'Environmental and Resource Management'Bachelor program, 3rd semester:

Meteorology and climatology- part of modul B 11: Soil & Atmosphere –

- seven lectures until 27-Nov-2013 -

Lecture Notes, WS 2013/14

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Eberhard SchallerContact: spri@tu-cottbus.de

Terms of examination:

Please, note that there is ONE examination for both SOIL and ATMOSPHERE.

You are NOT allowed to write only one part and do the other part later.

You have to attend this exam. Otherwise you obtain the mark “not passed (5.0)” for your 1st trial.

The atmosphere part includes CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS of the Atmosphere. You can get a maximum of 20 points, and you pass, if you collect at least 50 percent (10 points). It is not necessary to obtain a minimum of 50 percent (5 points) in Chemistry and Physics individually.

Examination date(s): 29-January-2014Latest news: http://www.tu-cottbus.de/meteo

Chapter 1: Scope of the course

Aim of the study course: * to understand the basic physical mechanisms in theatmosphere (as part of the Earth system), because it isIMPOSSIBLE to manage a system without knowing itsunderlying modes of operation

Fields of application:* air quality (health risks for man and/or ecosystems) * potentials of renewable energies (sun, wind, water)* climate as well as climate and global change issues

Cause

Effects

Surface property changes from land use

Changing composition of the atmosphere

Emission of gases and particles (solid,

liquid)

Use of natural resources by man (anthropogenic

Air pollution

Changing global and regional climate

(long-term)

Effect on theradiation budget of

the atmosphere

Consequences for human life and

ecosystem dynamics

Health risk(s): uptake of pollutantsby man and animals

Ecosystem load: uptake by plants and soil, affecting e.g. food chain

Problem analysis

Transport, chemical transformation and

deposition

Changing weather patterns (atmospheric dynamics, short-term)

Summary of Chapter 1:A person who claims to manage the environment needs knowledgeabout the basic modes of operation of the Earth system as aperemptory prerequisite. (Otherwise you do guess work.) In respectto the abiotic parts of the Earth system this means first of all anunderstanding of the physical processes and, secondly, of thechemical reactions in the atmosphere.

Key words, Chapter 1:atmospheric physics

Chapter 2: The Earth system concept

Compartments of the Earth system

Lithosphere

Pedosphere Cryo

sphe

reHydrosphere(Oceans, inland

waters)

Biosphere

Atmosphere

Coupling: Exchange of mass, momentum and energy

Compartments of the Earth system, cont'd.

The compartments of the Earth system are grouped according to common physical properties, i.e. phase state, heat capacity and conductivity, albedo, .....

On the contrary, in a geographical reference system geographical longitude and latitude as well as height above sea level (a.s.l) are used as properties describing each location on the globe in a unique manner.

Biosphereis that part of the Earth system including• all ecosystems,• living organisms in the atmosphere, on land (terrestrial), in the seas (marine),• the dead organic material on land and in the seas.

Ecosystemis a system of living organisms affecting each other and their physical envi-ronment. The definition of ecosystem boundaries varies from small-scale toglobal depending on the focus of the investigations.

Reservoiris a part of the Earth system excluding the atmosphere, where hazardoussubstances like e.g., carbon, greenhous gases or precursors of pollutants canbe stored, accumulated or released. The absolute amount of problematicsubstances that are in a reservoir at a certain point of time is called 'stock'. Oceans, soils and forests are examples of carbon reservoirs. 'Pool' is fre-quently used as a synonymon, although the definition for 'pool' sometimesincludes the atmosphere.

Pedosphere (soil)is a specific combination of weather-worn rocks, water, air, vegetable mould and an indefinite number of living organisms. Soils are• the basis for life (men, animals, plants),• location of raw materials (mineral resources, energy, ground water),• filters for pollutants,• arable land for food and feeding stuff,• areas for waste depositories,• areas for housing, industrial production, traffic and communication,• space for recreation.

Soils can store water, nutrients/pollutants and energy containing organic compounds because of their physical and chemical properties. They are closely coupled to the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the biosphere in respect to mass (biogeochemical cycles) and energy.

Example (for a coupling to the biosphere): The soil water serves as a carrier for nutrients, but frequently also for pollutants, which are taken up by the plants through their roots.

Pedosphere (soil), contd.Soils can sustain irreversable changes and damages by e.g.,• accumulation of inert chemicals like e.g. heavy metals from the atmo-sphere and/or the waters,• excess use of fertilizers and plant-protective agents,• excess use of ground waters,• reduced airing because of soil condensation,• erosion as a consequence of water and wind,• excess use of raw material and deforestation.

Noticeable pollutants in the soils include e.g., arsenic, organic matter, lead, copper and nitrates.

Lithosphere (solid rocks)includes the Earth's crust and part of its mantle down to a depth of approx. 100 km. It consists of many small and seven large tectonic plates, i.e. the North and South American, the Eurasian, the African, the Pacific, the Indian and Australian as well as the Antarctic plate, respectively. All plates move relative to one another with an average speed of a few cm per year because of thermal convection in the Earth's mantle.

Converging movement of two plates leads to a descend of the heavier oceanic crust below the continental crust generating deep-sea ditches and mountains (example: Japanese Coast, Tsunami).

The collision of two tectonic plates leads (in terms of geological time scales) to a rapid growth of extended mountainous regions (example: Himalayian mountains).

As a consequence of diverging tectonic plates cracks in the ocean floor break up. They are filled by rising magma, which cools down, solidifies and forms new oceanic crust (example: Central Atlantic ridge). Sub-water geysers catapult huge amounts of energy and chemicals into the ocean waters leading to black smoking towers, so-called 'black smokers', in these regions.

Bio-physical processes,

leaf

Atmosphericturbulence

10-7 10-310-5 101 10310-1

Time scale years

monthday

minute

1

10

102

104

103

Spat

ial s

cale

of

atm

osph

eric

pro

cess

es

km

10

102

103

104

Spat

ial s

cale

of

ecol

ogic

al p

roce

sses

m

Scales of atmospheric and ecological processes

Summary:The Earth system consists of six compartments, i.e. the atmosphere, the biosphere, the cryosphere, the hydrosphere, the pedosphere andthe lithosphere, respectively. The system concept is based on commonphysical properties within the individual compartments. The processesin each compartment have characteristic length and time scales.

Key words, Chapter 2:Earth system, compartment, atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere, ecosystem, coupling, exchangeof mass, momentum and energy among the compartments, processtime scale, process space scale