Environmental chemistry global-scale

The global system studies described by NASA (4) were presented to illustrate the variation in inputs and outputs, temporal and spatial scales, processes, and boundary interfaces associated with different aspects of global environmental studies. The reader should attempt to define these same characteristics for each paper in this volume. I will try to suggest important connections that may be of interest in these papers. How do each of these papers contribute to the understanding of global environmental chemistry What piece of the overall puzzle is provided by each of these papers Can the finding of each paper be tailored to form a piece in a different puzzle ... 

Environmental chemistry is a rather young and interdisciplinary field of science. Its aim is a complete description of the environment and of transformations occurring on a local or global scale. Environmental chemistry also gives an account of the impact of man s activities on the natural environment by describing observed changes. 

It is probably true to say that the term environmental chemistry has no precise definition. It means different things to different people. We are not about to offer a new definition. It is clear that environmental chemists are playing their part in the big environmental issues—stratospheric ozone (C) () depletion, global warming and the like. Similarly, the role of environmental chemistry in regional-scale and local problems—for example, the effects of acid rain or contamination of water resources—is well established. This brief discussion illustrates the clear link in our minds between environmental chemistry and human beings. For many people, environmental chemistry is implicitly linked to pollution . We hope this book demonstrates that such a view is limited and shows that environmental chemistry has a much wider scope. 

Peter J. Dillon, Ph.D. (Toronto), F.R.S.C. is a Professor in the Environmental Resource Studies and Chemistry Departments at Trent University where he is Director of the new Water Quality Center. His research interests focus on biogeochemistry effects of regional and global-scale stressors including acid deposition, climate change, mercury and other trace metals on environmental chemistry. 

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