Summary

Environmental science emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment. Today, it provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems. Environmental studies are incorporating more of the social sciences in order to understand human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. This entry collection features information about design and technology for improving environmental quality in every aspect.

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Topic Review
Barriers to Sustainable Farming Practices
Research has a critical role in supporting the implementation of farming practices that are appropriate for meeting food and climate security for a growing global population. Notwithstanding progress towards more sustainable agricultural production, the rate of change varies across and within regions and is, overall, too slow. Understanding what is and is not working at the implementation level and, critically, providing justified explanations on outcomes, is an important contribution of the literature. It is suggested that a greater application of theory in adoption research could increase the contribution of the literature. 
  • 1.8K
  • 10 May 2021
Topic Review
ENM/NPs and Marine Safety
The application of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in marine environmental remediation gained increasing attention. Due to their large surface area and high reactivity, ENMs offer the potential for the efficient removal of pollutants from environmental matrices with better performances compared to conventional techniques.
  • 892
  • 29 Apr 2021
Topic Review
The TACTIC Telescope
The TACTIC (TeV Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope with Imaging Camera) is a ground-based gamma-ray telescope in India. The telescope was set up at Mount Abu (24.6∘ N, 72.7∘ E, 1300 m above sea level)  in 1997. The operating principle of TACTIC is based on the imaging atmospheric Cherenkov technique for indirect observation of the gamma-ray sky. Since its first light in 1997, the TACTIC telescope has been employed to explore the Universe at TeV energies and several outstanding results are derived from the TACTIC data.  
  • 1.7K
  • 28 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Perovskite Solar Cells with g-C3N4
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted great research interest in the scientific community due to their extraordinary optoelectronic properties and the fact that their power conversion efficiency (PCE) has increased rapidly in recent years, surpassing other 3rd generation photovoltaic (PV) technologies. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) presents exceptional optical and electronic properties and its use was recently expanded in the field of PSCs. The addition of g-C3N4 in the perovskite absorber and/or the electron transport layer (ETL) resulted in PCEs exceeding 22%, mainly due to defects passivation, improved conductivity and crystallinity as well as low charge carriers’ recombination rate within the device. Significant performance increase, including stability enhancement, was also achieved when g-C3N4 was applied at the PSC interfaces and the observed improvement was attributed to its wetting (hydrophobic/hydrophilic) nature and the fine tuning of the corresponding interface energetics. 
  • 1.6K
  • 26 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Zearalenone and the Immune Response
Zearalenone (ZEA) is an estrogenic fusariotoxin, being classified as a phytoestrogen, or as a mycoestrogen. ZEA and its metabolites are able to bind to estrogen receptors, 17β-estradiol specific receptors, leading to reproductive disorders which include low fertility, abnormal fetal development, reduced litter size and modification at the level of reproductive hormones especially in female pigs. ZEA has also significant effects on immune response with immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive results. This review presents the effects of ZEA and its derivatives on all levels of the immune response such as innate immunity with its principal component inflammatory response as well as the acquired immunity with two components, humoral and cellular immune response. The mechanisms involved by ZEA in triggering its effects are addressed. 
  • 1.2K
  • 26 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Shallow Marine Sediments
Geological structure changes, including deformations and ruptures, developed in shallow marine sediments are well recognized but were not systematically reviewed in previous studies. These structures, generally developed at a depth less than 1000 m below seafloor, are considered to play a significant role in the migration, accumulation, and emission of hydrocarbon gases and fluids, and the formation of gas hydrates, and they are also taken as critical factors affecting carbon balance in the marine environment.
  • 2.3K
  • 25 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Biogas Desulphurisation
The agriculture and livestock industry generate waste used in anaerobic digestion to produce biogas containing methane (CH4), useful in the generation of electricity and heat. However, although biogas is mainly composed of CH4 (~65%) and CO2 (~34%), among the 1% of other compounds present is hydrogen sulphide (H2S) which deteriorates engines and power generation fuel cells that use biogas, generating a foul smell and contaminating the environment. As a solution to this, anoxic biofiltration, specifically with biotrickling filters (BTFs), stands out in terms of the elimination of H2S as it is cost-effective, efficient, and more environmentally friendly than chemical solutions. BTFs are a devices in which a microbial biofilm (mainly bacteria) formed on a packing material, degrades the pollutants (in this case hydrogen sulphide).
  • 1.7K
  • 23 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Seawater
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) is a term used to represent petroleum (crude oil) that consists of a blend of thousands of compounds. They are referred to as hydrocarbons because almost all consist of hydrogen and carbon. A crude oil spill is a common issue during offshore oil drilling, transport and transfer to onshore. Second, the production of petroleum refinery effluent is known to cause pollution due to its toxic effluent discharge. Sea habitats and onshore soil biota are affected by TPH as a pollutant in their natural environment. Crude oil pollution in seawater, estuaries and beaches requires an efficient process of cleaning. To remove crude oil pollutants from seawater, various physico-chemical and biological treatment methods have been applied worldwide. A biological treatment method using bacteria, fungi and algae has recently gained a lot of attention due to its efficiency and lower cost.
  • 4.2K
  • 23 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Carbon Nanofibers
Carbon nanofibers are nano-sized fibers that have a high degree of crystalline orientation. In recent years, ecological issues have led to the search for new green materials from biomass as precursors for producing carbon materials. Such green materials are more attractive than traditional petroleum-based materials, which are environmentally harmful and non-biodegradable.
  • 2.2K
  • 02 May 2021
Topic Review
Nanoimpact in Plants
Transcriptomics studies are available to evaluate the potential toxicity of nanomaterials in plants, and many highlight their effect on stress-responsive genes. However, a comparative analysis of overall expression changes suggests a low impact on the transcriptome. Environmental challenges like pathogens, saline, or drought stress induce stronger transcriptional responses than nanoparticles. Clearly, plants did not have the chance to evolve specific gene regulation in response to novel nanomaterials; but they use common regulatory circuits with other stress responses. 
  • 884
  • 22 Apr 2021
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