WATER
Life is intrinsically related
to water. Water runs through the entire life of every living thing and
impregnates it. For nearly three billion years, all life on Earth was able to
exist without air, but no form of life has ever been able to live without
water. For plants, animals, and Man, life depends on water.
1/ The genealogy of water:
2/ What is water:
- vast thermal capacity
- excellent solvent:
carries the minerals required for life, but also carries pollution
agents
- high superficial
pressure:
- paradoxical density:
3/ Water, the birthplace of life:
4/ From water to land:
5/ Back to water:
6/ Water and plant life:
7/ Aquatic plants:
8/ Plants in arid regions
9/ Animals in arid regions:
10/ Water in our organism:
The Earth’s water circulates in a never-ending
cycle, passing through three stages – solid, liquid, and vapor. Knowledge of
the planet’s water cycle is fairly recent; its influence on our planet’s life
is determining – erosion, the climate, etc. Today we are drinking and eliminating
the same water that diplodocuses drank and eliminated and that we ourselves
have already drunk and eliminated several times over !
1/ The never-ending cycle:
2/ “Danger” water:
3/ Subterranean water:
4/ Caves and grottoes:
5/ Rivers and streams:
6/ Lakes:
7/ Ponds:
8/ Peat bogs and swamps:
9/ Glaciers:
10/ Polar regions, water in its
solid form:
11/ Arid regions, deserts:
12/ Tropical and humid regions:
The Earth’s oceans and seas
shelter many kinds of life. In their watery environment, living beings can
sometimes resist extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, darkness, and
salinity. Thus, life can be found in the icy darkness of abysses, as well as in
brackish stagnant water or near hot springs. In the oceans of the Earth, the
world’s hugest organisms live side by side with the most microscopic forms of
life.
Topics
1/ The world’s
oceans and seas:
o
Colors of the sea: brown, red, green along the shores,
blue in the deep sea.
o
Shapes of the sea bottoms.
o
Waves, swells, tides.
2/ Sea and ocean
streams, regions of high productivity:
o
Surface streams: warm streams (the Gulf Stream), cold
streams [Kuroshivo Stream] (Humboldt, Benguela, Australia, Labrador, Antarctic
circumpolar stream.
o
Dense streams: deep-sea springs (Northern Atlantic and
the Weddell Sea).
o
Slope streams: non-flat surface where waves, swells,
and tides are superposed.
o Upwelling: four
major coastal or ocean regions: California, Humboldt, Canary Islands, and
Benguela.
3/ El Niño:
o
Downpours, devastating cyclones in the eastern Pacific, droughts.
4/ Life:
o
Complex
food chain.
o
Cetacean mammals, a threatened species.
o
Fish (21,000 species) -- Reproduction and habitat.
o
Mollusks (65,000 varied species).
o
Micro-organisms: plankton and algae.
The foundation of
the food chain, concept of productivity in a marine environment --
phytoplankton and zooplankton.
5/ Hot springs:
o
Formation (volcanic vents).
o
Fauna around hot springs: bacteria, giant tube worms, crustaceans, fish.
6/ Deep-sea fish:
o
Bioluminescence.
o
“Fishing” fish.
7/ Islands:
o Major geological
activity
o Flora and fauna
o Soft water.
o Fragility of
islands: pressure from tourist trade, degradation of natural habitats and soft
water reservoirs
8/ Coral reefs:
o
Polyps.
o
How coral is formed: atolls, fringing reefs, barrier reefs.
9/ Mangroves:
o
An oasis for life (crabs, birds, crocodiles, fish, reptiles, mollusks,
tree-dwelling mammals, etc.). Mangroves stabilize the soil and the swampy
coastal areas.
10/ Polar oceans and seas:
o
Differences and characteristics: the Arctic and Antarctica.
o
A wealth of ocean life: Ice caps and Inlandsis, currents and plankton.
11/ Coastal regions:
o
Formation and various type of coasts.
o
Flora and fauna.
o
Endangered coasts: in 1990, 60% of the world’s population was living in
these regions. By 2100, the figure will reach 75%.
D. HISTORY AND SOCIETY
The interdependence
of Man and water is made of many vital links. An infinite source of
inspiration, water has always fed Man’s imagination and given birth to myths
and religions. Water is present in a multitude of artistic creations.
Numerous civilizations have
developed around the resources of the sea. Nearly all large cities have been
established near a river. Although the ocean has been a communications link
between people, allowing new worlds to be discovered, it has also been the
scene of many conflicts. Water has always been an integral part of the History
of Mankind.
Topics
1/ Civilizing
water:
o Rome:
water and urban development (baths, water canalization, sewer systems).
o Venice:
the city of water.
o
Egypt: a gift from the Nile.
o
Versailles and its fountains.
o
Taj Mahal (India), floating markets (Thailand), a
village built on water (Iraq).
o
The baths of Antiquity in the twenty-first century
(saunas, Turkish baths, Japanese bath houses).
2/ Mythologies and religions:
o
Creation of the world.
o
The great biblical flood.
o
Mythical creatures.
o
Purification rites.
o
Rain dances.
o
Water gods and goddesses.
3/ Famous
explorers:
o
Antiquity: Oceanians, Egyptians, Greeks,
Carthaginians, and Phoenicians.
o
Middle Ages: Vikings, Arabs, Marco Polo.
o Renaissance: The Netherlands,
China, France, Portugal, Spain.
o
The Age of Light: Bering, Perouse, Cook.
o
19th century: discovery of new lands using
rivers: source of the Nile (Speke, Burton, Stanley, Livingstone), the Orinoco
(Bonpland, Humboldt)
o
20th and 21st centuries: the
North Pole, the depths of the ocean, new challenges.
4/ Shipwrecks:
o
The San Diego.
5/ Living and
residing on water:
o
The Mokens (Burma), nomads of the sea.
o
Houses on piling.
o
Urus Island on Lake Titicaca.
o
The Inthas, floating villages in Burma.
o
Floating towns of the future: Osaka airport in Japan.
6/ Water and
leisure-time activities:
o
Water sports.
o
Marinas, cities on the seashore, etc.
o
Ski resorts.
E. PUTTING WATER TO USE
From the very beginning, Man
has always tried to domesticate water. Control of the water was the key to the
development of civilizations. From canoes to pirogues, from the waterwheel to
the steam engine, human activities made possible because of water are innumerable.
Man has also used all his technology to obtain clean drinking water – even in
Antiquity, water distribution networks were established.
Topics
1/ Drinking
water:
o
Drawing water (springs, wells, community networks):
145 liters each day per inhabitant in industrialized countries: consumer use
and waste.
o
Cycle and quality of drinking water.
2/ Waste water
treatment:
o
Waste water.
o
Water purification plants.
o
Evacuation of purified water.
3/ Dams:
o
Hydroelectric production.
o
Controlling water flow (Aswan dam), flood protection,
protecting against salt water floods (Diama Dam on the Senegal River).
o
In Egypt and in Pakistan, 80%-90% of all agriculture
is dependent on the existence of dams.
o
Consequences for Man and for the environment (Itaipu
on the Parana River, Saint James Bay in Canada, Bakun in Malaysia, Zimapan in
Mexico, Selingué in Mali, Narmada Sarovar in India, Ataturk in Turkey, Three
Gorges in China).
4/ Ocean traffic:
o
Canals (Suez, Panama).
o
Major ports.
o
Pollution.
o
Straits.
5/ River traffic:
o
In some countries, river navigation is the sole means
of moving from one place to another: Sepik River in Papua New Guinea, the Zaire
River, Bangladesh.
o
Water transportation: floating markets, the Rhine, the
Danube, the Volga.
o
Canals: Canal du Midi in southern France (classified
as a World Treasure of Humanity), the Briare bridge canal on the Loire River.
o
Timber floating: Yalu River (between Korea and China),
West Dvina River (Russia), St Maurice River (Quebec).
o
Pollution in industrialized regions.
o
Management plans for major rivers.
6/ Water and
agriculture:
o
Plants and water: irrigation and drainage.
o
Irrigation canals.
o
Spray irrigation in temperate regions (pressure pipes:
irrigation racks, spray guns). Localized micro-irrigation.
o
Surface draining (ditches) or subterranean drainage
(pipes).
o
Irrigation by submersion: rice paddies.
7/ Water for
industry:
o
Industry’s water requirements.
o
Using water’s chemical and physical properties.
o
Using water’s mechanical strength: mills, hydraulic
machines, tidal power stations.
8/ Sea salt:
o
Rock salt (as in the Camargue region of France).
o
Salt lakes: the Dead Sea, Lake Assal, the Afar
Depression.
o
Salinity of sea water: Baltic Sea (low saline
content), Red Sea (highly saline).
o
Salinization of soil (the Sahara).
o
Desalinization plant.
9/ Fishing and
aquaculture:
o
Small-scale fishing in under-developed countries faces
major threats from industrial fishing.
o
Development of aquaculture (Asia).
10/ Mining
resources in the oceans:
o
Hydrocarbon: 6,500 platforms, the biggest is Norwegian
(800,000 tons).
o
Danger of the platform’s sinking after use.
o
Polymetallic nodules.
o
“Mining” sea water: magnesium and bromine.
11/ New resources
of the oceans:
o
Algae production: Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Korea.
o
Fishing and consumption of deep-sea fish, but no
estimates of the extent of this resource.
o
Medicine from the sea (plankton, bacteria: the
molecules of the future).
12/ Living under
the sea:
o
Exploration of sea bottoms: Nautile, Aqualab, etc.
o
Undersea habitations: Jacques Rougerie (an undersea
architect) and Key Largo (scientific laboratory which has been converted into a
hotel).
F. THE STAKES
Water would appear to be
inexhaustible resource. But this is not the case. Excessive pumping, poor
resource management, and alarming pollution levels combine to deplete water
resources on the planet’s surface. Water is a coveted resource, and it has no
boundaries. Management of international water basins and the sharing of ocean
waters are latent sources of conflict among several nations.
Currently, many means of
“exploiting” water for profit threaten the quality of this resource. Water is
being polluted by fertilizers and pesticides, industrial waste and acid rain. A
general awareness of the danger has arisen, but the steps taken are totally
insufficient to preserve the Earth’s water supply and transmit this heritage to
future generations.
Topics
1/
Threats to drinking water:
o
Soft water is rare – our planet is 70% water, but 97,5 % of this water is salt water.
o
Inequality of supply, and the demand is
ever-increasing.
2/
Water and industry:
o
Industry devours water (agricultural by-products
industry).
o
Poisons in the water: mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead,
aluminum, thermal pollution.
o
Serial negative impacts: acid rain.
o
Water for nuclear energy production: pollution by hot
water.
3/ Threats to
water and agriculture:
o
2,000 billion cubic meters of water.
o
Massive-scale pollution: fertilizers, pesticides
(crop-dusting), herbicides, DDT (in Third World countries).
o
Nitrates, phosphates: pollution in the sea,
development of green algae.
o
Extensive battery breeding.
o Aberration:
cotton-growing in the middle of a desert (Russia), tomato-growing in the arid
regions of the western United States.
o
Development of non-soil crops, requiring less water.
o
Implementation of bio-programmers to measure the
plant’s requirements for water using captors which automatically set off a
watering system if needed.
o
Mini-pumps in Africa.
o
Israel: drop-by-drop irrigation.
4/ From fishing to
over-fishing:
o
Modern methods: industrial fleets, chain-link nets,
nets measuring 20 kilometers long for salmon in the Baltic Sea.
o
Unnecessary catches: part of the fish caught are not
the targeted fish and so are thrown out.
o
Threat to bio-diversity (massacre of dolphins), construction
of artificial reefs, restocking fish in lakes and ponds and on coastal reefs.
o
Fish breeders feed their stock other fish!
5/ Oceanic dump
yard:
o
A major threat: desalinization plants.
o
Threat of oil spills.
o
The Mediterranean Sea and its “plastic” problem.
o
Surveillance of the seas: Natura 2000 (European
Union), an international maritime organization; the U.N.’s Rights of the Seas
Agreement.
6/ The vicious
circle of increasing desert lands:
o Man –
victim and criminal: increasingly sedentary life-styles, extensive stock
breeding, agricultural developments, salinization and destruction of soils.
o Over-use
of subterranean water resources.
o Rural
exodus and lack of food (refugees, population migrations).
o 900
million human beings are directly concerned: refugees fleeing drought and
famine.
o Urban
oases: El Oued and Ourgala (Algeria).
o Mutation
of oases: disappearance of herding, drying up of some oases, stranding of
oases, salinization of land.
o The
Sahara and Sahel Observatory.
7/ Humid tropical
regions:
o
Shortages await us: the problem of hugely populated
cities, the demographic explosion (Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Bombay, New Delhi).
o
Numerous causes: intensive agriculture, lack of
sanitation facilities, industrial pollution, river swelling, floods.
o
Unstable balance: demographic growth, extension of
agricultural regions, increased erosion and its impact on soil, pollution.
o
Deforestation and Man’s modifications to the natural
cycle of water: Amazon River and forest, Indonesia.
o
Well-planned management of humid regions (UNESCO’s
international hydrological program).
o
The fight against flooding.
o
Rise of water-levels.
8/ Water-related
diseases:
o
Deadly water, a social evil for poor countries:
unacceptable water quality, non-existent sanitation facilities, slums and squatters,
increased urbanization.
o
Water-related diseases: diarrhea, cholera, typhoid
fever, hepatitis, bilharziosis, yellow fever, etc.
o
Infant mortality: of the 12.7 million deaths of
children under five years of age, 3 million die because of drinking unhealthy
water (measures being taken by UNICEF and WHO/OMS).
o
Emergency status: malaria and mosquitoes.
9/ Water and
health:
o
Water therapies.
o
Water and drinks.
o
Sanitation and elementary measures of good hygiene.
10/ Women and
water:
o
Weight of water: health problems.
o
Women – the keystones for development: use (cooking);
role women play in health education; women know where the wells are located –
installation of hydraulic wells based on women’s knowledge of locations. A
critical situation : women are exposed to the various effects of polluted
water, reaching water supplies becomes more difficult because locations are
more distant.
o
First victims of disaster during floods, drought,
cyclones. Women are responsible for the household.
o
UNESCO program: “Women and Water”.
11/ Water – a
stake in political battles
o
Conflicts related to water: rivers crossing borders,
ground water, domestic seas, lakes stretching over two or more countries,
straits, exclusive economic zones (EEZs).
o
Hot spots: Jordan River Valley, water resources in the
Gaza Strip, lake Tiberiad, etc. (Israel
/ Palestine / Jordan) – Senegal River (Mauritius / Senegal) – Sources of
the Cenepa, rivers feeding Lake Titcaca and Lake Bopoy Coipsa (Peru / Equator)
– Canal between Brahmapouter and the Ganges by India to the detriment of China,
Nepal and Bangladesh – The Rio Grande (Mexico / USA) – Setting up the Ataturk
Dam to irrigate Kurdistan with water from the Tiger and Euphrates Rivers
(Turkey / Syria / Iraq) – The Nile (Ethiopia / Sudan / Egypt).
o
Peace over water in Somalia (Overseas Development
Administration - UK).
o
Okavango: political and environmental conflict where
Namibia wants to draw 22 million cubic meters of water each year for its
capital, Windhoek.
o
Aral Sea: In 1960, Syr Daria and Amour Daria Rivers
were diverted for intensive irrigation:
40 % of the inland sea’s water disappeared. The port of Munyak and Aral
is 40 km from the sea. Salt content is also increasing, along with broader
temperature ranges and significant changes in the population. Major water
pollution because of fertilizers, pesticides, and defoliants. Infant mortality
has doubled and there is an alarming increase in throat cancer, eye diseases,
respiratory problems.
* *