Knowra Environmental science Environmental science Environmental science studies the environment and interactions among its physical, chemical, and biological components, including how human activities affect them.
Ecology : The study of relationships among organisms and between organisms and their environments. Explains how species, populations, and communities interact within environmental systems.
Biogeochemical cycle : The movement of an element or compound through living organisms and Earth's physical systems. Tracks how matter circulates among organisms, air, water, and rock.
Environmental impact assessment : A process for predicting and evaluating the environmental effects of a proposed project before approval. Applies environmental evidence to decisions about infrastructure and development.
Environmental studies : An interdisciplinary field examining environmental issues through natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Often overlaps with environmental science but gives greater weight to human institutions and values.
Climate change : Long-term changes in climate patterns, including recent warming driven primarily by human greenhouse-gas emissions. Draws together evidence about atmospheric processes, ecosystems, and human causes.
Biogeochemistry : The study of how chemical elements move through biological, geological, and atmospheric systems. Connects living processes to the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements.
Climate system : The interacting atmosphere, oceans, land, ice, and living systems that shape Earth's climate. Shows how exchanges among environmental components produce climate patterns.
Life-cycle assessment : A method for estimating environmental impacts across a product's or service's life cycle. Compares burdens that may shift between production, use, and disposal.
Environmental engineering : The branch of engineering that designs systems to protect environmental and public health. Emphasizes engineered solutions, while environmental science primarily investigates systems and evidence.
Biodiversity loss : The decline in the variety of life across genes, species, and ecosystems. Measures a major consequence of habitat change, pollution, exploitation, and other pressures.
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