of these symptoms:
Thickening of the Joint’s Lining. Anytime that you feel the swelling in the joints had subsided but the area doesn’t seem to be the same as it used to be, there is a high chance that the lining around the joints have already thickened. If you do have this condition, then you might just have rheumatoid arthritis. It should also be the time you go to a health care specialist for a more accurate diagnosis.
Swelling, Pain, Stiffness, Redness, and a Warm Sensation on the Joints. There are a lot of joints in the body. Following that concept, rheumatoid arthritis can possibly strike anywhere. If you feel any chronic pain on any part of your body, more particularly in the knees, neck, and shoulders, it is possible you have arthritis.
Chronic pain means that the pain recurs from time to time. Arthritis comes in different forms. If you merely suffer from joint pains, what you may have is not rheumatoid arthritis. But it is always best to have it checked so that the symptoms can be properly addressed.
Loss of Movement. Once you feel that your motor skills are affected by the chronic pains you are experiencing, then you must be on the advanced stages of rheumatoid arthritis already. By this time, you should have the right kind of medications prescribed so that every time you feel the pain, you have something to relieve it.
Methods Used For The Diagnosis Of Rheumatoid Arthritis
To diagnose rheumatoid arthritis, the doctor would need to perform a series of test on the patient. Here are the different methods that a health professional would use to determine if a patient does have rheumatoid arthritis.
X-ray. X-ray is the most basic type of medical diagnosis procedure. Doctors normally request this first because it gives them a good image of the body part where arthritis usually strikes. While this method alone cannot confirm the presence of the disease, it can certainly rule out the possibility that the pain is caused by some other diseases. Doctors also use x-rays to compare the progression of the disease on the patient over a certain period of time.
Latex Test. The latex test is the procedure used to specifically diagnose rheumatoid arthritis. This diagnostic process examines the blood and checks it for antibody known as the rheumatoid factor.
Whenever there’s an inflammation on the joints and its lining, the body reacts by secreting this type of antibody. Once the rheumatoid factor is detected in the blood, then there would be no doubt that the patient has rheumatoid arthritis.
Sedimentation Rate Testing. After the doctor has rightfully determined that their patients are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, then the next thing they need to find out would be the blood’s sedimentation rate. To do this test, a blood sample is drawn and is made to settle for some time. If the sedimentation rate is high, then it means that the patient is suffering from an active type of inflammation.
We have described the 3 most common methods used for rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. It’s practically a cliche that prevention is better than cure, but it is still true. So if you suspect that you may be suffering from this problem, make sure to see your doctor right away so you can confirm your actual health status.
Mesothelioma Cancer - Best Possible Treatments
Physical exam and history: An exam of the body to check general signs of health, including checking for signs of disease, such as lumps or anything else that seems unusual. A history of the patient’s health habits, exposure to asbestos, past illnesses and treatments will also be taken.
Chest x-ray: An x-ray of the organs and bones inside the chest. An x-ray is a type of energy beam that can go through the body and onto film, making a picture of areas inside the body.
Complete blood count (CBC): A procedure in which a sample of blood is drawn and checked for the following:
The number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
The amount of hemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen) in the red blood cells.
The portion of the blood sample made up of red blood cells.
Sedimentation rate: A procedure in which a sample of blood is drawn and checked for the rate at which the red blood cells settle to the bottom of the test tube.
Biopsy: The removal of cells or tissues from the pleura or peritoneum so they can be viewed under a microscope by a pathologist to check for signs of cancer. Procedures used to collect the cells or tissues include the following:
Fine-needle aspiration biopsy: The removal of part of a lump, suspicious tissue, or fluid, using a thin needle. This procedure is also called a needle biopsy.
Lung biopsy. The patient lies on a table that slides through the computed tomography (CT) machine which takes x-ray pictures of the inside of the body. The x-ray pictures help the doctor see where the abnormal tissue is in the lung. A biopsy needle is inserted through the chest wall and into the area of abnormal lung tissue. A small piece of tissue is removed through the needle and checked under the microscope for signs of cancer.
Thoracoscopy: An incision (cut) is made between two ribs and a thoracoscope (a thin, lighted tube) is inserted into the chest.
Peritoneoscopy: An incision (cut) is made in the abdominal wall and a peritoneoscope (a thin, lighted tube) is inserted into the abdomen.
Laparotomy: An incision (cut) is made in the wall of the abdomen to check the inside of the abdomen for signs of disease.
Thoracotomy: An incision (cut) is made between two ribs to check inside the chest for signs of disease.
Bronchoscopy: A procedure to look inside the trachea and large airways in the lung for abnormal areas. A bronchoscope (a thin, lighted tube) is inserted through the nose or mouth into the trachea and lungs. Tissue samples may be taken for biopsy.
Bronchoscopy. A bronchoscope is inserted through the mouth, trachea, and major bronchi into the lung, to look for abnormal areas. A bronchoscope is a thin, tube-like instrument with a light and a lens for viewing. It may also have a cutting tool. Tissue samples may be taken to be checked under a microscope for signs of disease.
Cytologic exam: An exam of cells under a microscope (by a pathologist) to check for anything abnormal. For mesothelioma, fluid is taken from around the lungs or from the abdomen. A pathologist checks the cells in the fluid.
Certain factors affect prognosis and treatment options.
The prognosis and treatment options depend on the following:
The stage of the cancer.
The size of the tumor.
Whether the tumor can be removed completely by surgery.
The amount of fluid in the chest or abdomen.
The patient’s age and general health, including lung and heart health.
The type of mesothelioma cancer cells and how they look under a microscope.
Whether the cancer has just been diagnosed or has recurred .
Water Treatment Plants
Water treatment plants treat water from various sources like rivers and lakes. Water from these sources has to be purified to remove floating objects like sticks and other solids of larger dimensions, finer particulate matters, color, odor, pollutants, and harmful bacteria and microbes.
The water entering the treatment plant passes through intake screens to remove floating objects and larger insoluble materials. Back-flushing of the screen with air is done periodically to clear the screen and maintain the effectiveness of the screen.
Coagulants are added to the water to facilitate the subsequent sedimentation process. Water containing the rest of the impurities is taken to a sedimentation tank containing sand filters to remove suspended solids. Sand is then recovered and cleaned so that it can be reused. The next process is the bacterial disinfection and degradation of the organic compounds by treatment with ozone gas. Ozone, being unstable, is produced onsite by the use of oxygen in an electric discharge unit. The ozone thus produced is bubbled through water. Residual ozone is then converted to oxygen gas and vented out to the atmosphere.
Water will still contain some turbidity and other organics. An activated carbon filter is used to remove these impurities along with any remaining colored materials and odor-causing chemicals. Final polishing of this water is carried out by sand filters, and this water is taken to storage vessels. A small amount of chlorine can be used to treat this water to prevent bacterial contamination before the supply to the distribution system.
Thus, water from natural sources can be fully purified and disinfected and then stored in underground storage tanks.
Main Causes of Water Pollution
Today, the world is facing one of the most serious problems of humanity and other forms of life, pollution. It is a known fact that pollution is very rampant all over the globe. Just look around and you will see rivers, lakes, beaches that are murky, stinky, and lifeless. Plastic, empty cans, bottles, and other trash have replaced the fishes and other wonderful marine creatures that used to reside under water. Yet, when scarcity arises and when epidemics occur many point their fingers to others and turn their backs from the responsibility. But in fact there is no one else to blame but the people. Man is the main cause of water pollution.
People pollute the water with chemicals and other hazardous materials. People have no regard to water – their source of life. They do not realize that this once abundant resource is rapidly being contaminated due to their negligence and carelessness.
Waste disposal has always been a chronic problem, not only because of the quantity of wastes, but because of its kind and the inadequate provision for a good system and technology to address the problem. There are many sources of water pollution but it is not the source that is really causing the problem but the improper disposal of the pollutants. People resort to careless disposal because it is cheaper, more advantageous, or simply convenient to them.
When you are taking a bath using your favorite shampoo or whenever you wash your laundry using no other than the best detergent in town, it is certain that before buying those products you really never consider asking yourself whether their contents can harm the environment or not. What mattered more was the scent and softness of your hair and the clean comfort of your clothes. Instead of finding an environmental friendly product, you simply chose convenience and your satisfaction of meeting your interests. However, if you will support environmental friendly products and become more conscientious of how you can avoid contributing to water pollution, then the world has gotten rid of one polluter.
In the same way, if chemical factories are only equipped with better facilities that can release treated wastewater, there will be no harm done to the lakes or rivers where they dump their by products. If home owners associations will work to build and provide their subdivisions with sewage treatment facilities, eutrophication can be controlled and dying bodies of water will be spared. But as mentioned, polluters choose the easier way where they can save on operation costs and where they can rid themselves of the hassles of responsibility. Anyway, they are not affected by the effects of their misdeeds.
Aside from improper and careless waste disposal, another main cause of water pollution is toxic substances coming from industrial, agricultural and domestic use. Trace elements of lead, cadmium, mercury, dioxins are detected in different water sources which sometimes accumulate in the water supply causing health problems. These toxic substances come from industries such mining, power plants, automobile manufacturers and others that produce toxic substances leading to bodies of water. Apart from these industries, these toxic materials contaminate the water through accidents like chemical or oil spills.
One more main cause of water pollution is the presence of excessive nutrients in the water. Nitrogen and phosphorous compounds that generally come from sewage, fertilizers, and animal manure are good food sources of algae. Excess nutrients in water also result to excessive growth of algae that deprive aquatic plants and animals adequate levels of oxygen to survive. Because of this many aquatic organisms die and decay which aggravates the problem.
Lastly, another considerable main cause of water pollution is sedimentation. Although it is hard to imagine how soil particles can contribute to water pollution, but it does. When huge amount of solid particles accumulate in water, whether due to deforestation, farming, or soil erosion, the sediments cloud the spawning grounds of fishes leading to their gradual extinction.
Humans greatly affect the environment. People will either be heroes or villains of Mother Nature. Toxic substances, algal bloom, sedimentation are all end results of human activities. These pollutants are not the real evils of water pollution but the people behind every wrong disposal and negligence. Unless man realizes that it is not the prohibition of pollutants nor banning industrial productions that should be changed but the behavior and attitude he possesses towards his environment, the rivers, lakes, and other water systems have no hope to be saved.