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
Biofortification
Biofortification is the process of increasing the number of vitamins and minerals in a crop; it can be carried out via agronomic techniques, transgenic technology, or plant breeding. The most practical and sustainable method for addressing the nutritional issue is biofortification, which involves enhancing the nutrients in common foods. This method is likely to reach rural residents who have limited access to a range of dietary options or other micronutrient therapies by the use of biofortified crops. 
  • 793
  • 21 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Land Use and Land Cover Mapping
The volume of collected or archived geospatial data for land use and land cover (LULC) mapping including remotely sensed satellite imagery and auxiliary geospatial datasets is increasing. Innovative machine learning, deep learning algorithms, and cutting-edge cloud computing have also been developed. While new opportunities are provided by these geospatial big data and advanced computer technologies for LULC mapping, challenges also emerge for LULC mapping from using these geospatial big data.
  • 2.2K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Chemical Treatment for Textile Waste
Trends in the textile industry show a continuous increase in the production and sale of textile materials, which in turn generates a huge amount of discarded clothing every year. This has a negative impact on the environment, on one side, by consuming resources—some of them non-renewables (to produce synthetic polymers)—and on the other side, by polluting the environment through the emission of GHGs (greenhouse gases), the generation of microplastics, and the release of toxic chemicals in the environment (dyes, chemical reagents, etc.). When natural polymers (e.g., cellulose, protein fibers) are used for the manufacturing of clothes, the negative impact is transferred to soil pollution (e.g., by using pesticides, fertilizers). In addition, for the manufacture of clothes from natural fibers, large amounts of water are consumed for irrigation. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the consumption of clothing is expected to increase by 63%, from 62 million tonnes in 2019 to 102 million tonnes in 2030.
  • 1.1K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Sustainable Assessment of Concrete Repairs
In order to improve the sustainability of concrete structures and repairs over their life cycle, life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) should be applied. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic method to determine the environmental impact of a product or process with a systematic set of procedures for compiling and examining the inputs and outputs of materials and energy during the entire life cycle. A life cycle is the interlinked stages of a product or service system, from the extraction of natural resources to final disposal (cradle-to-grave). LCCA is a systematic or analytical method to determine the economic performance of a product or process during the entire life cycle, when the initial cost is taken into account, along with future cash flows incurred throughout the lifespan over a predefined period of analysis. The future cash flows are often taken into account by discounting, which compares costs and revenues at different stages in time and emphasizes the importance of present cash flows rather than future ones due to inflation and the earning power of money.
  • 698
  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
De-Carbonization of Zhejiang Province by Nature
The increasing emission of CO2 causes global warming and ocean acidification, imposing damages on the global ecosystem. With the continuous development of industry, fossil CO2 emissions have increased rapidly, and global fossil CO2 emissions have reached 36.4 Gt yr−1 in 2021. In response to the increasing global warming, climate goals, i.e., “zero carbon” and “carbon neutral”, have been proposed by more than 130 countries in the world while 66 of them have reached a consensus on the net-zero target. 
  • 440
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Partially Substitutions of Silica Fume for Sustainable Concrete
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) uses a lot of natural resources, much like regular concrete, which results in unsustainable construction. Slump flow, slump T50, L-box, and V-funnel tests were used to investigate fresh SCC properties, such as filling and passing capabilities. Mechanical properties were examined using compressive, tensile, and flexure strength, while the durability characteristics of SCC were examined through water absorption, porosity, sorptivity, and chloride resistance. The internal structure of SCC, with and without SF, is reviewed through scan electronic microscopy (SEM). Silica fume (SF) lacked the filling and passing ability of SCC, but is still within the limit defined by the technical specification for SCC. Improvements in SCC’s strength and durability were also seen; however, greater doses had a negative impact on these attributes due to an absence of flowability. Researchers recommended the ideal SF dosage ranges from 10 to 15% by volume of cement. 
  • 387
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Carbon Sequestration in Soil
The agroforestry systems with a high potential for carbon (C) sequestration are those degraded by poor management strategies. Studies on changes in soil C status in these ecosystems mostly take into account labile C pools. Labile and stable soil organic matter (SOM) fractions are affected by soil management and land-use changes. Stable C pools are essential to understanding effects of land-use on soil C storage in the long term. 
  • 374
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Revalorization of Microalgae Biomass for Synergistic Interaction
Microalgae and cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microorganisms’ sources of renewable biomass that can be used for bioplastic production. These microorganisms have high growth rates, and contrary to other feedstocks, such as land crops, they do not require arable land. In addition, they can be used as feedstock for bioplastic production while not competing with food sources (e.g., corn, wheat, and soy protein). 
  • 415
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Cleaning Technologies for Indoor Air Quality Improvement
If outdoor air is more polluted, or in certain situations where ventilation is not possible, other strategies need to be applied, such as source control and pollutants extraction. The latter incorporates air cleaning technologies, one of the emergent areas of indoor air quality. Various air treatment technologies can be used to control contaminants, including physicochemical technologies and biological technologies.
  • 547
  • 28 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Source Analysis of Heavy Metal Pollution in Soils
Eight types of heavy metals in the soil on the banks of Shuimo River in Urumqi were analysed via X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and national standard detection methods. The UNMIX and positive matrix factorisation (PMF) models were comprehensively used to analyse the sources and contribution rates of potential pollutants. The soil samples were collected from three layers: 0–20, 20–40, and 40–60 cm. Each sample point in each layer was located 5 m, 1 km, and 2 km from the riverbank. The results showed that only the average concentration of Mn in each layer of soil was lower than the background value, and the average concentrations of other heavy metals were higher than their background values. Among them, Ni concentration highly exceeded the background value in the 40–60 cm soil layer, reaching 1.92 times. The similarities and differences between the sources and contributions estimated by the UNMIX and PMF models were also clarified. The similarities of the two common sources (natural source and artificial source) for each soil layer were relatively large, and the analysis results of the two models were within model reliability range. By comparing the Pearson correlation coefficients and distribution maps of heavy metal concentrations in surface soil, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Cu were from human sources, and Mn, Ni, and V were from natural sources. In future studies, multiple models should be comprehensively used to determine the potential pollutant sources and estimate contribution rates.
  • 736
  • 23 Sep 2022
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