ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENCE

LECTURE: Part 1
 WEATHERING AND EROSION

Weathering
the breakdown of
rock at and near the
surface of the Earth
Two types include
physical weathering
and chemical
weathering
 WEATHERING AND EROSION

Weathering
Physical weathering
involves a decrease in the size of rock
material
Example: freezing and thawing of
water in rock cavities, splits rock
into small pieces.
 WEATHERING AND EROSION

Weathering
Mechanical weathering
breakdown of rocks and minerals by
physical agents such as frost, wind,
and tree roots, with no chemical
alteration
 WEATHERING AND EROSION

Weathering
Chemical weathering
involves a chemical change in the
composition of a rock
Example: feldspar, a common mineral in granite and
other rocks, reacts with water to form clay minerals,
resulting in new substance with totally different
properties than the parent feldspar
 WEATHERING AND EROSION

EROSION
the process that removes loose and
weathered rock and carries it to a
new site
Water, wind, and glacial ice
combined with the force of gravity
can cause erosion
 WEATHERING AND EROSION

Some Ways of prevention

Contour plowing
a method of plowing in which
the furrows are plowed across
rather than up and down a
slope
 WEATHERING AND EROSION

Some Ways of prevention

Strip farming
a method of farming used when
a slope is too steep or too long,
or when other types of farming
may not prevent soil erosion
 CLIMATE AND WEATHER

CLIMATE encompasses the statistics

of temperature, humidity,
atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall,
atmospheric particle count and
meteorological elements in a given
region over long periods of time
 CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Climate in a location is affected

by its latitude, terrain, and
altitude as well as nearby bodies
of water and their currents
 CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Climate is greatly affected by

precipitation (rain) and
temperature in a particular
region
 CLIMATE AND WEATHER

weather is simply a present

condition of the same elements
as climate
 GLOBAL WARMING
(or climate change),

measurable increases in the

average temperature of earth’s
atmosphere, oceans, and
landmasses.
 GLOBAL WARMING

Currently, the rapid warming of

the earth is associated to the
rising levels of heat-trapping
gases, known as greenhouse
gases, in the atmosphere.
 GLOBAL WARMING
Greenhouses gases

retain the radiant energy

(heat) provided to Earth by the
Sun in a process known as
greenhouse effect.
 GLOBAL WARMING
Greenhouses gases

Carbon Dioxide, methane,

Nitrous Oxide, Ozone and
other Synthetic chemicals
 GLOBAL WARMING

EFFECTS

(1) Weather – a warmer world

would be more humid as a
result of more water
evaporating from the oceans.
 GLOBAL WARMING

EFFECTS
Storms are expected to be more
frequent and more intense in a
warmer world.

Weather patterns are expected to be

less predictable and more extreme
 GLOBAL WARMING

EFFECTS
(2) receding of mountain
glaciers

(3) raising sea level

 GLOBAL WARMING

EFFECTS
(4) Increase in the amount of
atmospheric carbon dioxide
 Greenhouse Effect

sample
Go inside a car in a hot day…
It’s similar to greenhouse
effect
 DEFORESTATION

clearance of forests by
logging and/or burning
(popularly known as slash
and burn)
 DEFORESTATION
Effects of Deforestation
(1) contributor to global warming

(2) reduces the content of water in

the soil and groundwater as well as
atmospheric moisture
 DEFORESTATION
Effects of Deforestation

(3) reduces soil cohesion, so

that erosion, flooding and
landslides ensue
 DEFORESTATION
Effects of Deforestation
(4) results in decline in
biodiversity
 WATER POLLUTION
HARMFUL EFFECTS
Hepatitis - inflammation of the liver
caused by viruses, bacterial
infections, continuous exposure to
alcohol, drugs, or toxic chemicals,
such as those found in aerosol
sprays and paint thinners
 WATER POLLUTION
HARMFUL EFFECTS
Dysentery - an acute or chronic disease
of the large intestine of humans,
characterized by frequent passage of
small, watery stool, often containing
blood and mucus, accompanied by
severe abdominal cramps
 WATER POLLUTION
HARMFUL EFFECTS
Dysentery - an acute or chronic disease
of the large intestine of humans,
characterized by frequent passage of
small, watery stool, often containing
blood and mucus, accompanied by
severe abdominal cramps
 WATER POLLUTION
HARMFUL EFFECTS
Methemoglobinemia - a blood
disorder that is a result of the
presence of methemoglobin that
is normally caused by drinking
polluted water containing nitrate
 WATER POLLUTION

Cancer

Currently, water pollution is not

associated to cancer. One
common reason for cancer is
cigarette smoking.
 SILTING OF LAKES
HARMFUL EFFECTS
the filling up or raising of the bed of
water by depositing silt

Silt is a granular material of a grain

size between sand and clay derived
from soil or rock
 ACID RAIN
HARMFUL EFFECTS
a rain or other form of precipitation
that is usually acidic. It can have
harmful effects on plants, aquatic
animals, and infrastructure through
the process of wet deposition
 ACID RAIN
HARMFUL EFFECTS
Rain returns the sulphur and
nitrogen acids to Earth, and in high
concentrations, can cause damage
to natural environments including
forests and freshwater lakes
 EUTROPHICATION
HARMFUL EFFECTS
a syndrome that is characterized by the
ecosystem responding to human
activities that fertilize bodies of water
with Nitrogen, and phosphorus, often
leading to changes in animal and plant
populations and degradation of water
and habitat quality
 EUTROPHICATION
HARMFUL EFFECTS
Euthropication is also characterized
by bodies of water becoming
choked with excessive growth of
rooted plants and floating algal
scums
 EUTROPHICATION
HARMFUL EFFECTS
Algal growth contributes to
consumption of oxygen (when
the sun is not shining and
when they die and begin to
decay), Lack of oxygen
eventually suffocates other
life; some living things may be
poisoned by toxins contained
in the algae
 SANITARY LANDFILL

a site where
waste is isolated
from the
environment
until it is safe
 INCINERATION

the thermal
destruction of
waste.
 INCINERATION

Typical conditions
surrounding incineration
facilities were high soot and
odor levels as well as
corrosion from acid gas
deposition
 INCINERATION

It is an unhealthy and unsafe

environment for the
neighbors for it is a source of
noxious gases
 Ozone depletion
a description of two distinct, but
related observations:
1) a slow steady decline in the volume
of ozone in the earth’s stratosphere
2) a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in
stratospheric ozone over Earth’s polar
regions during the same period (ozone
hole)
 Ozone depletion
Reasons for ozone depletion
(1) catalytic destruction of ozone by
atomic chlorine and bromine
Main sources: (1) photodissociation of
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), commonly called
freons, and of (2) Bromofluorocarbon
compounds known as halons
 Destructive Fishing Methods

Muro-ami (reef-hunting)
A system of drive-in net fishing that
originated in Okinawa in the early
1900s
The Muro-ami net is made up of an
enormous bag and two wings that each
stretches almost three-quarters of a
kilometer
 Destructive Fishing Methods

Cyanide fishing

a method of fishing wherein

fishermen dive into the sea
usually without artificial
breathing aids
 Destructive Fishing Methods

Cyanide fishing

When they reach the coral reefs,

they spray the poison (cyanide)
between individual layers, after
which the yield is collected
 Destructive Fishing Methods

Reef fishing (Bottom Bouncing)

anglers use heavy 60-100 lb

handline techniques to target
large fishes
 ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE

PRACTICE TEST 1 (items 1-22)

 During periods of increased global
temperatures, which of the following is
1 most likely to occur?

A. A decrease in earthquakes
B. an increase in earthquakes
C. a decrease in atmospheric CO2
D. an increase in atmospheric CO2
 Rivers in Metro Manila are identified
2 causes of heavy floods. Authorities
account this to _______________

A. Waste incineration
B. Waste classification
C. Waste burning in home yards
D. Waste dumping on river banks
 Which of the following shows
3 mechanical weathering in rocks?

A. acids dissolve rocks

B. formation of caverns
C. iron in rocks combine with oxygen
D. freezing water between rock particles
 Which is NOT among the hazardous
4 effects of water pollution to health?

A. The epidemic threat of hepatitis and dysentery

B. The increase incidence of liver cancer

The dumping of mercury in the sea causing blindness,
C. brain damage or death
The presence of certain bacteria in the digestive tract
D. causing methemoglobinemia
 Which of the following BEST
demonstrates the greenhouse
5 principle?

A. a microwave oven
B. A heated aquarium
C. A car with rolled-up windows
D. a solar battery-powered calculator
 At which time during the year does the
ozone level present a particular health
6 threat in urban areas for people with
respiratory problems?

A. Fall
B. Winter
C. Spring
D. Summer
 Which of the following human activities
7 reduces the level of ozone in the
atmosphere?

A. releasing of fluorocarbons from aerosol cans

B. using artificial lighting in scientific polar situations

C. destroying large areas of the equatorial rain forests

D. Using large banks of solar cells for energy production

 Tsunamis would be very dangerous to
humans because of the potential for
9 causing

A. fault lines
B. earthquakes
C. severe flooding
D. volcanic eruptions
 The following are ecological violence
10 which are GLOBAL in nature EXCEPT:

A. poverty
B. pollution
C. chemical and biological warfare
D. overexploitation of world’s resources
 What is the most significant cause of
11 dwindling biodiversity?

A. global warming
B. destruction of habitat
C. large plant consumption
D. depletion of ozone layer
 12
Which is NOT an adverse
effect of deforestation?

A. Cause flooding in the lowlands

B. Paves way for human settlement
C. Contributes to greenhouse effect
D. Decrease in atmospheric humidity
 Climate in a particular region is greatly
13 affected by ____________________.

A. wind and temperature

B. temperature and rainfall
C. atmospheric pressure and wind
D. rainfall and atmospheric pressure
 Global warming can be prevented by
14 ____________________.

A. using refuse-derived fuel incinerator

B. preventing increase of vehicle exhaust
C. preventing build-up of open house gases
D. using Freon in many household devices
 Which of the following environmental
15 conditions has been blamed for the
usual occurrence of “fish kills”?

A. acid rain
B. eutrophication
C. silting of lakes
D. atmospheric pollution
 All of the following problems may arise
16 in the use of sanitary landfills,
Which is not?

A. pollution of the surrounding soil

B. flashfloods and degradation of soil
production of methane gas and possible
C. explosion
refusal of residents for the construction of
D. sanitary landfill in their area
 All of the following are effects of
17 deforestation, EXCEPT:

A. landslides
B. flashfloods
C. global warming
D. destruction of the ozone layer
 Some factories use water to cool their
equipment, warming the water in the
19 process. If the warm water is dumped into a
river, lake or ocean, how might it affect the
ecology of the body of water?

The added heat may result to the decrease in the amount of

I. dissolved oxygen needed by the aquatic organisms
The added heat will accelerate the chemical-biological
II. processes that may alter the reproductive processes of the
aquatic plants and animals.
The increase in the temperature will increase the amount of
III. dissolved carbon dioxide causing the acidity of water to exceed
harmful levels for aquatic plants and animals
 Some factories use water to cool their
equipment, warming the water in the
19 process. If the warm water is dumped into a
river, lake or ocean, how might it affect the
ecology of the body of water?

A. I and III
B. I and II
C. II only
D. I only
 Ozone depletion happens due to the release
20 of CFC’s from ____________________.

A. deforestation
B. annual respiration
C. Styrofoam and Freon
D. industrial
 Which is a destructive fishing method
wherein fishes are driven out of a coral reef
21 by pounding the corals with a heavy
weight?

A. Muro ami
B. reef fishing
C. cyanide fishing
D. corals entrapping
 Which of the following activities help
22 REDUCE water pollution?

A. using organic fertilizers

B. throwing only liquid wastes
C. cleaning with soap instead of detergents
D. treating wastewater before it is discharged