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ESC110 Chapter Eleven: Environmental Geology & Earth Resources

ESC110 Chapter Eleven: Environmental Geology & Earth Resources. Principles of Environmental Science - Inquiry and Applications, 1st Edition by William and Mary Ann Cunningham. Chapter Eleven Readings.

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ESC110 Chapter Eleven: Environmental Geology & Earth Resources

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  1. ESC110 Chapter Eleven:Environmental Geology & Earth Resources Principles of Environmental Science - Inquiry and Applications, 1st Edition by William and Mary Ann Cunningham

  2. Chapter Eleven Readings Required ReadingsCunningham & Cunningham, Chapter Eleven: Principles of Ecology: Matter, Energy, and Life

  3. Chapter Eleven Key TermsMcGraw-Hill Course Glossary • Acids • Atom • Bases • Biological community • Biomass • Carbon cycle • Carnivores • Cellular respiration • Compound • Conservation of matter • Consumers • decomposer • ecology • ecosystem • Energy • First law of thermodynamics • Food web • Herbivores • Ions • Kinetic energy • Matter • Metabolism • Molecules • Nitrogen cycle • Omnivores • Organic compounds • pH • Photosynthesis • Potential energy • Primary producers • Productivity • Second law of thermodymanics • Species • Tropic level

  4. Chapter Eleven Topics • A Dynamic Planet; • Minerals and Rocks; • Economic Geology and Mineralogy; • Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction; • Conserving Geologic Resources; and • Geologic Hazards.

  5. Part 1: A Dynamic Planet

  6. Tectonic Plates

  7. Pangea: the super- continent

  8. The Rock Cycle

  9. Communities in deep-sea ocean trenches

  10. Part 2: Minerals and Rocks • Mineral - a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a specific internal crystal structure • Rock - a solid, cohesive aggregate of one or more minerals

  11. Rock Types

  12. Weathering and Sedimentation • Mechanical weathering - physical breakup • Chemical weathering - oxidation, hydrolysis • Sedimentation - deposition of loosened rock

  13. Part 3: Economic Geology and Mineralogy • Economic mineralogy is the study of minerals that are valuable for manufacturing and trade. • Public policy in the U.S. has encouraged mining on public lands as a way of boosting the economy and utilizing natural resources.

  14. Strategic metals and minerals - those that a country uses but cannot produce itself • Wealthy industrial nations often stockpile strategic resources, especially metals. U.S.

  15. Global Metal Trade

  16. Nonmetal Mineral Resources • Sand and gravel production for road and building construction - greatest volume and dollar value of all nonmetal mineral resources. • Evaporites - halite (rock salt), gypsum, potash • Sulfur deposits - mined mainly for sulfuric acid production (industry, car batteries, some medicinal products)

  17. Part 4: Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction • Geologic resource extraction involves the physical processes of mining and the physical or chemical processes of separating minerals, metals, and other geologic resources from ores or other materials. • Ore - a rock in which a valuable or useful metal occurs at a concentration high enough to make mining it economically attractive

  18. Mining • Placer mining • Strip-mining or open-pit mining • Tailings - surface waste deposits • Groundwater contamination • Spoil banks - acid and sediment runoff • Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977)

  19. Heap-Leach Extraction

  20. Processing Smelting - roasting ore to release metals

  21. Part 5: Conserving Geologic Resources

  22. Recycling - aluminum, platinum, gold, silver, copper, lead • Steel and iron recycling: minimills • Substituting new materials for old - polymers, high-tech alloys, glass cables

  23. Part 6: Geologic Hazards

  24. Earthquakes • Earthquakes - sudden movements in the earth’s crust that occur along faults • Soil liquefaction • Tsunamis

  25. Volcanoes • Volcanoes and undersea magma vents are the sources of most of the earth’s crust. • Hazards: nuees ardentes (“glowing clouds”), mudslides, ash and dust, sulfur emissions

  26. Flood - excess water that overflows stream banks and covers adjacent land Biggest economic loss: contamination Many human activities increase both the severity and frequency of floods. Flood control - locks, dams, levees - problem transferred downstream Floods

  27. Erosion • Landslides • Gullying • Agricultural soil erosion - “an invisible crisis”

  28. Beach Erosion

  29. Construction on Beaches and Barrier Islands • People place high value on ocean views and beach access. • Construction directly on beaches and barrier islands can (1) cause irreparable damage to entire ecosystems and (2) worsen storm damage. • Government policies often encourage people to build in risky places.

  30. Grains starve beaches and increase erosion downstream.

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