Environmental Science Unit 1 Notes PDF

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Instructor: Shan Caezar L. Tambio | Unit 1 - hottest layer of the atmosphere - This is where the Northern lights occur, caused by UNIT 1: The E...

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Instructor: Shan Caezar L. Tambio | Unit 1 - hottest layer of the atmosphere - This is where the Northern lights occur, caused by UNIT 1: The Environment and Its Components The Biosphere collisions of ionosphere and the air molecules. Interactions in the Biosphere EXOSPHERE Biogeochemical Cycles - Temperature: This layer has considerable cosmic radiation, which means the particles in the exosphere are full of kinetic energy. It remains freezing, close to THE BIOSPHERE an absolute zero - Earth’s zone of life - between 310 and 620 miles (500 and 1,000 km) - A dynamic and complex system - the least dense layer of the atmosphere, comprised of mostly helium and hydrogen LITHOSPHERE - marks the boundary between atmosphere and outer - Comprises of solid, outer part of Earth, including the space. brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust - coolest and most rigid part of the earth ATMOSPHERE - Nitrogen makes up 78% of Earth’s Atmosphere HYDROSPHERE - Oxygen, 21% and Argon, around 1% - collective term for all the water on earth WEATHER ATMOSPHERE - It refers to short-term changes in the atmosphere. - layer of gases that surrounds the Earth, extending - temporary from the planet’s surface to the edge of space - CLIMATE TROPOSPHERE - It describes the average weather patterns in a - Temperature: 62°F (17°C) around the lowest point to location over a longer period of time, usually 30 years -60°F (-51°C) near the top or more. - It extends up to 5 to 10 miles (8 to 15 km) above the - more stable and represents long-term conditions surface. - all the weather that we experience occurs at this CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION level, as clouds are formed here 1. Type I STRATOSPHERE Two pronounced seasons, dry from November to April, - Temperature: -60°F (-51°C) near the tropopause to and wet during the rest of the year. The maximum rain 5°F (-15°C) near the next layer period is from June to September. - extending up to 31 miles (50 km) high 2. Type II - contains the ozone layer, which is essential for our No dry season with a very pronounced maximum rain survival as it blocks the harmful UV rays of the Sun period from December to February. There is not a single from reaching us dry month. Minimum monthly rainfall occurs during the - jet aircraft and weather balloons fly in this layer as period from March to May. there is less turbulence 3. Type III MESOSPHERE No very pronounced maximum rain period, with a short - Temperature: Ranges from 5°F (-15°C) to -148°F (- dry season lasting only from one to three months, either 100°C) as one ascends up the layer. during the period from December to February or from - extends from just above the stratosphere to 53-62 March to May. This climate type resembles type I since it miles (85-100 km) high has a short dry season. - coldest layer of the atmosphere 4. Type IV - meteoroids burn up here, preventing them from Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year. This reaching the Earth’s surface climate type resembles the second type more closely THERMOSPHERE since it has no dry season. - Temperature: depends on solar activity and can get as hot as 930°F (500°C) to 3,600°F (2,000°C) near the upper thermosphere. - about 372 miles (600 km) high Nadz | 1  second level. Secondary and tertiary consumers, ECOSYSTEM omnivores and carnivores, follow in the subsequent - an assembly of mutually interacting organisms and sections of the pyramid. At each step up the food chain, their environment in which materials are interchanged only 10 percent of the energy is passed on to the next in a largely cyclical manner level, while approximately 90 percent of the energy is - has physical, biological and chemical components lost as heat. along with the energy sources and pathways of energy and materials interchange BIOTIC - living things - Three primary categories: o Producers/Autotrophs o Consumers/Heterotrophs o Decomposers FOOD CHAIN (Consumers) - Primary: Herbivores - Secondary: Carnivores/Omnivores ABIOTIC - Non-living things CLIMATE - Temperature – rate of metabolic rates of organisms, Interconnectedness is vital because it maintains reproductive cycles, and survival BALANCE. - Humidity and Precipitation SOIL NATURAL ECOSYSTEM - Composition: for soil fertility - ecosystems that occur naturally and can survive - Texture: best is loam soil, with right proportion of without any intervention from human beings sand, silt, and clay. o Terrestrial: located on land o Sand: largest soil particles o Aquatic: found in bodies of water ▪ Large pores, high water retention, dries very TERRESTIAL ECOSYSTEM quickly 1. Forest o Clay: Smallest soil particles - Tropical Rainforest: biodiverse ▪ Small pores, low water retention, very dense, - Temperate Rainforest: has 4 seasons saturates easily - Taiga: Colder Regions o Loam Soil: 40% sand, 40% Silt, 20% clay 2. Grassland - Nutrient content: NPK is crucial for plant growth - Tropical Grassland: consists of scattered small WATER shrubs and trees. - Availability - Temperate Grassland: Trees and large shrubs are - Quality: includes rarely found o Ph (6.0 – 7.0) - Desert: grasses are sparse o Salinity, and presence of dissolved oxygen 3. Desert Eutrophication: agricultural run-off that results in algal - Hot: intense daylight bloom - Cold AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM ❖ Movement 1. Freshwater ❖ Nutrients - Still: lentic (stagnant water – stratification) ❖ Light - Flowing: lotic (turbulent water) ❖ Air 2. Saltwater - Reefs: rainforest of the sea ENERGY FLOW At the base of the pyramid are the producers, who use photosynthesis or chemosynthesis to make their own food. Herbivores or primary consumers, make up the Nadz | 2  BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES TERRESTIAL AQUATIC - Movements and transformation of matter between the Land-based Water-based biological, geological, and chemical components of Earth’s Systems. Higher oxygen Availability Lower oxygen Availability HYDROLOGIC CYCLE Adaptations: Gills, streamlined bodies, Legs, lungs buoyancy control Sun – Plants – Herbivores Energy Flow: – Carnivores/Omnivores Sun – Phytoplankton – Zooplanktons – Fish Streamlined Bodies: to overcome friction drag Buoyancy Control: MAN-MADE ECOSYSTEM - Artificial, brought about by human intervention 1. Crop field 2. Garden 3. Terrarium 4. Green house 5. Zoo 6. Aquarium 7. Fish Farm 1. Evaporation 8. Dam - From liquid to gas due to heat energy from the sun 9. Artificial Wetland - Evapotranspiration: (contribution of plants) 10. Hydroponics 2. Condensation (gas to liquid) - Latent heating of atmosphere: required for phase change at constant temperature 3. Precipitation - When water droplets in clouds combine and grow large enough, they fall to the Earth’s surface as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. 4. Infiltration - the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil. This water replenishes groundwater reserves or gets absorbed by plants. 5. Percolation - the downward movement of water through soil and rock layers, contributing to groundwater flow 6. Runoff - water that flows over the surface of the Earth, eventually reaching rivers, lakes, and oceans. It is a significant component of the water cycle as it returns water to larger bodies and influences erosion and sediment transport. 7. Groundwater Flow - the movement of water beneath the Earth’s surface through aquifers and other underground formations. Groundwater discharges into rivers, lakes, and oceans or emerges as springs Nadz | 3  CARBON CYCLE NITROGEN CYCLE - This cycle plays a critical role in regulating the Earth’s - The cycle converts nitrogen into various forms climate by controlling the concentration of carbon throughout the ecosystem dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere. 1. Nitrogen Fixation - the initial step of the nitrogen cycle, converting inert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into a bio-available form, ammonia (NH3) 1. Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere: The cycle - Biotic Fixation: Some types of bacteria convert begins with carbon dioxide (CO2) present in nitrogen gas into ammonia. In symbiotic associations, the atmosphere. bacteria like Rhizobium colonize the root nodules of 2. Photosynthesis (6 CO2 + 6 H2O = C6H12O6 + 6 O2) legumes, converting atmospheric nitrogen into - Plants, algae, and phytoplankton absorb CO2 from ammonia. Similarly, non-symbiotic (free-living soil) the atmosphere or water. Through photosynthesis, bacteria like Azotobacter and cyanobacteria, they convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose (a especially those in aquatic systems, perform nitrogen form of sugar) and oxygen. fixation. The enzyme central to this process is 3. Consumption: Animals and other organisms nitrogenase (cuts or splice), which facilitates the consume plants, transferring carbon through the food reduction of N2. chain. Organisms incorporate carbon into their bodies - Abiotic Fixation: Atmospheric processes, such as in various organic forms. lightning (to break strong-bonded energy), also 4. Respiration: Both plants and animals release carbon convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen oxides back into the atmosphere as CO2 through the process (NOx). These oxides subsequently react with water, of respiration, which is the breakdown of glucose forming nitrates that can be absorbed by plants. for energy. ATP 2. Ammonification 5. Decomposition: When organisms die, decomposers - As organisms die and waste products accumulate, like bacteria and fungi break down their bodies. This decomposers—specifically fungi and certain types of process releases carbon into the soil or water. bacteria—break down the organic nitrogen within 6. Sedimentation and Burial: Over long periods, some these materials and convert it back into ammonia. carbon in the soil or in water bodies becomes buried 3. Nitrification and incorporated into sediments. This carbon - This aerobic process involves the stepwise oxidation eventually forms fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural of ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. gas) or sedimentary rocks like limestone. - First, bacteria like Nitrosomonas oxidize ammonia 7. Release from Rocks and Fossil Fuels: Geological to nitrite (NO2- ). processes and human activities release carbon from - Nitrobacter takes over, oxidizing the nitrite to rocks and fossil fuels. Weathering of rocks, volcanic nitrate (NO3-). Nitrification is a critical step of the activity, and burning fossil fuels release carbon nitrogen cycle because most plants predominantly dioxide back into the atmosphere. utilize nitrates for their nitrogen needs. Nadz | 4 - Note: (NO3-) and (NO2-) are formed based on - Animals excrete waste and decomposers can use the oxidation process. (NO3-) is easily dissolved. phosphorus in the waste material. Furthermore, when 4. Assimilation the plants and animals die the bacteria may convert - plants take up ammonia and incorporate nitrogen into the organic phosphorus into inorganic phosphorus in amino acids, nucleic acids, and other vital organic a process called mineralization. molecules. Plants predominantly assimilate nitrogen 4. Sediments to rocks through their roots in the form of nitrates (NO3–) and - Some of the phosphorus gets buried in settlements ammonium ions (NH4+) which over time becomes rocks. Some of the 5. Denitrification phosphorus in the soil gets washed to the ocean - The reverse of nitrogen fixation. Here, the nitrates in where a similar process takes place. the soil transform back into atmospheric nitrogen. - Process: NO3- ➔ NO2- ➔ NO ➔ N2O ➔ N2 SULFUR CYCLE - Final Formula: 2 NO3- ➔ N2 + 3 O2 - the collection of processes by which sulfur moves in its different forms between the terrestrial, aquatic and PHOSPHORUS CYCLE living systems on earth The atmosphere is not involved in this cycle. 1. Formation of Inorganic Sulfur - Biological: by decomposers present in the soil - Geological: through weathering of rocks formed from geological uplift 1. Weathering and Erosion 2. Oxidation of Inorganic Sulfur to Sulfate (SO42−) - Phosphorus is extracted from rocks. Weathering - Hydrogen sulfide is oxidized to produce elemental along with rain breaks down the phosphorus in rocks sulfur by certain photosynthetic bacteria such and it travels to the soil and into water sources. as Chlorobiaceae and Chromatiaceae species 2. Absorption by Plants and Animals - Elemental sulfur is then converted to sulfate by - Plants absorb organic phosphorus present in soil and chemolithotrophic bacteria underground water and convert them to inorganic 3. Assimilative Reduction of Sulfate to Sulfide (S2−) forms for utilization is called mineralization. The Also known as sulfur reduction, it is performed by plants, aquatic plants absorb inorganic phosphorus from fungi and various microorganisms lower layers of water bodies due to their low solubility - Sulfates are converted to sulfites in water. - Reduction of sulfites to hydrogen sulfides - Herbivorous and carnivorous animals, including 4. Incorporation of Sulfide into Organic Compounds humans, absorb phosphorus when they consume - The sulfide assimilated is converted into an organic these plants for their food. Besides, animals obtain form which the animals consume and fix through the phosphorus directly from drinking water. foods they eat. Once these plants and animals die, 3. Decomposition by Microorganisms Nadz | 5  decomposers release the fixed organic sulfur back IGNEOUS ROCKS into its free form as elemental sulfur. 1. Intrusive (Coarse-grained structure: Granite) - These rocks form when magma cools slowly SO2 + H2O ➔ H2SO4 (Sulfuric Acid/Acid rain) beneath Earth’s crust, allowing for larger crystals to develop. ROCK CYCLE 5. It is a dynamic system that recycles Earth’s materials 2. Extrusive (fine: Basalt) in different forms, from molten magma deep below the 15. These rocks form when lava erupts from a volcano surface to solid rock formations and sediments. and cools quickly on Earth’s surface. 1. Weathering and Erosion 6. Natural forces like wind, water, and ice erode rocks. Temperature changes also play a role, making rocks expand and contract and sometimes break 2. Transport and Deposition 7. Very important part, weathered rocks are deposited into bodies of water 3. Sedimentation 8. Settling down of particles at the bottom of bodies of water 4. Lithification 9. Compaction: particles at the bottom are compressed by weight 10. Cementation: formation of sedimentary rocks 5. Metamorphism (Heat and Pressure) 11. Existing rocks undergo changes in physical or chemical composition due to high heat and pressure, leading to the formation of metamorphic rocks 12. Mineralogy and structure change 6. Melting 13. Metamorphic rocks may melt again, forming magma, and the cycle continues. 7. Crystallization 14. Cooling and solidifying of magma ➔ form igneous Rocks Nadz | 6