Final New Material Flashcards
non renewable resources
deposits take millions of years to form, only available in a limited supply
non renewable resources examples
coal, oil, natural gas, iron, copper, uranium, gold
Oil and Natural Gas
consists of hydrocarbon compounds, form remains of plants and animals, formation at high temp and pressure
types of rock needed for oil and natural gas
source rock, reservoir rock, seal rock
source rock
organic shale, source of hydrocarbons
reservoir rock
high porosity and permeability, contains hydrocarbons after migration
seal rock
impermeable rock that traps hydrocarbons
drilling
seal rock is punctured by drilling, oil and natural gases migrate to drill hole
coal
formed mostly of plant material, fossil fuel, used to generate electricity
problems with coal
environmental damage from mining and air pollution
Environmental effects of burning fossil fuels
air pollution, produces carbon dioxide which warms the atmosphere,
what percent of worlds energy is non renewable
90%
alternate energy sources
nuclear, solar, wind, hydroelectric, tidal, geothermal
problems with nuclear energy
controlling reactions requires lots of planning, or a meltdown would occur, nuclear waste
Nuclear waste
radioactive material produced by nuclear power plant, damaging to organisms, takes forever to decay, carefully handled
solar energy
clean but not efficient or cost effective
wind energy
clean but requires construction of large noisy towers
hydroelectric
energy of water drives turbines, damaging to ricer ecosystems
geothermal
1-2% of worlds energy generated, limited to locations with lots of water and hot rocks near surface
reality check
may be out of oil by 2150 because we use 28 billion barrels of oil a year
Metallic resources
ore
ore
rocks containing native metals that can be mined
ore grade
describes how much metal it contains, grade must be high enough to outweigh the cost
Non metallic
gems, dimension stone, chemicals, salt, sand, US consumes about 4 billion tons a year
Alabama geology
very geologically diverse, divided into 5 main sections
5 main sections of Alabama geology
Piedmont, valley ridge, Cumberland plateau, highland rim, coastal plain
Piedmont
oldest rocks in AL (Precambrian), igneous and metamorphic, formed during Rodinia supercontinent, highest topography
Valley Ridge, Cumberland Plateau, Highland Ridge
Paleozoic, sedimentary rocks
Early Paleozoic AL
warm shallow seas that created limestone deposits, karst topography
Mid Paleozoic AL
abundant hematite forms in shallow seas, iron ore industry
Late Paleozoic AL
assembly of supercontinent pangea, huge biomass, fossil fuel deposits
Major Orogenies
Taconic, Alleghenian
Missing time
no rocks form the very end of Paleozoic exist, AL trapped inside pangea
Birth of Gulf
Atlantic ocean an gulf opened in early/mid Mesozoic
Suwannee Terrane
completely unrelated to surrounding rocks, maybe a piece of Africa
Coastal Plain
Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits, tens of thousands of feet thick, unique fossils
Late Mesozoic AL
interior seaway, part of AL covered by ocean , dinosaurs
Geologic hazards in AL
earthquake, landslide, karst, coastal
new madrid seismic zone
far from any plate boundary, one of largest earthquakes to happen at a mid plate area
Karst Hazard
areas of karst terrain formed from weathering of limestone, lots of sinkholes and caves
Natural resources in AL
water, fossil fuels, industrial minerals, metals, precious metals
water issues
water supply and quality, wastewater treatment, habitat protection, drought and flood
how many major aquifers in AL
20
state rank for oil and natural gas
oil - 19th
natural gas - 10th
what contributed to the founding and growth of Birmingham
ore
Tuscaloosa
location on river made it a key location to ship materials to the port in mobile
gold in AL
first gold rush in 1942 in goldville AL
