Here are some of the tips and techniques to score well in UGC NET examination.

Follow them at the best. Good Luck.

1. Writing skills matter a lot in the NET Examination. Most of the candidates
appearing for the NET examination have a lot of knowledge, but lack writing
skills. You should be able to present all the information/knowledge in a coherent
and logical manner, as expected by the examiner. For example: Quoting with
facts and substantiating your answer with related concepts and emphasizing
your point of view.

2. Preparations for NET examination should be done intensively.

3.After deciding the questions one should sort out the NET question papers
according to the syllabus topics. If one analyses these questions, after sometime
the questions are repeated in one form or the other.

4. Prepare a standard answer to the question papers of the previous years. This
will also make your task easy at the UGC examination.

5. Do Not miss the concepts. Questions asked are of the Masters level
examination. Sometimes the questions are ‘conceptual’ in nature, aimed at
testing the comprehension levels of the basic concepts.

6. Get a list of standard textbooks from the successful candidates, or other

sources and also selective good notes. The right choice of reading material is
important and crucial. You should not read all types of books as told by others.

7. Always target for writing section even while preparing for objective questions.
As there is much in common for study and there is little time for preparation for
the wriiten part II examination.

8. While studying for the subjects, keep in mind that there is no scope for
selective studies in UGC. The whole syllabus must be covered thoroughly. Equal
stress and weight should be given all the sections of the syllabus.

9. Note that in the ultimate analysis both subjects carry exactly the same
amount of maximum marks.

10. For subjects like Mathematics and Statistics and Geography maps etc,
practice is very important. One should also practice other subjects and should
not treat the same examination, as an “experience gathering” exercise to get a
chance for writing mains is a great thing, which you may not get again.

11. Go through the unsolved papers of the previous papers and solve them to
stimulate the atmosphere of the examination.

12. Stick to the time frame. Speed is the very essence of this examination.
Hence, time management assumes crucial importance.

13. For developing the writing skills, keep writing model answers while preparing
for the NET examination. This helps get into the habit of writing under time
pressure in the Mains examination.
14. Never be over confident with your writing skills. It is too subjective and
behavioral.

15. Develop and follow your own style of writing. Try not to be repetitive and
maintain a flow in the style of your writing.
16. Never try to imitate others in the style of writing.

17. Sequential and systematic style of answering comes after a lot of practice
and analysis of standard answers.

18. Try to stimulate the actual examination hours to judge the performance and
to plug any loopholes.

19. Try not to exceed the word limit, as far as possible. Sticking to the word limit
that will save time. Besides, the number of marks you achieve are not going to
increase even if you exceed the word limit. It’s the quality that matters not the
quantity.

20. Revision of subjects is very important. The reason is that you have been
preparing for months or years together. It is a human tendency to forget
something after some time.

21. Donot bother yourselves if you are unable to revise everything before
examination. Write it legibly as it will simplify the evaluator’s task and he can
read the answers easily.

22. Highlight the important points which are important.

23. Follow paragraph writing rather than essay form. A new point should start
with a new paragraph.

24. If the question needs answer in point format give it a bullet format.

25. Keep sufficient space between two lines.

26. Try to maintain uniformity in your writing throughout the paper.

27. Under time pressure, the script should not go from bad to worse in the later
stages of the answer sheets. This may irritate the evaluator.

28. Don’t count words after every answer. If you have practiced well you should
reflexively know the approximate limit you made.

29. Give space and divide it by a dividing line between two questions.

30. Above all be patient and believe in God.

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological

materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or
damages the natural environment, into the atmosphere.
The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential
to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution
has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's
ecosystems.
Before flue gas desulfurization was installed, the emissions from this power plant
in New Mexico contained excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide.
An air pollutant is known as a substance in the air that can cause harm to
humans and the environment. Pollutants can be in the form of solid particles,
liquid droplets, or gases. In addition, they may be natural or man-made.
Pollutants can be classified as either primary or secondary. Usually, primary
pollutants are substances directly emitted from a process, such as ash from a
volcanic eruption, the carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle exhaust or
sulfur dioxide released from factories.
Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when
primary pollutants react or interact. An important example of a secondary
pollutant is ground level ozone — one of the many secondary pollutants that
make up photochemical smog.
Note that some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: that is, they are
both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.
About 4 percent of deaths in the United States can be attributed to air pollution,
according to the Environmental Science Engineering Program at the Harvard
School of Public Health.
Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include:
• Sulfur oxides (SOx) - especially sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with the
formula SO2. SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes.
Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion
generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO2, usually in the presence of a
catalyst such as NO2, forms H2SO4, and thus acid rain. This is one of the causes
for concern over the environmental impact of the use of these fuels as power
sources.
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx) - especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted from high
temperature combustion. Can be seen as the brown haze dome above or plume
downwind of cities.Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula
NO2. It is one of the several nitrogen oxides. This reddish-brown toxic gas has a
characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO2 is one of the most prominent air
pollutants.
• Carbon monoxide - is a colourless, odourless, non-irritating but very poisonous
gas. It is a product by incomplete combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or
wood. Vehicular exhaust is a major source of carbon monoxide.
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) - a greenhouse gas emitted from combustion but is also
a gas vital to living organisms. It is a natural gas in the atmosphere.
• Volatile organic compounds - VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant. In
this field they are often divided into the separate categories of methane (CH4)
and non-methane (NMVOCs). Methane is an extremely efficient greenhouse gas
which contributes to enhanced global warming. Other hydrocarbon VOCs are also
significant greenhouse gases via their role in creating ozone and in prolonging
the life of methane in the atmosphere, although the effect varies depending on
local air quality. Within the NMVOCs, the aromatic compounds benzene, toluene
and xylene are suspected carcinogens and may lead to leukemia through
prolonged exposure. 1,3-butadiene is another dangerous compound which is
often associated with industrial uses.
• Particulate matter - Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter
(PM) or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. In
contrast, aerosol refers to particles and the gas together. Sources of particulate
matter can be man made or natural. Some particulates occur naturally,
originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living
vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels
in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also generate
significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged over the globe, anthropogenic
aerosols—those made by human activities—currently account for about 10
percent of the total amount of aerosols in our atmosphere. Increased levels of
fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as heart disease,
altered lung function and lung cancer.
• Persistent free radicals connected to airborne fine particles could cause
cardiopulmonary disease.
• Toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper.
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - harmful to the ozone layer emitted from products
currently banned from use.
• Ammonia (NH3) - emitted from agricultural processes. Ammonia is a
compound with the formula NH3. It is normally encountered as a gas with a
characteristic pungent odor. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional
needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to foodstuffs and
fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is also a building block for the
synthesis of many pharmaceuticals. Although in wide use, ammonia is both
caustic and hazardous.
• Odors — such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes
• Radioactive pollutants - produced by nuclear explosions, war explosives, and
natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon.
Secondary pollutants include:
• Particulate matter formed from gaseous primary pollutants and compounds in
photochemical smog .Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word "smog" is a
portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal
burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern
smog does not usually come from coal but from vehicular and industrial
emissions that are acted on in the atmosphere by sunlight to form secondary
pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical
smog.
• Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and VOCs. Ozone (O3) is a key
constituent of the troposphere (it is also an important constituent of certain
regions of the stratosphere commonly known as the Ozone layer). Photochemical
and chemical reactions involving it drive many of the chemical processes that
occur in the atmosphere by day and by night. At abnormally high concentrations
brought about by human activities (largely the combustion of fossil fuel), it is a
pollutant, and a constituent of smog.
• Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) - similarly formed from NOx and VOCs.
Minor air pollutants include:
• A large number of minor hazardous air pollutants. Some of these are regulated
in USA under the Clean Air Act and in Europe under the Air Framework Directive.
• A variety of persistent organic pollutants, which can attach to particulate
matter.
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to
environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic
processes. Because of this, they have been observed to persist in the
environment, to be capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human
and animal tissue, biomagnify in food chains, and to have potential significant
impacts on human health and the environment.
Controlled burning of a field outside of Statesboro, Georgia in preparation for
spring planting
Sources of air pollution refer to the various locations, activities or factors which
are responsible for the releasing of pollutants in the atmosphere. These sources
can be classified into two major categories which are:
Anthropogenic sources (human activity) mostly related to burning different kinds
of fuel
• "Stationary Sources" include smoke stacks of power plants, manufacturing
facilities (factories) and waste incinerators, as well as furnaces and other types
of fuel-burning heating devices
• "Mobile Sources" include motor vehicles, marine vessels, aircraft and the effect
of sound etc.
• Chemicals, dust and controlled burn practices in agriculture and forestry
management. Controlled or prescribed burning is a technique sometimes used in
forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement.
Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can
be a tool for foresters. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some
desirable forest trees, thus renewing the forest.
• Fumes from paint, hair spray, varnish, aerosol sprays and other solvents
• Waste deposition in landfills, which generate methane. Methane is not toxic;
however, it is highly flammable and may form explosive mixtures with air.
Methane is also an asphyxiant and may displace oxygen in an enclosed space.
Asphyxia or suffocation may result if the oxygen concentration is reduced to
below 19.5% by displacement
• Military, such as nuclear weapons, toxic gases, germ warfare and rocketry
Natural sources
• Dust from natural sources, usually large areas of land with little or no
vegetation.
• Methane, emitted by the digestion of food by animals, for example cattle.
• Radon gas from radioactive decay within the Earth's crust. Radon is a
colorless, odorless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from
the decay of radium. It is considered to be a health hazard. Radon gas from
natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as
the basement and it is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after
cigarette smoking.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires.
• Volcanic activity, which produce sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates.
Emission factors
Air pollutant emission factors are representative values that attempt to relate
the quantity of a pollutant released to the ambient air with an activity associated
with the release of that pollutant. These factors are usually expressed as the
weight of pollutant divided by a unit weight, volume, distance, or duration of the
activity emitting the pollutant (e.g., kilograms of particulate emitted per
megagram of coal burned). Such factors facilitate estimation of emissions from
various sources of air pollution. In most cases, these factors are simply averages
of all available data of acceptable quality, and are generally assumed to be
representative of long-term averages.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has published a compilation
of air pollutant emission factors for a multitude of industrial sources. The United
Kingdom, Australia, Canada and many other countries have published similar
compilations, as well as the European Environment Agency.
Indoor air quality (IAQ)
A lack of ventilation indoors concentrates air pollution where people often spend
the majority of their time. Radon (Rn) gas, a carcinogen, is exuded from the
Earth in certain locations and trapped inside houses. Building materials including
carpeting and plywood emit formaldehyde (H2CO) gas. Paint and solvents give
off volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as they dry. Lead paint can degenerate
into dust and be inhaled. Intentional air pollution is introduced with the use of
air fresheners, incense, and other scented items. Controlled wood fires in stoves
and fireplaces can add significant amounts of smoke particulates into the air,
inside and out. Indoor pollution fatalities may be caused by using pesticides and
other chemical sprays indoors without proper ventilation.
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and fatalities are often caused by faulty vents
and chimneys, or by the burning of charcoal indoors. Chronic carbon monoxide
poisoning can result even from poorly adjusted pilot lights. Traps are built into
all domestic plumbing to keep sewer gas, hydrogen sulfide, out of interiors.
Clothing emits tetrachloroethylene, or other dry cleaning fluids, for days after
dry cleaning.
Though its use has now been banned in many countries, the extensive use of
asbestos in industrial and domestic environments in the past has left a
potentially very dangerous material in many localities. Asbestosis is a chronic
inflammatory medical condition affecting the tissue of the lungs. It occurs after
long-term, heavy exposure to asbestos from asbestos-containing materials in
structures. Sufferers have severe dyspnea (shortness of breath) and are at an
increased risk regarding several different types of lung cancer. As clear
explanations are not always stressed in non-technical literature, care should be
taken to distinguish between several forms of relevant diseases. According to
the World Health Organisation (WHO), these may defined as; asbestosis, lung
cancer, and mesothelioma (generally a very rare form of cancer, when more
widespread it is almost always associated with prolonged exposure to asbestos).
Biological sources of air pollution are also found indoors, as gases and airborne
particulates. Pets produce dander, people produce dust from minute skin flakes
and decomposed hair, dust mites in bedding, carpeting and furniture produce
enzymes and micrometre-sized fecal droppings, inhabitants emit methane, mold
forms in walls and generates mycotoxins and spores, air conditioning systems
can incubate Legionnaires' disease and mold, and houseplants, soil and
surrounding gardens can produce pollen, dust, and mold. Indoors, the lack of air
circulation allows these airborne pollutants to accumulate more than they would
otherwise occur in nature.
Health effects
The World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from
causes directly attributable to air pollution, with 1.5 million of these deaths
attributable to indoor air pollution. "Epidemiological studies suggest that more
than 500,000 Americans die each year from cardiopulmonary disease linked to
breathing fine particle air pollution. . ." A study by the University of Birmingham
has shown a strong correlation between pneumonia related deaths and air
pollution from motor vehicles. Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air
pollution than to automobile accidents.[citation needed] Published in 2005
suggests that 310,000 Europeans die from air pollution annually.[citation
needed] Direct causes of air pollution related deaths include aggravated asthma,
bronchitis, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory
allergies.[citation needed] The US EPA estimates that a proposed set of changes
in diesel engine technology (Tier 2) could result in 12,000 fewer premature
mortalities, 15,000 fewer heart attacks, 6,000 fewer emergency room visits by
children with asthma, and 8,900 fewer respiratory-related hospital admissions
each year in the United States.[citation needed]
The worst short term civilian pollution crisis in India was the 1984 Bhopal
Disaster. Leaked industrial vapors from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to
Union Carbide, Inc., U.S.A., killed more than 2,000 people outright and injured
anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others, some 6,000 of whom would later die
from their injuries.[citation needed] The United Kingdom suffered its worst air
pollution event when the December 4 Great Smog of 1952 formed over London.
In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000 more died within the following
months.[citation needed] An accidental leak of anthrax spores from a biological
warfare laboratory in the former USSR in 1979 near Sverdlovsk is believed to
have been the cause of hundreds of civilian deaths.[citation needed] The worst
single incident of air pollution to occur in the United States of America occurred
in Donora, Pennsylvania in late October, 1948, when 20 people died and over
7,000 were injured.
The health effects caused by air pollutants may range from subtle biochemical
and physiological changes to difficulty in breathing, wheezing, coughing and
aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions. These effects can
result in increased medication use, increased doctor or emergency room visits,
more hospital admissions and premature death. The human health effects of
poor air quality are far reaching, but principally affect the body's respiratory
system and the cardiovascular system. Individual reactions to air pollutants
depend on the type of pollutant a person is exposed to, the degree of exposure,
the individual's health status and genetics.[citation needed]
A new economic study of the health impacts and associated costs of air pollution
in the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley of Southern California shows
that more than 3800 people die prematurely (approximately 14 years earlier
than normal) each year because air pollution levels violate federal standards.
The number of annual premature deaths is considerably higher than the fatalities
related to auto collisions in the same area, which average fewer than 2,000 per
year .
Diesel exhaust (DE) is a major contributor to combustion derived particulate
matter air pollution. In several human experimental studies, using a well
validated exposure chamber setup, DE has been linked to acute vascular
dysfunction and increased thrombus formation. This serves as a plausible
mechanistic link between the previously described association between
particulate matter air pollution and increased cardiovascular morbidity and
mortality.
Effects on cystic fibrosis
A study from 1999 to 2000 by the University of Washington showed that
patients near and around particulate matter air pollution had an increased risk of
pulmonary exacerbations and decrease in lung function. Patients were examined
before the study for amounts of specific pollutants like Pseudomonas aeruginosa
or Burkholderia cenocepacia as well as their socioeconomic standing. Participants
involved in the study were located in the United States in close proximity to an
Environmental Protection Agency.[clarification needed] During the time of the
study 117 deaths were associated with air pollution. A trend was noticed that
patients living closer or in large metropolitan areas to be close to medical help
also had higher level of pollutants found in their system because of more
emissions in larger cities. With cystic fibrosis patients already being born with
decreased lung function everyday pollutants such as smoke emissions from
automobiles, tobacco smoke and improper use of indoor heating devices could
add to the disintegration of lung function.
Effects on COPD
Main article: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) include diseases such as chronic
bronchitis, emphysema, and some forms of asthma.
A study conducted in 1960-1961 in the wake of the Great Smog of 1952
compared 293 London residents with 477 residents of Gloucester, Peterborough,
and Norwich, three towns with low reported death rates from chronic bronchitis.
All subjects were male postal truck drivers aged 40 to 59. Compared to the
subjects from the outlying towns, the London subjects exhibited more severe
respiratory symptoms (including cough, phlegm, and dyspnea), reduced lung
function (FEV1 and peak flow rate), and increased sputum production and
purulence. The differences were more pronounced for subjects aged 50 to 59.
The study controlled for age and smoking habits, so concluded that air pollution
was the most likely cause of the observed differences.
It is believed that much like cystic fibrosis, by living in a more urban
environment serious health hazards become more apparent. Studies have shown
that in urban areas patients suffer mucus hypersecretion, lower levels of lung
function, and more self diagnosis of chronic bronchitis and emphysema.[23]
The Great Smog of 1952 in London.
Early in December 1952, a cold fog descended upon London. Because of the
cold, Londoners began to burn more coal than usual. The resulting air pollution
was trapped by the inversion layer formed by the dense mass of cold air.
Concentrations of pollutants, coal smoke in particular, built up dramatically. The
problem was made worse by use of low-quality, high-sulphur coal for home
heating in London in order to permit export of higher-quality coal, because of
the country's tenuous postwar economic situation. The "fog", or smog, was so
thick that driving became difficult or impossible.. The extreme reduction in
visibility was accompanied by an increase in criminal activity as well as
transportation delays and a virtual shut down of the city. During the 4 day
period of fog, at least 4,000 people died as a direct result of the weather.
Effects on children
Cities around the world with high exposure to air pollutants have the possibility
of children living within them to develop asthma, pneumonia and other lower
respiratory infections as well as a low initial birth rate. Protective measures to
ensure the youths' health are being taken in cities such as New Delhi, India
where buses now use compressed natural gas to help eliminate the “pea-soup”
smog. Research by the World Health Organization shows there is the greatest
concentration of particulate matter particles in countries with low economic
world power and high poverty and population rates. Examples of these countries
include Egypt, Sudan, Mongolia, and Indonesia. The Clean Air Act was passed in
1970, however in 2002 at least 146 million Americans were living in areas that
did not meet at least one of the “criteria pollutants” laid out in the 1997 National
Ambient Air Quality Standards. Those pollutants included: ozone, particulate
matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. Because
children are outdoors more and have higher minute ventilation they are more
susceptible to the dangers of air pollution.
Health effects in relatively "clean" areas
Even in areas with relatively low levels of air pollution, public health effects can
be substantial and costly. This is because effects can occur at very low levels
and a large number of people can potentially breathe in such pollutants. A 2005
scientific study for the British Columbia Lung Association showed that a 1%
improvement in ambient PM2.5 and ozone concentrations will produce a $29
million in annual savings in the region in 2010. This finding is based on health
valuation of lethal (mortality) and sub-lethal (morbidity) effects.
Reduction efforts
There are various air pollution control technologies and land use planning
strategies available to reduce air pollution. At its most basic level land use
planning is likely to involve zoning and transport infrastructure planning. In most
developed countries, land use planning is an important part of social policy,
ensuring that land is used efficiently for the benefit of the wider economy and
population as well as to protect the environment.
Efforts to reduce pollution from mobile sources includes primary regulation
(many developing countries have permissive regulations),[citation needed]
expanding regulation to new sources (such as cruise and transport ships, farm
equipment, and small gas-powered equipment such as lawn trimmers,
chainsaws, and snowmobiles), increased fuel efficiency (such as through the use
of hybrid vehicles), conversion to cleaner fuels (such as bioethanol, biodiesel, or
conversion to electric vehicles).
Control devices
The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices by industry
or transportation devices. They can either destroy contaminants or remove them
from an exhaust stream before it is emitted into the atmosphere.
• Particulate control
o Mechanical collectors (dust cyclones, multicyclones)
o Electrostatic precipitators An electrostatic precipitator (ESP), or electrostatic
air cleaner is a particulate collection device that removes particles from a flowing
gas (such as air) using the force of an induced electrostatic charge. Electrostatic
precipitators are highly efficient filtration devices that minimally impede the flow
of gases through the device, and can easily remove fine particulate matter such
as dust and smoke from the air stream.
o Baghouses Designed to handle heavy dust loads, a dust collector consists of a
blower, dust filter, a filter-cleaning system, and a dust receptacle or dust
removal system (distinguished from air cleaners which utilize disposable filters
to remove the dust).
•
o Particulate scrubbers Wet scrubber is a form of pollution control technology.
The term describes a variety of devices that use pollutants from a furnace flue
gas or from other gas streams. In a wet scrubber, the polluted gas stream is
brought into contact with the scrubbing liquid, by spraying it with the liquid, by
forcing it through a pool of liquid, or by some other contact method, so as to
remove the pollutants.
• Scrubbers
o Baffle spray scrubber
o Cyclonic spray scrubber
o Ejector venturi scrubber
o Mechanically aided scrubber
o Spray tower
o Wet scrubber
• NOx control
o Low NOx burners
o Selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
o Selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR)
o NOx scrubbers
o Exhaust gas recirculation
o Catalytic converter (also for VOC control)
• VOC abatement
o Adsorption systems, such as activated carbon
o Flares
o Thermal oxidizers
o Catalytic oxidizers
o Biofilters
o Absorption (scrubbing)
o Cryogenic condensers
o Vapor recovery systems
• Acid Gas/SO2 control
o Wet scrubbers
o Dry scrubbers
o Flue gas desulfurization
• Mercury control
o Sorbent Injection Technology
o Electro-Catalytic Oxidation (ECO)
o K-Fuel
• Dioxin and furan control
• Miscellaneous associated equipment
o Source capturing systems
o Continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS)
Legal regulations
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide
view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk
page.

Smog in Cairo
In general, there are two types of air quality standards. The first class of
standards (such as the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards) set
maximum atmospheric concentrations for specific pollutants. Environmental
agencies enact regulations which are intended to result in attainment of these
target levels. The second class (such as the North American Air Quality Index)
take the form of a scale with various thresholds, which is used to communicate
to the public the relative risk of outdoor activity. The scale may or may not
distinguish between different pollutants.
Canada
In Canada, air quality is typically evaluated against standards set by the
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), an inter-governmental
body of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for the
environment. The CCME has set Canada Wide Standards(CWS). These are:
• CWS for PM2.5 = 30 µg/m3 (24 hour averaging time, by year 2010, based on
98th percentile ambient measurement annually, averaged over 3 consecutive
years).
• CWS for ozone = 65 ppb (8-hour averaging time, by year 2010, achievement
is based on the 4th highest measurement annually, averaged over 3 consecutive
years).
Note that there is no consequence in Canada to not achieving these standards.
In addition, these only apply to jurisdictions with populations greater than
100,000. Further, provinces and territories may set more stringent standards
than those set by the CCME.
European Union
A report from the European Environment Agency shows that road transport
remains Europe’s single largest air polluter .
National Emission Ceilings (NEC) for certain atmospheric pollutants are regulated
by NECD Directive 2001/81/EC (NECD). As part of the preparatory work
associated with the revision of the NECD, the European Commission is assisted
by the NECPI working group (National Emission Ceilings – Policy Instruments).
Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May
2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (the new Air Quality
Directive) has entried into force 2008-06-11 .
Individual citizens can force their local councils to tackle air pollution, following
an important ruling in July 2009 from the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The
EU’s court was asked to judge the case of a resident of Munich, Dieter Janecek,
who said that under the 1996 EU Air Quality Directive (Council Directive
96/62/EC of 27 September 1996 on ambient air quality assessment and
management ) the Munich authorities were obliged to take action to stop
pollution exceeding specified targets. Janecek then took his case to the ECJ,
whose judges said European citizens are entitled to demand air quality action
plans from local authorities in situations where there is a risk that EU limits will
be overshot. .
United Kingdom
Air quality targets set by the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA) are mostly aimed at local government representatives
responsible for the management of air quality in cities, where air quality
management is the most urgent. The UK has established an air quality network
where levels of the key air pollutants are published by monitoring centers. Air
quality in Oxford, Bath and London is particularly poor. One controversial study
performed by the Calor Gas company and published in the Guardian newspaper
compared walking in Oxford on an average day to smoking over sixty light
cigarettes.
More precise comparisons can be collected from the UK Air Quality Archive which
allows the user to compare a cities management of pollutants against the
national air quality objectives set by DEFRA in 2000.
Localized peak values are often cited, but average values are also important to
human health. The UK National Air Quality Information Archive offers almost
real-time monitoring of "current maximum" air pollution measurements for many
UK towns and cities. This source offers a wide range of constantly updated data,
including:
• Hourly Mean Ozone (µg/m³)
• Hourly Mean Nitrogen dioxide (µg/m³)
• Maximum 15-Minute Mean Sulphur dioxide (µg/m³)
• 8-Hour Mean Carbon monoxide (mg/m³)
• 24-Hour Mean PM10 (µg/m³ Grav Equiv)
DEFRA acknowledges that air pollution has a significant effect on health and has
produced a simple banding index system is used to create a daily warning
system that is issued by the BBC Weather Service to indicate air pollution levels.
DEFRA has published guidelines for people suffering from respiratory and heart
diseases.
United States
In the 1960s, 70s, and 90s, the United States Congress enacted a series of
Clean Air Acts which significantly strengthened regulation of air pollution.
Individual U.S. states, some European nations and eventually the European
Union followed these initiatives. The Clean Air Act sets numerical limits on the
concentrations of a basic group of air pollutants and provide reporting and
enforcement mechanisms.
In 1999, the United States EPA replaced the Pollution Standards Index (PSI)
with the Air Quality Index (AQI) to incorporate new PM2.5 and Ozone standards.
The effects of these laws have been very positive. In the United States between
1970 and 2006, citizens enjoyed the following reductions in annual pollution
emissions:
• carbon monoxide emissions fell from 197 million tons to 89 million tons
• nitrogen oxide emissions fell from 27 million tons to 19 million tons
• sulfur dioxide emissions fell from 31 million tons to 15 million tons
• particulate emissions fell by 80%
• lead emissions fell by more than 98%
In an October 2006 letter to EPA, the agency's independent scientific advisors
warned that the ozone smog standard “needs to be substantially reduced” and
that there is “no scientific justification” for retaining the current, weaker
standard. The scientists unanimously recommended a smog threshold of 60 to
70 ppb after they conducted an extensive review of the evidence.
The EPA has proposed, in June 2007, a new threshold of 75 ppb. This is less
strict than the scientific recommendation, but is more strict than the current
standard.
Some industries are lobbying to keep the current standards in place.
Environmentalists and public health advocates are mobilizing to support the
scientific recommendations.[citation needed]
The National Ambient Air Quality Standards are pollution thresholds which
trigger mandatory remediation plans by state and local governments, subject to
enforcement by the EPA.
An outpouring of dust layered with man-made sulfates, smog, industrial fumes,
carbon grit, and nitrates is crossing the Pacific Ocean on prevailing winds from
booming Asian economies in plumes so vast they alter the climate. Almost a
third of the air over Los Angeles and San Francisco can be traced directly to
Asia. With it comes up to three-quarters of the black carbon particulate pollution
that reaches the West Coast.
Libertarians typically suggest proletarian methods of stopping pollution. They
advocate strict liability which would hold accountable anyone who causes
polluted air to emanate into someone else's airspace. This offense would be
considered aggression, and damages could be sought in court under the
common law, possibly through class action suits. Since in a libertarian society,
highways would be privatized under a system of free market roads, the highway
owners would also be held liable for pollution emanating from vehicles traveling
along their property. This would give them a financial incentive to keep the
worst polluters off of their roads.

combined physical and biological components of an environment. An

ecosystem is generally an area within the natural environment in which
physical (abiotic) factors of the environment, such as rocks and soil, function
together along with interdependent (biotic) organisms, such as plants and
animals, within the same habitat. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary.
Ecosystems usually form a number of food webs.
Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms interact with
every other element in their local environment. Eugene Odum, a founder of
ecology, stated: "Any unit that includes all of the organisms (ie: the
"community") in a given area interacting with the physical environment so that a
flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity, and
material cycles (ie: exchange of materials between living and nonliving parts)
within the system is an ecosystem." The human ecosystem concept is then
grounded in the deconstruction of the human/nature dichotomy and the premise
that all species are ecologically integrated with each other, as well as with the
abiotic constituents of their biotope.
Etymology
The term ecosystem was coined in 1930 by Roy Clapham to mean the combined
physical and biological components of an environment. British ecologist Arthur
Tansley later refined the term, describing it as "The whole system,… including
not only the organism-complex, but also the whole complex of physical factors
forming what we call the environment". Tansley regarded ecosystems not simply
as natural units, but as mental isolates. Tansley later defined the spatial extent
of ecosystems using the term ecotope.
Examples of ecosystems
• Agroecosystem
• Aquatic ecosystem
• Chaparral
• Coral reef
• Desert
• Forest
• Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
• Human ecosystem
• Large marine ecosystem
• Littoral zone
• Marine ecosystem
• Prairie
• Rainforest
• Savanna
• Subsurface Lithoautotrophic Microbial Ecosystem
• Taiga
• Tundra
• Urban ecosystem
Biomes
A fundamental classification of biomes is:
1. Terrestrial (land) biomes
2. Freshwater biomes
3. Marine biomes
Biomes are similar to ecosystems, and are climatically and geographically
defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as communities of
plants, animals, and soil organisms, often referred to as ecosystems. Biomes are
defined based on factors such as plant structures (such as trees, shrubs, and
grasses), leaf types (such as broadleaf and needleleaf), plant spacing (forest,
woodland, savanna), and climate. Unlike ecozones, biomes are not defined by
genetic, taxonomic, or historical similarities. Biomes are often identified with
particular patterns of ecological succession and climax vegetation.
Ecosystem topics
Classification
Ecosystems have become particularly important politically, since the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) - ratified by 192 countries - defines "the protection
of ecosystems, natural habitats and the maintenance of viable populations of
species in natural surroundings" as a commitment of ratifying countries. This has
created the political necessity to spatially identify ecosystems and somehow
distinguish among them. The CBD defines an "ecosystem" as a "dynamic
complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living
environment interacting as a functional unit".
With the need of protecting ecosystems, the political need arose to describe and
identify them efficiently. Vreugdenhil et al. argued that this could be achieved
most effectively by using a physiognomic-ecological classification system, as
ecosystems are easily recognizable in the field as well as on satellite images.
They argued that the structure and seasonality of the associated vegetation,
complemented with ecological data (such as elevation, humidity, and drainage),
are each determining modifiers that separate partially distinct sets of species.
This is true not only for plant species, but also for species of animals, fungi and
bacteria. The degree of ecosystem distinction is subject to the physiognomic
modifiers that can be identified on an image and/or in the field. Where
necessary, specific fauna elements can be added, such as seasonal
concentrations of animals and the distribution of coral reefs.

Several physiognomic-ecological classification systems are available:

• Physiognomic-Ecological Classification of Plant Formations of the Earth: a
system based on the 1974 work of Mueller-Dombois and Heinz Ellenberg, and
developed by UNESCO. This classificatie "describes the above-ground or
underwater vegetation structures and cover as observed in the field, described
as plant life forms. This classification is fundamentally a species-independent
physiognomic, hierarchical vegetation classification system which also takes into
account ecological factors such as climate, elevation, human influences such as
grazing, hydric regimes, and survival strategies such as seasonality. The system
was expanded with a basic classification for open water formations".
• Land Cover Classification System (LCCS), developed by the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).
• Forest-Range Environmental Study Ecosystems (FRES) developed by the
United States Forest Service for use in the United States.
Several aquatic classification systems are available, and an effort is being made
by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Inter-American
Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN) to design a complete ecosystem
classification system that will cover both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
From a philosophy of science perspective, ecosystems are not discrete units of
nature that simply can be identified using "the right" classification approach. In
agreement with the definition by Tansley ("mental isolates"), any attempt to
delineate or classify ecosystems should be explicit about the observer/analyst
input in the classification including its normative rationale.

Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are “fundamental life-support services upon which human

civilization depends,”i and can be direct or indirect. Examples of direct
ecosystem services are: pollination, wood, and erosion prevention. Indirect
services could be considered climate moderation, nutrient cycles, and
detoxifying natural substances.
The services and goods an ecosystem provides are often undervalued as many
of them are without market value. Broad examples include:
• regulating (climate, floods, nutrient balance, water filtration)
• provisioning (food, medicine, fur)
• cultural (science, spiritual, ceremonial, recreation, aesthetic)
• supporting (nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, soil formation).
Ecosystem legal rights
Ecuador's new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally
enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.
The borough of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania passed a law giving ecosystems legal
rights. The ordinance establishes that the municipal government or any
Tamaqua resident can file a lawsuit on behalf of the local ecosystem. Other
townships, such as Rush, followed suit and passed their own laws.
This is part of a growing body of legal opinion proposing 'wild law'. Wild law, a
term coined by Cormac Cullinan (a lawyer based in South Africa), would cover
birds and animals, rivers and deserts.
Function and biodiversity

Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef

From an anthropocentric point of view, some people perceive ecosystems as

production units that produce goods and services, such as wood by forest
ecosystems and grass for cattle by natural grasslands. Meat from wild animals,
often referred to as bush meat in Africa, has proven to be extremely successful
under well-controlled management schemes in South Africa and Kenya. Much
less successful has been the discovery and commercialization of substances of
wild organism for pharmaceutical purposes. Services derived from ecosystems
are referred to as ecosystem services. They may include (1) facilitating the
enjoyment of nature, which may generate many forms of income and
employment in the tourism sector, often referred to as eco-tourisms, (2) water
retention, thus facilitating a more evenly distributed release of water, (3) soil
protection, open-air laboratory for scientific research, etc.
A greater degree of species or biological diversity - popularly referred to as
Biodiversity - of an ecosystem may contribute to greater resilience of an
ecosystem, because there are more species present at a location to respond to
change and thus "absorb" or reduce its effects. This reduces the effect before
the ecosystem's structure is fundamentally changed to a different state. This is
not universally the case and there is no proven relationship between the species
diversity of an ecosystem and its ability to provide goods and services on a
sustainable level: Humid tropical forests produce very few goods and direct
services and are extremely vulnerable to change, while many temperate forests
readily grow back to their previous state of development within a lifetime after
felling or a forest fire. Some grasslands have been sustainably exploited for
thousands of years (Mongolia, Africa, European peat and mooreland
communities).
The study of ecosystems

Introduction of new elements, whether biotic or abiotic, into an ecosystem tend

to have a disruptive effect. In some cases, this can lead to ecological collapse or
"trophic cascading" and the death of many species within the ecosystem. Under
this deterministic vision, the abstract notion of ecological health attempts to
measure the robustness and recovery capacity for an ecosystem; i.e. how far
the ecosystem is away from its steady state.
Often, however, ecosystems have the ability to rebound from a disruptive agent.
The difference between collapse or a gentle rebound is determined by two
factors—the toxicity of the introduced element and the resiliency of the original
ecosystem.
Ecosystems are primarily governed by stochastic (chance) events, the reactions
these events provoke on non-living materials, and the responses by organisms
to the conditions surrounding them. Thus, an ecosystem results from the sum of
individual responses of organisms to stimuli from elements in the environment.
The presence or absence of populations merely depends on reproductive and
dispersal success, and population levels fluctuate in response to stochastic
events. As the number of species in an ecosystem is higher, the number of
stimuli is also higher. Since the beginning of life organisms have survived
continuous change through natural selection of successful feeding, reproductive
and dispersal behavior. Through natural selection the planet's species have
continuously adapted to change through variation in their biological composition
and distribution. Mathematically it can be demonstrated that greater numbers of
different interacting factors tend to dampen fluctuations in each of the individual
factors.

Given the great diversity among organisms on earth, most ecosystems only
changed very gradually, as some species would disappear while others would
move in. Locally, sub-populations continuously go extinct, to be replaced later
through dispersal of other sub-populations. Stochastists do recognize that
certain intrinsic regulating mechanisms occur in nature. Feedback and response
mechanisms at the species level regulate population levels, most notably
through territorial behaviour. Andrewatha and Birch suggest that territorial
behaviour tends to keep populations at levels where food supply is not a limiting
factor. Hence, stochastists see territorial behaviour as a regulatory mechanism
at the species level but not at the ecosystem level. Thus, in their vision,
ecosystems are not regulated by feedback and response mechanisms from the
(eco)system itself and there is no such thing as a balance of nature.
If ecosystems are governed primarily by stochastic processes, through which its
subsequent state would be determined by both predictable and random actions,
they may be more resilient to sudden change than each species individually. In
the absence of a balance of nature, the species composition of ecosystems would
undergo shifts that would depend on the nature of the change, but entire
ecological collapse would probably be infrequent events.

Arctic tundra on Wrangel Island, Russia.

The theoretical ecologist Robert Ulanowicz has used information theory tools to
describe the structure of ecosystems, emphasizing mutual information
(correlations) in studied systems. Drawing on this methodology and prior
observations of complex ecosystems, Ulanowicz depicts approaches to
determining the stress levels on ecosystems and predicting system reactions to
defined types of alteration in their settings (such as increased or reduced energy
flow, and eutrophication.
Ecosystem ecology
Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of biotic and abiotic components of
ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science
examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as
chemicals, bedrock, soil, plants, and animals. Ecosystem ecology examines
physical and biological structure and examines how these ecosystem
characteristics interact.

Rainwater harvesting is the gathering, or accumulating and storing, of

rainwater. Rainwater harvesting has been used to provide drinking water, water
for livestock, water for irrigation or to refill aquifers in a process called
groundwater recharge. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses, tents and
local institutions, or from specially prepared areas of ground, can make an
important contribution to drinking water. In some cases, rainwater may be the
only available, or economical, water source. Rainwater systems are simple to
construct from inexpensive local materials, and are potentially successful in most
habitable locations. Roof rainwater is usually of good quality and does not
require treatment before consumption. Household rainfall catchment systems
are appropriate in areas with an average rainfall greater than 200mm per year,
and no other accessible water sources (Skinner and Cotton, 1992).
There are a number of types of systems to harvest rainwater ranging from very
simple to the complex industrial systems. Generally, rainwater is either
harvested from the ground or from a roof. The rate at which water can be
collected from either system is dependent on the plan area of the system, its
efficiency, and the intensity of rainfall.
Ground catchments systems channel water from a prepared catchment area into
storage. Generally they are only considered in areas where rainwater is very
scarce and other sources of water are not available. They are more suited to
small communities than individual families. If properly designed, ground
catchments can collect large quantities of rainwater.
Roof catchment systems
Roof catchment systems channel rainwater that falls onto a roof into storage via
a system of gutters and pipes. The first flush of rainwater after a dry season
should be allowed to run to waste as it will be contaminated with dust, bird
droppings etc. Roof gutters should have sufficient incline to avoid standing
water. They must be strong enough, and large enough to carry peak flows.
Storage tanks should be covered to prevent mosquito breeding and to reduce
evaporation losses, contamination and algal growth. Rainwater harvesting
systems require regular maintenance and cleaning to keep the system hygienic
and in good working order.
Subsurface dyke
A subsurface dyke is built in an aquifer to obstruct the natural flow of
groundwater, thereby raising the groundwater level and increasing the amount
of water stored in the aquifer.
The subsurface dyke at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kannur under Kerala Agricultural
University with the support of ICAR, has become an effective method for ground
water conservation by means of rain water harvesting technologies. The sub-
surface dyke has demonstrated that it is a feasible method for conserving and
exploiting the groundwater resources of the Kerala state of India. The dyke is
now the largest rainwater harvesting system in that region.
Groundwater recharge
Rainwater may also be used for groundwater recharge, where the runoff on the
ground is collected and allowed to be absorbed, adding to the groundwater. In
the US, rooftop rainwater is collected and stored in sump. In India this includes
Bawdis and johads, or ponds which collect the run-off from small streams in
wide area.
In India, reservoirs called tankas were used to store water; typically they were
shallow with mud walls. Ancient tankas still exist in some places.
Advantages in urban areas
Rainwater harvesting in urban areas can have manifold reasons. Some of the
reasons rainwater harvesting can be adopted in cities are to provide
supplemental water for the city's requirements, to increase soil moisture levels
for urban greenery, to increase the ground water table through artificial
recharge, to mitigate urban flooding and to improve the quality of groundwater.
In urban areas of the developed world, at a household level, harvested rainwater
can be used for flushing toilets and washing laundry. Indeed in hard water areas
it is superior to mains water for this. It can also be used for showering or
bathing. It may require treatment prior to use for drinking
In New Zealand, many houses away from the larger towns and cities routinely
rely on rainwater collected from roofs as the only source of water for all
household activities. This is almost inevitably the case for many holiday homes.
Quality
As rainwater may be contaminated, it is often not considered suitable for
drinking without treatment. However, there are many examples of rainwater
being used for all purposes — including drinking — following suitable treatment.
Rainwater harvested from roofs can contain animal and bird faeces, mosses and
lichens, windblown dust, particulates from urban pollution, pesticides, and
inorganic ions from the sea (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, SO4), and dissolved gases (CO2,
NOx, SOx). High levels of pesticide have been found in rainwater in Europe with
the highest concentrations occurring in the first rain immediately after a dry
spell; the concentration of these and other contaminants are reduced
significantly by diverting the initial flow of water to waste as described above.
The water may need to be analysed properly, and used in a way appropriate to
its safety. In the Gansu province for example, harvested rainwater is boiled in
parabolic solar cookers before being used for drinking. In Brazil alum and
chlorine is added to disinfect water before consumption.[citation needed] So-
called "appropriate technology" methods, such as solar water disinfection,
provide low-cost[citation needed] disinfection options for treatment of stored
rainwater for drinking.
System sizing
It is important that the system is sized to meet the water demand throughout
the dry season. Generally speaking, the size of the storage tank should be big
enough to meet the daily water requirement throughout the dry season. In
addition, the size of the catchment area or roof should be large enough to fill the
tank.
Around the world
• Currently in China and Brazil, rooftop rainwater harvesting is being practiced
for providing drinking water, domestic water, water for livestock, water for small
irrigation and a way to replenish ground water levels. Gansu province inh China
and semi-arid north east Brazil have the largest rooftop rainwater harvesting
projects ongoing.
• In Rajasthan, India rainwater harvesting has traditionally been practiced by
the people of the Thar Desert.
• In Bermuda, the law requires all new construction to include rainwater
harvesting adequate for the residents.
• The U.S. Virgin Islands have a similar law.
• In the Indus Valley Civilization, Elephanta Caves and Kanheri Caves in Mumbai
rainwater harvesting alone has been used to supply in their water requirements.
• In Senegal/Guinea-Bissau, the houses of the Diola-people are frequently
equipped with homebrew rainwater harvesters made from local, organic
material.
• In the United Kingdom water butts are oft-found in domestic gardens to collect
rainwater which is then used to water the garden.
• In the Ayerwaddy Delta of Myanmar, the groundwater is saline and
communities rely on mud lined rainwater ponds to meet their drinking water
needs throughout the dry season. Some of these ponds are centuries old and are
treated with great reverence and respect.
• Until 2009 in Colorado, water rights laws restricted rainwater harvesting; a
property owner who captured rainwater was deemed to be stealing it from those
who have rights to take water from the watershed. The main factor in
persuading the Colorado Legislature to change the law was a 2007 study that
found that in an average year, 97% of the precipitation that fell in Douglas
County, in the southern suburbs of Denver, never reached a stream—it was used
by plants or evaporated on the ground. In Utah and Washington State, collecting
rainwater from the roof is illegal unless the roof owner also owns water rights on
the ground. In New Mexico, rainwater catchment is mandatory for new dwellings
in Santa Fe.
• Kerala, India,

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers,

oceans, groundwater).
Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water; and,
in almost all cases the effect is damaging either to individual species and
populations, but also to the natural biological communities.
Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into
water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
Millions depend on the polluted Ganges river.
Water pollution is a major problem in the global context. It has been suggested
that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it
accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily. An estimated 700
million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die
of diarrheal sickness every day. Some 90% of China's cities suffer from some
degree of water pollution, and nearly 500 million people lack access to safe
drinking water. In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in
developing countries, industrialized countries continue to struggle with pollution
problems as well. In the most recent national report on water quality in the
United States, 45 percent of assessed stream miles, 47 percent of assessed lake
acres, and 32 percent of assessed bay and estuarine square miles were classified
as polluted.
Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic
contaminants and either does not support a human use, like serving as drinking
water, and/or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent
biotic communities, such as fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae
blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and
the ecological status of water.
Water pollution categories
Surface water and groundwater have often been studied and managed as
separate resources, although they are interrelated. Sources of surface water
pollution are generally grouped into two categories based on their origin.
Point source pollution
Point source pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway through a
discrete conveyance, such as a pipe or ditch. Examples of sources in this
category include discharges from a sewage treatment plant, a factory, or a city
storm drain. The U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) defines point source for regulatory
enforcement purposes. The CWA definition of point source was amended in 1987
to include municipal storm sewer systems, as well as industrial stormwater, such
as from construction sites.
Non-point source pollution
Non-point source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination that does not
originate from a single discrete source. NPS pollution is often accumulative effect
of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. The leaching out
of nitrogen compounds from agricultural land which has been fertilized is a
typical example. Nutrient runoff in stormwater from "sheet flow" over an
agricultural field or a forest are also cited as examples of NPS pollution.
Contaminated storm water washed off of parking lots, roads and highways,
called urban runoff, is sometimes included under the category of NPS pollution.
However, this runoff is typically channeled into storm drain systems and
discharged through pipes to local surface waters, and is a point source. However
where such water is not channeled and drains directly to ground it is a non-point
source.
Groundwater pollution
Interactions between groundwater and surface water are complex.
Consequently, groundwater pollution, sometimes referred to as groundwater
contamination, is not as easily classified as surface water pollution. By its very
nature, groundwater aquifers are susceptible to contamination from sources that
may not directly affect surface water bodies, and the distinction of point vs. non-
point source may be irrelevant. A spill of a chemical contaminant on soil, located
away from a surface water body, may not necessarily create point source or
non-point source pollution, but nonetheless may contaminate the aquifer below.
Analysis of groundwater contamination may focus on soil characteristics and
hydrology, as well as the nature of the contaminant itself. See Hydrogeology.
Causes of water pollution
The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum
of chemicals, pathogens, and physical or sensory changes such as elevated
temperature and discoloration. While many of the chemicals and substances that
are regulated may be naturally occurring (calcium, sodium, iron, manganese,
etc.) the concentration is often the key in determining what is a natural
component of water, and what is a contaminant.
Oxygen-depleting substances may be natural materials, such as plant matter
(e.g. leaves and grass) as well as man-made chemicals. Other natural and
anthropogenic substances may cause turbidity (cloudiness) which blocks light
and disrupts plant growth, and clogs the gills of some fish species.
Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne
diseases in either human or animal hosts. Alteration of water's physical
chemistry includes acidity (change in pH), electrical conductivity, temperature,
and eutrophication. Eutrophication is an increase in the concentration of
chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an extent that increases in the primary
productivity of the ecosystem. Depending on the degree of eutrophication,
subsequent negative environmental effects such as anoxia (oxygen depletion)
and severe reductions in water quality may occur, affecting fish and other animal
populations.
Pathogens
Coliform bacteria are a commonly-used bacterial indicator of water pollution,
although not an actual cause of disease. Other microorganisms sometimes found
in surface waters which have caused human health problems include:
• Burkholderia pseudomallei
• Cryptosporidium parvum
• Giardia lamblia
• Salmonella
• Novovirus and other viruses
• Parasitic worms (helminths).
High levels of pathogens may result from inadequately treated sewage
discharges. This can be caused by a sewage plant designed with less than
secondary treatment (more typical in less-developed countries). In developed
countries, older cities with aging infrastructure may have leaky sewage collection
systems (pipes, pumps, valves), which can cause sanitary sewer overflows.
Some cities also have combined sewers, which may discharge untreated sewage
during rain storms.
Pathogen discharges may also be caused by poorly-managed livestock
operations.
Chemical and other contaminants
Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances.
Organic water pollutants include:
• Detergents
• Disinfection by-products found in chemically disinfected drinking water, such
as chloroform
• Food processing waste, which can include oxygen-demanding substances, fats
and grease
• Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalides and other chemical
compounds
• Petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuels, and
fuel oil) and lubricants (motor oil), and fuel combustion byproducts, from
stormwater runoff
• Tree and bush debris from logging operations
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as industrial solvents, from improper
storage. Chlorinated solvents, which are dense non-aqueous phase liquids
(DNAPLs), may fall to the bottom of reservoirs, since they don't mix well with
water and are denser.
• Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products
Inorganic water pollutants include:
• Acidity caused by industrial discharges (especially sulfur dioxide from power
plants)
• Ammonia from food processing waste
• Chemical waste as industrial by-products
• Fertilizers containing nutrients--nitrates and phosphates--which are found in
stormwater runoff from agriculture, as well as commercial and residential use
• Heavy metals from motor vehicles (via urban stormwater runoff) and acid
mine drainage
• Silt (sediment) in runoff from construction sites, logging, slash and burn
practices or land clearing sites
Macroscopic pollution—large visible items polluting the water—may be termed
"floatables" in an urban stormwater context, or marine debris when found on the
open seas, and can include such items as:
• Trash (e.g. paper, plastic, or food waste) discarded by people on the ground,
and that are washed by rainfall into storm drains and eventually discharged into
surface waters
• Nurdles, small ubiquitous waterborne plastic pellets
• Shipwrecks, large derelict ships
Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature of a natural body of water
caused by human influence. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of
water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. Elevated water
temperatures decreases oxygen levels (which can kill fish) and affects
ecosystem composition, such as invasion by new thermophilic species. Urban
runoff may also elevate temperature in surface waters.
Thermal pollution can also be caused by the release of very cold water from the
base of reservoirs into warmer rivers.
Transport and chemical reactions of water pollutants

Most water pollutants are eventually carried by rivers into the oceans. In some
areas of the world the influence can be traced hundred miles from the mouth by
studies using hydrology transport models. Advanced computer models such as
SWMM or the DSSAM Model have been used in many locations worldwide to
examine the fate of pollutants in aquatic systems. Indicator filter feeding species
such as copepods have also been used to study pollutant fates in the New York
Bight, for example. The highest toxin loads are not directly at the mouth of the
Hudson River, but 100 kilometers south, since several days are required for
incorporation into planktonic tissue. The Hudson discharge flows south along the
coast due to coriolis force. Further south then are areas of oxygen depletion,
caused by chemicals using up oxygen and by algae blooms, caused by excess
nutrients from algal cell death and decomposition. Fish and shellfish kills have
been reported, because toxins climb the food chain after small fish consume
copepods, then large fish eat smaller fish, etc. Each successive step up the food
chain causes a stepwise concentration of pollutants such as heavy metals (e.g.
mercury) and persistent organic pollutants such as DDT. This is known as
biomagnification, which is occasionally used interchangeably with
bioaccumulation.
Large gyres (vortexes) in the oceans trap floating plastic debris. The North
Pacific Gyre for example has collected the so-called "Great Pacific Garbage
Patch" that is now estimated at 100 times the size of Texas. Many of these long-
lasting pieces wind up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. This results
in obstruction of digestive pathways which leads to reduced appetite or even
starvation.
Many chemicals undergo reactive decay or chemically change especially over
long periods of time in groundwater reservoirs. A noteworthy class of such
chemicals is the chlorinated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene (used in
industrial metal degreasing and electronics manufacturing) and
tetrachloroethylene used in the dry cleaning industry (note latest advances in
liquid carbon dioxide in dry cleaning that avoids all use of chemicals). Both of
these chemicals, which are carcinogens themselves, undergo partial
decomposition reactions, leading to new hazardous chemicals (including
dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride).
Groundwater pollution is much more difficult to abate than surface pollution
because groundwater can move great distances through unseen aquifers. Non-
porous aquifers such as clays partially purify water of bacteria by simple
filtration (adsorption and absorption), dilution, and, in some cases, chemical
reactions and biological activity: however, in some cases, the pollutants merely
transform to soil contaminants. Groundwater that moves through cracks and
caverns is not filtered and can be transported as easily as surface water. In fact,
this can be aggravated by the human tendency to use natural sinkholes as
dumps in areas of Karst topography.
There are a variety of secondary effects stemming not from the original
pollutant, but a derivative condition. An example is silt-bearing surface runoff,
which can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column,
hampering photosynthesis in aquatic plants.
Measurement of water pollution
Water pollution may be analyzed through several broad categories of methods:
physical, chemical and biological. Most involve collection of samples, followed by
specialized analytical tests. Some methods may be conducted in situ, without
sampling, such as temperature. Government agencies and research
organizations have published standardized, validated analytical test methods to
facilitate the comparability of results from disparate testing events.
Sampling
Sampling of water for physical or chemical testing can be done by several
methods, depending on the accuracy needed and the characteristics of the
contaminant. Many contamination events are sharply restricted in time, most
commonly in association with rain events. For this reason "grab" samples are
often inadequate for fully quantifying contaminant levels. Scientists gathering
this type of data often employ auto-sampler devices that pump increments of
water at either time or discharge intervals.
Sampling for biological testing involves collection of plants and/or animals from
the surface water body. Depending on the type of assessment, the organisms
may be identified for biosurveys (population counts) and returned to the water
body, or they may be dissected for bioassays to determine toxicity.
Physical testing
Common physical tests of water include temperature, solids concentration and
turbidity.
Chemical testing
See also: water chemistry analysis and environmental chemistry
Water samples may be examined using the principles of analytical chemistry.
Many published test methods are available for both organic and inorganic
compounds. Frequently-used methods include pH, biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nutrients (nitrate and phosphorus
compounds), metals (including copper, zinc, cadmium, lead and mercury), oil
and grease, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and pesticides.
Biological testing
Biological testing involves the use of plant, animal, and/or microbial indicators to
monitor the health of an aquatic ecosystem.
For microbial testing of drinking water, see Bacteriological water analysis.
Control of water pollution
Domestic sewage
Domestic sewage is 99.9% pure water, the other 0.1% are pollutants. While
found in low concentrations, these pollutants pose risk on a large scale. In urban
areas, domestic sewage is typically treated by centralized sewage treatment
plants. In the U.S., most of these plants are operated by local government
agencies, frequently referred to as publicly owned treatment works (POTW).
Municipal treatment plants are designed to control conventional pollutants: BOD
and suspended solids. Well-designed and operated systems (i.e., secondary
treatment or better) can remove 90 percent or more of these pollutants. Some
plants have additional sub-systems to treat nutrients and pathogens. Most
municipal plants are not designed to treat toxic pollutants found in industrial
wastewater.
Cities with sanitary sewer overflows or combined sewer overflows employ one or
more engineering approaches to reduce discharges of untreated sewage,
including:
• utilizing a green infrastructure approach to improve stormwater management
capacity throughout the system, and reduce the hydraulic overloading of the
treatment plant
• repair and replacement of leaking and malfunctioning equipment
• increasing overall hydraulic capacity of the sewage collection system (often a
very expensive option).
A household or business not served by a municipal treatment plant may have an
individual septic tank, which treats the wastewater on site and discharges into
the soil. Alternatively, domestic wastewater may be sent to a nearby privately-
owned treatment system (e.g. in a rural community).
Industrial wastewater
Dissolved air flotation system for treating industrial wastewater.
Some industrial facilities generate ordinary domestic sewage that can be treated
by municipal facilities. Industries that generate wastewater with high
concentrations of conventional pollutants (e.g. oil and grease), toxic pollutants
(e.g. heavy metals, volatile organic compounds) or other nonconventional
pollutants such as ammonia, need specialized treatment systems. Some of these
facilities can install a pre-treatment system to remove the toxic components,
and then send the partially-treated wastewater to the municipal system.
Industries generating large volumes of wastewater typically operate their own
complete on-site treatment systems.
Some industries have been successful at redesigning their manufacturing
processes to reduce or eliminate pollutants, through a process called pollution
prevention.
Heated water generated by power plants or manufacturing plants may be
controlled with:
• cooling ponds, man-made bodies of water designed for cooling by evaporation,
convection, and radiation
• cooling towers, which transfer waste heat to the atmosphere through
evaporation and/or heat transfer
• cogeneration, a process where waste heat is recycled for domestic and/or
industrial heating purposes.
Agricultural wastewater

Nonpoint source controls

Sediment (loose soil) washed off fields is the largest source of agricultural
pollution in the United States. Farmers may utilize erosion controls to reduce
runoff flows and retain soil on their fields. Common techniques include contour
plowing, crop mulching, crop rotation, planting perennial crops and installing
riparian buffers.[23]:pp. 4-95–4-96
Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are typically applied to farmland as
commercial fertilizer; animal manure; or spraying of municipal or industrial
wastewater (effluent) or sludge. Nutrients may also enter runoff from crop
residues, irrigation water, wildlife, and atmospheric deposition.:p. 2-9 Farmers
can develop and implement nutrient management plans to reduce excess
application of nutrients.[23]:pp. 4-37–4-38
To minimize pesticide impacts, farmers may use Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) techniques (which can include biological pest control) to maintain control
over pests, reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, and protect water quality.

Point source wastewater treatment

Farms with large livestock and poultry operations, such as factory farms, are
called concentrated animal feeding operations or confined animal feeding
operations in the U.S. and are being subject to increasing government
regulation. Animal slurries are usually treated by containment in lagoons before
disposal by spray or trickle application to grassland. Constructed wetlands are
sometimes used to facilitate treatment of animal wastes, as are anaerobic
lagoons. Some animal slurries are treated by mixing with straw and composted
at high temperature to produce a bacteriologically sterile and friable manure for
soil improvement.
Sediment from construction sites is managed by installation of:
• erosion controls, such as mulching and hydroseeding, and
• sediment controls, such as sediment basins and silt fences.
Discharge of toxic chemicals such as motor fuels and concrete washout is
prevented by use of:
• spill prevention and control plans, and
• specially-designed containers (e.g. for concrete washout) and structures such
as overflow controls and diversion berms.
Urban runoff (stormwater)
Retention basin for controlling urban runoff
Effective control of urban runoff involves reducing the velocity and flow of
stormwater, as well as reducing pollutant discharges. Local governments use a
variety of stormwater management techniques to reduce the effects of urban
runoff. These techniques, called best management practices (BMPs) in the U.S.,
may focus on water quantity control, while others focus on improving water
quality, and some perform both functions.
Pollution prevention practices include low impact development techniques,
installation of green roofs and improved chemical handling (e.g. management of
motor fuels & oil, fertilizers and pesticides). Runoff mitigation systems include
infiltration basins, bioretention systems, constructed wetlands, retention basins
and similar devices.
Thermal pollution from runoff can be controlled by stormwater management
facilities that absorb the runoff or direct it into groundwater, such as bioretention
systems and infiltration basins. Retention basins tend to be less effective at
reducing temperature, as the water may be heated by the sun before being
discharged to a receiving stream.:p. 5-58
There are eight abundant ele-
ments in the earths' crust:
Oxygen 47%
Silicon 28%
Aluminium 8.1%
Iron 6%
Magnesium 4%
Calcium 2.4%
Potassium 2.3%
Sodium 2.1%
There are eight important elements in the whole earth :
Iron 35%
Oxygen 30%
Silicon 15%
Magnesium 13%
Nickel 2.4%
Sulphur 1.9%
Calcium 1.1%
Aluminium 1.1%
ROCK TYPES
Rocks are aggregates of mineral grains or crystals. They are classified into three
major types according to origin: (1) igneous, (2) sedimentary, and (3)
metamorphic.

(I) Igneous rocks are those that solidify from a melt (called magma, a molten
mixture of rock-forming minerals and usually volatiles such as gases and
steam). Since their constituent minerals are crystallized from molten material,
igneous rocks are formed at high temperatures.
Basic Characteristics: 1.These are solidified from a molten magma and water
cannot percolate through them.
2.They usually do not occur in distinct beds or strata like sedimentary rocks.
3.Igneous rocks are generally not fossiliferous.
4.Igneous rocks are generally granular and crystalline.
5.It is less affected by chemical weathering as the water does not percolate in
them easily.
6.These rocks are generally weathered by mechanical weathering.
Most of the igneous rocks consist of silicate minerals: (a) Acidic when 65 to 85
per cent: acid igneous lack in iron.
and magnesium; quartz and feldspar are common minerals and granite is the
common rock.
(b) basic igneous rocks with 45 to 60 per cent silica content are dominated by
ferromag-nesium minerals and have very low amount of feldspar and basalt,
gabbro, dolerite are the examples.
(c) Intermediate igneous rocks have 45 per cent silica and examples are diorite
and andesite.
(d) Ultra-basic igneous rocks have less than 45 per cent silica and example is
Peridotite. The great majority of the igneous rocks are composed of silicate
minerals and oxygen.

>The major mineralogical components of igneous rocks can be divided into two
groups: felsic (from feldspar and silica) and mafic (from magnesium and ferrous
iron).
>The felsic minerals include quartz, tridymite, cristo-balite, feldspars
(plagioclase and alkali feldspar), feldsp-athoids(nephelihe and leucite),
muscovite, and corundum. y Because felsic minerals lack iron and magnesium,
they are generally light in colour and consequently are referred to as leucocratic.
> The mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxenes, amph-iboles, and biotites, all of
which are dark in colour.
> Supersaturated minerals include quartz and its polymorphs and a low-calcium
orthorhombic pyroxene (called hyper-sthene).
> Extrusive igneous rocks are: Rhyolite (felsic minerals, typically quartz,
feldspars, and mica); Andesite (felsic minerals without quartz, usually including
plagioclase feldspar and amphibole); Basalt (mafic minerals, typically plagioclase
feldspar, pyroxene and olivine).
> Intrusive igneous rocks are: Granite, Diorite, Gabbro and Peridotite.
>Igneous rocks has two parts: Intrusive and Extrusive.

Intrusive has seven parts: l.Plutonic: deep-seated origin; rocks have coarse
grain size; diorite, gabbro, granite, peridotite and syenite are examples. The
largest partially exposed pluton is a batholith.
2.Hypabyssal: originates due to cooling and solidification of rising magma.
3.Batholith: large body of igneous rock formed beneath the Earth's surface by
the intrusion and solidification of magma.A well-known batho¬lith is located in
the Sierra Nevada range of California, U.S.; Murha pahar at Ranchi is another
example.
4.Laccolith: in geology, any of a type of igneous intrusion that has split apart
two strata, resulting in a domelike structure; the floor of the structure is usually
horizontal. A laccolith is often smaller than a stock. A well-known example of a
laccolith is found in the Henry Mountains, Utah.
5. Sill : also called sheet-tabular igneous intrusion emplaced parallel to the
bedding of the enclosing rock. Although they may have vertical to horizontal
orientations, nearly horizontal sills are the most common.
6.Stocks: with outcrop and mainly composed of granite.
7.Dykes: sheet-like body which rises upward from a magma chamber and cuts
discordantly through the bedding plane of the country rock. Dyke of Zimbabwe is
the largest example.

Extrusive is of two types : Explosive type and Quiet Type: Bombs are big
fragments; lapilli peas size; tuffs are volcanic materials; breccia or agglomerates
mixture of smaller and larger parts.
> Igneous Rocks are divided into six types on the basis of textual charcteristics:
(1) Pegmatitic igneous rocks (very coarse-grained like pegmititic granites,
pegmatitic diorite, pegmatitic synite)
(2) Phaneritic igneous rocks (coarse-grained like granites, diorites)
(3)Aphanitic igneous rocks
(fine-grained rocks like basalt, felsite, rocks of sills and dykes)
(4)Glassy igneous rocks (grainless like pitch stones, obsidians, pumice, perlite)
(5)Porphyritic igneous rocks (mixed-grained).
(6)FragmentaI igneous rocks (consisting of bombs, breccia, volcanic dusts,
tuffs).
GRANITE:
>Coarse- or medium-grained intrusive igneous rock that is rich in quartz and
feldspar; it is the most common plutonic rock of the Earth's crust, forming by
the cooling of magma (silicate melt) at depth.
>Granite may occur in dikes or sills.
>Rocks containing less than 20 percent quartz are almost never named granite,
and rocks containing more than 20 percent (by volume) of dark, or
ferromagnesian, minerals are also seldom called granite.
>The minor essential minerals of granite may include muscovite, biotite, amphi-
bole, or pyroxene.
> Mineral composition of granite: Feldspar(52.3%); Quartz(31.3%); Mica
(11.5%); Hornblende (2.4 %); Iron (2.0%) and others (0.55%)
>Granites are generally resistant to erosion but when the rocks are well jointed,
they are easily weathered and very peculiar landform is generated, called tors
BASALTS:
> Extrusive igneous (volcanic) rock that is low in silica content, dark in colour,
and comparatively rich in iron and magnesium.
> Some basajis are quite glassy (tachylytes), and many are very fine-grained
and compact; it is more usual, however, for them to exhibit porphyritic
structure, with larger crystals (phenocrysts) of olivine, augite, or feldspar in a
finely crystalline matrix (ground-mass).
> Olivine and augite are the most common porphyritic minerals in basalts;
porphyritic plagioclase feldspars are also found. Basaltic lavas are frequently
spongy or pumiceous; the steam cavities become filled with secondary minerals
such as calcite, chlorite, and zeolites.
> Basalts may be broadly classified on a chemical and petrographic basis into
two main groups: the calc-alkali and the alkali basalts;
> Normal alkali basalt contains olivine and, comm¬only, adiopsidicortitaniferous
augite.
> Feldslpar is most dominant (46.2%); Augite (36.9%); Olivine (7.6 per cent);
Mineral Iron (9.5 per cent).

Sedimentary rocks are produced by the weathering of pre-existing rocks and the
subsequent transportation and deposition of the weathering

Important characteristics: 1. It contains strata or layers.

2.The layers are rarely horizontal and generally tilted due to lateral compressive
and tensile forces.

3.It is formed of sediments derived from the older rocks, plants and animals
remains.

4. It covers the 75 per cent of the surface area of the globe.

5.Most of the sedimentary rocks are permeable and porous.

6.1t is characterised by different sizes of joints. These are generally
perpendicular to the bedding plains.
7.The riverine sedimentary rocks develop cracks when exposed to the sun.
These cracks are generally of polygonal shape.
8. The most favourable sites of their formation is shallow sea floor hording
continents.

9.The connecting plane bet¬ween two consecutive beds or layers of sedimentary

rocks is called 'bedding plane'. The uniformity of two beds along a bedding plane
is called conformity (i.e when beds are similar in all respect).
When two consecutive beds are not uniform or conformal, the structure is called
unconformity. In fact, 'an unconformity is a break in a stratigraphic sequence
resu¬lting from a change in conditions that caused deposition to cease for a
considerable time'. There are several types of unconformity e-g
(i) non-conformity ( where sedimentary rocks succeed igneous or metamorphic
rocks),
(ii) angular unconformity (where horizontal sedimentary beds are deposited over
previously folded or tilted strata),
(iii) disconformity ( where two conformable beds are seperated by mere changes
of sediment type),
(iv) paraconformity ( where two sets of conformable beds are separted by same
types of sediments) etc.
10. Sedimentation units in the sedimentary rocks having a thickness of greater
than 1cm are called beds. The upper and lower surfaces of a bed are called
bedding planes or bounding planes. Sometimes the lower surface of a bed is
called sole while the upper surface is called upper bedding surface.There are
further sedimentary units within a bed. The units having a thickness of more
than 1 cm are called as layers or strata whereas the units below 1 cm thickness
are known as laminae. The several strata and laminae makeup a bed. When the
beds are deposited at an angle to the depositional surface, they are called cross-
beds and the general phenomena of inclined layers are called cross-lamination or
cross-bedding.
11.Soft muds and alluviam deposited by the rivers during flood period develop
cracks when baked in the sun. These cracks are generally of polygonal shapes.
Such cracks are called mud cracks or sun cracks.
12.Most of the sedimentary rocks are permeable and porous but a few of them
are also non-porous and impermeable. The porosity of the rocks depends upon
the ratio between the voids and the volume of a given rock mass.
l,Clastic(Composed of rock and mineral fragments)

Rock Type - Sandstone (Cemented sand grains, Conglomerate (Sand-stone

with pebbles of hard rock), Mudstone(Silt and clay with some sand), Clay-stone(
Clay ), Shale (Clay, broken into flat flakes and plates, with thin laminite;rich in
organic material; found in lagoons, shallow seas and tidal flats), Siltstones (Fine
grained clastic rock; carried by rivers). 2.Chemically Precipitated (From sea
water or salty inla¬nd lakes)
Rock Type - Limestone (Calcium Carbonate; formed by sea or lake), Dolomite
(Magnesium and calcium carbonate ),Chert(Silica, a non-crystalline form of
quartz), Evaporites (Minerals formed by evaporation of salty solutions in shallow
inland lakes or coastal lagoons). 3.Organic (Formation due to organic material).
Rock Type - Coal (It is formed from peat), Petroleum (It is a mineral fuel; found
in liquid hydrocarbon), Natural Gas( It is a mineral fuel; a gaseous
hydrocarbon).
There are three major categories in which sedimentary rocks are recognized:
(l)terrigenous clastic sedimentary rocks, (2)carbonates(lime-stone and
dolomite), and (3)non-carbonate chemical sedimentary rocks. Terrigenous
clastic sedimentary rocks are composed of the detrital fragments of preexisting
rocks and minerals and are conventionally considered to be equivalent to clastic
sedimentary rocks in general. Because most of the clasts are rich in silica, they
are also referred to as siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. Silicic-lastics are further
subdivided on the basis of clast diameter into conglomerate and breccia,
sandstone, siltstone, and finer-than-silt-sized mudrock (shale, claystone, and
mudstone). The carbonates, limestones arid dolomites, consist of the minerals
aragonite, calcite, and dolomite.

Limestones and dolostones (dolomites) make up the bulk of the nonterrigenous

sedimentary rocks. Limestones are for the most part primary carbonate rocks.
They consist of 50 percent or more calcite and aragonite. Dolomites are mainly
produced by the secondary alteration or replacement of limestones; i.e., the
mineral dolomite replaces the calcite and aragonite minerals in limestones during
diagenesis.

Sandstones are siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. There are three basic

components of sandstones:
(1) Detrital grains, mainly transported, sand-size minerals such as quartz and
feldspar,
(2) A detrital matrix of clay or mud, which is absent in "clean" sandstones, and
(3) a cement that is chemically precipitated in crystalline form from solution and
that serves to fill up original pore spaces.
> The colour of a sandstone depends on its detrital grains and bonding material.
Mudrocks : It includes all siliciclastic sedimentary rocks composed of silt and
clay-size particles: siltstone (1/16 millimetre to 1/256 millimetre diameters),
claystone (less than 1/256 millimetre), and mudstone (a mix of silt and clay).
> Shale refers specifically to mudrocks that regularly exhibit lamination or
fissility or both. Mudrocks are also loosely referred to as both lutites and pelites
and as argillaceous sedimentary rocks.
> Coal: Coals are the most abundant organic-rich sedimentary rock.
> With increasing compaction and carbon content, peat can be transformed into
the various kinds of coal: initially brown coal or lignite, then soft or bituminous
coal, and finally, with metamorphism, hard or anthracite coal. In the geologic
record, coal occurs in beds, called seams, which are blanketlike coal deposits a
few centimetres to metres or hundreds of metres thick.
> Many coal seams occur within cyclothems, rhythmic successions of sandstone,
mudrock, and limestone in which nonmarine units are regularly and
systematically overlain by an underclay, the coal seam itself, and then various
marine lithologies.

> Oil and natural gas: Major natural gas varieties, include methane, ethane,
propane, and butane.
> These natural gases are commonly, though not invariably, intimately
assoc¬iated with the various liquid hydrocarbons-mainly liquid paraffins,
napthenes, and aromatics that collectively constitute oil.
are those formed by changes in pre-existing rocks under the influence of high
temperature, pressure, and chemically active solutions. The changes can be
chemical (compositional) and physical (textural) in character.
Features of Metamorphic:
1. The change is due to change in texture and mineral composition of the pre-
existing rocks.
2. After metamorphism, some rocks become more harder than its original
structure : marble is harder than limestone, quartzite from sandstone, and
diamond from carbon.
3. They do not have fossils
4. The coarse-grained metamorphic rocks are imperfectly foliated , e.g, gneises
from granites while fine-grained metamorphic rocks are perfectly foliated, for
example schist from shales.
5. It may split along the bedding planes, for example mica-schist.
6. Some of them are impervious (marble and slate) and some of them are
previous for example gneiss.
7. Most of it comprises bands of granular quartz and felspar.

Rock Type Description

1. Slate: Shale exposed to heat and pressure that splits into hard flat plates.
2. Schist: Shale exposed to intense heat and pressure that shows the evidence
of shearing
3. Quartzite: Sandstone that is welded by a silica cement into a very hard rock
of solid quartz.
4. Marble: Limestone exposed to heat and pressure, resulting in larger more
uniform crystals.
5. Gnesis: Rock resulting from the exposure of clastic sedimentary or intrusive
igneous rocks to heat and pressure.
Chemical Composition :
Despite the wide variety of igneous and sedimentary rock types that can
recrystallize into metamorphic rocks, most metamorphic rocks can be described
with reference to only four chemical systems: pelitic, calcareous, felsic, and
mafic.
(1) Pelitic rocks are derived from mudstone (shale) protoliths and are rich in
potassium (K), aluminum (Al),
silicon (Si), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), and water (H20), with lesser amounts of
manganese (Mn), titanium (Ti), calcium. (Ca), and other constituents.
(2) Calcareous rocks are formed from a variety of chemical and detrital
sedi¬ments such as limestone, dolostone etc. and are largely composed of
calcium oxide (CaO), magnesium oxide (MgO), and carbon dioxide (C02), with
varying amounts of aluminum, silicon, iron, and water.
(3) Felsic rocks can be produced by metamorphism of both igneous and
sedimentary protoliths (e.g.,granite and arkose, respectively) and are rich in
silicon, sodium, potassium, calcium, aluminum, and lesser amounts of iron and
magnesium.
(4) Mafic rocks derive from basalt protoliths and some volcanogenic sediments
and contain an abundance of iron, magnesium, calcium, silicon, and aluminum.

Rock composition: Thermodynamics of metamorphic assemblages

1. The number of mineral phases that can coexist stably in a metamorphic rock
at a particular set of pressure-temperature conditions is given by the Gibbs
phase rule.
2. A typical pelitic rock made up of the six chemical components silica, aluminum
oxide, ferrous oxide, magnesium oxide, potash, and water would contain no
more than six minerals; the identity of those minerals would be controlled by the
pressure and temperature at which recrystallization occurred.
3. The process of chemical mixing is referred to as metasomatism.

Distribution metamorphic rocks: The central and often dominant feature of

most continents is their vast Precambrian-shield area; examples include the
Canadian Shield, Brazilian Shield, African Shield, and Australian Shield. They
consist of vast areas of granitic or granodioritic gneisses. Inside them, between
them, and overlapping onto them are belts of sedimentary rocks. These rocks
are frequently metamorphosed in the greenschist, amphibolite, and granulite
facies. The Caledonian orogeny (at the close of the Silurian Period) produced
tectonic metamorphic events along the east coast of North America! Greenland,
the British Isles, Fennoscandia, Central Asia, and Australia. The Hercynian, or
Variscan, orogeny followed about 300 million years ago, affecting subparallel
regions and the Urals and European Alps. The rock cycle: It reflects the basic
relationships among igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.
Erosion includes weathering (the physical and chemical breakdown of minerals)
and transportation to a site of deposition. Diagenesis is the process of forming
sedimentary rock by compaction and natural cementation of grains, or
crystallization from water or solutions, or recrystallization. The conversion of
sediment to rock is termed lithification.