10/10/24 Flashcards
Estuaries are marine ecosystems that mix ____ and ____
freshwater and saltwater
What does the sankey diagram tell us about energy use?
33% of energy goes to doing things for us
67% of energy contained does nothing for us
- Wasted; dissipated as heat
Geothermal
heat from the ground
Natural gas and petroleum come from the same origin. What is it?
Marine plants
Describe the fossil fuels natural gas and petroleum
- anaerobic burial
- moderate heat (50-150 C)
- pressure
- time
Crude oil
sludgy hydrocarbon mix
Oil was first used 4,000 years ago as
asphalt
What are the two types of oil extraction?
Primary extraction = exists under natural pressure
Secondary extraction = oil forced out by pumping
Fracking
hydraulic fracturing
Gas-containing bedrock fractured by pressurized liquid
Anything below ___ pH is considered to be an effect of acid precipitation
5
Where is most of the acid precipitation in the US?
Ohio Valley (< 4.3)
What is oil (tar) sands made up?
Clay, sand, water, and viscous bitumen (difficult, expensive)
Oil (tar) sands is ____ soil with a mix of _____
sand; acid asphalt
Oil (tar) sands is _____ of world’s total oil reserves
2/3
Oil (tar) sands has a high _____ content
sulfur
Shale oil
Rock rich in organic kerogen
Kerogen
Half way between dead plants and petroleum
Kerogen is converted to oil via
pyrolysis
Methane hydrates
Crystalline solid (CH4 molecules, each surrounded by a cage of water molecules)
Where are Methane hydrates located?
In Arctic regions and in marine sediments at depths > 300 meters
What is the problem with methane hydrates?
CH4 as a greenhouse gas (20x greater heat trapper than CO2)
How much oil was split in the exxon valdez spill?
11 million gallons
Deepwater Horizon blowout
Drillsite on fire
Oil spills ended up on the beaches of Louisian, Texas, etc.
Beaches covered with layer of oil
134 million gallons (over 87 days (5,000 ft))
What are the most common type of oil spills?
Microspills
Petroleum inputs to ocean:
48% of petroleum in ocean is from a natural source
8% greater than natural
