Science+Project


 * __ Causes and Effects: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill __**

A biome is a large region that has similar biotic and abiotic components. Biotic componenents are living organisms and abiotic componenets are non living organisms in the environment.
 * __Biomes__

** The oil spill in Gulf of Mexico will have effects on animals, plant life, habitats and biomes of the gulf regions. It pollutes the air, water, If an oil leak occurs on the sea or ground, the consequences can be very bad. Oil pollutes the ground, water and kills animals that come in contact with it. An oil spill can ruin a biome especially one that is so fragile such as the tundra. No plants or animals will return to an area where an oil spill has occurred for decades or even longer. Biotic organisms such as the animals would be suffering and abiotic organisms such as soil and other aspects of nature could be suffering as well.


 * ECOSYSTEM: a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment.** The oil spill is effecting our ecosystem and many things can be effected. The animals such as the fish and birds in the sea are severely damaged. All these creatures swallow the oil and also breathe in the poisonous fumes. Their bodies become coated with oil and thousands of them die in no time.Oil floats on salt water (the ocean) and usually floats on fresh water (rivers and lakes). Sometimes the oil does not effect them right away and doesn't kill them either, but it can effect their ability to reproduce or their offspring may come out disformed.

**__Ecological Pyramids__

There is a ecological pyramid with certain trophic levels for a certain group of animals. If one trophic level doesn't have the enery or necessities it needs due to the oil spill, that means the next trophic level won't go on. The chain needs to go on in able for the next generation to get their own source of energy. And if the oil spill stops that, certain animals won't have anything to eat.**



__ ** Nutrient Cycles ** __ The cycles are carbon cycle,nitrogen cycle,and phosphorus cycle. ** Photosynthesis ** a chemical reaction that converts solar energy into chemical energy. Some plants may not be able to get this form of energy, which is light, because of the oil covering the plants. This won't allow the plants to get light from the sun yet alone be able to receive oxygen. This effects the food chain because animals who eat plants will be effected by the oil in the plants and might be intoxicated or poisned.

**//Bioaccumultion: The process by which substances accumulate in the tissues of living organisms; used especially of toxic substances that accumulate via a food chain//

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// "Oil  spills affect marine life which live, hunt, or travel in the area covered with  oil  . Different types of marine life are impacted differently, depending on their physiology and habits. The compounds left behind after the volatile compounds play a large part in why  oil  spills affect marine life, since many of them are toxic, dense, and bioaccumulative. " - []//

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 * __Bibliography__**
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 * // BC SCIENCE 10 TEXTBOOK //**

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 * //Wikispace Commentary//**

//I liked using wikispace. It taught me how to make my own page on a website. But, I didnt' really enjoy using it all that much because sometimes I wouldn't know how to do certain things and I had trouble editing it. But this is a good experience for any one who really likes working with computers or school based projects or someone who just likes to be creative on the internet! But wikispace did give me alot of knowledge !!!//

Human activities result in emissions of four principal greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2) , methane  (CH4) , nitrous oxide (N2O)  and the halocarbons. **
 * Human activities contribute to climate change by causing changes in Earth’s atmosphere in the amounts of greenhouse gases. The largest known contribution comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere.





Carbon dioxide has __increased__  from fossil fuel use in transportation, building heating and cooling and the manufacture of cement and other goods. Deforestation releases CO2 and reduces its uptake by plants. Carbon dioxide is also released in natural processes such as the decay of plant matter.

Methane has __increased__  as a result of human activities related to agriculture, natural gas distribution and landfills. Methane is also released from natural processes that occur, for example, in wetlands. Methane concentrations are not currently increasing in the atmosphere because growth rates decreased over the last two decades.

Nitrous oxide is also __emitted__ by human activities such as fertilizer use and fossil fuel burning. Natural processes in soils and the oceans also release N2O.

Human activities are a huge cause of global warming. For example: transportation is a big cause. SUVS pollute the planet, yet many people continue to drive them. No one takes global warming seriously. One day, when an actual ecological disaster hits our planet, maybe the people on this planet will learn something, but by then it will be too late. Our ozone layer will eventually be destroyed. **<span style="color: #ff9d00; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">__Ozone__ **<span style="color: #ff9d00; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">//is a greenhouse gas that is continually produced and destroyed in the atmosphere by chemical reactions.// <span style="color: #2168c0; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In the troposphere, human activities have increased ozone through the release of gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide, which chemically react to produce ozone. This layer protects us from UV rays, which will eventually be destroyed if humans do not pick up their act.



<span style="color: #ff9d00; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 169%;">**Did you know that ..** <span style="color: #2168c0; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Besides hunting, human activities like environmental pollution and deforestation has led to the extinction of a large number of animals and plants due to loss of habitat. Recent studies have shown that in North America, 37 animal species have become extinct in the last 50 years due to human activities.

<span style="color: #2168c0; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 114%; text-align: center;">__http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=E18C8F2D-1__ __http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/home_en.htm__ __http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-do-humans-affect-the-environment.html__
 * <span style="color: #ff9d00; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 152%; text-align: center;">Bibliography **