Part I
| Time Period | Impact to Forest | Groundwater Levels | Saltwater Intrusion | Farming | Industrial development | Population |
| 1800s | Large forests | Lots of ground water | No salt water intrusion | Small firms | No cities | Substantial housing |
| 1900s | Decreased by 50% | Decreased by 50% | Ocean moved into ground water | Farms are larger, but there are fewer | Exceptional growth of industrial development | Substantial increase in housing |
| 2000s | Decreased by 90% | Decreased by 90% | Greater movement of ocean into ground water | Same number of firms, but sized decreased by 20% | Industrial development decreased by 10-15% | Housing development decreased by 10-15% |
Part II
Purpose of the Lab : To determine the impact of human activities on ground water sustainability.
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Introduction
The surface of planet earth is primarily covered with water which has an approximated coverage of 70%. Despite there being a large percentage of water on the earth’s surface, only 1% of it is usable and accessible to humans as well as other organisms. Still, of the 1% that is accessible and usable, 99% is located in places where it is hard to obtain like natural underground water chambers. This indicates that there is indeed a microscopic amount of water that human can access.
Hypothesis: Increased human activity directly affects the sustainability of groundwater.
Methods
Data was collected by reviewing the trend of industrialization and human development over the years. The data was collected and analysed to obtain a pattern as indicated in the findings table.
Results
From the results, it was found out that over the years, human development has been affecting various areas in different yet significant ways. In the 1800s, large forests, plenty of ground water were found and there were no reported cases of salt intrusion. By the time the 1900s were approaching, there was a notable 50% decrease in forests and ground water, a number that further added up to 90% in the 2000s.
Discussions
The human population has been increasing rapidly over the years. The effect of this increase in population has been the increased usage of resources that are vital to the humans, a factor that has affected their renewing which results in sustenance. With this increased rates, it is implied that human beings engage in a lot of activities that disrupt the renewing of water. For instance, the rate at which water is used for drinking increases rapidly. Moreover, a lot of land keeps getting cleared for occupation, a factor that affects the hydrological cycle responsible for the production of water. Again, there is an increased engagement in agricultural activities in the world today which has seen the drilling of boreholes in most areas of the world.
References
Mullen, K. (2012). Information on earth’s water. NGWA . Retrieved on 3 May 2017 from http://www.ngwa.org/Fundamentals/teachers/Pages/information-on-earth-water.aspx.
Goyal, S. (2013). Vulnerability and sustainability of groundwater resource in India. International Journal of Advanced Earth Science and Engineering, 2 (1), 69-74.
