Environmental science

Environmental science is the study of Earth and all its natural resources, both living and nonliving. This broad description encompasses a range of subgroups, most of which may be considered specific scientific disciplines themselves. Among these are the studies of soil, air, water, animals, and plants. A significant portion of environmental science also examines people's relationships to their natural surroundings, especially harmful human practices such as pollution. Information derived from these sources then can be compiled to provide a detailed image of what Earth's environment is like and how everything in it fits together.

Environmental Science Basics

Many environmental scientists work in offices for governments or independent businesses that perform environmental research. Other scientists work directly in nature, where they study various aspects of the environment. Some overlap may exist among these separate aspects because they are all part of the same whole. Environmental scientists may accumulate broad knowledge about the environment in general or choose to specialize in a particular field. The following are some specialties within the realm of environmental science.

Soil

Pedology is the study of soils. Scientists examine soils to learn about the environments from which they come. Although soil is made mostly of nonliving materials such as water and broken-down rocks and minerals, it also can host myriad living organisms. One gram of soil may contain numerous varieties of fungi and bacteria along with tens of thousands of microscopic protozoa. Scientists who study soil are able to tell whether harmful human activities such as over-farming are gradually depleting the nutrients that soil needs to continue supporting plant life in the future.

Atmosphere

Another broad subject in environmental science is the study of the atmosphere, or all the layers of gases in the air above the earth. The troposphere is the lowest part of the atmosphere, where people live and breathe the oxygen they need to survive. Because this layer extends to about ten miles above the earth, it is also where all of the planet's weather occurs. Above the troposphere are the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.

One specialized type of atmospheric study is meteorology, which focuses exclusively on weather and climate. Climate is an area's average weather over time. Meteorologists interpret radar systems to predict when a region will experience sunshine, clouds, or rain.

Somewhat related to meteorology is the study of air pollution and, as a consequence, the deterioration of the ozone layer and gradual warming of the earth, known as global warming. Ozone is a thin layer of gas in Earth's stratosphere, the layer above the troposphere. It serves primarily as a barrier for the harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun that, if allowed to pass freely down to Earth, can damage people's skin and slowly increase the planet's surface temperature to inhospitable levels.

In the twenty-first century, environmental science has become especially concerned about global warming as industrialized nations around the world pollute the air with harmful vehicle and factory gases such as carbon monoxide. These gases wear away the ozone layer and allow more UV light to reach Earth. The impacts of climate change have already been seen in the twenty-first century, including melting ice regions, higher ocean levels, droughts, flooding, and increased chances of severe storms.

Water

Water is another major field of interest within environmental science. Seventy-five percent of Earth's surface is composed of water, from oceans and streams to reservoirs and glaciers. Scientists can study all of these to learn the materials water holds and to identify ways to keep water around the world clean.

Environmental scientists know that ocean water is highly salty, with one liter potentially containing up to thirty-five grams of the chemical compound sodium chloride. Freshwater, conversely, contains little to no salt and can be found in bodies of water such as lakes and rivers. Sometimes environmental scientists choose to focus their studies on only one form of freshwater. These may range from ponds to estuaries, large pools where rivers meet oceans, to wetlands, areas of ground that have become flooded with water, such as swamps and marshes.

As they do with soil and air, environmental scientists monitor and study the effects of water pollution. Dirty or toxic water can be extremely harmful to ecosystems—groups of organisms such as plants and animals living among one another—that depend on it for survival. Water pollution can be caused by toxic dumping from factories, excessive amounts of rock sediment, or hazardous waste from farming chemicals. Many environmental scientists around the world work for national governments that have enacted laws to protect clean water for human consumption and the sake of the natural environment.

Biology

While a large part of environmental science focuses on the study of nonliving elements of the earth, an equally significant portion deals with the planet's diverse life. Scientists can devote their entire careers to studying the many different species, or biological classifications, of animals that exist on Earth. One scientist might choose to learn about the lifestyles and behaviors of populations, groups of the same animal, of gorillas in the wild, while another could study aquatic animals such as fish or dolphins. By learning about wild animals, environmental scientists can devise ways to protect them from extinction.

Scientists who study plant life are called botanists. Many botanists are concerned with how human activities such as pollution and deforestation affect vegetation around the world. Deforestation is the mass clearing of trees either to create farmland or housing or to manufacture paper products from wood. Although these enterprises benefit the world economy, they destroy forests that can never be regrown. Environmental scientists often speak out against deforestation because it destroys not only thousands of trees but also the homes of many species of animals and plants.

Environmental science includes many other varied areas of study, most with their own, even narrower subgroups. Aside from field and laboratory work, environmental scientists also may teach in classrooms, educating students in the study of the natural world in hopes that these students will continue learning about and caring for Earth's environments in the future.

Bibliography

"Environmental Scientists and Specialists." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/environmental-scientists-and-specialists.htm#tab-1. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

Kte'pi, Bill. "Environmental Science." Britannica, 15 Nov. 2024, www.britannica.com/science/environmental-science. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.

Morrow, Angela, and Ligget, Tim. Cracking the AP Environmental Science Exam. 2010 ed. New York: The Princeton Review, Inc., 2009, 32–33, 35–37, 43–44, 70, 108, 112, 151–152, 154, 159, 162–163.