SEMESTER I

- Unit 1
Introduction to
Environmental Studies

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 Unit 1: Introduction to environmental
studies

• Concept of environment and importance of the

environment.

• Multidisciplinary nature of environmental studies

• Components of the environment (atmosphere,

hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere)

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 Books for reference

• Text Book- Basu, M. and Xavier, S., Fundamentals of Environmental

Studies, Cambridge University Press, 2016.

• Basu, R.N, Environment, University of Calcutta, 2000.

• Odum, E.P., Odum, H.T. & Andrews, J. 1971. Fundamentals of

Ecology. Philadelphia: Saunders.

• Agrawal, KM, Sikdar, PK and Deb, SC, A Textbook of Environment,

Macmillan Publication, 2002.

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 ENVIRONMENT

External conditions or surrounding, influencing development or

growth of people, animals or plants
and concern about their preservation
from the effects of pollution.

(from French environner: to encircle or surround)

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 TYPES OF ENVIRONMENT

1. Natural environment

2. Semi-synthetic environment

3. Artificial / man-made / synthetic environment

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 MULTIDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

 - Core - by biological sciences like zoology, botany, microbiology,

physiology.

 - Solution of many environmental concern through application of

biotechnology, molecular biology;

 - Bioinformatics - serve as a database at molecular level.

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 - Physics, chemistry, geography, geology, atmospheric science
helps in understanding the basic concepts of structural and
functional organization.

 - Data simulation, interpretation through application of statistics,

computer application, and mathematical science.

 - Formulation of policies through environmental management

that need legal assistance for its implementation.

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 SCOPE & IMPORTANCE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

• The subject is based on philosophy & ethics.

• Helps to deal with problems linked to resource depletion.
• Problems of pollution and population explosion.
• Find out a practical global solution in the form of raising
public awareness.
• Understanding leads to participation at all levels.
• Helps to develop scientific and effective management
strategies and solution to all the problems we are facing
with.

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1.Green Marketing

signifies to all-inclusive marketing notion in which,

the manufacturing, marketing, consumption and disposal
of goods and services take place in a manner that is less
detrimental to the environment
with increasing awareness and realization about the
bearings of global warming, non-biodegradable solid
leftover, dangerous impact of pollutants etc.

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2. Environmental management System and ISO
14000

The ISO 14000 Series provides the requirements and addresses

various aspects of environmental management system. ISO
14000 has the following benefits -
Low raw material use.
Reduced energy expenditure.
Enhanced process efficiency.
Decreased waste generation and disposal costs.
Use of recoverable resources.
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 3. Eco-mark scheme in India

• Government of India launched the

eco-labelling scheme known as
`Ecomark' in 1991
• Provides easy identification of
environment-friendly products.
An earthen pot is the • Increases consumer awareness
logo of Ecomark • The standards follow a cradle-to-
scheme in India. grave approach, i.e. from raw
material extraction, to
manufacturing, and to disposal.

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 COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT

Gaseous

Atmosphere

Living Zone
Biosphere Hydrosphere
Liquid

Lithosphere Solid
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 STRUCTURE OF ATMOSPHERE

Composition of the Atmosphere

Main Components Other Components
• Nitrogen - 78.08%
• Oxygen - 20.95%
• Water Droplets
• Argon - 0.93% (9300 ppm) • Ice Crystals
• Carbon Dioxide- 0.035% • Sulfuric Acid
(350 ppm)
Aerosols
Atmospheric CO2 June 2019 - 414.83 ppm, 8 sep
2021 - 413.45 ppm (NOAA, Mauna Loa • Volcanic Ash
Observatory, Hawaii)
• Windblown Dust
• Neon -18 ppm
• Helium - 5.2 ppm • Sea Salt
• Methane -1.4 ppm • Pollutants
• Ozone - 0.07 ppm
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 Stratification of the Atmosphere

Usually defined by thermal stratification ( from the

ground upwards)

1. Troposphere - Where Weather happens.

2. Stratosphere - Ozone Layer
3. Mesosphere
4. Thermosphere - Ionosphere

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Thermal Stratification of Atmosphere

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 Troposphere

• Extends from the ground to about 10 -12 kms.

• Normal composition of air.
• All weather conditions occur here.
• Temperature decreases with increase in altitude;
6.50C for 1 km increase (lapse rate).
• Troposphere ends at tropopause.

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 Stratosphere

• Altitude 11-50 km

• Temperature increases with altitude -60 degree C at

base to 0 degree C at top.

• Reason: absorption of solar energy to make ozone at

upper levels (ozone layer)

• Ozone (O3) is effective at absorbing solar ultraviolet

radiation

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 Mesosphere

• 50 – 80 km altitude
• the mass of atmosphere is only 0.1% of the total,
and the density is too low for ozone chemistry to
heat the atmosphere.
• Temperature decreases with altitude.
• 0 degree C at base, -95 degree C at top.
• Mesopause is coldest region of atmosphere.

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 Thermosphere

• 80 km and above.
• Temperature increases with altitude as atoms accelerated
by solar radiation; Temperature can be very high.
• Heated by ionization by UV from the sun, and the solar
wind.
• -95 degree C at base to 100 degree C at 120 km;
temperature as high as 1727 degree C.
• Heat content negligible.
• Traces of atmosphere to 1000 km.
• density so low the Space Shuttle and International Space
Station (ISS) orbit here, with little drag.

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Ionosphere = Upper mesosphere + Thermosphere

• Ionosphere produces the aurora borealis and aurora

australis

(Artificially generated radio waves are used for fixed and

mobile radio communication, broadcasting, radar and
other navigation systems, communications satellites,
computer networks and innumerable other applications).

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 HYDROSPHERE

• The water constitutes the hydrosphere.

• Vast majority of Earth’s water - oceans (salt water).

• Quantities of fresh water in lakes, rivers, and ground water-

small, geologically important,

• All water, cryosphere (frozen water), the atmosphere, and the

biosphere, participate in the global hydrologic cycle.

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 HYDROSPHERE

• responsible for weathering and erosion of land surfaces.

• Rain water, in combination with atmospheric CO2 responsible

for chemical weathering

• The amount of CO2 dissolved in the oceans is much larger than

that in the atmosphere currently.

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 Distribution of Water on Earth

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Table: Principal dissolved substances in sea water

IONS Percentage of total dissolved solids

(by weight)

1 Chloride 55.04
2 Sodium 30.61

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THE EARTH’S CRYOSPHERE

permanent ice caps of

Antarctica and
Greenland,
with much smaller amounts in Arctic and
mountain glaciers.

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 Permafrost in Land Areas

• Land areas in polar regions, such as

Antarctica and Greenland, and
the north slopes of Alaska and
Siberia, have sub-surfaces in
which soil water is permanently
frozen constitute what is known as
permafrost.

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Zonation of water (sunlight availability)

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 Vertical zonation of deep water bodies

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 “Black Smoker” Under-Sea Volcanic
Activity

• Under-sea - volcanic activity gives rise

to high-temperature plumes of water,
containing particles of igneous rock
that give rise to the appearance of
black smoke.
• The temperatures of the volcanic
plumes can be much higher (400
degree C).
• It has been discovered that some
species of animal life thrive on the
environment of these “black
smokers”, including their very high
temperatures.
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 Table: Major Ocean Trenches
Oceans Trench Depth
Meters Feet
Pacific Ocean Aleutian 7672 25165
Kurile 10543 34580
Japan 9800 32153
Marina 10915 35800
Philippine 10033 32907
Tonga 10853 35597
Kermadec 10003 32809
Peru-Chile 8057 26427
Atlantic Ocean South sandwish 8262 27100

Puerto Rico 9392 30184

Indian Ocean Sunda (Java) 7252 24442

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 LITHOSPHERE

• Comprises the Earth’s

crust and part of the
upper mantle.

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 Rocks and minerals

• A rock is a heterogeneous
blend of various grains
(each grain is a mineral)

• A mineral is a pure,
natural and inorganic
substance

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 Structure of the Earth

• The Earth- 3 layer concentrically - outer crust, middle mantle and

inner core.
i. Crust- cool, rigid, brittle.
a. Continental crust- 30-40 kms thick, sp. gravity 2.7, granite rocks
with silica and aluminium.
b. Oceanic crust – 5-10 kms thick, sp. gravity 3, basalt rocks, silica
and magnesium.

• The lithosphere is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet.

(crust + upper part of mantle)

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 Internal Structure of the Earth

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ii. Mantle- 2900 kms thick
a) Made of peridotite rocks of olivine and pyroxene minerals
b) Upper mantle – 660 kms
c) Lower mantle – 660 – 2885 kms
• Top layer of upper mantle (100-200 km )is the asthenosphere
with a plastic behaviour
• Both the crust and upper mantle float on the more plastic
asthenosphere.
• The crust is distinguished from the mantle at the Mohoveric
discontinuity.

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iii. Core –

 Outer - 2270 kms thick, 11 gms density.

 Inner core – 1216 kms radius, 13 gms density.

• As the cooling surface layer of the Earth's convection system,
the lithosphere thickens over time. It is fragmented into
relatively strong pieces, called tectonic plates, which move
independently relative to one another. This movement of
lithospheric plates is described as plate tectonics. There are
two types of lithospheric plates.

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 Seven plates comprise the
bulk of the continents
and the Pacific ocean.
African Plate
Antarctic Plate
Eurasian Plate
Indo-Australian Plate
North American Plate
Pacific Plate
South American Plate
Smaller plates with the
exception of the Arabian
and Indian plates, as they
do not comprise
significant land area.
Arabian Plate
Caribbean Plate
Cocos Plate
Indian Plate
Juan de Fuca Plate
Nazca Plate
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Philippine Sea Plate 39
Scotia Plate
 BIOSPHERE

• Regions in which life can

exist
• Made up of 3 parts
• Atmosphere (air)
• Hydrosphere (water)
• Lithosphere (rock and
sediments)

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• The term "Biosphere" was coined by Eduard Suess in the
1885 later popularized by Vladimir I. Vernadsky.

• It is the life zone of the Earth and includes all living

organisms, including man, and all organic matter that
has not yet decomposed.

• Earth originated about 4.5 bya; life evolved on earth

during its early history about 3.5 billion years ago.

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