Environmental science describes the relationship processes of different environmental aspects. Social sciences, ecology, geosciences, environmental chemistry, and atmospheric sciences are the major disciplines in environmental science. Environmental science promotes critical thinking by understanding how various aspects of life are interdependent. People learn about threats to life through environmental science, such as climate change and pollution. Indeed, much data on life relationships are collected and evaluated using ecological modeling. Environmental sciences study the environment surrounding us to understand the relationship between various aspects of life for research, planning, and maintaining sustainable habitats.
Social sciences interpret human behaviors, social life and cultural aspects. Therefore, social sciences guide how I interact with other people to create social networks and solve practical problems. Additionally, social sciences guide government policy to promote democracy. Ecology explains the interdependence between humans and nature to sustain diversity and impact climate change (Paul & Jefferson, 2019). Ecology helps me understand the significance of sustaining nature. Geosciences studies the earth and all the processes of the natural elements on earth. Geosciences data records the processes that can be used for immediate and long-term analysis of the earth. By learning about the planet, I can study different global environmental systems to make viable environmental assessments and predictions.
The biochemical phenomena in natural places and their impact on the environment is described by environmental chemistry. Chemicals produced in regular human activities affect the atmosphere, soil, surface water, and groundwater. Environmental chemistry enables us to live safely by educating us on protecting surface water from contamination by processes such as radiation. The key aspect of atmospheric sciences is weather, atmosphere and global climate change (Paul & Jefferson, 2019). Atmospheric sciences highlight weather and climate change to predict hazardous environmental threats. Meteorology, climatology, and aerology are the major topics of atmospheric science. The study of atmospheric sciences will enable me to understand short-term weather patterns and long-term climate processes.
My home is surrounded by biotic ecosystems such as animals and trees and abiotic elements such as water, soil, and air. On the one hand, people domesticate and provide the necessary care to animals for companionship or production and labor purposes. On the other hand, human activities such as pest control, slaughter, and animal testing deliberate on animals. As the human population grows, they seek more space for agricultural, mining and infrastructure expansion by cutting trees. Deforestation, environmental degradation, and soil pollution by human beings impact trees’ habitation. According to Meier et al. (2019), human activities negatively affect abiotic factors. For instance, in my area, people sprinkle salt on the roads to melt the snow during winter, affecting the soil. Air conditioning used in cars and gaseous emissions from industries affect the air in my ecosystem. Human activities pollute and interrupt water cycles through dams and other water storage facilities.
Biological and biochemical ecological processes are analyzed mathematically through ecological modeling. The process of organisms’ interaction is complex, and there is a need to understand the ecosystem they interact (DeAngelis et al., 2021). Depending on flexibility, ecological models can be temporal, spatial and spatial-dynamic. Ecological models are vital to examine system properties and research priorities to elaborate scientific hypotheses. Ecological models have applications in climate analysis, fisheries management, water and nutrient control, environmental engineering and risk assessment. The biogeological, biochemical, energetic, physical and informational parameters associated with ecological processes are calculated using ecological modeling.
Fisheries management models are an example of ecological modeling. Fishing activities have a significant economic and ecological value that requires regulatory management for sustainability. Fishing, interaction with other species, climate change, pollution and other habitat stressors constantly interrupt marine life (DeAngelis et al., 2021). Ecosystem-based fisheries management takes a holistic approach to evaluate interactions in aquatic ecosystems to guide the setting of catch and harvest quotas. Overexploitation of marine life can create an imbalance in the ecosystem affecting the general marine life and food web. Ecological modeling in fisheries management provides detailed ecosystem assessment to manage marine resources.
Fishing management models are beneficial to provide stability in marine ecosystems. The data can be used to forecast marine life’s pressure and population and how they respond to multiple stressors. Therefore, the fisheries are planned and developed to address multiple societal needs without jeopardizing the species’ survival and options for future generations. Fishery data also help identify challenges, environmental impacts and threats to marine life. DeAngelis et al. (2021) indicate that fishing effort limits regulate the maximum number of fishing gear and the number of trips. Fishing management models increase knowledge of the nature and dynamics of fishing to enforce appropriate management strategies and policies for sustainable fishing.
Biogeochemical cycles describe how biotic and abiotic elements in the earth’s crust are changed sequentially. Water, hydrologic, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen cycles are the major biogeochemical cycles (Meier et al., 2019). Biotic elements are found in the biosphere, a narrow layer of the life-supporting stratum. Abiotic elements account for the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Biogeochemical cycles are responsible for depleting waste materials and replenishing the ecosystem with life-sustaining nutrients. Water moves in a cycle between clouds, dry land, and water bodies in the hydrosphere. Biogeochemical cycles regulate elements that support life by cycling them through different biological and physical forms.
The water cycle is a crucial biogeochemical cycle responsible for the survival of ecosystems. Water undergoes evaporation, condensation, sublimation, precipitation, transpiration, runoff, and infiltration cycles. In evaporation, the surface water is turned to vapor by heat energy from the sun and is moved from the hydrosphere to the atmosphere. The water in the atmosphere is turned into small ice cube particles by the freezing temperature through condensation. Meier et al. (2019) describe sublimation as the process that directly changes ice to vapor without first turning to liquid accelerated by low temperatures and high altitudes. Water vapors combine to form droplets and pour down on earth through precipitation. Some of the precipitated water is absorbed through the transpiration process in the landmass. Water in the soil is absorbed by plants and moved to the leaves for photosynthesis. Plenty of water runs off the ground, displacing the surface soil and nutrients to form waterways that pour into lakes, oceans, and seas. Most water does not run off but rather moves deep into the ground through infiltration to increase the groundwater table.
Environmental sciences study the relationship between different life forms and processes. The key aspects of environmental sciences are social sciences, ecology, environmental chemistry, atmospheric sciences, and geosciences. The biotic and abiotic ecosystems surrounding me are affected by human activities. The data of different ecological processes is collected and analyzed for research, policy planning, and ecological modeling. The fisheries management model is an example of ecological modeling vital for the sustainability of marine life. Biogeochemical cycles explain how water, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen move from one form to another in the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The water cycle is an example of a biogeochemical cycle that includes evaporation, condensation, sublimation, precipitation, transpiration, runoff, and infiltration.
References
Meier, H. E., Edman, M., Eilola, K., Placke, M., Neumann, T., Andersson, H. C., Brunnabend, S.-E., Dieterich, C., Frauen, C., Friedland, R., Gröger, M., Gustafsson, B. G., Gustafsson, E., Isaev, A., Kniebusch, M., Kuznetsov, I., Müller-Karulis, B., Naumann, M., Omstedt, A Savchuk, O. P. (2019). Assessment of uncertainties in scenario simulations of biogeochemical cycles in the Baltic Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6. Web.
DeAngelis, D. L., Franco, D., Hastings, A., Hilker, F. M., Lenhart, S., Lutscher, F., Petrovskaya, N., Petrovskii, S., & Tyson, R. C. (2021). Towards building a sustainable future: Positioning ecological modeling for impact in Ecosystems Management. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology, 83(10). Web.
Paul, J., & Jefferson, F. (2019). A comparative analysis of student performance in an online vs face-to-face environmental science course from 2009 to 2016. Frontiers in Computer Science, 7. Web.