The course aims at providing the tools for understanding and quantifying the biogeochemical processes that characterise soil, surface and groundwater, the interactions and feedbacks between these compartments, and the main anthropogenic perturbations. The objective is to raise awareness about the environmental consequences of intensive farming, at local to global scale. Whenever possible, specific reference is made to the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda.
Prerequisiti
Basic notions of Mathematics, Chemistry and Geochemistry, as provided in the Degree courses of Natural Sciences. In particular, students should be familiar with the chemical elements and their properties.
Metodi didattici
The course comprises lectures and seminars dedicated to relevant environmental issues (e.g. water resources management in developing countries (SDG#6), microplastic pollution (SDG#14)).
Verifica Apprendimento
At the end of the course, for students attending the lectures, a written assessment is planned, consisting in 4-5 open questions. Alternatively, students can take an oral examination at the following exam sessions. Questions will concern the elemental cycles and their perturbation by intensive farming, the main pollution phenomena observed in the different sectors and the environmental impact of the three main Lombardy crops. Besides the knowledge of the course subjects, the exam will test the student's capability to evaluate the possible environmental impacts of an agricultural practice, both at the local and global scale.
Testi
M.K. Hill (2010) Understanding environmental pollution. Cambridge University Press. van der Perk M. (2006) Soil and water contamination. Taylor and Francis, London. Global change instruction program http://www.ucar.edu/communications/gcip/index. Materials and slides provided during lectures.
Contenuti
• Elemental cycles (0.5 CFU) - Introduction: flow diagrams, reservoirs and fluxes, steady state and anthropogenic perturbations. Phosphorus, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen and metal cycles. Processes that regulate the stability of the Earth system and the planetary boundaries framework. • Atmospheric pollution (0.5 CFU) - Atmospheric structure, atmospheric pollution (gases and particulate matters), main consequences (atmospheric deposition, acid rains, greenhouse effects, climate change) (SDG#7). • Principles of soil and water pollution (0.5 CFU) - Types of pollutants and perturbations induced, sources, main inorganic and organic pollutants, transport in soil, surface and groundwater (advection and diffusion, delay and retention, solid-liquid-gas partition coefficients) residence times and natural attenuation. • Pollution induced by intensive farming (1 CFU) - Soil pollution: contaminant retention, detection of the anthropogenic input, heavy metals (SDG#15). Surface water pollution and eutrophication (SDG#15). Groundwater pollution and the nitrogen legacy (SDG#6). • Evidence of the environmental impact of the three main Lombardy crops: rice, corn and grapevine (0.5 CFU).
