Lakes and Rivers (Biomes of the Earth)

Lakes and Rivers (Biomes of the Earth)

Trevor Day

Language: English

Pages: 258

ISBN: 0816053286

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


The geography and geology of lakes and rivers is a fascinating subject. From plankton to larger fishes and wildlife, rivers and lakes are rich with biodiversity. The earliest civilizations were based around rivers, including the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, and Indus and Huang Ho valleys. Illustrating the physical geography, hydrology, ecology, and human use of these areas, "Lakes and Rivers" provides an excellent overview of the past, present, and future of these habitats. This volume concludes with a discussion of threats to rivers and lakes, such as overharvesting, effects of damming, pollution, and climate change, as well as ways to manage and protect these habitats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alluvium is usually rich in dissolved nutrients. Despite this benefit, alluvial floodplains are, of course, at risk of flooding. The dissolved load transported by a river does not settle out in slack water, but it can come out of solution (precipitate) under certain conditions. This can happen when dissolved substances become concentrated in situations where rates of evaporation are high. When the Jordan River empties into the Great Salt Lake in Utah, its dissolved load becomes concentrated by

vertebrates play a disproportionately important role in freshwater ecosystems. The first amphibians appear in the fossil record about 370 million years ago, when swamps were extensive on land and freshwater pools commonly dried out or became congested with vegetation. Amphibians were descended from fleshyfinned bony fishes rather than those with thin, flexible fins supported by rays. The early amphibians had fishlike features such as mucus-covered scaly skin and finned tails. They also breathed

stream conditions change at all time scales, from days to weeks, months, and more, and these changes alter the nature of river habitats and disrupt the communities of organisms that live in them. Although ponds and smaller lakes can undergo dramatic seasonal alterations, even drying up entirely at certain times 133 134 LAKES AND RIVERS of the year, larger lakes tend to show less dramatic habitat alteration over short time scales than rivers do. River and lake ecosystems are fueled by mineral

Appalachian Mountains in the east form a drainage divide roughly parallel to the eastern seaboard. To the west of this, the Ohio River empties into the Mississippi. To the east, the Hudson, Delaware, Potomac, James, Roanoke, and Savannah Rivers carry water to the Atlantic Ocean. North of the Rockies, in Alaska and in Canada’s far north, icy rivers flow north into the Arctic Ocean. River systems typically begin as streams in upland regions. The streams flow downhill under the pull of gravity. They

(percentage) Brazil Canada China Egypt Ethiopia (& Eritrea) France India Russian Federation United Kingdom United States of America Zambia 86 (324) 378 (1,431) 114 (431) 213 (809) 8 (31) 156 (591) 131 (497) 139 (527) 53 (201) 446 (1,688) 49 (187) 21 11 10 6 11 16 5 19 20 12 16 18 81 21 8 3 69 3 61 77 46 7 61 8 69 86 86 15 92 20 3 42 77 Data source: Gleick, Peter H., et al. The World’s Water 2002–2003: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2002. *Per

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