Phinizy Swamp Nature Park

Phinizy Swamp Nature Park Program: Teacher Field Trip Preparation Guide

Program: The Waterdance

Objectives: To understand the water cycle, how water moves in a watershed, and how this relates to pollution and water quality
Vocabulary:
Condensation: a change from gas to a liquid or solid
Erosion: to wear away the earth’s surface by the action of wind, water, or ice
Evaporation: a change from liquid to vapor
Evapotranspiration: the movement of water from a plant by direct evaporation and transpiration into the atmosphere Hydrology: The study of the movement of water on the planet. A scientist who studies hydrology is called a hydrologist Infiltration: To enter or filter into or through something
Marsh: A wetland characterized by grassy vegetation
Non-point Source Pollution: surface water run-off containing pollution from many sites that enters a body of water
Nutrient: a substance that nourishes and promotes growth
Percolation: The gravitational movement of water through the soil
Point Source Pollution: pollution that enters a body of water from a specific point, such as a pipe
Pollution: a contaminant of the environment; to make unclean
Precipitation: a deposit on the earth of hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow
Runoff: rainwater that hits land and flows into a body of water
Sediment: small particles of clay, soil, sand, or organic matter
Soil Texture: The way a soil feels as a result of the percentage of clay, sand, and silt (three components of a mineral soil). Sublimation: The process of passing directly from the solid to the vapor state
Swamp: A wetland characterized by trees
Transpiration: the passage of water through a plant and into the atmosphere
Water Cycle: The continuous movement of water around the air, land, and water areas of the planet
Watershed: the land area from which all water drains into a particular water body
Wetland: An area characterized by water at or near the surface, low-oxygen soil, and special wetland plant species.

Teacher Background Information: About the Water Cycle What is the water cycle?

• The water cycle (sometimes called the hydrological cycle) is the continuous movement of water through the land, air, and water bodies of the planet
• Water is an abundant substance and can be found in oceans, lakes, rivers, clouds, underground, and in every living animal and plant

What state can water exists in?

• Water exists in three states: liquid, solid, and gas
• In the solid state, water exists as ice and snow and can be found in massive amounts in the glaciers, polar areas, and alpine regions
• Water in the gas or vapor state is easily felt on days of high humidity and easily seen in the clouds, fog, steam from boiling water, or the vapor trail left by a passing plane
• The liquid state of water is the one we are most familiar with and it includes oceans, rivers and lakes, rain, to the water we drink

How does water move through the water cycle?

• Water is in constant motion changing from liquid to solid or vapor and back again. Ways in which it moves include:
• Precipitation : The event where water as a liquid or a solid falls from the sky as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. As cloud vapor collects more and more water droplet, the inevitable will happen - precipitation
• Condensation: The process by which water is changed from a vapor to a liquid. As humid air cools, water vapor condenses to form clouds, dew, frost, condensation on the outside edge of a cup of ice, or even fog on your glasses as you walk from an air conditioned room to the hot humid outside
• Evaporation : The process by which water is changed from a liquid to a gas, the opposite of condensation. As air temperature rises allowing the air to hold more water vapor, liquid water from oceans, rivers, lakes, body sweat, or even rain water on an asphalt surface vaporize into the atmosphere
• Surface Runoff: Precipitation that falls to the ground and runs over the landscape is known as surface runoff. Surface runoff eventually ends up in our creeks and rivers. As this water flows over the land it can pick up many pollutants such as sediment and pesticides. Many factors affect the amount of surface runoff
• Infiltration : The process by which liquid water enters the soil. As precipitation falls to the ground not all of it becomes surface runoff; some of it infiltrates the ground and becomes groundwater. Some of the water in wetlands, lakes, rivers and other water bodies infiltrates the ground and moves from the water body to groundwater
• Stream Flow: Streams, creeks, and rivers flow down stream by gravity. This process is known as stream flow. Small creeks empty into bigger creeks, bigger creeks empty into rivers, and rivers flow to the oceans
• Sublimation: The process by which water as a solid converts into the gas state with no intermediate liquid state. Snow and ice often change into water vapor in the air without first melting into water
• Transpiration: The process by which liquid water is transported up the stems of plants and released to the air as a vapor. Plant roots absorb water and nutrients from the soil. The water and nutrients are drawn up to leaves and stems. Some of this water is returned to the air by transpiration
• Evapotranspiration: The process by which water is discharged to the atmosphere as a result of evaporation from the soil and transpiration by plants. During a rain, some liquid water will land on plants. After the rain, this water can evaporate into the air. Some water may also transpire from the plant. The combination of the evaporation and transpiration is known as evapotranspiration
• Groundwater Discharge: The process by which liquid water is discharged to the earth’s surface becoming surface runoff or to the rivers from ground-water. As precipitation falls to the ground and infiltrates the soil to become groundwater, the water continues to flow by gravity both vertically and horizontally through the soil. Often this water travels close to the surface and farther downhill it emerges again and becomes surface runoff or it enters downhill into the nearest stream

What factors influence infiltration rates and the amount of water becoming surface runoff?

• Soil infiltration rates are influenced by many factors both nature and man induced. One of the biggest factors influencing infiltration rates is the topography of the landscape. On a steep slope water is more likely to quickly flow down hill. Vegetation on the slope is one factor that could slow this downhill surface runoff. On flat land, the water is more likely to puddle allowing more time for infiltration
• Soil type is also a large part of infiltration rates. Water moves through bigger holes faster so soils with large pore spaces such as sandy soils tend to have higher infiltration rates than soils with small pore spaces such as soils with heavy clay content. Water saturated soils due to high water table or recent heavy rains however, tend to be impermeable regardless of the soil texture
• Intensity of the storm is another factor affecting infiltration rates. During a heavy downpour more water is likely to become surface runoff than during a light all day continuous rain
• Water landing on impervious surfaces such as parking lots, roofs, streets, and patios either evaporates or becomes surface runoff. The more impervious surfaces located in a watershed the less chance for soil infiltration to groundwater, that area under the soil that is saturated with water

About Water Availability Should the Earth be called the Water Planet?

• The surface of the Earth is more than 70% water, so visually it looks like we have water everywhere
• The water that is actually available for consumption is quite limited however. At any point in the water cycle, more than 97% of the water is tied up in the ocean and is too salty for drinking. 2.5% of the water is stored on land and .001% is contained in the atmosphere
• Of the 2.5% stored on land, about 79% is ice (glaciers and polar ice). In other words, 2% of the water on Earth is frozen. Of the 2.5% stored on land, 20% is groundwater and 1% is surface water
• What that means is only 0.5% of the water on Earth is stored in the watersheds (groundwater and surface water). In fact less than .03% of the Earth’s water is in the streams, lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Think about how little water there is left if we pollute our surface water

What types of things can pollute water?

• Chemicals from pesticides such as herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides as well as chemical waste from manufacturing
• Heat (can kill organisms because hot water holds less oxygen)
• Litter
• Sediment (clogs gills of fish, reduces light penetration to underwater plants)
• Too many nutrients (causes excessive growth of algae) possible coming from fertilizers at farms and neighbor yards
• Organic matter (can get harmful bacteria in certain types of organic matter) from septic tanks, wastewater treatment plants, or sewage spills
• Oil and Gas

How does pollution get into our water?

• Some are released directly into bodies of water such as through pipes from industry for example - this is called point source pollution
• Some originate from many points on the land surface and are washed into the water by rain or snow melt - this is called non-point source pollution. Examples of this is soil that is eroded and washed into lakes, pesticides that wash into creeks, or heated water that runs off from parking lots and roads.

About Watersheds What is a watershed? A watershed, also called a catchment area or a drainage basin, includes all the land area surrounding and “shedding” water into a particular body of water such as a stream, river, lake, or isolated wetland

• A watershed catches precipitation and stores it in a stream or water body. The precipitation makes it way to the stream by surface runoff and ground water discharge from the surrounding land (watershed)
• Most watersheds have an outlet or mouth where the water enters into a drainage system. The mouth may be where it flows into another river or stream, or the place where it empties into a lake or estuary, or ocean
• Topography, the shape of the land surface, determines the boundaries of all watersheds. The highest points surrounding the stream or water body are called divides. Water (rain) falling on the other side of the divide will flow into a different watershed

How big are watersheds?

• Like creeks and rivers, watersheds vary in size and can be as small as a stream in your backyard or as large as the drainage basin for the Mississippi River

Large watersheds usually contain many smaller watersheds within them. The Butler Creek Watershed here at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park is part of the larger Savannah River Watershed

• In North America some of our drainage systems enter the Atlantic Ocean , the Pacific Ocean , the Gulf of Mexico , and the Artic Ocean . These drainage systems are separated by the continental divides

What affects do humans have on watersheds?

• Humans have been altering watersheds since ancient times. Consider the aqueducts of the Romans that often carried water from one watershed over several watersheds and dumped it in a sometimes dryer watershed
• Humans often alter watersheds when they create a dam, or when they build a channel to connect two water bodies, or when they mine a mountain top, or bring in or take out fill dirt, or put in a culvert. In fact paving the land with a parking lot or street alters the watershed by increasing the rate at which water will enter the stream
• As human demand for water increases due to population increase and the demand for more power, irrigation and recreation, so does the need to alter the watershed we live in. Some of these changes have brought improvements, but many have brought degradation
• Humans add many types of pollution to the land such as pesticides and herbicides (non point source) and directly into water by pipes from factors and waste water treatment plants (point source). These pollutants affect the quality of the watershed
• Humans remove vegetation from the landscape and add cement and asphalt, which cause water to flow more quickly into water bodies and have less opportunity to infiltrate into the soil. This also causes more flooding of streams and rivers as well as erosion and heavy sediment loads to the streams

On Wetlands What is a wetland? A wetland is just that, wet land. A wetland is an area that has all three of the following characteristics:

• Low-oxygen (anaerobic), hydric (water-saturated) soil
• Special hydrophytic (water tolerant) plants that can survive in low-oxygen conditions
• A hydrologic regime where water is frequently at, just below, or just above the ground’s surface, creating saturated conditions that lead to the development of hydric soils and the presence of hydrophytic plants ( the level of water often fluctuates and is far from constant)

Where are wetlands located?

• All over the world and in every state in the U.S
• They can be freshwater or saltwater
• They can be along a body of water or independent from another water source
• They are often transitional areas located between dry land and deeper aquatic systems such as rivers and lakes
• They can be forested or not forested
• 5% of U.S. wetlands are coastal wetlands, while 95% are inland wetlands

What are some examples of wetlands?

• Marshes: dominated by herbaceous vegetation, with water levels from 3 feet to 6 inches or less. Includes salt marshes, fresh water marshes, and brackish marshes
• Swamps : dominated by woody trees or shrubs
• Wet meadows : a type of marsh dominated by grasses or sedges, with water levels at 6 inches or less
• Prairie Potholes : water-filled glacial depressions located primarily in the mid-west. An important site for waterfowl
• Bogs and Fens : wetlands with peat for soil due to low decomposition rates
• Vernal Pools : Temporary pockets of water that fill depressions in wooded areas, meadows, and river floodplains
• Carolina Bays : Unique wetlands found primarily in the coastal plain of North Carolina, South Carolina , and Georgia which are typically shallow, oval depressions

What wetlands exist at PhinizySwampNaturePark? Floodplain swamp (a swamp that exists near a stream or river)Constructed wetland marshes (human-made grassy wetlands)Oxbow Lakes and River Scars (remnants of where a river used to flow)Why is it important to protect wetlands (values of wetlands)?

• They improve water quality by intercepting surface runoff and removing nutrients, waste and sediment from water
• They slow water down and prevent erosion
• They soak up floodwaters thus preventing downstream floods
• They provide areas of recreation and beauty
• They provide essential habitat for many diverse and often endangered species. Up to 45% of threatened or endangered species rely on wetlands for their survival
• They furnish natural products such as food, timber, fur to humans
• Some help to recharge groundwater supplies
• They provide areas for education and research
• Some wetlands support downstream aquatic systems
• The U.S. has lost over 50% of our wetlands to agricultural conversion, mining, and urban development

Suggested Activities for before or after the Field trip: **Consider calling us for one of our loan boxes that matches with each Field trip - they contain many fun activities for you and your students!

• Take a piece of paper and crumple it into a ball, then slowly pull it almost all

the way out (you want to leave the bumps and ridges). You have created a landscape! Mark the highest points of your landscape with one color of marker. Mark low points with another color – these are the locations where water will collect. Now imagine rain striking this landscape, and draw lines where it is clear in which direction rain will flow. Trace this rainwater until it reaches one of your bodies of water. Try to trace all the surrounding areas that also feed rainwater to this body of water. This is one watershed. Do you have more than one watershed within your landscape?

• Have your students form small groups and go on a pollution hunt around your school! With the list of possible water pollutants in mind, have them assess whether anything from your schoolyard is eventually going to end up in the closest water body (find out what water body that is!). Think about whether pesticides or fertilizers are used at your school. Is there a lot of pavement that gets hot and heats up rainwater when a summer shower comes? Are there any areas of exposed dirt or obvious erosion? How much litter is there? What about oil leaks in the parking lot? When the groups are done searching, gather all of their data and present what you have found to the class. Is there something you can ask your school to do to prevent some of this pollution?