Environmental Biology

Environmental Science

 Dynamic, interdisciplinary study of the interaction of living and nonliving parts of the
environment

 Focuses on the impact of humans on the environment

 How human behaviors affect the environment

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 Environmental Biology

Human population - Increasing

Humans interference in natural world – increasing

plants and animal species – endangered and extinct

Red Data Book of IUCN
(International Union for Conservation of Nature)

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 Environmental Biology

 “Term Environment has been defined under section 2(a) of “Environment

Protection Act (1986)”

 include water, air, land and inter-relationship between water, air, land
and human beings, other living creatures, plants, microorganisms and
property”

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 Environmental Biology
 Earth science generally recognizes 4 spheres
 Lithosphere - rocks
 Hydrosphere - water
 Atmosphere - air
 Biosphere – life

Apart from these:

 Cryosphere - corresponding to ice (as a distinct portion of the hydrosphere)
 Pedosphere - corresponding to soil (as an active and intermixed sphere)
 Earth science - also known as geoscience

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 Major Environmental Problems

Major Environmental Problems are:

1. Air Pollution
2. Water Pollution
3. Depletion of Biodiversity
4. Waste Production
5. Food Supply Problems

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 Major Environmental Problems

1. Air pollution and Global climatic change

i. Ozone depletion
ii. Urban air pollution
iii. Indoor pollution

2. Biodiversity depletion
i. Habitat degradation
ii. Extinction
iii. Biopiracy

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 Major Environmental Problems

3. Water Pollution,

i. Oxygen depletion
ii. Organic load
iii. Nutrient over load
iv. Sediment
v. Toxic elements
vi. Bacterial population

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 Major Environmental Problems

4. Food supply problems

i. Over grazing,
ii. Wetland loss
iii. Soil erosion
iv. Water logging
v. Water shortage
vi. Loss of farm land

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 Major Environmental Problems

5. Waste Production

i. Solid Wastes,
ii. Hazardous Wastes,
iii. Biomedical Wastes

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 Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere
 The earth – vertically expended atmosphere
 The earth – an envelope of gases
 Envelope of gases – divided into different layers

The atmosphere is comprised of layers based on temperature

Troposphere
 Greek - overturning
 lowest layer of atmosphere
 Range - 0–10 km
 changes - influence the floral and faunal environments

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 Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere
 Temperature decrease with height (∼6.5°C/km) (due to adiabatic cooling)
 Strong vertical mixing (cumulonimbus clouds)

 troposphere is bounded above by the tropopause,

 First cold trap, a boundary between troposphere and stratosphere, marked in most
places by a temperature inversion (i.e. a layer of relatively warm air above a colder one)

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 Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere

 Lowest part of the troposphere - warmest section

 Contains approximately 80% of the mass of the atmosphere of the Earth

 Denser than all its overlying atmospheric layers

 because a larger atmospheric weight sits on top of the troposphere and causes it to
be most severely compressed

 Majority of the atmospheric water vapor or moisture

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 Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere
Stratosphere

 Greek - lying flat

 10–50 km

 Temperature increase with height: temperature inversion, due to absorption of

UV-radiation by Ozone: the “ozone layer”

 Reduced vertical mixing

 Stratopause - Boundary between stratosphere and mesosphere

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 Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere

Mesosphere

 Greek - middle layer

 50–90 km

 Temperature decrease with height

 Upper part: coldest part of the atmosphere

 Mesopause - extremely cold (second cold trap)

 Boundary between mesosphere and thermosphere

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 Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere

Thermosphere (ionosphere)

 Greek - hot layer

 Above ∼90 km

 Strong temperature increase with height

 Extremely “thin” atmosphere

 No defined upper end

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 Layers of Earth’s Atmosphere
 Vertical motion and stability

 Vertical motion of air - important factor in the development of weather

 Strength of vertical motion in the atmosphere - determined by the vertical stability of the
atmosphere

 Stable atmosphere - resist vertical motion

 Unstable atmosphere - assist vertical motion

 Neutral stability - atmosphere neither resists nor assists vertical motion

 Vertical motion and instability - responsible for atmospheric turbulence and cloud
formation
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 Pollution
 What is pollution?
 Pollution is an undesirable change in physical, chemical and biological characteristics of air,
water and soil that may harmfully affect the life or create a potential health hazard of any
living organism

 What are pollutants?

 Any substance which causes pollution is called pollutant
 Pollutants Include:
 Chemical or geochemical substances– dust, sediment
 Biotic component or its product
 Physical factor like heat

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 Pollution
 Environmental Pollutants
I. Deposited matter
II. Gases
III. Acid droplets
IV. Fluorides
V. Metals
VI. Agrochemicals
VII. Complex organic substances
VIII. Photochemical oxides
IX. Solid wastes
X. Radioactive wastes
XI. Noise
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 Pollution
Types of Pollution

Nondegradable Biodegradable

- Material and poisonous substances - Domestic wastes

- Aluminium canes, mercuric salts, - Can be rapidly decomposed
DDT etc - Create problem when accumulate
- Don’t degrade or degrade at very slow rate

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 Air Pollution
 Air Pollution
 Nitrogen 78.0% (by volume)
 Oxygen 20.946% (by volume)
 Others 0.97%
 Argon (Ar) 9340 ppm, Inert gas
 Carbon-di-oxide (CO2) 300 ppm, Active gas
 Neon (Ne) 182.0 ppm, Inert gas
 Helium (He) 53.0 ppm, Inert gas
 Krypton (kr) 1.2 ppm, Inert gas
 Nitrous Oxide (N2O) 1.0 ppm, Important gas
 Xenon (xe) 0.9 ppm, Inert gas
 Hydrogen (H2) 0.5 ppm, Active gas
 Ozonee (O3) Traces, Active gas
 Radon (Rn) Traces Radio active

 ppm = parts per million (by volume)

 Other materials which are highly variable are sulfur-di-oxide (SO2), Carbon-monooxide
 (Co) and water vapor.

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 Air Pollution

 Sources of pollution

 Gaseous emission from mainly industry, thermal power stations, automobiles, domestic
combustion

 Industrial – SO2 and Nox

 Two important pollutants – CO2 & CO

 Carbon dioxide - removed from the atmosphere (as absorbed by plants as part of the biological
carbon cycle)

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 Greenhouse Effect
 Benefits of a Greenhouse

1. Maintain temperature level on Earth’s surface, making it habitable for the

living beings

2. Greenhouse gases help block the harmful solar radiation from reaching
planet’s surface

3. Ozone, one of the crucial greenhouse gases, absorbs the harmful ultra-violet
(UV) rays of the sun

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 Greenhouse Effect
Benefits of a Greenhouse

4. The greenhouse effect has allowed the planet to maintain its water level on
the surface

5. Growing various crops in an artificial atmosphere

6. Solar powered water heaters are utilizing the greenhouse effect to warm up
waters, saving 20–30% of the energy bills at home

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Greenhouse Effect

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 Greenhouse Effect (An Ecological Evil)
o A natural process

o Warms the Earth’s surface

o Greenhouse gases - trap heat in the atmosphere

o What amplifying the planet’s natural greenhouse effect

o Increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

o Process maintains the Earth’s temperature at around 33 degrees Celsius

warmer than it would otherwise be

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 Greenhouse Effect

 Greenhouse buildings/Greenhouse

 Greenhouse buildings translucent material - offers plants in the building

maximum access to sunlight

 Sunlight touches the solid surface inside the greenhouse - the surface absorbs
some of the energy and converts it into heat (infrared energy)

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 Greenhouse Effect

 Greenhouse gases

 Carbon dioxide
 Methane
 Ozone
 Nitrous oxide
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

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 Greenhouse Effect

 Adverse effects of greenhouse gases

 Global warming
 Increased level of CO2
 Rising water levels

 Greenhouse gases amount to climate modification which abets natural

disasters with frequent hurricanes and cyclones

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 ACID RAIN

 Rainfall or atmospheric moisture - mixed with elements and gases that have
caused the moisture to become more acidic than normal

 Any form of precipitation - contains high levels of nitric and sulfuric acids

 Can also occur in the form of snow, fog, and tiny bits of dry material that settle
to Earth

 pH Pure water - 7
 pH Rainfall – approx. 6
 pH Acid rain - 5.0-5.5 (can be in the 4 range in the northeastern United States)

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 ACID RAIN

 Causes of acid rain

 Natural sources
 volcanoes and decaying vegetation)

 Man-made activities from cars and in the generation of electricity)

 Fossil fuel combustion (power-production companies and industries)- emissions of sulfur dioxide
(SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)

 S +O2 =SO2 likewise NOx

 Airborne sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3) - formed

 Dissolved in the water vapor in the air

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 ACID RAIN

 Effects of acid rain

 Reduces the pH of soils and so the crop production

 Some fish and animals, such as frogs – difficulties adapting to and reproducing
in an acidic environment

 Many plants (evergreen trees) - damaged by acid rain and acid fog
 Ex. Black Forest of Germany

 Harms stone in cities' buildings and stone artwork

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 ACID RAIN

Credit: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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 Ozone
 Most atmospheric ozone - in the stratosphere

 9 to 18 miles (15 to 30 km) above the Earth's surface

 Ozone - a molecule that contains three oxygen atoms

 Ozone molecules - constantly formed and destroyed in the stratosphere (At any given
time)

 Total amount - remained relatively stable during the decades

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 Ozone
 Ozone layer - absorbs the radiation from the sun, preventing it from reaching
the planet's surface
 Absorbs a portion of UV light called UVB

 Harmful effects
 skin cancers
 cataracts
 harm to some crops
 harm to marine life

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 Ozone
 Ozone Depletion

 Chlorine and bromine atoms come into contact with ozone, destroy ozone
molecules

UV light in stratosphere causes

Some compounds chlorine or bromine Ozone depletion

(known as)

ozone-depleting substances
(ODS)

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 Ozone

 ODS that release chlorine include

I. chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
II. hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
III. carbon tetrachloride
IV. methyl chloroform

 ODS that release bromine include

I. halons
II. methyl bromide

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 Ozone

 “Ozone holes” - areas of damage to the ozone layer – inaccurate statement

 “Ozone holes” - more like a really thin patch than a hole

 The ozone layer is thinnest near the poles

 Amount of ozone in the atmosphere - measured in "Dobson units

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 Ozone
 In the 1970s, people all over the world started realizing –
 ozone layer was getting thinner and that this was a bad thing

 Many governments and businesses agreed that some chemicals, like aerosol cans,
should be outlawed

 There are fewer aerosol cans produced today

 United States - banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as aerosol propellants

 The ozone layer is slowly recovering as people, businesses, and governments work
to control such pollution
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 Air Pollution
 Some other air pollutants are

 Fluorocarbons
 Industrial processes, fertilizers, etc
 Tip burn due to accumulation in leaves of conifers

 Hydrocarbons
 Benzene – liquid pollutant emitted from gasoline
 Disease - Lung cancer

 Benzpyrene
 pure form it is used as a laboratory reagent
 most potent cancer inducing hydrocarbon pollutant
 found in cigarette smoke
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 Air Pollution

Methane

 affects the earth's temperature and climate system

 emitted from a variety of anthropogenic (human-influenced) and natural sources like
decay of garbage, aquatic vegetation etc.
 contribution of methane emissions to global warming is 25% higher than previous
estimates (Recent research)
 contributing to the formation of ground level ozone and particulate pollution
 damages airways, aggravates lung diseases, causes asthma attacks, increases rates
of preterm birth, cardiovascular diseases and stroke risk

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 Air Pollution
 Metals

 Common metals present in air – mercury, lead, zinc and cadmium

 Released from industries and human activities

 Hg – toxic to nervous system, liver, eyes

 Pb – inhalation cause reduced hemoglobin formation resulting anemia
 Zn – in air occurs mostly as white zinc oxide fumes – toxic to man
 Cd – poisonous at very low levels
 - causes hypertension and damages kidney
 - carcinogenic to mammals

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 Air Pollution

 Photochemical Products
 Eg. Photochemical smog - a brownish-gray haze

UV radiation

NOx + hydrocarbons + O3 Toxic secondary pollutants in air

Photochemical reactions

 Causes – eye irritation and reduced visibility

- adversely affects plants and human health (mainly breathlessness)

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 Air Pollution

 Particulate Matter (PM)

 PM - particulate matter or particle pollution

 A mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air

 Eg. dust, dirt, soot, smoke, drop of liquid

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 Air Pollution

 Sources of PM
 Two different kinds of sources — primary or secondary

 Primary sources - cause particle pollution on their own

 Eg. construction sites, unpaved roads, fields and forest fires

 Secondary sources - let off gases that can form particles

 Eg. Power plants industries and automobiles
 Form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals such as
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides

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 Air Pollution
 Serious health problems

 Coarse (bigger) particles - PM10

 Irritate your eyes, nose, and throat
 Dust from roads, farms, dry riverbeds, construction sites, and mines are types
of PM10

 Fine (smaller) particles - PM2.5

 More dangerous - get into the deep parts of your lungs — or even into your
blood
 Smoke from fires and emissions (releases) from power plants, industrial
facilities, and cars and trucks
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 Air Pollution
 If heart disease and inhale PM – create problems like heart attack

Symptoms include:
 Chest pain or tightness
 Fast heartbeat
 Feeling out of breath
 Being more tired than usual

 Be safe, play indoor games, avoid busy roads and highways

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 Air Pollution
 Air Quality Index (AQI)
 AQI - levels of air pollution that could be harmful
 AQI - a tool to help you avoid particle pollution
 Air Quality Flag Program - notify their citizens of harmful conditions

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 Water Pollution
“Addition of any substance to water or changing of water’s physical and chemical
characteristics in any way which interferes with its use for legitimate purposes”

 Water - “universal solvent”

 Polluted water – turbid, unpleasant, bad smelling, unfit for drinking, bath and washing etc.
- vehicle for many diseases as cholera, dysentery, typhoid etc.

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 Water Pollution
Causes of Water Pollution

1. Groundwater

 Groundwater –
 most important natural resources
 spread contamination far from the original polluting source
 it seeps into streams, lakes, and oceans

 Sources of Groundwater pollution — contaminants from pesticides and fertilizers - by

leaching— make their way into an aquifer, rendering it unsafe for human use

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 Water Pollution

2. Surface water

 Covering about 70 percent of the earth

 oceans, lakes, rivers

 Nutrient pollution

 Farm waste and fertilizer runoff

 Municipal and industrial waste
 Random junk that industry and individuals dump directly into waterways

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 Water Pollution
3. Ocean water (marine pollution)

 80% of ocean pollution - originates on land—whether along the coast or far inland

 Contaminants
 chemicals, nutrients, and heavy metals
 Marine debris like plastic - blown in by the wind or washed in via storm drains and
sewers
 oil spills and leaks - soak up carbon pollution from the air

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 Water Pollution
 Point source

 contamination originates from a single source

 point source pollution originates from a specific place, it can affect miles of
waterways and ocean

 Nonpoint source
 contamination derived from diffuse sources
 Includes agricultural or storm water runoff or debris blown into waterways
from land

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 Water Pollution
 Transboundary

 Contaminated water from one country spilling into the waters of another
 From a disaster—like an oil spill—or the slow, downriver creep of industrial,
agricultural, or municipal discharge

 Agricultural

 Leading cause of water degradation

 Major contributor of contamination to estuaries and groundwater with rain
water
 Algal blooms due to nutrient pollution

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 Water Pollution
 Sewage and wastewater

 From our sinks, showers, and toilets and from commercial, industrial, and
agricultural activities

 Includes storm water runoff - when rainfall carries road salts, oil, grease,
chemicals, and debris from impermeable surfaces into our waterways

 wastewater treatment facilities reduce

 amount of pollutants such as pathogens, phosphorus, and nitrogen in sewage,
 heavy metals and toxic chemicals in industrial waste

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 Water Pollution

 Oil pollution

 Large oil spills and oil leaks, while often accidental, are a major cause of
water pollution

 Caused by oil drilling operations in the ocean or ships that transport oil

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 Water Pollution

 Radioactive substances
 Any pollution that emits radiation beyond what is naturally released by the
environment
 Eg. Uranium, Radium

 Sources of Radioactive pollution

 Nuclear power plants, Nuclear war material
 Production and testing of military weapons,
 Universities and hospitals that use radioactive materials for research and
medicine

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 Noise Pollution
 Noise pollution

 Regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may lead to adverse effects in
humans or other living organisms

 WHO - sound levels < 70 dB (decibels)- not damaging to living organisms

 Exposure for > 8 hours to constant noise beyond 85 dB – hazardous (=85dB)

 Range of sound levels in different activities

 Breathing – 10dB (just audible sound)
 Motor cycle -105 dB
 Space rocket – 170-180 dB 57
 Noise Pollution

 Type of pollution - omnipresent in today’s society

 Street traffic sounds from cars, buses

 Construction sounds like drilling or other heavy machinery in operation

 Constant loud music in or near commercial venues

 Industrial sounds - fans, generators, compressor, mills

 Household sounds - from the television set, vacuum cleaners, washing

machines etc.
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 Noise Pollution
 Harmful effects of Noise pollution

 Hypertension
 Hearing loss
 Sleep disturbances
 Child development
 Cardiovascular dysfunctions
 Dementia
 Psychological dysfunctions
 Noise Pollution also Effects Wildlife and Marine Life

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 Noise Pollution
 WHO - one out of three people in Europe is harmed by traffic noise

 Tips for Avoiding Noise Pollution

 Wear earplugs

 Maintain a level of around 35 dB in your bedroom at night, and around 40 dB in

your house during the day

 If possible, choose your residential area as far removed from heavy traffic as you
can

 Avoid prolonged use of earphones

 If possible, avoid jobs with regular exposure to elevated sound levels

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