UCL Introduction to Environmental Geoscience Lecture 3 PDF

UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE Delivery Plan for Thursday 3rd October 2024 Lecture (a): Quantifying environmental parameters Lecture/Practical (b): Concepts of data quality, precision and accuracy Plus: Pr...

UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE Delivery Plan for Thursday 3rd October 2024 Lecture (a): Quantifying environmental parameters Lecture/Practical (b): Concepts of data quality, precision and accuracy Plus: Preliminary preparation for next weeks practical laboratory work UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Lecture 3: Quantifying Environmental Parameters and the concept of environmental quality Impact of human activities Evolution and processes AIR Environment SOIL Sustainability Resources WATER UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Impact of human activities Evolution and processes AIR (atmosphere) Environment SOIL (terrestrial) Sustainability Resources WATER (hydrosphere) These interconnected systems and their functions provide the physical basis of our (and other species) existence These can be described as Ecosystem Services UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Ecosystem Services Provisioning Food Freshwater Life sustaining benefits that are obtained from the Wood and Fibre Fuel environment … These ecosystem services are important/critical to Supporting Regulating continued sustainability of environments as well as Nutrient cycling Climate human health and well-being Soil Formation Flood Primary Disease The ability of an environment to provide/perform these production Water purification … ecosystem services is a function of its health or ‘quality’ … Cultural Environmental quality of these ecosystem services can Aesthetic then be assessed on a scale of good or poor Spritual Educational Recreational … http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Ecosystem Services Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period of time in human history, largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel. This has resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth. With appropriate actions it is possible to reverse the degradation of many ecosystem services over the next 50 years, but the changes in policy and practice required are substantial. To assess then whether things are getting better or worse we need to measure indicators of environmental quality. http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Sometimes it is clear that there are issues with air, soil and water quality… UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 However often detecting the status and changing quality of air, aquatic and soil ecosystems is more challenging Anderson, N.J., et al. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10936 Yang et al. 20210 https://doi.org/10.1021/es9030408 UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 How to define the quality of these ecosystems? AIR (atmosphere) Measurements of concentrations of gases, compounds and particles. Variations in these parameters that affect health of ecosystems e.g. range of vehicle emissions affecting roadside human and plant communities. Measurements of physical/chemical parameters of their matrix (e.g. organic matter, pH) SOIL (terrestrial) Nutrient parameters (essential for growth (N,P) and trace elements Biological parameters (microbial >macro organisms) Pollutant parameters WATER (hydrosphere) i.e. measurements of determinands that can be linked to function of soils and aquatic systems that are supportive or detrimental to ecosystem health UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Meteorological parameters Biological Parameters Temperature Microbial pathogens Pollen AIR Humidity Wind velocity, direction (atmosphere) UV index Pressure Contaminants (Organic compounds) Gases SOIL (terrestrial) Hydrocarbons The Black Carbon Continuum CO, CO2, H2S, O3, NO2, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) NH3, SO2, Cl2, CH4… Pesticides Above ‘normal’ Dioxins Plastics (hydrocarbon continuum?) Particulates WATER (hydrosphere) Contaminants (inorganic compounds) < P2.5 microns Potentially toxic elements/compounds < P10 microns e.g. mercury, silicates UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Particulate matter (PM) Consists of a huge variety of chemical compounds and The Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) require that concentrations of PM in the UK must materials, some of which can be toxic. not exceed: Due to the small size of many of the particles that form PM An annual average of 40 µg/m3 for PM10; A 24-hour average of 50 µg/m 3 more than 35 some of these toxins may enter the bloodstream and be times in a single year for PM10; transported around the body, lodging in the heart, brain and An annual average of 20 µg/m3 for PM2.5. other organs. The UK is currently focused on measuring the fractions of PM where particles are less than 10 micrometres in diameter (PM10) and less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (PM2.5) based on the latest evidence on the effects of PM to health. Fine PM (PM2.5) and the precursor pollutants (that can form secondary PM) can travel large distances in the atmosphere. Around half of UK concentrations of PM comes from anthropogenic sources in the UK such as domestic wood burning and tyre and brake wear from vehicles. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-quality-statistics/concentrations-of- particulate-matter-pm10-and-pm25#why-measure-pm UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Physicochemical parameters Nutrient parameters Temperature Available nitrates Texture/Colour AIR (atmosphere) Moisture content Porosity/Permeability Available phosphates Potassium (K) Sulphates, Mg, Ca Organic matter content pH Biological Parameters Conductivity Microbial SOIL (terrestrial) Cation exchange capacity Fungal Soil organisms Contaminants (Organic compounds) Hydrocarbons Contaminants The Black Carbon Continuum (inorganic Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) WATER (hydrosphere) Pesticides Dioxins compounds) Potentially toxic elements/compounds Plastics (hydrocarbon continuum?) e.g. mercury, silicates UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 A quick mercury contamination story from Diss, Norfolk, UK 1000 ng g-1 26000 ng g-1 Yang, 2010, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2010.03.015 https://residus.gencat.cat/web/.content/home/ambits_dactuacio/sols_contaminats/Cercasols_recursos_so l/Soil-Guideline-Values-for-mercury-in-soil-UK-Environment-Agency-March-2009.pdf UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Physicochemical parameters Nutrient parameters Temperature Available nitrates Colour AIR (atmosphere) Alkalinity Dissolved Oxygen Available phosphates Potassium (K) Sulphates, Mg, Ca Biological Oxygen Demand pH Biological Parameters Conductivity Microbes, bacteria SOIL (terrestrial) Dissolved and Suspended Solids Aquatic organisms Contaminants (Organic compounds) Hydrocarbons Contaminants Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (inorganic Pesticides WATER (hydrosphere) Dioxins, POPs Plastics micro and macro (hydrocarbon compounds) Potentially toxic elements/compounds continuum?) e.g. methyl mercury UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Dissolved O 2 in the River Thames, UK Water Framework Directive (2014) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7f00e740f0b62305b848 61/river-basin-planning-standards.pdf https://www.thames21.org.uk/water-quality-results/ UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Measuring past, present and future Time is a critical factor to understand environmental measurements Past (environmental archives) Present (spot samples) Monitoring UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Measuring past, present and future Time is a critical factor to understand environmental measurements Pros: Pros: Pros: Long perspective Control of what and when Quantitative assessment of Long term monitoring is very Choice of sampling regime change/recovery rare Feed into real time decisions Link with modelling studies Spatial archives Challenges: Challenges: Challenges: What is preserved? Consistency Consistency of recording Indirect measures of change Spatial constraints Spatial constraints Dating Expensive How long to monitor Expensive (maintenance) Past (environmental archives) Present (spot samples) Monitoring UCL Earth Sciences: GEOL0076 Quantifying Environmental Parameters and the concept of environmental quality Summary Environmental quality refers to the state or condition of an environment with respect to an expected function Quality can be evaluated by measuring environmental parameters There are a lot of parameters that can be measured. Always question a single measurement used to describe the quality of air, soil or water. Guidelines are critical to compare lab/field measured values with those of known ecological threshold/potential toxicological values. Guidelines are often from tests involving exposing single determinands to limited fauna/flora Environmental quality can be tracked in the past, present and future.