Matter, Energy, and LifeLESSON 1Thislessondiscussesfirstthedifferencebetweenenvironmentalscienceandenvironmentalengineering.Asareviewofpreviouscourse,conceptslikematter,atomsandmoleculeswillbedefined.Here,wewilllearntheconceptsofecologyrelatingtoenergy,livingorganisms,ecosystems,trophiclevels,andmaterialcycles.IntroductionLearning OutcomesIntendedLearningOutcome1(Syllabus)Acquirehighlevelofawarenessabouttheenvironmentanditssignificance.TopicOutcomes:Recognizetheconceptofecologyandtheirinterrelationtotheenvironmentandlife.Definespecies,populations,communities,andecosystems,andsummarizetheecologicalsignificanceoftrophiclevels.Tocomparethewaysthatwater,carbon,nitrogen,sulfur,andphosphoruscyclewithinecosystems.Environmental Science and EngineeringAsdefinedinthebookEnvironmentalScience:AGlobalConcern12thEdition,environmentisfromtheFrenchenvironnerwhichmeanstoencircleorsurround.Environmentcanbedefinedintwo:Thecircumstancesorconditionsthatsurroundanorganismorgroupoforganisms,orThecomplexofsocialorculturalconditionsthataffectanindividualorcommunity.What is Environmental Science?Thesystematicstudyofourenvironmentandourproperplaceinit.Ahighlyinterdisciplinarythatintegratesnaturalsciences,socialsciences,andhumanitiesinabroad,holisticstudyoftheworldaroundus.Mission-orientedbecauseitseeksnew,valid,contextualknowledgeaboutthenaturalworldandourimpactsonit.Withthis,weareabletolearnabouttheproblemswehavecreatedwiththeenvironmentandtakeresponsibilityofouractions.Environmentalsciencemakeus:oAwareandappreciatethenaturalandbuiltenvironment;oKnowledgeableofnaturalsystemsandecologicalconcepts;oUnderstandthecurrentenvironmentalissues;andoAbletousecritical-thinkingandproblem-solvingskillsonenvironmentalissues.WhatisEnvironmentalEngineering?Environmentalengineeringisabranchofengineeringthataimstoimprovethequalityofenvironmentandpromotesprotectionofpeoplefromadverseenvironmentaleffectslikepollution.AccordingtotheU.S.BureauofLaborStatistics,themissionofenvironmentalengineersistoimproverecycling,wastedisposal,publichealth,andwaterandairpollutioncontrol(Lucas,2014).History of Environmental Engineering (Vesilind, Morgan, & Heine, 2010)Fromthebeginningofcivilization,environmentalengineersprovidedcleanwaterandmanagedwastesasitwasnecessarywheneverpeoplecongregatedinorganizedsettlements.Intheancientcities,theavailabilityofareliablewatersupplybecameadefensivenecessity.Thesocalledengineersofantiquitywerethebuildersofwellsandaqueducts.Theywerealsothepeoplewhobuiltthecitywallsandmoats,aswellasthecatapultsandotherenginesofwar.Duringmid-1700s,thetermcivilengineeringwasbornasengineerswhobuiltfacilitiesforthecivilianpopulationbegantodistinguishthemselvesfromtheengineersprimarilyengagedinmattersofwarfare.IntheformativeyearsoftheUnitedStates,engineersweremostlyself-educatedorweretrainedatthenewlyformedUnitedStatesMilitaryAcademy.With the arrival of industrialization, unsanitary conditions in the cities were unbelievably great due to the lack of water and waste management. Though, there was no public outcry until they found out that water carry diseases. From then on, the civil engineers were also tasked to make sure the water would not be a vector for disease transmission. In the late 19th century, the major objective was to eliminate the waterborne disease. Public health became a primary concern of the civil engineers as they were entrusted with providing water supplies to the population centers. The civil engineers who were concerned with the drainage of cities and the provision of clean water supplies became public health engineers (in Britain) and sanitary engineers (in the United States).Elements of LifeEcologyisdefinedasthescientificstudyofrelationshipsbetweenorganismsandtheirenvironment.Itisessentialinecologytounderstandthefunctionofnutrientsandenergyinasystemthatiswheretheycomefromandwheretheygo.Wecanunderstandlifebasedonthemovementofmatterandenergythatisfromlivingorganismstoecosystem.Thefoundationsoforganismsarethecarbon-based(organic)compounds.MATTER-Everything that takes up spaceflow to creeks and ditches. Runoff is visible flow of water in rivers, creeks and lakes as the water stored in the basin drains out.Percolation-Some of the precipitation and snow melt moves downwardspercolatesorinfiltratesthrough cracks, joints and pores in soil and rocks until it reaches the water table where it becomes groundwater.Groundwater-Subterraneanwaterisheldincracksandporespaces.Dependingonthegeology,thegroundwatercanflowtosupportstreams.Itcanalsobetappedbywells.Somegroundwaterisveryoldandmayhavebeenthereforthousandsofyears.Watertable-Thewatertableisthelevelatwhichwaterstandsinashallowwell.Note: The above definitions of terms are from (Canada.ca, 2013)Carbon CycleThecarboncyclebeginswiththeintakeofcarbondioxidebyphotosyntheticorganisms.Carbon(andhydrogenandoxygen)atomsareincorporatedintosugarmoleculesduringphotosynthesis.Carbondioxideiseventuallyreleasedduringrespiration,closingthecycle.Thecarboncycleisofspecialinterestbecausebiologicalaccumulationandreleaseofcarbonisamajorfactorinclimateregulation.CarbonCycleSteps(Roy&Ladefoged)Step1:Carbonenterstheatmosphereascarbondioxidefromrespiration(breathing)andcombustion(burning).Step2:Carbondioxideisabsorbedbyproducers(lifeformsthatmaketheirownfoode.g.plants)tomakecarbohydratesinphotosynthesis.Theseproducersthenputoffoxygen.Step3:Animalsfeedontheplants.Thus,passingthecarboncompoundsalongthefoodchain.Mostofthecarbontheseanimalsconsumehoweverisexhaledascarbondioxide.Thisisthroughtheprocessofrespiration.Theanimalsandplantstheneventuallydie.Step4:Thedeadorganisms(deadanimalsandplants)areeatenbydecomposersintheground.Thecarbonthatwasintheirbodiesisthenreturnedtotheatmosphereascarbondioxide.Insomecircumstancestheprocessofdecompositionisprevented.Thedecomposedplantsandanimalsmaythenbeavailableasfossilfuelinthefutureforcombustion.Nitrogen Cycle-Nitrogengasmolecules(N2)makeup78%ofouratmosphere.-Plantsrelyonbacterialivinginsoils,inplanttissues,orinaquaticsystemstocaptureN2.ThesenitrogenfixingbacteriahaveproteinsthatcanbreakN2bonds.-Ofthemanynitrogencompounds,onlynitrate(NO3)andammonium(NH4)canbeuseddirectlybyplants.Thesearethesourcesofnitrogenforformingaminoacids,thebuildingblocksforcomplexorganiccompoundssuchasproteins.-Whereoxygenisavailable,bacteriamaycombineammonia(NH3)withoxygentoformnitrousoxide(N2O),nitricoxide(NO),nitrite(NO2),ornitrate(NO3).-Inoxygen-poorconditions,suchasinstreambedsediments,saturatedsoils,orwetlands,denitrifyingbacteriamayremoveoxygenfromnitratetoformgaseouscompounds,especiallynitrousoxideornitrogengas.Conversiontothesegaseousformsisknownasdenitrification(importantinremovingnitrogenfromaquaticsystemsthatsufferfromeutrophication).-Nitrogenmovesthroughthefoodwebasorganismdie,decompose,orareconsumed.-Decomposers,fungiandbacteria,releaseammoniaandammoniumions,whichthenareavailablefornitriteformation.-Organismsalsoreleaseproteinswhenplantsshedtheirleaves,needles,flowers,fruits,andcones;orwhenanimalsshedhair,feathers,skin,exoskeletons,pupalcases,andsilk,excrement,orurine,allofwhicharerichinnitrogen.Urinarywastesareespeciallyhighinnitrogenbecausetheycontainthedetoxifiedwastesofproteinmetabolism.Common forms of Nitrogen Name Characteristics Nitrogen Gas (N2) Makes up 78% of atmosphere; can be fixed by bacteria, cyanobacteria, some marine algae. Ammonia (NH3) Gaseous form; corrosive; common agricultural fertilizer that bonds with H+ to form NH4. Ammonium (NH4) Directly usable by plants; positive charge helps adhere to clays in soils. Nitrite (NO2) Ion with negative electrical charge; a step in nitrification process (conversion of NH4 to NO3); toxic to plants; usually present temporarily or in low quantities. Nitrate (NO3) Directly usable by plants; products of nitrification. Organic Nitrogen Diverse compounds, such as proteins; must be converted to NH4 for use by plants. Organic to inorganic transition is mineralization. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Various combinations such as NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), NO (nitric oxide), and N2O (nitrous oxide); fuel combustion in vehicles and industry produces most NOx; rainfall washes NOx into soils and waterways. NO2 and N2 also result from denitrification by bacteria.Phosphorus Cycle-Phosphorusisthemostimportantamongthemanyelementsreleasedtoecosystemfromrockformationsbecauseitisoftenlimitedinsupply.-Phosphorusisanessentialcomponentofallcells.Compoundscontainingthiselementstoreandreleaseagreatdealofenergy,sophosphorus-compounds,suchasATP,areprimaryparticipantsinenergy-transferreactionsincells.-Phosphorusisalsoakeycomponentofproteins,enzymes,andtissues.-Lowlevelsofphosphoruslimitplantgrowth.Abundantphosphorusstimulateslushplantandalgalgrowth,makingitamajorwaterpollutant.-Phosphoruscycleisreallyaone-waypath.Thisisbecausephosphorushasnoatmosphericform,inwhichitcanquicklyrecirculate.-Phosphorustravelsgraduallydownstream,asitisleachedfromrocksandminerals,takenupbythefoodweb,andeventuallyreleasedintowaterbodiesthatdeliverittotheocean.-Phosphoruscyclesrepeatedlythroughthefoodweb,asinorganicphosphorusistakenupbyplants,incorporatedintoorganicmolecules,andpassedontoconsumers.-Thoughphosphoruswashesdownrivertotheocean,whereitaccumulatesinoceansediments.Overgeologictime,thesedepositscanbeupliftedendexposed,sotheybecomeavailabletoterrestriallifeagain.-Thephosphateusefordetergentsandfertilizerstodayareminedfromexposedoceansedimentsmillionsofyearsold.CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik. Thanks!Do you have any questions?jessieandrew.punzalan@g.batstate-u.edu.ph0906-006-3970