This course provides a review of physical, chemical, ecological, and economic principles used to examine interactions between humans and the natural environment. Mass balance concepts are applied to ecology, chemical kinetics, hydrology, and transportation; energy balance concepts are applied to building design, ecology, and climate change; and economic and life cycle concepts are applied to resource evaluation and engineering design. Numerical models are used to integrate concepts and to assess environmental impacts of human activities. Problem sets involve development of MATLAB® models for particular engineering applications. Some experience with computer programming is helpful but not essential.

During this activity, students will try to construct model landfill liners out of two-inch strips of garbage bags within resource constraints. The challenge is to construct a bag that will hold one cup of water without leaking. This represents similar challenges that environmental engineers face when building a liner for a real landfill.

This subject provides an introduction to fluid mechanics. Students are introduced to and become familiar with all relevant physical properties and fundamental laws governing the behavior of fluids and learn how to solve a variety of problems of interest to civil and environmental engineers. While there is a chance to put skills from Calculus and Differential Equations to use in this subject, the emphasis is on physical understanding of why a fluid behaves the way it does. The aim is to make the students think as a fluid. In addition to relating a working knowledge of fluid mechanics, the subject prepares students for higher-level subjects in fluid dynamics.

Core requirements for Environmental M.Eng. program. Designed to teach about environmental engineering through the use of case studies, computer software tools, and seminars from industrial experts. Case studies provide basis for group project as well as individual thesis. Past case studies have included the MMR Superfund site on Cape Cod; restoration of the Florida Everglades; dredging of Boston Harbor; local watershed trading programs; appropriate wastewater treatment technology for Brazil; point-of-use water treatment for Nepal, Brownfields Development in Providence, RI, and water resource planning for the island of Cyprus. Students must register for 1.782 for Fall term, IAP, and Spring term.

"This class is one of the core requirements for the Environmental Masters of Engineering program, in conjunction with 1.133 Masters of Engineering Concepts of Engineering Practice. It is designed to teach about environmental engineering through the use of case studies, computer software tools, and seminars from industrial experts. Case studies provide the basis for group projects as well as individual theses. Recent 1.782 projects include the MMR Superfund site on Cape Cod, appropriate wastewater treatment technology for Brazil and Honduras, point-of-use water treatment and safe storage procedures for Nepal and Ghana, Brownfields Development in Providence, RI, and water resource planning for the island of Cyprus and refugee settlements in Thailand. This class spans the entire academic year; students must register for the Fall and Spring terms."

Between 70 and 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water and there exists still more water in the atmosphere and underground in aquifers. In this lesson, students learn about water bodies on the planet Earth and their various uses and qualities. They will learn about several ways that engineers are working to maintain and conserve water sources. They will also think about their role in water conservation.

This web page, created by the US Energy Information Administration, gives a description of geysers, where they are found, the conditions that create them, and the process of their eruptions. The geysers of Yellowstone National Park are described as the best collection of geysers in the world. The author notes that geothermal energy can be derived from geyser fields, but geothermal electricity production depletes the geysers' water and removes some of the available heat, reducing and sometimes destroying geyser activity.

This description of a ground-water aquifer has a graphic representation to accompany it. It is part of the U.S. Geologic Survey's Water Science for Schools website. Links to other parts of the site, such as definitions and types of wells, are included.

Student teams locate a contaminant spill in a hypothetical site by measuring the pH of soil samples. Then they predict the direction of groundwater flow using mathematical modeling. They also use the engineering design process to come up with alternative treatments for the contaminated water.

During this activity, students will learn about porosity and permeability and relate these concepts to groundwater flow. Students will use simple materials to conduct a porosity experiment and use the information to understand how environmental engineers decide on the placement and treatment of a drinking water well.

In this investigation, students examine data from the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park in order to determine the predictability of its eruptions. The activity asks students to graph data in an appropriate fashion and then interpret those graphs in order predict how long one would have to wait for the next eruption. The activity also touches on how to determine the reliability of this prediction. This site includes teaching notes and tips, downloadable teaching materials and data files, and links to additional resources.

This chapter on the formation of Karst topography discusses susceptible rock types, how dissolution occurs, and the general appearance of Karst landforms. Tables, maps, figures, and photographs of Karst landforms from around the world are included. It is part of 'Geomorphology from Space', an out-of-print publication of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA).

This site provides information and activities about the biology of caves, how caves and stalactites form, how bats and birds differ, and more. The site is designed for students planning to visit Round Spring Caverns, one of more than 300 caves identified in the Ozark National Scenic River ways of southeast Missouri.

In this lesson, students will explore the causes of water pollution and its effects on the environment through the use of models and scientific investigation. In the accompanying activities, they will investigate filtration and aeration processes as they are used for removing pollutants from water. Lastly, they will learn about the role of engineers in water treatment systems.

The principal purpose of this study guide is to provide a broad selection of study materials that comprise a beginning course in ground-water hydrology. These study materials consist primarily of notes and exercises. The notes are designed to emphasize ideas and to clarify technical points that commonly cause difficulty and confusion to inexperienced hydrologists and may not receive adequate treatment in standard textbooks. Some of the exercises are more extensive than those usually found in textbooks to provide an additional level of detail and to focus on concepts that we consider to be particularly important. Detailed answers to exercises with explanatory comments are available in a companion publication. The most important and unique technical feature of this course is the emphasis on the concept of a ground-water system. Generally, this concept is first developed extensively in a more advanced rather than a beginning course in ground-water hydrology.

This EPA document provides detailed information about the gold mining industry in terms of the wastes associated with gold mining and processing. The report briefly characterizes the geology of gold ores and the economics of the industry. Following this discussion is a review of gold extraction and beneficiation methods; this section provides the context for descriptions of wastes and materials managed by the industry, as well as a discussion of the potential environmental effects that may result from gold mining. The report concludes with a description of the current regulatory programs that apply to the gold mining industry as implemented by EPA, Federal land management agencies, and selected states. Specific information from EPA site visits is included for the Brewer Mine, Colosseum Mine, Nerco Minerals Cripple Creek, and the Newmont Gold Company in Nevada.

Groundwater is one of the largest sources of drinking water, so environmental engineers need to understand groundwater flow in order to tap into this important resource. Environmental engineers also study groundwater to predict where pollution from the surface may end up. In this lesson, students will learn how water flows through the ground, what an aquifer is and what soil properties are used to predict groundwater flow.

This gallery of online resources is from the Museum's Seminars on Science, a series of distance-learning courses designed to help educators meet the new national science standards. This gallery, part of the Diversity of Fishes seminar, features two videos that both have printable PDF transcripts:About Water looks at how the water that covers two-thirds of our planet is distributed in oceans, polar caps, aquifers, rivers, and lakes. Planet Water discusses how freshwater fish which makes up one-quarter of all vertebrate biodiversity on Earth live in less than 1/100th of a percent of the planet's water.

This image is part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Science for Schools website. Other imagery includes photographs of water being measured and sampled, being used in various ways, and illustrations of how human activity influences the water system. Written descriptions of activities being shown are provided. Links to other parts of the Water Science for Schools website are also present.