PřF:E5040 Env Compartments and Pollution - Course Information

E5040 Environmental Compartments and their Pollution

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 2 credit(s) (plus extra credits for completion). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Taught in person.

Teacher(s)

doc. Ing. Branislav Vrana, PhD. (lecturer)
prof. RNDr. Jakub Hofman, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

doc. Ing. Branislav Vrana, PhD.
RECETOX – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: doc. Ing. Branislav Vrana, PhD.
Supplier department: RECETOX – Faculty of Science

Timetable

Thu 8:00–9:50 D29/252-RCX1

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

• Environment and Health (programme PřF, B-ZPZ)

Course objectives

The goal of this course is to acquaint students with environmental compartments (lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, biosphere and technosphere/anthroposphere) and their complex interactions, with the emphasis on the impacts of local, regional and global pollution on the environment and human.

Learning outcomes

Student will be able to:
-characterize properties of the individual compartments of the environment (hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, pedosphere, technosphere)
- combine this knowledge with the occurrence and fate of chemicals in these environmental compartments
- understand the problems related to their pollution from natural and anthropogenic sources
- explain the links between sources of pollution and primary and secondary pollution of individual environmental compartments
-characterize and discuss the consequences of pollution for the environment and the mankind

Syllabus

• 1. Concept of environmental chemistry. Definitions of basic terms.
• 1.1. Global issues of the mankind and the environment.
• 1.2. Environment, its components and their interaction.
• 1.3 Anthroposphere, technology and their impact on the environment. Pollution of the environment.
• 1.4. Pollutant, contaminant, hazardous waste. Pollutants sources and receptors.
• 1.5. Role of environmental chemistry. Role of chemical analysis in environmental chemistry. Environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology.
• 2. Global, regional and local environmental issues.
• 2.1. Global regional and local environmental issues.
• 2.2 State of the environment in the Czech Republic.
• 3. Components of the environment, basic characteristics
• 3.1. Ecosystems - Definitions, Relationships.
• 2.3 Energy, matter and their cycles on Earth. Endogenous and exogenous cycles.
• 3.3 Solar energy. Energy flow and photosynthesis in living systems. Energy and mankind.
• 3.4. Biogeochemical Cycles - basic concepts.
• 3.5. Global BGC cycle of biogenic elements of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, microbiogenic elements and toxic metals.
• 4. Fate of chemicals in the environment
• 4.1. Parameters characterizing properties of chemicals and environmental properties.
• 4.2 Fate of chemicals in environment, transport, transformation, basic terms and relationships.
• 4.3 Environmental interface and chemical equilibrium.
• 4.4 Persistence in the environment. Transportation of substances through the environment.
• 4.5 Abiotic and biotic environmental equilibrium. Abiotic and biotic transformation reactions.
• 5. Hydrosphere
• 5.1 Basic characteristics, water and its properties, hydrological cycle.
• 5.2 Types of water - atmospheric, surface, underground; natural, waste; according to use – drinking, utility, process, waste
• 5.3 Characteristics of different types of aquatic ecosystems - flowing, stagnant water, river profiles, flow types, oxygen and temperature regime in rivers and in stgnant water. Thermal stratification in stagnant water bodies, epilimnion, hypolimnion, seasonal circulation in water bodies.
• 5.4 Transport of substances and materials with water, erosion, sedimentation, resuspension. Plains and sediments, sediments - characterization, properties - granularity, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, sorption of substances. Sediments as a repository and secondary source of pollutants.
• 5.5 Water organisms and microorganisms. Producers, consumers, reducers. Productivity of water body and eutrophication. Self-cleaning ability of water, oxygen ratios in streams and lakes, chemical and biochemical consumption of oxygen.
• 5.6 Water sensoric properties, pH of water, conductivity, water hardness, redox potential, solubility in water.
• 6. Pollution of hydrosphere
• 6.1. Chemical reactions in waters, hydrolysis reactions, equilibria in water (protolytic, complexing, precipitation, dissolving, redox). Biochemical processes.
• 6.2 Chemical composition of water, inorganic ions, buffer and neutralization capacity, carbonate equilibria, radionuclides in water, organic substances - phenols, humic substances.
• 6.3 Stressors in the aquatic environment - climate change, hydromorphological degradation, habitat fragmentation, water abstraction and discharges, changes in water regime, thermal and light regime, invasive species, pollution.
• 6.4 Water pollution - primary, secondary. Point, diffuse, dispersed pollution. Emergency (acute), persistent (chronic), periodic (campaign) pollution.
• 6.5 Types of water pollution - pathogens, organic pollution, nutrients in waters - water eutrophication, saprobity - degrees, indications of BOD, COD, trophies (nutrients-limiting elements, indications), metals in water, radioactive pollution, organic pollutants in water - oil pollution, pesticides, detergents, halogen derivatives. Acidification, thermal contamination.
• 6.6 Quality of water, its classification. Water Framework Directive. Water purification and utilization.
• 7. Atmosphere
• 7.1. Atmosphere - basic characteristics - composition, atmospheric temperature stratification, air pressure, energy balance, temperature and humidity, temperature gradients. The significance of the atmosphere for life on Earth.
• 7.2 Mass transfer in the atmosphere, basic concepts of meteorology. Weather, climate and microclimate. Chemical and photochemical reactions in the atmosphere. Ions and radicals in the atmosphere. Atmospheric reactions, Examples, reaction with OH radicals. Acido-basic reactions in the atmosphere. Chemical and biochemical processes in atmospheric evolution.
• 7.3. Atmospheric aerosols, divided by state, origin, origin, size, effect, composition.
• 8. Atmospheric pollution
• 8.1 Atmospheric pollution.
• 8.2 Sulfur in the atmosphere, forms of occurrence, biogenic and anthropogenic compounds. Sulfur dioxide.
• 8.3. Nitrogen in the atmosphere, forms of occurrence, NOx formation mechanism. Ammonia in the atmosphere.
• 8.4. Carbon in the atmosphere, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, greenhouse effect, hydrocarbon in the atmosphere.
• 8.5. Ozone in the atmosphere, meaning, formation and decomposition, formation of ozone in the ground layers of the atmosphere, ozone layer and effect of UV radiation.
• 8.6. Hydrogen, lead, solid particles in the atmosphere. Other examples of atmospheric pollutants.
• 8.7 Acidification of the environment. Mechanisms of deposition acidification. Effects of acidification on water and aquatic ecosystems, soil, vegetation, forests, buildings and other facilities and on human health.
• 8.8 Smog - photochemical, reductive. Smog formation mechanisms. Effects of smog.
• 8.9 The Clean Air Act, the International Convention on Air Protection.
• 9. Geosphere
• 9.1. Litosphere and its components. Minerals and rocks. Rock cycle. Tectonic cycle. Internal and surface processes in lithosphere. Sediments, their origin.
• 9.2 Geochemistry. Chemical and physical weathering.
• 9.3. Ground water in the geosphere. Adsorption, capillary, gravity water. Groundwater flow. Aquifers.
• 9.4. Interaction of the geosphere with other environmental components. Earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides.
• 9.5. Phenomena at the land and ocean interface. Consequences of rising ocean levels.
• 9.6. Phenomena on the interface of the lithosphere and the atmosphere. Effects of ice.
• 9.7. The influence of human activities on the geosphere. Mining activities. Pollution of the atmosphere and its influence on the geosphere. Wastes and their influence on the geosphere.
• 10. Pedosphere
• 10.1 What is soil, pedology, surveys and soil monitoring in the Czech Republic and abroad
• 10.2 The importance of soil, its role in ecosystems, the benefit to humans
• 10.3. Soil properties and attributes, soil quality and health, fertility and soil productivity, soil quality indicators
• 10.4 Physico-chemical properties: soil texture and structure, soil reaction and sorption complex, soil organic matter and others
• 10.5. Living organisms in soil, organism types and their role in soil 10.6. Soil-forming process, soil profile, horizons, soil classification
• 10.7. Soil degradation and degradation, types of degradation, erosion, retention, loss of organic matter, contamination and other types of degradation, area and economic ranges of soil degradation, food security / safety, loss of arable land
• 10.8. Soil contamination, its types, extent and its consequences, contaminated sites in the Czech Republic and the world, main causes of soil contamination, main types of contaminants (heavy metals, POPs, pesticides, other pollutants) soil, bio-availability and its role in contamination risks
• 12. Technosphere
• 12.1. Global anthropogenic cycle
• 12.2. Industrial ecology, industrial ecosystem. Primary materials producers, sources of energy, materials processing and manufacturing sector, waste processing sector, consumer sector.
• 12.3. Industrial systems using materials and energy.
• 12.4. Energy production and its impact on the environment
• 12.5. Silicate industry and metallurgy and their impact on the environment
• 12.6. Chemical, petrochemical and food industry and their impact on the environment
• 12.7. Wastes and their disposal
• 12.8. Different sources of pollution

Literature

recommended literature
• Sumner M.E. et al. (2000): Handbook of Soil Science. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-3136-6
• Sáňka, M., Materna, J. (2004): Indikátory kvality zemědělských a lesních půd ČR. Edice Planeta. Odborný časopis pro životní prostředí. Ročník XII, číslo 11/2004, ISSN 1213-3393.
• Suter, G.W. II, Efroymson, R.A., Sample, B.E., and Jones, D.S. (2000): Ecological risk assessment for contaminated sites. Lewis Publishers, Boca Ranton. ISBN 1-56670-525-8. 437p
• ŠIMEK, Miloslav. Živá půda. Vydání první. Praha: Academia, 2019, 257 stran. ISBN 9788020029768. info
• Nauka o půdě. Photo by Klement Rejšek - Radim Vácha. První vydání. Olomouc: Agriprint, s.r.o., 2018, 527 stran. ISBN 9788087091821. info
• ZBÍRAL, Jiří, Eva ČIŽMÁROVÁ, Elena OBDRŽÁLKOVÁ, Miloš RYCHLÝ, Vladimíra VILAMOVÁ, Jaroslava SRNKOVÁ and Alena ŽALMANOVÁ. Analýza půd : jednotné pracovní postupy. Vydání čtvrté. Brno: Ústřední kontrolní a zkušební ústav zemědělský, 2016, Přibližn. ISBN 9788074011238. info
• ŠARAPATKA, Bořivoj. Pedologie a ochrana půdy. 1. vyd. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, 2014, 232 s. ISBN 9788024437361. info
• BLEAM, W. F. Soil and environmental chemistry. Burlington, MA: Academic Press, 2012, xvi, 478. ISBN 9780123849809. info
• VOPRAVIL, Jan. Půda a její hodnocení v ČR. 1. vyd. Praha: Výzkumný ústav meliorací a ochrany půdy, 2011, 156 s. ISBN 9788087361085. info
• NĚMEČEK, Jan. Taxonomický klasifikační systém půd České republiky. 2. upr. vyd. Praha: Česká zemědělská univerzita, 2011, 94 s. ISBN 9788021321557. info
• MANAHAN, Stanley E. Environmental chemistry. 9th ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2010, xxix, 753. ISBN 9781420059205. info
• NĚMEČEK, Jan, Radim VÁCHA and Eliška PODLEŠÁKOVÁ. Hodnocení kontaminace půd v ČR. 1. vydání. Praha: Výzkumný ústav meliorací a ochrany půdy, v.v.i., 2010, 148 stran. ISBN 9788087361160. info
• TAN, Kim H. Principles of soil chemistry. 4th ed. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 2010, xxvii, 362. ISBN 9781439813928. info
• VOPRAVIL, Jan. Půda a její hodnocení v ČR. 2. vyd. Praha: Výzkumný ústav meliorací a ochrany půdy, 2010, 148 s. ISBN 9788087361054. info
• KOZÁK, Josef and Jan NĚMEČEK. Atlas půd České republiky. 2., upr. vyd. Praha: ČZU Praha, 2009, 150 s. ISBN 9788021320086. info
• HAUPTMAN, Ivo, Zdeněk KUKAL, Karel POŠMOURNÝ and Ivan BIČÍK. Půda v České republice. Photo by Jiří Cibulka. Praha: Pro Ministerstvo životního prostředí a Ministerstvo zemědělství vydal Consult, 2009, 255 s. ISBN 9788090348240. info
• ŠIMEK, Miloslav. Základy nauky o půdě. 2., upr. a rozš. vyd. České Budějovice: Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Biologická fakulta, 2007, 158 s. ISBN 8070407476. info
• KOZÁK, Josef. Pedologie. 1. vyd. [v Praze]: Česká zemědělská univerzita, katedra pedologie a geologie AF, 2006, iv, 132. ISBN 8021309075. info
• Vital soil : function, value, and properties. Edited by Peter Doelman - Herman J. P. Eijsackers. 1st ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004, xvii, 340. ISBN 0444517723. info
• ŠIMEK, Miloslav. Základy nauky o půdě. 1. vyd. České Budějovice: Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Biologická fakulta, 2004, 224 s. ISBN 8070406674. info
• ŠIMEK, Miloslav. Základy nauky o půdě. 1. vyd. České Budějovice: Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Biologická fakulta, 2003, 151 s. ISBN 8070406305. info
• ŠARAPATKA, Bořivoj, Pavel DLAPA and Zoltán BEDRNA. Kvalita a degradace půdy. 1. vyd. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého, 2002, 246 s. ISBN 8024405849. info

Teaching methods

The teaching is performed using PowerPoint presentations. Emphasis is placed on understanding the mechanisms and contexts. Students are often asked about the topic currently being discussed. They are encouraged to ask questions and interact with the teacher.

Assessment methods

Attending lectures is not compulsory, but it is highly recommended for understanding the topics discussed. During the course students are regularly asked to provide a feedback on already covered topics. The final assessment (at the end of semester) is oral examination. The student will be asked to respond to abut a set of open questions addressing environmental compartments and their pollution, which may require a description, explanation or discussion of the topic requested.

Language of instruction

Czech

Further Comments

Study Materials
The course is taught annually.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2022, recent)
  
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