This course introduces the student to man's physical environment i.e. earth’s landform and atmospheric processes and environmental management. It provides the skills and knowledge to understand the global patterns and the natural processes involved in the landforms formation and the analysis of air temperature, atmospheric moisture and precipitation, wind and global circulation and weather systems. The course also introduces students to major environmental issues confronting the society.
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth . Earth science generally recognizes four spheres, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere these correspond to rocks, water, air, and life.
Atmospheric science is one of the fields of the Earth Science. It covers the gaseous parts of the Earth (or atmosphere) between the surface and the exosphere (about 1000 km). Major sub disciplines are meteorology, climatology, atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics. This module introduces students to the basics of atmospheric science by covering aspects such as air temperature, atmospheric moisture and precipitation and weather systems.
Environmental management is about responses to environmental problems by society and about the mechanisms that are used by organizations, local, provincial and national governments to prevent, combat, control and reduce impacts made by human activities on the environment. Governments and international organizations set frameworks and then individual organizations have to determine strategies in order to comply with legislative controls and codes of practice.
Environmental
Management is the application of scientific and management principles to the
process of change. It involves the examination of environmental problems and
leads to the production of appropriate policies and proposals which are based
on sound understanding and can be translated into action.