Human-Induced Material Flow through the

Environment

Carol Timson

Overview

Biogeochemical Systems• Mass Balance

Ecosystem• Closed Loop

Anthroposystem• Open System

Material Flow Transfer Matrices• Track flow of contaminants throughout the World

4 Environmental Spheres - all spheres are interdependent• Biosphere-pump• Atmosphere-transporter• Lithosphere-storage compartment• Hydrosphere-transporter (rivers) & storage (oceans)

Biogeochemical Systems

The study of how living systems influence, and are controlled by, the geology and chemistry of the earth• Fundamental principles to analyze flow of materials

through air, land, and water Mass balance - describes the state of a system

NET CHANGE = INPUT + OUTPUT + INTERNAL CHANGE

Internal Change

minmout

Ecosystem

•The sun is the energy source

•Plants use the sun to produce food

•Animals are the consumers

•The decomposers (recyclers) are the fungi and bacteria.

The ecosystem is capable of recycling most of the waste products is produces.http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchangel/current/lectures/kling/ecosystem/ecosystem.html

Antroposystem

Open Loop System •Fossil Fuels are the energy for the system

•Producers include manufacturing and farming

•Consumers are humans

•Decomposing (recycling) is very minor

•Includes recycling of material and wastewater treatment

by-products are disposed into the physical environment

Material Flow

Humans and biota are responsible for redistribution of chemicals on Earth.

In an ecosystem much of the material is transferred directly from the producers to the recyclers, this is not the case in the anthroposystem as it would be pointless to produce material and immediately recycle it.

Material Flow Transfer Matrices

Matter is transferred from producer to consumer.

The transfer is a one-to-many relationship that can be quantified by the transfer matrix.

In case of fuel producers (mining) and consumers (combustion), the transfer is described by the surface transfer matrix sij

Pollution is transferred from the consumer (emitter) to the environmental receptor (pollutant is emitted)• i = producer• j = consumer• k = receptor

Four Environmental SpheresMaterials in the environment are distributed in 4 environmental

compartments, materials flow between and within each compartment. Changes in the compartments occur if the flow of the

materials is disturbed.

Biosphere• The pump, allows matter to flow

through nature • thin shell of organic matter on the

earth’s surface Atmosphere

• Transport-conveyor compartment• Large capability for redistributing

matter Lithosphere

• solid shell of inorganic material at the earth’s surface

Hydrosphere• can be seen as two compartments:

rivers are transporters and oceans are storage

Mercury tends to accumulate in the lithosphere and parts of the biosphere

Mercury Intro

http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/_Toc12781822

?????????????

Mercury traveling through the Spheres

•Released by anthropogenic sources into

•land•air•soil

•Mercury in Atmosphere mixes with cloud water and is deposited on the land and in water sources

•On land it is stored in the soil and also deposited into water sources from runoff

•Mercury is re-emitted into the atmosphere from the ocean through evasion

Mercury Transport

Approximately one third of total mercury emissions are thought to cycle from oceans to the atmosphere and back again to the ocean.

The reservoir holding time is approximately 6 months to 2 years

Hg(0) emitted transforms to Hg(II) in cloud water.• Hg(0) has an average residence time in the atmosphere of

about 1 year. Hg(II) is deposited by dry or wet deposition process.

• Atmospheric residence time of hours to months

www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpglt3/reports/volume3.pdf

Approach

Multi-Scale: National, Florida, Southern Florida

• National Mercury Flow• Mercury from mining

• Mercury in fuels

Concentration of mercury in coalci

Appallachian Eastern Interior Gulf Coast Rocky Mnts Great Plains

Hg conc., ppm 0.20 0.10 0.22 0.09 0.12

Mercury content of coal (Finkelman and Tewalt, 1998; Toole-O’Neil et al., 1999).

cappalachian=0.20

cinterior=0.10

cgulfcoast=0.22

crockymountains=0.09

cgreatplains=0.12http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/_Toc12781822

Mi=ciPi

Mercury Mobilization through Coal

Pi [millions Mg/yr]

Estimated for 1999

Pappalachian=446

Pinterior=122

Pgulfcoast=61

Prockymountain=365

Pgreatplains=4

http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/_Toc12781822

Mi=ciPi

Matrix Example

174.67

045.46

291.38

)/( yrMgU j

Mi -mercury contaminant that is mobilized by each producer

ci-concentration of the contaminant mercury in coal

Pi-raw coal production rate

sij-transfer of coal mercury from producer to consumer

Uij-amount of mercury originating at the producer and used at the consumer.

Mi=ciPi

Uij=sijMi

84.3

85.32

42.13

2.12

2.89

)/( yrMgM i

8.02.06.04.05.0

2.03.01.06.03.0

05.03.002.0

ijs

Mercury Emission

•In 1999 the amount of mercury mobilized from coal was 144 Mg

http://capita.wustl.edu/capita/capitareports/Mercury/_Toc12781822

Mercury

Mercury in the soil is also taken up by plants and these plants are consumed by animals.

Mercury can get into freshwater systems through direct deposition, runoff, or through groundwater flow in the upper soil layers

Mercury in water is ingested by water animals also. From 1930-2000 about 7000 Mg mercury has been

taken from it geochemical reservoir and distributed into the environment.

www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpglt3/reports/volume3.pdf

Conclusion

Material flow in the environment should be modeled after the ecosystem.

Ecosystem makes use of all material The anthroposystem differs from the ecosystem in

the fact that they do not recycle as much The amount of a pollutant released can be tracked

through the environmental spheres by using a material flow transfer matrix

Mercury accumulates in the lithosphere and biosphere, disturbing the flow through the environmental compartments.