Category: Environmental Studies

Ozone layer depletion: Ozone (O3) occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It forms a layer which is denser towards the poles and thinnest in the tropics (around the equator). Ozone is formed in the atmosphere when ultraviolet radiation from the sun strikes the stratosphere splitting oxygen molecules (O2) into atomic oxygen (O). The atomic oxygen quickly […]

Multidisciplinary nature of environmental science: Environmental science is a multidisciplinary / Interdisciplinary subject which deals with each and every aspect of life i.e. related with us. It requires the knowledge of various other subjects like biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, micro-biology, bio-chemistry, geology, economics, law, sociology etc. It is a relatively new field of study which […]

Hotspots of biodiversity: The distribution of biodiversity is not uniform across the geographical regions of the earth. Certain regions of the world have very large number of species. These regions are called mega diversity zone. Twelve countries have been identified as mega diversity countries, which contain 60-70% of the world’s biodiversity. India is one of […]

Greenhouse effect and Global warming: Greenhouse means a building made of glass with heat and humidity regulated for growing plants. In it visible light passes through the glass and heats up the soil warming the plants. The warm soil emits radiation in longer wave lengths, i.e. infrared. As the glass is opaque to longer wavelength […]

Greenhouse effect: The short wavelengths of visible light from the sun are absorbed by the medium but the larger wavelengths of infrared radiation could not be absorbed and results in heating the surface. Example of such effect is the heating of car by sunlight passing through the windshield. Earth reflects about 30% of the radiation […]

Function of an ecosystem: Each ecosystem performs some functions in a systematic manner. The major seven functional aspects of the ecosystem are as follows: Energy flow Food chain and food web relationships Material cycling Biological diversity and its stability Primary and secondary productivity Ecosystem regulation and Homeostasis Development and evolution of ecosystems Primary Productivity: Primary productivity […]

Food chain: The sequence of eating and being eaten in an ecosystem is known as the food chain. It is the path of transfer of food energy from the producers through a series of organisms i.e herbivores to carnivores to decomposers. There are three basic types of food chain as discussed below: Grazing food chain […]

Energy flow in ecosystem: Biological activity requires utilization of energy, which comes from the sun. Solar energy is converted into chemical energy by the process of photosynthesis. This chemical energy is then transformed into mechanical and heat forms during metabolic activities. The flow of energy in the biological world takes place from the sun to […]

Endangered species: The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has published the IUCN Red List of threatened species. The objectives of this list are: Identification and documentation of endangered species Creating awareness about the importance of threatened species Preparing a global index for the decline of biodiversity This list categories various […]

Ecological pyramid: Charles Elton developed the concept of ecological pyramid. After his name these pyramids are also called as Eltonian pyramids. It is a graphical representation or pyramid shaped diagram which depicts the number of organisms, biomass and productivity at each trophic level. Ecological pyramids begin with the producers at the bottom and proceed through […]