WEEK 6 ENERGY & WATER RESOURCES Flashcards
Main sources of energy:
non renewable and renewable
energy generated from natural sources e.g. sun, wind, water and can be generated again and again as and when required.
Renewable
Energy which is taken from following sources that are available in earth in limited quantity
Non renewable
Intermediate material made up of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen and Sulfur which will then be transformed into oil and gas
kerogen
a natural resource formed by the decay of organic matter over millions of years
Oil
the organisms that decay will become hydrocarbons. This will form after millions of years of exposure to extreme pressure and conditions
Formation of oil
Majority of oil comes from?
Thermal maturity kerogen
Non renewable resources:
Coal, peat, petroleum gas and natural gas, fossil fuels
Coal forms when the ___________ ? over
millions of years
plant decay and exposed to heat and pressure
An accumulation hydrocarbon-containing materials of biological origin
Fossil fuels
Types of coal:
Peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite
First stage of coal development
Peat
Produces low heat energy
Lignite
A combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams
Coal
Soft, made up of decayed plant fibers
Peat
Soft and has a woody texture and has high moisture content
Lignite
Pressure from rocks above causes PEAT to change into this type.
Lignite
Sedimentary rock which contains impurities like Sulfur
Bituminous
Lot of smoke, less energy
Peat
Common type of soil
Bituminous
Dark brown-black, soft
Bituminous
xtremely hard and brittle
Anthracite
largest source of energy for electricity
Anthracite
Product of partial conversion of kerogen
bitumen
2000 meters, 100 degrees celsius _____ releases what?
kerogen releases hydrocarbons
types of renewable resources:
geothermal and hydrothermal
It covers all techniques used to recover the heat that is naturally present in the Earth’s subsurface particularly in aquifers, the rock reservoirs that contain groundwater.
geothermal enegry
Widely used for decades, hydropower plants are the world’s leading renewable energy source, producing 83% of renewable power
hydroelectric energy
explanation for the existence of geothermal energy
radioactive decay, primordial heat
It is the only planet where water in its liquid form exists. In other planets, waters occur in the form of ice or vapor
Earth
The Earth’s subsystem containing the oceans, lakes, streams, underground water, and snow and ice are the
Hydrosphere
Hydrosphere makes up about ____ of the earth’s surface
71%
water molecules spend the average length of time in a reservoir. The larger reservoir, longer the?
residence time
also known as the water cycle
hydrologic cycle
occurs when plants release water vapor into the air from their leaves.
transpiration
transfers water from the atmosphere to earths surface
peripitation
change of water vapor into liquid or solid form
condensation
continuous movement of water within the Earth’s atmosphere, surface, and subsurface areas.
hydrologic cycle
ice transform directly into water vapor
sublimation
Liquid changes into vapor
evaporation
5 recognized oceans:
pacific, Atlantic, Indian, arctic, southern
Saltiness of saltwater
salinity
It describes how water moves between various reservoirs (oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, the atmosphere, and underground) through different processes like evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and infiltration.
hydrologic cycle
are small and shallow lakes without any outlet. It’s water source is the rainwater and underground springs
ponds
mass of glacial land extending more than 50,000 square km. Found in Greenland and Antarctica
ice sheets
large inland bodies of fresh or saline water.
lakes
a moving body of surface water that flows downslope toward the sea level because of gravity
streams
include streams, lakes, and wetlands. They represent 0.3% of Earth’s total water resource
surface water reservoirs
permanent body of ice consists largely of recrystallized snow
glaciers
a stream with a considerable volume and a well-defined channel.
river
the zone where the temperature of water decreases as depth increases
thermocline
zone where the temperature is uniformly low. 80% of the ocean water
deep
Most are stored in glaciers situated in inaccessible such as the polar regions ad high mountains.
freshwater reservoir
3 MAJOR OCEAN ZONES
surface, deep, thermocline
consists of relatively warm, low density water that extends from the ocean surface to a depth of 100m.
surface
Salinity is maintained by?
hydrologic cycle
The major chemical elements present
in seawater are:
sodium and chlorine ions
land areas where water covers the surface for significant periods.
wetlands
They are biologically diverse environments filled with species that rely on land and water for survival.
wetlands
shallow wetland around lakes, streams, and oceans where grasses and reeds are the dominant vegetation.
marsh
wetland with lush trees and vegetation found in low-lying areas beside slow moving rivers and has low oxygen level.
swamp
partly enclosed coastal body of water where freshwater from streams meets the saltwater from the sea
estuary
It is the largest reservoir of liquid fresh water on Earth.
groundwater
water-bearing rock layers akin to a “sponge” that hold groundwater in tiny cracks, cavities, and pores
aquifers
is freshwater found in in the rock and
soil layers beneath the surface.
groundwater
the total amount of empty pore spaces in the rock. It determines the amount of water that an aquifier can hold.
porosity
ability of rock to or sediments to allow
water to pass through it
permeability
An aquifer in which the groundwater is free to rise to its natural level is called
unconfined aquifer
when water is trapped and held down by a pressure between impermeable rocks called aquiclude, which is called a
confined aquifer
