Earth's sustainable future

Question 1

list 5 examples of kinds of ground water pollution from anthropogenic sources

Answer 1

poorly managed septic systems

faulty or abandoned wells

landfills

sewers and leaky pipes

mining activities

Question 2

define what causes a cone of depression

Answer 2

water table is lowered from over pumping a well, causing a cone of depression

Question 3

what can happen from a cone of depression?

Answer 3

salt water incursion
over pumping a well near the ocean means that salt water begins filling the well and aquifer.
salt water is denser than fresh water (fresh water sits on top not getting pumped) well fills with salt water. well is now unusable.

Question 3

list 5 sources of renewable energy

Answer 3

wind power

solar power

geothermal power

hydropower

tide power

Question 3

list 3 sources of nonrenewable energy

Answer 3

coal

oil

gas

Question 3

define the term renewable resources

Answer 3

renewable resources are those which are avaliable regularly and are replenished within a millenia (1,000 years)

Question 4

define the term non renewable resources

Answer 4

non renewable sources are those which are finite and take longer than a millenia to replenish (1,000 years)

Question 5

site location factors for wind farms

Answer 5

average wind speeds of at least 21km/h

good access

flat

remote (noise pollution)

high altitude = fast winds

Question 6

list 3 different kinds of wind farms

Answer 6

hill top plateau

coastal headland (sea breeze)

offshore (attached to sea bed). damages benthonic ecosystem

Question 7

ground water doesn’t infiltrate it “……….”

Answer 7

perculates

Question 8

pros and cons of solar power

Answer 8

pros
30+ year life span, therefore are relatively permanent.

solar energy is inexhaustible

people can save money on electricity bills by installing solar panels on their roofs, making it attractive to society, therefore cleaner energy sources becoming more popular.

cons
sun does not shine all of the time, therefore batteries must be used to store the energy collected. these are expensive and inefficient.

solar panels are expensive to construct and install,

once solar panels die they contribute to land fill (cannot be recycled)

Question 9

pros and cons of wind power

Answer 9

pros
most materials can be recycled

does not release any emissions once it is up and running

cons
resource demanding to construct, manufacture and transport. all of which include the releasing of carbon emissions.

visual burdens

very noisy

each wind turbine puts out less energy than is required to manufacture one

Question 10

pros and cons of nuclear power

Answer 10

!!!!!!!!!

Question 11

site location factors for solar farm

Answer 11

amount of available sunlight

price of the land

accessibility of the land

flat location

low vegetation

not near water ways

Question 12

define how geothermal energy is sourced

Answer 12

geothermal energy is sourced as hot water forms as steam near the surface and is piped under pressure and used to drive turbines which generate electricity.

Question 13

pros and cons of geothermal energy

Answer 13

pros
very inexpensive method of producing electricity when maintained and set up efficiently

very minimal impact on the environment

cons
very few sites where geothermal energy can be extracted economically

Question 14

define what a geothermal gradient is

Answer 14

geothermal gradient is the rise in temperature with increasing depth

Question 15

define the two types of geothermal energy

Answer 15

‘wet’ geothermal energy (wet rocks)

‘dry’ geothermal energy (dry rocks)

Question 16

describe ‘wet’ geothermal energy

Answer 16

Hot ground water us forced to the surface where it turns into steam, driving turbines, generating electricity.

Question 17

describe ‘dry’ geothermal energy

Answer 17

injecting high pressure water down a borehole into the heat zone, water perculates through pores at a high speed, capturing the heat of the rocks, until it is forced out of a second borehole as very hot water.

upon reaching the surface, the hot water turns into steam which driving turbines, generating electricity.

Question 18

what makes rock permeable?

Answer 18

being porous, pervious or both

Question 19

define what an aquiclude is

Answer 19

an aquiclude is is impermeable to the flow of water. it contains a lot of water but it does not allow water to perculate through it

Question 19

state the difference between an aquifer and an aquiclude

Answer 19

an aquiclude is a saturated rock formation, which is impermeable to the through flow of water.

an aquifer is a saturated and permeable rock formation, which allows water to flow through it

Question 20

define the term infiltrate/infiltration

Answer 20

the through flow of water through soil

Question 21

define the term perculate

Answer 21

the through flow of water through rock

Question 22

define what an water table is

Answer 22

the water table is the layer between the surface and the saturated rock/soil below.
This rises and falls seasonally, and rises above surface level, creating rivers, ponds, etc.

Question 23

define what a fault line is

Answer 23

a fault line is a break in the rock layers, water and oil can travel up the fault line

Question 24

true or false
crystalline rocks are not permeable

Answer 24

true

Question 25

why are rock layers not straight

Answer 25

rock layers bend and curve with the landscape (rise with mountains, fall with valleys)

Question 26

why should building a power station on top of a fault line be avoided?

Answer 26

fault lines move, could result in collapsing nuclear power plant. BIG BAD.