Term
Darcy equation:
Q is flow
k is hydrualic conductivity of the layer defined by L. k has units of length/time, it is a function of the porous medium and the liquid
A is the area of the pipe the liquid is flowing through
dh is h1-h2
dL is the same as L, this the length of the tube the poruous medium takes up.
What is the Darcy equation? |
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Definition
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Term
| what is the equation for porosity of a substance |
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Definition
| (Volume of air space)/(total volume) |
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Term
| in a flow net diagram, what is the same along any one equipotential line? |
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Definition
| in a flow net diagram, an equipotential line is a line along with the hydraulic head, or pressure head, is the same. This pressure head is equal to the elevation at which the equipotential line reaches the surface |
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Term
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Definition
4 delta hazards include:
1. groundwater quality: in bangladesh they got arsenic in thier groundwater, and saltwater intrusion into groundwater is a common problem
2. flooding in places where people are: although flooding provides the benefit of spreading nutrients to soil, it can also displace people
3. earthquakes
4. avulsions, which are river migrations, can dispalce people much like floods can |
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Term
| wetlands are defined by ____ |
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Definition
| wetlands are defined as areas with constant saturation with water, or recurrenet inundation with water. They can also be areas that physical, chemical, and/or biological features reflective of wetland environments even when they aren't saturated. Additionally, a wetland must have some soils that are wet enough to be anaerobic |
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Term
| what are hydrotrophic plants |
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Definition
| hydrotrophic plants grow on water |
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Term
| relationship between recurrance interval and residence time |
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Definition
the relationship between the recurrance interval (aka renewal rate) and the residence time is:
residence time= 1/renewal rate |
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Term
| what is the hydroperiod aka hydrologic signature |
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Definition
| the hydroperiod, also known as the hydrologic singature, is a graph of the change in wetland wetness over an entire year. Some wetlands get less wet during certain seasons, some stay wet all year long |
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Term
| water is the vocab word for when one uses water, but it doesn't leave the stream? give an example |
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Definition
| when water is used by stays in the stream, this is called in-stream use. Dams are an example of when water is used but it stays in the stream |
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Term
| what is the vocab word for water usage that requires taking water out of a stream? |
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Definition
| the vocab word for water usage that requires taking water out of a stream is off-stream use. This refers to pretty much all water use other than dams |
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Term
| what is the vocab word for the water used to make a product? |
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Definition
| water used to make a product is called virtual water or embodied water |
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Term
| describe the Environmental Kuznets Curve |
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Definition
| the Environmental Kuznets Curve is generally applied to one country and plots environmental impact in one dimension like deforestation, ppm of some pollutant in the atmosphere, etc with economic wealth. The shape of the curve is concave up, with environmental impact increasing with growth of the economy, until it peaks and a country has the resources to deal with it's enviromental problems |
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Term
| what is an exception to the general Environmental Kuznets curve that we looked at? |
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Definition
| water use stabilizes after it peaks instead of going down on the environmental Kuznets curve |
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Term
| what are the two biggest water uses in the U.S. after 2005? |
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Definition
| irragation and thermoelectric power are the two biggest uses of water in the U.S. since 2005. note that thermoelectric water use is non-consumptive |
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Term
| is thermoelectric water use consumptive? |
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Definition
| Thermoelectic water use is non-consumptive |
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Term
| what is the biggest consumptive water use worldwide |
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Definition
| agriculture uses more water than anything else worldwide |
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Term
| why is using less water for agriculture such a big focus? |
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Definition
| using less water for agriculture is a big focus because agriculture uses the most water worldwide |
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Term
| when we looked at the flowchart of U.S. water usage in class that was made in 2005, what is important to consider? |
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Definition
| that flowchart of U.S. water usage was made before hydrofracking is the major industry it is now. hydrofracking requires massive amounts of water to be shot into the ground, so it's extremley water intensive and changes the flowchart of U.S. water useage |
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Term
| what are the two observations we made in class about changes in water use in the U.S. other the last century |
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Definition
| over the last century, water usage for irragation has stayed about the same, while water use for thermoelectric has majorly increased to overtake irragation as the number one use by volume |
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Term
| increasing block pricing for water |
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Definition
| increasing block pricing for water is when the rate for water goes up as you use more water |
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Term
| when a user of water wants a bigger slice of the total avaible water "pie," where do often turn to first? |
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Definition
| usually agriculture is the first target of other uses who want to use more of the availible water |
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Term
| units that are specific to water consumption |
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Definition
| one acre-foot, the amount of water it takes to cover an acre of land with water, is the unit associated with water consumption |
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Term
| list six strategies for conserving water that we talked about in class |
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Definition
six strategies for conserving water that we talked about in class:
1. efficient fixtures. For example, efficient toilets use far less water than normal ones
2 fix leaks
3. use less outdoor water
4. provide rebates to homes and businesses that use less water
5. rainwater harvesting
6. gray water use |
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Term
| in terms of profit-per-water use, which is more efficient, vegtables or cotton/alfalfa? |
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Definition
| vegtables provide far more profit per water use than cotton or alfalfa |
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Term
| what is the conceptual basis behind virtual water trade? |
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Definition
| the conceptual basis behind virtual water trade is that when a country exports or inputs a resource that requires water, they are also importing or exporting virtual water. Example: isreal, a country without excess water to waste, discourages the export of goods that take a lot of water, like organges, because Isreal doesn't want it's water leaving it's borders |
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Term
| 4 agricultural innovations that decrease water consumption that we discussed in class |
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Definition
the 4 agricultural innovations that decrease water consumption that we discussed in class are:
1. modest crop shifting
2. smart irragation scheduling- water when sun isn't strong, for example
3. advanced irragation management
4. efficient irragation techniques |
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Term
| is this country, how has the combined water consumption of all industry changed overt time? |
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Definition
| the water usage of industry has stayed steady lately |
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Term
| list 5 water-intensive industries |
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Definition
the five water-intensive industries we looked at in class are:
1. chemicals
2. petroluem refining
3. pulp and paper
4. primary metals
5. food processing |
|
|
Term
| what are five water intensive industries we looked at in class? |
|
Definition
The five water intensive industries we looked at in class are
1. pulp and paper
2. chemicals
3. food processing
4. petroluem refinery
5. primary metals |
|
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Term
| Indirect water use is quantified by what study? |
|
Definition
| Indirect water use is quantified by an economic input-output life cycle assessment |
|
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Term
| how much water use in industry is indirect? |
|
Definition
| 60% of water use in industry is indirect |
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Term
| economic input-output life cycle assessment is used to quantify what? |
|
Definition
| economic input-output life cycle assessment is used to look at indirect water use? |
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Term
| about what % of industries have over 50% direct water use? |
|
Definition
| for the vast majority of industries over 50% of the water usage is indirect |
|
|
Term
| do a slide on water use and the energy sector after getting an answer to my question |
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Definition
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Term
| water widthdrawal breakdown vs wealth: how does water usage change as countries get richer? |
|
Definition
poor countries use pretty much all thier availible water for irragation.
As countries get richer, they use more for industry and domestic. As a rule of thumb, industry usage will grow quicker than domestic |
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Term
|
Definition
1. provide water for irragation during dry periods (droughts or dry seasons)
2. generate electricity
3. control water supply
4. reduce floods |
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Term
|
Definition
four dam services
1. reduce floods
2. control water supply
3. generate electricity
4. irragation. Resivoirs provide water for dry periods, either droughts or simply dry seasons. |
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Term
| when dams are built downstream of vegatated areas, water floods lush areas and kills plants. Other than direct ecosystem destruction, what environmental does this exacterbate? |
|
Definition
| when dams kill plants it increases GHG emissions and takes away those plant's ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere |
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|
Term
| what impact on sediments do dams have? |
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Definition
| dams stop water and cause sediment to fall out, so sediment doesn't make it downstream to maintain natural processes like deltas |
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Term
| what direct effect do dams have on the hydrological cycle outside of the river they obstruct? |
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Definition
| resivoirs behind dams are related to increased evaporation, which in turn increases precipitation |
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Term
| what did we study in terms of the intersection of water pollution and dams |
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Definition
| we studied how water pollution accumulates at dams |
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|
Term
what are 8 environmental impacts of dams we looked at?
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|
Definition
the 8 environmental impacts of dams we studied are:
1. greenhouse gas emissions from flooded plants
2. lower sediment downstream
3. fish migration
4. increased precipitation from increased evaporation
5. water pollution accumulates at the dam
6. habitat alteration/fragmentation
7. erosions and landslides
8. altered flow patterns of the river
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Term
| what was the only positive socioeconomic impact of existing (not building) dams that we looked at |
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Definition
| the one positive socioeconomic impact of dams that we looked at is that they reduce flooding that destroys farms and homes |
|
|
Term
| what are the four negative socioeconomic impacts of dams? |
|
Definition
the four negative socioeconomic impacts of dams that we looked at are:
1. settlement
2. permanent loss of livlihoods for fishermen, farmers and other people whose jobs depend on the land
3. health impacts
4. cultural loss |
|
|
Term
| describe 1st order ecosystem impacts of dams |
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Definition
| 1st order ecosystem impacts of dams are directly caused by the dam. 1st order impacts include physical, chemical, and geomorphological consequences of blocking a river and altering the path/timing of the flow |
|
|
Term
| describe 2nd order ecosystem impacts of dams |
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Definition
| 2nd order ecosystem impacts refer only to changes in biological productivity resulting from 1st order impacts |
|
|
Term
| describe 3rd order ecosystem impacts of dams |
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Definition
| 3rd order ecosystem impacts of dams refer only to changes in fauna from 1st or 2nd order ecosystem impacts. an example of a 1st order impact changing fauna would be fish not being able to migrate due to a dam. An example of a 2nd order impact affecting fauna would be less food because a decrease in plankton availibility. |
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Term
| what is notable on greenhouse gas emissions that resulted from flooded land upstream of the Tocuri Dam? |
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Definition
| Depending on which estimate you use, the Tocuri Dam may have created more or less greenhouse gas emissions that oil or coal |
|
|
Term
| what are the 7 environmental categories of study of dams that we looked at? |
|
Definition
the 7 environmental categories of study of dams that we looked at are:
1. greenhouse gas emissions
2. affects of resivoirs
3. impacts of altered flows
4. impacts of changing flood cycle
5. impacts of dams on fisheries
6. cumulative impact of multiple dams
7. ecosystem enhancement |
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|
Term
| 5 biological implications of dams that we studied |
|
Definition
the 5 biological implications of dams that we studied are:
1. small floods can trigger fish/vertabrate migration
2. dams maintain/create habitats
3. "variability sustains complexity"
4. dams change temperature and chemistry of the water they block up
5. dams cause downstream algal growth |
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Term
| hydropower dams release water from the reservoir at a rate proportional to ____ |
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Definition
| hydropower dams release water from thier reservoirs at a rate proportional to the energy they must generate. So they let out more at peak power |
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Term
| why does the flow in cfs from a hydropower plants vary a lot on a daily basis, but less so on a year-to-year basis? |
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Definition
| because hydropower plants need to release more water to spin more turbines and/or spin turbines faster during peak hours when demand for electricity is high |
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|
Term
| what were 6 impacts of sediment trapping from dams that we studied? |
|
Definition
the 6 impacts from sediment trapping from dams that we studied are:
1. reduction in downstream nutrients
2. degredation in downstream river channel
3. reduced vegatation
4. reduced fish habitat
5. degredation of deltas
6. increased coastline erosion |
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|
Term
| what did we say is the most significant ecosystem impact of dams? |
|
Definition
| the most significant ecosystem impact of dams is blocked fish migration |
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|
Term
| blocked fish migration occurs at what % of dams? |
|
Definition
| blocked fish migration occurs at 60% of dams |
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|
Term
| what percent of dams that block fish migration did not see the problem of blocked fish migration coming? |
|
Definition
| 36% of dams that block fish migration don't see the problem of fish migration coming |
|
|
Term
| what % of human-induced speices loss is due to resivoirs? |
|
Definition
| 55% of human-induced species loss is due to resivoirs |
|
|
Term
| what percent of human-induced species loss is due to blocked migration? |
|
Definition
| 19% of human induced species loss is due to blocked migration |
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Term
| dams cause these two things that both make a substational amount of human-induced species loss |
|
Definition
| human induced species loss from dams comes from resivoirs (55%) and blocked migration (19%) |
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Term
| are fish passes, aka fish ladders, common in U.S. dams? |
|
Definition
| fish passes aka fish ladders are not common in U.S. dams, they are present in 9.5% of U.S. dams |
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|
Term
| what is one big problem with fish passes aka fish ladders |
|
Definition
| one big problem with fish passes aka fish ladders is that you need different sized steps for different sized fish |
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Term
| do fish passes aka fish ladders work well? |
|
Definition
| fish passes aka fish ladders do not work very well. in norway 32% don't work at all, and 41% don't work very well |
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Term
| what are two ecosystem benefits of dams? |
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Definition
the two ecosystem benefits of dams are
1. dams create wetlands, which are biologically diverse, are good for tourism, protect against floods, sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and have many other benefits
2. dams create habitats for threatened species |
|
|
Term
| what are two positive social impacts of dam construction specificalyl? |
|
Definition
two positive social impacts of dam construction are
1. high employment during construction
2. roads, power lines, etc. are built to support the workers which stick around after the dam is done |
|
|
Term
| what are two negative social impacts of dam construction specfically? |
|
Definition
two negative impacts of dam construction specifically are:
1. temporary workers bring disease
2. temporary worker result in "loss of social cohesion", i.e. they piss people off |
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Term
| what is the problem with data on displacement due to dams? |
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Definition
| the global data on displacement due to dams often underestimates the number of displaced people |
|
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Term
| what is the problem with the what displaced poeple are "given" after they are resettled? |
|
Definition
| when people are resettled, they are often paid but don't have jobs or usable skills to find jobs |
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|
Term
| what particular group of people are most often taken advantage of when their homes are about to be flooded by reservoirs? |
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Definition
| indigenous people are often taken advantage of when their homes are flooded due to dam creation. they aren't properly resettled and don't have the ability to live lives outside of thier home |
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Term
| what is one social factor other than displacement that is rarely considered before dam construction |
|
Definition
| the affect of dams on human health is rarely considered before construction |
|
|
Term
| what are 5 human health impacts that result from dams? |
|
Definition
5 human health impacts of dams are:
1. parasites breed in still or slow-moving waters. Dams increase instances of malaria in areas that already had malaria
2. eutrophication in reservoirs can lead to toxic cyanobacteria, in china they saw increased liver cancer from toxic cyanobacteria in drinking water
3. mercury accumulation in reservoirs can lead to disease
4. food shortages caused by dams
5. HIV/AIDs can be spread by migrant workers |
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Term
| you are looking at an energy balance of a power grid, and there won't be enough power to go around in a few years. you either need to ____ or ____ or both |
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Definition
| to keep electricity going in the grid, you either need to increase production or reduce demand |
|
|
Term
three general categories of flood management strategies
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|
Definition
the three general categories of flood management strategies are:
1. reduce the size of floods
2. reduce the threat of the existing floods
3. increase people's capacity to cope with floods |
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|
Term
| since 1960, what is the approximate ratio of costs: costs of damages prevented that the U.S. government says is the result of dam? |
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Definition
| the U.S. government claims that since 1960, every dollar spend on dams has prevented 10 dollars worth of damage. 38 billion spent, 387 billion dollars worth of damage prevented |
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Term
| when we look at the cost-benefit anaylsis of U.S. flood control, what numbers don't we see? |
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Definition
| when we look at the numbers the U.S. puts on on the cost-benefit of dams, we don't see the damages caused by dams in the numbers |
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|
Term
| what are two human impacts on the hydrology of the Yangtzee Basin |
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Definition
two human impacts on the hydrology of the Yangtzee Basin are
1. forest area reduced by 50%, which doubled the area exposed to rapid erosion
2. land reclimation and siltation filled in lakes which increased flood size and frequency |
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|
Term
| in the Yangtzee Basin, humans cut down many trees. What effect did this have on the land? |
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Definition
| in the Yangtzee basin, desforestation lead to increased erosion |
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|
Term
| in the Yangtzee Basin, humans filled in lakes to have more land to build on. What affect did this have on hydrology? |
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Definition
| less lake volume in the Yangtzee Basin increased flood frequency and intensity |
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Term
| in 1998 there was a flood in the Yangtzee basin that caused a ton of damage, but the flood volume was actually not that high. What does this tell us? |
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Definition
| a not particulary large flood destroyed a particulary large amount of damage, showing how susceptible that area is to floods |
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|
Term
| what are three impacts of development on hydrology that the guest lecturer talked about? |
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Definition
the three impacts of development on hydrology that the guest lecturer talked about are:
1. impereable surfaces drop the water table
2. imperemeable surface cause more drastic storm peaks in hydrograph
3. less vegatation means less evapotranspiration |
|
|
Term
| modern development of green infrastructure is really driven by what law? |
|
Definition
| modern development of green infrastructure is really driven by the EPA's Clean water act. This is because the EPA's clean water act treats runoff as a pollutant, and incentivizes reducing groundwater runoff |
|
|
Term
| how is the EPA's Clean Water Act related to green infrastructure? |
|
Definition
| the EPA's Clean Water Act wants to reduce waterborne pollutants. Groundwater runoff carries pollutants. Thus, the Clean Water Act wants you to reduce groundwater runoff |
|
|
Term
| what is the example the Guest Lecturer gave of an older strategy involving water that did nothing to reduce the volume of runoff? |
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Definition
| it used to be that developers would just put ponds next to their developments so the water would have a place to go, the ponds did nothing to reduce groundwater runoff |
|
|
Term
| what are three 2010 NYS Design Standards on Green Infrastructure that the guest lecturer spoke about? |
|
Definition
the three peices on the 2010 NYS design standards on Green Infrastructure the guest lecturer spoke about were
1. avoid impacts to hydrology by preserving open space and not changing stream paths
2. reduce runoff by reducing paved areas
3. used green infrastructure to absorb groundwater instead of letting it runoff |
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|
Term
| the main goal of green infrastructure |
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Definition
| the main goal of green infrastructure is to let rainwater soak into the ground instead of running off into ponds and streams |
|
|
Term
| what are three examples of green infrastructure that the guest lecturer told us about? |
|
Definition
the three examples of green infrastructure the Guest lecturer told us about are:
1. bio retention areas. These are generally converted paved areas that now that dirt, they are meant to let some water soak into the dirt and have storm sewer overflow drains
2. roof leader disconnection: these send water from your roof through your gutters to your garden instead of the storm sewer. They are just a little extension
3. porous pavement. Like outside the fucking crime lab |
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|
Term
describe green infrastructure's affect on:
1. surfacewater runoff
2. groundwater recharge
3. water quality |
|
Definition
green infrastructure:
1. reduces surfacewater runoff
2. increases groundwater recharge
3. improves water quality |
|
|
Term
| what are the three benefits of green infrastructure that we discussed? |
|
Definition
three benefits of green infrastructure that we discussed are:
1. improved water quality
2. better groundwater recharge
3. less surfacewater runoff |
|
|
Term
| how does the mobility of water make it a distinctive good? |
|
Definition
| water is very mobile, so it moves around on it's own and makes it hard to measure/allocate, and provides uncertainity to the system |
|
|
Term
| what about water's variability makes it a distinctive good? |
|
Definition
| water supply is often variable, you have floods, storms, and droughts that affect supply |
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|
Term
| water is used to generate steam and turn heat energy to electricity energy at a nuclear plant, then flows back into a river and is used for a fish farm a mile away. what quality of water does this demonstrate? |
|
Definition
| water often has sequential use. whether it is going from a sink to a lawn as gray water, or from a power plant to a stream that people fish in, water often is used sequentailly and this makes it difficult to put a price on processes that only change the water, not make it unusable |
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|
Term
| I can either use water from this river to irrigate a farm that will make money this year or save it for domestic use in a housing development that will be done in four years. What quality of water does this demonstrate? |
|
Definition
| this demonstrate's water's complementarity of outputs. water can be used for many things, and we have to make hard choices |
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|
Term
| water's bulkiness affects what particular aspect of water markets? |
|
Definition
| water's bulkiness brings up the transaction costs of moving water around, which cuts into your profit margin. Water isn't very expensive on a per volume basis |
|
|
Term
| water's high transaction cost is partially defined by this |
|
Definition
| water's high transaction cost is partially defined by it's bulkiness, how much room it takes up |
|
|
Term
| how does economies of scale affect water distribution? |
|
Definition
| the fact that bigger dams and bigger reservoirs are a cheaper way to capture water is a function of economies of scale. The fact that bigger dams are more efficient leads to a lot of water/power being consolidated in the hands of a few people |
|
|
Term
| define conditional probability |
|
Definition
| conditional probability is the probability that B occurs if A occurs |
|
|
Term
| binomial distrbution is about carrying out _____ |
|
Definition
| binomial distribution is about carrying out n independant bernoulli trials |
|
|
Term
| a bernoulli trial is useful in situations with a _____ outcome |
|
Definition
| a bernoulli trial is used when you have binary outcome |
|
|
Term
| I have an amount of time that is how long it most likely is until we see a storm of X size. what is this number called? |
|
Definition
| a return period is an amount of time that says how long it most likely is until a storm of X size occurs |
|
|
Term
| what is the equation for the return period of a storm of x size? |
|
Definition
the equation for return period of a storm of X size:
1/(probability that a storm is X size or bigger) |
|
|
Term
P[A "conditional symbol" B] =?
|
|
Definition
P[A "conditional symbol" B]
=
(P[A+B])/P[B] |
|
|
Term
| if P[A "conditonal symbol" B] = P[A] |
|
Definition
| if P[A "conditional symbol" B] = P[A], then A and B are independant and aren't related in a probabalistic sense |
|
|
Term
| what would the water economics reading call a use of a communal resource that doesn't deplete the resource? |
|
Definition
| if your use of a communal resource doens't deplete the resource, your use is non-rival |
|
|
Term
| what would the water economics reading call use of a communal resource that can deplete that resouce? |
|
Definition
| if a use of a resource depletes that resource, we call that use rival |
|
|
Term
| give an example of excludable rival resources |
|
Definition
| pretty much all goods are rival and excludable like compueters, bricks, or condoms. Within the context of water usage, if you have absolute priority to use water consumptivley, like a senoir user in the western U.S., the system allows for excludable, rival use of water |
|
|
Term
| describe a partially excludable, rival use of water |
|
Definition
| a partially excludeable, rival use of water is when water is being consumptively and there are rules to who gets how much. It isn't a free for all, like non-excludable, but no one person gets to use as much as they want, like with excludeable resources. Riparianism is an example of a partially excludable system of water usage |
|
|
Term
| what system of usage allows for a free-for-all of a depletable resource? |
|
Definition
| when a good is rival (depletable) and non-excludable (no rules for keeping anyone away from it), then you have a free for all where anyone can take as much as they want |
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|
