User:BN1998/sandbox

Article Evaluation: black carbon
Content Evaluation

When I started to evaluate this article, I noticed part of it in the introduction mentioned that black carbon causes human morbidity and premature mortality, which I questioned at first for the level of accuracy behind that point, however, after looking at the citation, I noticed that it is, in fact, a true fact from a relevant primary source:. I noticed in the talk page that someone mentioned fixing the structure of the article, which I do agree with, as the articles ordering is a bit hard to follow. Another thing wrong with this article is that the chemical composition of black carbon is never mentioned or stated, which is a very important piece of information missing from this article. Some of the sections I found to be well done were the emission sources and impacts sub-sections, these parts were well organized and had a lot of good information.

Tone Evaluation

I thought the tone of this article was unbiased. I thought that the impacts were heavily talked about, and that the negative affects of black carbon were very heavily discussed. A more scientific tone and perspective would be beneficial for this article, as the chemical compound of black carbon is not presented within the article anywhere, as well as the chemical impacts on the atmosphere.

Source Evaluation

Most of the source links work well. However, as found by myself, and mentioned on the talk page, a few links in the article were taken from unreliable sources such as blogs and secondary sources without a lot of credibility. However, majority of the links I checked were from credible sources and there wasn't a sign of any plagiarism.

Talk Page

The talk page mentions that this article is part of the WikiProject Environment, to ensure proper neutral stances on environmental topics as well as proper categorization of these articles. This article is seen as a start-class on the projects quality scale, which I agree with, because this article is not very well organized and contains a lot of information from unreliable sources.

Overall Summary

Overall, this article was an interesting read, however it was very repetitive and lacked organization and completely reliability. This article needs to be edited and hopefully the work by WikiProject Environment will help improve this article.

Article Selection
Potential Article: Pollinator decline

This article is not terribly done, however it could use updated information, as well as an introduction that better summarizes the material being presented. Some of the ways I can improve this article include adding updated information to the article to improve the quality and relevance of the article. In addition, I can fix up the solutions section of this article, because the information presented there is quite scarce. In addition, I can summarize the intro to better suit the article information. I also think that expanding on the consequence section of the article would benefit the article greatly. This article is apart of WikiProject Ecology, WikiProject Agriculture / Beekeeping and WikiProject Environment, making it a good article to edit and improve.

Potential Article: Urban heat island

This article represents a primarily North American perspective of the issue. A good way to improve this article is to add a solutions section that highlights ways to combat the heat island effect. In addition, research on the affects of the urban heat island in other countries outside of North America would be a great improvement for this article. For example, Countries like India, South Africa, etc. all experience urban heat island effects within major cities, but are not mentioned within this article. This article is apart of WikiProject Urban studies and planning, WikiProject Environment and WikiProject Meteorology and could really use the improvements and the editing.

Potential Article: Runaway greenhouse effect

This article really needs to be updated because most of the sources are from the years 1990-2006, which makes them up to 30 years old. Adding the relevant information will improve the relevance and quality of the article immensely. In addition, a section should be added about the future projections that could potentially lead to a runaway effect and the consequences this could bring to society and human life. In addition, this article is apart of WikiProject Meteorology and WikiProject Environment, making it a good article to look into to improve. This article is also a start class article.

Potential Article: Arctic sea ice decline

This article has a large amount of scientific evidence and very little qualitative evidence presented. This article doesn't mention the consequences and impacts of arctic sea ice decline and doesn't talk about the social parameters behind the decline of the arctic ice sheets. In addition, this article is apart of WikiProject Arctic, and is listed as a start class article, making it a good article to look into to edit and improve.

Adding Citations Exercise
Citation added to: Urban heat island in sub-section "Urban cold island"

Section added: "The urban cold island effect takes place in the early morning because the building within cities block the sun's solar radiation, as well as the wind speed within the urban centre. Both the urban heat island and urban cold island effects are most intense at times of stable meteorological conditions."

Article Cited: https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/6/3/70

Copy-edit an Article Exercise
Article edited: Arctic sea ice decline (first paragraph)

Edit Summary: edited a few grammatical errors, and changed the wording to make the article of higher quality.

Finalizing Topic and Bibliography
Topic: Freshwater acidification

Bibliography:

Article Draft - Freshwater acidification
 Overview (Heading) 

Freshwater becomes acidic when acid inputs surpass the quantity of bases produced in the reservoir through weathering of rocks, or by the reduction of acid anions, like sulfate and nitrate within the lake. The main reason for Freshwater acidification is atmospheric depositions and soil leaching of SOx and NOx In an acid-sensitive ecosystem, which includes slow-weathering bedrock and depleted base cation pools, SOx and NOx from runoff will be accompanied by acidifying hydrogen ions and inorganic aluminum, which can be toxic to marine organisms. Acid rain is also a contributor to freshwater acidification, however acid rain is formed when SOx and NOx react with water, oxygen and oxidants within the clouds. In addition to SOx and NOx, the buffering capacity of soils and bedrocks within the freshwater ecosystem can contribute to the acidity of the water. Each freshwater reservoir has a capacity to buffer acids. However, with excess input of acids into the reservoir, the buffering capacity will essentially “run out” and the water will eventually become more acidic. Increase in atmospheric CO2 affects freshwater acidity very similarly to the way rising CO2 effects ocean ecosystems. However, because of the various carbon fluxes in freshwater ecosystems, it is difficult to quantify the effects of anthropogenic CO2. Finally, rising freshwater acidification is harmful to various aquatic organisms.

 Causes (Heading) 

SOx and NOx (Subheading)

The accelerated burning of fossil fuels within the past century has largely contributed to the acidification of freshwater ecosystems. In the 1970's the sulfate emissions levels peaked, with nitrogen following behind 10 years later. The main contributors to freshwater acidification are SOx and NOx. Increases in sulfate concentration in runoff, due to increased acidity inputs, is coupled with an increase in base cation run-off and bicarbonate decrease, creating the acidifying effect seen in freshwater ecosystems. In a natural state, most nitrogen inputted into freshwater ecosystems will be utilized by vegetation. However, in excess amounts, all of the nitrogen is unable to be utilized by vegetation, and excess nitrogen is found as nitrate in the water’s runoff. Nitrate will contribute to acidification in the same manner as sulfate.

Buffering Capacity (Subheading)

In addition to SOx and NOx, low buffering capacities of ecosystems can also lead to freshwater acidity. For example, Atlantic Canada has the lowest acid deposition rates in Eastern North America, with the most acidic waters on the continent. This is due to the low buffering of the regional bedrock and the addition of natural organic acids produced by close-by wetlands. Specifically, in Southwestern and Eastern Nova Scotia, there is a combination of high organic acidity, poor buffering, and high acid deposition to produce a very low surface water pH and acid neutralization capacity (ANC) values. In most of the Atlantic region, granite and shale bedrock are found, which contain very little buffering material. Soil formed from low-buffering materials and the waters that drain from them are, therefore, susceptible to acidification, even under low acid deposition.

CO2 (Subheading)

In oceans, CO2 in the atmosphere can dissolve into the water’s surface, and forms carbonic acid. The total inorganic carbon in freshwater involves free CO2 (or H2CO3), HCO3− and carbonate (CO32-). The percentage of all these constituents is also dependent on the pH of the body of water. When water is acidic it will primarily contain CO2. It is often difficult to quantify the effects of pCO2 levels in freshwater due to the various sources of carbon dioxide freshwater ecosystems receive. Factors such as nearby ecosystem, agriculture, land use, watershed, lake size, precipitation, soil type and rocks all determine the amount of CO2 absorbed. However, there has been a clear increase in pCO2 in freshwater ecosystems in the last century due to anthropogenic influence. As the vegetation near freshwater ecosystems grow larger and multiply, due to the excess pCO2 feeding these plants, the carbon available at death and during decomposition increases. Then, precipitation, weathering and runoff will wash this soil into the nearby water. When the pCO2 from the decomposing vegetation reacts with the water, it forms carbonic acid, which contributes to a lower pH level.

 Harmful Effects on Aquatic Ecosystems (Heading) 

With increased acidification in freshwater ecosystems, there will be decrease biodiversity with the increased loss of acid-sensitive species. A fall in pH to 6 would drastically affect both snail and crustacean’s species within freshwater. For example, within the Norwegian lakes, these species represent 45% of the trout’s food source, resulting in a 10-30% reduction in trout due to freshwater acidification. In addition, zooplankton’s species diversity is affected by freshwater acidification.

In most acidic freshwater reservoirs, there will be an increase in the development of mosses and algae. In particular, it is common to see an increase in the abundance of the moss Sphagnum. Sphagnum has a high capacity to exchange H+ for basic cations within freshwater. The thick layer of Sphagnum is restricting the exchange between surface water and sediment, which further contributes to reduction in nutrient cycling in the ecosystem.

 * All posted to Wikipedia Article: Freshwater acidification*

Peer Review - 2 Articles
 1. User: Coadm001 - Infiltration (hydrology) 


 * review comments left in users talk section of their sandbox.

 2. User: Varelasara - glacial lake 


 * review comments left in users talk section of their sandbox

Responding to Peer Review
As a response to my peer reviewers, I have fixed some minor grammatical and citation errors that were pointed out by my classmates. In addition, as suggested by the user Varelasara, I have added a section to the article explaining the key differences between freshwater and ocean acidification called "Freshwater vs. Ocean Acidification." My peer, user Andrewlin1, suggested expanding on the section about harmful impacts on freshwater ecosystems, however, this is a large topic to tackle for this particular project, and due to the fact that I re-wrote the entire original article, I think it would be best to leave that section as is, and allow the chance for other wikipedia users to add information to this section.

Reflective Essay
 Critiquing articles 

When completing the article evaluation exercise, I learned that Wikipedia has an academic disciplines category that allows you to look through and chose an article based on your specific interests. I also learned about the talk page where you can view the article’s status and see what other users have to say about the article, and what needs to be improved. In addition, once I found my chosen article on freshwater acidification, I was actually shocked by the poor quality of information presented, with the use of only one unreliable source throughout the whole article. The critics I used were the ones I learned in the Wikipedia training, making sure the information presented was non-bias and accurate. Due to the poor quality of the existing article, I decided to re-write the entire page, in order to have a higher-quality, accurate and non-bias article on freshwater acidification for people to enjoy.

 Summarizing contributions 

My edits were creating a whole new article. The earlier version of the article had the headings: causes, harmful effects and solutions. The new article I wrote includes the headings: Freshwater vs. Ocean acidification, causes (with subheadings: SOx and NOx, Buffering capacity and CO2), harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems and an introduction. I felt like the addition of these new sections was relevant, and allowed for smoother transition than the first article. The first article also lacked a lot of the information in the causes section, and the use of new subheadings allows for better article organization. The first article had only one source, which was a random website with unreliable information. In my article edit, I have 11 sources in total, all from reliable, peer reviewed, primary resources. Overall, I thought my edits were needed to improve the accuracy, flow and organization of the article.

 Peer review 

The peer review process included critiquing 2 of our peers on their chosen Wikipedia article contributions. The criteria for the reviews was: the presentation of the information through a non-bias perspective, the use of reliable resources, and the overall quality and organization of the article. For my peer review on the contributions to the article glacial lakes by user Varelasara, my suggestions included the addition of a citation on one of the article’s sentences, and the addition of a separate sub-section on climate change’s effects on glacial lakes. My second peer review was on the contributions to the article infiltration (hydrology) by the user Coadm001. In my review, I suggested the addition of 2-3 additional sources to make the article of higher quality and accuracy, and the addition of media components to further aid the reader. My peers recommended that I change a few minor grammatical errors, as well as the addition of a section on the differences between freshwater and ocean acidification. It was also suggested to add more citations, and make sure each of the claims I was making were being cited. I used all of these suggestions to further improve my article. I was also given the suggestion of adding more content to the “harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems” section of the article, however, that is a lot to tackle for this particular project, considering I re-wrote the entire article. For that reason, I decided to leave the expansion of that particular section up to my fellow Wikipedia users.

 Feedback 

I did not receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors. However, if I had received feedback, I would have really appreciated it. Due to the fact that I am the only one who has currently submitted information for the article, it would be nice to receive more third-party feedback in order to be sure the information I am presenting is accurate and reliable. As soon as the feedback is given, I would make the necessary changes to my article in order to be sure that the article is at the highest quality possible.

 Wikipedia generally 

From this project, I have learned the importance of adding quality, reliable information to Wikipedia articles, in order to provide the public with the most accurate information on any given subject. I have also learned about what makes a good quality source, what it means to paraphrase, and the importance of the distribution of reliable information. I also learned a lot about freshwater acidification that I didn’t know previously. This assignment is very different from other assignments I have done in the past. This assignment expanded my understanding of Wikipedia as a whole, and opened my eyes to the importance of reliable information, all while I was able to learn about freshwater acidification. This assignment has really sparked my interest in improving other Wikipedia articles I might come across. I think Wikipedia can be an amazing tool for improving public understanding on both freshwater acidification and any other subject within the field of environmental science. However, the only way that this is possible, is through the addition of accurate, peer-reviewed, reliable sources to Wikipedia articles. It is important to distribute accurate information to the general public so that there is no confusion or misunderstanding on the subject being presented. Projects like this one are very important, because it calls upon those who have high understanding of these subjects to use their undergraduate knowledge to improve the articles and improve public knowledge.

Final Article Additions - Freshwater acidification
** This is all of the information I added to the final wikipedia article that is now live. **

Freshwater becomes acidic when acid inputs surpass the quantity of bases produced in the reservoir through weathering of rocks, or by the reduction of acid anions, like sulfate and nitrate within the lake. The main reason for Freshwater acidification is atmospheric depositions and soil leaching of SOx and NOx In an acid-sensitive ecosystem, which includes slow-weathering bedrock and depleted base cation pools, SOx and NOx from runoff will be accompanied by acidifying hydrogen ions and inorganic aluminum, which can be toxic to marine organisms. Acid rain is also a contributor to freshwater acidification, however acid rain is formed when SOx and NOx react with water, oxygen and oxidants within the clouds. In addition to SOx and NOx, the buffering capacity of soils and bedrocks within the freshwater ecosystem can contribute to the acidity of the water. Each freshwater reservoir has a capacity to buffer acids. However, with excess input of acids into the reservoir, the buffering capacity will essentially “run out” and the water will eventually become more acidic. Increase in atmospheric CO2 affects freshwater acidity very similarly to the way rising CO2 effects ocean ecosystems. However, because of the various carbon fluxes in freshwater ecosystems, it is difficult to quantify the effects of anthropogenic CO2. Finally, rising freshwater acidification is harmful to various aquatic organisms.

 Freshwater vs. Ocean Acidification (Heading)  The ocean and the atmosphere are constantly exchanging massive amounts of CO2. Over the last 800 000 years, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere remained around 172-300 parts per million by volume (ppmv). However, with recent anthropogenic CO2 emissions, this number has increased to 387 ppmv in 2009. From 2000-2008, 26% of anthropogenic CO2 was absorbed by the ocean. Although ocean acidification is also caused by other chemical additions and removals, CO2 is the primary factor affecting pH. Once CO2 is dissolved in seawater, it becomes a weak acid that primarily affects carbonate chemistry. Dissolved CO2 increases the concentration of bicarbonate ions (HCO3−), dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) and lowers the pH. Freshwater also absorbs atmospheric CO2, which can also lower the pH. In addition to CO2, freshwater reservoir's pH values are altered by acid rain, nutrient runoff, and other anthropogenic pollutants. Freshwater uptakes CO2 in the same mechanism as seawater, however, freshwater alkalinity is much lower than seawater, due to the absence of a salt-buffer. Due to the lack of salt-buffer, pH changes in freshwater tend to be much greater than ocean water, due to newly released H+ ions not being buffered by as many bicarbonate (HCO3−) ions as ocean water. Therefore, the freshwater biota tends to have a higher evolutionary pH tolerance than seawater biota.

 Causes (Heading) 

SOx and NOx (Subheading)

The accelerated burning of fossil fuels within the past century has largely contributed to the acidification of freshwater ecosystems. In the 1970's, the sulfate emissions levels peaked, with nitrogen following behind 10 years later. The main contributors to freshwater acidification are SOx and NOx. Increases in sulfate concentration in runoff, due to increased acidity inputs, is coupled with an increase in base cation run-off and bicarbonate decrease, creating the acidifying effect seen in freshwater ecosystems. In a natural state, most nitrogen inputted into freshwater ecosystems will be utilized by vegetation. However, in excess amounts, all of the nitrogen is unable to be utilized by vegetation, and excess nitrogen is found as nitrate in the water’s runoff. Nitrate will contribute to acidification in the same manner as sulfate.

Buffering Capacity (Subheading) In addition to SOx and NOx, low buffering capacities of ecosystems can also lead to freshwater acidity. For example, Atlantic Canada has the lowest acid deposition rates in Eastern North America, with the most acidic waters on the continent. This is due to the low buffering of the regional bedrock and the addition of natural organic acids produced by close-by wetlands. Specifically, in Southwestern and Eastern Nova Scotia, there is a combination of high organic acidity, poor buffering, and high acid deposition to produce a very low surface water pH and acid neutralization capacity (ANC) values. In most of the Atlantic region, granite and shale bedrock are found, which contain very little buffering material. Soil formed from low-buffering materials and the waters that drain from them are, therefore, susceptible to acidification, even under low acid deposition.

CO2 (Subheading)

In oceans, CO2 in the atmosphere can dissolve into the water’s surface, and forms carbonic acid. The total inorganic carbon in freshwater involves free CO2 (or H2CO3), HCO3− and carbonate (CO32-). The percentage of all these constituents is also dependent on the pH of the body of water. When water is acidic it will primarily contain CO2. It is often difficult to quantify the effects of pCO2 levels in freshwater due to the various sources of carbon dioxide freshwater ecosystems receive. Factors such as nearby ecosystem, agriculture, land use, watershed, lake size, precipitation, soil type and rocks all determine the amount of CO2 absorbed. However, there has been a clear increase in pCO2 in freshwater ecosystems in the last century due to anthropogenic influence. As the vegetation near freshwater ecosystems grow larger and multiply, due to the excess pCO2 feeding these plants, the carbon available at death and during decomposition increases. Then, precipitation, weathering and runoff will wash this soil into the nearby water. When the pCO2 from the decomposing vegetation reacts with the water, it forms carbonic acid, which contributes to a lower pH level.

 Harmful Effects on Aquatic Ecosystems (Heading)  With increased acidification in freshwater ecosystems, there will be a decrease in biodiversity, with the increased loss of acid-sensitive species. A fall in pH to 6 would drastically affect both snail and crustacean’s species within freshwater. For example, within the Norwegian lakes, these species represent 45% of the trout’s food source, resulting in a 10-30% reduction in trout due to freshwater acidification. In addition, zooplankton’s species diversity is affected by freshwater acidification.

In most acidic freshwater reservoirs, there will be an increase in the development of mosses and algae. In particular, it is common to see an increase in the abundance of the moss Sphagnum. Sphagnum has a high capacity to exchange H+ for basic cations within freshwater. The thick layer of Sphagnum is restricting the exchange between surface water and sediment, which further contributes to reduction in nutrient cycling in the ecosystem.