Themes of the Day:

• Groundwater
• Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions
• Desalination
• Water Use
• Water Management
• Water and Ecosystems
• Global Water Shortages
• Pause to catch breath
• Water Pollution Overview
• Types of Pollutants
• Surface Water Pollution & Treatment
• Groundwater Pollution & Treatment
• Wastewater Treatment
• Federal Legislation

Groundwater

• Aquifers and the Water Table
  • Zone of Saturation
  • Zone of Aeration - Vadose Zone
  • Water Table
  • Perched Water Table
• Groundwater Flow and Water Table Fluctuation in Unconfined Aquifers, Darcy's Law
• Springs, Artesian Wells, & Water Towers
• Porosity and Permeability (Hydraulic Conductivity) - Table 11-2
• Pumped Wells and Groundwater Mining
  • Cone of Depression
  • Subsidence
  • Saltwater Intrusion
  • Groundwater Usage in the USA
  • Ogalala Aquifer

Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions

• General Interactions
• Karst Regions
  • Caves: Flowstone, stalactites, and stalagmites (and bat guano)
  • Sinkholes
  • Disappearing Streams
  • Park City, KY topographic map

Desalination

• Very Expensive - Impractical in most areas

Water Use

• Competing Water Uses
• California Aqueducts
• US Water Use Trends
  • Freshwater Withdrawals
  • All Water Withdrawals

Water Management

• Colorado River Drainage Basin
• Little Colorado River sediment inputs

Water and Ecosystems

• Wetlands

Global Water Shortages

• Too Many Thirsty People

Water Pollution Overview

• Clean water = good
• Pollutants = bad

Types of Pollutants

• Oxygen-Demanding Waste
• Pathogenic Organisms
• Nutrients
  • Algae/Seaweed on Hawaiian beaches A, B
  • wastewater treatment
  • Cultural Eutrophication
• Oil
• Toxic Substances
  • Hazardous Chemicals - MTBE
  • Heavy Metals - Mercury
  • Radioactive Waste
• Sediment
• Thermal Pollution

Surface Water Pollution & Treatment

• Point Sources
• Nonpoint Sources
• Acid Mine Drainage
• Cuyahoga River

Groundwater Pollution & Treatment

• Common Causes
• National Water-Quality Assessment Program - Delaware River Basin
• Saltwater Intrusion
• Groundwater Treatment - PAK Tower Stripper
• Water-Quality Standards
• Groundwater Pollution in Hays, KS - from the Ellis County Wellhead Protection Committee
• ToxMap - EPA Superfund sites in Google Earth

Wastewater Treatment

• Septic Tanks
• Wastewater-Treatment Plants
• Wetlands
• Wastewater Renovation

Federal Legislation

• Clean Water Act

HOMEWORK:

• Spring '06 Podcast
• Minerals & Human Use
• Geology of Mineral Resources
• Environmental Impact of Mineral Development
• Recycling & Sustainability

Minerals & Human Use

• What do we use?
  • Mineral Products in a US Home
  • Economic Role of Non-fuel Minerals
• Resources & Reserves
• Types of Mineral Resources
  • Metals - diverse uses
  • Building Materials (non-metals)
  • Chemical Industry
  • Agricultural Industry
• Responses to Limited Availability
  • Find More
  • Find a Substitute
  • Recycle what you've got
  • Ration and Prioritize Usage
  • Do Without

Geology of Mineral Resources

• Economic Concentrations of Minerals - Ores
  • Economic Concentration Factors of Selected Metals
  • Non-Fuel US Mineral Imports
• Ore Deposit Origins
  • Igneous Processes
    • Igneous Intrusions - e.g., chromite, diamonds
    • Hydrothermal Deposits
      • Disseminated ores - e.g., porphyry copper deposits
      • Vein & Stockwork ores
      • Black Smokers - seafloor hydrothermal deposits
  • Metamorphic Processes
    • Contact Metamorphism
    • Regional Metamorphism
  • Sedimentary Processes
    • Evaporites - e.g., Halite, Gypsum
    • Placer - e.g., Gold
    • Glacial - e.g., Sand & Gravel
  • Biological Processes - phosphorus
  • Weathering Processes
    • Residual Soils - e.g., Bauxite
    • Secondary Enrichment
• Plate Tectonics & Mercury Ore Deposits

Environmental Impact of Mineral Development

• Impact of Prospecting
• Impact of Mining & Ore Processing
  • Mine Waste - Tailings - Grasberg Mine Tailings, Irian Jaya, Indonesia
  • Open Pit Mining - e.g., Bingham Canyon, UT
  • Underground Mining
  • Solution Mining
• Water Pollution - e.g., Acid Mine Drainage
• Air Pollution - e.g., Acid Rain
• Biological Impacts - e.g., three "burn" areas
• Social Impact - e.g., Gold Rush (saloons, whorehouses, general wickedness)
• Environmental Regulation
• Biotech Remediation

Recycling & Sustainability

• Global Cycling
• Sustainability