INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS

Eur. J. Phys. 24 (2003) 110

PII: S0143-0807(03)58627-5

Environmental physics as a teaching

concept
Egbert Boeker1 , Rienk van Grondelle1 and Piet Blankert1
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Free University, De Boelelaan 1081,
1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: egbertb@nat.vu.nl, rienk@nat.vu.nl and pietbl@nat.vu.nl

Received 22 January 2003

Published
Online at stacks.iop.org/EJP/24/1
Abstract

Environmental physics is understood as the physics connected with analysing

and mitigating environmental problems. It draws on most sub-disciplines of
physics and provides a way of making physics relevant. In this paper the
motivation of teaching environmental physics is discussed and examples of
course content and supporting student work are given, based on work in the
authors department.
(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

1. Introduction: defining environmental physics

During much of the 19th and 20th century, academic physics took objects of study from the
natural environment and performed experiments under controlled conditions. Added to that,
data on natural phenomena were collected and together this resulted in the laws of nature, as
physicists describe them. This process is indicated by the dotted lines at position 1 in figure 1.
In the later part of the 20th century several new sub-disciplines of physics such as biophysics,
climate physics and atmospheric physics were born, which operate at the interface of many
disciplines. Their emphasis is more on modelling of natural phenomena and testing the models
by experiments and data gathering than on finding new laws of nature (loop 2 in figure 1). At
the same time the natural, environmental phenomena were heavily influenced by the impact
of man. The phrase environmental problems was coined.
In the textbooks of the first two authors (see [1, 2]) the point is made that environmental
problems arise from interaction between mankind and nature and therefore they are not always
soluble in the sense that a physics problem is soluble. Still, physics may help to analyse,
prevent or mitigate environmental problems. The intermediary steps here consist of modelling
1 Egbert Boeker (1937) has just retired from an academic career in which he taught virtually all of the undergraduate
courses in physics. Rienk van Grondelle (1949) is doing research in biophysics and teaching not only to physics
students but also to biology students and is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. They added
their experiences in writing two textbooks on environmental physics (see [1, 2]). Piet Blankert is a nuclear physicist
by origin; since 1987 he has headed the departments students laboratory.

0143-0807/03/000001+10$30.00

2003 IOP Publishing Ltd

Ascii/Word
EJP/ejp158627-xsl/SPE File name EJ
Date req.
Printed 3/3/2003
Issue no.
Focal Image
Artnum
(Ed:

SARAH )

Printed in the UK

CRC data
.TEX

First page
Last page
Total pages
Cover date

See endnote 1

E Boeker et al

Figure 1. The field of the professional environmental physicist. Where the traditional academic
scientist studies a phenomenon under controlled conditions and finds the laws of physics (loop 1),
the environmental physicist needs much of the knowledge of physics for modelling the human
impact on the environment. Models are tested on experiments and data (loop 2). Finally, political
decisions may be made, which alter the manmade environmental phenomena (loop 3).

as input to the political system with decisions alleviating environmental problems as a result
(loop 3 in figure 1). Here, the physicist cannot choose the particular laws of physics (s)he
wants to study; on the contrary, the challenge is to identify which laws of physics are manifest
in the problem under scrutiny and what physics knowledge is required to tackle them. Not
only that, the other natural sciences such as chemistry and biology have their own important
contribution to make. A course in environmental physics, as we see it, should point this out
and touch on the other natural sciences in examples and exercises.
In this way environmental physics is both similar to and different from the new subdisciplines of physics, such as biophysics. For biophysics for example figure 1 may be used
with environmental phenomena replaced by life phenomena. The similarity is that many
laws of nature, experiments and data are required to describe life processes, and also that the
emphasis has shifted from finding the laws of nature to modelling of the natural phenomena.
But the link to politics and decision-making (loop 3) is much weaker. Political decisions may
be required to finance a cure for certain cancers, but they will hardly influence the processes
within the living cell. In that sense biophysics and most sub-disciplines of physics operate at
some distance from the political arena. In contrast, if politicians fail to stop climate change,
totally new and unexpected phenomena may occur.
As a typical example of an environmental phenomenon, about which a physicist may
have to write a report as input to decision making, consider ozone in the troposphere.

Environmental physics as a teaching concept

The physicist should be aware of the broad spectrum of available data. Biologists have
connected tropospheric ozone with plant diseases, which show up as black spot on the leaves.
Chemists have studied those proteins which are very sensitive to O3 . Environmentalists have
pointed out that humans suffer from eye irritations and coughing and blamed the private car.
Fellow physicists have measured the O3 concentrations at different altitudes and economists
have calculated the damage to crops and humans and compared these data with the cost of
adding catalysts to cars, which will reduce the damage done.
The last point, that of the economist, illustrates that more than natural science is at stake.
One has to put a monetary value to human diseases from (air) pollution, which implies a value
judgement on what a healthy human life is worth. Therefore, environmental physics will touch
on social and ethical aspects as well.
In their recent textbook Mason and Hughes [3] define environmental physics as the
response of living organisms to their environment within the framework of environmental
processes and issues. The phrase issues points to the social and political context of
environmental processes. These authors probably aim at political neutrality.
This should not suggest that the subject matter of environmental physics is very different
whether one uses the approach of Mason and Hughes [3] or of the present authors (see [1, 2]).
Browsing through the books one will encounter physics concepts, mathematical equations,
derivations and formulae. They are usually applied to practical cases and comprise some meteorology, radiation physics and transport phenomena. So, independent of how one defines it,environmental physics is very much physics. It is rather classical and applied, but the fun and joy of
understanding natural phenomena, which is the core business of the physics profession,is there.
2. The motivation of teaching environmental physics

As written above, environmental problems arise from interaction of man with nature.
Environmental physics uses most sub-disciplines of physics to tackle these problems. This
leads to various motivations to teach the subject of which we discuss two. The first is improving
the students understanding of physics. This holds true both for physics students taking an
advanced course, based on [1], and for students taking a broader course, based on [2]. The
second is creating a realistic job perspective for physicists. When one reads the rest of this
paper, one may conclude that the job perspective of general science students, taking course [2],
may also be improved.
2.1. Improving the students understanding

Environmental physics comprises many macroscopic phenomena. Therefore it brings physics

closer to the students and makes them realize what variables in equations really mean. In
the discussion of groundwater for example, one encounters the density of the soil and the
density w of the groundwater in the combination /w . In one of our lectures we asked to
guess a realistic value for this ratio. The students did not know and when pressed, one of them
mentioned a value of 1000, apparently thinking of the density of water in units of kg m3 and
not understanding that the value of a ratio cannot be that large. Hydraulic engineers use a
thumb value of 2 and we would have taken any answer between 1.5 and 5 to be acceptable.
After our explanation these students will never make such a mistake again.
Environmental physics draws on many topics some of which the general science student
may also have studied already. In that way it connects separate bodies of knowledge and brings
them into context. For example, in discussing the greenhouse effect one has to explain how
a rising concentration of CO2 or CH4 in the atmosphere increases the temperature at ground
level. One needs the absorption spectra of these molecules and the concept of optical density
to understand the non-linearity of the effects and the difference between the two compounds.
It is an important teaching goal to appreciate the non-linearity of many environmental
causeeffect relations. Elementary courses usually stress the proportionality of cause and ef-

E Boeker et al

fect, as in Hookes law of mechanics. In environmental physics cause and effect are often not
proportional. In absorption of infrared radiation by greenhouse gases for example, two nonlinear effects are encountered. The first is that at certain wavelengths CO2 or CH4 are already
absorbing 100% of the radiation. There an increase of concentration will not increase the greenhouse effect. At other wavelengths, the absorption may be small; there, a doubling of concentration will double the optical density OD. According to Beers law (see [1, p 21]), the intensity
of radiation of a certain wavelength along a path with length l decreases exponentially with OD:
I (l) = I (0) 10OD .

(1)

Therefore a doubling of OD will give a strong non-linear increase in absorption. This

example also shows that one needs a complex data set like an absorption spectrum to obtain
meaningful results.
In traditional physics teaching it is not common to connect the various sub-disciplines.
A course in environmental physics offers many opportunities. In groundwater motion for
example, in a first approximation the groundwater level is a function of the horizontal
location (x, y). The volume of water (m3 ) passing per second per (m2 ) perpendicular to the
flow is q

(m3 s1 m2 ). This water flow obeys Darcys equation
q

= k grad

(2)

in which k is called the hydraulic conductivity and the hydraulic potential. Certainly, for
physics students, the analogy with Ohms law q

= grad V is apparent with q

the electric
current density, the electric conductivity and V the electric potential. This resemblance also
explains the common names conductivity and potential for both cases.
2.2. The professional perspective for physics students

Physics students have several perspectives on the job market: they may start an academic
career, go to industry, enter a consulting firm, work for the government or teach at secondary
schools. Based on an analysis of US reports Ripin [4] pleads for a full toolbox for physics
graduates:
We should make physics the liberal arts of technology by offering greater breadth
to graduates. Even those who opt for the traditional, academic path are well served
by exposure to the same skills required by those headed for industry: an awareness of
rudiments of other disciplines, the ability to write and speak effectively, experience in
teamwork, a working knowledge of instruments, an ability to focus on an objective,
and an understanding of budgets.
A course in environmental physics with exercises, papers and student laboratories is one of
the ways to achieve this. It does not necessarily take a lot of time. The complete book [1] with
exercises and student laboratories would in the Netherlands be rewarded by about 10% of the
total number of credit points of a physics Masters degree. A course of this size would provide
an integration of physics insights combined with concepts from other disciplines, which single
topics like quantum mechanics or field theory do not give.
3. Increasing scientific literacy

Students in other branches of science than physics are usually not interested in single topics
within physics. They need a special approach, according to the Physics Survey Overview
Committee in the USA [5]. This body, appointed by the National Research Council,
recommended that
Physics departments should review and revise their curricula to ensure that they are
engaging and effective for a wide range of students and that they make connections to

Environmental physics as a teaching concept

other important areas of science and technology. The principal goals of this revision
should be (1) to make physics education do a better job of contributing to the scientific
literacy of the general public and the training of the technical workforce and . . ..
Environmental physics can serve as a means to achieve this goal. A text like [2] uses
mathematics without complicated derivations, and is suitable for university students in a wide
range of scientific disciplines.
Texts like [2] or [3] and the corresponding courses are not easy, and therefore no soft
options. The reason is that environmental physics connects topics which are usually taught
separately. This implies that there are many concepts and equations to be understood. While
for an examination in a subject like mechanics the student may write all relevant equations on
the back of a single envelope, this is no longer true for a test in environmental physics. If a
student passes the test, (s)he will have a rather broad working knowledge of physics. These
courses therefore contribute more to the scientific literacy of natural scientists than a selection
of single subjects from the physics curriculum.
4. Examples of course content

In this section we discuss two examples of course content. In the first, the difficulty of making
accurate predictions of climate change is illustrated; in the second, the relevance of politics is
shown.
4.1. Water vapour and climate

Climate change and greenhouse gases will form part of any course in environmental physics.
It is easy to show the existence of the greenhouse effect, using a radiation balance for the earth
with
energy in = energy out.

(3)

The energy in refers to the solar energy entering the top of the atmosphere. On a plane
perpendicular to the radiation, the energy per (m2 ) is called the solar constant S (W m2 ). The
radius of the earth equals R and the backscattering by the earth into outer space is a fraction
a. So the energy in becomes
(1 a) S R 2 .

(4)

Energy out is the infrared radiation emitted by the earth at temperature T , which is
approximated by the radiation of a black body. That gives for the right-hand side of (3)
T 4 4 R 2

(5)

with the StefanBoltzmann constant . Using a = 0.30 it follows that the resulting temperature
should be T = 255 K. The empirical fact that the surface air temperature is more pleasant at
an average T = 288 K is of course due to the presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The contribution of these gases to the temperature difference of 33 K is given in table 1, where
ppmv stands for parts per million in volume.
The point which stands out most prominently in table 1 is the enormous contribution of
water vapour with 20.6 K. In a simple exercise the student may calculate that the concentration
of water vapour corresponds to 3 cm of liquid water. The annual downpour of rain and snow
averages about 75 cm, which means that every 15 days the water content of the atmosphere is
replaced. From this simple example it is clear that small changes in water vapour concentration
will have large effects and also that such small changes will be difficult to calculate accurately.
At this point of the discussion the student will already appreciate the strong non-linearity
in the effects of increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases, given in table 1. During the
training the student should learn that in modelling simplifications have to be made producing
inherent uncertainties in the results of the calculations. The question to the students then is how

E Boeker et al

6
Table 1. Temperature effect of greenhouse gases (see [1, p 33], or [2, p 78]).

Gas

Concentration (ppmv)

Warming effect (K)

H2 O vapour
CO2
O3 (troposphere)
N2 O
CH4
Others (CFC; HFC; SF6 )
Total warming effect

5000
345
0.03
0.3
1.7

20.6
7.2
2.4
0.8
0.6
0.6
33.0

to present the data of the greenhouse effect and increasing global temperatures to politicians
and the general public. If one stresses the uncertainties and inaccuracies too much, politicians
may wait and see before taking unpopular measures. Pointing out uncertainties too little or
not at all is against the ingrained basic attitudes and training of our profession.
In many professional careers the scientist will have to deal with this question of combining
established facts and scientific modelling with the aim of supporting political decision-making.
Therefore this aspect of our profession has to be prepared in education. At the end of a
discussion with students on this point, we usually conclude that the way of presentation will
depend on situation and context.
4.2. Energy use

Many environmental problems find their origin in energy conversion and energy use. So,
a possible mitigation of environmental problems would be to reduce the energy use, while
maintaining the standard of living. It is therefore illuminating to look at the relationship
between energy use per person and gross national product (GNP) per person in a variety of
countries, as shown in figure 2. The GNP is taken here as an indication for the standard of
living or wealth in a country.
An interesting exercise for students is to find out why their own country is so different
from similar countries or from their neighbours. For the present paper it is easiest to look at
large economies like Japan and the United States. It appears that (in 1998) Japan had a higher
wealth for lower energy consumption. The reasons are diverse: people in Japan use the public
transport system much more intensely and the housing area per inhabitant is much smaller.
Finally, a strong central government is taxing energy heavily,as Japan has no indigenous energy
sources. This provides an incentive to industry to put a lot of effort into energy economy.
A significant aspect of figure 2 is that on a global scale the bulk of the people are living in
the lower left corner of the graph. They will aim at a higher wealth, so what is their target: the
USA or Japan or something else? A connected question is whether all human beings have the
same right to the global resources. If so, what energy use should correspond to that right?
If that were the 1998 consumption per person in the USA or even Japan, the question arises
whether nature can cope with it. If people do not have equal rights, what would be the ground
of that discrimination and is that discrimination sustainable? Will then not the people of the
poor countries migrate to the richer ones, legally or illegally? These questions do not have
straightforward answers like physics exercises, but they should be discussed, if briefly.
Apart from the aspect of global equity, it is instructive to look at one of the published trend
scenarios for the year 2050 [6]. The authors assume a population increase of 50% and the
present rate of increase in energy consumption per person. The use of primary energy then
increases from 400 1018 in 1997 to 900 1018 J yr 1 in 2050. If one were to succeed
in reducing the use of fossil fuels because of their CO2 emissions from 340 1018 to
300 1018 J yr 1 the question is how to find the missing 600 1018 J yr 1 .
At the end of an environmental physics course students should know that renewable
energies may be used much more than at present, but they will also know that it has a price. An

Environmental physics as a teaching concept

Figure 2. Energy consumption per person and GNP per person for a number of countries in 1998.
Data were taken from UN statistics. With permission of John Wiley taken from [2], figure 11.2.

increase from the present 301018 to for example 3001018 J yr 1 will require a considerable
effort with financial and fiscal support on a global scale. More than this value seems impossible
to achieve within 50 years. With this argument the authors of [6] argue for expanding the use
of nuclear power. Students may object to this conclusion, but then they have to come up with
a credible counter-argument.
The answers to the points raised here cannot be found in a teachers manual, as values
and judgements enter, which go beyond physics. The teacher therefore should participate
in the discussion on a more equal footing with the students than in matters of physics. The
teacher should accept different points of view, but should insist on consistency within the
argumentation and consistency with the laws of physics. In this way teaching environmental
physics will contribute to the general literacy of the student.
5. Teaching aids

As a course in environmental physics is somewhat different in character than standard physics

courses, due attention has to be paid to the methods of teaching. Below we consider classroom
discussions, computer simulations and the practicals as means to help students to internalize
the subject.

E Boeker et al

5.1. Classroom discussions

The example of energy use in the previous section should clearly be embedded in one or two
assignments, which the students prepare at home and then discuss in the classroom. At the
end of the course, the student will be aware of the Kyoto Protocol, which is meant to reduce
the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. An assignment could be to assess the
realism of the protocol, to evaluate arguments that the protocol is based on bad science, that
the protocol does not go far enough and that it favours developing countries, and to take an
own position in this discussion.
This example is on the political side of the spectrum. Most exercises just help the student
to internalize the text. As a course comprises a broad range of physics subjects it is essential
that students digest the course material immediately after the lecture. In our teaching we
stimulated the students to hand in their worked-out exercises two days before the next lecture
by giving them credits. At the beginning of each lecture the exercises of the previous lecture
were discussed. For the teacher the worked-out exercises will act as an immediate feedback
on the quality of his teaching. For the students the general or specific comments of the teacher
give them a chance to ruminate and digest the material.
Classroom discussions will not be restricted to the exercises. Environmental physics
refers to subjects written about in the newspapers. Any teacher by nature will comment on
these matters to make the teaching relevant. As the teacher will implicitly or explicitly take a
political stand, it is the more important to be open for criticism by the students. If they remain
silent, we would suggest acting more and more provocatively until they speak out.
5.2. Computer simulations

The simple model of equations (3)(5) gives a temperature for the earth which is off the mark by
33 K. Obviously, one needs better models, where the temperatures of surface and atmosphere
are treated separately and where absorption and scattering by surface and atmosphere are
taken into account. Such a model is sketched in figure 3. Again it is essential that students
internalize this model, which gives a zeroth order approximation to the greenhouse effect. It
is not sufficient that the model is shown during the course; students should try it at home, and
perform simple exercises. For example, what would be the effect of a white earth with a
reflection parameter as 0.8 instead of the present 0.11? Or, what would be the effect of a
cooler sun, as it was a few billion years ago, when the solar constant S was about 1000 W m2
instead of the present S 1370 W m2 ? In order to make the model easily accessible, it is
put on the web (www.nat.vu.nl/envphysexp).
The model of figure 3 is easy to program for physics students, although the visualization is
not trivial. A drawback of the model is that no time dependence is included. The fact that the
oceans act as a buffer of heat, shifting part of the worldwide climate change to the future, is not
part of it. In order to get a feeling of this time dependent effect, on the same website the oceans
are divided into ten vertical layers with turbulent diffusion of heat and advection included. In
figure 4 the result is shown for a block pulse of extra infrared radiation coming down from the
atmosphere over 50 years. The student may select other pulses and study their effects andfor
funwhen opening the site the negative pulses due to historic volcanic eruptions are shown,
which for a short period of time cool down the earth surface.
5.3. Student laboratories

One of the best ways to internalize physics concepts is to work on a student laboratory. When
we started at our institute with the teaching of environmental physics, it was decided to include
some special experiments for the group taking the course. As the experiments should be real
physics experimentsand no soft optionsit was decided that any physics student could
take the environmental experiments as part of his/her laboratory work.

Environmental physics as a teaching concept

Figure 3. Greenhouse model after [1], figure 3.2. Left and right show the input parameters and
output data of the model. The middle image summarizes in a static way the model used. See
also [7], figure 1.

In line with figure 1 it was decided to put a problem central and not some law of nature.
For example, to test the quality of the photosynthetic process of a forest from an aeroplane in
a polluted environment one may use laser remote sensing. That can be prepared in a students
experiment. Similarly, the hazard of radon gas in a dwelling depends on the geometry of the
building, the ventilation etc. Although the practical is rather conventional, the student has to
keep in mind the context in which to apply his or her knowledge.
In order to make the experiments available to any department, which wants to start
environmental physics courses our website gives a detailed description. More information
can be found in the subsequent paper [8].
6. Conclusion

Environmental physics is a broad subject. As it deals with problems caused by the interaction
of man and nature, it has connections with virtually all parts of physics and many of the other
natural sciences. One therefore cannot do research in environmental physics. As physicists
we can do research in climate physics, nuclear physics, reactor science, biophysics and so

10

E Boeker et al

Figure 4. The oceans-2 model. The top left figure shows an entering infrared block pulse of 50
years duration. Underneath the temperature effect on the ten layers is given as a function of time.
In the graph on the right the temperature change is given in colour representation. See also [7],
figure 4.

on. When one wants to connect that with social and political problems, one is entering a field
outside the physicists expertise, a field which may be outside the realms of science, a field
where perhaps no proven methodology exists. Physicists have the duty to discuss the social
and political implications of their work, but have to do that with more modesty than in physics.
We conclude that environmental physics is a teaching concept. The analysis of
environmental problems with the aim to mitigate or prevent them is a way to select parts
of physics relevant to society and interesting by themselves. The emphasis on modelling,
the integration of physics topics and its connections with the other natural sciences make
environmental physics representative of much that the professional physicist will encounter in
his or her daily work.
References
[1] Boeker E and van Grondelle R 1999 Environmental Physics 2nd edn (Chichester: Wiley)
[2] Boeker E and van Grondelle R 2001 Environmental Science, Physical Principles and Applications (Chichester:
Wiley)
[3] Mason N and Hughes P 2001 Introduction to Environmental Physics, Planet Earth, Life and Climate (London:
Taylor and Francis)
[4] Ripin B 2001 Preparing physicists for a lifes work Phys. Today 438
[5] Appelquist T and Shapero D 2001 Physics in a new era Phys. Today 349
[6] Sailor W C, Bodansky D, Braun C, Fetter S and van der Zwaan B 2000 A nuclear solution to climate change?
Science 288 11778
[7] Spoelder H and Boeker E 2002 The usefulness of visualisation: two cases from physics education Proc. 5th
IASTED Int. Conf. Computer Graphics and Imaging ed M H Hamza (Anaheim, CA: ACTA Press) pp 2205
[8] Blankert P and Mulder J A student laboratory in environmental physics Eur. J. Phys.

See endnote 2

See endnote 3

Queries for IOP paper 158627

Journal:
Author:
Short title:

EJP
E Boeker et al
Environmental physics as a teaching concept

Page 1
Query 1:
Author: Please be aware that the colour figures in this article will only appear in colour in
the Web version. If you require colour in the printed journal and have not previously arranged
it, please contact the Production Editor now.
Page 10
Query 2:
Author: [4, 5]: please provide volume number.
Query 3:
Author: any update?