Overview of Environmental Geology

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Overview of Environmental Geology
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The Earth System
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Environmental Geology

• Geology the study of the earth, its materials
  and their properties, its internal and external
  physical, chemical, and biological properties,
  and its history

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Environmental Geology

• Environment anything, living or nonliving, that
  surrounds and influences living organisms

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Environmental Geology

• Environmental Geology the application of
  geology to environmental concerns

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Environmental Geology

• Geologic processes affect every inhabitant of
  Earth
• Earthquakes
• Floods
• Landslides
• Volcanoes

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Environmental Geology

• Geologic processes operate on multiple time
  scales
• Slow geological processes
• Formation of minerals
• Evolution of the Earths atmosphere
• Fast geological processes
• Earthquakes
• Landslides

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1994 Los Angeles Earthquake
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Environmental Geology

• Humans depend on material resources from the
  Earth
• Minerals
• Metals
• Energy
• Soil
• Water

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Human Population Growth
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Environmental Geology

• Concepts in environmental geology
• The Earth System
• The Earth is unique
• The Earth is a closed system
• Energy flows through the system
• Matter cycles through the system
• Geologic processes and humans operate on
  different time scales

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The Earth System
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The Earth System
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Components of the Earth System
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Environmental Geology

• Concepts in environmental geology
• Hazardous Processes
• Hazardous processes have always existed
• Risk is a characteristic of the human-Earth
  system relationship

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Environmental Geology

• Concepts in environmental geology
• Earth Resources
• We are fundamentally dependent on Earths
  resources for the conduct of modern society
• Resources are limited
• Earths resources can be managed properly

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Types of Resources
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Environmental Geology

• Concepts in environmental geology
• Waste
• Human activities generate waste we do not throw
  anything away
• Human activities can alter the Earth System
• Dam building
• Urbanization
• Agriculture
• Deforestation
• Natural resource extraction

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Environmental Geology

• Concepts in environmental geology
• The Human-Earth System Relationship
• Managing the Earth System involves managing human
  behavior

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Environmental Geology

• The scope of environmental geology
• Earth Materials
• Minerals, rocks
• Internal Processes
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes

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Environmental Geology

• The scope of environmental geology
• External Processes
• Water
• Wind
• Ice

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Environmental Geology

• The scope of environmental geology
• Resources
• Groundwater
• Surface water
• Metals
• Soils
• Energy
• Fossil fuels
• Non-fuel minerals

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Per Capita Energy Demand
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Solar Energy
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Natural Gas
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Oil Pumpjack
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Aluminum Ore