Environmental chemistry is a wide field of study that deals history of environmental problem, environmental laws, pollutants treatment methods, energy resource issue, etc., based on the understanding of existence and variation of environmental substances. This course focuses on material cycles of intra and inter sub-compartments of the Earth system, geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere and provide the concept of environmental problems based on changes in material cycles.
The purpose of this course is to understand the concepts of environmental problems from the point of view of disturbance of material cycles by human activities.
Students will be able to:
1) explain the natural cycles of environmental substances intra and inter sub compartments of the Earth system, geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.
2) explain the environmental problems based on the changes in the natural cycles of environmental substances induced by the human activities
3) explain the mechanisms, effects, monitoring and prediction of environmental problems
environmental problems, climate change, elemental cycles
✔ Specialist skills | Intercultural skills | Communication skills | Critical thinking skills | ✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills |
At the end of each class, students are given exercise problems related to the lecture given that day to solve.
Students must familiarize themselves using course materials provided before coming to class.
Course schedule | Required learning | |
---|---|---|
Class 1 | Introduction to Environmental Chemistry | Understand the concept of Environmental Chemistry |
Class 2 | Origin and evolution of substances/molecules | Understand origin and evolution of substances/molecules |
Class 3 | Climate Change and surface environment of the Earth | Understand the effect of vatiation in environmental material and molecules to climate change |
Class 4 | Glacial-interglacial cycle and material cycle | Understand the variation in material cycles to atmosphere, the oceans, and terrestrial environment |
Class 5 | Global worming | Explain the mechanisms of global warming |
Class 6 | Photochemistry in the stratosphere | Explain the mechanisms of formation and destruction of ozone layer |
Class 7 | Photochemistry in the troposphere. | Explain the formation mechanism of photochemical oxidants |
Class 8 | Yellow sand and acid rain | Explain the various roles of aerosols |
Class 9 | Chemistry of the hydrosphere | Explain the factors that control chemical reactions in the hydrosphere. |
Class 10 | Hormone-disrupting chemicals | Explain the types and sources of the endocrine disruption chemicals in hyrosphere |
Class 11 | Methane hydrate | Explain the distribution and formeation mechanism of gas hydrate and its environmental impact |
Class 12 | Ground water and arsenic pollution | Explain the formation mechanism of groundwater and causes groundwater pollution |
Class 13 | Geochemical map | Explain the formation technique and utilization of geochemical map |
Class 14 | Environmental impact derived from Earth systems | Explain the envionmental impact of anthropogenic substances quantitatively |
Class 15 | Summary | Explain the role of chemistry to environmental problems |
None required.
Gamo T, Environmental Geochemistry, Baihu-kan (In Japanese) ISBN978-4-563-04907-2
Students’ course scores are based on final exams (50%) and exercise problems (50%).
No prerequisites.