Organisms, including people, live in environments where they are buffeted by winds and currents, exposed to nutrient and toxic chemicals, and heated and cooled by radiative transfers of energy. Some of these problems are relatively simple, such as the management of the oxygen depleting, fish killing, effects of sewage on receiving water bodies. Some of them are awesomely complex. Moving water from North to South in California with minimal environmental damage is a formidable technical challenge even before we begin to consider the equally intimidating political complexities. Human effects on greenhouse gas concentrations impact a global system in which numerous intricately interlocked biogeochemical cycles and physical transport processes conspire to determine the Earth s heat budget.
Quantitative analysis is a fundamental part of understanding and managing ecological systems.
Hardly ever do environmental problems yield to categorical analysis. We need to estimate the performance of alternative protection or remediation plans in order to find a cost-effective solution to the problem. The tactic for solving management problems consist of making a model of the physical, chemical, biological, and socio-economic processes involved and using it as a tool to solve the problem. We want you to come out of the course with the skills necessary to set up and solve basic models of environmental processes and problems. This course is in the style of an engineering course in environmental science.