Environmental Compartments: Equilibria and Assessment of Processes Between Air, Water, Sediments and Biota

Description

In order to achieve viable solutions to present-day environmental problems, professionals must understand the spatial and temporal links which exist between the different environmental compartments of biota, air, water, and land and aquatic sediments. This book explains many of the seminal theories used to identify links and predict the movement of natural and anthropogenic chemical compounds among environmental compartments. Theories are presented within the context of laboratory and field examples. Examples are given for many issues of public concern. New insights into theories regarding accumulation of contaminants such as PCBs are presented, challenging the passive acceptance of previously held dogma. The book is primarily for university education, but is also intended as a resource for environmental scientists and policymakers. To encourage self-study a number of exercises are incorporated in the text and two demo models are provided on a diskette, one showing radionuclide transport from dumped nuclear waste in the Kara Sea, the second illustrating the role of biodiversity in coastal zone management.