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Physical & Chemical Water Quality Criteria

Physical & Chemical Water Quality Criteria

Physical and chemical water quality criteria, monitored and enforced by the EPA under the Clean Water Act, define the maximum and recommended amounts of chemicals and other contaminants that should be found in waterbodies.

CMap

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas used by primary producers, such as plants and algae, to produce sugars. Biocriteria are narrative expressions or numeric values that describe the biological condition (structure and function) of aquatic communities inhabiting waters of a designated aquatic life use. Biological monitoring is the use of a biological entity as a detector and its response as a measure to determine environmental conditions. Biological monitoring, mapping, and scientific research are activities to track the condition of populations, communities, and habitat, and to understand the processes, stressors, and ecological interactions that affect that condition. The Chemicals in the ocean, such as the CO2, pH levels, and salinity, may vary depending on the drivers and pressures. Climate reflects a region's temperature, humidity, air pressure, and weather. Contact Uses, such as biological additions, physical damage, and biological harvesting, are activities in which humans create pressures through direct contact with the ecosystem. Cultural services are the nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreational opportunities, aesthetic experiences, sense of place, and educational and research opportunities. Designating protected species is the process of legally establishing a species as threatened, endangered, or of special concern, often requiring that critical habitat must be designated as well and recovery plans implemented. Discharges are the intentional or unintentional distribution of chemicals, debris, or other pollution, into the environment as a consequence of human activities. Ecosystem monitoring and restoration refers to responses to directly alter the condition of the reef ecosystem through restoration or remediation activities, setting limits on degradation through biological criteria or water quality criteria, or improving knowledge through monitoring, mapping, and scientific research. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems . Environmental monitoring describes the processes and activities that need to take place to characterize and monitor the quality of the physical and chemical environment. Environmental monitoring, mapping, and scientific research are activities to track the condition of the physical and chemical environment, and to understand the processes that affect it. Invasive species are plants, animals, or other organisms that are foreign to a particular environment, and whose introduction may be detrimental when invasives compete with or consume native species. Landscape Changes are alterations of the natural landscape through human activities, including coastal development, shoreline armoring, impervious surfaces, deforestation, or soil disturbance, which can alter water flow patterns and lead to pollutant runoff into coastal systems. Light is the level of visible and ultraviolet solar radiation that penetrates the water column. Marine debris includes garbage, plastics, glass, and metal, which are not disposed of properly and can enter coastal waters. Microorganisms are microscopic plants or animals, such as cyanobacteria and disease-causing pathogens that live in coral reef ecosystems. Nutrients are essential elements needed by plants and animals for growth and primarily include nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, as well as minor nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, or zinc. Ocean acidity reflects the pH of the ocean's surface, and is determined by dissolution rates of atmospheric CO2 and sea surface temperatures. The Reef Ecosystem includes a suite of abiotic variables that form the physical and chemical environment. Physical and chemical water quality criteria, monitored and enforced by the EPA under the Clean Water Act, define the maximum and recommended amounts of chemicals and other contaminants that should be found in waterbodies. The Physical aspects of coral reef ecosystems, such as the depth, temperature, and light, vary depending on the drivers and pressures. Pressures are human activities that create stress on the environment. Provisioning services are the products or ecosystem goods obtained from ecosystems, including seafood, genetic and biochemical resources, pharmaceuticals, ornamental resources, and water resources. The state of the Reef Ecosystem is the condition, in terms of quantity and quality, of the abiotic and biotic components including physical, chemical, and biological variables. Reef Habitat is the abundance, distribution, and condition of the benthic components of the reef ecosystem. Reef Inhabitants are all of the motile components of the reef ecosystem, including fish, invertebrates, marine reptiles and mammals, and are quantified by their abundance, distribution, and condition. Reef Life is the abundance, distribution, and condition of the biological components of the coral reef ecosystem. Regulating Services are benefits obtained from ecosystem processes that regulate the environment, including erosion regulation, natural hazard regulation, and climate regulation. Remediation is the removal of pollution or contaminants from soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water for the protection of human health and the environment. Responses are actions taken by groups or individuals in society and government to prevent, compensate, ameliorate or adapt to changes in Ecosystem Services or their perceived value. Salinity is the dissolved salt concentration in water, and is the key factor distinguishing ocean water from freshwater. Sea temperature is a measure of the warmth of ocean waters, and depends on water depth, solar radiation, water circulation patterns, and atmospheric temperatures. Seawater flow reflects circulation patterns, currents, and wave action that move water throughout the ocean and towards the coastline. Sediment includes dirt, sand, silt, clay, and small rocks that form soil on land or soft substrate in marine habitats, and may be transported by water, wind, or human activities. Socio-Economic Drivers include the sectors that fulfill human needs for Food & Raw Materials, Water, Shelter, Health, Culture, and Security, and the Infrastructure that supports the sectors. Storms and hurricanes are periodic events of high precipitation, winds, wave action, and flooding that can potentially cause damage to reef habitat, property, or human lives. Substrate is the surface upon which an organism grows or is attached, and may include sand, hardbottom, rock, or even other biota. Supporting services are ecological processes that indirectly benefit humans by maintaining a functional ecosystem for the production of other ecosystem goods and services. Surface and groundwater flow reflects the patterns of water movement across the landscape, including rivers, streams, underground water, or stormwater. Toxics are chemical pollutants that are poisonous, carcinogenic, or otherwise directly harmful to humans, plants, or animals. Water depth reflects the height between the bottom of the seafloor and water surface, and is often indicative of distinct ecological communities (shallow water species; deep water species). Wetland and reef restoration are activities to directly improve, reestablish, or repair degraded ecosystems. A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally.

CMap Description

A change in the provision of ecosystem services, or a desire to improve provision of ecosystem services, may elicit responses to directly alter the reef ecosystem. The Clean Water Act directs EPA to develop criteria for water quality that accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge about the effects of pollutants on aquatic life and human health. In developing these criteria, EPA examines the effects of specific pollutants on plankton, fish, shellfish, wildlife, plant life, aesthetics, and recreation in any body of water. This includes specific information on the concentration and dispersal of pollutants through biological, physical, and chemical processes as well as the effects of pollutants on biological communities as a whole. States may use the criteria that are developed by EPA to help set water quality standards that protect the uses of their waters or they may develop their own water quality criteria. EPA publishes human health and aquatic life criteria and is currently developing sediment and biological criteria. These criteria are complementary: each is designed to protect specific types of living organisms or ecological systems from the adverse effects of pollution. Additional responses may need to be enacted to ensure that water quality criteria and biocriteria, once established, are achieved and maintained. Monitoring, mapping, and scientific research can be used to better understand changes in condition, bio-physical processes, and interactions among species, and how they may be impacted by various stressors or potential decisions. A healthy functioning reef ecosystem, beyond its existence or cultural value, is essential for a number of ecosystem goods and services, including shoreline protection, fishing, and recreational opportunities.

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