FSN22322T:

Environmental Studies
Dr. Mahfuza Parveen
 Educational Background
Degree Name of the Institution Field of Study
Environmental Science/
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Saitama University, Japan
Ecological Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Master of Engineering (M.Engg.) Saitama University, Japan (Civil and Environmental
Engineering)
Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka,
Master of Science (M.S.) Geological Sciences
Bangladesh
Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka,
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. Hons’) Geological Sciences
Bangladesh

Higher Secondary Certificate Bharateshwari Homes, Mirzapur,

Science
(H.S.C.) Tangail; Bangladesh

Secondary School Certificate Bharateshwari Homes, Mirzapur,

Science
(S.S.C.) Tangail; Bangladesh
 Academic Year- 2022, 2nd Year 2nd Semester, 242 Term

Objectives
• This course will expose learners to
• Structure and composition of different spheres;
• Natural resources and its sustainable uses, causes and effects of pollution;
• Biodiversity and environmental biotechnology;
• Environmental chemistry and impact assessment, protection act and climate change.

Learning Outcomes
• Upon completion of this course, the learners would be able to Describe the structure and composition of
different spheres;
• Describe natural resources and its sustainable uses;
• Classify ecosystem and biodiversity and identify their importance;
• List pollutants and their health effects;
• Describe the causes of climate change and impacts on environment as well as protection act;
• Assess impact of pollution and climate change on environment.
 Content of the course
Class Test 01, (15.11.2024)
1. Definition, scope and importance of environmental studies.
2. Structure and composition: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.
3. Natural Resources: Water resources: Use and over-utilization of surface and ground
water, floods, drought, conflicts over water, dams-benefits and problems.

Class Test 02, (20.12.2024)

4. Mineral resources: Use and exploitation, environmental effects of extracting and using
mineral resources.
5. Pollution: Definition of pollution and pollutants, classification of pollutants (environmental
hazards); causes, health effects and control measures of air, water, soil and noise pollution.
5.Ecosystems: Concept of ecosystem, classification of ecosystem, structure and function of
ecosystem; producers, consumers and decomposers; food chains, food webs and ecological
pyramids. Class Test 02
Composition of Earth
How many systems are present in Earth?

Atmosphere Hydrosphere Lithosphere Biosphere

Air, gases Water Land/Rock Living things

 What is
Atmosphere?
•The mixture of gases that surround the Earth.
•Composed of Nitrogen (about 78%), Oxygen ( about 21% ), Argon
(about 0.9%) with carbon dioxide and other gases in trace amounts.
What is Lithosphere???
Lithosphere, rigid, rocky outer
layer of Earth, consisting of the
crust and the solid outermost layer
of the upper mantle. It extends to a
depth of about 60 miles (100 km).
It is broken into about a dozen
separate, rigid blocks, or plates
What is Biosphere???
 Biosphere
• The biosphere (from Greek bíos "life" and sphaira "sphere") also
known as the ecosphere (from Greek oîkos "environment"), is the
worldwide sum of all ecosystems.

• It can also be termed the zone of life on Earth, a closed system

(apart from solar and cosmic radiation and heat from the interior of
the Earth), and largely self-regulating.

• By the most general biophysiological definition, the biosphere is the

global ecological system integrating all living beings and their
relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the
lithosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

• In a general sense, biospheres are any closed, self-regulating

systems containing ecosystems.
 Biosphere
•Where all life exists and includes the other three spheres
the lower layer of the atmosphere, a few metres of the
lithosphere, and all of the hydrosphere.

•By the most general biophysiological definition, the biosphere is

the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their
relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the
lithosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

•Amount and diversity of the biomass depends on the

distance from the equator. Generally, the closer to the
equator, the greater the biodiversity. These plants are
reservoirs for carbon, either in solid or dissolved form, as
carbohydrates (sugar, cellulose), proteins, and oils
What is Hydrosphere???
•Includes all water on the surface of the earth oceans, lakes, rivers, aquifers, and
ice.
•70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water.
 Hydrosphere
• A hydrosphere is the total amount of water on a planet.
• The hydrosphere includes water that is on the surface of the
planet, underground, and in the air.
• A planet's hydrosphere can be liquid, vapor, or ice.

On Earth, liquid water exists on the surface in the form of

oceans, lakes and rivers.
• It also exists below ground—as groundwater, in wells and
aquifers.
• Water vapor is most visible as clouds and fog.
• The frozen part of Earth's hydrosphere is made of ice: glaciers,
ice caps and icebergs.
• The frozen part of the hydrosphere has its own name, the
cryosphere.
 The hydrologic cycle
• The water cycle, also known as the hydrological cycle
or the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous
movement of water on, above and below the surface
of the Earth.
• The mass of water on Earth remains fairly constant
over time but the partitioning of the water into the
major reservoirs of ice, fresh water, saline water and
atmospheric water is variable depending on a wide
range of climatic variables.
 The hydrologic cycle
• The hydrologic cycle begins with the evaporation of water from the surface of the
ocean. As moist air is lifted, it cools and water vapor condenses to form clouds.
• Moisture is transported around the globe until it returns to the surface as
precipitation.
• Once the water reaches the ground, one of two processes may occur; 1) some of
the water may evaporate back into the atmosphere or 2) the water may penetrate
the surface and become groundwater.
• Groundwater either seeps its way to into the oceans, rivers, and streams, or is
released back into the atmosphere through transpiration.
• The balance of water that remains on the earth's surface is runoff, which empties
into lakes, rivers and streams and is carried back to the oceans, where the cycle
begins again.
• Lake effect snowfall is good example of the hydrologic cycle at work. Below is a
vertical cross-section summarizing the processes of the hydrologic cycle that
contribute to the production of lake effect snow.
• The cycle begins as cold winds (horizontal blue arrows) blow across a large lake, a
phenomena that occurs frequently in the late fall and winter months around the
Great Lakes.
Importance of the hydrologic
cycle
• The hydrologic cycle or the water cycle is a phenomenon
where water moves through the three phases (gas,
liquid and solid) over the four spheres (atmosphere,
lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere) and completes
a full cycle.

• The water cycle has many effects:

- It regulates the temperature of the surroundings.
- It changes weather and creates rain.
- It helps in conversion of rocks to soil.
- It circulates important minerals through the spheres.
- It also creates the many geographical features present
on earth like the ice caps of mountains, icebergs, the
rivers and the valleys, lakes, and more.
 Stages of the hydrologic cycle
Step 1: Evaporation
The water cycle starts with evaporation. It is a process where water at the
surface turns into water vapors. Water absorbs heat energy from the sun and
turns into vapors. Water bodies like the oceans, the seas, the lakes and the
river bodies are the main source of evaporation. Through evaporation, water
moves from hydrosphere to atmosphere. As water evaporates it reduces the
temperature of the bodies.
.
Step 2: Condensation
As water vaporizes into water vapor, it rises up in the atmosphere. At high
altitudes the water vapors changes into very tiny particles of ice /water
droplets because the temperature at high altitudes is low. This process is
called condensation. These particles come close together and form clouds
and fogs in the sky.

Step 3: Sublimation
Apart from evaporation, sublimation also contributes to water vapors in the
air. Sublimation is a process where ice directly converts into water
vapors without converting into liquid water. This phenomenon
accelerates when the temperature is low or pressure is high. The
main sources of water from sublimation are the ice sheets of the North Pole
and the South Pole and the ice caps on the mountains. Sublimation is a rather
slower process than evaporation.
Step 4: Precipitation
The clouds (condensed water vapors) then pour down as precipitation
due to wind or temperature change. This occurs because the water
droplets combine to make bigger droplets. Also when the air cannot
hold any more water, it precipitates. At high altitudes the
temperature is low and hence the droplets lose their heat energy.
These water droplets fall down as rain. If the temperature is very low
(below 0 degrees), the water droplets fall as snow. Water also
precipices in the form of drizzle, sleet and hail. Hence water enters
lithosphere.

Step 5: Transpiration
As water precipitates, some of it is absorbed by the soil. This water
enters into the process of transpiration. Transpiration is a process
similar to evaporation where liquid water is turned into water vapor
by the plants. The roots of the plants absorb the water and push it
toward leaves where it is used for photosynthesis. The extra water is
moved out of leaves through stomata (very tiny openings on leaves)
as water vapor. Thus water enters the biosphere and exits into
gaseous phase.
• Step 6: Runoff
As the water pours down (in whatever form), it leads to runoff. Runoff is the process
where water runs over the surface of earth. When the snow melts into water it also leads
to runoff. As water runs over the ground it displaces the top soil with it and moves the
minerals along with the stream. This runoff combines to form channels and then rivers
and ends up into lakes, seas and oceans. Here the water enters hydrosphere.

• Step 7: Infiltration
Some of the water that precipitates does not runoff into the rivers and is absorbed by the
plants or gets evaporated. It moves deep into the soil. This is called infiltration. The water
seeps down and increases the level of ground water table. It is called pure water and is
drinkable. The infiltration is measured as inches of water-soaked by the soil per hour.