Module 5 formations to underground layers

of rock, sand, and gravel.

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE
Water
- The elements and compounds
that make up nutrients move - It is the primary sculptor of the
continually through air, water, earth’s landscape.
soil, rock, and living organisms in - It is a major medium for
ecosystems and in the biosphere transporting nutrients within and
in cycles. between ecosystems.

Nutrient cycles 0.024%

- It connects past, present, and - Percentage of the earth’s vast

future forms of life. water supply is available to us as
liquid freshwater in accessible
Hydrologic cycle
groundwater deposits and in
- It collects, purifies, and lakes, rivers, and streams.
distributes the earth’s fixed
Carbon
supply of water.
- It is the basic building block of
Evaporation
the carbohydrates, fats, proteins,
- It changes liquid water into water DNA, and other organic
vapor. compounds necessary for life.

Precipitation Carbon cycle

- The water back to the earth’s - It is a process which carbon

surface. circulates through the biosphere,
the atmosphere, and parts of the
84%
hydrosphere.
- of water vapor in the atmosphere
Carbon dioxide
comes from the oceans.
- It is a key component of nature’s
Transpiration
thermostat.
- The water that reaches the
Atmosphere
atmosphere evaporates from the
surfaces of plants. - The major reservoir for nitrogen.

Surface runoff Nitrogen-fixing bacteria

- Water overflows through - A specialized bacteria that

precipitation. completes the conversion of N2
into compound nutrients.
Glaciers
Nitrogen fixation
- Where precipitation is converted
to ice.

Aquifers

- Where precipitation sinks

through soil and permeable rock
 - Process where specialized 3-฀) in terrestrial rock formations
bacteria in soil and Bluegreen and ocean bottom sediments.
algae (cyanobacteria) in aquatic - It is slow compared to the water,
environments combine gaseous carbon, and nitrogen cycles.
N2 with hydrogen to make
Phosphorus
ammonia (NH3).
- It is also a major component of
Nitrification
vertebrate bones and teeth.
- A two-step process, specialized
Sulfur Cycles
soil bacteria convert most of the
NH3 and NH4+ in soil to nitrate - Process where Sulfur highly
ions (NO3-), which are easily poisonous gas with a rotten-egg
taken up by the roots of plants. smell—is released from active
volcanoes that circulates through
Ammonification
the biosphere.
- Process where vast armies of
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
specialized decomposer bacteria
convert this detritus into simpler - A colorless and suffocating gas,
nitrogen-containing inorganic also comes from volcanoes.
compounds such as ammonia
Field research
(NH3) and water-soluble salts
containing ammonium ions - It is sometimes called “muddy-
(NH4+). boots biology,” involves observing
and measuring the structure of
Denitrification
natural ecosystems and what
- A process wherein specialized happens in them.
bacteria in waterlogged soil and
Geographic information systems
in the bottom sediments of lakes,
(GIS)
oceans, swamps, and bogs
convert NH3 and NH4+ back into - It provides the computer
nitrite and nitrate ions, and then technology for storing,
into nitrogen gas (N2) and organizing, and analyzing
nitrous oxide gas (N2O). complex data collected over
broad geographic areas.
Acid rain
MODULE 6
- Converted to nitrogen dioxide gas
(NO2) and nitric acid vapor Human Activity and the
(HNO3 ), which can return to the Lithosphere
earth’s surface as damaging acid
Lithosphere
deposition.
- It is the solid outer layer of the
Phosphorus cycle
Earth's crust, including rocks,
- It does not include the sand, and soil.
atmosphere. - A dynamic area, with processes
- The major reservoir for such as erosion, earthquakes, and
phosphorous is phosphate salts plate tectonics constantly
containing phosphate ions (PO4
 altering and forming/destroying - These are synthetic chemicals
the surface. used for pest control

Ecosystem services Bio-concentration

- Refers to the benefits people - It is the accumulation of a

obtain from ecosystems. chemical in or on an organism
when the source of chemical is
Provisioning Services
solely water.
- These are the products obtained
Bio-magnifications
from ecosystems, includes food,
fiber, fuel, genetic resources, - It is the increasing concentration
biochemicals, natural medicines, of a substance, such as a toxic
pharmaceutical, ornamental chemical, in the tissues of
resources and fresh water. tolerant organisms at
successively higher levels in a
Regulating Services
food chain.
- These are the benefits obtained
Landslide
from the regulation of ecosystem
processes, including Air quality, - It is defined as the movement of a
Climate regulation etc. mass of rock, debris, or earth
down a slope.
Cultural Services
Earthquake
- These are the nonmaterial
benefits people obtain from - It is the shaking of the surface of
ecosystems through spiritual the Earth resulting from a sudden
enrichment, cognitive release of energy in the Earth's
development, reflection, lithosphere that creates seismic
recreation, and aesthetic waves.
experiences.
Surface Mining or strip mining

- This extraction method is

Supporting services favored by mine operators
because it permits more complete
- Are those that are necessary for
extraction and poses fewer safety
the production of all other
hazards than underground
ecosystem services.
mining.
MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS OF LITHOSPHERE
Subsurface mining
1. Soil Degradation
2. Soil erosion - Digging tunnels or shafts to get
- is a process in which useful to ore deposits.
land is washed off through
Stream Channelization
excessive rains and soil runoff.
3. Soil Pollution - It involves the straightening and
ditching of stream channels. Its
Pesticides
purpose is to accelerate the
transport of water downstream,
 thereby controlling upstream accumulating and causing serious
flooding. erosion.

Chemical Fertilization Contour farming

- It is the method or process of - Farming with row patterns that

supplying/applying any chemical run nearly level around the hill
compound as a source of one or not up and down the hill.
more of the essential plant food
Strip cropping
elements.
- It is done where strips of land are
Chemical fertilizer
ploughed at right angles of the
- It is any chemical compound used direction of the slope and
for supplying one or more of different crops are raised in
essential nutrient for plant adjacent strips.
growth and development which
Diversion canals
increases agricultural production.
- Consists of ridges or channels
Leaching
that are used to temporarily
- It is the loss of water-soluble divert water around or from an
plant nutrients from the soil, due area that is under construction or
to rain and irrigation. is being stabilized.

Eutrophication Plant cover

- It is the excessive richness of - It is also the most efficient

nutrients in a lake or other body method for checking soil erosion
of water, frequently due to runoff due to wind.
from the land, which causes a
Wind breaks
dense growth of plant life and
death of animal life from lack of - Tree plantations in short blocks
oxygen.
Shelter belts
Green Revolution
- Extensive tree plantations and
- Are the increased crop yields are planted in rows at right
from lands already in production. angles to the direction of the
wind.
Solid Wastes
MODULE 7 The Hydrosphere and
- Refer to any discarded or
Human Activity
unwanted materials that are not
liquid or gas. Hydrosphere

- It is a dynamic mass of liquid that

is continually on the move, from
the oceans to the atmosphere, to
Terracing the land and back again.
- A soil conservation practice Precipitation
applied to prevent rainfall runoff
- It means falling from a height. It
on sloping land from
includes all forms in which
 atmospheric moisture descends - This involves taking water from a
to Earth in the form of rain, snow, ground water or surface water
hail, and sleet. source and transporting it to a
place of use.
Run-off

- Refer to the flow back of the

oceans of the precipitation that Forests
falls on land.
- It plays a very important role
Ground Water within the global and local
hydrological cycles.
- Water that penetrates the soil
and reaches the water table. Groundwater abstraction

Zone of saturation - It is the process of taking water

from a ground source.
- The area where all available
pores are filled by water. Saltwater intrusion

Water table - Where saline water can migrate

inland and upward when
- It is the upper surface of the zone
freshwater is pumped out of the
of saturation.
ground in these locations.
Porosity
Water pollution
- It means to the pores in rocks, or
- It refers to degradation of water
the percentage of the rock's
quality as measured by biological,
volume that is not occupied by
chemical or physical criteria.
the rock itself.
Pollutant
Permeability
- It is any biological, physical, or
- It refers to the degree to which
chemical substance in which an
underground rock pores are
identifiable excess is known to be
interconnected with each other
harmful to the other desirable
and thus is a measure of the
living organisms.
degree to which water flows,
freely from one pore to another. Point Sources

Natural recharge - A single definable source of the

pollution, e.g. a factory, a sewage
- Most aquifers are recharged or
plant, etc.- pollution is easy to
replenished naturally by
monitor and control.
precipitation which percolates
downward through soil and rock. Non-point sources

Recharge area - No one single source, but a wide

range of sources, e.g. runoff from
- Any area of land allowing water
urban areas, or farmland.-
to pass through it and into an
Pollution is more difficult to
aquifer.
monitor and control.
Water Withdrawal
Surface water pollution
 - Pollution of lakes, rivers and - It is actually a group of disease
oceans caused by infection with one of 3
related types of worms.
Groundwater pollution
Coliforms
- Pollution of aquifers below soil.
- These are the class of bacteria
Microbial pollution
present in the intestines of
- Pollution by bacteria, viruses, humans and other warm-blooded
protozoa and parasitic worms. animals.

Oxygen depletion pollution Red Tide

- Pollution by biodegradable - Occurs in both marine and fresh

organics. waters but are mostly associated
with marine water where they
Nutrient pollution
cause mass mortality of fish.
- Pollution by plant nutrients
(nitrates, phosphates)
Dinoflagellates
Suspended matter pollution
- The water discoloration from the
- Pollution by soil, silt
abnormal development of large
Chemical pollution population of a group of
organisms.
- Pollution by pesticides, fertilizers,
industrial solvents, oil Mussel poisoning

Thermal pollution - Type of poisoning where fish that

eat dinoflagellates accumulate
- Pollution by warm water, waste
toxins in the guts and gills, the
heat.
toxins, are released during
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) cooking and is fatal to one who
eats the contaminated fish.
- It means the amount of oxygen
required for such biochemical Domestic sewage
decomposition, a commonly used
- It carries used water from houses
measure in water quality
and apartments; it is also called
management.
sanitary sewage.
Cholera
Industrial sewage
- An illness caused by ingestion of
- It is used water from
the bacterium Vibrio Cholera is
manufacturing or chemical
characterized by intense diarrhea
processes.
which results rapidly in massive
fluid depletion and death in very Storm sewage, or storm water
large percentage of untreated
- It is runoff from precipitation that
patients.
is collected in a system of pipes
Schistosomiasis or open channels.

Primary treatment
 - It consists of mechanical distributes it to households in
processes of separating solid small communities to meet both
from liquids. It also involves the domestic and household
mechanical removal of solid agricultural needs.
material in the water.
MODULE 8 The Atmosphere and
Secondary treatment Human Activity

- It involves biological oxidation of Mesosphere

dissolved organic material.
- It is the coldest region of the
Tertiary or "advanced" treatment atmosphere.

- It involves a series of specialized Thermosphere

chemical and physical processes
- It is the hottest region of the
that lower the quantity of specific
atmosphere.
pollutants still left after primary
and secondary treatments. Exosphere

Aquaculture - It is the outermost layer, while

hydrogen is the chief constituent.
- Also known as fish or shellfish
farming. Stratospheric ozone

- It is a naturally-occurring gas
that filters the sun's ultraviolet
(UV) radiation.
Aquaponics

- It is a hybrid system linking

aquaculture, in this case the
production of fish, with
hydroponics which is the
Tropospheric, or ground-level ozone
production of plants in a soilless
environment. - It is a ‘bad ozone’ because it is
the major ingredient in smog and
Water recycling
continues to pose a health risk to
- It is reusing treated waste water humans.
for beneficial purposes.
Inversion layers.
Desalination
- These are layers of stagnant air
- It is a process that takes away that appear, from time to time in
mineral components from saline various parts of the troposphere.
water. Also refers to the removal
Industrial smog
of salts and minerals from a
target substance. - It is a gray air that predominate
in industrialized cities with cold,
Multiple-Use Water Systems (MUS)
wet winters.
- Are an improved approach to
Photochemical smog
water resource management,
which taps and stores water and
 - It is brown and smelly which - It is the natural warming of the
characteristics of large cities earth that results when gases in
found in warm climates. the atmosphere trap heat from
the sun that would otherwise
Air pollution
escape into space.
- It is the presence of atmospheric
Greenhouse gas
contamination that may be
injurious to life or property. - It is a gas that absorbs and emits
radiant energy within the thermal
Ambient air
infrared range, causing the
- It is the outdoor air in which greenhouse effect.
humans and other organisms live
and breathe.

Carbon monoxide (CO)

- It is a colorless, odorless,
poisonous gas produced by the
incomplete combustion of carbon.

Nitrogen Oxides

- It is a foul-smelling red-brown
gas. Produced by combustion, NO
is converted to NO₂.

Sulphur Oxides.

- These are gases produced when

materials containing Sulphur are
heated and burned.

Hydrocarbons

- These compounds are composed

solely of carbon and hydrogen.

Photochemical oxidants

- When HC combine with nitrogen

oxides to form a complex variety
of secondary pollutants.

Particulate Matter

- This is the worst air problem

which includes smoke, soot, fly
ash, dust, mists, and fumes.

Residence time

- It is the time a pollutant stays in

the atmosphere.

Greenhouse effect