1.

Explain in details, the phenomenon of dispersion of pollutants in

surface water?
Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often chemicals or
microorganisms—contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body
of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the
environment.
Surface water
Surface waters are the natural water resources of the Earth. They are found on the
exterior of the Earth’s crust.
The nation’s surface-water resources—the water in the nation’s rivers, streams,
creeks, lakes, and reservoirs—are vitally important to our everyday life. The main
uses of surface water include drinking-water and other public uses, irrigation uses,
and for use by the thermoelectric-power industry to cool electricity-generating
equipment.
These waters can become polluted in a number of ways, and this is called surface
water pollution. We list some of them here
 Sewage
 Synthetic Organic Compounds
 Chemical waste
 Oil pollution

2. Discuss the self-purification and oxygen balance in water bodies?

Under favorable conditions, any polluted body of surface water-stream or river,
lake or pond - will rid itself of a certain amount of its pollution by means of nature,
processes. This self-purification cannot de depended upon to bring about complete
purification, but it may well improve the water quality sufficiently to ease the load
on mechanical purification equipment.
The major physical processes involved in self-purification of water courses are
dilution, sedimentation and re-suspension, filtration, gas transfer and heat transfer.
a natural process of purifying, as the ability of a body of water to rid itself of
pollutants.
When a single large charge of sewage is poured into a clean stream, the water
becomes turbid, sunlight is shut out of the depths, and green plants, which by
photosynthesis remove carbon dioxide from the water and release oxygen to it, die
off. Depending on the stream velocity, the water soon turns nearly black. Odorous
sulfur compounds are formed and solids settle to the bottom, forming a sludge. The
settled solids soon decompose, forming gases such as ammonia, carbon dioxide,
and methane or marsh gas. Scavenging organisms increase in number until they
match the food supply. The oxygen resources are drawn upon heavily and, when
overloaded, become exhausted. Life in such waters is confined to anaerobic
bacteria (which exist when no oxygen is available), larvae of certain insects such
as mosquitoes, and a few worms. There are no fish; turtles are generally the only
forms of higher life present. This condition is known as the zone of degradation.
In a second zone, or zone of decomposition, more solids settle out, the water
becomes somewhat clearer, and sunlight penetrates the surface. Oxygen is
absorbed from the atmosphere at the air-water interface permitting the
establishment of aerobic (oxygen available) conditions. The aerobic bacteria
continue the conversion of organic matter into nitrates, sulfates. and carbonates.
These, together with the carbon dioxide produced by decomposition as well as by
bacteria and plant life, are food sources. With sunlight now penetrating the water,
and with abundant food, algae begin to flourish and form a green scum over the
surface.
In the third zone, or zone of recovery, algae become more numerous and self-
purification proceeds more rapidly. Green plants utilizing carbon dioxide and
oxygen will liberate in the say time more oxygen than is consumed, thus hastening
the recovery of the stream. Simultaneously, the fish that require little oxygen such
as catfish and carp, are also found. As the dissolved oxygen increases, more types
of fish appear. After recovery, in the zone of cleaner water, fish find the stream
highly favorable, as the algae support various aquatic insects and other organisms
on which fish feed. The water is clear or turbid according to concentration of algae,
and may have odor for the same reason.
Dissolved Oxygen in Water
As the chart shows, the concentration of dissolved oxygen in surface water is
affected by temperature and has both a seasonal and a daily cycle. Cold water can
hold more dissolved oxygen than warm water. In winter and early spring, when the
water temperature is low, the dissolved oxygen concentration is high. In summer
and fall, when the water temperature is high, the dissolved-oxygen concentration is
often lower.
Dissolved oxygen in surface water is used by all forms of aquatic life; therefore,
this constituent typically is measured to assess the "health" of lakes and streams.
Oxygen enters a stream from the atmosphere and from groundwater discharge. The
contribution of oxygen from groundwater discharge is significant, however, only in
areas where groundwater is a large component of streamflow, such as in areas of
glacial deposits. Photosynthesis is the primary process affecting the dissolved-
oxygen/temperature relation; water clarity and strength and duration of sunlight, in
turn, affect the rate of photosynthesis.

The generally accepted minimum amount of DO that will support a large population of
various fishes is from 4 to 5 mg/l. When the DO drops below 3 mg/l, even the hardy fish
die. Keep in mind that even though there may be enough DO to keep an adult alive,
reproduction may be hampered by the need for higher DO for eggs and immature
stages. Depletion in DO can cause major shifts in the kinds of aquatic organisms found
in water bodies. Species that cannot tolerate low levels of DO - mayfly nymphs, stonefly
nymphs, and beetle larvae - will be replaced by a few kinds of pollution-tolerant
organisms, such as worms and fly larvae. Nuisance algae and anaerobic organisms
(that live without oxygen) may also become abundant in waters with low levels of DO.
3. Describe the biotic stages that take place in water bodies?
An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem in a body of
water. Communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their
environment live in aquatic ecosystems. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems
are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems.
Biotic characteristics
The biotic characteristics are mainly determined by the organisms that occur. For
example, wetland plants may produce dense canopies that cover large areas of
sediment—or snails or geese may graze the vegetation leaving large mud flats.
Aquatic environments have relatively low oxygen levels, forcing adaptation by the
organisms found there. For example, many wetland plants must
produce aerenchyma to carry oxygen to roots. Other biotic characteristics are more
subtle and difficult to measure, such as the relative importance of competition,
mutualism or predation. There are a growing number of cases where predation by
coastal herbivores including snails, geese and mammals appears to be a dominant
biotic factor.
Autotrophic organisms
Autotrophic organisms are producers that generate organic compounds from
inorganic material. Algae use solar energy to generate biomass from carbon
dioxide and are possibly the most important autotrophic organisms in aquatic
environments. The more shallow the water, the greater the biomass contribution
from rooted and floating vascular plants. These two sources combine to produce
the extraordinary production of estuaries and wetlands, as this autotrophic biomass
is converted into fish, birds, amphibians and other aquatic species.
Chemosynthetic bacteria are found in benthic marine ecosystems. These organisms
are able to feed on hydrogen sulfide in water that comes from volcanic vents. Great
concentrations of animals that feed on these bacteria are found around volcanic
vents. For example, there are giant tube worms (Riftia pachyptila) 1.5 m in length
and clams (Calyptogena magnifica) 30 cm long.
Heterotrophic organisms
Heterotrophic organisms consume autotrophic organisms and use the organic
compounds in their bodies as energy sources and as raw materials to create their
own biomass. Euryhaline organisms are salt tolerant and can survive in marine
ecosystems, while stenohaline or salt intolerant species can only live in freshwater
environments.