vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Great Pacific garbage patch
The size of the patch is unknown , as is the precise distribution of debris , because large items readily visible from a boat deck are uncommon . Most debris consists of small plastic particles suspended at or just below the surface , making it difficult to accurately detect by aircraft or satellite . Instead , the size of the patch is determined by sampling . Estimates of size range from 700,000 square kilometres ( 270,000 sq mi ) ( about the size of Texas ) to more than 15,000,000 square kilometres ( 5,800,000 sq mi ) ( about the size of Russia ) . Such estimates , however , are conjectural given the complexities of sampling and the need to assess findings against other areas . Further , although the size of the patch is determined by a higher - than - normal degree of concentration of pelagic debris , there is no standard for determining the boundary between `` normal '' and `` elevated '' levels of pollutants to provide a firm estimate of the affected area .
Oyster
In some areas , a scallop dredge is used . This is a toothed bar attached to a chain bag . The dredge is towed through an oyster bed by a boat , picking up the oysters in its path . While dredges collect oysters more quickly , they heavily damage the beds , and their use is highly restricted . Until 1965 , Maryland limited dredging to sailboats , and even since then motor boats can be used only on certain days of the week . These regulations prompted the development of specialized sailboats ( the bugeye and later the skipjack ) for dredging .
Wetland
Water purification : Many wetland systems possess biofilters , hydrophytes , and organisms that in addition to nutrient up - take abilities have the capacity to remove toxic substances that have come from pesticides , industrial discharges , and mining activities . The up - take occurs through most parts of the plant including the stems , roots , and leaves . Floating plants can absorb and filter heavy metals . Water hyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes ) , duckweed ( Lemna ) and water fern ( Azolla ) store iron and copper commonly found in wastewater . Many fast - growing plants rooted in the soils of wetlands such as cattail ( Typha ) and reed ( Phragmites ) also aid in the role of heavy metal up - take . Animals such as the oyster can filter more than 200 litres ( 53 US gal ) of water per day while grazing for food , removing nutrients , suspended sediments , and chemical contaminants in the process .
Great Pacific garbage patch
In March 2018 , The Ocean Cleanup published a paper summarizing their findings from the Mega - ( 2015 ) and Aerial Expedition ( 2016 ) . In 2015 , the organization crossed the Great Pacific garbage patch with 30 vessels , to make observations and take samples with 652 survey nets . They collected a total of 1.2 million pieces , which they counted and categorized into their respective size classes . In order to also account for the larger , but more rare larger debris , they also flew over the patch in 2016 with a C - 130 Hercules aircraft , equipped with LiDAR sensors . The findings from the two expeditions , show that the patch is 1.6 million square kilometers and has a concentration of 10 - 100 kg per square kilometers . They estimate there to be 80,000 metric tons in the patch , with 1.8 trillion plastic pieces , out of which 92 % of the mass is to be found in objects larger than 0.5 centimeters .
We Didn't Start the Fire
Hypodermics on the shore : Medical waste was found washed up on the beaches of Long Island , New Jersey , and Connecticut after being illegally dumped at sea . Before this event , waste dumped in the oceans was an `` out of sight , out of mind '' affair . This has been cited as one of the crucial turning points in popular opinion on environmentalism . 1989
Bird ringing
Birds may be captured by being taken as young birds at the nest , or as adults , captured in fine mist nets , baited traps , Heligoland traps , drag nets , cannon nets , or by other methods . Raptors may be caught by many methods , including bal - chatri traps .
Great Barrier Reef
On 31 January 2014 , the GBRMPA issued a dumping permit that will allow three million cubic metres of sea bed from Abbot Point , north of Bowen , to be transported and unloaded in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park . Potential significant harms have been identified in relation to dredge spoil and the process of churning up the sea floor in the area and exposing it to air : firstly , new research shows the finer particles of dredge spoil can cloud the water and block sunlight , thereby starving sea grass and coral up to distances of 80 km away from the point of origin due to the actions of wind and currents . Furthermore , dredge spoil can literally smother reef or sea grass to death , while storms can repeatedly resuspend these particles so that the harm caused is ongoing ; secondly , disturbed sea floor can release toxic substances into the surrounding environment .
Great Pacific garbage patch
Affected species include sea turtles and the black - footed albatross . Midway Atoll receives substantial amounts of marine debris from the patch . Of the 1.5 million Laysan albatrosses that inhabit Midway , nearly all are likely to have plastic in their digestive system . Approximately one - third of their chicks die , and many of those deaths are due to being fed plastic by their parents . Twenty tons of plastic debris washes up on Midway every year with five tons of that debris being fed to albatross chicks .
Great Lakes
The first U.S. Clean Water Act , passed by a Congressional override after being vetoed by US President Richard Nixon in 1972 , was a key piece of legislation , along with the bi-national Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement signed by Canada and the U.S. A variety of steps taken to process industrial and municipal pollution discharges into the system greatly improved water quality by the 1980s , and Lake Erie in particular is significantly cleaner . Discharge of toxic substances has been sharply reduced . Federal and state regulations control substances like PCBs . The first of 43 `` Great Lakes Areas of Concern '' to be formally `` de-listed '' due to successful cleanup was Ontario 's Collingwood Harbour in 1994 ; Ontario 's Severn Sound followed in 2003 . Presque Isle Bay in Pennsylvania is formally listed as in recovery , as is Ontario 's Spanish Harbour . Dozens of other Areas of Concern have received partial cleanups such as the Rouge River ( Michigan ) and Waukegan Harbor ( Illinois ) .
Great Pacific garbage patch
Some plastics decompose within a year of entering the water , leaching potentially toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A , PCBs , and derivatives of polystyrene .
Recycling
Curbside collection encompasses many subtly different systems , which differ mostly on where in the process the recyclates are sorted and cleaned . The main categories are mixed waste collection , commingled recyclables , and source separation . A waste collection vehicle generally picks up the waste .
Evidence of common descent
In parallel , during this experiment , Endler conducted a field experiment in Trinidad where he caught guppies from ponds where they had predators and relocated them to ponds upstream where the predators did not live . After 15 generations , Endler found that the relocated guppies had evolved dramatic and colorful patterns . Essentially , both experiments showed convergence due to similar selection pressures ( i.e. predator selection against contrasting color patterns and sexual selection for contrasting color patterns ) .
Mercury pollution in the ocean
Cleaning up the existing mercury pollution could be a tedious process . Nevertheless , there is some promising ongoing research bringing hope to the challenging task . One such research is based nanotechnology . It uses synthesized aluminum oxide nanoparticles ( Al2O3 ) mimicking the coral structures . These structures absorb heavy metal toxins effectively due to high surface / volume ratio and the quality of surface . In nature , it has been long observed corals can absorb heavy metal ions due to its surface structure and this new technique has used to nanotechnology to create `` synthetic corals '' which may help clean mercury in the ocean . The reactions involved in synthesizing this material are ;
Great Pacific garbage patch
The process of disintegration means that the plastic particulate in much of the affected region is too small to be seen . In a 2001 study , researchers ( including Charles Moore ) found concentrations of plastic particles at 334,721 pieces per km with a mean mass of 5,114 grams ( 11.27 lbs ) per km , in the neuston . Assuming each particle of plastic averaged 5 mm × 5 mm × 1 mm , this would amount to only 8 m per km due to small particulates . Nonetheless , this represents a high amount with respect to the overall ecology of the neuston . In many of the sampled areas , the overall concentration of plastics was seven times greater than the concentration of zooplankton . Samples collected at deeper points in the water column found much lower concentrations of plastic particles ( primarily monofilament fishing line pieces ) .
Great Lakes
In 2013 , news of a garbage patch of plastic pollution in the lakes was reported .
St. Johns River
Of vertebrates , numerous species of frog , salamander , snake , turtle , and alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis ) proliferate in marsh waters . Most of these animals are active at night . Frog choruses are overwhelming ; during alligator mating season the grunts of bulls join in . The marshes around the St. Johns River upper basin teem with birds . A recent study counted 60,000 birds in one month , nesting or feeding in the upper basin . Wading and water birds like the white ibis ( Eudocimus albus ) , wood stork ( Mycteria americana ) , and purple gallinule ( Porphyrio martinicus ) depend on the water for raising their young : they prey upon small fish and tadpoles in shallow water and puddles in the dry season . In successful seasons , their colonies can number in the thousands , creating a cacophony of calls and fertilizing trees with their droppings .
Drinking water supply and sanitation in the United States
For a surface water system to operate without filtration it has to fulfill certain criteria set by the EPA under its Surface Water Treatment Rule , including the implementation of a watershed control program . The water system of New York City has repeatedly fulfilled these criteria . Cities
Spider
The best - known method of prey capture is by means of sticky webs . Varying placement of webs allows different species of spider to trap different insects in the same area , for example flat horizontal webs trap insects that fly up from vegetation underneath while flat vertical webs trap insects in horizontal flight . Web - building spiders have poor vision , but are extremely sensitive to vibrations .
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound sustains significant populations of fish and nurseries . This biological function has been threatened by both terrestrial and chemical alterations resulting from urbanization of the area . Specifically 25 - 35 % of Long Island Sounds tidal wetlands have been dredged , filled , and developed over and hypoxia and eutrophication resulting from pollution have lead to low dissolved oxygen levels ( less that 4.8 mg of oxygen per liter ) in the water . The low dissolved oxygen levels limit the fishes ability to swim , feed , grow and reproduce and loss of habitat prevents success in fish larval growth . The impacts listed here are directly associated with these specific species in Long Island Sound : killifishes , silversides , bay anchovy , eels , menhaden , cunner , tautog , sticklebacks , winter flounder , weakfish , bluefish , tomcod and striped bass .
Great Pacific garbage patch
It is thought that , like other areas of concentrated marine debris in the world 's oceans , the Great Pacific garbage patch formed gradually as a result of ocean or marine pollution gathered by ocean currents . The garbage patch occupies a large and relatively stationary region of the North Pacific Ocean bound by the North Pacific Gyre ( a remote area commonly referred to as the horse latitudes ) . The gyre 's rotational pattern draws in waste material from across the North Pacific Ocean , including coastal waters off North America and Japan . As material is captured in the currents , wind - driven surface currents gradually move floating debris toward the center , trapping it in the region .
Great Pacific garbage patch
The Goldstein et al. study compared changes in small plastic abundance between 1972 -- 1987 and 1999 -- 2010 by using historical samples from the Scripps Pelagic Invertebrate Collection and data from SEAPLEX , a NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer cruise in 2010 , information from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation as well as various published papers .
Oyster
Oysters are filter feeders , drawing water in over their gills through the beating of cilia . Suspended plankton and particles are trapped in the mucus of a gill , and from there are transported to the mouth , where they are eaten , digested , and expelled as feces or pseudofeces . Oysters feed most actively at temperatures above 10 ° C ( 50 ° F ) . An oyster can filter up to 5 L ( 1.3 US gal ) of water per hour . The Chesapeake Bay 's once - flourishing oyster population historically filtered excess nutrients from the estuary 's entire water volume every three to four days . Today , that would take nearly a year . Excess sediment , nutrients , and algae can result in the eutrophication of a body of water . Oyster filtration can mitigate these pollutants .
Long Island Sound
Other reptiles and amphibians found along the edges of the salt marshes and nearby bodies of water include the green frog , bullfrog , pickerel frog , spotted turtle , painted turtle , northern water snake , and common snapping turtle . On beaches and sandy areas there are Fowler 's toads ( which are also found inland but find sandy areas preferable ) , the American toad , and the hognose snake ( which feeds on Fowler 's toads ) . Birds
Great Pacific garbage patch
The Great Pacific garbage patch was described in a 1988 paper published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) of the United States . The description was based on results obtained by several Alaska - based researchers in 1988 that measured neustonic plastic in the North Pacific Ocean . Researchers found relatively high concentrations of marine debris accumulating in regions governed by ocean currents . Extrapolating from findings in the Sea of Japan , the researchers hypothesized that similar conditions would occur in other parts of the Pacific where prevailing currents were favorable to the creation of relatively stable waters . They specifically indicated the North Pacific Gyre .
Rainwater harvesting
Pan India Potential : No authenticated potential of rainwater harvesting has been assessed in India . Tamil Nadu was the first state to make rainwater harvesting compulsory for every building to avoid groundwater depletion . The scheme was launched in 2001 and has been implemented in all rural areas of Tamil Nadu . Posters all over Tamil Nadu including rural areas create awareness about harvesting rainwater TN Govt site . It gave excellent results within five years , and slowly every state took it as a role model . Since its implementation , Chennai had a 50 % rise in water level in five years and the water quality significantly improved . Karnataka : In Bangalore , adoption of rainwater harvesting is mandatory for every owner or the occupier of a building having the site area measuring 60 ft ( 18.3 m ) X 40 ft ( 12.2 m ) and above and for newly constructed building measuring 30 ft ( 9.1 m ) X 40 ft ( 12.2 m ) and above dimensions . In this regard , Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has initiated and constructed `` Rain Water Harvesting Theme Park '' in the name of Sir M. Visvesvaraya in 1.2 acres ( 4,900 m ) of land situated at Jayanagar , Bangalore . In this park , 26 different type of rainwater harvesting models are demonstrated along with the water conservation tips . The auditorium on the first floor is set up with a `` green '' air conditioning system and will be used to arrange the meeting and showing of a video clip about the rainwater harvesting to students and general public . In Rajasthan , rainwater harvesting has traditionally been practised by the people of the Thar Desert . Many ancient water harvesting systems in Rajasthan have now been revived . Water harvesting systems are widely used in other areas of Rajasthan , as well , for example the chauka system from the Jaipur district . Kerala : Main article : Rainwater harvesting in Kerala Maharashtra : At present , in Pune , rainwater harvesting is compulsory for any new housing society to be registered . In Mumbai , Maharashtra , rainwater harvesting is being considered as a good solution to solve the water crisis .
Great Pacific garbage patch
Project Kaisei , a project to study and clean up the garbage patch , launched in March 2009 . In August 2009 , two project vessels , the New Horizon and the Kaisei , embarked on a voyage to research the patch and determine the feasibility of commercial scale collection and recycling . The SEAPLEX expedition , a group of researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography , spent 19 days on the ocean in August , 2009 researching the patch . Their primary goal was to describe the abundance and distribution of plastic in the gyre in the most rigorous study to date . Researchers were also looking at the impact of plastic on mesopelagic fish , such as lanternfish . This group utilized a dedicated oceanographic research vessel , the 170 ft ( 52 m ) long New Horizon .
Long Island Sound
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 's National Estuary Program Coastal Protection Report for June 2007 the western part of the Sound was in the worst condition . The report gives a `` fair '' rating to water quality in the sound and poor marks to fish , bottom - feeders and sediment . High levels of PCBs , were found in fish samples , and high concentrations of DDT were found in sediment . Development resulting from population increases , past industrial pollution and stormwater runoff all contribute to the poor quality of the water , according to the report .
Red fox
Urban foxes can cause problems for local residents . Foxes have been known to steal chickens , disrupt rubbish bins and damage gardens . Most complaints about urban foxes made to local authorities occur during the breeding season in late January / early February or from late April to August , when the new cubs are developing . In the UK , hunting foxes in urban areas is banned , and shooting them in an urban environment is not suitable . One alternative to hunting urban foxes has been to trap them , which appears to be a more viable method . However , killing foxes has little effect on the population in an urban area ; those that are killed are very soon replaced , either by new cubs during the breeding season or by other foxes moving into the territory of those that were killed . A more effective method of fox control is to deter them from the specific areas they inhabit . Deterrents such as creosote , diesel oil , or ammonia can be used . Cleaning up and blocking access to den locations can also discourage a fox 's return . ``
Long Island Sound
Hypoxia and eutrophication ( low oxygen level resulting conditions ) are direct impacts felt by the Sound and are fulled by the following conditions : higher temperatures , stratified water columns ( when the water is not well mixed vertically ) and excess nutrients ( often nitrogen and phosphorus ) . It is commonly associated with overgrowth of algae that dies in large numbers , sinks to the bottom , and decomposes by using available oxygen in the water and leaving little for other species , causing the system to suffer as a whole . To date the primary target for water remediation tactics in Long Island Sound have been nutrients entering from waste water treatment facilities and watersheds such as the Connecticut River Watershed . The Connecticut River Water Shed extents though new England and into Canada and carries pollution from all of the communities it passes into the Sound at a rate of 18,400 cubic feet per second .
Catawba River
On January 10 , 2007 , the North Carolina state environmental panel authorized Concord and Kannapolis to pump up to 10 million US gallons ( 38,000 m ) a day from the Catawba River . This decision represented a compromise recommended by hearing officers for the Environmental Management Commission . The mayors of Morganton and Valdese stated they were adamantly against the transfer and that the panel 's ruling was skewed and biased . Concord 's city manager stated the approval of the water transfer was `` bittersweet '' , since the panel authorized an amount much lower than was originally requested and is likely to be delayed by lawsuits . `` Well , ( officials from ) Hickory are going to file an appeal , '' said Concord Mayor Scott Padgett , who spoke briefly with Hickory Mayor Rudy Wright after the EMC meeting . `` His major concern is changing the ( interbasin transfer ) process . My appeal to him is that there should be a truce . To file an appeal is just going to prolong something we deserve , is less than what we asked for and is going to further hard feelings this has already created . ''
Rainwater harvesting
Rainwater harvesting has been a popular method of obtaining water for agriculture and for drinking purposes in rural homes . The legislation to promote rainwater harvesting was enacted through the Urban Development Authority ( Amendment ) Act , No. 36 of 2007 . Lanka rainwater harvesting forum is leading the Sri Lanka 's initiative .
Golf ball
Players , especially novice and casual players , lose a large number of balls during the play of a round . Balls hit into water hazards , penalty areas , buried deeply in sand , and otherwise lost or abandoned during play are a constant source of litter that groundskeepers must contend with , and can confuse players during a round who may hit an abandoned ball ( incurring a penalty by strict rules ) .