Individual project 1 lab science - Essay Example

Ground water sustainability Purpose of the lab report The experiment described here wasconducted to determine the impacts of human activities on groundwater sustainability. Introduction Water is a very important resource for human use in various sectors of the society. It is as well one of the key factors necessary for economic and industrial development. Water covers about ¾ (75%) of the earth’s surface making it the most abundant resource over the earth’s surface (Doll, 2002). Fresh water exists either on the surface or under the earth’s surface and is the portion that is suitable for human use and economic development.

Fresh water forms about 1% of the earth’s water resources (Jha, Arnold, Grassman, Giorgi, & Gu, 2006). Ground water occurs as a result of percolation processes that involve water movements from the surface into the inner profiles below the earths surface where it is banked in aquifers. Ground water sources are, however, exhaustible where infiltration rates are reduced beyond extraction rates. Hypothesis Increase in human development activities over the earth’s surface is a major challenge in the sustainability of ground water resources.

Methods Case studies of four regions were sampled and used in this study to analyze various human activities taking place in four cities. Human activities such as; urban sprawl, industrialization, and the extent of deforestation were then observed, surveyed and compared with data from secondary resources. Population data was acquired form the population tallying units for the four regions and interpolated against human activities and groundwater properties. Geological surveys were then conducted to determine the quality and quantity of ground water in the four regions, and his data was as well compared to past literature records.

Precipitation data was acquired from the meteorological records from eight meteorological stations in the regions. ResultsThe population of the four regions had consistently increased from 1980- 2000. There was also a remarkable increase in the extent of human activities over the earth’s surface such as agricultural expansions, expansion in the sizes of urban centers found in these regions as well as the establishment of more of such. Precipitation data from meteorological surveys showed reduced precipitation amounts over the period included in the study.

Ground water surveys revealed reduced quantities as well as lowered PH, increased acidity. Analysis and discussion Human activities and climate change and variability are the prime threats to the existence of underground water resources. Mans activities such as deforestation reduce the rates of water infiltration by increasing surface runoffs, as a result, the groundwater banks diminish in size in such regions. Moreover, other human activities such as industrialization and pollution (Pahl-Wostl, 2007) are very detrimental to groundwater qualities as they lead to infiltration of soluble materials that result into ground water pollution.

Moreover, poor agricultural activities such as overstocking and uncontrolled land cultivation deprive the land of her vegetation mass leading to low rainfall availability in various parts of the world (Doll, 2002). Reduced vegetation densities, therefore, lead to low precipitation thereby resulting into low water infiltration hence an exhaustion of the ground water resources. Conclusion Ground water resources are exhaustible resources that require mans intervention to help sustain. Increased human development activities such as urban sprawl, agricultural expansion, deforestation among others have been associated with reduced efforts for groundwater sustainability.

Such activities have resulted into lowered qualities and quantities of ground water resources. ReferencesDoll, P. (2002). Impact of climate change and variability on irrigation requirements: A global perspective. Climate Change, 54, 269-293.Jha, M., Arnold, J. G., Grassman, P. W., Giorgi, F., & Gu, R. R. (2006). Climate change sensitivity assessment on upper Mississippi basin streamflows using SWAT. Journal of American Water Resources Association, 42 (4), 997-1016.Pahl-Wostl, C. (2007). Transition towards adaptive management of water facing climate and global change.

Water Resources Management, 21, 49-62.