Land

Earth’s layers:

  1. Crust

  2. Upper mantle

  3. Lower mantle

  4. Outer core

  5. Inner core

*The crust and upper mantle make the lithosphere

*Upper and lower mantle is the Asthenosphere

Rock Cycle: The process of rock turning into three categories: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.

Rock cycle

Plate Tectonics

Panagea- supercontient. All continents were once together about 200 million years ago.

Convergent Boundary

Two tectonic plates are heading towards each other.

Transform Boundary

Two tectonic plates sliding against one another.

Divergent Boundary

Two tectonic plates pulling away from each other

Tsunamis- Occur at a convergent boundary beneath the ocean. A huge amount of water is lifted, starting a wave.

Volcanoes- Convergent boundaries, subduction zone, magma rises to the surface.

Islands- A hot spot (magma underneath); magma rises to the surface, then cools in rock.

  • The hot spot is stationary, the island moves and the hot spot creates another island.

    • Island chains

Flooding and Foodplains

Floodplain: Lower (flat) region of land next to a river.

Flooding: River floods, but within the floodplain.

Deposition: The placing of water particles/materials in a new location.

  • The formation of a levee

  • slow

Erosion: The removal and transportation of particles/materials

  • The stream channel moves

  • fast

Reservoirs and dams were created to prevent rivers from overflowing.

Flood factors:

  • Dam/reservoir overflow

  • Heavy rain

  • Soil type

  • Impermeable surface- covered soil/no soil (cement) Urban areas.

  • Channel geometry- the amount of space for water to spread

  • Catchment area- the amount of area rain captures

  • Aggregation- The levee grows taller due to deposition.

Minerals

Inorganic solid materials- made of elements or one element

*coal/fossil fuels are NOT minerals

How minerals are collected:

  • Subsurface mining- Involves the extraction of minerals and resources from beneath the Earth's surface, usually via tunnels or shafts.

  • Surface mining- involves the removal of the overburden (the soil and rock covering a mineral deposit) to access resources near the surface.

    • Techniques include strip mining, open-pit mining, and mountaintop removal mining.

  • Pit mining - A specific form of surface mining that entails digging a large pit to access minerals, typically in an open-pit format.

    • The process includes blasting, drilling, and removing large quantities of soil and rock to access the mineral deposits.

California Mining: Glod Rush 1849

  • Hydraulic mining- The process begins by creating a water supply, often from nearby rivers or reservoirs, which is then directed through hoses. The high-pressure water jets are aimed at the gold-bearing rock, effectively eroding it and washing the debris into sluice boxes to capture the gold. Ban in 1884.

Impacts:

  • Loss of habitat

  • Tailings

  • Erosion/sedimentation

  • Sinkable

  • Acid drainage

  • Toxins released

  • Health problems

Soil

Ideal soil:

  • Water- 25%

  • Organic- 5%

  • Mineral- 45%

  • Air- 25%

Horizon layers:

  1. Topsoil (O)- organic material/ humus

  2. Topsoil (A)- Mixed in organic material

    1. O and A is the zone of leaching.

    2. Leaching is the process of dissolving minerals/materials.

  3. Subsoil (B)- Inorganic- dissolved nutrients

    1. Zone of accumulation

    2. Accumulation is the build-up of dissolved minerals/materials.

  4. Weathered bedrock (C)

  5. Solid bedrock (R)

Protecting Topsoil:

Dustbowl- wind blows topsoil away

Central valley- Salinzation

Soil Profiles:

  • Desert'

  • Temperature

  • Tropical

    • Deforestation due to leaching, not enough nutrients to help grow.

Water

97.5% saltwater

1.7% of freshwater- frozen within glaciers

< 1% usable water- in aquifers (groundwater), rivers, and lakes.

Frozen water:

  • Glaciers

  • Permafrost- frozen ground.

  • Snowpacks (usable)- melt and feed rivers/lakes.

Usable water:

  • Surface and groundwater

  • Runoff- active/excess water that land wasn’t able to absorb.

  • Watershed- a land area that collects and drains water into a common body of water.

    • Smaller sub-water sheds join and form a larger watershed.

    • Overland flow, rainfall

  • Wetlands- areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally.

    • Importance: support biodiversity, ecosystem services (filter water), percolation, and reduce flooding.

Surface and Groundwater

  • Create wells to collect groundwater deep enough for the unconfined or confined aquifer.

  • As you pump water out of the well, it creates a cone of depression.

  • Confined- limited, moves 1 foot a century

  • Unconfined- renewable, moves 1 foot a year/day.

  • The water table can go up and down. River water rises, and so does the water table.

Overdrawing Problems

Taking out water faster than it can renew.

Subsidence- sinking, losing groundwater storage. (Air in the gaps of soil)

Can recharge aquifers based on soil type.

Saltwater intrusion- occurs when wells are located near coastal areas. Since saltwater is denser than freshwater, it can sink below the groundwater. If wells are pumped too closely to the shoreline, saltwater can enter the groundwater supply.

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act 2014

  • Agencies formed for each basin (watershed) at risk.

  • Plans to prevent “undesirable” results.

  • The goal is to have sustainable water use by 2040.

  • Monitoring those with wells, limiting groundwater use.

Flood Control:

  • Channelized water- surrounded water with concrete.

  • Channelization- Reservoirs, dams, man-made lakes

    • Cons: Blocks migration of fish/aqua animals from going upstream.

      • Damages animals

      • Sedimentation- particles staying in water. Losing sand as most of our sand comes from rivers.

      • Displacement of people.

Aqueducts- active water being pumped to several locations.

Water Pollution

Two different categories based on source.

Point Source:

  • From pipes

  • Sewers

  • Industrial

  • Livestock, farm animals, waste entering nearby water. (animal feedlot)

Non-point Source:

  • Water intrusion from rain

  • Crop water

  • City rain runoff

  • Rural homes

A lot of pollution is nutrients.

Oxygen Sag Curve:

  • Oxygen levels drop due to nutrient/bacteria pollution.

  • Oxygen naturally occurs and flows at high levels.

  • Slowly recovers, but damages the ecosystem and aqua animals.

Pathogen Pollution- Human death from bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other pathogens.

Other pollutants:

  • POPS- Persistent organic pollutants that are man-made.

    • Stay in the atmosphere too long, causing health problems

  • Heavy metals

  • Oil

Wastewater Treatment

Preliminary- screening

Primary- sedimentation- sediment is taken away

Secondary-

  • biological- filter bed- put good bacteria- constantly moving for oxygen

  • sedimentation- UV, O3, Chorline - kills bad bacteria

Tertiary (optional)-pull out nutrients using filter beds- throw away(not good for drinking)/ recycle water.

  • Used for non-human food crops and construction because they need lots of water.

Wastewater Treatment

Conserving Water

  • Mainly used for irrigation '

  • Some power sources use a lot of water

  • Water Footprint:

    • How much water countries/ per capita are using.

    • Household water use

  • Virtual Water:

    • Not directly using.

    • A water bottle takes more water to make than it holds.

    • Amount of water used to produce food.

      • Beef- 1,850 gallons to feed the cows.

    • Amount of water used to produce products.

      • Pair of blue jeans- 2,900 gallons.

  • Alfalfa- a type of grass that requires a huge amount of water to grow.

    • Feeds livestock in the winter.

Water conservation:

Gray water systems- water from a household (toilets, sinks, washer) goes int a surge tank and is reused.