Progress in Environmental Science

Course statement

The continuously deterioration of environment restricts the development of human society and economy. This course mainly introduces the formation and development of environmental problems; discusses the advances of the pollution of various environmental elements, including water pollution and soil pollution induced by human activities; explores the transformation of common and emerging contaminants in environment and the application of relative environmental models to solve specific problems.

Through the lectures, in depth reading, and round-table discussion, the students will obtain the basic knowledge of environmental science, and be familiar with the advances of environmental pollution and their treatment measures.

Prerequisites

  • B.S. in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, or equivalent.
  • Fluent in English: listening, reading, speaking and writing.
  • Willingness to engage yourself in participatory learning.

Expectations

Through your experience in this course, you will

  • Become familiar with causes and control measures of the main environment problems
  • Be able to establish relative environmental model to solve specific problem
  • Be able to communicate effectively on major environmental topics

Activities

Topical Lectures

Lecture 1. Introduction to Environmental Science

Environmental science is defined as an interdisciplinary field that combines the scientific information from several disciplines -- not limited to biology, geology, physics and economics -- to understand and influence the environment. The students will learn about many cases in which humans have caused serious environmental problems, and about promising, exciting solutions to many of these problems. The lecture can help the students of environmental science to gain an idea of what some of the larger current problems are, what some solutions might be, and how to use knowledge from a variety of disciplines.

Main points in this lecture include: (1): What is environmental science; (2) Environmental Problems and Opportunities; (3) Human Dimensions of Environmental Science; (4) Environmental Sustainability; (5) Scientific methods.

Lecture 2. Global environmental problems: acid rain, global warming and ozone-layer depletion

With the increase of population and development of industry and agriculture, the environment problem become globalization and global environment problems such as acid rain, global warming and ozone-layer depletion need the collaboration of different countries to mitigate and eliminate.

Main points in this lecture include: (1) Causes of the global environment problem; (2) Effect of the global environment problem to the ecosystem; (3) How to solve the global environmental problem and the joint effort of various countries.

Lecture 3. Water pollution and eutrophication

The uneven distribution of the water resource and water pollution exacerbate the crisis of water resource shortage. Municipal wastewater and industrial wastewater are the two main pollution sources. The main pollutants include heavy metals, N, P, organic matter and so on. Among the various pollutants, plant nutrient materials for instance N and P will induce the algae blooming and water eutrophication. Water eutrophication causes the deterioration of the water quality and harms the animals in the water body, and the prevention of water eutrophication is one of the most difficult and complicated question.

Main points in this lecture include: (1) The main water pollutants and their sources; (2) The causes of water eutrophication; (3) The effect of water eutrophication; (4) The prevention and control measures of water eutrophication (5) Reestablishment of benign ecosystem along the water body.

Lecture 4. Soil pollution and phytoremediation

Soil pollution, a very important environmental problem, has been attracting considerable public attention over the last decades. As a matter of fact, increasingly widespread pollution has caused vast areas of land to become non-arable and hazardous for both wildlife and human populations. Generally, the most common soil pollutions are heavy metals and organic matter. The soil pollution treatment method can be classified as physic-, chemical- and biological method. Among the various methods, phytoremediation is a cost-effective and promising method for soil pollution treatment.

Main points in this lecture include: (1) The main soil pollutants and their sources; (2) The principal and application of phytoremediation of soil polluted by heavy metals; (3) The principal and application of phytoremediation of soil polluted by heavy metals;

Lecture 5. Wetland, development and its role in environment protection

Wetlands occur in a wide range of landscapes and may support permanent shallow or temporary standing water. Wetlands not only provide the habitat for biodiversity, but also play a very important role in wastewater treatment.

Main points in this lecture include: (1) Different wetland types and their role; (2) the experience of constructed wetland for wastewater treatment; (3) The removal mechanism of wastewater pollutants by constructed wetland.

Lecture 6. Occurrence, fate and removal of emerging contaminants in environment

Recently, occurrence of emerging contaminants in environment has attracted wide attention due to their potential risk to human health and the environment. These chemicals may be presented in environment for decades. To eliminate the potential effect, relative treatment technique need to develop. This lecture will help the students to learn the advances and study focuses of environment science.

Main points in this lecture include: (1) Occurrence of emerging contaminants in environment; (2) The ecotoxicity of emerging contaminants to organisms and ecosystem; (3) The removal method of emerging contaminants.

Lecture 7. Dynamic modeling for environmental systems

The environment is a dynamic and living system. It is helpful to think of the environment and environmental problems in terms of systems. This lecture takes a system view of the environment, and introduces the fundamental concepts and approaches in modeling of environmental systems, which helps understanding basic behavior of environmental systems and the relations between system structure and behavior.

Main points in this lecture include: (1) System view and system thinking; (2) Feedback systems; (3) Stocks and flows; (4) Basic behavior of the system; (5) Modeling process.

Lecture 8. Wetland ecosystem nutrient dynamics

Wetland ecosystems act as natural buffers towards nutrients expelled from surrounding watersheds. Anthropogenic sources of nutrients into waterways have substantially influenced wetland ecosystems and caused eutrophication. Understanding of the nutrient dynamics in wetland ecosystem helps better managing and protecting the wetlands

Main points in this lecture include: (1) Wetland ecosystem structure and services; (2) Nutrient cycle; (3) Nutrient dynamics modeling and application.

Lecture activities

Activities include instructor’s lecture, and brainstorms on environment, environmental issues and so on. Practice Quiz during the class also will be asked and homework will be assigned. According to the background of the participants, proper literature or papers will be selected for students.

In depth reading

Based on the students’ qualification and the lecture topic, we will choose some classic papers (generally review papers) to do the in depth reading. And the students should read the papers with the questions: what is the research background, what’s the research objective, how do they do the research and what results do they get. And try to find the answers by the reading.

Round-table discussions

We will also devote a session every week to analyze the assigned journal articles. Each session will be led by a student. The lead student should start the session by answering the general reading questions from the authors’ perspective, guide the discussion to ensure productivity, and finally, close the session by concluding remarks. Other students should participate in the discussion activity.

Writing project

The students need to choose a topic related to their major or the lecture topic or prospective thesis, or the like. Study it thoroughly and write a formal report. The topic chosen should be narrow enough for the student to address fully. To start, the report could be a literature review, which is usually a must for any scientific writing. The student should have a general question that they like to answer with their report. Then, they should divide the general question into specific questions each of which they can actually answer with the resources at their disposal.

The report must follow the format as specified in the Report Instructions. Proof-read it carefully before submission.

Oral presentation

The oral presentation of the project report is due two weeks before the end of all instruction sessions in the semester. This should give the students time to incorporate into their written report any feedbacks they may receive from the presentation.

Grading Policy

Maximum points possible by sections

Activity / Discussion / Model establishment / Oral presentation / Writing report / Total
Grade / 15 / 15 / 20 / 50 / 100