Topic 4: Water

4.1 Water systems

Guiding question: How do water systems support life on Earth, and how do they interact with other systems,
such as the carbon cycle?
● 4.1.1 Movements of water in the hydrosphere are driven by solar radiation and gravity. Heat is required
for evaporation of water and is released when water condenses. Gravity causes water to drain through
soil and in rivers to the sea. 1.2
● 4.1.2 The global hydrological cycle operates as a system with stores and flows. In water cycle
diagrams, stores should be shown as boxes and flows as arrows. 1.2
● 4.1.3 The main stores in the hydrological cycle are the oceans (96.5%), glaciers and ice caps (1.7%),
groundwater (1.7%), surface freshwater (0.02%), atmosphere (0.001%), organisms (0.0001%).
Percentage values are approximate so there is no need to memorize them, but students should have
some idea of the relative proportions.
● 4.1.4 Flows in the hydrological cycle include transpiration, sublimation, evaporation, condensation,
advection, precipitation, melting, freezing, surface run-off, infiltration, percolation, streamflow
and groundwater flow. Sublimation is the transformation of ice directly to water vapour. Advection is
the wind-blown movement of water vapour or condensed/frozen water droplets (clouds). Infiltration is
water entering the soil. Percolation is water movement in the soil. Create and use a systems diagram
showing the transfers and transformations of the hydrological cycle.
● 4.1.5 Human activities, such as agriculture, deforestation and urbanization, can alter these flows and
stores. Change in land use, deforestation and urbanization often lead to reduced evapotranspiration
and increased run-off, resulting in flash floods. 1.2, 5.3
● 4.1.6 The steady state of any water body can be demonstrated through flow diagrams of inputs and
outputs. These can be used to calculate sustainable rates of harvesting from, for example, lakes and
aquifers. 1.2
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4.2 Water access, use and security
Guiding questions: What issues of water equity exist, and how can they be addressed? How do human
populations affect the water cycle, and how does this impact water security?
● 4.2.1 Water security is having access to sufficient amounts of safe drinking water. Water security is a
significant component of sustainable societies. 7.2
● 4.2.2 Social, cultural, economic and political factors all have an impact on the availability of, and
equitable access to, the freshwater required for human well-being. Include examples of social, cultural,
economic and political factors that have impacts.
● 4.2.3 Human societies undergoing population growth or economic development must increase the
supply of water or the efficiency of its utilization. Water is used for domestic purposes, for irrigation
and raising livestock in agriculture, and for industry. 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, HL.b
● 4.2.4 Water supplies can be increased by constructing dams, reservoirs, rainwater catchment
systems, desalination plants and enhancement of natural wetlands. Desalination is removal of salt
and other minerals from water in order to obtain freshwater. Reverse osmosis is a method of
desalination using a semi-permeable membrane.
● 4.2.5 Water scarcity refers to the limited availability of water to human societies. Water availability may
be limited by the actual abundance of water present (physical scarcity) or by the available storage and
transport systems (economic scarcity).
● 4.2.6 Water conservation techniques can be applied at a domestic level. Include techniques such as
metering, rationing, grey-water recycling, low-flush toilets, rainwater harvesting. 1.3
● 4.2.7 Water conservation strategies can be applied at an industrial level in food production systems.
Include examples, such as greenhouses that use and recycle harvested rainwater, aquaponics systems
that combine production of fish and vegetables, drip irrigation systems, drought resistant crops,
switching to vegetarian food production.
● 4.2.8 Mitigation strategies exist to address water scarcity. Consider appropriate examples of
management strategies a named country employs to address water scarcity.
4.3 Aquatic food production systems
Guiding questions: How are our diets impacted by our values and perspectives? To what extent are aquatic
food systems sustainable?
● 4.3.1 Phytoplankton and macrophytes provide energy for freshwater and marine food webs.
Phytoplankton are a type of microscopic plankton capable of photosynthesis that are found in oceans,
seas and freshwater. Macrophytes are aquatic plants that are large enough to be visible. They can be
emergent from water, submerged or floating. 2.2
● 4.3.2 Humans consume organisms from freshwater and marine environments. Include one local and
one global example of aquatic flora and fauna consumed by humans.
● 4.3.3 Demand for foods from freshwater and marine environments is increasing due to the growth in
human population and changes in dietary preferences. Consider evidence for the increasing demand.
● 4.3.4 The increasing global demand for seafood has encouraged use of unsustainable harvesting
practices and overexploitation. Include bottom trawling, ghost fishing and the use of poisons and
explosives as destructive methods of harvesting that are unsustainable.
● 4.3.5 Overexploitation has led to the collapse of fisheries. Consider details of one fishery collapse (the
dramatic and lasting decrease in stocks to a point where the commercial fish can no longer recover), for
example, the cod fishery on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.
● 4.3.6 The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is the highest possible annual catch that can be
sustained over time, so it should be used to set caps on fishing quotas. Consider the yield/fishing effort
graph indicating the MSY. Typically, harvesting at the MSY requires much lower fishing rates than
occurs in many fisheries.
● 4.3.7 Climate change and ocean acidification are having impacts on ecosystems and may cause
collapse of some populations in freshwater or marine ecosystems. Include a local or global example of
an aquatic ecosystem under stress due to climate change or ocean acidification, for example, the
impact of coral bleaching events on the ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef.
● 4.3.8 Unsustainable exploitation of freshwater and marine ecosystems can be mitigated through policy
legislation addressing the fishing industry and changes in consumer behavior. Include actions at
international, national, local/individual level including permits, quotas, seasons, mesh size, zones, food
labeling.
● 4.3.9 Marine protected areas (MPAs) can be used to support aquatic food chains and maintain
sustainable yields. Include how a protected area can benefit wider areas of sea, for example, by
providing shelter or spawning grounds. 1.3, HL.a
● 4.3.10 Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and
aquatic plants. The industry is expanding to increase food supplies and support economic
development, but there are associated environmental impacts. Consider a specific example of
aquaculture including references to negative impacts, such as loss of habitat, pollution with feed, anti-
fouling agents, antibiotics and other medicines used, spread of diseases, and escapees which, in some
cases, are genetically modified.
4.4 Water pollution
Guiding questions: How does pollution affect the sustainability of environmental systems? How do different
perspectives affect how pollution is managed?
● 4.4.1 Water pollution has multiple sources and has major impacts on marine and freshwater systems.
Include reference to sewage, agricultural run-off, industrial effluent, urban run-off, solid waste disposal
and oil spills as sources of pollution. Include a more detailed account of a specific example of water
pollution, identifying the location, source of pollution, and the impacts on the environment and
management strategies attempting to address it.
● 4.4.2 Plastic debris is accumulating in marine environments. Management is needed to remove plastics
from the supply chain and to clear up existing pollution. Include the harm that comes from oceanic
plastic pollution; how plastics have come to aggregate into oceanic gyres; and how the associated
microplastics that enter the food chain accumulate, magnify and transport surface toxins.
● 4.4.3 Water quality is the measurement of chemical, physical and biological characteristics of water.
Water quality is variable and is often measured using a water quality index. Monitoring water quality
can inform management strategies for reducing water pollution. Water quality in aquatic systems is
assessed by monitoring dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, turbidity, and concentrations of nitrates,
phosphates, specific metals and total suspended solids. Data can be used to inform management
strategies for reducing pollution. 1.3 Application of skills: Use methods for measuring key abiotic factors
in aquatic systems, for example, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, turbidity, and concentrations of
nitrates, phosphates and total suspended solids. Possible methods may include the use of oxygen and
pH probes, a thermometer, a Secchi disc, nitrate/phosphate tests.
● 4.4.4 Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen required
by microorganisms to decompose organic material in water. The usual measure is milligrams of oxygen
consumed per litre of sample in five days at 20°C. BOD provides an indirect measure of the amount of
organic matter within a sample.
● 4.4.5 Eutrophication occurs when lakes, estuaries and coastal waters receive inputs of mineral
nutrients, especially nitrates and phosphates, often causing excessive growth of phytoplankton. Algal
blooms only occur if phytoplankton growth had previously been limited by lower concentrations of
phosphate and/or nitrate. Humans cause eutrophication when releasing detergents, sewage or
agricultural fertilizers into water bodies. 1.2
● 4.4.6 Eutrophication leads to a sequence of impacts and changes to the aquatic system. Excessive
growth of phytoplankton is typically followed by their death and, therefore, high rates of decomposition,
rapid consumption of dissolved oxygen leading to hypoxia or anoxia in the water, and death of aquatic
life that depends on dissolved oxygen occur. 1.2 Application of skills: Create a systems model to show
the impacts and changes eutrophication produces in an aquatic system. This model should include
examples of positive feedback (for example, increase in nutrients>increase in death of
organisms>increase in decomposition>increase in nutrients).
● 4.4.7 Eutrophication can substantially impact ecosystem services. Eutrophication can affect services
associated with fisheries, recreation, aesthetics and health. 1.1, HL.b
● 4.4.8 Eutrophication can be addressed at three different levels of management. These three levels of
management are: • the reduction of human activities that produce pollutants—for example, alternatives
to current fertilizers and detergents • the reduction of the release of pollution into the environment—for
example, treatment of wastewater to remove nitrates and phosphates • the removal of pollutants from
the environment and restoration of ecosystems—for example, removal of mud from eutrophic lakes and
reintroduction of plant and fish species. These methods can also apply to other examples of pollution.