Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

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Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
G. Tyler Millers Living in the Environment 14th
Edition Chapter 16
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Chapter Key Concepts

• Major geologic processes

• Earthquakes and volcanoes

• Minerals, rocks, and the rock cycle

• Finding and extracting mineral resources

• Non-renewable mineral resources

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Sections 1 and 2 Key Concepts

• What are the major geological processes that
  occur within the earth and its surface?
• What is the Plate Tectonic Theory?
• What types of plate boundaries occur as the
  plates move around the surface?
• What is erosion and weathering?

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Earth A Dynamic Planet

• Has the Earth always looked the same as it looks
  today?
• Geology the subject that is devoted to studying
  the dynamic processes occurring on the earths
  surface and the interior.

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Earth A Dynamic Planet
Sometimes the changes on earths surface occur
quickly, other times they take a LONG time.
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Earth A Dynamic Planet

• Our planet is constantly changing due to forces
  at play within the earth.

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Geologic Processes Structure of the Earth
The three major zones CRUST MANTLE CORE
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Internal Geological Processes
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Features of the Crust and Upper Mantle
Fig. 16-2 p. 333
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Plate Tectonic Theory

• Earths surface is broken into about 15 huge
  rigid plates that are moving very slowly across
  the earth surface.
• Lithosphere Plates
• UNIFYING THEORY OF GEOLOGY

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Plate Tectonic Theory
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Plate Tectonics

• Divergent boundary

• Convergent boundary

• Subduction zone

• Transform fault

Refer to Fig. 16-3 p. 334
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Earths Major Tectonic Plates
Fig. 16-4, p. 335
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Tectonic Theory Helps Explain
Mountain building occurs mainly along plate
boundaries
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Tectonic Theory Helps Explain
Most volcanoes are found at divergent and
convergent plate boundaries
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Tectonic Theory Helps Explain
Most earthquakes occur near plate boundaries.
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External Earth Processes

• Erosion the process by which material such as
  rocks, sand and soil are dissolved, loosened, or
  worn away from one part of the earths surface
  and deposited elsewhere.
• Water causes most erosion on earth

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External Earth Processes

• Mechanical weathering large rock pieces are
  broken into smaller fragments.
• Water is main agent

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Glacial erosion versus stream erosion
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External Earth Processes

• Frost wedging water collects in the pores and
  cracks of rocks and expands when frozen, then
  splits the rock.
• Causes street potholes to expand.

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External Earth Processes

• Chemical weathering process by which chemicals
  naturally break down rocks and soil.
• Examples rusting, acid rain

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External Earth Processes

• Biological weathering the conversion of rocks or
  minerals into smaller particles by living
  organisms.
• Example roots breaking into cracks of rocks.

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Sections 1 and 2 Review

• What are the major geological processes that
  occur within the earth and its surface?
• What is the Plate Tectonic Theory?
• What types of plate boundaries occur as the
  plates move around the surface?
• What is erosion and weathering?

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Sections 3 and 4 Key Concepts

• What are earthquakes? Where do they occur most
  frequently?
• What are volcanoes? Where do they occur most
  frequently?
• What are minerals and rocks? What is the rock
  cycle?
• What are nonrenewable mineral resources?

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Natural Hazards Earthquakes
Earthquakes occur when part of the crust suddenly
fractures along a fault to relieve stress and
gives off energy as shockwaves that travel
through the earth
Fig. 16-6 p. 337
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Natural Hazards Earthquakes

• http//earthquake.usgs.gov/

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Natural Hazards Earthquakes

• Richter Scale the scale used to measure the
  intensity of an earthquake.
• lt 4 insignificant
• 4-5 minor
• 5-6 damaging
• 6-7 destructive
• 7-8 major
• gt 8 great

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Natural Hazards Earthquakes

• Primary Impacts
• Ground shaking
• IMPACTS
• Buildings, highway overpasses, dams, pipelines,
  bridges, etc.

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Natural Hazards Earthquakes

• Secondary Impacts
• Fires
• Flooding
• Subsidence
• Tsunamis

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Expected Earthquake Damage
Fig. 16-7 p. 337
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Natural Hazards Volcanic Eruptions
Fig. 16-8 p. 338
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Natural Hazards Volcanic Eruptions

• Volcanoes occur where magma reaches the earths
  surface through a crack in the crustusually near
  divergent or convergent plate boundaries.

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Natural Hazards Volcanic Eruptions

• Impacts
• Ejects hot ash, hot gases, lava, chunks of
  rocks.
• Mudflows
• Acid Rain
• Earthquakes
• Some eruptions violent, others not so violent

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Minerals and Rocks

• The earths crust consists of solid inorganic
  elements and compounds called minerals and masses
  of 1 or more mineral we call rocks
• Mineral an element or inorganic compound that
  occurs naturally, is solid, and in fixed crystal
  structure. (gold, sulfur, copper)

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Minerals and Rocks

• Igneous Rocks formed from cooled and hardened
  magma or lava.
• Source a many non-fuel mineral resources.
• Examples granite, basalt.

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Minerals and Rocks

• Sedimentary Rocks formed from compressed and
  hardened sediment such as sand and clay.
• When sediment is eroded and carried away by
  rivers and streams it often build up in layers.
• Examples sandstone, limestone, shale.

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Minerals and Rocks

• Metamorphic Rocks produced by existing rocks are
  subjected to enormous heat and pressure.
• Usually occurs deep in the earth.
• Examples marble, slate

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Minerals and Rocks

• Rock Cycle the interaction of physical and
  chemical changes that change rocks from one form
  to another.
• Happens very slowly over long periods of time.

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Rock Cycle
Heat, Pressure
Heat, Pressure
Igneous Rock Granite, Pumice, Basalt
Magma (Molten Rock)
Fig. 16-9 p. 339
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Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Nonrenewable Mineral Resource is a concentration
  of naturally occurring material that can be
  extracted and used at a reasonable cost.
• It takes the earth so long to produce so we
  consider them nonrenewable.

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Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Metallic iron, copper, aluminum are examples of
  some metallic nonrenewable mineral resources.

Copper mine
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Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Non-Metallic sand, salt, clay, soil.

Sand mine
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Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Energy Sources coal, oil, natural gas, uranium.

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Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Ores is rock containing enough or one or more
  metallic minerals to be mined profitably.
• We use more than 40 metals extracted from ores
  for everyday items.

Gold ore
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Nonrenewable Mineral Resources Categories

• Identified known location, quantity and quality.

• Undiscovered potential supply assumed to exist
  based upon theory.

• Reserves identified sources from which can be
  extracted at current prices.

• Other undiscovered and unidentified.

Fig. 16-10 p. 340
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Sections 3 and 4 Review

• What are earthquakes? Where do they occur most
  frequently?
• What are volcanoes? Where do they occur most
  frequently?
• What are minerals and rocks? What is the rock
  cycle?
• What are nonrenewable mineral resources?

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Sections 5, 6 and 7 Key Concepts

• How are buried mineral deposits found? How are
  they then removed?
• What are some environmental impacts of using
  nonrenewable mineral resources?
• What is a typical life cycle of a nonrenewable
  metal resource?
• Do we have enough nonrenewable mineral resources?

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Finding Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Promising underground deposits of minerals are
  located using various techniques.

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Finding Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Satellite and air imagery
• ariel photos and images from space
• help locate outcrops.

• Radiation detectors
• To find radioactive minerals like
• uranium.

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Finding Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Magnetometers measures changes in earths
  magnetic field caused by minerals like iron
• Seismic surveys detonating explosives to see how
  sound waves travel through ground.

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Finding Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
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Extracting Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Open-pit (surface mining) machines dig holes and
  remove ores (common for iron, copper, limestone,
  sand)

• Dredging (surface mining) chain buckets scrape
  the bottom underwater

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Extracting Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Area strip (surface mining) big machine move
  strips away to reach ore.
• Contour strip (surface mining) used in hilly
  areas to remove tops of mountains.

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Extracting Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

• Subsurface mining impacts much less land, but
• Leaves some resource behind
• Is more dangerous
• Is more expensive

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Extracting, processing and using mineral
resources has environmental impacts.
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Environmental Effects of Mining Mineral Resources

• Disruption of land surface

• Subsidence

• Erosion of solid mining waste

• Acid mine drainage

• Air pollution

• Storage and leakage of liquid mining waste

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Environmental Effects of Mining Mineral Resources
Fig. 16-14 p. 344
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More Environmental Impacts of Nonrenewable
Mineral Resources
Surface mining
Subsurface mining

• Overburden

• Room and pillar

• Spoil

• Longwall

• Open-pit

• Dredging

Refer to Figs. 15-4 and 15-5, p. 341 and 342

• Strip mining

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Acid mine drainage.
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Processing Mineral Resources

• Ore mineral

• Gangue

• Tailings

• Smelting

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Supplies of Mineral Resources

• Economic depletion

• Depletion time

• Foreign sources

• Environmental concerns

• Economics

• New technologies

• Mining the ocean

• Finding substitutes

Fig. 16-16 p. 346
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Sections 5,6,7 Review

• How are buried mineral deposits found? How are
  they then removed?
• What are some environmental impacts of using
  nonrenewable mineral resources?
• What is a typical life cycle of a nonrenewable
  metal resource?
• Do we have enough nonrenewable mineral resources?

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