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October 18, 2022
by admin

Chapter 6: Population Ecology, mods 18-21

Modules 18-21 F/R text
See also chapter 5 in Withgott:
Evolution, species interaction, communities and species interactions
Lab: Predator prey phase delay (bunnies and lynxes)

Module 18-abundance and distribution
Start with this:
Click for full-size image
A crude example of this might be:
individual-you
population-HPA students
community-HPA
ecosystem-education
biosphere-the world

or:
some rabbit individual
some of the rabbit's friends, a population of rabbits
rabbits and the things they eat and eat them-community
ecosystem-the plants that support both ends of this process
biosphere-the planet

We covered ecosystem energy and matter a few weeks ago, this chapter is about population ecology.
--------------------
Population dynamics

Notation: Population size is represented as N (note not "n"): population size within a defined area at a specific time (brings in migration).
So, we could say the student population of HPA would be all students here this year, 2022-2023

Check out the diagrams on population distribution: random, uniform and clumped. Important vis a vis biodiversity
Structures: age and gender (sex)



  • Density dependent factor: e.g. food or reproductive rate in rats (more rats, lower "fecundity" or birthrate)
  • Something that influences reproduction or survival...
  • Density independent factors: storms, disasters, fires (note density independent: one bambi or 100 bambi all perish in the same fire)
  • Limiting resource: usually food, but could include space, nutrients, etc.
  • Carrying capacity: K (note not "k"): how many individuals an environment can support

Module 19: growth models
Imagine you are a happy bacteria, or rabbit, with lots of food, land and no predators. Your population growth curve might look like this:

This is called exponential growth, or "J shaped growth"
Note that it has no end, or limiting factor.

Small r is the growth rate. If you have had physics (yay!) this is usually "k" in some examples, or related to RC decay/growth.
Learning this equation is VERY useful.
Note that it depends on two things:
the starting amount in the population (No)
and the growth rate (r)
Here is an example:
Click for full-size image

You might also find this link useful:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/ecology-ap/population-ecology-ap/a/exponential-logistic-growth

Many systems follow J shaped exponential growth until they run out of food or space, then there is overshoot and die-off:



A more ideal version of this is the S shaped curve, called logistic growth:


Here is a formula for logistic growth that we'll discuss:

Click for full-size image
Don't be intimidated by this formula...
dN/dt is just delta N over delta t, or the ∆ in number over the ∆ in time, (∆ means change)
or the rate of population growth (some of you may see this as the slope of the S curve)
Note that when the ratio N/K is very small or close to zero, the stuff in the parentheses becomes 1, so the formula is rate = rN, or J curved exponential growth.
Recall: J curved exponential growth only depends on starting population and reproductive rate.

As N/K nears one (number of critters equals carrying capacity) the term in the parentheses becomes zero, so no growth.
Note also that if N/K is GREATER than one, the growth rate (slope of the curve) become negative. This is overshoot and die off.


------

Logistic growth worksheet

First: exponential growth:

Imagine 10 imaginary rabbits (No=10)

Assume r = 0.5 (50 percent growth rate, or each rabbit makes 0.5 rabbits per year)

Find the population 2 years later:

Nt = Noe^rt

Nt = 10e^0.5*2

Nt = 27 rabbits

After 4 years:

After 10 years:

———

Next, use the logistic growth formula, same data, with a carrying capacity (K) of 100:

Small population: 10 rabbits

∆N/∆t = rN(1-N/K)

= 0.5*10(1-10/100)

= 5(1-0.1)

= 5(0.9)

= 4.5 rabbits per year

Find the rabbits per year for these populations:

Medium population: 27 rabbits

Near K: 74 rabbits

Above K: 1489 rabbits

quiz (you may use your worksheet only)

  1. 30 rabbits live on an island with carrying capacity 200. They reproduce at a rate of 0.5 per year. How many rabbits will be on the island after 3 years? (hint: you would do the calculation three times-this is only an estimate though, the true formula would be a bit more complex)
  2. What will be the slope of the growth curve at this point?
Next: predator/prey phase diagrams
Check this out:

Click for full-size image
Note the phase (timing) relationship between the abundance of the food and the population of the prey, then the predator.
Predator Prey Lab:
Download file "predator-prey-simulation12.pdf"
Worksheet: (uses Numbers application)
Download file "Population Growth Model.numbers"
Worksheet: excel version:
Download file "Population Growth Model.xls"
Questions:
Download file "ESI-24-modeling_population_growth.pdf"

Now we can discuss generalizations of r and K strategists:
Note: r comes from small r (growth rate) in the growth formula, while K comes from large K in the same formula (carrying capacity):
Where do you fit in? How about Nemo?

Birds also fall into type II (no pun intended), as they randomly crash into stuff...
There is a fourth type: deer. How would you imagine this curve?
Related:
Another reason why genocides are so damaging to cultures: If an oral tradition (e.g. Hawaiians) are decimated by smallpox for example, it is the very old (the holders of the legends and history) and the very young (those who have time to listen, not work, and will then grow up and tell their kids) that are gone. This is a sort of cultural bottleneck...

Module 20: Community ecology
Competitive exclusion principle: two species competing for the same resources cannot co-exist, leads to...
Resource partitioning: time, space, type of food (one species picks one, the other survives)
Relationships:
Predation: predator and prey, one lives, the other dies
Symbiotic:
Mutualism: both benefit
Commensalism: one benefits, no harm to the other
Non-symbiotic:
Parasitism: one benefits, harm to other
quizlet review

keystone species vs. indicator species

Keystone species-many others depend on it, removal has an impact much greater than their relative population

e.g. beavers: create habitat for others (dams), so they are also "keystone engineers", only they don't wear funny hats.

Here's what a keystone looks like:

In architecture, if you remove the keystone, the arch collapses. Cool term, right?

This is different from a capstone (seniors might like this): a capstone is what you put on top of a finished structure


Another example: "keystone predators" e.g. sea stars, which eat mussels, clearing space on rocks for other species

Indicator species-signal health of a system, like some fish or worms signify water quality, also known as "bioindicators"

Succession: one species takes over another in time

Module 21: Community Succession

Primary succession: From bare rock, no soil: (e.g. lichen)

These hold moisture and some sort of matrix (e.g. soil) so that others can then grow

Click for full-size image
You might imagine driving from the Kohala coast up to Waimea, seeing bare lava along the coast, then fountain grass, then small bushes, then trees along the stream, then larger trees away from the stream.
Water is the key to life, so anything that can trap and hold water (e.g. soil) can support life.

Secondary succession: from disturbed area with soil (e.g. after a fire)-there is soil, but no plants, growth here might be quicker than primary sucession.

Pioneer species: arrives first, sets up reliable system of water and matrix

Climax community: stable, well evolved ecosystem, e.g. old growth forest, able to survive disasters (e.g. fire)

Aquatic succession: from stream (flowing water) to pond (less flow) to shallow pond (even less flow) to marsh (mostly mud)

Island biogeography (like here in Waimea): habitat size AND distance from others influences diversity (e.g. birds)

This was Darwin's whole gig, also some folks off the coast of Chile, often with birds involved.

Check out an alternate presentation of these in the Withgott text, with a special section about our island:

http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/texts/withgott/withgott%206e/3-4.pdf

Frog book chapter 5:

Click for full-size image

Questions:
  1. What three things in order are necessary for evolution to succeed?
  2. What are the characteristics of an r specific species. Give an example.
  3. What are the characteristics of a K specific species. Give an example as well.
  4. The population of wolves may rise and fall along with rabbits, but not at the same time. Explain why.
Download file "withgott 7e ch.3 evolution.pdf"
Download file "withgott 7e ch.4 species interactions.pdf"

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October 12, 2022
by admin

Chapter 5: mods 14-17 Biodiversity

Mod 14: Biodiversity: (see also chapter 7 in Froggie book)


Click for full-size image
Species diversity:
richness vs. evenness:
richness = number of species,
evenness = balanced proportions
Click for full-size image
Mod 15: Evolution
Three conditions must be met:
1. genetic variation (mutation)
2. some stress that favors this variation (adaptation)
3. survivors procreate, pass on the variation (reproduction)

Genotype: set of genes (dominant and recessive)
Phenotype: traits expressed in a living creature

Genetic drift-pretty much what it sounds like
Bottleneck effect-VERY important: when a species is almost extinct, there is little variation in the gene pool of the survivors, even if their population rebounds (e.g. whales hunted almost to extinction, the entire gene pool is limited to the diversity of the sole survivors)
Founder effect: random selection of survivors, creating a new gene pool (birds, gilligan)

Questions:
1. If the early atmosphere of our planet was thinner and less developed, it might have allowed more cosmic radiation to reach the surface. How would this impact the natural mutation/evolution rate?
2. what would be the impact on an ecosystem of rampant mutation rates?

Mod 16: speciation
Geographic isolation (e.g. Galapagos) also found where we disturb natural habitats with roads
This causes Allo (other) Patric (father) speciation
Eventually reproductive isolation will result: different breeds will not be able to procreate

There is another more rare form of speciation: Sympatric ("same father"), from polyploidy, ("many chromosomes")

GMO: see roundup ready corn and wheat, freeze proof tomatoes and others.
Not to be confused with Dwarf Wheat and Norman Borlaug (see population chapters for more on this).
Dwarf wheat was a simple hybrid, not a GMO.
Look up "gene guns" and CRISPR

Mod 17: niches and species distribution
Check this out:
You'll see another like this in population distributions...
Range of tolerance-where it can survive
Fundamental niche-happy place
Realized niche-de facto place
Distribution-areas where they live (we'll see more of this in the chapter on population distributions: random, scattered, patterned)
Global Biodiversity:
Note biodiversity increases closer to the equator:
Click for full-size image
Biodiversity Hot spots:

Click for full-size image


Global warming and biodiversity:
Click for full-size image

Click for full-size image



Alternates to low biodiversity food sources (e.g. monoculture):

Click for full-size image
Biodiversity benefits:

Click for full-size image
Major extinctions leading to the 6th anthropocene (man caused) exctinction:

Click for full-size image

Click for full-size image

Past human impact:

Click for full-size image
Invasive species:

Click for full-size image


Click for full-size image
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We can calculate biodiversity:
Click for full-size image

Lab: Calculating Shannon's index, using baked goldfish (the cheddar kind, not the ones that stink)
  1. wash your hands
  2. pour out a random number of different colored goldfish on your plate (your "pond")
  3. determine the number of distinct populations by color, using chopsticks
  4. determine the proportion for each population (e.g. 5 red ones out of 20 total would be 5/20 or 0.25)
  5. calculate Shannon's index (H) for this "pond"
  6. repeat the experiment with a very low biodiversity, calculate H
  7. repeat with a very high biodiversity, calculate H
  8. eat the contents of your "pond", representing a catastrophic event
Questions:
  1. what is the value of biodiversity in any community?
  2. what are the benefits and drawbacks of a low biodiversity?
  3. how does this play into competition (next chapter)
  4. why is it important to determine the number of "distinct populations"?
  5. what is the impact of this on a human population, e.g. the census?

Check-in review:
Unit 2 from Cliff notes 2011:
Download file "cliff unit 2.pdf"
Unit 2 practice exam p. 190
-----NEXT: Population ecology-----------

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October 6, 2022
by admin

Module 12 Biomes

Look:Here's what we learned so far:


Now look at this map, and compare with your trusty globe:

See the pattern?Pay close attention to cause and effect:
  • onshore moist air from the Pacific ocean hits the mountains near Seattle=rainy there
  • onshore moist air from the lower Atlantic ocean hits the amazon basin=rainy there
  • dry air moving down from the Mediterranean moves over the Sahara Desert=dry there

There are about 9 Biomes, usually defined by precipitation (rain, fog, others) and temperature. Big Island has 8 of the 9 biomes, or in the 12 biome model, we have 11/12, or 9 of 13, or 10 of 14 in another model. Many models...https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/content/hawaii-has-10-worlds-14-climate-zones-explorers-guide-each-themTraveling up a mountain is like crossing biomes. Check this out:
Imagine driving from Hamakua or Hilo up to the summit of Mauna Kea: tropical rain forest to temperate (mild) rain forest to boreal (north) forest to tundra. There is even a glacier up on Mauna Kea. Cool.This would be like starting in the upper right corner of the diagram and moving diagonally down and to the left.
Now check out the planet again:

Notice the horizontal bands. If you've read "Guns Germs and Steel" you know that humans migrated horizontally, so their crops and livestock would thrive in similar biomes. See? Migrating north to south is tough.How is this changing?https://climate.nasa.gov/interactives/climate-time-machine

Now look at this:

These diagrams are how climatologists describe biomes without a cool map. The blue line is the amount of rainfall, with units on the RIGHT side of the graph. The red line is the temperature, with units on the LEFT side of the graph. The shaded region in the months below (jfmamjjasond) is the growing season when temperatures are above freezing. When the precipitation line is above the temperature line, growth is limited by temperature (e.g. freezing). When the blue line is below the red line, growth is limited by precipitation (e.g. the desert).
Start with the north: Tundra is what you'd see in Alaska. Permafrost is soon to be in the news. It is made of permanently frozen ground a few feet below the surface. Even roots cannot penetrate it, so some trees grow in a stunted fashion. It is also composed of frozen organic matter, which when it melts will decompose, releasing CO2 and CH4 (methane), which is 20x as powerful as CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
Tundra:

Note the cool temp, so growth is determined by temp, not rainfall. Lots of snow here, and little liquid water for plants, so yeah, mainly snow and glaciers.
Contrast that with the boreal (north) forest:
Note the short growing season. Any plants that survive usually have an oily sap (pine trees, evergreens) that does not freeze. Also note the serious cold in the winter-animals have to adapt to these (fur, hibernation, etc.)
Temperate (mild) forests are nicer, longer growing season, and rarely freeze. They are usually near the ocean, so they do not freeze (ocean is a huge heat sink). The often have lots of rain (think of Seattle). You may recall these are places where the surface parts of Ferrell and Polar cells converge, bringing in clouds and as these clouds rise into the atmosphere, they release their water as precipitation.

Temperate (mild) seasonal forest actually has seasons:
Deciduous trees can live here, like maple and oak. It gets close to freezing, but no real dry season.
Woodland/shrubland is like much of southern California, or the Mediterranean. Wine can grow here. It is also known as the mediterranean (medi=middle, terra=earth) biome.
Note it never really freezes, but growth is determined by precipitation (blue line is below the red line). This is also known as "chaparral" or the "fynbos" or "nice forest" in Afrikaans (South Africa). Look up the main wine regions of the world, they will fit this biome. Also consider how many Italians could start vineyards in northern California...
Temperate grassland/cold desert is a dry, grassy area, like Oklahoma, although it does get very cold there, so think more of Texas, or the Gobi desert. Again, growth is rain limited: (you may recall these are near Hadley/Ferrel cell subsidence, so dry air from space falls here). These areas tend to be far from large bodies of water, so they have more extreme temperatures than similar latitudes near water (e.g. Italy, France, California)

Tropical rainforest is the rainiest of them all, and much of our island has this near the shore. Warm temperatures, and paradoxically poor soil nutrition (all of the nutrients are in the plants). On Mt. Waialeale on Kauai, the rainfall is 480 INCHES per year, 2.5 times as high as the high point on the chart below:

Africa and Brazil hold the next biome: Savanna or tropical seasonal forest. Think of Madagascar (the film): not many large trees, room for animals to roam, lots of grass, happy lions, maybe a bossy penguin or two...Growth dependent on rainfall: (blue line below red one)

Finally, the subtropical desert biome, like what you'd see in the Sahara desert (another film), or most of Australia, the Atacama in Chile, the Mojave desert in California, and some of Mexico. Note the Gobi desert is not on this list-too cold. Again, note these areas are where dry air subsides (falls) from the Hadley and Ferrell cells.

Biome Game:

Clues:
Find these places in the first three climatographs: Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSan Diego, CaliforniaBelem, Brazil






Find these biomes below:

tropical rain forest

tropical savanna

desert

temperate grasslands

temperate deciduous forest

temperate rain forest

boreal forest

tundra
















Find these biomes:

Tropical Savanna

Temperate Grassland

Chaparral

Desert

Tundra

Taiga

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Tropical Rain Forest



LAB: Gambling with biomes


Gambling with biomes


  1. Below is a list of locations around the world. Roll the dice and using your vast knowledge of biomes and the high tech globes on your desk, determine the biome and type of life you might find there.
  2. In the next round reverse the process with the biome list below, determining the locations around the globe.


Locations:

  1. Chile
  2. Zambia
  3. Philippines
  4. Oklahoma
  5. San Luis Obispo
  6. Germany
  7. Seattle
  8. Greenland
  9. Ontario Canada
  10. Tunisia
  11. North Pole
  12. Kamuela


Biomes:

  1. tundra
  2. boreal forest
  3. temperate rain forest
  4. temperate seasonal forest
  5. woodlands
  6. temperate grassland
  7. tropical rain forest
  8. savannah
  9. desert
  10. cold desert
  11. taiga
  12. tropical seasonal forest

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October 6, 2022
by admin

Frog book ch. 6 Biomes

Frog book: biomes

elephants and biodiversity
carrying capacity-new term
biome: climate and plant/animal life
errors in ch.6-where?
Fig 6.3

NPP: biomass after respiration
(rate which primary producers convert energy to biomass)
tropical rain forest-canopy (layers)--------
poor soil nutrient levels (all in trees)

shallow roots, big leaves, lots of rain
pitcher plants-eat animals
epiphytes-grow on other plants (e.g. orchids)
air roots
specialized animals
tropical dry forest——
deciduous forest: warm, but variable rain (e.g. monsoon)
autumn leaves-loss to protect plant, changes in photosynthesis
waxy leaves (e.g. pine needles) if over winter plants
estivation: hibernation
migration: birds (why birds and not other animals?)
savanna——
very dry, few trees, seasonal grasses, fires
porous soils (like Kona), often coffee locations (s. america)
waxy leaves, deep roots
desert——
under 25 cm (250 mm) of water per year (10 inches)
dry dry dry, so dramatic temp variations (opposite of ocean biomes)
few plants, low nutrient levels in soil
nocturnal animals (e.g. rats, snakes)
succulents: store water (e.g. cacti)
large, shallow roots, also taproots (160 ft. deep)
temperate rain forest——
not too warm, not too cold, just right
rainy, warm, mossy, foresty (e.g. washington, oregon, BC)
coniferous-have pine cones, conifers: oily needles (don’t freeze)
lumber
temperate forest——
eastern US: oak etc. seasonal loss of leaves
hibernating animals
temperate (mild) grassland——
prairie, steppe (russia)
moderate rain, but not enough for trees. grass only.
grass grows from below, so can be eaten by cattle and still live
roots capture moisture, hold soil together (kikuyu grass)
chaparral——
California, mediterranean (middle of the earth, contrast with chinese translation of the word “china”: middle earth kingdom)
dry, seasonal rain, drought (like now)
Boreal (north) forest———
taiga
acidic soils (from conifers/pine needles as competition)
very cold
conifer shape sheds snow, preserves branches (christmas trees)
when ground freezes, no water for roots, all water stored as sap in trees (oily compound, very sticky, makes retsina in Greece)
tundra——
russia, alaska, canada
very cold-study the climatograph (-220 °C!) right….
permafrost-permanently frozen ground, so only shallow roots
polar ice—
not really a biome, but stuff lives there (aquatic mammals, fish, very small rocks, churches, mud, but no ducks)
Notothenioids-antifreeze fish
blubbery mammals
mountains—
another non-biome, but look at this!

how cool is that?

aquatic ecosystems—
salinity, depth, standing or flowing water
salt water = 30-50 ppt (parts per thousand)
ppt, ppm, ppb
fresh water = 0.5 ppt
in between 0.5-30 ppt = brackish (anchialine ponds in Kona)
study the fishies in the pictures
DEPTH!!!!
determines amount of light, tf. photosynthesis
photic zone=light
aphotic=no light
benthic=really no light, never, ever ever. don’t even think about it.
aquatic mammals must surface for air
fishies don’t-gills
DO dissolved oxygen (very important) depends on plants (so depth) and temp (cooler water can hold more O2)
warm water has low O2 generally.
best place to fish: cool water after a waterfall (why?)
flowing water: rivers
standing water: ponds
lakes can become inland seas
littoral=shore, limentic=away from shore benthic=botttom
wetlands:
marshes, swamps, bogs and fens
marshes marshes marshes!-tall grasses
swamps-some trees
bogs-acidic, poor decomposition, floating stuff
fens-spring underneath, less acidic, better nutrients
bogs decay slowly-ancient cheese story, peat moss
rivers-oxbow lake and meander
source, tributary (continuity concept), mouth (delta)
slope exponential as distance from source
deposition rates (rapids vs. plains)
silt carrying capacity, turbidity
estuaries-like deltas
tidal estuary: hudson river: deeper than the body it serves
oceans——
200 ft. of salt if all oceans evaporated
oceans were red (iron) then ppt out (iron range in WI, MI)
salinity, wind and temperature determine flow
upwelling (recall Peruvian fisherpersons)
also downwelling
photic zones-
intertidal zone-makes sense, between tides
neritic zone-close to shore, less than 200 ft. deep (not in Hawaii, we have no continental shelf-boo hoo)
open ocean (pelagic) zone
kelp forests-e.g. california coast
coral reefs-away from fresh water, coastal, photic
open ocean-scary stuff

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October 6, 2022
by admin

Module 13: Aquatic Biomes

Recall terrestrial biomes are defined by temperature and precipitation (rain)Aquatic biomes are by definition underwater, so they are defined by

  • Depth: how deep is the deepest part, how much photosynthesis is possible
  • Distance from shore: shallow water has more life, more things to attach to, more biodiversity
We separate aquatic biomes into freshwater (lakes, rivers, streams) and saltwater (oceans, estuaries)
Freshwater biomes:Riparian=riverLimnotic=lakesLakes:Shallow shore area=littoral (means shallow), see the "littoral Navy", photosynthesis here (shallow, light shines through)Open water area=limnetic zone, no rooted plants (too deep), phytoplankton here, only as deep as sunlight can penetrateDeep water=profundal ("profound") or deep zone: no light penetrates, bacterial decomposition.Bottom=benthic zone: mud, dark, cloudy

Productivity: note usually related to photosynthesis (plants)Oligo (few) trophic=low productivityMeso (middle) trophic=mediumEutrophic (eu=good trephien=food)=lots of productivity (sometimes too much, like in "Poisoned Waters")Freshwater wetlands-submerged most of the time (swamps, marshes, bogs) this is the history of all coal and oil we now useSalt marsh: usually connected to the sea, act as a coastal buffer for Hurricanes, very productive, many nutrients, lots of organic materialMangrove swamp: special version of this in Tropical areas (e.g. Florida)Intertidal zone: area between high and low tide or seasonal variations
Ocean zones:Coral reefs-see coral bleaching, pH, temperature and salinity sensitive (see Hamakua coast vs. Puako)Intertidal zone: between high and low tidePhotic (light) zone-shallow, photosynthesis, kelp, othersAphotic (dark) zone-too dark for photosynthesisChemosythesis/thermosynthesis: deepwater steam vents, based on Sulfur instead of Oxygen, bacteria generate energy with methane (CH4) and H2S (instead of H20)Benthic=deep oceanPelagic=open ocean (think of big sailing ships, whales, stuff like that)Hadal zones: like Hades: deepest, darkest zones. Weird fish, no light...

Biodiversity next:http://physics.hpa.edu/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/542a8/Biodiversity_and_Extinction_Ch_5_Mods_1417.html

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October 6, 2022
by admin

Module 11: Ocean currents

Mod 11 ocean currents

Check this out:


Verify on windy.com again:

https://www.windy.com/?20.002,-155.533,5

  • Notice that the north pacific currents flow clockwise, south pacific counter clockwise. why?
  • There are places with little forward current, so they become islands of debris, e.g. the so called "Pacific Gyre", which is about the size of Texas, and made up of floating trash.
  • Gyres describe the circular flow, some refer to the islands of debris as gyres (not accurate), gyres are the circles, most equatorials move west (arrows match)
  • Difference between flotsam and jetsam: one floats, the other is jettisoned from boats
  • Thermohaline (thermo=heat, haline=saltwater) circulation:

  • This upwelling of 2000 year old water off the Kona coast is the bases for Koyo water near the airport (why is this water so precious?)
  • Upwelling off the peruvian/chilean coast-Andean trench=great fishing when in normal conditions (not el niño)
  • ENSO= el nino southern oscillation-a really big deal, reverses the normal ocean circulation, impacts weather around the planet

El niño and La niña (ENSO)

Note: top diagram has strong OFFSHORE wind, pulling up nutrients from below, note also that it is one big box from Peru to Indonesia, with a strong warm, dry subsidence around the coast of Peru (good for beach folks), known as La Niña, or the little girl,

Note: lower diagram (El Niño) has main convection moving to the middle of the ocean basin, weakening the offshore wind around Peru, so sad fisher-folk. El Niño was often associated with Christmas, so the "little boy" reference.

Though ENSO is a single climate phenomenon, it has three states, or phases, it can be in. The two opposite phases, “El Niño” and “La Niña,” require certain changes in both the ocean and the atmosphere because ENSO is a coupled climate phenomenon. “Neutral” is in the middle of the continuum, also known as “La Nada” or “the nothing”.

  1. El Niño: A warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to become reduced while rainfall increases over the tropical Pacific Ocean. The low-level surface winds, which normally blow from east to west along the equator (“easterly winds”), instead weaken or, in some cases, start blowing the other direction (from west to east or “westerly winds”). This makes for sad fisher-people off the coast of Peru. Named for "the boy" or the Christmas child since it was first seen around December (winter solstice again).
  2. La Niña: A cooling of the ocean surface, or below-average sea surface temperatures, in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to increase while rainfall decreases over the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The normal easterly winds along the equator become even stronger. Happy fisher-people off the coast of Peru due to nutrient upwelling from the Peruvian trench. Named after "the girl", just the opposite of "the boy".
  3. Neutral: Neither El Niño or La Niña. Often tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures are generally close to average. However, there are some instances when the ocean can look like it is in an El Niño or La Niña state, but the atmosphere is not playing along (or vice versa).

Figure 11.3 below——

Top: La Nada or La Niña: happy fisher-people off the coast of Peru (nutrient upwelling)

Bottom: El Niño: sad fisher-people off the coast of Peru

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October 6, 2022
by admin

Module 10: air currents

Module 10 Air currents and Water stuff

  • Relative humidity: the amount of water in the air at a certain temperature, relative to the maximum it could hold at that temperature (RH).
  • You can blow on the room sensor and see this rise.
  • Absolute humidity: true amount of water in percent water in that parcel of air (AH)
  • Saturation point: the max amount of water air can hold at that temp (rises with temperature, note how this compares with gases dissolved in liquids, like your dissolved oxygen (DO) lab. You may know this as fog.
  • You may feel more comfortable with high temp and low humidity because your body can evaporate and cool more effectively. Conversely, humid, hot weather is ugly. Cold, humid air insulates poorly, so feels chilly, so running your air conditioner when it is humid and cool may actually make you feel warmer. Why?
    • You can look this up, it is called the "comfort curve" or psychrometric chart:
    Download file "comfort.pdf"
  • Dew point: weather term for the temp that water will condense from air, depends on humidity (think of cool mornings, wet grass, or water vapor condensing on a cool drink)
  • Adiabatic cooling: think of Waimea canyon, or the mountains of the Andes, Olympics, Coastal range, Himalayas, etc. As air rises, the reduced pressure makes it cooler. Opposite of pumps, which get hot (compression). You might feel see this with aerosol spray cans (cooler when you spray something).



    • Questions:

    1. You see a circular flow in the counter-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere on windy.com. Is this low or high pressure?
    2. Why is the ocean less salty near the equator?
    3. As a parcel of air rises (like Waipio or the Himalayas), what happens to the absolute and relative humidity? What happens next?
    4. What level of the atmosphere has most of the weather and why?
    • Adiabatic heating: reverse of this: think of Puako or Kawaihae: as air descends, it is compressed and gets hotter.
    • Latent (hidden) heat release: when vapor condenses from gas to liquid, it releases energy. Opposite of evaporation or boiling, which both require energy.
    • Convection: one of three means that energy moves from place to place:
      • radiation (like light, can be reflected),
      • conduction (contact),
      • convection (movement of mass, usually air or water).
    • Hadley cells: between 30N and 30S, convergence at the equator (hot air rises there), descends after shedding heat to space and water as it rises (rain), descending dry air forms deserts at 30N and 30S. Winds from the north to south at the surface, opposite in the stratosphere.




    Check this out on windy.com:

    https://www.windy.com/?20.002,-155.533,5

    • ITCZ: intertropical convergence zone: the place near the equator where this convergence occurs, lower salinity in equatorial oceans (rains all the time, good AP question).
    • Hadley Cells: Between the equator and 30N or 30S.
    • Ferrell cells: between 30N and 60N, also on the southern hemisphere: deserts at the bottom, northward wind at the surface, opposite in space (stratosphere), which is why commercial flights usually have a headwind where they'd have a tailwind at the surface. Also why when trades are strong, mainland flights are faster/shorter.
    • Polar cells: southward wind from 60N to 90N, creates dry desert at the north pole.
    • Coriolis effect; spinning of earth makes air near the equator rotate faster around the axis than polar air. This difference creates hurricanes and ocean currents, therefore diagonal winds (see fig 10.6)
    • Rain shadow: think of the coast near Mahukona or Lapakahi, between Kawaihae and Hawi: very dry as all moisture has been wrung out of the air by ascending above mount Kohala. Think also of Eastern Washington, or the Desert in Chile, where the Andes dry out the air. Many more-find some!


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    October 6, 2022
    by admin

    Module 9: atmosphere

    Circulation modules:

    • Module 9: Heating of the earth
    • Module 10: Air circulation
    • Module 11: Ocean circulation

    Module 9 heating of the earth

    • Tropo (top) sphere-heated by contact with earth, where most weather occurs
    • Strato (high) sphere-cooler, where commercial aircraft travel, more radiation there
    • Meso (middle) sphere-higher, but does not contain charged particles
    • Thermo (hot) sphere-also known as the ionosphere, charged particles from interaction with the solar wind (charged protons and others), "hot" because of these particles slowing down, but so little atmosphere it would freeze you if you were there. Three layers: D, E and F, with F being the highest, all three reflect radio waves, but only the lower ones conduct/reflect in sunlight
    • Exo (outer) sphere-where space begins, freezing cold about one hydrogen molecule per square meter
    • Ozone: between the troposphere and stratosphere, this absorbs UV radiation
    • Magnetosphere: way out there, deflects solar wind, particles then spiral into the north and south poles creating the auroras.
    • If no magnetosphere, we'd cook like in a microwave oven (Film: The Core), a serious issue for Mars exploration
    • if no ozone layer, all plants would die, DNA would be mutated, life would cease except for deep thermal vents (possible origin of terrestrial life)
    • HOT AIR RISES, COOLER AIR MOVES IN TO TAKE ITS PLACE-THIS IS THE BASIS FOR WEATHER

    Globe Demo

    • Seasons, tilt vs. perihelion (AUS)
    • counterclockwise
    • equinoxes, solstices
    • hadley, ferrel polar cells
    • deserts, rain forests
    • tradewinds
    • longitude vs latitude
    • GMT-why?

    Atmosphere slice: layers

    Air currents: RH, AH

    3 energy modes: radiation, convection, conduction

    Seasons
    • 4 seasons (not just an expensive hotel),
    • equinox means "equal night”,
    • solstices are the extremes (why sacred?)
    • Earth spins counter clockwise when viewed from north pole (think: sun rises in the east)
    • Latitudes are like a ladder, go horizontally (east to west), some short (near the poles), some long (equator)
    • Longitudes are all long, go vertically (north to south), all the same length
    • Seasons are determined by earth tilt, not by distance to the sun
    • Although, Australia (southern hemisphere) summer happens when we are closer to sun in our elliptical orbit, so more extreme summers (tilt + proximity)
    • Albedo-think of Albus (white) Dumbledore, means reflectivity. Earth is about 30%, snow is 95%

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    September 29, 2022
    by admin

    Chapter 3 module 6-8 energy and matter movement

    Module 6: Movement of energy
    Biosphere-all life
    Producer (also primary producer) gets energy from sun or heat directly, also known as autotroph
    example: grass
    Photosynthesis: CO2 + water + energy (heat or light) -> sugars (CHO)
    Reverse process is respiration: Sugars + O2 -> energy + CO2 + water


    Anaerobic respiration (e.g. bacteria) don't use O2, less efficient, older primitive source of energy (pre-oxygen)
    Consumer (heterotroph) consumes other primary autotrophs
    • Primary consumers eat plants (e.g. herbivores)
    • Secondary consumers eat them (carnivores)
    • Tertiary consumers eat other carnivores (algae->zooplankton->fish->eagles)
    Trophe = "nourishment"
    Trophic levels = food levels, see also food web
    • Scavenger-eats dead stuff
    • Detritovore-eats dead stuff that is decaying
    • Decomposers-break down into basic elements
    GPP gross primary productivity= Total amount of solar energy into the system: like gross income in a business
    e.g. all of the money coming into your business
    NPP net primary productivity = GPP minus respiration (think of Maui onions):
    gross income-expenses=net income
    Biomass-total mass of all living things in an ecosystem-odd fact: rain forest soil is the lowest in nutrients and biomass-why?
    Standing crop-total plant biomass (e.g. forest)
    Efficiency is low (around 10%)
    Trophic pyramid: 10x reduction in energy for each level (why?)-vegetarians vs. meat eaters
    So, carnivores (us, wolves) are eating harvesting devices (cows) for autotrophs (grasses):
    Not very efficient, unless you can't digest grass, or it takes too much energy to walk around all day. This IS, however a good argument for global sustainable survival, as the sun will not go away soon, and as long as we have arable (farmable) land to grow plants, we could survive with a global population of 8-10 billion.
    But we'd need access to fresh water...
    Recall: energy->water->food->culture


    Click for full-size image


    Module 7: Movement of Matter
    Biogeochemical cycles: bio=life geo = minerals chemical = chemical cycle = something that rotates

    Hydrologic (water) cycle:
    Heat provides energy for evaporation,
    Plants secrete water as transpiration,
    Condensation is collection of water vapor to drops,
    Precipitation is the falling of these drops as rain, snow, hail etc.
    ETO evapotranspiration: amount of water moving through an ecosystem, usually plants.
    Farmers need to know EtO to know how much water to supply to their crops.
    Eto depends on sunlight, humidity, wind and temperature (think of how these impact transpiration)
    Click for full-size image


    Runoff-just like it sounds
    You will need to know about "transit time" which is the time it takes rain to reach a water body after hitting the ground
    Why is this crucial?
    (you will see this mentioned in the Poisoned Waters video this weekend)

    Carbon cycle: photosynthesis, respiration, exchange, sedimentation, burial, extraction, combustion
    air<->water<->land
    photosynthesis-CO2 to sugar (air to plant structures or fruits-e.g. corn)
    respiration-sugar to CO2
    acidification or exchange-HCO3 (carbonic acid) e.g. seawater changing pH, remember?
    sedimentation-CaCO3 (seashells, limestone) most efficient long term carbon sink (solids are dense)
    burial-just like it sounds, oil, coal, nat gas
    extraction-mining fossil fuels
    combustion-burning fossil fuels with oxygen to release CO2
    Click for full-size image


    Nitrogen cycle:
    6 macronutrients needed by plants: N,P,K, Ca, Mg, S (sulfur becomes part of Methionine, an amino acid)
    NPK from fertilizers
    N is a limiting nutrient
    N fixation is when you can't get Nitrogen off your mind

    quiz

    1. Define N, P, K and how each impacts plants
    2. Define evapotranspiration, condensation and precipitation
    3. Which biogeochemical cycle only has a solid phase in the environment?
    4. What element replaces oxygen in chemosynthesis?

    It also means bringing N2 gas from the atmosphere into the biome, biotically or abiotically (without life)
    abiotic: lightning or burning fossil fuels (high temps) direct to nitrate (NO3) (that interesting smell after rainstorms)
    biotic: nitrogen fixing bacteria: N2 ->NO2 ->NO3 ->NH3 ->NH4 ion (used by producers, it is aqueous)
    commercial N fixation: petrochemicals to form fertilizers (NH3, anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate NH4NO3, which is used in ANFO bombs)
    nitrification: NH4+ ->NO2- ->NO3-
    nitrite kills bacteria (used in preserving meats), but nitrate is a good plant fertilizer (ANFO bombs)
    assimilation: producing amino acids and then proteins (chains of AA)
    Dead stuff: mineralization or ammonification (dead fish smell: NH4+ and amines)
    Vitamins = "vital amines"
    denitrification: NO3- goes to N2O to N2 gas (anaerobic bacteria, swamps)
    Leaching: washing N out of soil
    Click for full-size image


    Phosphorus cycle:
    Mainly rocks, between land and water
    ONLY SOLIDS, NO LIQUID OR GAS PHASE
    biotic: animals uptake PO4--- (see also phosphoric acid H3PO4), turn it into bones, teeth as CaPO4, then back to soil
    abiotic: phosphate sediments in ocean-> become rocks, erosion on land dissolves into watershed
    Humans: phosphate detergents, fertilizers (Dead zones)
    Algal bloom: PO4 -> lots of algae on surface (light) -> these die, fall to the bottom, and as they decompose, they take all O2 from the water (hypoxia)
    Arsenic in bananas---why we cannot use greywater for irrigation
    Click for full-size image


    Ca, Mg and K: dust (Kauai dependent on Gobi desert dust for K)
    Sulfur cycle:
    rocks -> SO4, can become part of methionine
    See also SO2 (vog, acid rain, pollution)
    Click for full-size image

    Here's something interesting:
    Find Sulfur below:

    Click for full-size image
    Ok, now find Oxygen.
    Hydrothermal vents use sulfur instead of oxygen for a thermal (heat) version of photosynthesis called chemosynthesis

    Module 8: Response to disturbances
    Recall negative feedback (stable ships, relationships): greater the disturbance, the greater the restoring force (pendulums too)
    Resistance is how hard it is to move the pendulum (ecosystem) away from center
    Resilience is how fast the pendulum (ecosystem) returns to normal
    Biodiversity and disturbances:
    This is strange stuff:
    Rare disturbances = competition, so only a few species dominate
    Common disturbances = only fast reproducers survive, so low biodiversity
    Intermediate disturbances = highest biodiversity

    Watershed: drainage basin usually leading to a large body of water (Chesapeake watershed is huge):
    https://www.cbf.org/about-the-bay/chesapeake-bay-watershed-geography-and-facts.html

    Click for full-size image
    How do you think this impacts the water quality, phosphates, nitrates and silt in the Chesapeake bay?
    Why are we not allowed above the fences behind Pu'u La'e La'e?
    On Oahu, the watershed is guarded by a barbed wire fence-why?
    How are the Himalayas acting as a watershed?

    Poisoned waters:
    Video:
    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/POISONED_WATERS.mp4
    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/poisoned_waters.m4v
    Weblog page:
    http://physics.hpa.edu/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/973c4/Poisoned_Waters_videoPBS.html

    On campus try these:
    http://physics.local/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/POISONED_WATERS.mp4
    http://physics.local/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/poisoned_waters.m4v
    http://physics.local/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/973c4/Poisoned_Waters_videoPBS.html

    quiz

    1. why is the soil on Kauai so poor, and how does it get its Potassium?
    2. how does the size of the Cheseapeake watershed impact eutrophication in the Chesapeake bay?
    3. what is the difference between resistance and resilience in natural systems?
    4. why do rotting fish smell so bad?


    Summary notes:
    Systems
    • systems are usually connected, exchange matter and/or energy
    • main energy source is our sun, or past suns (e.g. uranium)
    • feedback loops (again)
    • spheres: litho=stone, bio=living, hydro=water, atmo=above
    • geosphere: crust-mantle-core-inner core (spins, no way!)
    • plates-who thought this up? need to understand convection
    • where are oldest parts of crust? trick question
    • subduction zones, mid atlantic ridges (atlantis?)
    • eq: deep near subduction zones, shallow in transform faults
    • mid atlantic ridge: how do we know this? submarines
    • himalayas-how? matterhorn-what?
    • water cycle: evaporation and transpiration (eTO)
    • precipitation-condensation is first (condensation nuclei, e.g. vog)
    • aquifers-underground lakes, low turnover rate (pesticides) Oglalla
    • water can be ground water: aquifer, water table, water lens or surface water
    Cycles
    • conservation of matter (neglect E=mc2)
    • nutrient cycles: carbon, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen COPN
    • primary producers-photosynthesis: CO2, water and light/heat
    • create sugar as stored food, structural element
    • consumers-eat primary producers, decomposers break down waste/detritus
    • cellular respiration (flowers in hospitals) at night
    • carbon also in HCO3- ion (seawater) and CaCO3 (seashells, limestone)
    • greenhouse effect from CO2 captured as plants->oil/coal "carbon bank"
    • phosphorus: rocks and water (stone and sea), erosion, very limited supply in biosphere (Waterloo bones)
    • P only absorbed in aqueous form (aq)
    • too much = eutrophication (also nitrogen) see dead zones
    • eutrophication: too much of a good thing, when algae dies, decomposes, creates hypoxic zones
    • aerobic vs. anaerobic bacteria-wounds
    • nitrogen cycle-NPK
    • N2 to life: lightning and bacteria (N2 to ammonia NH3 then to NO2 and NO3 (plants absorb NO3)
    • denitrifying bacteria change NO2 back to N2 (gas)
    • Haber process
    • See figure 3.30-nitrogen uptake
    • golf courses-Mauna Kea, iBoat

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    December 1, 2022
    by admin

    Weekend questions 2022-2023

    1. Explain how holding your breath changes your blood chemistry, including the chemical formula
    2. Why would adding soap to a pond make water strider insects fall in?
    3. Why does capillary action only take place in very thin spaces?
    4. Acid rain is a combination of what two things?
    5. If the pH of acid rain were 4, how much stronger than water is this?
    6. If the [H+} of a sample were 1ee-8, what would be the pH and pOH?
    7. Is this an acid or a base?
    8. What would be the pH and pOH if the hydrogen concentration was 3ee-4?
    9. Ocean acidification is a multi-step process. Explain
    10. Why would ocean acidification impact corals (chemical, not heat)
    11. Phineas climbs the Eiffel tower and finds a relic with 12.5% of the original radioactivity of Sr90/38. How old is the sample?
    12. While surfing a tidal wave with his microscope, Ferb notices small bacteria multiplying with a doubling time of 3 hours. How many hours will it take to have 64 times the original amount?
    13. The population of Doofania (Dr. Doofenshmirtz's home) has a growth rate of 3.5%. How many years will it take to double the population there?
    14. If the original population in Doofania is 256, how many people will there be in 28 years?
    15. How many if the original population was 512?
    16. How many if the rate were doubled, with original populations of 256 and 512?
    17. Dr. Doofenshmirtz creates a radiation proof suit out of cardboard, with an aluminum foil hat and lead underwear. What parts of him are safe from what types of radiation?
    18. Dr. Doofenshmirtz gave up smoking long ago, but is still in danger from lung cancer. What radioactive element is in cigarette smoke that may have caused this, and how?
    19. Candace finds a platypus that Phineas and Ferb have discovered hiding in their garage, along with ancient bones from other platypii. If the bones are about 15000 years old, how much of the original carbon 14 is in these bones? Where's Perry?
    20. Phineas is explaining to Isabella the difference between rate and base in exponential growth. How does he do this?
    Whose brain was Phineas and Ferb looking for?
    ==================beginning of 2022-2023 notes==============================

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    January 10, 2022
    by admin

    e2: Portland-sense of place

    e2: Portland-sense of place

    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/e2_videos/e2%20transport/5%20Portland-sense%20of%20place.m4v

    1. Morgan Freeman or Brad Pitt?
    2. What is urban sprawl and what technologies enable it?
    3. Portland was one main shipyard producing “Liberty Ships” in WWII. What drove their economy after that?
    4. Portland was on the path of suburban sprawl in the 1960's. What happened?
    5. What does this have to do with “Food Deserts”?
    6. 1973 was a pivotal year there, what happened, driven by which group?
    7. What was the initial reason for the mandate, and what was the final result according to Charlie Hales?
    8. Look up Charlie Hales, what was his job after this film (2009).
    9. How many years before his tram project was the last urban streetcar project in the US?
    10. Explain an urban growth boundary (UGB).
    11. Accessibility vs. mobility is the choice they made, like in Switzerland, as well as other European cities. What do you see in the video that you might also see in Europe?
    12. What things in the video do you recognize that show a bike friendly city?
    13. Who is the first class passenger in Portland, and how does this compare to Los Angeles or other similar city?
    14. What is a “sustainable urban lifestyle”?
    15. Cities in Europe have vibrant city centers, and are great cities to walk around. How is this done in Portland?
    16. Explain "trip behavior".
    17. How much did property values increase in the Pearl district after the trolley went in? Why? (note the amount of glass in each trolley). http://www.explorethepearl.com/
    18. Michael Powell of Powell’s books compares buses (“tire-d” transportation) with permanent tracked transportation-what are the differences according to him?
    19. How did he sell this idea to the property owners there? Was he right?
    20. For what reasons would an electric tram or trolley be greener than a fossil fuel car or even a standard bus?
    21. Portland required that every building have street level shops, and limited parking-why?
    22. Why would people want to live along a trolley line? Why is quiet key to this?
    23. Where in Europe do they also have aerial trams, and do you notice a trend?
    24. How does an aerial tram like at OHSU enable different growth trends?
    25. If the annual growth rate there is 4%, what is the doubling time in years? (Remember the rule of 70)
    26. This film was made in 2009, so what year will the population be doubled from then?
    27. What would be different without the tram (parking, traffic, time in car, development)?
    28. The young mom says “we did not want to spend all that time in the car”. What is she talking about?
    29. Explain "lifestyle migrants".
    30. What is "gentrification"? Where else have you seen this? (hint: look up the term "landed gentry") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification
    31. What does the man mean about a "burlap future”?
    32. What is the difference between aspiration and acquisition?
    33. How does the concept of choice resonate with values in this country? What do you think?
    34. Bring this home: what would you do at HPA to make it more sustainable? What about Waimea? Hawaii in general? Your home?

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    January 7, 2022
    by admin

    APES Sem 2 2021-2022

    APES Sem2

    Housekeeping items:

    • Syllabus reminder: FIRST missed homework is dropped
    • HW fixed at 20% (no effective change for you)
    • Please bring iPads to class
    Overview:
    The biggest challenges your generation will face are sustainability, pollution/climate change and resource constraints
    Recall: energy->water->food->culture
    In semester one, we learned about the building blocks of these concepts.
    In semester two, you will see them integrate more and more...

    Consider:
    Europeans -> The New World
    Earth 2022 -> Mars

    "go west young man"

    Sustainability 2022: Semester two

    1. Conservation/Land use
    2. Energy
    3. Pollution/climate change
    Challenge:
    How can you describe a round staircase to someone without using your hands?
    How can you describe deep nature to someone who has never seen it?

    National parks: positive, motivated by joy of the wilderness and nature
    Sustainability/climate change: negative, based on fear
    Tito: "the climate crisis is the biggest business opportunity in the history of mankind"

    Land Use: Chapter 10, modules 29-30
    Homework: Chapter 10 PQ and chapter questions

    Three main points: Living together, thinking of forever...
    1. Tragedy of the Commons
    2. Conservation movement
    3. Urban Sprawl

    email: GPS ranching-why is this closer to pre-contact buffalo herds?

    Tragedy of the commons (old idea, new article) 1968 Garret Harding KNOW THIS...
    An old 1833 concept from farming villages, article updated in 1968 this to include rivers, streams, ocean, air...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

    Econ students may know this one:
    Externalized costs, externality: shedding financial responsibility for your impact the the whole
    e.g. Minamata: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease

    Conservation movement: Important peeps
    Ralph Waldo Emerson-"Nature" "behind nature, throughout nature, spirit is present" 1837
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson

    Henry David Thoreau-Walden "truth in nature and wilderness over the deceits of urban civilization". 1845
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

    Ansel Adams: Photographer championed the National Parks: 1920-1980
    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/ansel_adams.mp4
    0:00-8:00

    "More than any other artist of the century, he would help transform the meaning of "wilderness" in America and change what people thought and felt about their own land"

    "it's a place that you step into, and you don't know what's going to happen, a place that can surprise you, it's a place where you are small, where being small is not a bad thing, where being small is actually a wonderful thing"
    -Carl Pope, Sierra Club

    "...the world is beautiful, that humanity is part of this larger world, that the concerns of the moment are part but not separate from a larger system of forces that that connect us to all of creation"
    Jonathan Spaulding, Biographer

    Question: How did his photographs change the awareness of the public? People usually care about what they know...


    Aldo Leopold-environmental ethics, wildlife management, conservation, Sand County Almanac (Wisconsin)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Leopold

    John Muir-started the Sierra Club: "wilderness mirrors divinity, nourishes humanity and vivifies the spirit"
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir

    Rachel Carson-silent spring DDT (persistent pesticide, weakens bird egg shells), 1963:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

    MSY: maximum sustainable yield: max renewable output without compromising future
    See: native peoples: "seventh son of seventh son"
    Also: "Sustainability = thinking about forever"
    See diagram in chapter, greatest growth is at 50% of carrying capacity (there's that word again!)

    Protected lands:


    Click for full-size image

    Public lands: often victim of economic predation (e.g. Burma illegal logging)
    Other side: NRDC and others, purchase lands to protect them from predatory practices (e.g. Amazon basin)
    In the US: National Parks are one example of a national recognition of several things:
    1. Spiritual/psychological benefit to nature
    2. Preservation of resources for future generations
    3. Recreation
    4. Habitat preservation for species (can be land, ocean, islands, etc.)

    See also Amboseli in Kenya, Serengeti in Tanzania (Tanganyika+Zanzibar), Kruger park in S. Africa (Afrikaans)
    Public Lands
    In the US, we classify public lands as
    Rangelands-open range, enables some ranching with leases
    National forests-old growth and new growth, limited forestry
    National parks-national treasures, limits on visitors, infrastructure (e.g. Denali)
    National wildlife refuges-usually associated with an endangered species or transit/migration path (e.g. wolves)
    Wilderness areas-no development, often noise abatement as well (think of helicopters in Waipio or Haleakala)

    We have several of these here in Hawaii:
    Kilauea Volcano (Madame Pele)
    Haleakala ("House of the sun")
    Honokohau ("City of Refuge")
    Pearl Harbor
    Pu'u Kohola (Whale Heiau)
    Papa hanau moku a kea-Northwest Hawai'ian Islands NWHI

    Federal lands: owned by the people, but can be leased to individuals
    Click for full-size image

    Two ethics are in competition:
    Resource conservation ethic-maximum use based on greatest good for everyone, usually preservation
    Multiple use lands-designated lands for grazing, timber, minerals, leased to individuals or companies for profit

    Land Management in the US:
    BLM: Bureau of land management
    Grazing, ranching, monitors rangeland health, erosion

    USFS: Us Forest Service
    Manges timber harvesting, where, how, what trees
    Old growth vs. new growth, replanting, clear cut?

    FSC: Forest stewardship council:
    FSC certification: no clear cut, no damage to land, replanting, selective cutting, underbrush considerations
    HUGE debate over underbrush, USFS believes in regular forest fires to deplete the amount of underbrush (as in nature)
    See also California and Australia wildfires: drought, no regular fires, buildup of underbrush
    See Yellowstone fire of 1988-result of overgrowth of underbrush

    Forests: clear cut vs. selective cut
    FSC wood-how different?
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Stewardship_Council
    Fire management: Yellowstone fire 1988
    https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/94114095/series-overview-yellowstone-s-evolution
    USFS prefers many small fires, removing flammable underbrush

    NPS: National park service
    Manages parks for recreation, multiple use ethic, preservation of timber, minerals and "natural curiosities"
    Also significant native peoples monuments (see above)

    FWS: Fish and wildlife service
    Manages fishing and hunting on all public lands

    Know these:
    BLM: Bureau of Land Management
    USFS: US Forest Service
    NPS: National Park Service
    FWS: Fish and Wildlife Service

    NEPA: National Environmental Policy Act 1969 (why then?) mandates an EIS for all development
    EIS (environmental impact statements) are new standard for any project
    ESA endangered species act-often brought in where development could impact ES

    Urban development--------------------------
    Urban sprawl:
    Click for full-size image
    Note impact of autos post WWII on this...

    Solution: Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) ex. Portland, OR
    UGB (Urban Growth Boundary)-see Portland
    Prevents Urban Sprawl (richer folks move to the suburbs, commute, need parking, city dies from the inside, food deserts, etc.)
    Portland Example of urban planning:
    Tom McCall Governor of Oregon, 1967-1975
    Charlie Hales Mayor of Portland 2013-2017

    Videos:

    e2: Portland sense of place

    e2: The green apple



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    January 7, 2022
    by admin

    Land Use: Modules 29-30

    Resources:
    Withgott 6 chapter 13: Urban environment
    Download file "withgott 6.13 urban environment_1.pdf"
    Frog book: Chapter 10: land use, urbanization, sustainable cities
    5 steps to a 5 review:
    Download file "14-land use questions.pdf"

    e2: Portland sense of place

    e2: The green apple


    Three main points: Living together, thinking of forever...
    1. Tragedy of the Commons
    2. Conservation movement
    3. Urban Sprawl

    email: GPS ranching-why is this closer to pre-contact buffalo herds?

    Tragedy of the commons (old idea, new article) 1968 Garret Harding KNOW THIS...
    An old 1833 concept from farming villages, article updated in 1968 this to include rivers, streams, ocean, air...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

    Econ students may know this one:
    Externalized costs, externality: shedding financial responsibility for your impact the the whole
    e.g. Minamata: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease

    Conservation movement: Important peeps
    Ralph Waldo Emerson-"Nature" "behind nature, throughout nature, spirit is present" 1837
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson

    Henry David Thoreau-Walden "truth in nature and wilderness over the deceits of urban civilization". 1845
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

    Ansel Adams: Photographer championed the National Parks: 1920-1980
    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/ansel_adams.mp4
    0:00-8:00

    "More than any other artist of the century, he would help transform the meaning of "wilderness" in America and change what people thought and felt about their own land"

    "it's a place that you step into, and you don't know what's going to happen, a place that can surprise you, it's a place where you are small, where being small is not a bad thing, where being small is actually a wonderful thing"
    -Carl Pope, Sierra Club

    "...the world is beautiful, that humanity is part of this larger world, that the concerns of the moment are part but not separate from a larger system of forces that that connect us to all of creation"
    Jonathan Spaulding, Biographer
    Question: How did his photographs change the awareness of the public? People usually care about what they know...
    -----
    Land use:
    MSY: maximum sustainable yield: max renewable output without compromising future
    See: native peoples: "seventh son of seventh son"
    Also: "Sustainability = thinking about forever"



    Protected lands:


    Public lands: often victim of economic predation (e.g. Burma illegal logging)
    Other side: NRDC and others, purchase lands to protect them from predatory practices (e.g. Amazon basin)
    In the US: National Parks are one example of a national recognition of several things:
    1. Spiritual/psychological benefit to nature
    2. Preservation of resources for future generations
    3. Recreation
    4. Habitat preservation for species (can be land, ocean, islands, etc.)

    See also Amboseli in Kenya, Serengeti in Tanzania (Tanganyika+Zanzibar), Kruger park in S. Africa (Afrikaans)
    Public Lands
    In the US, we classify public lands as
    Rangelands-open range, enables some ranching with leases
    National forests-old growth and new growth, limited forestry
    National parks-national treasures, limits on visitors, infrastructure (e.g. Denali)
    National wildlife refuges-usually associated with an endangered species or transit/migration path (e.g. wolves)
    Wilderness areas-no development, often noise abatement as well (think of helicopters in Waipio or Haleakala)

    We have several of these here in Hawaii:
    Kilauea Volcano (Madame Pele)
    Haleakala ("House of the sun")
    Honokohau ("City of Refuge")
    Pearl Harbor
    Pu'u Kohola (Whale Heiau)
    Papa hanau moku a kea-Northwest Hawai'ian Islands NWHI








    Two ethics are in competition:
    Resource conservation ethic-maximum use based on greatest good for everyone, usually preservation
    Multiple use lands-designated lands for grazing, timber, minerals

    Changes:


    Let's check out these guys again:
    English folks might recall Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman
    Conservation movement: Important peeps
    Ralph Waldo Emerson-"Nature" "behind nature, throughout nature, spirit is present"
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson

    Henry David Thoreau-Walden "Truth in nature and wilderness over the deceits of urban civilization"
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

    Teddy Roosevelt- ca. 1900, National Parks
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt
    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/national%20parks/
    First two minutes, start again at 7:00-10:00
    Note influence of railroads in parks as well as all lands in the west (Leland Stanford, for example)
    "Americans think 100 years is a long time, and Europeans think 100 miles is a long distance..."

    Aldo Leopold-environmental ethics, wildlife management, conservation, Sand County Almanac (Wisconsin)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Leopold

    John Muir-started the Sierra Club: "wilderness mirrors divinity, nourishes humanity and vivifies the spirit"
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir

    Rachel Carson-silent spring DDT (persistent pesticide, weakens bird egg shells), 1963:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

    Land Management in the US:
    BLM: Bureau of land management
    Grazing, ranching, monitors rangeland health, erosion

    USFS: Us Forest Service
    Manges timber harvesting, where, how, what trees
    Old growth vs. new growth, replanting, clear cut?

    FSC: Forest stewardship council:
    FSC certification: no clear cut, no damage to land, replanting, selective cutting, underbrush considerations
    HUGE debate over underbrush, USFS believes in regular forest fires to deplete the amount of underbrush (as in nature)
    See also California and Australia wildfires: drought, no regular fires, buildup of underbrush
    See Yellowstone fire of 1988-result of overgrowth of underbrush

    Forests: clear cut vs. selective cut
    FSC wood-how different?
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Stewardship_Council
    Fire management: Yellowstone fire 1988
    https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/94114095/series-overview-yellowstone-s-evolution
    USFS prefers many small fires, removing flammable underbrush

    NPS: National park service
    Manages parks for recreation, multiple use ethic, preservation of timber, minerals and "natural curiosities"
    Also significant native peoples monuments (see above)

    FWS: Fish and wildlife service
    Manages fishing and hunting on all public lands

    Know these:
    BLM: Bureau of Land Management
    USFS: US Forest Service
    NPS: National Park Service
    FWS: Fish and Wildlife Service

    NEPA: National Environmental Policy Act 1969 (why then?) mandates an EIS for all development
    EIS (environmental impact statements) are new standard for any project
    ESA endangered species act-often brought in where development could impact ES

    Urban sprawl:


    UGB (Urban Growth Boundary)-see Portland
    Prevents Urban Sprawl (richer folks move to the suburbs, commute, need parking, city dies from the inside, food deserts, etc.)
    Portland Example of urban planning:
    Tom McCall Governor of Oregon, 1967-1975
    Charlie Hales Mayor of Portland 2013-2017
    E2 video: Portland: Sense of Place....listen for Brad Pitt:
    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/e2_videos/e2%20transport/5%20Portland-sense%20of%20place.m4v

    weblog withgott 6.6

    http://physics.hpa.edu/groups/apenvironmentalscience/weblog/19b82/Withgott_66_Sustainable_Development.html

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    November 29, 2021
    by admin

    e2: food miles

    e2: Food miles


    e2: Food miles

    1. Look up Michael Pollan: what books has he written?
    2. What is the fossil fuel to food ratio he cites?
    3. Why is this so high?
    4. What did it used to be?
    5. What does he mean by “sustainable agriculture”?
    6. Why did WWII give us a new form of agriculture?
    7. Look this up: in 1895, what portion of our workforce in our country was farmers? What is it today?
    8. Look up Lancaster PA, and who lives there?
    9. Local farmers may not be able to sell to Foodland and other grocery stores because of guarantees of supply. Where can the farmers then sell their produce, and what does this imply?
    10. When you go into Foodland and see the sandwiches and other wrapped foods, where were these prepared? Why? Why is this so nasty?
    11. Starbucks baked goods used to be baked here in Waimea (Mamane Bakery, behind the Montessori school). They are now baked on the mainland and shipped here frozen. Why does this make sense for Starbucks, and what impact does this have on you?
    12. McDonalds gets their food products from the mainland in huge truck and air shipments. Why do they do this?
    13. In the video, why is a restaurant that buys local food better than the examples above?
    14. Do you know of a restaurant here in Waimea that does this? What about our cafeteria?
    15. Why would Amish farmers be more sustainable farmers than other modern farmers?
    16. How many miles does the average food item travel in the video? Add 2500 miles for us, what is the new total?
    17. Why would they fly salmon to China and back?
    18. Local farmers can supply “food baskets” also known as a “CSA”. What are these and why are they more sustainable? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agriculture
    19. Is “eating local” always a good thing? What are these folks known as?
    20. What is the difference between a solar and a fossil fuel food supply?
    21. What percentage of our income do we spend on our food? Is this the same in Hawaii? In Waimea? Why?
    22. Where does most of the cost of food go?
    23. Why do you think folks do not cook the way Pollan suggests?
    24. Contrast the amount of each dollar going to a farmer in the past and now. How does localization change this?
    25. Ok, now think of your home. What could you do differently?

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    December 29, 2021
    by admin

    Food: Modules 31-33

    Weekend: Unit 4 Zipgrade
    Next week: review week, finals (using zipgrade forms)
    Modules 29 and 30 on land in January

    Recall our main themes: energy->water->food->culture

    Food!
    Three main groups:
    Proteins: always include Nitrogen
    Carbohydrates: CHO in chains (starches) or simple (sugars)
    Fats: CHO again, but in a special branch structure (glycol backbone) that is good for energy storage and insulation (e.g. killer whales, eskimos)

    Proteins: complex molecules of CHO and N. Look up amino acids, note the common structure.
    Now look up the amino acid methionine. What element does it contain as well? Why do rotten eggs, swamps (and Kilauea volcano) stink?

    CHO=carbohydrates (clever name), usually in a chain, short chains are sugars (used for fuel), longer ones are starches and can be used for structures (e.g. cellulose in plants) or pasta...
    smallest: sugars, all end in -ose (glucose, sucrose) LOOK THESE UP, CHECK OUT THEIR MOLECULE SHAPE
    glucose is a "monosaccharide" created by photosynthesis (next chapter)
    longer chains: starches (rice, pasta) slowly digested (see diabetics, and glycemic index)
    structural CHO: cellulose-little boxes with goo inside, need enzymes to break these down (cows)
    ENZYMES ALL END IN -ASE

    Fats/lipids: same chemical structure as CHO, but built along a glycol (alcohol) backbone.
    If the fats have long carbon chains with only single bonds, they are saturated (lots of Hydrogen atoms) and can hold together (e.g. animal fat)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturated_fat
    If the long chains have double bonds and don't fit together, they melt easier (e.g. oils) and are called "unsaturated", usually better for your health.
    n.b. McDonalds® got into real hot water a while ago for frying all of their stuff in "supersaturated fats". Ugh...

    Notes: Chapter 11 FR
    Overview:

    • Frog 12.3 Agriculture
    • Frog 12.4 Food Production
    • Ch. 12 assessment
    • FR ch. 11 feeding the world
    • mod 31 nutritional needs
    • mod 32 industrial ag-insecticides, GMO
    • mod 33 sustainable farming
    Big picture:
    • Trophic pyramids in nature are sustainable
    • Planet is nearing carrying capacity (K)
    • Think of how many "earths" your global footprint represents
    • To meet this food demand, current farming and fishing is industrial, not sustainable

    Mod 31: Nutritional needs-what humans on our planet need, and what they lack
    Read the case study p. 373-how is this like a trophic pyramid in nature?
    Undernutrition: lack of calories
    Malnutrition: lack of critical part of diet, usually protein (Kwashiorkor)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwashiorkor
    Food security: not just in lesser developed countries ("LDC"), also in the US
    "Food deserts"-what are these?
    Famine: one of these impacting a large group, often from crop failure, drought or war/displacement
    Overnutrition: common in the US, look up the US obesity rate-how is this determined? Why? Seen any food ads lately?
    Look up US obesity rate-----
    Meat diet: high in protein, also in fat (energy store) and cholesterol-these contribute to heart disease
    Wait-Eskimos eat lots of blubber, why don't they have heart disease? How is this different from Kalahari bush tribes?
    Climate
    Wait, wait-what happened to Japanese health care system when they moved from their traditional diet?
    What impact does this have globally?
    Diet for a small planet 1971: planet can sustain population using fewer calories while supplying protein, vitamins and calories. Not by relying on meat.
    Vitamins="vital amines"
    Food energy subsidy (cost factor):
    20 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of beef (20:1 factor, or subsidy factor 20x)
    2.8 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of chicken (2.8:1 factor, or subsidy factor of 2.8)
    Better to eat beef, chicken, fish or tofu? (you need protein in some form)
    Food miles:
    Average 1240 miles from farm to table (more here, unless you shop at the farmer's market)
    e2: Food miles

    Mod 32: Industrial Farming (and fishing)
    Agribusiness: just what it sounds like, the larger conglomerates taking over instead of smaller privately owned family farms. Often use monoculture crops to increase profits (economy of scale), as well as patented seeds and herbicides (e.g. "roundup ready corn")

    Hybrid crops vs. GMO crops:
    Started as a good thing: Hybrid crops
    "Selective breeding" works for animals (dogs, etc.) and crops called "hybrid crops" created by mixing pollen from one breed of plant (e.g. large kernel corn) with another breed of the same plant (e.g. short stalk corn) to form a "hybrid".
    Green Revolution, Norman Borlaug-Mexican famine averted by development of hybrid (not GMO) wheat, called dwarf wheat (large kernel, short stalk).dwarf wheat

    GMO crops:
    in the beginning were just to withstand frost, now into a larger patent issue with GMO seeds and "round up ready crops"
    What is the impact on lesser developed countries of this business model?

    Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are different: they are done by splicing one part of a gene from an organism (like a frost resistant bacteria) into a totally different species (like a tomato) to make it frost resistant.
    "IP" means intellectual property
    Monsanto spends money creating GMOs, so they patent the process, meaning using their seeds requires an IP license from them (just like software).
    If your farm has these seeds, intentionally or by accident, you have to pay them.
    You also cannot "re-use" seeds in the next season without paying for them.
    This is just like software in that you could buy the software or pay a monthly fee to use it.
    Which makes more money for the company?
    What is the impact on poorer countries?
    Roundup ready corn: seeds genetically modified to resist roundup (a herbicide)
    Result: plant their seeds, spray their herbicide and save money on weeding, more crops, more money (to whom?
    Issue: exposure to roundup (a carcinogen) and possible impacts of mutated food
    Labeling? Where is this done so far?
    GMO from Food inc.


    High Fructose Corn Syrup: HFCS
    Corn Lobby is very powerful (Iowa=presidential primaries)
    Corn: HFCS (food, meat, fish) and Corn Ethanol (energy, fuel)
    HFCS is in everything
    Corn is used to feed cattle, pork, poultry, even fish
    Cattle are not used to metabolizing corn, it makes them sick
    Bad for humans, increases incidence of diabetes
    HFCS from Food inc.

    Main problems:
    • Irrigation-desertification
    • Pesticides-persistent organic pollutants (POPs)-like in your water hunt
    • Fertilizers-eutrophication
    Waterlogging: too much water in the soil, roots die (see hydroponics demo at elab, cycles water and air)
    Salinization/desertification: using well water for irrigation, salts build up in the soil, infertile soil results
    Soil degradation:
    Dirt 00-8:00
    Look up Wangari Maathai

    Pesticides and herbicides: can be persistent or not (DDT, round up)
    Invented during WWII to kill humans (nerve gases, nazis), ("homicides")
    Modified to kill pests ("pesticides") or insects ("insecticides")
    Special cases include rodent poisons ("rodenticides") and others, like plants ("herbicides")

    Pesticide resistance-much like COVID: genetic variation in a rapidly multiplying pathogen will eventually overcome the stress (recall evolution) by replicating only those with immunity to the stress (vaccine, pesticide, drug resistant TB)

    Here's one pesticide that changed malaria around the world: DDT:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
    Inorganic fertilizers: also something from war (Haber process, WWI)
    Haber process enabled nitrogen from the air to be chemically grouped with other compounds like
    Ammonium nitrate: NH4NO3
    This process uses huge amounts of petrochemicals, so these fertilizers are attached to the cost of oil (not coal)
    Ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (diesel) can also be combined to make explosives, look up ANFO bombs and terrorism.

    Fishing:
    Aquaculture means fish or other water animal farmed in the ocean
    Hydroponics means growing plants in a water/air medium
    Fisheries: population of fish, look up Atlantic Cod fisheries collapse in 1990
    Bycatch: unnecessary death of animals caught in fishing nets/traps (dolphins, sharks, etc.)

    Mod 33: Sustainable agriculture (fishing too)
    Desertification (see above)
    intercropping vs. monocropping, see "the three sisters"
    Contour cropping: saves space, reduces runoff, preserves top soil (e.g. our garden, most of Asia)
    No-till ag: same idea, retains organic material in topsoil, reduces erosion by wind and water
    IPM: integrated pest management (see Lalamilo Farmers)
    Organic agriculture (also mentioned in Portlandia and Colin the Chicken)
    More than just N-P-K, also micronutrients, slower release time, low salinity
    CAFO: concentrated animal feed operation (e.g. chickens, pigs, cattle)
    Usually inorganic feed (purines), hormones and other drugs

    Methyl xanthines: caffeine, theobromine, theophylline
    evolved plant poisons for insects:
    • Xanthine: group name
    • Caffeine: energy drinks, coffee, soft drinks (to offset drowsiness from insulin spike)
    • Theobromine: chocolate
    • Theophylline: tea (also a bronchodilator-helps breathing)
    Actually, almost anything that ends in -ine is usually a plant poison evolved to kill insects:
    • nicotine: tobacco
    • caffeine: coffee, tea
    • cocaine: coca plants

    0 comments

    November 19, 2021
    by admin

    Poisoned Waters, part Deux

    Poisoned Waters-Frontline Video

    Video is here:

    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/POISONED_WATERS.mp4

    High quality version is here:

    http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/poisoned_waters/poisoned_waters.m4v

    You may find it helpful to download this into your own computer: hold the option key while clicking on the link.

    Context:

    • Water Pollution-air pollution-climate change
    • Watersheds, transit time
    • water pollution:continuity, local until ocean,

    Segments:

    Segment 1: Chesapeake bay: 00-45:00

    • Chesapeake watershed
    • EPA CWA 1970
    • Perdue/hog Ag farms, Eutrophication

    Segment 2: Potomac River: 45:00-54:00

    • Endocrine disrupters-drinking water

    Segment 3: Puget Sound: 54:00-1:33:00

    • Bioaccumulation-PCB Killer Whales
    • Boeing-PCBs from runways
    • Runoff-water transit time King County

    Segment 4: FairFax County, VA: 1:33:00-1:54:00

    • Tyson’s corner-transit time, sediment runoff
    • Loudon county-traffic planning
    • Arlington-urban planning

    Questions:

    Chesapeake Bay

    1. Why is it useful to get the historical view of the craggy old fishermen?
    2. How are the fish an indicator species?
    3. How large is the Chesapeake watershed?
    4. Why is this bay uniquely vulnerable?
    5. What causes dead zones in the film?
    6. What is the global trend in dead zones? where?
    7. What three basic functions of the bay will likely be lost to your generation?
    8. What was different 40 years ago?
    9. What was the cause and effect process of Earth Day and the EPA?
    10. Did Nixon back the clean water act? Explain.
    11. What were the key tenets of the CWA?
    12. What were the initial actions of the EPA?
    13. RFK jr. says he could not swim in the Hudson, Charles or Potomac. Where are these?
    14. Why did you have to take a shower if you fell into these rivers?
    15. What was the Potomac point source pollution source described in the film?
    16. What is BNR and how does it work?
    17. What is not removed from human wastewater with BNR that concerns us?
    18. How did Reagan’s policies impact the EPA and pollution regulation?
    19. What is “voluntary compliance” and did it work? explain.


    Factory farms

    1. What is the biggest danger with concentrated animal farms/ CAFOs (poultry, pigs, cows)?
    2. Look up why we have different names for the same animals: cow/beef,chicken/poultry, pig/pork
    3. Why is it advantageous for Perdue to subcontract chicken operations?
    4. What is vertical integration?
    5. What was the national response to cheap chicken?
    6. If you were to put chicken manure on your garden, you could burn your plants. why?
    7. On the way downhill to the coast, there is an egg factory that went out of business, who now sells “manure compost”. Where did this come from, and how is it a good deal for them?
    8. Why does not Perdue own the chicken waste, if they own the chickens? How does the Perdue guy dodge the problem?
    9. What is the difference between city waste and ag waste?
    10. What does the chicken guy say about deer?
    11. What did the chicken lobby in Maryland (Eastern shore) do about pollution regulation? why?
    12. How is this similar to the Iowa corn ethanol lobby?
    13. RFK Jr. describes two things: externalized costs and subsidies. What does he mean by these?

    Endocrine disrupters

    1. Why are not endocrine disrupters part of the clean water act?
    2. What is intersex in the male bass? what causes this?
    3. How does the concept of river continuity impact endocrine disrupters?
    4. Do they need to be very concentrated to be effective?
    5. A person flushes birth control pills (hormones) or other drugs down the drain. How can this impact someone living many miles downstream?
    6. Why are these hormones not filtered by water treatment plants?
    7. What is “synergism”? Why is it critical here?

    Puget Sound

    1. How cold is the water in Puget Sound? Why is this relevant?
    2. Why do the apex predators have the highest concentration of PCB?
    3. What is a sentinel species? why is this relevant?
    4. Which population of humans is now showing similar health effects?
    5. What is Superfund, who funds it?
    6. What is the biggest liability problem with the Boeing dioxin situation?
    7. What is the concept of “deep pockets”?
    8. Why would native Americans be the indicator species in the Duomish river?
    9. Is South Park (not the tv show) upper income or lower, immigrant or not? Why is this important?
    10. On the AP exam, you will be expected to know all about Love Canal. How is this similar?
    11. What do you think is coming out of the pipe underwater in the video?
    12. Why are “impervious surfaces” so bad for the Puget Sound?
    13. Why do folks get upset about oceanic oil spills and not the stuff you see in the video?
    14. What is the difference in "transit time" for rain water hitting concrete vs. soil?
    15. Ron Sims has enemies in King county. Who?
    16. How is the Growth Management Act/Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) similar to the Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB) concept in Portland Oregon (we'll see this in the Portland e2 video)
    17. Look up the CAO now. How is it going?

    Fairfax

    1. Look up Tyson’s corner. What did it look like in 1945?
    2. Would Tyson’s corner have been successful without cars?
    3. How is Tyson’s corner like Los Angeles?
    4. How is Arlington different from Tyson’s corner?
    5. In a sense, US cities are learning to become more like older European cities. Why are they different?
    6. What is the meaning of the phrase “canary in the coal mine” and where did this term come from?
    7. According to the narrator and Governor of Washington, what is a necessary part of the solution?
    8. What is your part in this future?
    Summary questions:
    1. You have chosen the water treatment manager for a small town in Doofania that gets its water from a river, with Uglyopolis upstream and Ya-ya town downstream. What steps would you take to make sure you and the other towns are getting clean water, and describe impact of an upstream sewage plant in Uglyopolis and a nuclear power plant on the river in Ya-ya town.

    2. From the Poisoned Waters Frontline video, choose one of the stories and explain why it is important to you, what it explained, and how it relates to your work.

    0 comments

    November 14, 2021
    by admin

    Modules 26-28 Water ch. 9

    Recall:

    Energy->Water->Food->Culture
    (Also Chapter 12 in Froggie book)

    Water: key points

    Section one: What is it, where is it:
    Freshwater, saltwater, how it moves, aquifers and reservoirs, impact of climate change, water wars
    Section two: Pollution:
    Often human driven (anthropogenic): Nutrient, thermal, BOD, sediment
    Almost always human driven: Pathogens, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, radioactive chemicals
    Section three: Water Quality index:
    DO, BOD, pH, temp, turbidity, conductivity, nitrates (NO3), phosphates (PO4)

    Section one: What is it, where is it?

    Where is the water? Note: 97% salt water
    How does it get there?

    Click for full-size image
    Our volcanic island is a bit different: A shield volcano
    Click for full-size image
    Water "boxes" on our planet (your planet may vary):
    Click for full-size image

    Aquifers: open or closed ("captive")
    Click for full-size image

    Huge Ogallala aquifer-note recharge time is in centuries, pesticides in Nebraska, cancer rates there are very high...

    Click for full-size image
    Water diversion schemes, usually rivers:
    Look up Three Gorges Dam in China

    Two emerging critical issues for China due to climate crisis:
    • Pearl river delta and salt intrusion (sea level rise): gradual slope, so 1 meter of sea-level rise is many km of salt intrusion, so no more rice farming in that area
    • Vanishing Himalayan Glaciers: no farming in western China, no annual flow through their two main rivers
    Glaciers
    Glaciers are the "water towers" for all of Asia...
    Rivers impacted:
    Ganges, Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Indu, Salween,

    Another example: Aral Sea (asia minor)

    Click for full-size image
    Notable Water disputes: Energy wars, water wars, then food wars...

    Click for full-size image

    Section two: Water Pollution
    Big ideas:
    1. Rivers are continuous, so easier to find sources along the route (continuity analysis: all sources add to total)
    2. Groundwater is harder to determine point sources, as flow is over larger area (not confined by river banks) and there is no continuity analysis possible (we don't know sources and sinks)
    3. Oceans are the hardest to trace, and impact everyone eventually, just like the atmosphere, only without the rain, and it is wetter. And full of fish.
    Major Water Pollution categories:

    Click for full-size image

    Water Pollutant list: Common culprits

    Click for full-size image
    Industrial farming: note nitrate levels:

    Why is there a hypoxic zone there?
    Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD):
    Better diagram:

    Click for full-size image


    Note that temperature changes DO (dissolved oxygen) content, so does physical agitation (aeration).
    Section three: Water Quality Index:

    http://www.water-research.net/index.php/water-treatment/water-monitoring/monitoring-the-quality-of-surfacewaters

    http://www.water-research.net/watrqualindex/index.htm

    http://www.pathfinderscience.net/stream/cproto4.cfm
    Calculation worksheet:
    http://www.pathfinderscience.net/stream/forms/WQI_worksheet.pdf

    Main case studies-each related to a form of human pollution:
    Case 1: High turbidity
    Causes: erosion of topsoils, till farming, no cover crops, e.g. dustbowl in the US
    Impact: poor light transmission, so low photosynthesis, low DO

    Case 2: Low Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
    Causes: Thermal pollution, e.g. power plants on rivers

    Case 3: Eutrophication (high N and/or P)
    Causes: Fertilizers, animal waste, e.g. Mississippi dead zone, Chesapeake bay

    Chesapeake bay is the perfect storm of these three:
    1. Warm water: shallow, so no cool lower zone away from sunlight, dissolved solids turn visible light into heat
    2. High Turbidity: watershed runoff from rivers to the Appalachian range and north to NY state
    3. Eutrophication: chicken and pig farms, runoff from farms along watershed

    See also point source and non-point source pollution (from Poisoned Waters video, remember the Deer?)

    Important: cooler water holds dissolved oxygen better (fishermen know this, so do the fish).

    Water Quality Lab:

    Tests: Probe sets

    • Turbidity sensor: passes light through a small vial, measures light that passes, low light=high turbidity
    • Conductivity: passes electric current through sample, proportional to salt content
    • Temperature: warmer water has lower DO
    • Dissolved Oxygen: amount of oxygen dissolved in the sample
    • pH: acid/base tendency

    Tests: dip strips:

    • Alkalinity
    • pH
    • Hardness (calcium/mineral content)
    • Iron
    • Copper
    • Lead
    • Nitrate
    • Nitrite
    • Chlorine


    Lab samples

    1. Post waterfall
    2. Post power plant
    3. Everglades close to ocean
    4. Post sewage plant
    5. Best fishing spot
    6. Mine tailings runoff
    7. Snow melt river
    8. Mississippi river
    9. Chesapeake river
    10. Flood after monsoon rains
    11. Golf course runoff
    12. Eutrophied lake

    Metrics:
    • DO
    • BOD
    • pH
    • temperature
    • turbidity
    • conductivity
    • nitrates
    • phosphates
    Simulated locations:
    Samples:
    Sample A
    • DO:1.5
    • BOD:low
    • pH:7
    • temperature:30°C
    • turbidity:high
    • conductivity:low
    • nitrates:high
    • phosphates:high

    Sample B
    • DO:6
    • BOD:low
    • pH:7
    • temperature:10°C
    • turbidity-low
    • conductivity-low
    • nitrates-low
    • phosphates-low

    Sample C
    • DO: 4
    • BOD:low
    • pH:8
    • temperature:25°C
    • turbidity: high
    • conductivity: high
    • nitrates: high
    • phosphates: high

    Sample D-
    • DO: 2
    • BOD: high
    • pH:5
    • temperature: 28°C
    • turbidity:high
    • conductivity: low
    • nitrates: low
    • phosphates: high

    Sample E
    • DO: 2
    • BOD:low
    • pH:2
    • temperature:20°C
    • turbidity:high
    • conductivity: high
    • nitrates: low
    • phosphates: low

    Sample F
    • DO: 1
    • BOD: high
    • pH: 4
    • temperature: 30°C
    • turbidity: high
    • conductivity: high
    • nitrates: high
    • phosphates: high

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    November 7, 2021
    by admin

    Soils Lab

    Demo: soil percolation
    Physical tests:
    • visual inspection (color, grain size)
    • manual inspection (tilth, moisture content)
    • soil size percentages (sifting test)
    Chemical tests:
    • pH
    • N: Nitrogen
    • P: Phosphorus
    • K: Potassium (Kalium)

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    November 7, 2021
    by admin

    Lab Format

    Title: what the lab is about

    Background: some information to give context to your reader

    Purpose: what you hope to study

    Materials: everything needed for the experiment

    Procedure: what you do with these things to study the purpose

    Data: any numbers, charts, tables or information using numbers

    Observations: anything not explained by your numbers above

    Error Analysis (optional, but required in college): what went wrong, possible reasons or explanations, when proving something or synthesizing something, what is your yield, percent error, and why

    Conclusions: think back to your purpose-what did you discover, how would you improve upon this in the future, what lessons could be shared with others?


    Example:

    Title: Making Chocolate chip cookies

    Background: Home made chocolate cookies are the best, so making them at home is a necessary skill

    Purpose: To make chocolate chip cookies at home

    Materials: flour, sugar, butter, sugar, vanilla, sugar, chocolate chips (nuts optional, but yucky)

    Procedure: Pre-heat oven to 550°F, mix ingredients, test for taste, put blobs on greased cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes.

    Data: 12 totally burned cookies, 25 grams each

    Observations: cookies were burnt to a crisp, inedible and quite stinky

    Error analysis: temperature was too high, baking time was too long

    Conclusions: next time we try this, we should reduce temp and cooking time

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    October 31, 2021
    by admin

    Modules 24-25 earth and soils

    Module 24: Earth Science
    Key points:
    • All elements up to Iron on the periodic table came from the big bang
    • Earth was formed from materials created by first generation stars going supernova
    • The core of the earth is made up of a rotating solid core surrounded by a liquid core
    • The inner core creates our magnetic field, which reverses periodically
    • Layers: crust-mantle-outer core-inner core
    • Uranium in the core produces heat that travels to the surface by convection
    • Tectonic plates on the surface move on top of the sticky asthenosphere because of this convection
    • Spreading zones are were these plates are created, subduction zones are where they dive under others
    • Subduction zones create trenches in the ocean and andesitic volcanoes (sticky lava, pointy cones)
    • Hot spots in the crust can create basaltic volcanic islands like the one we are on (runny lava, broad cones)
    • Earthquakes include P (primary, compression) waves and S (secondary, shear) waves
    • P waves are faster and go through solids and liquids, S waves only travel through solids
    First, there was the big bang (see the cute video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzAOhyOtfqc)
    The only thing at first was Hydrogen, which is just a proton and an electron, sometimes a neutron making isotopes of Hydrogen
    Stars formed from this hydrogen, and through fusion created all of the elements up until Iron (Fe)
    Look this up on your periodic table------https://ptable.com/#Properties
    Eventually, these stars expanded and then collapsed...
    Smaller stars became neutron stars or various versions of these
    Huge ones (15x our sun size) exploded and created all of the elements after Fe (check the periodic table again)
    so,
    Any element in you below Fe on the table came from an exploding star
    cool...
    NASA and other folks are really interested in two things now: exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) and asteroids
    https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/23/world/asteroid-bennu-sample-update-scn-trnd/index.html
    Why?
    Well, if we know what asteroids are made of, we have a clue about what materials (e.g. water) that were around when the solar system formed.
    From this info, we can look for those elements in other solar systems, and look for life there.
    Back to our earth...
    This is how our solar system formed. Our earth was molten for a long time, then cooled to become solid-mostly.
    Since it is also made up of Uranium and other things that combine to create heat, our planet is still really hot deep down.
    A minister named Ussher (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ussher_chronology) worked backwards from the molten state to solid state of the earth to guess that the earth was created one Sunday afternoon in 4004 BC.
    We was not stupid, he just did not know about Uranium, and our molten core...
    Here's what we know the earth to look like (check this out on your globes too):
    Layers: (onion boy)
    Core-Mantle-Crust-think of an apple



    The core is actually two bits: solid inner iron and nickel, liquid outside that bit. It spins, giving us a weak magnetic field which switches direction every few thousand years. Remember this, it comes up later...
    How do we know this? Nuclear bomb testing and our global seismic sensor network.
    How?
    Two key clues about the earth came from military conflict: one from WWII and another from the cold war, when everyone was building bigger and bigger bombs.
    First the cold war part:
    We set up seismic sensors called seismographs all over the world to spy on Russian and Chinese nuclear ("A-Bomb", fission) and thermonuclear ("H-Bomb", Fusion) bomb testing to see how powerful they were.
    You next need to know that there are two main types of earthquake wave: P or "primary" waves which are compression waves. and S waves "secondary waves" that are transverse, like shaking a slinky.
    P waves are faster, and go through solids or liquids, but at slightly different velocities.
    S waves are slower, and can only travel through solids.
    So,
    Here's what they saw:
    This data was found by spying on atomic bomb tests in the 1950s, not because we wanted to know about the guts of our planet...

    Now, to the WWII part...
    Submarines like to hide underwater, so planes and ships can't find them.
    So, during WWII, our side tried dragging little magnetic sensing torpedo thingys from behind their ships, hoping to detect submarines. (they later used airplanes too).
    Here's what they found:
    What the heck is this?

    This might help:

    Click for a full-size image

    Ok, let's break this down: between England and the US, they found stripes of North then South weak magnetic fields.
    When they got to the middle of the Atlantic (about where Iceland is on the map above), the pattern reversed.
    Huh?
    That's what they said too...
    Remember the shifting magnetic field every few thousand years?
    As the magma came out of the earth in the molten state, it solidified in the magnetic field of that time, so the newest lava was along the center of the ocean (under Iceland too).

    Ok, now shift quickly to a meteorologist named Alfred Wegener. Meteorologist is a fancy name for a person who studies the weather.
    He cut out the continents on a map (like, with scissors) and noticed that South America and Africa fit nicely together.
    Try this on your globe----
    Everyone in the geology community told him he was nuts.
    He later froze to death in Greenland, but I digress...
    Then, these strange magnetic stripe thingys showed up from the ships dragging those magnetic torpedoes.
    ...and it proved he was RIGHT:
    Remember how hot is was in the earth core?
    That heat rises to the surface as magma (say like Dr. Evil), just like the Hadley, Ferrel and Polar cells do:
    Click for full-size image

    Remember the earth's magnetic field changing?


    Click for a full-size image

    Check out this diagram: note the red (spreading) and the blue (subducting), esp. look at Chile---->

    Click for a full-size image
    So, connecting all of these dots, the plates are floating on the magma, some created at the mid-Atlantic ridge, others diving down under others in subduction zones.
    ...what about those subduction zones?
    What mountains are in Chile?
    Volcanoes are the key:
    Two kinds of volcanoes: Andesitic (pointy), Basaltic (runny, look out your window)
    Andesite-from pressure and heat as plates subduct (sticky, high silica content, e.g. Andes mountains)
    Basalt-from ocean crust, lots of water, makes for weak, runny magma, formed as magma pushes through watery ocean plates
    Subduction zones:



    Note the sticky stuff boiling up in red-this is why the Andesitic volcanoes are sticky, and always found near subduction zones (Andes, Cascades, Japan, Italy, etc.)
    Note also the trench where the subduction zone goes down: this is the origin of the Chilean/Peruvian trench we covered in the El Nino notes, as well as the deepest part of the ocean: the Marianas Trench, which is 7 MILES deep. Whoa!

    Let's review the geological players:
    Magma-(Dr. Evil voice here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVo1S52xdpI)
    Asthenosphere-"sticky rock" (from Greek ἀσθενής asthenḗs 'weak' + "sphere")
    Lithosphere-floating rock (litho = stone) (Ancient Greek: λίθος [lithos] for "rocky", and σφαίρα [sphaira] for "sphere")
    Continents-even more floaty, made of lighter rock (granite) that formed from the interaction of magma with oceans

    Plates are large, float on the Asthenosphere
    Continents are like rafts on the Asthenosphere, more buoyant than the plates
    The plates can slide under each other (subduction zones), crash into each other (Himalayas), next to each other (transform faults), and are formed at spreading zones (divergent boundaries)

    Neato. What about those earthquakes?
    Check this out:
    Click for a full-size image
    Historic data shows subduction zone quakes that would create a tsunami 1000' high or more on the Pacific northwest coast, flooding everything west of I-5.

    Click for a full-size image
    Look at all of the earthquakes (red dots) as the plate subducts

    Two things to take-away about subduction zones:
    1. subduction zones create ANDESITIC (pointy) volcanoes, which are high in silica, and sticky like thick pancake batter.
    2. subduction zones create lots of deep-focus earthquakes.

    We are lucky enough to live on an island with several active or dormant volcanoes. We live on top of a "hot-spot":

    Hot spots:
    Usually in the middle of an oceanic plate, but can also be mid-continent (e.g. Yellowstone supervolcano caldera)
    Hot spots-basalt-low silica content which melts easier (e.g. look out the window)
    Look at the Hawaii island chain on google earth (underwater version)
    While you are at it, look for the Nuuanu landslide that created a 4000' tsunami
    You can also look at the Mauna Loa simulated tsunami on youtube...
    Click for a full-size image

    Note the tracking of the pacific plate:
    Click for full-size image

    This is what happens to a shield volcano when it "calves" one side, in this case, the northeast side, in the Nuuanu landslide, one of the largest landslides on earth, causing a tsunami that deposited coral on the top of Mt. Kaala, 4055 ft. high...

    Click for full-size image

    Click for full-size image
    Look at the debris field North-East of Oahu...

    More about earthquakes:

    Click for full-size image
    then there's the famous "not-my" fault...

    The epicenter is the place ON THE SURFACE above the hypocenter (true origin) or earthquake FOCUS. Deeper hypocentric quakes often feel "longer", while shallow hypocentric quakes feel "sharp".



    How do we find these?
    Seismographs:
    P waves travel by compression (comPression). These are longitudinal waves, like sound. They can travel through liquid or solid.
    S waves travel by shear (Shear). These are transverse waves, like a slinky. They can only travel through solids.
    Remember this?

    Ok, back to earthquakes.
    Suppose you have a house on posts (called "post and pier" construction). An earthquake happens some distance away. First, your house moves back and forth (P wave, much faster at 8 km/sec). After a time, your house bounces up and down from the S waves (slower at 3 km/second).
    If you are far away, these are separated by different arrival times.
    If you are near the epicenter, they hit at the same time...up, over, down=your house is demolished

    We use this difference to calculate distance from the epicenter (and hypocenter if you are interested) using delay times on the seismograph
    Click for full-size image


    Look at the HPA seismograph here:
    http://www.fdsn.org/networks/detail/PT/
    and our Hawaii quakes here:
    https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_earthquakes.html
    Click on some earthquakes and note the depth and the seismic image.

    Next: Rocks Module 25
    Igneous (fire)
    Sedimentary (layers)
    Metamorphic (Kafka rocks, just kidding: changed by heat and pressure)

    Click for full-size image

    Igneous= directly from magma, and can be either basalt (low melting point, like our island or oceanic plates) or granite (lighter, what continents are made of)
    Granite breaks down into light-colored sand, makes for fertile soil. Basalt (like us) can make sand too, but less fertile (e.g. black sand beach).

    Sedimentary= just like it sounds, from mud, sand, or dust, usually in layers.

    Metamorphic= changed by heat and/or pressure (slate, marble, or coal)

    Soil-formed by weathering (chemical or physical) of parent rock
    Erosion can be by water or air (wind)

    Soil Horizons:
    Click for full-size image


    Click for full-size image

    Our Soil Sieve has 4 filters, with 5 layers:
    mesh 5 = 4 mm
    mesh 10 = 2 mm
    mesh 60 = .25 mm
    mesh 230 = 0.063 mm

    Basically, most of what you find is silt and clay...

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