human-induced material flow through the environment
DESCRIPTION
Human-Induced Material Flow through the Environment. Carol Timson. Overview. Biogeochemical Systems Mass Balance Ecosystem Closed Loop Anthroposystem Open System Material Flow Transfer Matrices Track flow of contaminants throughout the World - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Human-Induced Material Flow through the
Environment
Carol Timson
Overview
Biogeochemical Systems• Mass Balance
Ecosystem• Closed Loop
Anthroposystem• Open System
Material Flow Transfer Matrices• Track flow of contaminants throughout the World
4 Environmental Spheres - all spheres are interdependent• Biosphere-pump• Atmosphere-transporter• Lithosphere-storage compartment• Hydrosphere-transporter (rivers) & storage (oceans)
Biogeochemical Systems
The study of how living systems influence, and are controlled by, the geology and chemistry of the earth• Fundamental principles to analyze flow of materials
through air, land, and water Mass balance - describes the state of a system
NET CHANGE = INPUT + OUTPUT + INTERNAL CHANGE
Internal Change
minmout
Ecosystem
•The sun is the energy source
•Plants use the sun to produce food
•Animals are the consumers
•The decomposers (recyclers) are the fungi and bacteria.
The ecosystem is capable of recycling most of the waste products is produces.http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchangel/current/lectures/kling/ecosystem/ecosystem.html
Antroposystem
Open Loop System •Fossil Fuels are the energy for the system
•Producers include manufacturing and farming
•Consumers are humans
•Decomposing (recycling) is very minor
•Includes recycling of material and wastewater treatment
by-products are disposed into the physical environment
Material Flow
Humans and biota are responsible for redistribution of chemicals on Earth.
In an ecosystem much of the material is transferred directly from the producers to the recyclers, this is not the case in the anthroposystem as it would be pointless to produce material and immediately recycle it.
Material Flow Transfer Matrices
Matter is transferred from producer to consumer.
The transfer is a one-to-many relationship that can be quantified by the transfer matrix.
In case of fuel producers (mining) and consumers (combustion), the transfer is described by the surface transfer matrix sij
Pollution is transferred from the consumer (emitter) to the environmental receptor (pollutant is emitted)• i = producer• j = consumer• k = receptor
Four Environmental SpheresMaterials in the environment are distributed in 4 environmental
compartments, materials flow between and within each compartment. Changes in the compartments occur if the flow of the
materials is disturbed.
Biosphere• The pump, allows matter to flow
through nature • thin shell of organic matter on the
earth’s surface Atmosphere
• Transport-conveyor compartment• Large capability for redistributing
matter Lithosphere
• solid shell of inorganic material at the earth’s surface
Hydrosphere• can be seen as two compartments:
rivers are transporters and oceans are storage
Mercury tends to accumulate in the lithosphere and parts of the biosphere
Mercury Intro
http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/_Toc12781822
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Mercury traveling through the Spheres
•Released by anthropogenic sources into
•land•air•soil
•Mercury in Atmosphere mixes with cloud water and is deposited on the land and in water sources
•On land it is stored in the soil and also deposited into water sources from runoff
•Mercury is re-emitted into the atmosphere from the ocean through evasion
Mercury Transport
Approximately one third of total mercury emissions are thought to cycle from oceans to the atmosphere and back again to the ocean.
The reservoir holding time is approximately 6 months to 2 years
Hg(0) emitted transforms to Hg(II) in cloud water.• Hg(0) has an average residence time in the atmosphere of
about 1 year. Hg(II) is deposited by dry or wet deposition process.
• Atmospheric residence time of hours to months
www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpglt3/reports/volume3.pdf
Approach
Multi-Scale: National, Florida, Southern Florida
• National Mercury Flow• Mercury from mining
• Mercury in fuels
Concentration of mercury in coalci
Appallachian Eastern Interior Gulf Coast Rocky Mnts Great Plains
Hg conc., ppm 0.20 0.10 0.22 0.09 0.12
Mercury content of coal (Finkelman and Tewalt, 1998; Toole-O’Neil et al., 1999).
cappalachian=0.20
cinterior=0.10
cgulfcoast=0.22
crockymountains=0.09
cgreatplains=0.12http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/_Toc12781822
Mi=ciPi
Mercury Mobilization through Coal
Pi [millions Mg/yr]
Estimated for 1999
Pappalachian=446
Pinterior=122
Pgulfcoast=61
Prockymountain=365
Pgreatplains=4
http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/_Toc12781822
Mi=ciPi
Matrix Example
174.67
045.46
291.38
)/( yrMgU j
Mi -mercury contaminant that is mobilized by each producer
ci-concentration of the contaminant mercury in coal
Pi-raw coal production rate
sij-transfer of coal mercury from producer to consumer
Uij-amount of mercury originating at the producer and used at the consumer.
Mi=ciPi
Uij=sijMi
84.3
85.32
42.13
2.12
2.89
)/( yrMgM i
8.02.06.04.05.0
2.03.01.06.03.0
05.03.002.0
ijs
Mercury Emission
•In 1999 the amount of mercury mobilized from coal was 144 Mg
http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/_Toc12781822
Mercury
Mercury in the soil is also taken up by plants and these plants are consumed by animals.
Mercury can get into freshwater systems through direct deposition, runoff, or through groundwater flow in the upper soil layers
Mercury in water is ingested by water animals also. From 1930-2000 about 7000 Mg mercury has been
taken from it geochemical reservoir and distributed into the environment.
www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpglt3/reports/volume3.pdf
Conclusion
Material flow in the environment should be modeled after the ecosystem.
Ecosystem makes use of all material The anthroposystem differs from the ecosystem in
the fact that they do not recycle as much The amount of a pollutant released can be tracked
through the environmental spheres by using a material flow transfer matrix
Mercury accumulates in the lithosphere and biosphere, disturbing the flow through the environmental compartments.