Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Why Study
Continental Aquatic
Systems?
Human Utilization of Water: Pressures on a Key Resource
What Is the Value of Water Quality?
Summary
Questions for Thought
Although the majority of our planet is covered by water, only a very
small proportion is associated with the continental areas on which humans
are primarily confined (Table 1.1). Of the water associated with continents,
a large amount (over 99%) is in the form of groundwater or ice and is dif-
ficult for humans to use. Human interactions with water most often in-
volve fresh streams, rivers, marshes, lakes, and shallow groundwaters;
thus, we rely heavily on a relatively rare commodity. As is true of all or-
ganisms, our very existence depends on this water; we need an abundance
of fresh water to live.
Why study the ecology of continental waters? To the academic, the an-
swer is easy: because it is fascinating and one enjoys learning for its own
sake. Thus, the field of
limnology
1
(the study of lakes and streams) has de-
veloped. The study of limnology has a long history of academic rigor and
broad interdisciplinary synthesis (Hutchinson, 1957, 1967, 1975, 1993;
Wetzel, 2001). One of the truly exciting aspects of limnology is the inte-
gration of geological, chemical, physical, and biological interactions that
define aquatic systems. No limnologist exemplifies the use of such aca-
demic synthesis better than G. E. Hutchinson (Biography 1.1); he did more
to define modern limnology than any other individual. Numerous other
exciting scientific advances have been made by aquatic ecologists, including
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