ENVIS Centre: Karnataka
State of Environment and Related Issues

 Algal Blooms: Sudden spurts of algal growth, which can affect water quality adversely and indicate potentially hazardous changes in local water chemistry. (Source: US EPA)

 Alternative energy: Energy that is not popularly used and is usually environmentally sound, such as solar or wind energy.

The part of a mountain above the tree line, but below the permanent snow.

Process by which a compound is reduced in concentration over time, through adsorption, degradation, dilution or some other transformation.

Ability of natural systems to safely absorb waste and residuals. See also absorption.

Disease associated with chronic exposure to asbestos fibres. The disease makes breathing progressively more difficult and can lead to death.

Mineral fibre that can pollute air or water and cause cancer or asbestosis when inhaled.

Artificially constructed watercourse that serves instream uses (transportation, among others), purposes of water management, irrigation and so forth.

Body of water impounded by a dam, used for the supply of drinking water, electricity generation, irrigation or animal husbandry. Watercourses serving as part of a reservoir system are included.

Fish that spend their adult life in the sea but swim upriver to freshwater spawning grounds in order to reproduce.

Soil degradation caused by the accumulation of alkaline water-soluble salts.

Capacity of aqueous media to react with hydroxyl ions. Alkalinity is the factor representing the acid-neutralizing capacity of an aqueous system.

Simple rootless plants that grow in sunlit waters. The decomposition or breakdown of dead algae generally affects water quality adversely by reducing levels of dissolved oxygen. Algae serve as food for fish and small aquatic animals.

Artificial establishment of forests by planting or seeding in an area of non-forest land.

Waste treatment using aerobic organisms in the presence of air or oxygen as agents for reducing the pollution load.

Process in which a special solid surface is able to collect gases or vapours. In adsorption, the molecules of gas or liquid adsorbed contract and adhere to the surface of the solid in an extremely thin layer.

Specific chemical that kills or controls target pests. Pesticides are regulated primarily on the basis of active ingredients.

 Activated Sludge: sludge containing a high degree of active bacterial mass that is mixed with primary effluent or raw waste water and kept in suspension by aeration and/or agitation to eliminate organic material from the waste water. After decantation, the sludge is recycled into the aeration tank. 

Increase of hydrogen ions, usually expressed as the pH value of environmental media.

 Made by people or resulting from human activities. Usually used in the context of emissions that are produced as a result of human activities.

 Energy derived from nontraditional sources (e.g., compressed natural gas, solar, hydroelectric, wind).

 The amount of solar radiation reflected from an object or surface, often expressed as a percentage.

 Planting of new forests on lands that historically have not contained forests.

 Small particles or liquid droplets in the atmosphere that can absorb or reflect sunlight depending on their composition.

 The ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.

Adjustment or preparation of natural or human systems to a new or changing environment which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.

Sudden (on the order of decades), large changes in some major component of the climate system, with rapid, widespread effects.

: An underground rock formation composed of such materials as sand, soil, or gravel, that  can store groundwater and supply it to wells and springs. In aquifers, groundwater. 

: A treatment system that removes or “strips” VOCs from contaminated groundwater or surface water as air is forced through the water, causing the compounds to evaporate. Often the compounds are then captured using air filters.

: An in-situ treatment technology that uses injected air to help remove harmful vapors  from polluted soil and groundwater below the water table by injecting air directly into the saturated  subsurface to encourage the solvents and gasoline to evaporate faster, which makes them easier to  remove with a vacuum.

: An open vertical drop, or vertical empty space, that separates a drinking (potable) water  supply to be protected from another water system in a water treatment plant or other location. This  open gap prevents the contamination of drinking water by backsiphonage or backflow because there  is no way raw water or any other water can reach the drinking water.

: A situation where air enters the filter media. Air is harmful to both the filtration and backwash processes. Air can prevent the passage of water during the filtration process and can cause the loss of filter media during the backwash process.

: Adsorptive particles or granules of carbon usually obtained by heating carbon  (such as wood). These particles or granules have a high capacity to selectively remove certain trace  and soluble materials from water. 

 The vertical distance from the sand surface to the underside of a trough in a sand filter. This distance is also called Freeboard.

 The level of pollutants prescribed by regulations that are not to be exceeded during a given time in a defined area.

 An index for reporting daily air quality. It determines how clean or polluted air is and what associated health effects might be of concern. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each pollutant, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health. Ground-level ozone and airborne particles are the two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human health in this country.

 The ability of a substance to cause poisonous effects resulting in severe biological harm or death soon after a single exposure or dose. Also, any severe poisonous effect resulting from a single short-term exposure to a toxic substance.

A single exposure to a toxic substance which may result in severe biological harm or death. Acute exposures are usually characterized as lasting no longer than a day, as compared to longer, continuing exposure over a period of time. 

 Occurring over a short period of time; used to describe brief exposures and effects which appear promptly after exposure.

 The horizontal transfer of heat or matter in the atmosphere.