9/3/2014

1

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE:The scientific study of our environment as well as our role in it.

An interdisciplinary study that examines the role of humans on the earth. It is a physical, biological and social science.

We will focus on information from a variety of disciplines.

Topics include: geological processes, hydrology, oceanography, natural resources, climatology, population biology, ecosystems, biodiversity, biochemistry and the chemistry of pollution. ES 10 will also how human behavior and institutions affect the environment.

Cunningham (Chap 1) lists the following aspersistent environmental problems:• Clean water

• Food Supplies

• Energy Resources

• Climate Change

• Air Quality

• Biodiversity Loss

• Marine Resources (food supplies, biodiversity loss)

9/3/2014

2

Air Pollution• Global climate

change• Stratospheric ozone

depletion• Urban air pollution• Acid deposition• Outdoor pollutants• Indoor pollutants• Noise

Biodiversity Depletion• Habitat destruction• Habitat degradation• Extinction• Introduced Species

Water Pollution• Sediment• Nutrient overload• Toxic chemicals• Infectious agents• Oxygen

depletion• Pesticides• Oil spills• Excess heat

Waste Production• Solid waste• Hazardous waste

Food Supply Problems• Overgrazing• Farmland loss

and degradation• Wetlands loss

and degradation• Overfishing• Coastal pollution• Soil erosion• Soil salinization• Soil waterlogging• Water shortages• Groundwater

depletion• Loss of biodiversity• Poor nutrition

MajorEnvironmental

Problems

And More….

Air Pollution• Global climate

change• Stratospheric ozone

depletion• Urban air pollution• Acid deposition• Outdoor pollutants• Indoor pollutants• Noise

Biodiversity Depletion• Habitat destruction• Habitat degradation• Extinction• Introduced Species

Water Pollution• Sediment• Nutrient overload• Toxic chemicals• Infectious agents• Oxygen depletion• Pesticides• Oil spills• Excess heat

Waste Production• Solid waste• Hazardous waste

Geologic Hazards / Natural Disasters• Earthquakes

• Tsunamis

• Mass Wasting

• Volcanism

• Hurricanes

• Flooding

• Coastal Erosion / Sea Level Rise

• Wetland Loss• Erosion / soil loss

• Fires

MajorEnvironmental

Problems

Plastic and debris in the world’s oceans

9/3/2014

3

Air Pollution• Global climate

change• Stratospheric ozone

depletion• Urban air pollution• Acid deposition• Outdoor pollutants• Indoor pollutants• Noise

Biodiversity Depletion• Habitat destruction• Habitat degradation• Extinction• Introduced Species

Water Pollution• Sediment• Nutrient overload• Toxic chemicals• Infectious agents• Oxygen

depletion• Pesticides• Oil spills• Excess heat

Waste Production• Solid waste• Hazardous waste

Geologic Hazards / Natural Disasters

• Earthquakes

• Tsunamis

• Mass Wasting

• Volcanism

• Hurricanes

• Flooding

• Coastal Erosion / Sea Level Rise

• Wetland loss

• Erosion / soil loss

• Fires

MajorEnvironmental

Problems

Plastic and debris in the world’s oceans

“The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”

9/3/2014

4

Where does the trash come from?– 20% from ships, boaters, fishing industry

– 80% runoff from land activities

– ~60-80% of marine debris worldwide is plastic. (Derraik, 2002)

– The amount of Marine Debris currently in the Northern Pacific Gyre is estimated to weigh 3.5 million tons.

– Sometimes from Tsunamis: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1374520/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-debris-floating-US-West-Coast.html

Source: The United Nations Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP) (Sheavly 2005)

Japan--- START POINTS ---North America

9/3/2014

5

So why bad?Breaks down, but never really goes away.

Concentrates POP’s. Debris & POPs getting into food web.

Harms marine life. Estimated to kill millions of sea birds and ~100,000 marine mammals/yr

Human health at risk.

Acts as transport for invasive species.

Aesthetics.

Solutions?• Educate the general public. Proper disposal of waste

• Produce more bio-degradable plastics

• Industry and producer responsibility

• Structural Controls: ie. river booms, catch basins, screens

• Have beach cleanups……. Great, but not the answer

• The Clean Oceans Project (TCOP)http://thecleanoceansproject.com/http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1848433/the-ocean-is-

broken/

9/3/2014

6

9/3/2014

7

32nd Corcoran Lagoon & Coastal CleanupMay 3rd, 2014

155 People, 1,040lbs of trash

9/3/2014

8

Who’s doing marine science, engineering and education in the Monterey Bay region?

• MBARI• Stanford: Hopkins Marine Station• CSU Monterey Bay• Cal State University MLML or ML2

• Institute of Marine Sciences UCSC: Long Marine Lab and The Seymour Marine Discovery Center

• National Marine Fisheries Service• USGS• MATE (Marine Advanced Technology

Education)• Monterey Bay Aquarium• Naval Post Graduate School• Elkhorn Slough Research Reserve

Who’s also here……..• Fish and Game• Camp Sea Lab Monterey Bay• Maritime Museum of Monterey• Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding

Network, with MLML• Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary• Watsonville Wetlands Watch• American Cetacean Society• Año Nuevo State Park and Point Lobos State

Reserve• Pelagic Shark Research Foundation• Cabrillo, Hartnell and MPC• AND MORE! See web site below

http://library.stanford.edu/depts/miller/research_help/organizations.html

9/3/2014

9

CAREERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

AND RELATED FIELDS

http://careerservices.rutgers.edu/mh/environmental_sciences.shtml

http://www.cyber-sierra.com/nrjobs/

Seafloor Mapping LabCalifornia State University Monterey

Bay

• http://seafloor.csumb.edu/csmp/csmp.html

9/3/2014

10

Mapping the inner continental shelf

aka “White Zone”

9/3/2014

11

9/3/2014

12

“The KelpFly”

9/3/2014

13

9/3/2014

14

9/3/2014

15

9/3/2014

16

3:15?

9/3/2014

17

Elkhorn Slough

Elkhorn Slough

9/3/2014

18

Elkhorn Slough / Wetland Loss

Fifty percent, or ~1,000 acres, of Elkhorn Slough’s salt marshes have been lost within the past 70 years due to human actions.

Marsh / Wetland Loss in Elkhorn

Slough

The marsh land around Elkhorn Slough has been

eroding and drowning for over

70 years.

Why?

9/3/2014

19

Construction of the Jetties

Diking and Draining ~1,000 acres

Tectonic Subsidence

Groundwater Overdraft

Sea Level Rise

9/3/2014

20

What is GIS?

• A geographic information system (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

• GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.

• A GIS helps you answer questions and solve problems by looking at your data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared.

• GIS technology can be integrated into any enterprise information system framework.

Review Questions / Topics• List at least 3 or 4 environmental challenges, and

solutions.

• What is “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”?

• What are the sources of trash in the world’s oceans?

• How much time is needed on average for debris to cross the Pacific Ocean?

• Read “The Ocean is Broken” (slide #10, page 5) and know the mission of TCOP.

• What is “The White Zone”? The “Kelpfly”?

• Why are the marsh-lands around Elkhorn Slough eroding and drowning?

• What is GIS?