Energy Resources and Fossil Fuels

Energy Resources

• Energy is the ability to do work and comes in many forms.
• Non-renewable energy sources are those that will run out in our lifetime. Fossil fuels are an example.
• Fossil fuels are formed from fossilized remains of plants and animals, high in carbon content.
• Oil, also known as petroleum, is refined into usable fuels like gasoline, propane, and kerosene. Crude oil is a fossil fuel made of hydrocarbons.
• Natural gas is mostly methane and is used as a fuel for many materials and chemicals. It can be found in coal deposits.
• Nuclear energy generates electricity by splitting atoms; this is a non-renewable energy source.

Fossil Fuels

• Fossil fuels are formed from the fossilized remains of plants and animals.
• They are high in carbon content.
• Oil, also known as petroleum, is a fossil fuel mined and transported to refineries to produce usable fuels. Petroleum is a Greek word for rock and oil.
• Natural gas is primarily methane, used as a fuel.
• Coal is a solid fossil fuel made of carbon. Coal is also a sedimentary rock.

How Coal was Formed

• Coal formed millions of years ago from plants buried in swamps.
• Over time, pressure and heat turned the plant remains into coal.
• Different types of coal exist, ranging from lignite to anthracite, based on their carbon content and how they were formed.

Renewable/Alternative Energy

• Renewable energy comes from sustainable sources and does not involve burning fossil fuels or splitting atoms.
• Types include solar energy which uses the sun's rays for energy production, biofuels, hydroelectric energy using water flow, geothermal (Earth's heat) energy, and wind energy.

Environmental Concerns

• Fossil fuels cause air and water pollution, and CO2 emissions are harmful to the environment.
• Fossil fuels are slowly being replaced by renewable energy sources, and this depends on advancements in technology.

Geomorphic Processes

• Geomorphic processes are physical processes that create and modify landforms on the surface of the Earth.
• They can be categorized as endogenic or exogenic processes.
• Exogenic processes, for example, involve weathering, mass wasting, erosion, and transportation, which are responsible for the degradation of Earth's surface.
• Degradation processes create relief.
• Aggradation involves deposition processes.
• Weathering processes disintegrate rocks in situ. Examples of weathering processes include: physical or mechanical weathering, chemical weathering, and biologic weathering.
• Mass wasting is the downslope movement of rock, soil, and other debris due to gravity.
• Erosion involves wearing away of earth materials by natural forces.
• Transportation is the movement of eroded materials.
• Deposition is where eroded materials settle.

Water Resources

• Water is a vital resource.
• Water makes up most of the Earth's surface (71%).
• Water exists in different forms: surface water (oceans, lakes and rivers) and groundwater (in soil and rock).
• Groundwater is located within pore spaces of regolith and bedrock.
• Surface Water is present naturally or in formations where water can accumulate, called reservoirs.
• Water cycles (evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, infiltration, and runoff).
• Water is needed for many activities including agriculture, livestock, and everyday domestic use.

Waste Management

• Waste management deals with waste generated by human activities.
• Types of waste include municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste, agricultural waste, and hazardous waste.
• Waste can be disposed of in landfills, incinerated, or composted.
• Improper waste management can lead to serious problems such as contamination of water resources, clogging of drains and flooding, respiratory diseases from incineration, transmission of diseases and loss of biodiversity.

Thermal Desalination

• Thermal desalination is a process that uses heat to evaporate salt water, leaving behind fresh water.

Metamorphism

• Metamorphism is the alteration of the composition or structure of a rock due to heat, pressure, or other natural processes.
• This process changes existing rocks into new metamorphic rocks. Common types are contact, cataclastic, hydrothermal, regional, burial, and shock/impact metamorphism.

Soil Resources

• Soil is a mixture of mineral grains, organic matter, water, and air.
• Soil helps support plant growth.
• Soil texture describes the relative amounts of sand, silt, and clay. Soil depth is the thickness of the soil from the surface to a root-limiting layer.
• Soil profile is the vertical arrangement of soil layers or horizons.
• Soil quality refers to a soil's ability to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health.
• Soil quality is affected by human activities such as farming, urbanization, and waste disposal.

Plate Tectonics

• The Earth's lithosphere is broken into several large plates that move slowly over the asthenosphere.
• Plates interact in various ways at their boundaries.
• Types of plate boundaries include convergent (where plates move toward each other), divergent (where plates move apart) and transform (where plates slide against each other horizontally).
• Sea-floor spreading occurs at divergent plate boundaries where new ocean floor is generated.
• Most scientists agree that the constant movement of tectonic plates affects the features of the Earth's surface.

Oceanic Drilling Samples

• Examination of samples from the ocean floor reveal insights about the age and composition of the seafloor (ocean crust).

Magma

• Magma is molten rock found beneath the Earth's surface.
• Magma can be created through various processes including decompression melting and flux melting.

Soil Horizons, Pollution and Quality

• Soil horizons are layers that form in the soil over time.
• Different components within the soil, like organic matter, are present at varying densities.
• Poor soil management can lead to problems like pollution and degradation of soil quality and vegetation.
• Acidification is another issue, occurring when acidic cations become concentrated in soil, for instance.
• Salinization is the accumulation of salt on the soil; it impacts physical quality and plant growth.