Chapter 14: Soils & Environment

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Chapter 14 Soils Environment
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soil composition

• organics
• air
• water
• weathered earth materials (parent material)
• mechanical weathering
• smaller, rounder pieces (if moved)
• chemical weathering
• feldspars and water clays
• calcite - dissolves
• organics - dissolve - acidify water
• quartz - usually left behind
• transported vs residual

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formation

• dominated by downward movement of water
• weathers parent material
• moves dissolved substances downward

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Soil profile - fig p 440

• created by downward movement of water
• horizons
• O - organic humus little or no parent material
• A
• weathered parent material w/ organics
• zone of leaching
• E - few organics or iron
• B - zone of accumulation
• Bt - clay enriched
• Bk - calcium enriched - calcium coats
• K
• calcium dominated
• caliche - calcium layers
• C - partially altered parent material
• R - parent material

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soil properties

• color
• related to composition
• organics - dark yellow
• iron - red or grey - dominates
• calcium - light or white
• describe wet - use charts
• texture
• grain size distribution (among fraction lt2mm
• estimate in field - measure in lab
• structure
• peds
• granular, blocky, prismatic, platy gtclay

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Soil fertility

• nutrients available for plants
• natural
• parent material - flood deposits, till, bedrock
• organics
• climate
• temp
• precip
• rain supports vegitation
• leaches nutrients
• Northern IL forests vs rainforests
• humans
• alter veg
• add and remove nutrients
• single crops
• crop rotation
• erosion
• pesticides

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Water in soil

• saturated vs moist vs dry
• What effect does soil moisture have on soil
  cohesion?
• sand (moist vs wet vs dry
• clay (wet vs dry
• flow
• saturated - hi pressure to lo pressure
• unsaturated - film of water attached to grains

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Soil classification

• taxonomy - based on physical and chemical props
  of soil
• morphology
• nutrients
• organics
• classification methods
• order, suborder, great group, subgroup, family,
  series
• focus on ag use
• universal soil classification
• focus on size and composition
• used by engineers

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What are the engineering properties of soils?

• How will soil affect building
• based on particle size, compostion, water content
• behavior based on water content
• solid/plastic/liquid
• plastic limit, liquid limit - diff is plasticity
  index
• take soil, add water until ribbons form, flows
• wet weight - dry weight over dry weight
• strength - how well does soil hold together and
  support
• cohesion of particles - esp for fine grain
• molecular and electrostatic forces
• moisture
• friction - density, size, and shape of particles
  - esp for coarse grain
• vegetation
• sensitivity
• change in strength as a result of disturbance
• coarse - low
• fine - high esp clay
• compressibility
• coarse - low

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Land use and soils

• What are the causes and effects of soil erosion?
• landscape modification
• resulting in increased erosion, esp during
  modification
• urbanization
• sharp sed load increase followed by long term
  decrease
• timber harvests
• removes cover and roots
• clear cut vs select cut
• equipment disturbance
• agriculture - tilling and grazing
• exposes soil to wind and water
• management - wind breaks, contour farming,
  no-till, terracing, strip cropping, CRP, buffer
  zones
• other effects
• chemical pollution - fertilizer, pesticides,
  herbicides
• nutrient loss
• off-road vehicles
• mechanical - motorcycles, 4wd, mountain bikes
• animal - horses, hikers
• Sediment pollution

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Soil pollution

• addition of toxic or carcinogenic substances to
  soil
• factors
• mobility
• solubility
• attraction to clays
• decompostion
• chemical (agrichems
• biological
• presence of
• oxygen
• water
• microorganisms

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What is desertification?

• conversion of productive land to desert
• factors
• deforestation
• soil erosion
• poor drainage of irrigated land
• overdraft of water
• accelerated by drought stress
• affects long term hydrologic cycle - climate
• North American example
• water tables
• salinization of soil and near-surface soil water
  from irrigation
• reduction of surface water in streams and lakes
• high rates of soil erosion
• loss of native vegetation
• interrelated factors - salinization - veg loss -
  erosion
• patchy occurrences

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Soil surveys and land use planning

• soil maps
• soil cross-sections
• soil descriptions
• inc grain size distribution
• moisture content
• strength
• may rate soils
• agriculture, prime, important etc
• housing
• industry
• forestry
• hydric
• derivitive maps
• based on specific characteristics
• building limits, slope, thickness, moisture
  content
• none-slight
• moderate
• severe

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Chapter 16 Global Climate Change
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Global change

• Earth has been changing since beginning early
  preCambrian (over 4.5 billion years)
• Scale of variability - days to gt10,000's yrs
• Causes of variability
• Sun - output, angle
• Earth
• rotation speed (slowing)
• continental movements
• Volcanic output
• Life - O2 CO2 cycles, humans

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Research priorities

• is there change?
• on what scale?
• what are the causes?
• what are the affects?

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Composition of atmosphere

• N - 78
• O2 - 21
• Ar 0.9
• CO2 0.03
• other 0.07 CH4, 3, CO, NOx, SOx, H2S, etc
• water 0 to 4

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Energy balance

• almost all energy ultimately from sun
• earths energy cycle
• reflects 30
• absorbs 70 (visible IR)
• emits IR (as much energy as it receives)

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Earths temperature based on

• sunlight received
• amount reflected
• atmospheric retention greenhouse effect
• H2O vapor, CO2, CH4, CFCs
• natural process
• increasing in atmos due to humans
• CO2 changes
• highs - interglacial periods - 125K yrs ago and
  now
• current increase started in 1800's
• releasing stored CO2 from rx
• other changes

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Tools to study global change

• Geologic record
• Real time
• Mathematical modeling - global circulation models

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Earths Climate

• on average warmer than present
• current
• ice age - 2MYA to present
• last glacial advance
• ended 10,000 yrs ago
• gradually warming since
• anthropogenic effects

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Potential Effects of Global Warming

• climate change
• more rain
• more violent storms
• sea level rise
• complex responses (unpredictable)

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Chapter 17Geology, Society, and the Future
Selected Examples
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Geology may influence diseases and death rates

• acute vs chronic response
• Element requirements for life
• Metals - H, Na, Mg, K, Ca
• Non-metals - C, N, O, P, S, Cl, Fe - hemoglobin
• Trace - Fluorine, Cr, Mn, Cobalt, Cu, Zn,
  Selenium, Molybdenum, Iodine

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Concepts of waste management

• dilute and disperse
• concentrate and contain
• integrated waste management

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integrated waste management

• resource recovery
• goal zero waste production
• recycle
• reuse
• reduce - pay as you throw
• move waste around
• sequential land use (subsequent uses must be
  limited)
• front end controls
• more efficient processes
• less packaging

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waste stream

• Waste types
• industrial
• construction
• demolition
• municipal
• commercial
• medical

• Composition
• paper
• hard waste
• plastics
• metals
• food
• glass
• wood

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Disposal methods

• on site - any method
• sewer (note on-site in book
• incineration
• produces ash and air waste
• composting recycles organic waste
• landfill - engineered site

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Landfills

• considerations
• leachate
• methane
• rodents pests
• active face - blowing trash
• site selection
• local approval
• IL PCB - legal requirements
• IL EPA - engineering requirements

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Landfills

• site design - fig p 544
• geology
• liners
• leachate collection and treatment
• waste types accepted
• monitoring
• landfill conditions
• migration routes
• cells
• subsequent monitoring and design

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Hazardous Chemical Waste

• waste byproducts
• uncontrolled sites - CERCLA
• controlled sites - RCRA
• responsible management
• cradle to grave
• generators
• transporters
• storage
• treatment
• disposal

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Environmental Impact Statement

• EIS summary
• purpose and need
• rigorous comparison of alternatives
• description of environment
• discussion of consequences
• identification of issues and alternatives
• record of decision
• alternatives
• which are preferred
• rationale
• avoidance and/or mitigation required

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Site selection and evaluation

• physiographic determinism
• design with nature
• minimize landscape alteration
• focus - will site provide needs of use
• process - fig p 555
• collect data
• recon likely sites
• collect addnt data
• magnitude and importance of geologic limitations
  and possibilities

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Methods of site selection and evaluation

• cost benefits analysis
• physiographic determinism
• use map overlays (to show s and -s)
• choose best site
• use physical, social, aesthetic, etc
• Environmental geology mapping
• interpretive
• may focus on anticipated uses
• content based on user
• GIS

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considerations of site selection and evaluation

• Landscape aesthetics - scenic resources
• hard to evaluate - subjective
• uniqueness - overall scenic
• sequential land use - fig p 556
• multiple land use - fig p 557

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Environmental Law Basis

• Trust doctrine
• each generation has a moral responsibility to
  provide the next with healthful, productive and
  aesthetically pleasing surroundings
• Declaration of Independence
• Government protects each persons right to life,
  liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

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Environmental Law Basis

• Constitution
• Preamble - promote the general welfare, and
  secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and
  our posterity
• Article 1, section 8 (Congressional powers)
• to regulate commerce among the several states
• toprovide for the common defense and general
  welfare of the US

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Environmental Law Basis

• Constitution
• 9th amendment
• The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain
  rights, shall not be construed to deny or
  disparage others retained by the people
• 5th amendment
• No person shall bedeprived of life, liberty, or
  property without due process of law nor shall
  private property be taken for public use without
  just compensation
• 10th amendment
• The powers not delegated to the US by the
  constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states
  are reserved to the states respectively, or to
  the people
• 14th amendment, section 1
• extends 5th amend to states

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Environmental Legislation Federal

• Refuse act of 1899 - unlawful to discharge refuse
  into tributaries of navigable waters Permit from
  Sec of Army
• National Environmental Policy Act
• focused attn on potential env degradation
• provided a framework for proj eval (EIS
• increased efforts to protect env in US
• Clean Water Act Clean Air Act
• CERCLA RCRA

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Environmental Law local

• land use planning and law
• zoning

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Environmental Law controversies

• highest and best use
• most profitable use
• takings
• conflict with treaties and trade agreements

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Environmental Law International

• Law of the seabed
• up for grabs
• no treaties
• 20 mile limit
• treaties
• trade agreements