The term environment comes from the French word environ which means everything that surrounds us. The sum total of all surroundings of a living organism, including natural forces and other living things, which provide conditions for development and growth as well as of danger and damage.
What are the segments of our environment?
- atmosphere
- hydrosphere
- lithosphere, and
- biosphere
Atmosphere: The protective blanket of gases surrounding the earth
Lithosphere: The upper mantle and the crust of the Earth
Hydrosphere: Collective term given to all different forms of water.
• oceans
• seas
• rivers
• lakes
• streams
• reservoirs
• glaciers, and
• ground waters
What is the distribution of earth’s water supply?
The following figure represents the distribution of earth’s total water supply. Saltwater contributes 97.4% whereas freshwater is only 2.6%. Among this freshwater 1.98% are ice caps and glaciers.
Biosphere:
The realm of living organisms and their interactions with the environment. (VIZ: atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere)
References:
- Environmental Chemistry, S. Manahan, Lewis Publisher
- Air Quality, Thad Godish, Lewis Publishers
- Environmental Chemistry ( 7th Ed), B.K. Sharma, Goel Publishing, Meerut