GEOL 102 Final Exam Matthew Heller

Energy

the ability to do work

Calorie

energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree celsius

1 joule

4.184 calories

1 British Thermal Unit

1055 joules

1 walt

1 joule per second

1 horsepower

746 watts

3 sources of energy power all processes on Earth

Solar Energy

Main Energy Source

Some energy from the sun is transferred to:

- atmosphere and oceans

- plants

- animals

- heat by combustion and decomposition of organic matter

- lithosphere

Early energy in human history:

- animal and human muscle

-burning wood

-sailboats

-water wheels

-windmills

Later developments of energy in human history:

- coal-fired steam engines, boilers, furnaces

- electricity from hydropower

- gasoline-powered internal combustion engines

-heating oil and natural gas

- natural gas and coal powered electricity plants

Recent developments of energy:

- nuclear power

- photovoltaic cells (solar energy)

- geothermal heat pumps

biofuels

- wind turbines

Energy consumption

- Petroleum 36%

- Hydroelectric power 35%

- Natural Gas 26%

- Coal 20%

Biomass

Organic matter produced by plants and animals consisting of carbon and hydrogen compounds

Most readily available biomass

renewable resource

Fossil- Fuel Biomass Resources:

Petroleum and Coal

Petroleum

- Oil and natural gas

- Aka crude oil

- made of hydrocarbons

- liquid and gas forms

Coal

non-renewable fossil-fuel biomass resource

Uses for Petroleum:

- plastics

- fertilizers, insecticides

- synthetic fibers

- paints

- energy

4 Conditions for Petroleum Deposit:

1. source rock with commercial quantities of oil or gas; usually sedimentary; phytoplankton and zooplankton become petroleum

2. reservoir rock: where petroleum migrates; porous and permeable

3. impermeable caprock allows petroleum to be contained and concentrated

4. Geological structure that "traps" the oil

4 major types of hydrocarbon traps

- anticline trap

- fault trap

- salt-dome trap

- stratigraphic trap

Anticline trap

If the layers in an anticline includes a source rock overlain by a reservoir rock that is overlain by a seal rock, then an anticlinal trap may form. The oil and gas rise from the source rock, enter the reservoir rock, and rise tot he crest of the anticline, where they are trapped by a seal

Fault trap

if the slip of the fault cruses and grinds the adjacent rock to make an impermeable layer along the fault, then oil and gas may mitigate upward along rock beds in the reservoir rocks until they stop at the fault surface

salt-dome trap

oil and gas in the reservoir migrate upward until they are trapped against the boundary of the salt dome, because the salt layer is not permeable

stratigraphic trap

a tilted reservoir rock bed thins out and disappears between two impermeable layers, oil and gas migrating upward along the bed accumulate at the pinch-out location

Oil Production:

- Middle East

- Former Soviet Union

- North America

- Africa

Natural Gas

- primarily methane

- used mostly for heating in past

- hydraulic fracturing

- natural gas pipeline

- coal

Coal

- plant matter altered by heat and pressure

- most abundant energy reserve after oil and oil shales

- lower energy cost than other fuels

- produces a lot of carbon dioxide

- produces many pollutants

Grades of coal

- peat

-lignite

-bituminous

- anthracite

Anthracite

- used for steel production

- highest energy content

Bituminous Coal

main source of coal for electrical energy production

Country that uses the most coal

Asia

Recent trends in coal

Downward

Non-renewable Alternative Energy Resource

Nuclear

Renewable Alternative Energy Resources

Biomass

Inexhaustible Alternative Energy Resources

- Hydroelectric

- Solar

- Geothermal

- Wind

Nuclear Energy

- clean to operate

- no carbon dioxide emissions

Ethanol

Quick grass-efficient source to making ethanol (corn to ethanol)

Hydroelectric Energy

- provides 1/4 of world's electricity

- water falls and turns turbines

- typically inexpensive source of electricity

- has many environmental problems and displaces people

Solar- thermal methods used to heat water to generate electricity

- Power towers

- Parabolic troughs

Geothermal Energy

- From Earth's internal heat

- Electricity, space heating, heat pumps

Problems with Geothermal Energy

- groundwater withdrawal

- toxic elements in some geothermal water

Wind Power

- most successful renewable energy source

- large rotors work best

- clean resource

- has a big foot print

Environmental problems with wind energy

-land acquisition

- unsightly

- wildlife affected (birds killed)

- erosion from roads

Wind resource estimates

- quadrupled in use

- steep upward trend

- could provide 20% of US energy by 2030

Energy consumption and remaining resources

- remaining non-renewable energy resources

- nuclear energy is the most abundant

- coal is not running out

Atmosphere:

envelope of gasses surrounding Earth or another planet

Percentage of Nitrogen in the Atmosphere

78%

Percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere

21%

Major Layers of the atmosphere

- Troposphere

- Stratosphere

- Mesosphere

- Thermosphere

Troposphere

- The layer we are in

- Where weather happens

Stratosphere

extends from top of troposphere to 50 km above Earth's surface; contains layer of ozone

Mesosphere

above the stratosphere where a drop of temperature occurs

Thermosphere

outermost layer of the atmosphere

As altitude increases in the troposphere, what happens to the temperature

decreases

As elevation increases, air pressure

decreases

Drives our weather pattern

- incoming solar energy that warms the atmosphere

Arid climates:

more common in areas where dry cool air returns to the Earth's surface

Mountain ranges:

can have significant impact on weather

Oceans and lakes influence the weather because:

water heats and cools more slowly than the land

Greenhouse Effect

- keeps earth at habitable temperatures

- concentrated in troposphere to absorb energy from sun

Earth's temperature without Greenhouse Effect

-19 degrees celsius

Components of Air Pollution

- Particulate

- Ozone

- Sulfur Oxides

- Nitrogen Oxides

- Carbon Monoxide

- Hydrocarbons

- Lead

- Volatile Organic Compounds

Percentage of air pollution from gasoline powered cars and trucks

42%

Percentage of air pollution from aircrafts, trains, commercial equipment and other mobile sources

16%

percentage of air pollution from miscellaneous processes

21%

acid rain

nitric acid and sulfuric acid

stratospheric ozone

absorbs ultraviolet wavelenghts

CFC problem

1. CFC are released into stratosphere

2. sunlight breaks down CFCs and release atomic chlorine

3. Atomic chlorine destroys ozone

4. UV rays reach Earth's surface and cause skin caner

1% decrease in ozone leads to

2% increase in UVB at surface

Photochemical smog

sunlight breaks up NO2 and NO to make ozone which are unhealthy oxidants

Climate:

long-term average conditions for a given locality or region

short-term climate variations

- day and night

- seasons

- el nino

- volcanic activity

- sunspot cycles

- ocean currents

climate longer-term change

- orbital parameters

- milankovitch cycles

- long term increase in solar luminosity

- plate tectonics

- albedo

overall trend of climate:

warm and cool period, some cyclical

Glacial ice air bubbles:

allows you to measure greenhouse gas concentration

human-induced climate change:

- carbon dioxide concentration have increased from burning of fossil fuels

- clearing of forests and grasslands

Major features of Ocean floor

- abyssal plain

- continental shelf

- mid ocean ridge

- oceanic trench

- mariana trench

Abyssal plain

lowest internal area

continental shelf

shallow areas

Continental slope and rise

transition from continental shelf and abyssal plain

Shorelines

- active margin shorelines

- passive margin shorelines

Active Margin Shorelines

- sea cliffs

- narrow continental shelf

- exposed to high-energy wave

Passive Margin Shoreline

- sand beaches

- wide continental shelf

- protected from strong waves

Average salinity of ocean

3.5%

Salinity of water influenced by:

- depth

- different irons

Deep ocean

more stable in its chemistry

Ocean temperature

warmest at the surface and declines with depth

Thermocline

temperature changing zone

Salinity and Pycholine

increases the deeper you are in the ocean

Ocean circulation

winds drive surface current

Upwelling and downwelling

cycles nutrients and oxygen between deep and shallow ocean

Coastal Hazards

- Erosion

- Sea Cliffs

Sea Cliffs

- eroded by wave action at the toe

-eroded by mass wasting higher up

Active Sea Cliffs

erosion dominated by wave action

Inactive sea cliff

erosion dominated by running water and mass wasting

Sea level

- always rising and falling

- rise can move coastlines

Tsunamis mean:

Harbor Wave

Biggest issue in the ocean

plastic pollution

Landslides are:

-physical erosion

- reaction to instability

- occur on unstable slopes