Planet Earth consists of the lithosphere (solid body), atmosphere (air shell), hydrosphere (water shell) and biosphere (sphere of distribution of living organisms). There is a close relationship between these spheres of the Earth, due to the circulation of substances and energy.

Lithosphere. The Earth is a ball, or spheroid, somewhat flattened at the poles, with a circumference around the equator of about 40,000 km.

In the structure of the globe, the following shells, or geospheres, are distinguished: the lithosphere proper (outer stone shell) with a thickness of about 50 ... 120 km, the mantle extending to a depth of 2900 km and the core - from 2900 to 3680 km.

According to the most common chemical elements that make up the Earth's shell, it is divided into the upper - siallitic, which extends to a depth of 60 km and has a density of 2.8 ... having a density of 3.0...3.5 g/cm 3 . The names "siallitic" (sial) and "simatic" (sima) shells come from the designations of the elements Si (silicon), Al (aluminum) and Mg (magnesium).

At a depth of 1200 to 2900 km there is an intermediate sphere having a density of 4.0...6.0 g/cm 3 . This shell is called "ore", as it contains a large amount of iron and other heavy metals.

Deeper than 2900 km is the core of the globe with a radius of about 3500 km. The core consists mainly of nickel and iron and has a high density (10...12 g/cm3).

According to the physical properties of the earth's crust is heterogeneous, it is divided into continental and oceanic types. The average thickness of the continental crust is 35...45 km, the maximum thickness is up to 75 km (under mountain ranges). Sedimentary rocks up to 15 km thick lie in its upper part. These rocks were formed over long geological periods as a result of the change of seas by land, climate change. Under the sedimentary rocks there is a granite layer with an average thickness of 20...40 km. The thickness of this layer is greatest in the areas of young mountains, it decreases towards the periphery of the mainland, and there is no granite layer under the oceans. Under the granite layer there is a basalt layer with a thickness of 15 ... 35 km, it is composed of basalts and similar rocks.

The oceanic crust is less thick than the continental crust (from 5 to 15 km). The upper layers (2...5 km) consist of sedimentary rocks, and the lower (5...10 km) - of basalt.

Sedimentary rocks located on the surface of the earth's crust serve as the material basis for soil formation; igneous and metamorphic rocks take a small part in the formation of soils.

The main mass of rocks is formed by oxygen, silicon and aluminum (84.05%). If five more elements are added to these three elements - iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium, then in total they will amount to 98.87% of the rock mass. The remaining 88 elements account for slightly more than 1% of the mass of the lithosphere. However, despite the low content of micro- and ultramicroelements in rocks and soils, many of them are of great importance for the normal growth and development of all organisms. Currently, much attention is paid to the content of microelements in the soil, both in connection with their importance in plant nutrition, and in connection with the problems of soil protection from chemical pollution. The composition of elements in soils mainly depends on their composition in rocks. However, the content of some elements in rocks and soils formed on them varies somewhat. This is connected both with the concentration of nutrients and with the course of the soil-forming process, during which a relative decrease in a number of bases and silica occurs. Thus, soils contain more oxygen than the lithosphere (respectively 55 and 47%), hydrogen (5 and 0.15%), carbon (5 and 0.1%), nitrogen (0.1 and 0.023%).

Atmosphere. The boundary of the atmosphere passes where the force of the earth's gravity is compensated by the centrifugal force of inertia due to the rotation of the Earth. Above the poles, it is located at an altitude of about 28 thousand km, and above the equator - 42 thousand km.

The atmosphere consists of a mixture of various gases: nitrogen (78.08%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%) and carbon dioxide (0.03% by volume). The composition of the air also includes a small amount of helium, neon, xenon, krypton, hydrogen, ozone, etc., which in total make up about 0.01%. In addition, the air contains water vapor and some dust.

The atmosphere consists of five main shells: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, exosphere.

Troposphere- the lower layer of the atmosphere, has a thickness above the poles of 8 ... 10 km, in temperate latitudes - 10 ... 12 km, and in equatorial latitudes - 16 ... 18 km. About 80% of the mass of the atmosphere is concentrated in the troposphere. Almost all of the water vapor in the atmosphere is located here, precipitation is formed and air moves horizontally and vertically.

Stratosphere extends from 8...16 to 40...45 km. It includes about 20% of the atmosphere, water vapor is almost absent in it. There is a layer of ozone in the stratosphere that absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun and protects living organisms on Earth from death.

Mesosphere extends at an altitude of 40 to 80 km. The density of air in this layer is 200 times less than that of the earth's surface.

Ionosphere located at an altitude of 80 km and consists mainly of charged (ionized) oxygen atoms, charged nitric oxide molecules and free electrons.

Exosphere represents the outer layers of the atmosphere and starts from a height of 800 ... 1000 km from the Earth's surface. These layers are also called the scattering sphere, since here gas particles move at high speed and can escape into outer space.

Atmosphere It is one of the indispensable factors of life on Earth. The sun's rays, passing through the atmosphere, are scattered, and also partially absorbed and reflected. Water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb heat rays especially strongly. Under the action of solar energy, the movement of air masses occurs, the climate is formed. Precipitation falling from the atmosphere is a factor in soil formation and a source of life for plant and animal organisms. The carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis of green plants turns into organic matter, and oxygen serves for the respiration of organisms and the oxidative processes occurring in them. The importance of atmospheric nitrogen, which is captured by nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, serves as an element of plant nutrition and participates in the formation of protein substances.

Under the action of atmospheric air, weathering of rocks and minerals and soil-forming processes occur.

Hydrosphere. Most of the surface of the globe is occupied by the World Ocean, which, together with lakes, rivers and other bodies of water located on the earth's surface, occupies 5/8 of its area. All the waters of the Earth, located in the oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, swamps, as well as groundwater, constitute the hydrosphere. Of the 510 million km 2 of the Earth's surface, 361 million km 2 (71%) falls on the World Ocean and only 149 million km 2 (29%) is on land.

The surface waters of the land, together with the glacial waters, make up about 25 million km 3, that is, 55 times less than the volume of the World Ocean. About 280 thousand km 3 of water are concentrated in the lakes, about half of them are fresh lakes, and the second half are lakes with waters of varying degrees of salinity. The rivers contain only 1.2 thousand km 3, that is, less than 0.0001% of the total water supply.

The waters of open reservoirs are in constant circulation, which connects all parts of the hydrosphere with the lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.

Atmospheric moisture is actively involved in water exchange, with a volume of 14 thousand km 3 it forms 525 thousand km 3 of precipitation falling on the Earth, and the change of the entire volume of atmospheric moisture occurs every 10 days, or 36 times during the year.

Evaporation of water and condensation of atmospheric moisture provide fresh water on Earth. About 453 thousand km 3 of water evaporates annually from the surface of the oceans.

Without water, our planet would be a bare stone ball, devoid of soil and vegetation. For millions of years, water has destroyed rocks, turning them into junk, and with the advent of vegetation and animals, it has contributed to the process of soil formation.

Biosphere. The composition of the biosphere includes the land surface, the lower layers of the atmosphere and the entire hydrosphere, in which living organisms are common. According to the teachings of V. I. Vernadsky, the biosphere is understood as the shell of the Earth, the composition, structure and energy of which are determined by the activity of living organisms. V. I. Vernadsky pointed out that “on the earth’s surface there is no chemical force that is more constantly acting, therefore more powerful than living organisms taken as a whole.” Life in the biosphere develops in the form of an exceptional variety of organisms inhabiting the soil, the lower layers of the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Thanks to the photosynthesis of green plants, solar energy is accumulated in the biosphere in the form of organic compounds. The whole set of living organisms ensures the migration of chemical elements in soils, in the atmosphere and hydrosphere. Under the action of living organisms, gas exchange, oxidative and reduction reactions occur in soils. The origin of the atmosphere as a whole is connected with the gas exchange function of organisms. In the process of photosynthesis in the atmosphere, the formation and accumulation of free oxygen occurred.

Under the influence of the activity of organisms, weathering of rocks and the development of soil-forming processes are carried out. Soil bacteria are involved in the processes of desulfification and denitrification with the formation of hydrogen sulfide, sulfur compounds, N(II) oxide, methane, and hydrogen. The construction of plant tissues occurs due to the selective absorption of biogenic elements by plants. After the plants die, these elements accumulate in the upper soil horizons.

In the biosphere, two cycles of substances and energy, opposite in their direction, take place.

A large, or geological, cycle occurs under the influence of solar energy. The water cycle involves the chemical elements of the land, which enter the rivers, seas and oceans, where they are deposited along with sedimentary rocks. This is an irretrievable loss from the soil of the most important plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur), as well as trace elements.

A small, or biological, cycle takes place in the system soil - plants - soil, while plant nutrients are removed from the geological cycle and stored in humus. In the biological cycle, cycles occur associated with oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and hydrogen, which continuously circulate in plants and the environment. Some of them are withdrawn from the biological cycle and, under the influence of geochemical processes, pass into sedimentary rocks or are transferred to the ocean. The task of agriculture is to create such agrotechnical systems in which biogenic elements would not enter the geological cycle, but would be fixed in the biological cycle, maintaining soil fertility.

The biosphere consists of biocenoses, which are a homogeneous territory with the same type of plant community along with the animal world inhabiting it, including microorganisms. Biogeocenosis is characterized by its characteristic soils, water regime, microclimate and topography. Natural biogeocenosis is relatively stable, it is characterized by self-regulating ability. The species included in the biogeocenosis adapt to each other and the environment. This is a complex relatively stable mechanism capable of resisting changes in the environment through self-regulation. If changes in biogeocenoses exceed their self-regulating ability, then irreversible degradation of this ecological system may occur.

Agricultural lands are artificially organized biogeocenoses (agrobiocenoses). The effective and rational use of agrobiocenoses, their sustainability and productivity depend on the proper organization of the territory, the farming system and other socio-economic activities. To ensure optimal impact on soils and plants, it is necessary to know all the relationships in the biogeocenosis and not disturb the ecological balance that has developed in it.

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The lithosphere is the stone shell of the Earth. From the Greek "lithos" - a stone and "sphere" - a ball

The lithosphere is the outer solid shell of the Earth, which includes the entire earth's crust with part of the Earth's upper mantle and consists of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. The lower boundary of the lithosphere is fuzzy and is determined by a sharp decrease in rock viscosity, a change in the propagation velocity of seismic waves, and an increase in the electrical conductivity of rocks. The thickness of the lithosphere on the continents and under the oceans varies and averages 25 - 200 and 5 - 100 km, respectively.

Consider in general terms the geological structure of the Earth. The third planet farthest from the Sun - the Earth has a radius of 6370 km, an average density of 5.5 g / cm3 and consists of three shells - bark, robes and i. The mantle and core are divided into inner and outer parts.

The Earth's crust is a thin upper shell of the Earth, which has a thickness of 40-80 km on the continents, 5-10 km under the oceans and makes up only about 1% of the Earth's mass. Eight elements - oxygen, silicon, hydrogen, aluminum, iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium - form 99.5% of the earth's crust.

According to scientific research, scientists were able to establish that the lithosphere consists of:

• Oxygen - 49%;
• Silicon - 26%;
• Aluminum - 7%;
• Iron - 5%;
• Calcium - 4%
• The composition of the lithosphere includes many minerals, the most common are feldspar and quartz.

On the continents, the crust is three-layered: sedimentary rocks cover granitic rocks, and granitic rocks lie on basalt rocks. Under the oceans, the crust is "oceanic", two-layered; sedimentary rocks lie simply on basalts, there is no granite layer. There is also a transitional type of the earth's crust (island-arc zones on the outskirts of the oceans and some areas on the continents, such as the Black Sea).

The earth's crust is thickest in mountainous regions.(under the Himalayas - over 75 km), the middle one - in the areas of the platforms (under the West Siberian lowland - 35-40, within the boundaries of the Russian platform - 30-35), and the smallest - in the central regions of the oceans (5-7 km). The predominant part of the earth's surface is the plains of the continents and the ocean floor.

The continents are surrounded by a shelf - a shallow-water strip up to 200 g deep and an average width of about 80 km, which, after a sharp steep bend of the bottom, passes into the continental slope (the slope varies from 15-17 to 20-30 °). The slopes gradually level off and turn into abyssal plains (depths 3.7-6.0 km). The greatest depths (9-11 km) have oceanic trenches, the vast majority of which are located on the northern and western margins of the Pacific Ocean.

The main part of the lithosphere consists of igneous igneous rocks (95%), among which granites and granitoids predominate on the continents, and basalts in the oceans.

Blocks of the lithosphere - lithospheric plates - move along the relatively plastic asthenosphere. The section of geology on plate tectonics is devoted to the study and description of these movements.

To designate the outer shell of the lithosphere, the now obsolete term sial was used, which comes from the name of the main elements of rocks Si (lat. Silicium - silicon) and Al (lat. Aluminum - aluminum).

Lithospheric plates

It is worth noting that the largest tectonic plates are very clearly visible on the map and they are:

• Pacific- the largest plate of the planet, along the boundaries of which constant collisions of tectonic plates occur and faults form - this is the reason for its constant decrease;
• Eurasian- covers almost the entire territory of Eurasia (except Hindustan and the Arabian Peninsula) and contains the largest part of the continental crust;
• Indo-Australian- It includes the Australian continent and the Indian subcontinent. Due to constant collisions with the Eurasian plate, it is in the process of breaking;
• South American- consists of the South American mainland and part of the Atlantic Ocean;
• North American- consists of the North American continent, part of northeastern Siberia, the northwestern part of the Atlantic and half of the Arctic Oceans;
• African- consists of the African continent and the oceanic crust of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. It is interesting that the plates adjacent to it move in the opposite direction from it, therefore the largest fault of our planet is located here;
• Antarctic Plate- consists of the mainland Antarctica and the nearby oceanic crust. Due to the fact that the plate is surrounded by mid-ocean ridges, the rest of the continents are constantly moving away from it.

Movement of tectonic plates in the lithosphere

Lithospheric plates, connecting and separating, change their outlines all the time. This allows scientists to put forward the theory that about 200 million years ago the lithosphere had only Pangea - a single continent, which subsequently split into parts, which began to gradually move away from each other at a very low speed (an average of about seven centimeters per year ).

It is interesting! There is an assumption that due to the movement of the lithosphere, in 250 million years a new continent will form on our planet due to the union of moving continents.

When the oceanic and continental plates collide, the edge of the oceanic crust sinks under the continental one, while on the other side of the oceanic plate its boundary diverges from the plate adjacent to it. The boundary along which the movement of the lithospheres occurs is called the subduction zone, where the upper and plunging edges of the plate are distinguished. It is interesting that the plate, plunging into the mantle, begins to melt when the upper part of the earth's crust is squeezed, as a result of which mountains are formed, and if magma also breaks out, then volcanoes.

In places where tectonic plates come into contact with each other, there are zones of maximum volcanic and seismic activity: during the movement and collision of the lithosphere, the earth's crust collapses, and when they diverge, faults and depressions form (the lithosphere and the Earth's relief are connected to each other). This is the reason why the largest landforms of the Earth are located along the edges of the tectonic plates - mountain ranges with active volcanoes and deep-sea trenches.

Problems of the lithosphere

The intensive development of industry has led to the fact that man and the lithosphere have recently become extremely difficult to get along with each other: pollution of the lithosphere is acquiring catastrophic proportions. This happened due to the increase in industrial waste in combination with household waste and fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture, which negatively affects the chemical composition of the soil and living organisms. Scientists have calculated that about one ton of garbage falls per person per year, including 50 kg of hardly decomposable waste.

Today, pollution of the lithosphere has become an urgent problem, since nature is not able to cope with it on its own: the self-purification of the earth's crust is very slow, and therefore harmful substances gradually accumulate and eventually negatively affect the main culprit of the problem - man.

Autonomous educational institution of higher professional education

Leningrad State University A. S. Pushkin

REPORT

on this topic:

Interaction of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

Faculty of Philology, 1st year

Supervisor: Doctor of Biological Sciences,

Professor Feodor Efimovich Ilyin.

Saint Petersburg-Pushkin

1. Introduction.

2. Components of the biosphere.

3. Interaction of the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere.

4. Conclusion.

5. Sources.

Introduction.

The environment is a necessary condition for the life and activity of society. It serves as its habitat, the most important source of resources, and has a great influence on the spiritual world of people.

The natural environment has always been the source of human existence. However, the interaction between man and nature has changed in different historical epochs, and the processes connecting the hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere are constant.

V. V. Dokuchaev, who discovered the law of geographical zoning, noted that six natural components harmoniously interact with each other in nature: the earth’s crust of the lithosphere, atmospheric air, water of the hydrosphere, flora and fauna of the biosphere, as well as soil constantly exchange matter and energy.

The three components of the biosphere - the hydrosphere, the atmosphere and the lithosphere - are closely related to each other, making together a single functional system.

Components of the biosphere.

Biosphere(from the Greek bios - life; sphaire - ball) - the shell of the Earth, the composition, structure and energy of which are determined by the combined activity of living organisms.

The biosphere covers the upper part of the earth's crust (soil, parent rock), the totality of water bodies (hydrosphere), and the lower part of the atmosphere (troposphere and partially stratosphere) (Fig. 1). The boundaries of the sphere of life are determined by the conditions necessary for the existence of organisms. The upper limit of life is limited by the intense concentration of ultraviolet rays, low atmospheric pressure and low temperature. In the zone of critical ecological conditions at an altitude of 20 km, only lower organisms live - spores of bacteria and fungi. The high temperature of the interior of the earth's crust (over 100 ° C) limits the lower limit of life. Anaerobic microorganisms are found at a depth of 3 km.

The biosphere includes parts of the hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere.

Hydrosphere- one of the shells of the Earth. It unites all free waters (including the World Ocean, land waters (rivers, lakes, swamps, glaciers), groundwater), which can move under the influence of solar energy and gravitational forces, move from one state to another. The hydrosphere is closely connected with other shells of the Earth - the atmosphere and the lithosphere.

Almost the entire mass of hydrogen and oxygen is concentrated in the hydrosphere, as well as sodium, potassium, magnesium, boron, sulfur, chlorine and bromine, the compounds of which are highly soluble in natural waters; 88% of the total mass of carbon in the biosphere is dissolved in the waters of the hydrosphere. The presence of substances dissolved in water is one of the conditions for the existence of living things.

The area of ​​the hydrosphere is 70.8% of the surface area of ​​the globe. The proportion of surface water in the hydrosphere is very small, but they are extremely active (changing on average every 11 days), and this is the beginning of the formation of almost all sources of fresh water on land. The amount of fresh water is 2.5% of the total volume, while almost two thirds of this water is contained in the glaciers of Antarctica, Greenland, polar islands, ice floes and icebergs, mountain peaks. Groundwater is at different depths (up to 200 m or more); deep underground aquifers are mineralized and sometimes saline. In addition to water in the hydrosphere itself, water vapor in the atmosphere, groundwater in soils and the earth's crust, there is biological water in living organisms. With a total mass of living matter in the biosphere of 1400 billion tons, the mass of biological water is 80% or 1120 billion tons.

The predominant part of the hydrospheric waters is concentrated in the World Ocean, which is the main closing link in the water cycle in nature. It releases most of the evaporating moisture into the atmosphere.

Earth's lithosphere consists of two layers: the earth's crust and part of the upper mantle. The earth's crust is the outermost solid shell of the earth. The crust is not a unique formation, inherent only to the Earth, because. There are on most planets of the terrestrial group, the Earth's satellite - the Moon and the satellites of the giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. However, only on Earth there are two types of crust: oceanic and continental.

oceanic crust consists of three layers: upper sedimentary, intermediate basalt and lower gabbro-serpentinite, which until recently was included in the composition of basalt. Its thickness ranges from 2 km in the zones of mid-ocean ridges to 130 km in subduction zones, where the oceanic crust sinks into the mantle.

The sedimentary layer consists of sand, deposits of animal remains and precipitated minerals. At its base, thin metaliferous sediments, which are not consistent along strike, with a predominance of iron oxides, often occur.

The basalt layer in the upper part is composed of tholeiitic basaltic lavas, which are also called pillow lavas because of their characteristic shape. It is exposed in many places adjacent to the mid-ocean ridges.

The gabbro-serpentinite layer lies directly above the upper mantle.

continental crust, as the name implies, lies under the Earth's continents and large islands. Like the oceanic continental crust, it consists of three layers: upper sedimentary, middle granitic and lower basalt. The thickness of this type of crust under young mountains reaches 75 km, under plains it is from 35 to 45 km, under island arcs it is reduced to 20-25 km.

The sedimentary layer of the continental crust is formed by: clay deposits and carbonates of shallow marine basins.

The granite layer of the earth's crust is formed as a result of the invasion of magma into cracks in the earth's crust. Composed of silica, aluminum and other minerals. At depths of 15-20 km, the Konrad boundary is often traced, which separates the granite and basalt layers.

The basalt layer is formed during the outpouring of basic (basalt) lavas onto the land surface in zones of intraplate magmatism. Basalt is heavier than granite and contains more iron, magnesium and calcium.

The total mass of the earth's crust is estimated at 2.8 × 1019 tons, which is only 0.473% of the mass of the entire planet Earth.

The layer under the earth's crust is called the mantle. From below, the earth's crust is separated from the upper mantle by the Mohorovic or Moho boundary, established in 1909 by the Croatian geophysicist and seismologist Andrei Mohorovic.

Mantle It is divided by the Golitsyn layer into upper and lower layers, the boundary between which runs at a depth of about 670 km. Within the upper mantle, the asthenosphere stands out - a lamellar layer, within which the velocities of seismic waves decrease.

The Earth's lithosphere is divided into platforms. Platforms- These are relatively stable areas of the earth's crust. They arise on the site of previously existing highly mobile folded structures, formed during the closure of geosynclinal systems, by their successive transformation into tectonically stable areas.

Lithospheric platforms experience vertical oscillatory movements: they rise or fall. Such movements are associated with the transgressions and regressions of the sea that have repeatedly occurred throughout the entire geological history of the Earth.

In Central Asia, the formation of the mountain belts of Central Asia: Tien Shan, Altai, Sayan, etc. is associated with the latest tectonic movements of the platforms. Such mountains are called revived (epiplatforms or epiplatform orogenic belts or secondary orogens). They are formed during orrogenesis epochs in areas adjacent to geosynclinal belts.

Atmosphere- the gaseous shell surrounding the planet Earth, one of the geospheres. Its inner surface covers the hydrosphere and partially the earth's crust, while its outer surface borders on the near-Earth part of outer space. The atmosphere is considered to be that area around the Earth in which the gaseous medium rotates together with the Earth as a whole; With this definition, the atmosphere passes into interplanetary space gradually; in the exosphere, which begins at an altitude of about 1000 km from the Earth's surface, the boundary of the atmosphere can also be conditionally drawn along an altitude of 1300 km.

The atmosphere of the Earth arose as a result of two processes: the evaporation of the substance of cosmic bodies during their fall to the Earth and the release of gases during volcanic eruptions (degassing of the earth's mantle). With the separation of the oceans and the emergence of the biosphere, the atmosphere changed due to gas exchange with water, plants, animals and their decomposition products in soils and swamps.

At present, the Earth's atmosphere consists mainly of gases and various impurities (dust, water drops, ice crystals, sea salts, combustion products). The concentration of gases that make up the atmosphere is almost constant, with the exception of water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

Atmospheric layers: 1 Troposphere, 2 Tropopause, 3 Stratosphere, 4 Stratopause, 5 Mesosphere, 6 Mesopause, 7 Thermosphere, 8 Thermopause

The ozone layer is a part of the stratosphere at an altitude of 12 to 50 km (in tropical latitudes 25-30 km, in temperate latitudes 20-25, in polar 15-20), with the highest ozone content, formed as a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun on molecular oxygen ( O2). At the same time, with the greatest intensity, precisely due to the processes of dissociation of oxygen, the atoms of which then form ozone (O3), the absorption of the near (to the visible light) part of the ultraviolet of the solar spectrum occurs. In addition, the dissociation of ozone under the influence of ultraviolet radiation leads to the absorption of its hardest part.

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Introduction

The rapid growth of the human population and its scientific and technical equipment have radically changed the situation on Earth. If in the recent past all human activity manifested itself negatively only in limited, albeit numerous, territories, and the impact force was incomparably less than the powerful circulation of substances in nature, now the scales of natural and anthropogenic processes have become comparable, and the ratio between them continues to change with acceleration towards an increase in the power of anthropogenic influence on the biosphere.

The danger of unpredictable changes in the stable state of the biosphere, to which natural communities and species, including man himself, are historically adapted, is so great while maintaining the usual ways of managing that the current generations of people inhabiting the Earth have faced the task of urgently improving all aspects of their lives in accordance with the need preservation of the existing circulation of substances and energy in the biosphere. In addition, the widespread pollution of our environment with a variety of substances, sometimes completely alien to the normal existence of the human body, poses a serious danger to our health and the well-being of future generations.

atmosphere hydrosphere lithosphere pollution

1. Air pollution

Atmospheric air is the most important life-supporting natural environment and is a mixture of gases and aerosols of the surface layer of the atmosphere, formed during the evolution of the Earth, human activities and located outside residential, industrial and other premises. The results of environmental studies, both in Russia and abroad, unequivocally indicate that pollution of the surface atmosphere is the most powerful, constantly acting factor influencing humans, the food chain and the environment. Atmospheric air has an unlimited capacity and plays the role of the most mobile, chemically aggressive and all-penetrating agent of interaction near the surface of the components of the biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

In recent years, data have been obtained on the essential role of the ozone layer of the atmosphere for the preservation of the biosphere, which absorbs the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun, which is harmful to living organisms and forms a thermal barrier at altitudes of about 40 km, which prevents the cooling of the earth's surface.

The atmosphere has an intense impact not only on humans and biota, but also on the hydrosphere, soil and vegetation cover, geological environment, buildings, structures and other man-made objects. Therefore, the protection of atmospheric air and the ozone layer is the highest priority environmental problem and it is given close attention in all developed countries.

The polluted ground atmosphere causes lung, throat and skin cancer, central nervous system disorders, allergic and respiratory diseases, neonatal defects and many other diseases, the list of which is determined by the pollutants present in the air and their combined effects on the human body. The results of special studies carried out in Russia and abroad have shown that there is a close positive relationship between the health of the population and the quality of atmospheric air.

The main agents of the impact of the atmosphere on the hydrosphere are precipitation in the form of rain and snow, and to a lesser extent smog and fog. The surface and underground waters of the land are mainly atmospheric nourishment and, as a result, their chemical composition depends mainly on the state of the atmosphere.

The negative impact of the polluted atmosphere on the soil and vegetation cover is associated both with the precipitation of acidic precipitation, which leaches calcium, humus and trace elements from the soil, and with the disruption of photosynthesis processes, leading to a slowdown in the growth and death of plants. The high sensitivity of trees (especially birch, oak) to air pollution has been identified for a long time. The combined action of both factors leads to a noticeable decrease in soil fertility and the disappearance of forests. Acid atmospheric precipitation is now considered as a powerful factor not only in the weathering of rocks and the deterioration of the quality of bearing soils, but also in the chemical destruction of man-made objects, including cultural monuments and land lines. Many economically developed countries are currently implementing programs to address the problem of acid precipitation. Through the National Acid Rainfall Evaluation Program, established in 1980, many US federal agencies began funding research into the atmospheric processes that cause acid rain to assess the effects of acid rain on ecosystems and develop appropriate conservation measures. It turned out that acid rain has a multifaceted impact on the environment and is the result of self-purification (washing) of the atmosphere. The main acidic agents are dilute sulfuric and nitric acids formed during the oxidation reactions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides with the participation of hydrogen peroxide.

Sources of air pollution

Natural sources of pollution include: volcanic eruptions, dust storms, forest fires, space dust, sea salt particles, products of plant, animal and microbiological origin. The level of such pollution is considered as background, which changes little with time.

The main natural process of pollution of the surface atmosphere is the volcanic and fluid activity of the Earth. Large volcanic eruptions lead to global and long-term pollution of the atmosphere, as evidenced by the chronicles and modern observational data (the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991). This is due to the fact that huge amounts of gases are instantly emitted into the high layers of the atmosphere, which are picked up at high altitude by air currents moving at high speed and quickly spread throughout the globe. The duration of the polluted state of the atmosphere after large volcanic eruptions reaches several years.

Anthropogenic sources of pollution are caused by human activities. These should include:

1. Burning fossil fuels, which is accompanied by the release of 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. As a result, over 100 years (1860 - 1960), the content of CO2 increased by 18% (from 0.027 to 0.032%). Over the past three decades, the rates of these emissions have increased significantly. At such rates, by the year 2000 the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be at least 0.05%.

2. The operation of thermal power plants, when acid rain is formed during the combustion of high-sulfur coals as a result of the release of sulfur dioxide and fuel oil.

3. Exhausts of modern turbojet aircraft with nitrogen oxides and gaseous fluorocarbons from aerosols, which can damage the ozone layer of the atmosphere (ozonosphere).

4. Production activity.

5. Pollution with suspended particles (when crushing, packing and loading, from boiler houses, power plants, mine shafts, quarries when burning garbage).

6. Emissions by enterprises of various gases.

7. Combustion of fuel in flare furnaces, resulting in the formation of the most massive pollutant - carbon monoxide.

8. Fuel combustion in boilers and vehicle engines, accompanied by the formation of nitrogen oxides, which cause smog.

9. Ventilation emissions (mine shafts).

10. Ventilation emissions with excessive ozone concentration from rooms with high-energy installations (accelerators, ultraviolet sources and nuclear reactors) at MPC in working rooms of 0.1 mg/m3. In large quantities, ozone is a highly toxic gas.

During fuel combustion processes, the most intense pollution of the surface layer of the atmosphere occurs in megacities and large cities, industrial centers due to the wide distribution of vehicles, thermal power plants, boilers and other power plants operating on coal, fuel oil, diesel fuel, natural gas and gasoline. The contribution of vehicles to the total air pollution here reaches 40-50%. A powerful and extremely dangerous factor in atmospheric pollution are catastrophes at nuclear power plants (Chernobyl accident) and nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere. This is due both to the rapid spread of radionuclides over long distances and to the long-term nature of the contamination of the territory.

The high danger of chemical and biochemical industries lies in the potential for accidental releases of extremely toxic substances into the atmosphere, as well as microbes and viruses that can cause epidemics among the population and animals.

Currently, many tens of thousands of pollutants of anthropogenic origin are found in the surface atmosphere. Due to the continued growth of industrial and agricultural production, new chemical compounds, including highly toxic ones, are emerging. The main anthropogenic air pollutants, in addition to large-tonnage oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, dust and soot, are complex organic, organochlorine and nitro compounds, man-made radionuclides, viruses and microbes. The most dangerous are dioxin, benz (a) pyrene, phenols, formaldehyde, and carbon disulfide, which are widespread in the air basin of Russia. Solid suspended particles are mainly represented by soot, calcite, quartz, hydromica, kaolinite, feldspar, less often sulfates, chlorides. Oxides, sulfates and sulfites, sulfides of heavy metals, as well as alloys and metals in native form were found in snow dust by specially developed methods.

In Western Europe, priority is given to 28 especially dangerous chemical elements, compounds and their groups. The group of organic substances includes acrylic, nitrile, benzene, formaldehyde, styrene, toluene, vinyl chloride, anorganic - heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, V), gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur, radon, ozone), asbestos. Lead and cadmium are predominantly toxic. Carbon disulfide, hydrogen sulfide, styrene, tetrachloroethane, toluene have an intense unpleasant odor. The impact halo of sulfur and nitrogen oxides extends over long distances. The above 28 air pollutants are included in the international registry of potentially toxic chemicals.

The main indoor air pollutants are dust and tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, radon and heavy metals, insecticides, deodorants, synthetic detergents, drug aerosols, microbes and bacteria. Japanese researchers have shown that bronchial asthma may be associated with the presence of house ticks in the air of dwellings.

The atmosphere is characterized by extremely high dynamism, due to both the rapid movement of air masses in the lateral and vertical directions, and high speeds, a variety of physical and chemical reactions occurring in it. The atmosphere is now viewed as a huge "chemical cauldron" that is influenced by numerous and variable anthropogenic and natural factors. Gases and aerosols released into the atmosphere are highly reactive. Dust and soot generated during fuel combustion, forest fires absorb heavy metals and radionuclides and, when deposited on the surface, can pollute vast areas and enter the human body through the respiratory system.

The tendency of joint accumulation of lead and tin in solid suspended particles of the surface atmosphere of European Russia has been revealed; chromium, cobalt and nickel; strontium, phosphorus, scandium, rare earths and calcium; beryllium, tin, niobium, tungsten and molybdenum; lithium, beryllium and gallium; barium, zinc, manganese and copper. High concentrations of heavy metals in snow dust are due to both the presence of their mineral phases formed during the combustion of coal, fuel oil and other fuels, and the sorption of soot, clay particles of gaseous compounds such as tin halides.

The "lifetime" of gases and aerosols in the atmosphere varies in a very wide range (from 1 - 3 minutes to several months) and depends mainly on their chemical stability of size (for aerosols) and the presence of reactive components (ozone, hydrogen peroxide, etc.). .).

Estimating and even more so forecasting the state of the surface atmosphere is a very complex problem. At present, her condition is assessed mainly according to the normative approach. MPC values ​​for toxic chemicals and other standard air quality indicators are given in many reference books and guidelines. In such guidelines for Europe, in addition to the toxicity of pollutants (carcinogenic, mutagenic, allergenic and other effects), their prevalence and ability to accumulate in the human body and the food chain are taken into account. The shortcomings of the normative approach are the unreliability of the accepted MPC values ​​and other indicators due to the poor development of their empirical observational base, the lack of consideration for the combined effects of pollutants and abrupt changes in the state of the surface layer of the atmosphere in time and space. There are few stationary posts for monitoring the air basin, and they do not allow an adequate assessment of its condition in large industrial and urban centers. Needles, lichens, and mosses can be used as indicators of the chemical composition of the surface atmosphere. At the initial stage of revealing the centers of radioactive contamination associated with the Chernobyl accident, pine needles were studied, which have the ability to accumulate radionuclides in the air. Reddening of the needles of coniferous trees during periods of smog in cities is widely known.

The most sensitive and reliable indicator of the state of the surface atmosphere is the snow cover, which deposits pollutants over a relatively long period of time and makes it possible to determine the location of sources of dust and gas emissions using a set of indicators. Snowfall contains pollutants that are not captured by direct measurements or calculated data on dust and gas emissions.

One of the promising directions for assessing the state of the surface atmosphere of large industrial and urban areas is multichannel remote sensing. The advantage of this method lies in the ability to characterize large areas quickly, repeatedly and in the same way. To date, methods have been developed for estimating the content of aerosols in the atmosphere. The development of scientific and technological progress allows us to hope for the development of such methods in relation to other pollutants.

The forecast of the state of the surface atmosphere is carried out on the basis of complex data. These primarily include the results of monitoring observations, the patterns of migration and transformation of pollutants in the atmosphere, the features of anthropogenic and natural processes of pollution of the air basin of the study area, the influence of meteorological parameters, relief and other factors on the distribution of pollutants in the environment. For this purpose, heuristic models of changes in the surface atmosphere in time and space are developed for a particular region. The greatest success in solving this complex problem has been achieved for the areas where nuclear power plants are located. The end result of applying such models is a quantitative assessment of the risk of air pollution and an assessment of its acceptability from a socio-economic point of view.

Chemical pollution of the atmosphere

Atmospheric pollution should be understood as a change in its composition when impurities of natural or anthropogenic origin enter. There are three types of pollutants: gases, dust and aerosols. The latter include dispersed solid particles emitted into the atmosphere and suspended in it for a long time.

The main atmospheric pollutants include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur and nitrogen dioxide, as well as small gas components that can affect the temperature regime of the troposphere: nitrogen dioxide, halocarbons (freons), methane and tropospheric ozone.

The main contribution to the high level of air pollution is made by enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemistry and petrochemistry, construction industry, energy, pulp and paper industry, and in some cities, boiler houses.

Sources of pollution - thermal power plants, which, together with smoke, emit sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide into the air, metallurgical enterprises, especially non-ferrous metallurgy, which emit nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, fluorine, ammonia, phosphorus compounds, particles and compounds of mercury and arsenic into the air; chemical and cement plants. Harmful gases enter the air as a result of the combustion of fuel for industrial needs, home heating, transport, combustion and processing of household and industrial waste.

Atmospheric pollutants are divided into primary, entering directly into the atmosphere, and secondary, resulting from the transformation of the latter. So, sulfur dioxide entering the atmosphere is oxidized to sulfuric anhydride, which interacts with water vapor and forms droplets of sulfuric acid. When sulfuric anhydride reacts with ammonia, ammonium sulfate crystals are formed. Similarly, as a result of chemical, photochemical, physico-chemical reactions between pollutants and atmospheric components, other secondary signs are formed. The main source of pyrogenic pollution on the planet are thermal power plants, metallurgical and chemical enterprises, boiler plants, which consume more than 170% of the annually produced solid and liquid fuels.

Car emissions account for a large share of air pollution. Now about 500 million cars are operated on Earth, and by the year 2000 their number is expected to increase to 900 million. In 1997, 2400 thousand cars were operated in Moscow, with the standard of 800 thousand cars on existing roads.

Currently, road transport accounts for more than half of all harmful emissions into the environment, which are the main source of air pollution, especially in large cities. On average, with a run of 15 thousand km per year, each car burns 2 tons of fuel and about 26 - 30 tons of air, including 4.5 tons of oxygen, which is 50 times more than human needs. At the same time, the car emits into the atmosphere (kg / year): carbon monoxide - 700, nitrogen dioxide - 40, unburned hydrocarbons - 230 and solids - 2 - 5. In addition, many lead compounds are emitted due to the use of mostly leaded gasoline .

Observations have shown that in houses located near the main road (up to 10 m), residents get cancer 3-4 times more often than in houses located at a distance of 50 m from the road. Transport also poisons water bodies, soil and plants.

Toxic emissions from internal combustion engines (ICE) are exhaust and crankcase gases, fuel vapors from the carburetor and fuel tank. The main share of toxic impurities enters the atmosphere with the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines. With crankcase gases and fuel vapors, approximately 45% of hydrocarbons from their total emission enter the atmosphere.

The amount of harmful substances entering the atmosphere as part of the exhaust gases depends on the general technical condition of the vehicles and, especially, on the engine - the source of the greatest pollution. So, if the carburetor adjustment is violated, carbon monoxide emissions increase by 4 ... 5 times. The use of leaded gasoline, which has lead compounds in its composition, causes air pollution with very toxic lead compounds. About 70% of lead added to gasoline with ethyl liquid enters the atmosphere with exhaust gases in the form of compounds, of which 30% settles on the ground immediately after the cut of the car's exhaust pipe, 40% remains in the atmosphere. One medium-duty truck releases 2.5...3 kg of lead per year. The concentration of lead in the air depends on the lead content in gasoline.

It is possible to exclude the entry of highly toxic lead compounds into the atmosphere by replacing leaded gasoline with unleaded.

Exhaust gases of gas turbine engines contain such toxic components as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, soot, aldehydes, etc. The content of toxic components in combustion products significantly depends on the engine operating mode. High concentrations of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are typical for gas turbine propulsion systems (GTPU) at reduced modes (during idling, taxiing, approaching the airport, landing approach), while the content of nitrogen oxides increases significantly when operating at modes close to nominal (takeoff , climb, flight mode).

The total emission of toxic substances into the atmosphere by aircraft with gas turbine engines is constantly growing, which is due to an increase in fuel consumption up to 20...30 t/h and a steady increase in the number of aircraft in operation. The influence of GTDU on the ozone layer and the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is noted.

GGDU emissions have the greatest impact on living conditions at airports and areas adjacent to test stations. Comparative data on emissions of harmful substances at airports suggest that the revenues from gas turbine engines into the surface layer of the atmosphere are, in%: carbon monoxide - 55, nitrogen oxides - 77, hydrocarbons - 93 and aerosol - 97. The rest of the emissions emit ground vehicles with internal combustion engines.

Air pollution by vehicles with rocket propulsion systems occurs mainly during their operation before launch, during takeoff, during ground tests during their production or after repair, during storage and transportation of fuel. The composition of combustion products during the operation of such engines is determined by the composition of the fuel components, the combustion temperature, and the processes of dissociation and recombination of molecules. The amount of combustion products depends on the power (thrust) of propulsion systems. During the combustion of solid fuels, water vapor, carbon dioxide, chlorine, hydrochloric acid vapor, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and Al2O3 solid particles with an average size of 0.1 microns (sometimes up to 10 microns) are emitted from the combustion chamber.

When launched, rocket engines adversely affect not only the surface layer of the atmosphere, but also outer space, destroying the Earth's ozone layer. The scale of the destruction of the ozone layer is determined by the number of launches of rocket systems and the intensity of flights of supersonic aircraft.

In connection with the development of aviation and rocket technology, as well as the intensive use of aircraft and rocket engines in other sectors of the national economy, the total emission of harmful impurities into the atmosphere has increased significantly. However, these engines still account for no more than 5% of toxic substances entering the atmosphere from vehicles of all types.

Atmospheric air is one of the main vital elements of the environment.

The Law “O6 for the Protection of Atmospheric Air” comprehensively covers the problem. He summarized the requirements developed in previous years and justified themselves in practice. For example, the introduction of rules prohibiting the commissioning of any production facilities (newly created or reconstructed) if they become sources of pollution or other negative impacts on the atmospheric air during operation. The rules on the regulation of maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants in the atmospheric air were further developed.

The state sanitary legislation only for atmospheric air established MPCs for most chemicals with isolated action and for their combinations.

Hygienic standards are a state requirement for business leaders. Their implementation should be monitored by the state sanitary supervision bodies of the Ministry of Health and the State Committee for Ecology.

Of great importance for the sanitary protection of atmospheric air is the identification of new sources of air pollution, the accounting of designed, under construction and reconstructed facilities that pollute the atmosphere, control over the development and implementation of master plans for cities, towns and industrial centers in terms of locating industrial enterprises and sanitary protection zones.

The Law "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air" provides for the requirements to establish standards for maximum permissible emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere. Such standards are established for each stationary source of pollution, for each model of vehicles and other mobile vehicles and installations. They are determined in such a way that the total harmful emissions from all sources of pollution in a given area do not exceed the MPC standards for pollutants in the air. Maximum allowable emissions are set only taking into account the maximum allowable concentrations.

The requirements of the Law relating to the use of plant protection products, mineral fertilizers and other preparations are very important. All legislative measures constitute a preventive system aimed at preventing air pollution.

The law provides not only control over the fulfillment of its requirements, but also responsibility for their violation. A special article defines the role of public organizations and citizens in the implementation of measures to protect the air environment, obliges them to actively assist state bodies in these matters, since only broad public participation will make it possible to implement the provisions of this law. Thus, it says that the state attaches great importance to the preservation of the favorable state of atmospheric air, its restoration and improvement in order to ensure the best living conditions for people - their work, life, recreation and health protection.

Enterprises or their separate buildings and structures, the technological processes of which are a source of the release of harmful and unpleasantly smelling substances into the atmospheric air, are separated from residential buildings by sanitary protection zones. The sanitary protection zone for enterprises and facilities can be increased, if necessary and properly justified, by no more than 3 times, depending on the following reasons: a) the effectiveness of the methods for cleaning emissions into the atmosphere provided or possible for implementation; b) lack of ways to clean emissions; c) placement of residential buildings, if necessary, on the leeward side in relation to the enterprise in the zone of possible air pollution; d) wind roses and other unfavorable local conditions (for example, frequent calms and fogs); e) the construction of new, still insufficiently studied, harmful in sanitary terms, industries.

Sizes of sanitary protection zones for individual groups or complexes of large enterprises in the chemical, oil refining, metallurgical, machine-building and other industries, as well as thermal power plants with emissions that create large concentrations of various harmful substances in the air and have a particularly adverse effect on health and sanitary - hygienic living conditions of the population are established in each specific case by a joint decision of the Ministry of Health and the Gosstroy of Russia.

To increase the effectiveness of sanitary protection zones, trees, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation is planted on their territory, which reduces the concentration of industrial dust and gases. In the sanitary protection zones of enterprises that intensively pollute the atmospheric air with gases harmful to vegetation, the most gas-resistant trees, shrubs and grasses should be grown, taking into account the degree of aggressiveness and concentration of industrial emissions. Particularly harmful to vegetation are emissions from chemical industries (sulphurous and sulfuric anhydride, hydrogen sulfide, sulfuric, nitric, fluoric and bromous acids, chlorine, fluorine, ammonia, etc.), ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, coal and thermal power industries.

2. Hydrosphere

Water has always occupied and will continue to occupy a special position among the natural resources of the Earth. This is the most important natural resource, since it is necessary, first of all, for the life of a person and every living being. Water is used by man not only in everyday life, but also in industry and agriculture.

The aquatic environment, which includes surface and groundwater, is called the hydrosphere. Surface water is mainly concentrated in the World Ocean, which contains about 91% of all water on Earth. The water in the ocean (94%) and underground is salty. The amount of fresh water is 6% of the total water on Earth, and a very small proportion of it is available in places that are easily accessible for extraction. Most of the fresh water is contained in snow, freshwater icebergs and glaciers (1.7%), located mainly in the regions of the southern polar circle, as well as deep underground (4%).

Currently, humanity uses 3.8 thousand cubic meters. km. water annually, and consumption can be increased to a maximum of 12 thousand cubic meters. km. At the current rate of growth in water consumption, this will be enough for the next 25-30 years. The pumping of groundwater leads to subsidence of soil and buildings and a decrease in groundwater levels by tens of meters.

Water is of great importance in industrial and agricultural production. It is well known that it is necessary for the everyday needs of man, all plants and animals. For many living beings, it serves as a habitat.

The growth of cities, the rapid development of industry, the intensification of agriculture, the significant expansion of irrigated land, the improvement of cultural and living conditions, and a number of other factors are increasingly complicating the problem of water supply.

Each inhabitant of the Earth on average consumes 650 cubic meters. m of water per year (1780 liters per day). However, to meet physiological needs, 2.5 liters per day is enough, i.e. about 1 cu. m per year. A large amount of water is required for agriculture (69%) mainly for irrigation; 23% of water is consumed by industry; 6% is spent in everyday life.

Taking into account the needs of water for industry and agriculture, water consumption in our country is from 125 to 350 liters per day per person (in St. Petersburg 450 liters, in Moscow - 400 liters).

In developed countries, each inhabitant has 200-300 liters of water per day. At the same time, 60% of the land does not have enough fresh water. A quarter of humanity (approximately 1.5 million people) lack it, and another 500 million suffer from lack and poor quality of drinking water, which leads to intestinal diseases.

Most of the water after its use for household needs is returned to the rivers in the form of wastewater.

Purpose of the work: to consider the main sources and types of pollution of the Hydrosphere, as well as methods of wastewater treatment.

Fresh water scarcity is already becoming a global problem. The ever-increasing needs of industry and agriculture for water are forcing all countries, scientists of the world to look for various means to solve this problem.

At the present stage, the following areas of rational use of water resources are determined: more complete use and expanded reproduction of fresh water resources; development of new technological processes to prevent pollution of water bodies and minimize the consumption of fresh water.

The structure of the Earth's hydrosphere

The hydrosphere is the water shell of the Earth. It includes: surface and groundwater, directly or indirectly providing the vital activity of living organisms, as well as water falling in the form of precipitation. Water occupies the predominant part of the biosphere. Of the 510 million km2 of the total area of ​​the earth's surface, the World Ocean accounts for 361 million km2 (71%). The ocean is the main receiver and accumulator of solar energy, since water has a high thermal conductivity. The main physical properties of an aqueous medium are its density (800 times higher than air density) and viscosity (55 times higher than air). In addition, water is characterized by mobility in space, which helps to maintain the relative homogeneity of physical and chemical characteristics. Water bodies are characterized by temperature stratification, i.e. change in water temperature with depth. The temperature regime has significant daily, seasonal, annual fluctuations, but in general, the dynamics of water temperature fluctuations is less than that of air. The light regime of water under the surface is determined by its transparency (turbidity). The photosynthesis of bacteria, phytoplankton, and higher plants depends on these properties, and, consequently, the accumulation of organic matter, which is possible only within the euphonic zone, i.e. in the layer where the processes of synthesis prevail over the processes of respiration. Turbidity and transparency depend on the content of suspended substances of organic and mineral origin in water. Of the most significant abiotic factors for living organisms in water bodies, one should note the salinity of water - the content of dissolved carbonates, sulfates, and chlorides in it. There are few of them in fresh waters, and carbonates predominate (up to 80%). In ocean water, chlorides and, to some extent, sulfates predominate. Almost all elements of the periodic system, including metals, are dissolved in sea water. Another characteristic of the chemical properties of water is associated with the presence of dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide in it. Oxygen, which goes to the respiration of aquatic organisms, is especially important. The vital activity and distribution of organisms in water depend on the concentration of hydrogen ions (pH). All the inhabitants of the water - hydrobionts have adapted to a certain level of pH: some prefer an acidic, others - alkaline, and others - a neutral environment. A change in these characteristics, primarily as a result of industrial impact, leads to the death of aquatic organisms or to the replacement of some species by others.

The main types of pollution of the hydrosphere.

Pollution of water resources is understood as any changes in the physical, chemical and biological properties of water in reservoirs due to the discharge of liquid, solid and gaseous substances into them, which cause or may create inconvenience, making the water of these reservoirs dangerous for use, causing damage to the national economy, health and public safety. Sources of pollution are objects from which discharges or otherwise enter water bodies of harmful substances that degrade the quality of surface waters, limit their use, and also negatively affect the state of the bottom and coastal water bodies.

The main sources of pollution and clogging of water bodies are insufficiently treated wastewater from industrial and municipal enterprises, large livestock complexes, production waste from the development of ore minerals; water mines, mines, processing and alloying of timber; water and rail transport discharges; flax primary processing waste, pesticides, etc. Pollutants, getting into natural water bodies, lead to qualitative changes in water, which are mainly manifested in a change in the physical properties of water, in particular, the appearance of unpleasant odors, tastes, etc.); in changing the chemical composition of water, in particular, the appearance of harmful substances in it, the presence of floating substances on the surface of the water and their deposition at the bottom of reservoirs.

Phenol is a rather harmful pollutant of industrial waters. It is found in the wastewater of many petrochemical plants. At the same time, the biological processes of reservoirs, the process of their self-purification, are sharply reduced, the water acquires a specific smell of carbolic acid.

The life of the population of reservoirs is adversely affected by wastewater from the pulp and paper industry. Oxidation of wood pulp is accompanied by the absorption of a significant amount of oxygen, which leads to the death of eggs, fry and adult fish. Fibers and other insoluble substances clog water and impair its physical and chemical properties. From rotting wood and bark, various tannins are released into the water. Resin and other extractive products decompose and absorb a lot of oxygen, causing the death of fish, especially juveniles and eggs. In addition, mole alloys heavily clog rivers, and driftwood often completely clogs their bottom, depriving fish of spawning grounds and food places.

Oil and oil products at the present stage are the main pollutants of inland waters, waters and seas, the World Ocean. Getting into water bodies, they create various forms of pollution: an oil film floating on the water, oil products dissolved or emulsified in water, heavy fractions that have settled to the bottom, etc. This hinders the processes of photosynthesis in water due to the cessation of access to sunlight, and also causes the death of plants and animals. At the same time, the smell, taste, color, surface tension, viscosity of water change, the amount of oxygen decreases, harmful organic substances appear, water acquires toxic properties and poses a threat not only to humans. 12 g of oil makes a ton of water unfit for consumption. Each ton of oil creates an oil film on an area of ​​up to 12 square meters. km. Restoration of affected ecosystems takes 10-15 years.

Nuclear power plants pollute rivers with radioactive waste. Radioactive substances are concentrated by the smallest planktonic microorganisms and fish, then they are transferred along the food chain to other animals. It has been established that the radioactivity of planktonic inhabitants is thousands of times higher than the water in which they live.

Wastewater with increased radioactivity (100 curies per 1 liter or more) is subject to disposal in underground drainless pools and special tanks.

Population growth, the expansion of old and the emergence of new cities have significantly increased the flow of domestic wastewater into inland waters. These effluents have become a source of pollution of rivers and lakes with pathogenic bacteria and helminths. Synthetic detergents widely used in everyday life pollute water bodies to an even greater extent. They are also widely used in industry and agriculture. The chemicals contained in them, entering rivers and lakes with sewage, have a significant impact on the biological and physical regime of water bodies. As a result, the ability of water to saturate with oxygen decreases, and the activity of bacteria that mineralize organic substances is paralyzed.

The pollution of water bodies with pesticides and mineral fertilizers, which come from the fields along with jets of rain and melt water, causes serious concern. As a result of research, for example, it has been proven that insecticides contained in water in the form of suspensions dissolve in oil products that pollute rivers and lakes. This interaction leads to a significant weakening of the oxidative functions of aquatic plants. Getting into water bodies, pesticides accumulate in plankton, benthos, fish, and through the food chain they enter the human body, affecting both individual organs and the body as a whole.

In connection with the intensification of animal husbandry, the effluents of enterprises in this branch of agriculture are increasingly making themselves felt.

Wastewater containing vegetable fibers, animal and vegetable fats, fecal matter, fruit and vegetable residues, waste from the leather and pulp and paper industries, sugar and breweries, meat and dairy, canning and confectionery industries, are the cause of organic pollution of water bodies.

In wastewater, there are usually about 60% of substances of organic origin, biological (bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae) pollution in municipal, medical and sanitary waters and waste from leather and wool washing enterprises belong to the same organic category.

A serious environmental problem is that the usual way of using water to absorb heat in thermal power plants is to directly pump fresh lake or river water through a cooler and then return it to natural reservoirs without pre-cooling. A 1000 MW power plant requires a lake with an area of ​​810 hectares and a depth of about 8.7 m.

Power plants can raise the temperature of the water by 5-15 C compared to the environment. Under natural conditions, with slow increases or decreases in temperature, fish and other aquatic organisms gradually adapt to changes in ambient temperature. But if, as a result of the discharge of hot effluents from industrial enterprises into rivers and lakes, a new temperature regime is quickly established, there is not enough time for acclimatization, living organisms receive a heat shock and die.

Heat shock is the extreme result of thermal pollution. The discharge of heated effluents into water bodies can have other, more insidious consequences. One of them is the effect on metabolic processes.

As a result of an increase in water temperature, the oxygen content in it decreases, while the need for it by living organisms increases. The increased need for oxygen, its lack cause severe physiological stress and even death. Artificial heating of water can significantly change the behavior of fish - cause untimely spawning, disrupt migration

An increase in water temperature can disrupt the structure of the flora of reservoirs. The algae characteristic of cold water are replaced by more thermophilic ones and, finally, at high temperatures they are completely replaced by them, while favorable conditions arise for the mass development of blue-green algae in reservoirs - the so-called “water bloom”. All of the above consequences of thermal pollution of water bodies cause great harm to natural ecosystems and lead to a detrimental change in the human environment. Damage resulting from thermal pollution can be divided into: - economic (losses due to a decrease in the productivity of water bodies, the cost of eliminating the consequences of pollution); social (aesthetic damage from landscape degradation); environmental (irreversible destruction of unique ecosystems, extinction of species, genetic damage).

The path that will allow people to avoid the ecological impasse is now clear. These are non-waste and low-waste technologies, the transformation of waste into useful resources. But it will take decades to bring the idea to life.

Wastewater Treatment Methods

Wastewater treatment is the treatment of wastewater to destroy or remove harmful substances from it. Cleaning methods can be divided into mechanical, chemical, physico-chemical and biological.

The essence of the mechanical method

purification consists in the fact that existing impurities are removed from wastewater by settling and filtering. Mechanical treatment allows you to isolate up to 60-75% of insoluble impurities from domestic wastewater, and up to 95% from industrial wastewater, many of which (as valuable materials) are used in production.

The chemical method consists in the fact that various chemical reagents are added to the wastewater, which react with pollutants and precipitate them in the form of insoluble precipitates. Chemical cleaning achieves a reduction of insoluble impurities up to 95% and soluble impurities up to 25%.

With the physicochemical method

Treatment of wastewater removes finely dispersed and dissolved inorganic impurities and destroys organic and poorly oxidized substances. Of the physicochemical methods, coagulation, oxidation, sorption, extraction, etc., as well as electrolysis, are most often used. Electrolysis is the destruction of organic matter in wastewater and the extraction of metals, acids and other inorganic substances by the flow of electric current. Wastewater treatment using electrolysis is effective in lead and copper plants, in the paint and varnish industry.

Wastewater is also treated using ultrasound, ozone, ion exchange resins and high pressure. Cleaning by chlorination has proven itself well.

Among the wastewater treatment methods, a biological method based on the use of the laws of biochemical self-purification of rivers and other water bodies should play an important role. Various types of biological devices are used: biofilters, biological ponds, etc. In biofilters, wastewater is passed through a layer of coarse-grained material covered with a thin bacterial film. Thanks to this film, the processes of biological oxidation proceed intensively.

In biological ponds, all organisms inhabiting the reservoir take part in wastewater treatment. Before biological treatment, wastewater is subjected to mechanical treatment, and after biological (to remove pathogenic bacteria) and chemical treatment, chlorination with liquid chlorine or bleach. For disinfection, other physical and chemical methods are also used (ultrasound, electrolysis, ozonation, etc.). The biological method gives the best results in the treatment of municipal waste, as well as waste from oil refineries, the pulp and paper industry, and the production of artificial fiber.

In order to reduce pollution of the hydrosphere, it is desirable to reuse in closed, resource-saving, waste-free processes in industry, drip irrigation in agriculture, and economical use of water in production and at home.

3. Lithosphere

The period from 1950 to the present is called the period of the scientific and technological revolution. By the end of the 20th century, there were huge changes in technology, new means of communication and information technologies appeared, which dramatically changed the possibilities for exchanging information and brought the most remote points of the planet closer together. The world is literally changing rapidly before our eyes, and humanity in its actions does not always keep pace with these changes.

Environmental problems did not arise on their own. This is the result of the natural development of civilization, in which the previously formulated rules of human behavior in their relationships with the environment and within human society, which supported a sustainable existence, came into conflict with the new conditions created by scientific and technological progress. In the new conditions, it is necessary to form both new rules of conduct and a new morality, taking into account all natural science knowledge. The greatest difficulty, which determines much in solving environmental problems, is still the insufficient concern of human society as a whole and of many of its leaders with the problems of preserving the environment.

Lithosphere, its structure

Man exists in a certain space, and the main component of this space is the earth's surface - the surface of the lithosphere.

The lithosphere is called the solid shell of the Earth, consisting of the earth's crust and the layer of the upper mantle underlying the earth's crust. The distance of the lower boundary of the Earth's crust from the Earth's surface varies within 5-70 km, and the Earth's mantle reaches a depth of 2900 km. After it, at a distance of 6371 km from the surface, there is a core.

Land occupies 29.2% of the surface of the globe. The upper layers of the lithosphere is called soil. The soil cover is the most important natural formation and component of the Earth's biosphere. It is the soil shell that determines many processes occurring in the biosphere.

Soil is the main source of food, providing 95-97% of food resources for the world's population. The area of ​​land resources in the world is 129 million square meters. km, or 86.5% of the land area. Arable land and perennial plantations in the composition of agricultural land occupy about 10% of the land, meadows and pastures - 25% of the land. Soil fertility and climatic conditions determine the possibility of the existence and development of ecological systems on Earth. Unfortunately, due to improper exploitation, some of the fertile land is lost every year. Thus, over the past century, as a result of accelerated erosion, 2 billion hectares of fertile land have been lost, which is 27% of the total area of ​​land used for agriculture.

Sources of soil pollution.

The lithosphere is polluted by liquid and solid pollutants and wastes. It has been established that annually one ton of waste is generated per inhabitant of the Earth, including more than 50 kg of polymeric, difficult to decompose.

Sources of soil pollution can be classified as follows.

Residential buildings and public utilities. The composition of pollutants in this category of sources is dominated by household waste, food waste, construction waste, waste from heating systems, worn-out household items, etc. All this is collected and taken to landfills. For large cities, the collection and destruction of household waste in landfills has become an intractable problem. The simple burning of garbage in city dumps is accompanied by the release of toxic substances. When burning such objects, for example, chlorine-containing polymers, highly toxic substances are formed - dioxides. Despite this, in recent years, methods have been developed for the destruction of household waste by incineration. A promising method is the burning of such debris over hot melts of metals.

Industrial enterprises. Solid and liquid industrial waste constantly contains substances that can have a toxic effect on living organisms and plants. For example, non-ferrous heavy metal salts are usually present in waste from the metallurgical industry. The engineering industry releases cyanides, arsenic and beryllium compounds into the environment; in the production of plastics and artificial fibers, wastes containing phenol, benzene, styrene are formed; in the production of synthetic rubbers, catalyst wastes, substandard polymer clots get into the soil; in the production of rubber products, dust-like ingredients, soot, which settle on the soil and plants, waste rubber-textile and rubber parts, are released into the environment, and during the operation of tires, worn-out and failed tires, inner tubes and rim tapes. The storage and disposal of used tires is currently an unresolved problem, as it often causes large fires that are very difficult to extinguish. The degree of utilization of used tires does not exceed 30% of their total volume.

Transport. During the operation of internal combustion engines, nitrogen oxides, lead, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, soot and other substances are intensively released, deposited on the surface of the earth or absorbed by plants. In the latter case, these substances also enter the soil and are involved in the cycle associated with food chains.

Agriculture. Soil pollution in agriculture occurs due to the introduction of huge amounts of mineral fertilizers and pesticides. Some pesticides are known to contain mercury.

Soil contamination with heavy metals. Heavy metals are non-ferrous metals whose density is greater than that of iron. These include lead, copper, zinc, nickel, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, mercury.

A feature of heavy metals is that in small quantities, almost all of them are necessary for plants and living organisms. In the human body, heavy metals are involved in vital biochemical processes. However, exceeding the allowable amount leads to serious diseases.

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2. Natural environment as a system. Atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere. Composition, role in the biosphere.

A system is understood as a certain conceivable or real set of parts with connections between them.

natural environment- that system whole, consisting of various functionally connected and hierarchically subordinated ecosystems, united in the biosphere. Within this system, there is a global exchange of matter and energy between all its components. This exchange is realized by changing the physical and chemical properties of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere. Any ecosystem is based on the unity of living and non-living matter, which manifests itself in the use of elements of inanimate nature, from which, thanks to solar energy, organic substances are synthesized. Simultaneously with the process of their creation, the process of consumption and decomposition into initial inorganic compounds takes place, which ensures the external and internal circulation of substances and energy. This mechanism operates in all the main components of the biosphere, which is the main condition for the sustainable development of any ecosystem. The natural environment as a system develops due to this interaction, therefore, the isolated development of the components of the natural environment is impossible. But the various components of the natural environment have different, inherent features only to them, which allows them to be identified and studied separately.

Atmosphere.

This is the gaseous shell of the Earth, consisting of a mixture of various gases, vapors and dust. It has a clearly defined layered structure. The layer closest to the Earth's surface is called the troposphere (height from 8 to 18 km). Further, at an altitude of up to 40 km, there is a layer of the stratosphere, and at an altitude of more than 50 km, the mesosphere, above which the thermosphere is located, which does not have a definite upper boundary.

The composition of the Earth's atmosphere: nitrogen 78%, oxygen 21%, argon 0.9%, water vapor 0.2 - 2.6%, carbon dioxide 0.034%, neon, helium, nitrogen oxides, ozone, krypton, methane, hydrogen.

Ecological functions of the atmosphere:

Protective function (against meteorites, cosmic radiation).

Thermoregulatory (in the atmosphere there is carbon dioxide, water, which increase the temperature of the atmosphere). The average temperature on earth is 15 degrees, if there were no carbon dioxide and water, the temperature on earth would be 30 degrees lower.

Weather and climate are formed in the atmosphere.

The atmosphere is a habitat, because it has life-sustaining functions.

the atmosphere weakly absorbs weak short-wave radiation, but delays long-wave (IR) thermal radiation of the earth's surface, which reduces the heat transfer of the Earth and increases its temperature;

The atmosphere has a number of features inherent only to it: high mobility, variability of its constituent components, originality of molecular reactions.

Hydrosphere.

This is the water shell of the Earth. It is a collection of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, ponds, swamps, groundwater, glaciers and atmospheric water vapor.

The role of water:

is a component of living organisms; living organisms cannot do without water for a long time;

affects the composition in the surface layer of the atmosphere - supplies oxygen to it, regulates the content of carbon dioxide;

affects the climate: water has a high heat capacity, therefore, heating up during the day, it cools down more slowly at night, which makes the climate milder and more humid;

chemical reactions take place in the water, which ensure the chemical purification of the biosphere and the production of biomass;

The water cycle links together all parts of the biosphere, forming a closed system. As a result of it, the accumulation, purification and redistribution of the planetary water supply occurs;

Evaporating water from the earth's surface forms atmospheric water in the form of water vapor (greenhouse gas).

Lithosphere.

This is the upper solid shell of the Earth, includes the earth's crust and the upper mantle of the Earth. The thickness of the lithosphere is from 5 to 200 km. The lithosphere is characterized by area, relief, soil cover, vegetation, subsoil and space for human economic activity.

The lithosphere consists of two parts: the parent rock and the soil cover. The soil cover has a unique property - fertility, i.e. the ability to provide plant nutrition and their biological productivity. This determines the indispensability of the soil in agricultural production. The soil cover of the Earth is a complex environment containing solid (mineral), liquid (soil moisture) and gaseous components.

Biochemical processes in the soil determine its ability to self-purify, i.e. the ability to convert complex organic substances into simple - inorganic. Soil self-cleaning occurs more efficiently under aerobic conditions. In this case, two stages are distinguished: 1. Decay of organic substances (mineralization). 2. Synthesis of humus (humification).

The role of the soil:

the basis of all terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems (both natural and man-made).

Soil - the basis of plant nutrition provides biological productivity, i.e. it is the basis for the production of food for humans and other bionts.

The soil accumulates organic matter and various chemical elements and energy.

Cycles are not possible without soil - it regulates all the flows of matter in the biosphere.

The soil regulates the composition of the atmosphere and hydrosphere.

Soil is a biological absorber, destroyer and neutralizer of various contaminants. Soil contains half of all known microorganisms. When the soil is destroyed, the functioning that has developed in the biosphere is irreversibly disrupted, i.e., the role of the soil is colossal. Since the soil has become an object of industrial activity, this has generated a significant change in the state of land resources. These changes are not always positive.