MODULE 6: Human Activity and the
Hydrosphere
• WATER- poorly managed resource on earth.
• HYDROSPHERE- a dynamic mass of liquid that
is continually on the move, from the oceans to
the atmosphere, to the land and back again.
l. TERMINOLOGIES
• PRECIPITATION- It means falling from a height
in the form of rain, snow, hail, and sleet.
• VAPORIZATION- absorbs energy which is
released in the form of heat when the water
vapor condenses.
• RUN-OFF- Refer to the flow back of the
oceans of the precipitation that falls on land.
• FRESH WATER 2 SOURCES:
SURFACE WATER- Precipitation that does not
infiltrate into the ground or return to the
atmosphere by evaporation or transpiration.
GROUND WATER- Water that penetrates the
soil and reaches the water table.
• ZONE OF SATURATION- The area where all
available pores are filled by water.
• WATER TABLE- the upper surface of the zone
of saturation.
• POROSITY- means to the pores in rocks, or
the percentage of the rock's volume that is not
occupied by the rock itself.
• PERMEABILITY- refers to the degree to which
underground rock pores are interconnected
with each other and thus is a measure of the
degree to which water flows, freely from one
pore to another.
• AQUIFERS- Porous water-saturated layers of
rocks that can yield an economically significant
amount of water
* Most aquifers are recharged or replenished
naturally by precipitation which percolates
downward through soil and rock in what is
called natural recharge.
* Any area of land allowing water to pass
through it and into an aquifer is called a
recharge area. Ground water moves from the
recharge area as part of the hydrologic cycle.
Recharge area can be wells, springs, lakes, and
oceans.
ll. HUMAN USE OF WATER
Two common measures of human water use
are withdrawal and consumption.
• WATER WITHDRAWAL- This involves taking
water from a ground water or surface water
source and transporting it to a place of use.
• WATER CONSUMPTION- Occurs when water
that has been withdrawn is not available for
reuse in the area from which it is withdrawn
mostly because of evaporation or transpiration
into the atmosphere.
III. Human Intervention in the Water Cycle:
• FOREST- They transmit huge quantities of
water into the atmosphere via the transpiration
of plants (in which plants release water from
their leaves during photosynthesis) and from
evaporation from their leaves.
• WATER ABSTRACTION- Groundwater
abstraction is the process of taking water from
a ground source.
• SALTWATER INTRUSION- Deterioration of
water quality – this can occur in coastal regions
where saline water can migrate inland and
upward when freshwater is pumped out of the
ground in these locations.
DIFF. WATER GLOBAL ISSUES
• WATER SHORTAGE- levels of available water
do not meet minimum requirements.
• WATER SCARCITY- the relationship between
demand for water and its availability.
• WATER STRESS- decline in water quality.
• WATER SECURITY- access to adequate
quantity and safe quality.
IV. NATURE OF WATER POLLUTION
• WATER POLLUTION- refers to degradation of
water quality as measured by biological,
chemical or physical criteria.
• POLLUTANT- any biological, physical, or
chemical substance in which an identifiable
excess is known to be harmful to the other
desirable living organisms.
SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTANTS
• POINT SOURCE- A single definable source of
the pollution, e.g. a factory, a sewage plant,
etc.- pollution is easy to monitor and control
• NON-POINT SOURCE- No one single source,
but a wide range of sources, e.g. runoff from
urban areas, or farmland.-Pollution is more
difficult to monitor and control.
KINDS OF WATER POLLUTION
• SURFACE WATER POLLUTION- pollution of
lakes, rivers and oceans.
• GROUNDWATER POLLUTION- pollution of
aquifers below soil.
• MICROBAL POLLUTION- pollution by bacteria,
viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms.
• OXYGEN DEPLITION POLLUTION- pollution by
biodegradable organics.
• NUTRIENT POLLUTION- pollution by plant
nutrients (nitrates, phosphates)
• SUSPENDED MATTER POLLUTION- pollution
by soil, silt
• CHEMICAL POLLUTION- pollution by
pesticides, fertilizers, industrial solvents, oil
• THERMAL POLLUTION- pollution by warm
water, waste heat
WATER POLLUTANTS
• PATHOGENS- bacteria, viruses and parasites.
• OXYGEN DEMANDING WASTES- animal
manure, human wastes and plant resedues.
• WATER SOLUBLE INORGANIC CHEMICALS-
Heavy metals such as mercury, zinc and calcium
are dangerous pollutants and are often
deposited with natural sediment in the bottoms
of stream channels.
• INORGANIC PLANT NUTRIENTS- water soluble
phosphates, nitrates and ammonium.
• ORGANIC CHEMICALS- plastics and cleaning
solvents.
• SEDIMENT AND SUSPENDED MATTER- dirt,
soil and silt.
• RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS- It may be
dangerous pollutants. There are possible effects
to people, other animals, plants of long-term
exposure to low doses of radioactivity.
• THERMAL WATER- heat from power plants
and industrial cooling.
• ALIEN SPECIES- zebra mussles, Asiatic catfish
and etc.
V. EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION ON HUMAN
HEALTH
• CHOLERA- An illness caused by ingestion of
the bacterium Vibrio Cholera is characterized by
intense diarrhea which results rapidly in
massive fluid depletion and death in very large
percentage of untreated patients.
• SCHISTOSOMIASIS- It is actually a group of
disease caused by infection with one of 3
related types of worms. It is very difficult to
control. Its main mode of transmission is water
supplies contaminated with the feces of
infected individuals.
• COLIFORMS- These are the class of bacteria
present in the intestines of humans and other
warm-blooded animals.
• RED TIDE- Occurs in both marine and fresh
waters but are mostly associated with marine
water where they cause mass mortality of fish.
• DINOFLAGELLATES- The water discoloration
from the abnormal development of large
population of a group of organisms. (algae)
• MUSSEL POISONING- when human ate a
contaminated fish.
THREE TYPES OF WATERWATSE OR SEWAGE:
• DOMESTIC SEWAGE- carries used water from
houses and apartments; it is also called sanitary
sewage.
• INDUSTRIAL SEWAGE- is used water from
manufacturing or chemical processes.
• STORM SEWAGE- is runoff from precipitation
that is collected in a system of pipes or open
channels.
WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE METHODS:
CONVENTIONAL METHOD:
• SEPTIC TANK DISPOSAL METHOD- It includes
disposal and treatment of household
wastewater in suburban areas.
• WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS- These
are centralized water treatment plants that
collect wastewater in cities from sewer systems.
 PRIMARY TREATMENT- It consists of
mechanical processes of separating
solid from liquids.
 SECONDARY TREATMENT- It involves
biological oxidation of dissolved organic
material.
 TERTIARY OR ADVANCED TREATMENT-
It involve a series of specialized
chemical and physical processes that
lower the quantity of specific pollutants
still left after primary and secondary
treatments.
• INNOVATIVE APPROACH
• AQUACULTURE+HYFROPONICS=
AQUAPONICS
• AQUACULTURE- fish or selfish farming. It
refers to breeding, rearing and harvesting of
plants and animals in all types of water.
• HYDROPONICS- the process of growing plants
in sand, gravel, or liquid, with added nutrients but
without soil.
• AQUAPONICS- Aquaponics is a hybrid system
linking aquaculture, in this case the production
of fish, with hydroponics which is the
production of plants in a soilless environment.
• DESALINATION- is a process that takes away
mineral components from saline water. More
generally, desalination refers to the removal of
salts and minerals from a target substance.
• SALTWATER- is desalinated to produce water
suitable for human consumption or irrigation.
The by-product of the desalination process is
brine.
• MUS- Multiple-Use Water Systems
MODULE 7: EXPLOTATION OF THE OCEANS
I. HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND THE EXPLOTATION
OF THE OCEANS.
• OVERFISHING- occurs when fish are caught
faster than they can reproduce to replace
themselves. It is the mismanagement of the
world’s fisheries and is to blame for the
depletion of fish species.
• BYCATCH- the unwanted fish and other
marine creatures caught during commercial
fishing for a different species.
• PLASTIC POLLUTION- massive amount of
plastics in the ocean.
• PACIFIC OCEAN- great pacific garbage patch.
• GYRE- a mass of plastic waste and other
debris trapped in a circulating ocean current
• CARBON DIOXIDE POLLUTION- causes ocean
acidification.
• CHEMICAL POLLUTION- contamination of our
environment with chemicals that are not found
there naturally.
• EUTROPHICATION- occurs after there have
been assorted nutrients from chemical pollution
added to the oceanic system.
• BIOMAGNIFICATION- is the accumulation of a
chemical by an organism from water and food
exposure.
• OIL SPILLS- from tankers and deep-sea wells
leak into our seas, oiling flora, fauna, and our
shores with toxic crude.
 GULF OF MEXICO IS THE LARGEST
MARINE OIL SPILL IN THE HISTORY.
II. MANAGING THE OCEANS
• MPA- Marine Protected Area
III. MAJOR CONCERNS OF PHILIPPINE FISHIRIES
SECTOR.
• COASTAL ZONE- considered to be the most
productive habitat in the marine ecosystem.
• LUO- LIMITED UTILIZATION OF OFFSHORE
• EEZ- EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE
• FSP- FISHIRIES SECTOR PROGRAM
IV. MARINE BIODIVERSITY IN THE PHILIPPINES
• ICM or INTEGRATED COASTAL
MANAGEMENT- national strategy for the
sustainable development of the country’s
coastal and marine environment and resources.
• PCP- PAWIKAN CONSERVATION PROJECT
• Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources
Conservation and Protection Act of 2001.
MODULE 8: HUMAN ACTIVITY AND THE
ATMOSPHERE
• ATMOSPHERE- is a collection of gases that
gravity holds in a thin envelope around the
earth.
• TROPOSPHERE (0-10 km) - the lowest layer.
This layer contains practically all of the water
vapour and clouds; it is the source of
weathering. Substances entering the
troposphere go back to the surface of the earth
by precipitation.
• STRATOSPHERE (10-40 km) - a layer where
the temperature increases with altitude to
about 40km. The warm air is above the cold air.
It is where ozone is concentrated.
 OZONE- absorbs the high UV radiation
from the sun.
• MESOSPHERE (40-70 km) - coldest region of
the atmosphere.
• THERMOSPHERE (70-400 km) - hottest region.
• EXOSPHERE (400 and beyond) - outermost
layer.
• HYDROGEN- chief constituent.
II. CONSTITUENTS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
• NITROGEN- makes up 78% of the air. 20.22%
is oxygen.
• CARBON DIOXIDE- It occurs in very small
amounts, it is vital to life on Earth. Green plants
use this gas in manufacturing their food.
• HELIUM AND HYDROGEN- found in a very
small amounts.
• OZONE- special form of oxygen.
* Other gases are argon, krypton, neon, and
xenon.
• WATER VAPOR- The water vapour in the air is
water in a gaseous form. Water vapour is found
mostly in the lower part of the atmosphere.
III. THE OZONE LAYER
Provided a protective screen against deadly
ultraviolet (UV) radiation, making life on land
possible. 90% of all ozone is in the stratosphere,
10% of all ozone is in the troposphere. There
are two types of ozone: the stratospheric ozone
and the tropospheric or ground-level ozone.
• STRATOSPHERIC OZONE- a naturally-
occurring gas that filters the sun's ultraviolet
(UV) radiation. This is typically regarded as
'good' ozone since it reduces the harmful
effects of ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation.
• TROPOSPHERIC OZONE- is a ‘bad ozone’
because it is the major ingredient in smog and
continues to pose a health risk to humans.
IV. ATMOSPHERIC LAYERS AND TEMPERATURE
INVERSIONS
• SST- SUPERSONIC TRANSPORT
• INVERSION LAYERS- calmness leads to erratic
feature of the atmosphere that affects man.
• GROUND TEMPERATURE INVERSIONS- occurs
very frequently at night. The inversion lasts as
long as the temperature remains "inverted"
(cool air beneath warm air).
• TWO TYPES OF SMOG- gray air and brown air.
 INDUSTRIAL SMOG- gray air that
predominate in industrialized cities with
cold, wet winters.
 PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG- brown and
smelly which characteristics of large
cities found in warm climates. The main
culprit is nitric oxide, which is produced
mainly by cars and other vehicles.
- Nitric oxide reacts with oxygen in
the air forming nitrogen dioxide
(reddish brown gas). Other
substances that take part in
photochemical smog formation are:
ozone and PAN (peroxyacyl
nitrates). PANs are similar to tear
gas; even traces can sting eyes and
irritate lungs.
• FREON- chlorofluorocarbons
V. AIR POLLUTION
• AIR POLLUTION- is the presence of
atmospheric contamination that may be
injurious to life or property. Contaminants in
the atmosphere include dust, gases, fumes, and
smoke.
* Some contamination is produce by natural
process such as volcanic eruptions.
• AMBIENT AIR- is the outdoor air in which
humans and other organisms live and breathe.
• AIR- normally has no color, odor, or taste. It is * Pollutants with long residence times exert
a mixture of gases, primarily nitrogen, at about regional or global impacts
78%, and oxygen, at about 21%, with the
• THE MONREAL PROTOCOL 1987- 196 nations
remaining 1% composed of carbon dioxide,
agreed to cut CFC or chlorofluorocarbons’
methane, hydrogen, argon, and helium.
production in half by 1998.
PRIMARY AIR POLLUTANTS, SOURCES AND
• GREENHOUSE EFFECT- is the natural warming
EFFECTS
of the earth that results when gases in the
• CARBON OXIDES- carbon monoxide (CO) is a atmosphere trap heat from the sun that would
colourless, odourless, poisonous gas produced otherwise escape into space.
by the incomplete combustion of carbon. (From
• GREENHOUSE GAS or GHG- is a gas that
vehicles and engines, industry, waste
absorbs and emits radiant energy within the
combustion, residential wood burning)
thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse
• NITROGEN OXIDES- Stands for nitric oxide effect.
(NO), and nitrogen oxides. It is a foul- smelling
• FAO- United Nation's Food and Agriculture
red-brown gas. Produced by combustion, NO is
Organization
converted to NO2.
• WHO- World Health Organization
• SULPHUR OXIDES- These are gases produced
when materials containing sulphur are heated • CO2- CARBON DIOXIDE
and burned.
• CH4- METHANE
• HYDROCARBONS- These compounds are
composed solely of carbon and hydrogen which • O- OXYGEN
are the main constituents of petroleum and
petroleum products such as gasoline, natural
gas, and coal tar. GODBLESS EVERYONE </3
• PHOTOCHEMICAL POLLUTANTS- combination
of nitrogen oxides to form a complex variety of
secondary pollutants

• PARTICULATE MATTER- This is the worst air

problem which includes smoke, soot, fly ash,
dust, mists, and fumes. It is also the most
dangerous air pollutants because they increase
the damage done by other pollutants in the
respiratory passages and are very difficult to
remove completely from atmosphere once they
are in it.

• RESIDENCE TIME- the time a pollutant stays in

the atmosphere.

* Pollutants with brief residence times exert

localized impacts over short time periods