Environmental Sciences Research

Programs that conduct research which focuses on pollution sources and their control, environmental alteration and degradation, waste disposal, conservation, recycling and replenishment, and related issues; and seeks to identify and abate or eliminate sources of pollutants that affect people, wildlife and their environments. Scientists working in this area analyze and report measurements and observations of air, water, soil and other sources and make recommendations on how best to clean and preserve the environment. Included are environmental ecologists who study the relationships between organisms and their environments and the effects of influences such as population size, pollutants, rainfall, temperature and altitude; ecological modelers who study ecosystems, the control of environmental pollution and the management of resources; environmental chemists who study the toxicity of various chemicals (how those chemicals affect plants, animals and people); and geochemists who study the nature and distribution of chemical elements in ground water and earth materials. Environmental sciences research may be used to design and monitor waste disposal sites, preserve water supplies and reclaim contaminated land and water to comply with federal environmental regulations.