Chapter 7
Environmental geoscience
 7.1 Characteristics, status and role of environmental
geoscience
 7.2 Combined system of human - earth's environment
 7.3 Entirety of human - earth's environment as well as
influence and response of each circle
 7.4 Case study
7.1 Characteristics, status and role of
environmental geoscience
Study purpose: master change and development regular of each
environmental element and environmental system, implement to
predict and management environmental system, and make accord
development of human – earth.
During environmental science system, environmental geoscience
is subject to comprehensively study entirety of combined system of
human - earth's environment and correlation between each
subsystem.
Provide scientific basis and support for other subfield research,
and summarize and integrate the results and progress of other
subfield research.
7.2 Combined system of human - earth's
environment
7.2.1 Combined system of human - earth's environment
(1) Weather system
Weather system is a whole system composed with underlayer
atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, pedosphere,
superior part of lithosphere. They have close and complex
interactions between them.
(2) Air pollution in atmospheric environment and boundary
layer
Atmosphere is the most active part with the largest change in
earth system, and atmospheric sphere, one of the subsystems in
combined system of human - earth's environment, is an
important part of the human environment.
Atmospheric environment and air pollution
Atmospheric environment, considering atmosphere as the media centre,
is physical environment in earth system. Generally, it points ozonosphere
and the following parts closely related to human, especially atmospheric
condition of boundary layer
Atmospheric pollution generally means substances into the atmosphere
induced by human activities and natural processes, showing enough
concentration and reaching enough time to harm the human body's
comfort, health and welfare or environment.
Anthropogenic emissions is the main reason resulting in air pollution,
especially local air pollution
The classification and characteristics of air
pollutants
Diffusion and study methods of pollutant in
atmospheric
Generalized atmospheric dispersion means the pollutant entering
into air is gradually dispersed and diluted with wind, rapid
current, uplift, subsidence, dry and wet deposition, chemical
conversion, and other progress.
Although it benefits mitigate local air pollution, the influence
basin of pollutant will be expanded, and the secondary pollution
may be induced or the pollution may be transferred to the soil
and water body.
The research methods generally are divided into mathematical
simulation, physical simulation of indoor fluid (such as windtunnel, sink, and convection chamber simulation) as well as field
experimentation.
（3）The value and protection of air resources
During animals’ breath, oxygen contained in the fresh air is transferred
into each tissue of the body and cells by the blood and participates in
every iochemical reactions and metabolic processes. Only in this way,
the life can be lasted.
Air is the primary producer——essential substances for plant
respiration and normal physiological response. Air movement not only
promotes exchanges of material, heat and moisture, produces all kinds
of atmospheric phenomena, provides clean wind energy for the human,
and is the important way to spread seeds.
Greenhouse effect of earth's atmosphere greatly inhibits dramatic
changes of ground temperature, protects the organism on the earth
from the harm of cosmic rays and meteor, and provides rich raw
material for industrial and agricultural production.
（3） The value and protection of air resources
However, as for some area (such as city, valley and basin),
air is limited in self-purification and dilution capacity for
pollutant discharged by mankind's activity. If the threshold
value of atmospheric environmental capacity is exceeded,
air quality will significantly get worse. In addition to
reinforcement of publicity and education, improvement of
environmental consciousness, performance of cleaner
production, optimization of the industrial structure and
increasing the forest area (figure 7-2), legal measures and
economic instruments should be used to protect air resource
and improve air quality.
Figure 7-2 1980～1995 The change of world forest area
（qouted from World Resources Report UNDP,UNEP,WB,WRI，2002）
7.2.2 The water environment and the marine
environment
（1）The basic types of water circulation
General circulation: occur in water exchange process
between global ocean and land. Because it wildly covers
the global, it is named as general circulation
Lesser circulation: occur in water exchange process
between ocean and atmosphere, or land and atmosphere.
Lesser circulation is also named as internal circulation.
The former is also called as marine lesser circulation, and
the latter is called as land lesser circulation.
（2）Water balance
Water balance is quantities of water cycle, i.e. in a certain
time-domain space, during the progress of cycle and
transform of moisture content, its quantity follows law of
conservation of mass, and the difference of water revenue and
expand must be equal to variable quantity of water-retention
in this area (or water body). Water cycle is the natural
phenomenon which objective exist on the earth, water balance
is the inherent law of water cycle.
Figure 7-3 world hydrological cycle process
(according to Moore, repaint in 1996)
（3）Water pollution or water autopurification
When pollutant into rivers, lakes, oceans or groundwater, and
other water body, its content is exceeds self-cleaning ability of
the water body, which makes physical, chemical nature or
biological components of water quality and bottom material of
the water body change, and then reduces useful value and use
function of the water body. Therefore, it is called water
pollution.
After pollutant enters into the water body, with the complex
physical, chemical and biological actions, the concentration of
pollutant is reduced. After a period, the water body will be
recovered to the situation before pollution. This phenomenon is
called as automatic depuration of water body.
Automatic depuration of water body can be divided into three
kinds of depuration models according to its mechanism:
Physical depuration: the progress of the concentration of
pollutant reduced with mixing, dilution, diffusion,
evaporation, precipitation of pollutant in the water body.
Chemical depuration: pollutant migrate in water body with
simple or complex ions or molecules state, and the changes of
chemical property, morphology, or valence happen, which
makes water quality produce changes of chemical property,
while not participates in biological action
Biological depuration: during the progress of biology
metabolism, the concentration of environmental pollutant and
toxicity are reduced, even disappear with biologic absorption
and degradation.
（4）Ocean environment and ocean—interaction of air, ocean, and land
Ocean environment
Continuous water areas wildly exist on the earth is
generally called ocean, and its area occupies 70.8% of
the total area of earth's surface. The formation of
seawater has a relationship with overall evolution of
the material on the earth. Generally speaking,
seawater is the production under the venting action of
internal material on the earth, i.e. water vapor and
other gas are discharged continuously from the
internal earth with lava activity and volcanism.
Interaction of ocean and gas
a. Quantity of heat exchange. The ocean transport energy to air
with convection, conduction (sensible heat), evaporation (latent
heat), heat radiation, and other forms, this is a progress of
discharge entropy. Its result is to make movement of the
atmosphere over the ocean constantly changing and form a
variety of weather phenomena.
b. Quantity of motion exchange. On the surface of ocean-gas,
quantity of motion exchange mainly shows provide momentum by
wind stress, and then waves and ocean currents are formed,
leading to large-scale energy and mass transfer
c. Material exchange. Moisture exchange implemented by
evaporation and atmospheric water is the main process of
material exchange on the surface of ocean-gas.
Ocean-land interaction
a. Material exchange. Stream flow into the ocean will carry
sediment from the land into the sea. Meanwhile, nutrients and
pollutants in the land such as N2, P, and other compounds will
be discharged into the ocean.
b. Momentum exchange. In the littoral zone alternating of
ocean and land, marine abrasion exists by wave impact makes
rock collapse.
c. Sea-level change. Because global climate is warming,
seawater expanding, field ice in polar region and glacier
thawing in continent results in sea level rising
（5）Effect of ice and snow underlying surface on climatic
change
Ice and snow covering has a significant impact on global
climate and environment. Because ice and snow have
high surface reflectivity, the absorption of solar
radiation on underlying surface is greatly reduced. Ice
and snow has lower thermoconductivity, which can
weaken vertical conduction of heat quantity in the
medium under ice and snow. Glacier is the product of
climate and topography. However, it has a strong impact
on climate and topography. Amount of precipitation in
glacierized mountain area is often higher than that of
unglacierized mountain area.
7.2.3 Status and role of other layers
（1）Relation between lithosphere and mankind
survival and development
Lithosphere is the outermost layer of the earth composed
by all kinds of rocks, and its vertical structure contains
olivinite on the top of petrosphere and upper earth's mantle.
It is the source of a large number of mineral resources and
a variety of fuels, which are essential for the soil and life,
and has a close relationship with survival and development
of the human. For quite a long time, 80% of the raw
materials and 90% of the energy required for human
society are from the lithosphere
（2）Environmental effect of changes of soil environment
and land cover
Soil means loosened surface layer, located in land surface of the
earth with certain fertility and the ability of growing plants, and
is the product by combined effects of rocks, topography, climate,
biology, time and human activities, and other soil-forming
factors. Soil fertility is the ability of soil supplying and
coordinating of nutrition factor and environmental condition for
plant growing. Soil environment is located in transition zone
among atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere in
the environment system of earth surface, and it is a tie
connecting inorganic and organic environment.
Land cover means generic name of vegetation cover and
artificial cover on earth surface. Land utilization is the
external driving force of land cover changing, while land
cover also can affect land use with feedback.
The characteristics of land cover have important effects on
climate, geochemical cycle of global biodiversity, as well as
abundance and composition of terrestrial species.
Land use and land cover change affect regional climate with
changes in surface reflectivity, and content of greenhouse
gases and trace gases.
At the same time, it affects energy exchange, water exchange,
erosion and deposition, biological cycle and crop production,
and other main ecological processes of soil.
（3）Relation between biosphere and compound system of
human-earth environment
Interplay and interaction of biosphere and other layers of
compound system of human-earth environment is an important
part to prompting unceasing evolution and development of the
whole composite system. Biosphere constitutes a human
ecological environment together with soil, water and air and
other circles. With the flows and exchange of energy and matter
within and between layers, balance and stability of earth system
can be maintained.
（4）Relation between wisdom circle and human-earth
The main body of wisdom circle is human, while principal
character expressed by the total of a variety of human
processes and human phenomena is sociality. Activities of
human society are associated with each other and
combined into a society as a whole. In fact, the formation
and development history of wisdom circle results from
unceasing effect and action of human social, economic,
political, cultural and technological development on
natural environmental systems, and gradually evolves into
the history of human-earth relation.
7.3 Entirety of compound system of human-earth
environment and influence and response between each layer.
7.3.1 Entirety of compound system of human-earth
environment
Entirety of compound system of human-earth environment
involves in interaction of each layer. Physical, chemical and
biological processes interwork with human process, showing
entirety characteristics of organic unity of combined system,
which makes joint connection of the whole world and region,
macroeconomics and microeconomics, as well as earth's
environment and life processes.
7.3.2 Interaction within and between each layer
The important of interaction within each layer is ocean-gas
interaction, land-gas interaction, and land-ocean interaction.
（figure 7-3）
Figure 7-3 Important process in marine - atmosphere - land system
（according to IGBPⅡ-all, repaint in 2001）
7.3.3 Intervention of human progress
The characteristic of current human activities on surface systems
reflects two aspects:
①Creativity of human science and technology is increasing.
②The scale of destruction of ecological environment is more and more with the
regional and global characteristics.
The condition of underlaying surface decides the distribution of solar radiation on the
earth's surface, and affects weather system. Wetlands, forests, urban, and other surface
changes are important source of greenhouse gases of CO2, CH4 and N2O. Vegetative
cover can increase solar radiation absorbed on the earth's surface, reduce thermal flux
from the earth surface downward, and decrease effective radiation on the earth.
Once land cover is changed, it can affect migration of moisture interaction, erosion and
deposition, biological cycle, producing crops, and other main ecological processes of soil,
leading to a series of ecological environment. Therefore, the proportion of urban built-up
area is large, and it will inevitably lead to local environmental quality decreased.
Figure 7-4 The built-up area of some European cities in 1995
（quoted from World Resources Report ，
UNDP,UNEP,WB,WRI，2002）
Case study - energy cycle
Energy cycle in compound system of human-earth is the basic power to
drive all progress. In order to keep thermodynamic equilibrium, earth-gas
system must send radiation equivalent with solar incoming radiation.
However, as for some local area, radiation revenue and expenditure is not
balance. With the increase of latitude, the balance of radiation becomes
form positive value to negative value. Therefore, trans-regional energy
transmission should be finished by atmospheric circulation and ocean
circulation. During this progress, a series of energy exchange process also
exists in the interface of atmosphere, oceans, land and ice.
Besides, triphase change progress of volcanic eruption and water is
accompanied with absorption, release and re-distribution of energy. Energy
cycle during biogeochemical processes shows conversion of chemical energy.
Solar energy absorbed for use of terrestrial and marine plants can maintain
synthesis, decomposition and distribution of the product, and enter into
biogeochemical cycles with various elements.（figure 7-5）
Figure 7-5
Energy cycle of human-land
compound system
（quoted from Zhucheng, etc. Introduction to
global change，2003）
Thank you