Water use in iceland

Water Use

I wasn't very surprised that there was all this water being stolen from streams, but I was shocked by the amount of water and the certain companies doing it. I didn't see Nestle being one of the main thefts of the water, Coca Cola I could see as well as Pepsi. To see all the damage and impacts from these companies on streams and lakes made me feel kind of sad, mainly because if it keeps up and nothing is done to slow it down then one day some places that people love to visit could be all out of water. I agree on whats being done to slow it and stop it, but I don't really agree with what is being done by the companies, yeah they need water to make their drinks, but if they aren't healthy drinks then why take the water and waste by turning it into something unhealthy.



Water Use in Iceland

On the global agenda, Iceland has been a strong voice in the fight against the pollution of the oceans. Icelandic waters are among the cleanest in the world. Iceland has taken an active role in international fora on the issue of peristant organic pollutants.
Although Iceland is famous for its unspoiled natural beauty, there are areas where care must be exercised. One of the most serious environmental problems in Iceland is the loss of vegetation by wind erosion. The Icelandic Soil Conservation Service has been fighting soil erosion since 1907 with considerable success. It currently aims at revegetating sites with a total area amounting to more than 2% of the country's land area. However, the fight to halt and reverse the erosion and desertification and to advance land reclamation, will remain one of Iceland's priorities in the environmental field in coming years and decades.

 

Aquaculture

1. Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic animals and plants, especially fish, shellfish, and seaweed, in natural or controlled marine or freshwater environments; underwater agriculture.


3 Pros of Aquaculture

Here are the following benefits that made fish farming a good thing for people.

1. It is a Good Source of Living
It provides a very secure and stable way for fisherman to earn a living. It also grants them more time at home, and a longer time frame of which they can harvest fish.

2. Fish Farms can be Made on Coastal Areas and Inland Lakes and Rivers
One of the good things about this is that fish farms can be made anywhere. The farms can be in the form of artificial ponds, enclosures within a natural setting and large tanks.

3. Keeps a Growing Supply of Seafood
Seafood provides many key nutrients and vitamins to the human body. Fish farming brings a more steady supply of seafood into areas that may not normally have this type of access. It also helps to lower the price of seafood.

3 Cons of Aquaculture

These are the following reasons that affect the industry and make fish farming also a drawback in the economy.

1. It Contributes to the Growing Issue of Water Contamination
As mentioned, fish farms can be made anywhere, where water is easy to be supplied. However, it is also for this reason that it made contaminating the natural water source easier. Often, waste products such as eaten foods, feces as well as dead fish are flushed into the water supply. Which raises large concerns about water contamination.

2. There is a Risk of Eating the Supplied Fish from Fish Farms
Even fish farms are using pesticides to avoid pest infestations. The fish are also mass treated with drugs in order to prevent sickness and disease. These are chemicals that not only affect the ecosystem, but also consumers health.

3. It Comes With an Environmental Impact
Large portions of the aquatic ecosystem have been destroyed in order to sustain fish farms.

3. I think aquculture or fish farming is bad thing because Fish farms, or “aquafarms,” discharge waste, pesticides, and other chemicals directly into ecologically fragile coastal waters, destroying local ecosystems. And aquaculture farms that raise fish directly in fenced-in areas of natural waters kill off thriving natural habitats by overloading them far beyond their capacity. Waste from the excessive number of fish can cause huge blankets of green slime on the water’s surface, depleting oxygen and killing much of the life in the water.

Plate Tectonics

The tectonic plates whose turbulent interactions formed Iceland, are the Eurasian tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate. Spanning the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Iceland emerged as a result of the divergent, spreading, boundary between these two plates and the activity of Iceland´s own hotspot or mantle plume. As the plates moved apart, excessive eruptions of lava constructed volcanoes and filled rift valleys. Subsequent movement rifted these later lava fields, causing long, linear valleys bounded by parallel faults. The divergence of the ridge started in the north about 150 million years ago and 90 million years ago in the south. These movements continue today, accompanied by earthquakes, reactivation of old volcanoes, and creation of new ones. Iceland is the largest island on the ridge because of the additional volcanism caused by the hot spot beneath the country, which moves slowly towards the northwest.

The tectonic plates move towards east and west, and both the North American and Eurasian systems move to the northwest across the hot spot. On top of hot spots there's generally a 20-100% molten layer at the depth of 5-20 km, which supplies sufficient material for eruptions. Eruptions occur about every 5-10 years and primarily consist of basaltic lava and tephra. A few long-lived centres, such as the volcano Hekla, erupt more silicic magmas.  

Faults and Folds in Iceland

Vertical faults having both opening and vertical displacements are common in southwest Iceland, and hypotheses vary regarding whether they propagated to the surface from below or from the surface downward. We address this issue through a study of vertical faults and associated surface fracture zones in regions of both oblique and normal spreading in southwest Iceland. Individual fracture segments are commonly rotated out of the general trend of the fracture zone, suggesting oblique motion along subsurface normal faults. These faults commonly breach the upper hinge lines of narrow monoclinal folds that flank many fault traces on the hanging wall side. Based on these field observations and the results of numerical models, we propose that 60-75 o dipping normal faults in the subsurface propagated to the surface from below. Vertical fractures formed at the upper tips of the faults at depths of between 250 and 500 m (25-50% of the fault length) in response to stress concentrations along the tip line. Model results indicate that narrow monoclinal folds develop at the surface above these vertical fractures, which subsequently breach the monoclines along the upper hinge line, forming vertical fault scarps and open fissures at the surface. If vertical fractures utilize pre-existing cooling joints in basalt to connect directly to the surface, the hanging wall is able to pull apart from the footwall without the development of a surface monocline along the fault trace.

Earthquake in Iceland

The 2008 Iceland earthquake was a doublet earthquake that struck on May 29, 2008 at 15:46 UTC in southwestern Iceland. The recorded magnitudes of the two main quakes were 5.9 Mw and 5.8 Mw, respectively, giving a composite magnitude of 6.2Mw.There were no human fatalities, but 30 injuries were reported and a number of sheep were killed. The epicenter of the earthquake was between the towns of Hveragerði and Selfoss, about 45 kilometers (28 mi) east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavík. In Iceland the ridge is somewhat off-set, creating two transform faults where plates move horizontally along each other. One is in the north of the country and one in the south; the strongest Icelandic earthquakes happen along those transform faults.Many farms were also affected.In the town of Selfoss, near the epicentre, buildings were damaged and up to 20 people needed treatment for minor injuries.Residents in the capital felt buildings shake when the tremors struck and the road between Reykjavik and Selfoss was closed by quake damage. 

Impacts of fishing

 Fishermen: Once all the fish are gone from the oceans they wont be able to make living off of fishing.

 Consumers: Seafood restaurants will go out of business and people who live off eating fish will have a tough time finding ways to live without it.

 Governments: People will get angry at the government and blame them for not doing anything to help save the fish and therefore could change the results of future elections.

Environment: The way of life in oceans could change for the worst if fish species start going extinct if not endangered already.

Part 2

Iceland has created one of the most modern and competitive seafood industries in the world, based on sustainable harvest and protection of the marine ecosystem. The fisheries management in Iceland is primarily based on extensive research on the fish stocks and the marine ecosystem and biodiversity, and decisions on allowable catches are made by the Ministry for Fisheries on the basis of scientific advice from the Icelandic Marine Research Institute. Catches are effectively monitored and enforced by the Directorate of Fisheries. In 2007, all stakeholders in the fisheries sector, signed a statement on responsible fisheries, intended for everyone concerned about the status of the fish stocks and responsible fisheries, particularly the numerous parties that purchase and consume Icelandic fish products. These are the keystones of the Icelandic fisheries management intended to ensure respoIceland maintains a 200 nautical miles exclusive fishing zone (758,000 km2 ) that includes some of the richest fishing grounds in the world.nsible fisheries and the sustainability of the ocean’s natural resources. There are 1,696 fishing ships in Iceland (2013), of which 783 are machine ships and 51 trawlers.

Mining

                            Shaft Mining 

Shaft mining or shaft sinking refers to the method of excavating a vertical or near-vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom.

Pros:- produces very little waste and mill tailings
                  easier permiting and grade control
                  less damaging to environment

Cons:- high cost per ton of ore
                  ventilation
                  more hazardous to workers

                            Strip Mining 

 

Strip mining, or open-pit mining is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow. This form of mining differs from extractive methods that require tunneling into the earth, such as long wall mining.

Pros:- Easier access to materials

                  Easier to transport materials to the destination

                  Less hazards in regards to mining in tunnels or underground

Cons:- Alot more disel fuel burned to transport goods

                  Blasting is also required making it highly dangerous to anyone                           around and the atmosphere

                  AMD, or acid mine drainage, is a serious environmental concern                         associated with strip mining.

                                                              Part B 

» Spouse of a miner would prefer strip mining a lot more because it is a lot          safer and she wants her husband to be safe at work.

» Owner of a mining company would prefer shaft mining because he would            want his employees to be safe and it costs a lot less to create.

» Environmentalist would prefer shaft mining because it doesn't do as much         damage to the environment.

» Owner of nearby ski resorts would prefer shaft mining because you                    wouldn't be looking at a gaping hole coming down the mountain and there's      less chance of deadly chemicals coming out into the atmosphere.

» Politician would prefer strip mining because it is a lot cheaper and get more        profit.

                                              Part C 

 

Diatomite was a leading export commodity in 2002, and ferrosilicon production and geothermal power were Iceland's major mineral industries. Diatomite production, from Lake Myvatn, was 28,000 tons in 2001, and the Ministry of Environment issued a permit for dredging in a new area of the lake, as government studies determined that additional mining would not damage the environmentally sensitive lake. Iceland also produced hydraulic cement, nitrogen, pumice, salt, scoria, sand (basaltic, calcareous, and shell), sand and gravel, and crushed stone (basaltic and rhyolite); these minerals were used by local industries. Among Iceland's other mineral resources, spar and sulfur deposits, once mined, were no longer worked extensively; peat was common, but little used; and sulfur and lignite were being processed experimentally, the former with the use of subterranean steam. The country's aluminum plant and ferrosilicon plant relied on imported raw materials and inexpensive hydroelectric and geothermal energy.

                                    

Tundra Biome

Where is Tundra located ?

The tundra is located at the top of the world, near the North Pole. This enormous biome, extremely uniform in appearance, covers a fifth of the earth's surface. Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes. Tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturi, meaning treeless plain. It is noted for its frost-molded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing seasons. Dead organic material functions as a nutrient pool. The two major nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen is created by biological fixation, and phosphorus is created by precipitation.

Climate in Tundra :-

The average winter temperature is -34° C (-30° F), but the average summer temperature is 3-12° C (37-54° F) which enables this biome to sustain life. Rainfall may vary in different regions of the arctic. Yearly precipitation, including melting snow, is 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches).

Animals found in Tundra :-

Polar Bear

Polar Bears appear to have a white coat; however, the 

actual hairs are translucent and clear. The skin of the Polar Bear is 

black. The coat and skin are adapted to absorb sunlight and retain 

heat. Like many animals of the tundra, Polar Bears have short ears to 

minimize heat loss. Polar Bears' diets consist mainly of seals. Polar Bears will use a variety of tactics while hunting seals, and these tactics will usually 

involve stealth and patience.Polar Bears will occasionally feed on 

other animals including walruses.Polar Bears will also sometimes 

feed on the carcases of dead whales.  

Caribou

Caribou are migratory animals and are known for mass migrations 

across the tundra in search of food. Caribou are well adapted to living 

in the tundra with thick fur and skin that enable them to enter frigid 

rivers while migrating. The hooves of caribou are wide to assist 

supporting it on surfaces such as mud and snow, and wide hooves will 

also help the caribou to dig and swim. The diet of the Caribou varies as the seasons change.  In the summertime, when vegetation is more plentiful, Caribou will feed on a  variety of plants including willow leaves.  In the wintertime, Caribou will use their hooves to dig through snow to get to moss and other lichens that lie beneath the arctic surface.

Arctic Fox

Like many foxes, the Arctic Fox builds a den. For the Arctic Fox the 

den can sometimes be in a hillside or river bank, and will usually have 

multiple entrances and exits. The Arctic Fox can be found in arctic or 

alpine tundra. Like many animals of the tundra, Arctic Foxes have special adaptations to help them survive in extremely cold climates. These adaptations include fur on its paws to help keep them warm, a thick, dense coat of fur around its body, short ears,  a small body, and a large and bushy tail that it uses to curl around its body. Arctic Foxes' diets consist of small mammals including voles and lemmings, as well as on birds and their eggs.  Arctic Foxes are opportunistic and will sometimes scavenge on dead carcasses of 

animals, and they are often seen following Polar Bears to feed on the 

leftovers the bears leave behind.  Arctic Foxes will also eat some 

vegetation such as berries.

Arctic Hare

Arctic Hares can be found in various tundra areas of Greenland and northern Canada.They will sometimes forage shelters in the snow to help them survive the extremely cold temperatures of the tundra. Arctic Hares have large hind feet that enable them to move very quickly across the snow. They also have claws that help them to dig through the snow when looking for mosses or other vegetation to eat.The Arctic Hare's diet consists of buds, berries, twigs, mosses, woody plants and other types of vegetation that can be found in the tundra.   

 

Musk Ox

Musk Oxen have an outer coat made of long, brown hairs and an inner coat called qiviut which consists of wool.This is a special adaptation that helps the musk ox survive the freezing temperatures of the tundra. Musk Oxen are vegetarian and will eat much of the vegetation that is available in the tundra. This includes willow shoots, lichens, grasses and shrubs.  

  

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owls will most often feed on small rodents including lemmings 

and voles. Rabbits are another staple of the Snowy Owl's diet.The 

owls are opportunistic and will also feed on other types of birds such 

as ptarmigans as well as bird eggs of larger birds. Snowy Owls will build their nests on the ground, typically in a higher place than the surrounding land so that they will have good visibility to predators and prey. Snowy Owls have a 

thick layer of feathers on their body as well as their feet to enable them

to survive in the tundra. 

Plants In Tundra :- 

Arctic Moss

The Calliergon giganteum is an aquatic plant found growing on the bottom of tundra lake beds and in and around bogs and fens. It is a member of the Siberian tundra biome. Like all mosses, Calliergon giganteum is a bryophyte. They have rhizoids (tiny rootlets) instead of roots. They never have wood stems. They have tiny leaves, usually only one cell thick. There are lots of leaves on the stem. They do not have flowers.

Arctic Willow

Arctic Willow is 15-20 cm in height. It has many different shapes, but sometimes has long trailing branches that root where they touch the surface. Rock willows/Arctic willows grow prostrate, shrub, and carpet. The leaves are oval shaped with pointed tips, wedge shaped bottoms, and have little stalks.The leaves are dark green on the bottom and a lighter green on the top.They have net like veins and long hairs that cover their leaves. The flowers of the Salix arctica are upright scaly spikes that are unisexual flowers with no petals.

Bearberry

Bearberry is a very useful plant. All parts of it can be used in some way. The fruit can be eaten and cooked with other foods. The roots can be made into a tea that can treat a constant cough or slow down menstrual bleeding. A tea from the stem is used to prevent miscarriage and to speed up a women's recovery after childbirth. The leaves can be added to tobacco or used as a substitute for it. A tea made from the leaves can be drunk to treat kidney or bladder problems. It's fine silky hairs also help to keep it warm.Leathery leaves are also an adaptation to the cold of the tundra

Caribou Moss

It grows on the ground and on rocks. It looks like a foamy, gray-green spongy mass, and grows to be 1 to 4 inches high. The stems, or stocks, are hollow, and branch out many times. 

Diamond Leaf Willow

The twigs on a willow are soft, slender, and they bend easily. A willow has thin branches. The leaves are narrow and grow alternately on the branch. Some leaves have serrated edges.Willows have clusters of flowers that look like white, fuzzy caterpillars and are about 1 inch in length.When the willow blooms on the tundra it looks like a bumpy, fuzzy carpet covering the ground.The diamond leaf willow provides much needed food for grazing animal of the tundra, like musk oxen, and caribou or reindeer. 

Labrador Tea

It has woolly branches with narrow 1 to 2 inch leaves which are smooth on the upper side, with rusty hairs underneath.They droop slightly and edges are rolled under, and are a leathery green in color. At the ends of the branches are tiny clusters of white flowers.The tea is very rich in vitamin C.Bees are attracted to the flowers, but animals don't eat them because they are said to be slightly poisonous. 

Pasque Flower

The Pasque flower has several stems that rise 6-8 inches off the ground. On each stem is one flower with 5-8 petals. The range of color in the petals is from dark lavender to almost white. In the center of the flower are yellow stamens. Below the flower, around the stem is a leaf covered in silky hairs, as is the rest of the plant. The fruit of the plant is a plum that is achenial, which means that one seed is attached to the ovary wall, like a strawberry seed.

Tufted Saxifrage

Tufted Saxifrage is a small perennial that grow in thick mats on the tundra. It has several straight flower stems which can get 3-15 cm high. The leaves are rigid and very hairy and only 5-10 mm long. Their tips divide into 3 lobes.The Saxifrage has a well-developed underground root system forstoring carbohydrates, so that they can respond quickly to the cold weather of the tundra. Saxifraga heuchera is one of the few saxifrages used as an ornamental plant.

Soil :-

Tundra has unique soil structure, permafrost, forms and dominates the biology. Permafrost is a layer of soil that remains frozen year-round.The soil above it may thaw during the summer, but the soil below remains frozen and thus biologically inactive. Further, the permafrost forms a barrier; in temperate climes many animals overwinter by burrowing down into the soil to a point below where the soil freezes.This is not possible in the tundra soils, and thus animals must contend with freezing over the winter. Permafrost limits root penetration to deep soil layers, effectively insulating lower soil layers from biological activity. Materials in permafrost layers are trapped and remain stored, mostly inert, for eons. Water becomes limiting, because soils don't have much depth in which to store water, and there is only a short period during the growing season when it thaws and becomes available. Thus, water shortages can be a problem in some tundra areas. In other areas, tundra is low elevation, and water collects and makes the ground boggy during the summer months.

Limited Factors :- 

Temperature

The temperature in a tundra biome ranges between −94°F in winter to 54°F in summer. In contrast, mammals can survive in this harsh climate, owing to their ability to regulate their body temperature.

Sunlight

As a tundra biome is located at the poles, it is in darkness for a considerable part of the year. Lack of sunlight for a part of the year also means that plants grow in a tundra biome only during summer.

Poor Soil

Tundra plants also bear the brunt of poor soil. The soil in this biome is not just nutrient deficient, but also very shallow. As a result, trees cannot delve their root deep into it. 

Limited Growing Season

As the region is subjected to darkness for nearly half the year, the process of photosynthesis is hindered, which, in turn, limits the growth of plants. The end result in a short growing season.This seasonal availability of food reflects on the abundance of animals in this ecosystem.

Food Supply

The shortage of food supply resulting from lack of sunlight for a part of the year, short growing season, and poor soil limits the population of herbivores and omnivores by forcing them to migrate in search of food and affecting their rate of reproduction.

Competition

hen the number of caribous in the Arctic tundra comes down, carnivorous species like gray wolves and wolverines start competing. Eventually, the food shortage resulting from this competition either results in their death, affects their rate of reproduction, or prompts them to migrate, thus restoring the balance in a tundra ecosystem.

Predation

When the caribou population increases, gray wolves have abundance of food at their disposal. This, in turn, boosts their reproduction rate and results in an increase in their population. In this manner, the population of both species is balanced out.

Human Impact :- 

Human impact on the tundra has generally not been a positive one. Because the tundra is such a delicate environment, even the slightest change in conditions can threaten the entire biome. Recent human activities have largely undermined the habitat of the indigenous wildlife through hunting, global warming, oil drilling, overdevelopment, and pollution.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.appstate.edu/~neufeldhs/ecosystems/biomestundra.htm

http://www.tundraanimals.net/tundraanimals/rockptarmigan.html

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra_plant_page.htm

http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/tundra/where.htm

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/tundra.php

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/limiting-factors-in-a-tundra-biome.html

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5903440_human-impact-tundra_.html