47151-37 Terrestrial Natural Environment (2 credits)

Lecturer: Kazuhide Nara et al.

Course Objectives and Learning Goals

Terrestrial natural environment consists of four basic elements, i.e. geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere, between which dynamic interactions exist. Human society has been disturbing these four elements and their interactions critically, becoming the fifth element of the terrestrial environment. In this lecture, students will learn fundamental knowledge concerning these basic elements in the terrestrial natural environment, and have a good opportunity to think of serious environment issues and possible mitigation strategies.

Through the lectures, students will be able to learn fundamental knowledge of the five basic components of the terrestrial natural environment. This course will also be a good introduction to various scientific approaches used in natural environmental studies, including geology, environmental chemistry, hydrology, meteorology, biology, ecology, and social science. After taking the course, students will be able to understand various presentations at Course Seminar, which is an obligatory subject in our department, and participate in active discussion at the seminar. In addition, the information provided in this course is indispensable for solving various environmental problems in the real world. We hope that the knowledge learned in this lecture will help you tackle difficult environmental issues in your relevant fields after graduation.

Schedule (As of 2021)

Intensive lectures with the following items scheduled on Nov.17-19.

Nov. 17

2nd Period (10:25 - 12:10) Lecture 1: Plant-microbe interactions in terrestrial ecosystems (Nara)

If you have a problem in listening to the lectures, please contact nara@k.u-tokyo.ac.jp and fix the problem till the next lecture.

3rd Period (13:00-14:45) Lecture 2: Evolution of terrestrial life (Kubo)

4th Period (14:55-16:40) Lecture 3: Geomorphology and Quaternary geology of terrestrial environment (Sugai）

5th Period (16:50-18:35) Lecture 4: Aquatic environmental chemistry of volcanic activity (Anazawa)

Nov. 18

2nd Period (10:25-12:10) Lecture 5: Ecotoxicology of aquatic environment (Yamamuro)

3rd Period (13:00-14:45) Lecture 6: Atmosphere and greenhouse gasses (Imasu)

4th Period (14:55-16:40) Lecture 7: Terrestrial hydrologic cycles (Yoshimura)

Nov. 19

2nd Period (10:25-12:10) Lecture 8: Plant-animal interactions in terrestrial ecosystems (Suzuki)

3rd Period (13:00-14:45) Lecture 9: Planning and policy for urban green conservation (Terada)

4th Period (14:55-16:40) Lecture 10 : Perception of terrestrial landscape through digital technology (Nakamura)

Final exam (scheduled in 3rd Period, Nov 26, at environmental lecture room)