Introduction
Engineering the environment in the field
Artificial technologies have influenced the entire world, leaving few areas untouched. As a result, background environments (atmosphere, hydrosphere and terrestrial fields) have changed significantly. Furthermore, non-negligible negative effects have emerged such as global warming; frequent occurrences of floods and droughts; erosion of sediment; pollution of the air, soil, coastal and terrestrial waters, and ground water; and deterioration of ecosystems.
There are two possible strategies to deal with these problems and realize a sustainable society that is safe and comfortable, which follow two separate paths. One is the creation of new production technologies that manage the sources and reduce human impact. A typical example is desulfurization equipment. The second is the development of technologies that eliminate artificial impacts on and control, conserve, rehabilitate, and restore target environments. This is a strategy in which the environment is conserved and restored by clarifying the structure of, interactions among, effects and mechanism of the environment, and by making use of the results.
This major course aims for the latter path. With our eyes set on environmental pollution and deterioration of nature in Japan and other countries in the Asian region, we strive for the development of technologies for engineering control, management and restoration related to air, water and terrestrial environments by placing emphasis on the active use of a wide range of methods, such as remote sensing and on-site measurement, as well as cultivating engineers who are specialized in these technologies.
