(TEST 2) Earth Science, Lecture pt 4 (ch 13 and 14) Flashcards
What are fossil fuels?
An energy source formed by natural processes from buried dead organisms that have been converted to fuels such as crude oil, coal, natural gas, etc.
What did people in the past use as an energy source?
They used windmills/watermills and then shifted to burning wood to produce more energy
What enabled the industrial revolution?
Burning of fossil fuels
What are some examples of non-renewable resources?
Crude oil, natural gas, and coal
What are some examples of a renewable resource?
Solar and wind
What is a renewable resource?
Alternative supplies of energy that can be produced at
fast rates and not a finite resource
What percent of energy do humans consume comes from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas?
88%
What types of coal are the most desirable?
Bituminous and anthracite
Why are bituminous and anthracite coals the most desirable?
- They produce more energy when they are burned
- They have a higher carbon content
What happens to the carbon content as volatiles and moisture are removed due to increased heat from burial?
The carbon content increases
What is a coal?
An organic sedimentary rock formed from plant remains
deposited in swamps and marshes
What is the major use of coal?
The major use of coal is generating electric power
What is one of the largest sources of CO2 (a greenhouse gas)?
The largest source is burning coal
What is coal mainly composed of?
Carbon, hydrogen, and water
What are some environmental impacts of mining coal?
- Explosions and collapses
- Black Lung Disease
- Land Subsidence (due to underground material removal)
- Acid mine drainage
What are some impacts of mountain top removal mining?
- Places waste rock in a nearby valley
- Impacts the topography and streams
What are some environmental impacts of burning coals?
- Acid rain
- Releases greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) which contributes to climate change
- Mercury deposition around the globe
- Coal ash (waste product) contains many contaminants
What does crude oil refer to?
They refer to unrefined oil made
up of liquid hydrocarbons
What are some products made from crude oil?
- Kerosene
- Lubricants
- Waxes
- Asphalt
- Chemical
How do we find oil and natural gas?
- Identify oil/gas reservoirs
with seismic waves - Drill exploration wells –
used to verify if oil/gas is
present - Put in production (i.e.
extraction) wells
What is a source rock?
Where original organic material was deposited
What is a petroleum trap?
Configuration of rock units that allows hydrocarbons to accumulate
What is a petroleum reservoir?
Rocks where oil and gas are being stored
What is a cap rock?
Low permeability layer that overlies the trap
What is air pollution?
Hydrocarbons not fully burned during combustion and released as exhaust
What are nonconventional fossil fuels?
All fossil fuels except for the traditional sources (such as coal, light crude oil, and natural gas)
When do tar sands form?
They form when oil moves upward within a reservoir of
porous, permeable sand is not stopped by an impermeable
sedimentary layer
A highly viscous asphalt or tar is called a
Bitumen
What is an oil shale?
A sedimentary rock containing kerogen that has not
been heated enough within the Earth to change the kerogen into hydrocarbons
How do shale gas form?
When organic-rich black shales where extremely
deep burial and extremely high temperatures have broken
petroleum down into natural gas (methane)
What is fracking?
Where high-pressure fluids and sand are injected to hydraulically fracture
What are gas hydrates?
Ice-like substances made from
methane (CH4) and water molecules
Why do we need alternative based energy?
- Limited supply of fossil fuels
- Environmental impacts of mining and burning fossil fuels
What are two nuclear processes that produce energy?
- Fission - splitting of atomic nuclei
- Fusion - combining of
smaller atomic nuclei into
larger ones
What are some alternative energy sources?
- Nuclear
- Solar
- Geothermal
- Hydropower
- Wind
- Biofuels
- Tidal
What are some pros for nuclear source?
- Rich in energy
- No carbon emissions
- Reactors need little maintenance
What are some cons for nuclear source?
- Produces nuclear waste
- Are expensive to build
- Can use a lot of water
When does solar heating occur?
When solar radiation strikes a solid object and is transformed into thermal or heat energy
What are active and passive heating systems?
Active - involve mechanical
systems to collect and
distribute the heat
Passive - does not involve any
mechanical effort
What are some pros for solar power generation?
- Free energy source
- Can last a long time without breaking
- No type of pollution
What are some cons for solar power generation?
- Requires a large commitment of land and mineral resources
- Uses toxic material in production; these materials needs to be mined
What are some pros of hydropower?
- Free energy source (uses gravity)
- No carbon emissions
- Controls flooding
What are some cons of hydropower?
- Needs a large footprint
- Traps sediment by not letting it move downstream
- Affected by droughts
What are some pros of wind energy?
- Free energy source
- Can provide electricity 95% of the time
What are some cons of wind energy?
- Creates noise issues (sound pollution)
- Has energy storage issues
- May kill off wildlife
- Impacts views (not in my backyard)
What is geothermal energy?
Energy produced where heat comes from magma or higher geothermal gradient
What are some pros of geothermal energy?
- Free energy source
- Is pollution-free
- No carbon emissions
- Competitive economically
What are some cons of geothermal energy?
- Can contain a lot of dissolved chemicals that can clog/erode pipes
- Geographically limited
- Can pollute local waters if released
What are biofuels?
Energy created from the processing of living organisms (i.e. plants) into fuel to burn
What is ethanol?
Made from fermenting plant materials
What is biodiesel?
Fatty acids derived from
vegetable oils and animal fats
What is a pro of biofuel?
A renewable fuel
What are some cons for biofuels?
- Reduction in natural forests and grasslands for farmland
- Can cause food shortages on competing crops
- Has carbon emissions when in production and burning
- Raised prices for corns and soybeans
What is ocean thermal energy conversion?
- Temperature differences between surface (warm) and deep (cold) ocean water drives a turbine, producing electricity
