INTRODUCTION TO

ENVIRONMENTAL

STUDIES

Part II

Part I already covered by

Civil Engg. Faculty

CE-102 Civil Engineering Department

Lectures: 3/week ; 21 total ; 3 credits

Evaluation : 50 marks

MTE : 40 marks

CW : 10

Tutorial, Assignments, Regularity in class

Soft copy of lectures

S.

No.

Name of Books/Author(s)/Publisher Year of

Publ.

1 Introduction to Environmental

Engineering, M.L. Davis and D.A.

Cornwell, McGraw Hill, New York 3/e

1998

2 Introduction to Environmental

Engineering and Science, G.M. Masters,

Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi. 2/e

1998

3 Environmental Engineering, H.S. Peavy,

D.R. Rowe and G. Tchobanoglous,

McGraw Hill, New York

1986

Suggested Books

Why environmental studies?

Intergovernmental Penal on Climate Change (IPCC), 1988

– 31st August 2013: 25 years

– UNEP and WMO of United Nations Organization

Substantial changes are happening to our environment

Air, water and soil being affected

2007 Nobel Peace Prize: IPCC

R.K. Pachauri and Al Gore

US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi

State Pollution Control Boards

Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi

Five elements

1. Water, जल2. Air, वाय3. Earth, पथवी4. Space, आकाश5. Fire, अगनि

Water

1. All the living systems need water and contain

water

2. Life on earth is due to water, 70% water cover

3. God of water, इनदर (Indra)

4. Ganga water, (Shelf life: long); BOD/COD

5. Water pollution

Coca cola, Pepsi-CSE, New Delhi : Lindane, DDT etc.

Effluents from industries and agrichemicals (Punjab hub of cancer

patients)

Ganga and Yamuna rivers

Ground water, lakes, sea water is contaminated, treatment strategies of

treatment already dealt with in first half of syllabus

Air1. Air needed by all the living systems

2. Without air no survival

3. God of air, वाय (Vayu), Prāna

4. Pranayam : oxygen transfer rate

5. 78.08% Nitrogen and 20.95% Oxygen + other gases

6. Combustion: CO2, NOx, SOx, SPM, RSPM, Hg,

arsenic, HCs, VOCs etc.

Paper industry: Dioxins 100 times lethal than cyanide

Carbon dioxide: 400 ppm (May 2, 2013)

280 ppm (1750)

Greenhouse gases: CO2, N2O, H2O, O3, CH4, CFCs

Earth

1. We eat which is grown on earth

2. Photosynthesis process: biomass

3. Goddess of earth, पथवी, Prithvi

4. Soil is getting contaminated

Pollution air/water

Mango trees near Roorkee: no fruits

Micronutrients in herbs: much lower

Sustainability ? Recent Uttarakhand

tragedy-परलय (Havoc)

Space

1. Solar energy

2. Photosynthesis process

3. Solar energy into biomass and other forms of

energy: hydro, coal, petroleum, wind etc.

4. God of space, आकाश, Aakash

5. O3 depletion: CFCs and space shuttles,

rockets etc. , UV radiations: human skin,

cataract, plant kingdom damages, buildings ?

Fire

1. Combustion

2. Carbon and Hydrogen

3. CI and SI engines, cooking, thermal power plants: steam and gas turbines, steam engine

4. Goddess of fire, अगनि , Agni

5. Because of fire air pollution

6. Every thing is getting into CO2 and H2O which are converted back by photosynthesis process to complex biomass species and the process goes on …..goes on…..

Environment

1.Atmosphere: layer of air that surrounds

our planet

2.Hydrosphere: liquid envelop that

surrounds our planet

3.Lithosphere: solid earth, including earth’s

crust and part of the upper mantle

4.Biosphere: living organisms that inhabit the

above spheres

• Atmosphere…air to breathe

• Hydrosphere …water to drink

• Lithosphere …food to eat

• Biosphere …food to eat

Minutes

without air

Days w/o

water

Months w/o food

Environment

Resources: fossil fuels,

ores, uranium, thorium

Environment

Atmosphere

Constant components (fix over time and location)

Nitrogen 78.08%

Oxygen 20.95%

Argon 0.93%

Neon, Helium, Krypton 0.0001%

Age of earth : 4.6 Billion year

Oxygen : 0% 2 Billion years ago

Total mass of atmosphere: 5*1015 Tonne

:1/1,200,000 of earth

Atmosphere

Variable components (variable with time and

location)

Carbon dioxide 0.04%

Water vapor 0-4%

Methane traces

Sulfur dioxide traces

Ozone traces

Nitrogen oxides traces

Others: dust, volcanic ash, snow and rain

Layers of the Earth's atmosphere

Atmospheric temperature: vertical structure

Vertical structure of atmospheric pressure

Atmosphere zones

The zones are not sharply delineated

and their elevation varies with both

time of year and latitude

Troposphere1.Thickness from sea level: 18 km; Everest

8848 m

2.Pressure at top is 10% of atmosphere 76

mm of Hg

3.Air movement is vertical as well horizontal

4.Weather/clouds formation/rains

5.Air cools progressively with height

6.Temperature: -6.5 oC/km

next

Tropopause

1.Thin layer between troposphere and

stratosphere: 4 km

2.Air is completely dry

3.The elevation where the temperature

no longer decreases with altitude

next

Stratosphere

1.This extends up to 50 km and comprises

of ozone

2.Ozone is 2-8 ppm

3.In the middle and upper stratosphere,

air temperature increases progressively

with height

4.Heated by ozone

next

Stratopause

The elevation where the temperature no

longer increases with altitude

Mesosphere

1.Mesosphere is from 50 to 90 km

2.Temperature again decreases here

3.Intermediate zone between stratosphere

and thermosphere

4.Air cools progressively with elevation

Mesopause

The elevation above the mesosphere where

the temperature no longer cools with altitude

Ionosphere

1.Next is thermosphere or ionosphere

extending to 350 km

2. Oxygen is in ionic form heat is absorbed

3. Temperate rises again

Outer limit of atmosphere

1. Difficult to define

2. At 32,000 km, the Earth’s gravitation pull equals

centrifugal force of the Earth’s rotation

Ozone measurementDeveloped by G.M.B. Dobson, 1920s; Professor at Oxford University

1 DU = 0.01 mm thickness of ozone at oC and 1 atm (STP)

US sky : 300 DU

Minimum at Antarctica : 200 DU

Dobson Ozone Spectrophotometer

Total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS)

Ozone holes: when concentration of ozone reduces more than 50%

Antarctica: 25 million km2 in 2001

All the ozone over a certain

area is compressed to oC

and 1 atm and forms a 3 mm

thick slab corresponding to

300 DU

Antarctic ozone

Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer

Hydrosphere

1. 70.8% earth’s surface is covered by water

2. 60-70% of living world

3. Physiological reactions in aqueous phase

4. Total quantum of water : 1.4 B km3

5. Salty sea water : 97.6%

6. Fresh water : 2.4%

7. Renewable in nature next

8. Important food source

9. Easily polluted

10. Must be treated (already dealt in I part)

11. Major industrial and agriculture input

Rain harvesting

Distribution of fresh water

Location % of total Snow, ice, glaciers 86.9

Accessible ground water 12.0

Lakes, reservoirs, ponds 0.37

Saline lakes 0.31

Soil moisture 0.19

Moisture in living organisms 0.19

Atmosphere 0.039

Wetlands 0.011

Rivers, streams, canals 0.0051

Freshwater as a resource in India

Renewable through evaporation from

the seas and precipitation (solar powered)

Demands for freshwater include:

Agriculture & livestock (79.6%)

Power generation (13.6%)

Domestic(3.5%)

Industry (3.3%)

Demands increase with increasing population

Unequal distribution of freshwater

Interlinking of rivers: solution of water problem

Lithosphere

Lithosphere

1.Land area: 26%

2.Supports all the living systems and provides

a wealth of raw materials which has made

the civilization to develop

Lithosphere: India

2.4% of world’s land

15% of world’s population

Per capita land availability, ha

Russia 8.43

USA 7.39

Australia 6.60

China 0.98

India 0.48

Lithosphere: India

Land use categories, Mha

Cultivable land 142 (46%)

Forest land 67 (22%)

Nonagricultural land 20 (6.5%)

Barren and pasture land 55 (17.8%)

Fallow land 25 (8.0%)

Mineral exploration

Rich in coal, crude, bauxite, copper, gold,

nickel, uranium, thorium etc.

Lithosphere: India

Food resource

Self sufficient in agriculture produce

I in world in sugar production

I in milk production, 97 million tonnes

Live stock, 25% of world

Forest resource

21.68 % forest cover

reduction in global warming

What is Ecology?

Study of interactions between organismsand their environment.

Ernst Haeckel – coined term

Ecology in 1866

Greek word οἶκος, "house"; λογία,

study of

Levels of Organization Ecologists study

organisms ranging from the various levels of organization:

– Species/individuals

– Population

– Community

– Ecosystem

– Biome

– Biosphere

Species

Group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring

group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same area.

Population

Community an assemblage of different populations that live

together

Ecosystem

Collection of organisms that live in a place with the nonliving environment

Biome Group of ecosystems with the same climate and

dominant communities

Tropical rain forest

Tropical dry forest

Tropical savanna Temperate woodland

and shrubland

Desert

Temperate grassland

Boreal forest

(Taiga)

Northwestern

coniferous forest

Temperate forest

Mountains and

ice caps

Tundra

Organization Hierarchy

Characteristics of ecosystems

• All ecosystems have a constant source of

energy ( sun)

• Cycles to reuse raw materials

Water, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus cycles

An ecosystem comprises of the biotic or living

( viz. plants and animals)

and the abiotic or non-living components

( viz. air, water, minerals, soil)

Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs

Autotrophs – make

their own food so

they are called

PRODUCERS

Heterotrophs – get

their food from

another source so

they are called

CONSUMERS

Main forms of energy for autotrophs

Sunlight

– The main source of energy for

life on earth

– Photosynthesis: leaf a chemical

reactor

Chemical

– Inorganic compounds

– Chemosynthesis : opium,

ginseng, garlic (selenium)

Types of ConsumersHerbivores- only eat plants Carnivores - only eat meat Omnivores

Eat plants and meat

Detritivores and

Decomposers

Feed on plant and animal

remains

wildebeest

Decomposers /detritivores

Polythene/plastics: no decomposition; banning of PB by States,

Uttarakhand, Choking of sewer lines; agriculture sector: moisture,

nitrogen fixation, Spills of crude in oceans.

Vultures vanished from India, Pakistan (DDT - cow/buffalos)

Energy flow through an ecosystem

Energy flows through

an ecosystem in ONE

direction,

– Sun

– Autotrophs

– Heterotrophs

Synthetic fertilizers: N, P, K

Energy flow in ecosystems

Energy flow in ecosystems

Photosynthesis

6CO2 + 6H2O + energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2

Respiration

Stored energy is released in the reverse reaction

C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

Released energy is available to drive other reactions,

e.g. cell metabolism and growth

I. C. engines/combustion processes same reaction

Difference: temperature

Feeding relationships

Food Chain – steps of organisms transferring energy by eating & being eaten

Food Web – network

of all the food chains in

an ecosystem

Food web

Ecological pyramids

Energy Pyramid

Biomass Pyramid

Number Pyramid

Trophic Level – each step in a food chain or food web

Trophic levels

Trophic levels

Why are nutrients important ?

95% of our body is made of…

1) OXYGEN

2) CARBON

3) HYDROGEN

4) NITROGEN

Every living organism needs nutrients to build tissues and carry out essential life functions.

Availability of nutrients

If a nutrient is in short supply, it will limit

organisms growth. It is called a limiting

nutrient and is in accordance of Leibig’s Law

When a limiting nutrient is dumped into a lake

or pond, an algal bloom occurs and this can

disrupt the ecosystem

Matter movement through an ecosystem

Unlike the one way flow of energy, matter is recycledwithin & between ecosystems

Nutrients are passed between

organisms & the environment through biogeochemical cycles

Biogeochemical Cycles

– Bio –life

– Geo – Earth

– Chemi – chemical

1. WATER CYCLE

2. NUTRIENT CYCLES

a) CARBON CYCLE

b) NITROGEN CYCLE

c) PHOSPHORUSCYCLE

WATER CYCLE

CARBON CYCLE

4 PROCESSES MOVE

CARBON THROUGH

ITS CYCLE:

1) Biological

2) Geochemical

3) Mixed biochemical

4) Human Activity

CO2

CO2

CO2

CO2

Carbonate rocks

GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE(All values are in Billion Metric Tons Carbon)

NITROGEN CYCLE

Nitrogen-containing nutrients in

the biosphere include:

1) Ammonia (NH3)

2) Nitrate (NO3-)

3) Nitrite (NO2-)

ORGANISMS NEED

NITROGEN TO MAKE

AMINO ACIDS FOR

BUILDING PROTEINS!!!

N2

in Atmosphere

NH3

N03- &

N02-

N2

in Atmosphere

NH3

N03- &

N02-

Haber process: 1918

Nobel Prize

PHOSPHORUS CYCLEPHOSPHORUS FORMS PART OF IMPORTANT LIFE-SUSTAINING

MOLECULES (ex. DNA & RNA)

Cold drinks; pH: 3

phosphoric acid

Phosphatic

fertilizers

Natural succession

Well Balanced Ecosystem changes over time

Lake Shallow Lake (deposition of Silt)

Marsh Meadow Hardwood Forest

Takes place long period of time and not

visible in human lifespan

Can be affected by human activities such as

pollution

ACCUMULATION OF POLLUTANTS IN ENVIRONMENT

1.Conservative Pollutants:

Pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),

polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),

cynide, selenium etc.

heavy metals (mercury, copper, cadmium,

chromium, lead, nickel, zinc, tin etc. )

2. Nonconservative pollutants:

biodegradable organics, human waste,

animal waste

ACCUMULATION OF POLLUTANTS

Bioaccumulation/Bioconcentrationincrease in concentration of a pollutant

from the environment to the first

organism in a food chain: a pesticide in a crop

Biomagnificationincrease in concentration of a

pollutant from one link in a

food chain to another: a pesticide in a crop

Conditions: long life

soluble in fats: animal life/human life

biologically active

chicken

human

Biomagnification

Case study: Long Island Estuary, New York, USA

Levels of DDT, 1967 study, EPA

water to zooplankton 800x

zooplankton to fish #131x

fish #1 to fish #2 1.7x

fish #2 to gull4.8x

Overall202,368x

The level at which a given substance is bioaccumulated depends on : The rate of uptake

The mode of uptake (through the gills of a fish, ingested

along with food, contact with epidermis (skin) etc. …)

How quickly the substance is eliminated from the organism,

transformation of the substance by metabolic processes, the

lipid (fat) content of the organism, the hydrophobicity of the

substance, environmental factors etc.

Biomagnification

Conservative pollutants:

Biomagnification Biomagnification is the

bioaccumulation of a substance up the food chain by transfer of residues of the substance in smaller organisms that are food for larger organisms in the chain.

Sequence of processes that results in higher concentrations in organisms at higher levels in the food chain (at higher trophic levels).

These processes result in an organism having higher concentrations of a substance than is present in the organism’s food.

Biomagnification

When partitioning concentrates a chemical in one

phase that is the food for a higher phase, the chemical

can further concentrate as we move up the food chain

Bioconcentration / Bioaccumulation

Bioconcentration of a substance is correlated to the octanol-

water partitioning coefficient (or Haunsch partitioning

Coefficient) KOW of the substance.

The octanol/water partition coefficient (KOW) is defined as

the ratio of a chemical's concentration in the octanol phase

to its concentration in the aqueous phase of a two-phase

octanol/water system.

KOW = Concentration in octanol phase / Concentration in

aqueous phase.

Values of KOW can be considered to have some meaning in

themselves, since they represent the tendency of the

chemical to partition itself between an organic phase (e.g., a

fish) and an aqueous phase.

Bioconcentration / Bioaccumulation

Chemicals with low KOW values (e.g., less than 10) may

be considered relatively hydrophilic; they tend to have

high water solubilities, small soil/sediment adsorption

coefficients, and small bioconcentration factors for

aquatic life.

Conversely, chemicals with high KOW values (e.g., greater

than 104) are very hydrophobic.

Bioconcentration / Bioaccumulation

Bioconcentration factor (BCF) is the concentration of a

particular chemical in a tissue per concentration of

chemical in water (reported as l/kg). This physical

property characterizes the accumulation of pollutants

through chemical partitioning from the aqueous phase

into an organic phase, such as fish.

BCF = [Concentration of X in Organism, mg/kg ] /

[Concentration of X in Environment, mg/l]

High potential BCF>1000; Moderate Potential

1000>BCF>250; Low potential 250>BCF.

BCF is also related to the Haunsch Partition Coefficient

by

log BCF = 0.79 x log KOW - 0.4

Example

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) has a water to

plankton partition coefficient of 200,000; a

plankton to smelt (fish) magnification factor of

7.5; and a smelt to lake trout magification factor

of 3.5. If the concentration of HCB in the water

is 1.0 ppt, will either fish exceed the fish

consumption standards:

5 ppm for general consumption

1 ppm for pregnant and nursing women

Solution

kg

mg2.0

kg

ng10 x 2

L

ng1

kg

L10 x 2 55

plankton

water

plankton

p/w

C

C

CK

kg

mg5.1

kg

mg2.05.75.7 planktonsmelt

CC

kg

mg25.5

kg

mg5.15.35.3 smelttrout

CC

Interpretation

The lake trout exceed the general

consumption standard and both species

exceed the standard for pregnant and

nursing women

Both could easily argued on the basis of

uncertainty

PCB

PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyls): Insulating materials in transformers: impair thyroid functions and neurotoxins.

General Electric Released during 1947-1977 in Hudson River, 300 km of Hudson River polluted

Concentrated in bottom sediments—Consumed by riverbed microorganisms-eaten by fish 2 ppm conc.

Contaminated sediments are removed, extensive dredging & proper disposed off

Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethne (DDT)

Half life 15 years

Year Amount Remaining

0 100 kg

15 50 kg

30 25 kg

45 12.5 kg

60 6.25 kg

75 3.13 kg

90 1.56 kg

105 0.78 kg

120 0.39 kg

DDT Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethne

Used for malaria control and to protect crops from insects

Biomagnification, not very toxic to human but adverse impact of egg hatching by birds.

Banned in 1972 and many bird population have recovered.

In India thousands of tons of DDT was used to control malarial mosquitoes between 1995 and 1996.

Large numbers of vultures dying and have high levels of DDT in their carcasses.

Vultures are at the same level of the food chain as humans and serve as sentinels warning of greater pesticide hazards through indirect effects unless there is a change in the Indian government's pesticide policy.

Birds provide a valuable service to growers and to the public through controlling insects.

In 1950 Chinese officials grew concerned that flocks of birds were allegedly devouring large amounts of grain.

Citizens killed over 800,000 sparrow birds. As a consequence there were major outbreaks of insect pests.

Realizing their mistake the leaders changed course and removed small birds from the list of scourges.

It is difficult to know precisely how the killing of birds by pesticides relates to pest insect populations. However, the estimated bird losses due to pesticides 67 million per year, far exceeds the 800,000 bird deaths in China that resulted in greater insect numbers.

EnvironmentIf gases concentration Increase

by our activities , What happens

to our Ecosystem ???

If we add heavy metals, What

happens to our Ecosystem ???

If we add large biodegradable

pollutants & Nutrients, What

happens to our Ecosystem ???

If we add large amount of

garbage, What happens to

our Ecosystem ???

If we cut lot of trees, What

happens to our Ecosystem ???

If we add DDT or other

pesticides, What happens to

food chain/food web of our

Ecosystem ???

OBJECTIVE: HOW CAN WE PREVENT THE DISTURBANCE OF

ECOSYSTEM

OR HOW WE CAN RESTORE OUR ECOSYSTEM