Environmental Transport Processes: Modeling Pollutant Movement

How do pollutants disperse in a river, or how do industrial emissions travel through the atmosphere? Understanding these pathways is essential for protecting ecosystems and designing sustainable engineering solutions. This text-only course provides a clear, conceptual introduction to how substances and contaminants move through our natural environment. You will transition from basic physical concepts to modeling transport phenomena in water, air, and subsurface soil. What you'll learn: - Understand the core mechanisms of advection, molecular diffusion, and turbulent dispersion. - Analyze how contaminants mix and transport in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. - Model atmospheric dispersion patterns to evaluate local and regional air quality. - Explore groundwater transport principles and subsurface contamination pathways. - Apply mass balance equations to solve practical environmental engineering problems. - Learn modern conceptual frameworks used in environmental impact assessments. Through structured written explanations, clear definitions, and step-by-step analytical derivations, you will build a strong foundation in environmental transport. We begin with essential terminology and physical principles before moving on to practical scenarios and calculation exercises. This course is designed for beginners in environmental science, civil engineering, or sustainability studies. No advanced background in fluid mechanics is required. Start reading now to master the physical principles that govern our natural world.