ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

1. S.S.A.S.I.T,
SURAT
GTU
Prepared By:-
Miss. Khushbu K. Shah
Asst. Prof (Civil Engg.
Dept.)
S.S.A.S.I.T, Surat 1

2. •Environmental Science: “The systematic & scientific
study of our environment and our role in it. This branch
include the knowledge of Pure science & to some extent
Social Sciences”.
•Environmental Studies: “The branch of Study concerned
with environmental issues. It has a broader coverage than
environment science and includes the social aspects of the
environment”
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ENVIRONMENT

3. Environment,
Ecology and Ecosystem
“Environmental studies” is the scientific study of our environment
and our place in it.
Definition: “Environmental studies” is the study of environmental
issues.
INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENT
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4. DEFINITIONS
• The term environment is derived from a French word
environner which means ‘surrounding’. It refers to an
aggregate of all conditions that affect the existence,
growth, and welfare of an organism or a group of
organisms.
OR
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• Environment is Define as “The Complex of Physical,
Chemical & Biotic factors affecting an organism and
ultimately determining its form and survival” is
known as Environment.

5. Ecology
(Greek word: Okologie; meaning: “place to live”)
“
Branch of science that deals with the scientific
study of the interrelationships between living
organisms with respect to each other and to their
surroundings.
Ecology= Oikos + Logos
•Oikos means house or dwelling place
•Logos means study of
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6. • Definition:- Ecosystem is Define as “Natural
Functional Ecological Unit Comprising of living
organisms & their non living environment which
interact to form a self supporting system” is
known as Ecosystem.
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Ecosystem

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Components of Environment
• Environment can be divided in to following components.

8. Components of Environment
• Abiotic or non-living components of environment include all the
physical and chemical factors that influence living organisms.
Examples of abiotic components are air, water, soil, rocks, etc.
• Biotic or living components are the living components of
environment and include microbes, plants, animals, and
human beings.
Biotic components: All living organisms around us viz. plants, animals,
and microorganisms
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9. •These biotic and abiotic components are in dynamic state; they
constantly affect each other and cannot be isolated from each other.
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11. Multidisciplinary Nature of Environmental Studies
Environmental Studies requires skills that encompass a range of
disciplines including chemistry, biology, earth sciences, atmospheric
science, statistics, mathematics, and geography.
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12. Importance of Environmental Studies
 Environmental Studies is useful in checking environmental pollution and
related solutions.
 It helps in maintaining ecological balance.
 It helps to gain skills to assess the environmental impact of human
activities. Environmental study will help to protect biodiversity.
 It gives us basic knowledge of environment and associated problems.
 It helps to achieve sustainable development .
 It helps to educate people regarding their duties towards the protection
of environment.
 The knowledge of environmental science will be applied to the study of
agriculture. 12

13. Types of Environment
• Natural Environment
– The environment that comes in its
existence by its own or naturally.
– Without interference of humans
– It operates through self regulating
mechanism
• Man-made Environment
– Env. Is modified by human activity
– Scientific technology which is
result of human brain is
decorating the natural
environment.
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14. Components of Environment
• Earth’s environment can be further subdivided
into the following four segments:
(1) Atmosphere
(2) Lithosphere
(3) Hydrosphere
(4) Biosphere
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15. 15
Components of Environment

16. Atmosphere
Constituent Volume %
– Nitrogen 78.1
– Oxygen 20.9
– Water vapour 0.1–5
– Argon 0.9
– Carbon dioxide 0.03
– Trace constituents*
– *The trace constituents include
Helium, Neon, Krypton, xenon,
SO2, NO2, Ammonia, Ozone,
and Carbon monoxide etc.
It is the mixture of various gases, water
vapour and subatomic particles that
entirely covers the earth extending
outward several thousand kilometers.
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17. Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 5
different layers…
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18.  The troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere nearest to earth.
 The troposphere goes from 0km to 16km. Extends up to 8 km at
the poles and 16 km at equator, on an average extend up to 10-11 km
from the earth surface.
 All weather happens in the troposphere-contains 99% of the
water vapor and 75% of the atmospheric gases.
 The troposphere is the first layer above the surface and
contains most clouds and half of the Earth's atmosphere.
 Temperature decrease at the rate of 5-7o
C/km.
TROPOSPHERETROPOSPHERE
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19. • It is above troposphere and
extends up to 50-55 km.
• Up to about 20 km temp.
remains constant then
increase with increase in
height.
• Ozone layer is in this layer.
STRATOSPHERESTRATOSPHERE
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20. • It is layer above stratosphere
and extends up to 80 km.
• Temperature decreases
slowly with altitude but then
sharply to about -75o
C.
MESOSPHEREMESOSPHERE
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21. • Temperature increases rapidly
with increase in height.
• Heating of this layer is due to
absorption of the solar energy.
• Within the thermosphere there
is a layer of charged particles
known as ionosphere.
THERMOSPHERETHERMOSPHERE
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22. • It exist above the ionosphere and
extend up to 2000 km above the
earth.
• This layer is almost airless and
empty.
• Contains hydrogen gas in ionized
state.
• Very high temperature(≥
1200o
C)
EXOSPHEREEXOSPHERE
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23. Layers of
Atmosphere
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24. Structure of atmosphere
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25. Lithosphere
• The earth’s crust consisting of the
soil and rocks is the lithosphere.
The soil is made up of inorganic
and organic matter and water.
• The main mineral constituents
are compounds or mixtures
derived from the elements of Si,
Ca, K, Al, Fe, Mn, Ti, O etc. (Oxides,
Silicates, and Carbonates).
• The organic constituents are
mainly polysaccharides, organo
compounds of N, P and S.
• The organic constituents even
though form only around 4% –
6% of the lithosphere, they are
responsible for the fertility of the
soil and hence its productivity. 25

26. Hydrosphere
 This comprises all water resources both surface and
ground water.
 The world’s water is found in oceans and seas, lakes
and reservoirs, rivers and streams, the Polar Regions
in addition to ground water below the land areas. The
distribution of water.
 among these resources is as under
– Oceans and Seas 96–97 %
– Glaciers and polar icecaps 2–3 %
– Fresh water < 1%
 The water locked up in the Oceans and Seas are too
salty and cannot be used directly for human
consumption, domestic, agriculture or Industrial
purposes.
 Only less than 1% of water resources are available for
human exploitation. Water is considered to be a
common compound with uncommon properties.
These uncommon properties (e.g. anomalous
expansion of water) are mainly responsible for
supporting terrestrial and aquatic life on earth.
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27. Biosphere
• The biosphere is a capsule encircling the
earth’s surface wherein all the living things
exist. The living organisms interacting with
each other in biosphere and sustain their
life.
• This portion extends from 10000 m below
sea level to 6000 m above sea level.
• Life forms do not exist outside this zone.
• The biosphere covers parts of other
segments of the environment viz.
Lithosphere, Hydrosphere and Atmosphere.
• Life sustaining resources like food, water
and oxygen present in the biosphere are
being withdrawn and waste products in
increasing quantities are being dumped. The
system is in operation for millions of years
but now showing stress due to impact of
human on environment.
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28. Interaction between different components of
environment
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29. Man and Environment Relationship
• Man is the only living organism
capable of modifying environment
according to the need.
• Man has started hunting animals
and cutting trees for his basic
needs.
• To increase his comforts he started
distributing each and every
components of environment.
• Large scale deforestation,
increasing in quantity of CO2 due to
burning of forest, grass, crop waste
are example of early cause of
pollution. 29

30. • Environmental education is a integral process which deals with
man’s interrelationship with his nature and man made
surroundings including the relation of population growth,
pollution, resource allocation and depletion, conservation,
technology, and urban and rural planning to the total human
environment.
• Environmental education is a study of the factors influencing
ecosystem, mental & physical health, living and working
conditions, decaying cities and population pressure.
• Environmental education is intended to promote among citizens
the awareness and understanding of the environment, our
relationship to it.
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IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION

31. Objective of Environmental education
Knowledge:
To help individuals and social groups to acquire basic understanding of the
environment, its associated problems and their responsible role towards the
betterment of the environment.
Attitudes:
To help individuals and social groups to acquire social values, strong feeling
of concern for the environment and the motivation for actively participating
in its protection and improvement.
To help individuals and social groups to acquire basic awareness of and
sensitivity towards the environment & its related problem.
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Awareness:

32. Skills: To help individuals and social groups to acquire the
skills for solving environmental problems.
Evaluation ability: To help individuals and social groups to
evaluate environmental measures and education program in
terms of ecological, political, economical, social, aesthetic and
education factors.
Participation: To help individuals and social groups to
develop a sense of responsibility and urgency regarding
environmental problems to ensure appropriate action to solve
those problems. 32

33. • New and better technology is being introduced, by each
passing day. In every field, new technology is introduced very
frequently. This advancement of technology is beneficial, but has
also created adverse effects on the environment.
• Advancement of technology & machines, has increased
industrialization and increased pollution as a result of which
environment has deteriorated.
• Advancement in weapon technology had also considerably
affected the environment. New technology means more
production and more consumption like vehicles, which creates
pollution. Thus technology, on one hand can be beneficial, but
can create a bad impact on the environment.
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Impact of Technologies on
environment

34. • Improvement in technology has also led to pollute children's
mind. Media and the computers are the source of technology, but
they have led in polluting the mind, and destroying their health
and environment of studies.
• Children spend more time watching television or using
computers, so less time for studies & recreation; which has
affected their physical & mental growth.
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35. Classification of Impacts:-
• Direct Impact: The impacts which directly affect the
environment due to deforestation, urban development, rapid
industrial growth.
• Indirect Impacts: These impacts will indirectly affect the
environment ,which may be called as chain impact. For e.g. the
indirect impact of deforestation may result in extinction of some
species in forest and other consumers at later stage.
• Cumulative Impacts: These impacts will be the result of direct
& indirect impacts. The ultimate effect on the environment will be
very dangerous as it progresses at slow rate.
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36. The environmental impact can also be categorized as:
• Positive & negative Impacts: Development of road will give
employment to the people at the same time it will result in
deforestation.
• Local & widespread Impact: For e.g. construction of road will
affect the local region while industrial development due to air
pollution may enhance the phenomenon like global warming, acid
rain, or ozone depletion.
• Temporary & Permanent impacts: Some projects may affect the
environment for temporary duration and some project may have
permanent impact on the environment.
•Short term & long term impacts:
• Random Impacts:
• Predictable impacts & non-predictable impacts:
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37. Environmental Degradation
Environmental Degradation
• Definition: The overall lowering of environmental qualities due
to the damages caused by both natural events and human activities
in the basic structure of the environment at local, regional and
global levels adversely affecting all living organisms including man.
• Environmental degradation is caused due to following factors:
1. Population
2. Pollution
3.Exploitation of Natural resources
4. Disturbance in Ecosystem
5.Waste Generation and Disposal
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38. Population
• Increase in Population will require more food which result in increase in more
food production and more cultivation which require more nutrients from land
which will degrade the land. Use of fertilizers will further degrade the land.
• Increase in population will require more houses or land to reside which result
in cutting of forest to build houses, as a result of which forest ecosystem are
destroyed, which results in problem like Soil erosion, change in rainfall patterns.
• Increase in population will result in increase of infrastructures i.e. Roads,
Industries, railways, houses, flyovers, etc. which will lead to pollution of
different environmental components. 38

39. Pollution
• Air pollution is causing tremendous damage to the environment in terms of
global warming, ozone depletion, acid rains.
• Water Pollution is also contributing heavily in degradation of Environment.
Waste water from municipal and Industries degrades the quality of fresh water.
• Land pollution occurs, due to over irrigation, soil erosion, deforestation, waste
disposal on land.
• Noise Pollution occurs due to increase in no of vehicles and industries. It
causes decrease in efficiency of Person, and causes some serious health39

40. Exploitation of Natural Resources
•Man has been using air, water, land, forest, and all the things
which are available to him naturally, which has resulted in
disturbance of ecological balance, depletion of ground water,
deforestation, endangered species, all this factor caused
degradation of Environment.
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41. Disturbance in Ecosystem
•Each organism has unique role to play in the environment,
change in the environment has proven to be harmful for these
organisms and has lead to extinction of certain species.
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42. Waste Generation
•Waste generated from household industries and municipal
sources are the major cause of air, water, noise, and land
pollution.
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43. • To explain the impact (I) the proposed three factor model
in a given area comprises of:
1. The population size(P)
2. Per capita consumption of resources(A)
3. Degradational pollution caused by per unit of resources
used(T)
Hence I=P×A×T
• In developing countries three Ps or P3 i.e. population,
poverty and pollution are key factor for rapid
environmental degradation.

44. Sustainable Development
The concept of sustainable development can be interpreted in many
different ways, but at its core is an approach to development that looks
to balance different, and often competing, needs against an awareness of
the environmental, social and economic limitations we face as a society.
All too often, development is driven by one particular need, without fully
considering the wider or future impacts.
The term sustainable development refers
to the development that meets the needs
of the present without compromising the
ability of the future generations to meet
their own needs.
Every generation should leave air, water and soil as pure and unpolluted as
possible.
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45. Measures for Sustainable Development
Effective planning for population control
Reducing per capita demand of natural
resources
Using efficient technological devices
Following the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and
recycling) approach
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 Promoting environmental awareness through education
 Effective planning for regeneration of natural resources
 Using cleaner fuel and technologies.

46. Sustainable Building Materials: Approach 46

47. Role of Environmental Engineer
• Environmental engineering is based on the design and
manipulation of environmental processes to obtain a
desired outcome.
• Environmental engineers apply their knowledge of the
natural sciences (chemistry, biology and microbiology) with
their expertise in engineering to solve, prevent or correct
environmental problems.
• Design or manage systems for water distribution and
collection, water treatment solid waste handling and
processing facilities , landfills and air treatment plants.
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48. • Work with regulatory agencies to review proposals for
environmental equipment.
• Collecting data and assisting in product design.
• Developing improved air quality models and pollution
control measures.
• Working with an environmental health and safety board
on various policies and procedures.
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49. Some of the activities handled by Environmental
Engineer
• Waste Management,
• Toxic Material Control,
• Water Supply,
• Storm Water Management,
• Solid Waste Disposal,
• Land Management,
• Public Health & safety,
• Radiation Protection,
• Air Quality Control 49

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