Quiz 9 Study List 2014
Life Science - Human Impact on Water - 6th Grade Science – Miss Fox
Marine Ecosystems:
 The intertidal zone is an area along ocean shorelines that lies between low and high water lines.
 The neritic zone is a shallow marine environment that is near the shore or over the continental shelf and
that is rich in minerals and nutrients produced by biotic activity.
 The oceanic zone or ocean zone is the region of the open sea. About half of the photosynthesis that
occurs on earth takes place in the oceanic zone. Organisms living in the oceanic zone include the
bacteria and protists that make up plankton as well as fishes, mammals and many invertebrates.
 The benthic zone is the region at the bottom of the ocean. Organisms living deep in the ocean must cope
with crushing pressure and often near freezing temperatures.
Most people get their drinking water from a reservoir, well or spring.
Reservoir: is a man-made lake used to store water.
Groundwater: water that infiltrates into the earth and is stored in usable amounts in the soil and rock below the
earth’s surface.
An estuary is an area where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the ocean. Examples of estuary
communities include mud flats, bays and salt marshes.
Long Island Sound is an estruary. Ocean tides drive saltwater in and out of the Sound, and most freshwater
enters from the rivers of Connecticut. Estuaries provide breeding and nursery grounds for marine animals and
are among the richest and most productive areas on earth.
We live in a watershed! 99% of the water that enter the Long Island Sound comes from three main rivers
- the Connecticut, the Housatonic and the Thames Rivers.
Watershed is land that collects rain water, sediments and dissolved materials that flow to rivers, their
tributaries, and estuaries.
5 Main Types of Watersheds:
1. Marsh
2. Swamp
3. Bog
4. Vernal
5. Fen
Benefits of watersheds:
 Soak up water and protect us from flooding
 Naturally purifies water and removes pollution
 Nursery for fish and shell fish
 Humans enjoy many recreation activities in wetlands (fishing, boating, photography, walking)
 Beautiful places with many unusual plants
 Valuable
How do we affect our watershed? What gets built in the watershed, or what we apply or throw on the land,
can have consequences for Long Island Sound and its tributaries. For example, applying too much fertilizer on a
lawn may result in nutrients washing into a storm drain, which can lead to algal blooms in nearby streams and
ponds, or downstream in the Sound. Even one pint of oil released into the water from a storm drain can spread
and cover one acre of water surface area and seriously damage aquatic habitats.
Water Pollution can be categorized into two main groups:
Chemical – industrial waste, oil spills, fertilizer.
Biological - bacteria, diseases, cholera.
Point source pollution is pollution that comes from a single source, such as a factory or wastewater treatment
plant. It is easy to identify (pipe or plume).
Non-point source pollution: is polluted runoff, which does not have one specific source, such as a factory.
Nonpoint-source pollution occurs as water moves across the land and picks up natural and human-made
pollutants, which can then be deposited in lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even groundwater.
*This type of pollution is the largest cause of the deterioration of water quality, and the hardest to
identify and clean up.
5 Main Steps of Water Purification:
 Sedimentation: the process that occurs when gravity pulls
particles to the bottom of the tank.
 Coagulation: the process by which dirt and other suspended
solid particles are chemically “stuck together” so they can be
removed from the water
 Filtration: the process of passing water through a porous
article or mass (paper, membrane, sand, etc.) to separate out
matter in suspension.
 Chlorination: chlorine is added to the water to kill
potentially harmful microorganisms.
 Aeration: water is exposed to circulating air; adds oxygen to
the water and allows gases trapped in the water to escape.
*Be prepared to answer the following:
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Give examples of Point and Non Point Water Pollution.
Explain which is more damaging to the environment and why - Point or Non Point Water Pollution.
Give examples of how you and your family contribute to Non-point pollution and what you can do to help affect a positive
change?
Give examples of organisms found in each of the ocean zones and explain how they have adapted to survive in their
environment.