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Environmental geoscience
concerned with the interaction between humans, natural resources or unique geographic features on Earth.
an applied science which objectively studies geologic information to address contemporary environmental problems such as pollution, waste management, resource extraction, natural hazards, and human health.
is a subset of environmental science, which is the study of the interaction of humans with their fundamentally geological environment.
Environmental geologist
can evaluate the risk and damage potential from natural hazards such as floods, landslides, volcanoes, or earthquakes
Ecological succession
used to describe the gradual ecosystem changes that occur in species composition and community structure over time after a disturbance has occurred, like a volcano eruption or a tsunami.
can occur after different types of disturbances, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, fires and human activities
Pioneer species
are the first species to colonize the area after the disturbance.
are often small and are very good at adapting to adverse conditions.
good at facilitating the recovery of the environment by creating conditions that are more favorable for larger and less adaptable species.
Climax ecosystem
After the ecosystem stabilizes,
wherein plants and animals of the ecosystem are in a stable relationship with the environment, and they remain relatively unchanged until another disturbance occurs.
Terrestrial ecosystem
a land-based community of organisms and the environment.
exists primary in tundra, taigas, temperate forests, tropical rainforests, grasslands, and deserts.
Tundra
type of biome with extensive treeless plains due to low temperatures and short growing seasons.
can be found across northern Europe, Asia, and North America between the taiga to the south and the permanent ice to the north
Taiga
a type of biome characterized as coniferous forest composed of pines, spruces, and larches of vegetation.
referred to as boreal or snow forest which are found across northern Europe, Asia, and North America in the regions with long, cold winters and short, cool summers and acidic, thin soils (
Temperate Forests
are typically composed of deciduous forests with dominant species like beech, maple, oak, and other deciduous hardwood trees.
broad leaves that shed in the fall and grow again in the spring.
Rainfall is abundant, 30–80 inches per year or 75-150 cm/year, and growing season is a well-defined between 140 and 300 days in this biome.
are found south of the taiga in eastern North America, eastern Asia, and much of Europe
Tropical Rain Forests
are typically found in regions between 10 degrees north and south of the equator.
probably the richest biome in terms of diversity and total biomass.
has a warm climate, between 20°C and 30°C, and plenty of rainfall of at least 190 cm per year.
Grasslands
found in temperate and tropical areas with reduced rainfall, 10–30 inches per year, or prolonged dry seasons.
characterized as areas almost devoid of trees.
can support large herds of grazing animals and is also excellent for agriculture in areas with deep and rich soils.
Large areas in Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia
Deserts
found in latitudes of 30° N or S where descending air masses are dry.
having dry conditions, usually less than 10 inches per year or 25 cm per year, and a wide temperature range.
very few vegetation that are all adapted to heat and lack of abundant water, like succulents and cacti.
Arthropods (especially insects and spiders)
reptiles (lizards and snakes)
running birds (the roadrunner of the American southwest and Warner Brothers cartoon fame)
rodents (kangaroo rat and pack rat)
few larger birds and mammals (hawks, owls, and coyotes)
Aquatic Ecosystems
are the communities of organisms, the surrounding water environment, and the relationship between them.
can either be a freshwater or a marine ecosystem.
Freshwater ecosystems
cover only 0.78% of the Earth’s surface.
three basic types:
Lentic, which are characterized as having slow-moving water like pools, ponds, and lakes.
Lotic. which are faster-moving water like streams and rivers.
Wetlands, which are areas where the soil is saturated or inundated for at least part of the time
Plate Tectonic
conceptual revolution in geological sciences that begins in the 1960s.
the new picture of the Earth which acknowledge the essential role of large-scale horizontal movements throughout the Earth's evolution aside from the traditional of vertical movements.
Earth’s crust is composed of about a dozen major and several minor plates that constantly move and jostle each other in response to movements in the underlying mantle.
Convergence of plates
creates oceanic trenches and coastal volcanoes.
One may override the other, and the leading edge of the lower plate may melt as it reaches greater depths or may produce melting in the overlying mantle.
If neither plate sinks, collision creates a wrinkled mountain belt, such as the Himalaya or the Urals.
Transform Boundary
sideswipe each other, the boundary shears laterally, as happens along California's San Andreas Fault.
Earthquakes
occur when the plates bind, build up stress, and suddenly slip free.
Evaluation involves determinations of the specific location, frequency of occurrence, and intensity of energy release.
characterization of the space, time, and size distribution of the earthquakes that give rise to the hazard.
Geomorphic Hazards
happen when human populations are threatened by geomorphic processes like landslides, land subsidence, and floods.
involve a slow, progressive change in a landform; although not catastrophic, it can become a significant hazard with costly mitigation and response measures.
As the population increases, the threat of these geomorphic hazards also increases.
ongoing and gradual hazards like landslides, land subsidence, and flooding caused more damage and expenses due to regularity of occurrence.
Landslide
is a mass movement occurring on steep slopes under the action of gravity.
have been recorded around the world for over three millennia, with corresponding great damages affecting both public and private properties.
Debris Flow
is a mass movement commonly triggered by intense rainfall on a steep slope.
Land Subsidence
is defined as the gradual settling or sudden sinking of the earth's surface due to the removal or displacement of subsurface earth materials.
is also associated with flooding which is also a common problem in the country.
Aquifer-system
compaction associated with groundwater withdrawals, drainage of organic soils, underground mining, and natural compaction or collapse, such as with sinkholes or thawing permafrost are among the principal causes.
Flooding
overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry; low-lying areas are most vulnerable.
may occur during heavy rains, typhoons, tidal surges, or when dams or levees break.
the most common and widespread weather-related natural disaster.
Positive impacts: can facilitate access to transportation, fresh water, and rich alluvial soils after the event.
Tectonic Hazards
hazard events caused by tectonic plates colliding with each other, moving against each other ((Transform boundaries), moving apart (Divergent boundaries), or subduction (Convergent boundaries) between a less dense plate and a denser plate.
like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, represent abrupt changes and landforms.
Tsunamis
are large ocean waves most commonly generated by the uplift or depression of sizable areas of the ocean floor during large subduction-zone earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and large landslides or submarine slides.
are hardly noticed in open ocean but as they approach the shore the waves increase in amplitude as they move into shallower water, depending on the nature of the local submarine topography.
Alaskan earthquake of 1964
Volcanic
is from a major volcanic eruption that is well beyond what can reasonably be controlled by engineering.
phenomena can be best adapted to by accurately predicting the occurrence and the likely results of an eruption.
Modern instrumentation and techniques are used to detect precursory phenomena associated with volcanic eruptions.
Extraterrestrial Impacts
now considered respectable and has become accepted as something that certainly happens occasionally and that may have had global consequences at various times in the past like theories attributed to both the origin of the Moon and the extinction of the dinosaurs both attributed to impacts of extraterrestrial objects.
is known that if a large extraterrestrial object did collide with Earth, the consequences could be devastating but on the time scale of current societal interest, the danger from impacts is insignificant.
giant terrestrial impacts occur, it is capable of perturbing the earth system rapidly and to an extent that few other phenomena can rival.
Weather
is the temporary conditions of the atmosphere, or the layer of air that surrounds the Earth.
moves and changes from hour to hour or day to day.
six main components or parts: Temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, precipitation, and cloudiness
Climate
is the average weather in a specific region, as well as its variations and extremes over many years.
changes, just like weather, but it can take hundreds or even thousands of years.
Sahara Desert in northern Africa
Global Climate Change
considered to be one of the major global environmental issues.
may soon be warmer than at any time during the past 1 million years and sea level may stand higher than at any time during the past 100,000 years.
Change is universal throughout the earth system. It is continuously occurring since the origin of the Earth.
Global change
is more specifically used to refer to human-induced changes affecting the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
Human activities, especially for development, have accelerated rate of change that is affecting the whole earth system.
Nature
is a vast laboratory that we can never manipulate or duplicate artificially on the scale necessary to test theories of global change, we just rely on observations of nature itself and try to adapt to these changes
Climate Change
regional weather change
Global warming
Increasing temperatures worldwide.
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