Types of Natural Resources Quiz

Study Notes

Natural resources are components of the environment used to support life
Resources are categorized based on chemical nature, area of occurrence, availability, origin, and utility
Chemical Nature:
- Inorganic: air, water, mineral ores
- Organic: plants, animals, microbes, fossil fuels
- Mixed: soil
Area of Occurrence:
- International: available to all countries (e.g., atmosphere and sunlight)
- Multinational: shared by multiple countries (e.g., Brahmaputra River, migratory birds)
- National: restricted to a specific country (e.g., geological structures)
Availability and Abundance:
- Inexhaustible: unlikely to be depleted by human consumption (e.g., solar energy, tidal energy)
- Exhaustible: likely to be depleted, further categorized as non-renewable and renewable
  - Non-renewable: cannot be recycled or replaced (e.g., fossil fuels, plastics)
  - Renewable: can be replenished, recycled, and reproduced (e.g., water, forests, microorganisms)
Origin:
- Biotic: derived from living organisms (e.g., plants, animals)
- Abiotic: composed of non-living matter (e.g., land, water, minerals)
Utility: Resources are classified based on their usage, including forest resources, water resources, food resources, energy resources, and land resources.

Human extraction of natural resources exceeds their regeneration capacity
Lifetime: a time period where resource availability is assured globally
Depletion time: a time period where resource availability decreases, potentially leading to insufficient supply
Rapid depletion time: associated with "extract, use, and throw away" policies
Extended depletion time: involves proper resource management and waste reduction
Indefinite depletion time: involves preventing waste and promoting recycling

Water is the only naturally occurring inorganic liquid on Earth
Sources:
- Oceans: 97% of water
- Ice: 2% of water
- Freshwater: 1% of water
The Pacific Ocean holds the most ocean water, followed by the Atlantic Ocean (roughly half the size).
India's total surface water flow per year is approximately 1,800 cubic kilometers.
Groundwater constitutes about 9.86% of India's total freshwater resources.
Only 0.3% of the Earth's total water volume is readily available for human use.

Context: A reservoir system in an irrigation network with multiple crops and two growing seasons (Rabi and Kharif)
Goal: Optimize water allocation to maximize agricultural production while ensuring efficient water use in a predetermined schedule for each farmer
Influencing Factors: Crop areas, rainfall, soil moisture, irrigation supply, time of year, potential evapotranspiration (PET), crop sensitivity to water deficiency, and inter-crop competition for water
Real-time irrigation water scheduling: Used in optimal water allocation
Objective function: Maximizing overall crop yield
Constraints:
- Availability Constraint: water supply limitations
- Minimum Allocation: ensuring each crop receives a minimum amount of water
- Non-negativity: maintaining the non-negative values of all variables in linear programming models

Hydrology combines the Greek words "Hydor" (water) and "logos" (study).
It encompasses the study of water on Earth, including its movement, distribution, and properties.