A city is located along the coastline of a peninsula at 25° latitude in the Southern Hemisphere. The land on which the city is built is primarily flat with karst topography. In recent years, scientists have detected a significant decrease in the amount of ozone in the stratosphere above the region.
Describe the effect of latitude on the amount of sunlight the region receives. Describe how solar intensity will most likely affect the region’s average temperature during the summer and winter months.
What kind of convection cell would be found over a region at this latitude? Describe one way in which this cell affects the movement of air through the region in which the city is located and one way in which this mass movement of air likely affects the region’s climate.
Describe two ways in which the region’s topography is likely to affect its climate.
Describe two ways that the recent decrease in stratospheric ozone poses potential risks to people living in the city
Stella Examiner
The spoils of the mine:
Researchers studying the land surrounding the strip mine outside Stella announced yesterday that the area has become highly polluted. The mine, which yields upward of 10 metric tons per year of various ores, has been operating for nearly a decade now. During that time, the researchers say, the damage caused by the pollution to the surrounding area has reached critical levels.
The Stella mine relies largely on practices such as hydraulic mining and heap leaching to remove unwanted sediment from the extracted ore. According to the researchers, the miners have allowed much of this sediment to run off the land and into nearby streams, which in recent years have experienced a significant loss of biodiversity. The researchers have also found evidence that the soil and aquifers beneath the mine have been contaminated with cyanide solution.
The researchers intend to publish a complete report of their findings, together with their recommendations for remediation, by next week.
Explain how the mining practices that take place in Stella may have polluted the streams that border the mine. Include in your discussion references to both hydraulic mining and heap leaching.
Describe two abiotic changes to the area surrounding the mine, other than those related to hydraulic mining and heap leaching, that would likely result from strip mining.
Describe one health risk to the people living near the mine posed by hydraulic mining and one health risk posed by heap leaching.
Describe two recommendations for remediation that will likely be included in the researchers’ published report. For each recommendation, identify a test the researchers could perform to determine whether the recommended action is working.
Suppose you own a fishing business located at approximately 33° N latitude off the coast of California. Most of the fish you catch are Pacific flatfish such as flounder or halibut, and your primary means of catching fish are trawling and dragging.
Describe two advantages, related to thermohaline circulation and surface ocean currents, of your fishery’s location.
Explain what happens during El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Describe two ways that an El Niño event can alter the number of fish you catch in a year.
Are your primary methods of fishing sustainable? Explain your answer. Describe two alternate fishing methods you could use, and explain whether each method is more or less sustainable than your current methods.
Identify two pieces of legislation that regulate fishing in U.S. or international waters, and explain how each piece of legislation affects your fishery.
