Exercises in Environmental Physics

ISBN-13: 9781441922229 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 330 str.

Valerio Faraoni

Opis

The study of environmental physics requires understanding topics from many di?erent areas of physics as well as comprehension of phy- cal aspects of the world around us. Several excellent textbooks are available covering most aspects of environmental physics and of appli- tions of physics to the natural environment from various points of view. However, while teaching environmental physics to university students, I sorelymissedabookspeci?callydevotedtoexercisesfortheenvironm- tal science student. Thus, the motivation for this book came about as in physics, as well as in many other disciplines, satisfactory knowledge of a subject cannot be acquired without practice. Usually students are not familiar with the various areas of physics that are required to describe both the environment and the human impact upon it. At the same time, students need to develop skills in the manipulation of the ideas and c- cepts learned in class. Therefore, this exercise book is addressed to all levels of university students in environmental sciences. Because of the wide range of potential users this book contains both calculus-based and algebra-based problems ranging from very simple to advanced ones. Multiple solutions at di?erent levels are presented for certainproblems thestudentwhoisjustbeginningtolearncalculuswill bene't from the comparison of the di?erent methods of solution. The material is also useful for courses in atmospheric physics, environmental aspects of energy generation and transport, groundwater hydrology, soil physics, andoceanphysics, andselectedpartsmayevenbeusedforbasic undergraduate physics courses. This collection of exercises is based on courses taught at the University of Northern British Columbia and at the University of Victoria, Canada."

Spis treści

1. Mathematical Methods 1.1 Complex numbers 1.2 Functions of a single variable 1.3 Ordinary differential equations 1.4 Functions of two or more variables 1.5 Vector calculus 1.6 Partial differential equations 1.7 Tensors 1.8 Dimensional analysis 2. Planet Earth in Space 2.1 Astronomy 2.2 Planet Earth 3. Ocean and Atmospheric Physics 3.1 The blue planet 3.2 Oceanic circulation 3.3 Ocean waves 3.4 General features of the atmosphere 3.5 Temperature and pressure 3.6 Atmospheric circulation 3.7 Precipitation 4. Electromagnetic radiation 4.1 The electromagnetic spectrum 4.2 Blackbody radiation 4.3 Propagation of electromagnetic radiation 4.4 Greenhouse effect 4.5 Electromagnetic radiation and human health 4.6 Environmental spectroscopy 4.7 Radioactivity 5. Energy and the Environment 5.1 Mechanical energy 5.2 Heat transfer 5.3 Thermodynamics 5.4 Electricity 6. Fluid Mechanics 6.1 Liquids 6.2 Gases 7. Evapotranspiration, Soils, and Hydrology 7.1 Phase transitions, hygrometry, and evapotranspiration 7.2 Soil physics 7.3 Groundwater hydrology 8. Pollution 8.1 Transport equations 8.2 Water pollution 8.3 Air pollution Appendices A. Physical constants B. Mathematical identities C. Differential operators in various coordinate systems References Index

O autorze

Valerio Faraoni is currently a Professor in the Physics Department at Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada.

Blurb

Exercises in Environmental Physics covers the essential topics in university courses in environmental physics including:

-Energy and the environment

-Fluid mechanics

-Evapotranspiration, soil physics and groundwater hydrology

-Pollution

-Ocean and atmospheric physics

-The planet in space

This is the first book specifically devoted to exercises on the application of physics to describe the environment including the human impact. It is a valuable tool for students to develop skills in the manipulation of physical concepts and methods while learning environmental science. The exercises are drawn from the author's teaching experience and the need for stimulating practice problems in various environmental physics courses. A chapter on mathematical methods used in the book supplements the material.