Chapter 14: Geology & Earths Resources
Chapter 14.1: Earth Process and Minerals
1) Earth is a Dynamic Planet
a. Core: Composed of dense, hot mass of metal
i. Solid in center of core
ii. Fluid in outer core
b. Mantle: Layer of rock, less dense, higher concentration of lighter elements:
oxygen, silicon, and magnesium
c. Crust: Outer layer of Earth
i. Oceanic Crust: Rocks rich in iron, silicon, magnesium, dense and young
ii. Continental Crust: less dense and older; rock such as granite/ sandstone
2) Tectonic Plates Move Continents
a. Tectonic Plates: Convection currents in mantle provide the force to move the over
laying current (huge blocks)
b. Magma: Forced up through the cracks form new oceanic crust that piles up
underwater in Mid-ocean ridges
c. Oceanic plate converges with a continental land mass, the continental plate rises up
over the seafloor, while the oceanic plate is subducted or pushed down into the
mantle
d. Mineral: Naturally occurring/ inorganic, solid element or compound with a specific
chemical composure and crystal structure
e. Rock: a solid/ cohesive, aggregate of one or more minerals
3) Rocks and Minerals are Recycled Constantly
a. Rock Cycle: Cycle of creation, destruction, and metamorphosis
b. Three classifications of rocks:
i. Igneous
ii. Metamorphic
iii. Sedimentary
c. Igneous: Most common rock type in Earth’s crust is solidified filled by magma
from Earth’s interior
d. Metamorphic: Extreme heat and pressure can transform mineral structures to create
new forms
i. Produce economically important minerals
4) Weathering Breaks Down Rocks
a. Sedimentary Rocks: Accumulation of sand, mud, or other materials of deposited
from another source
b. Weathering: Break down of exposed rocks
i. Mechanical: Physical breakdown without changing chemical composition
ii. Chemical: Selective removal or alterations of specific components of rock
c. Sedimentation: Deposition of particles of rock transported by wind, water, ice and
gravity until they come to rest in a new location
Chapter 14.2: Earth Resources:
1) Metals and Especially Valuable Resources
a. Metal ores are valuable to the economy
i. Iron, aluminum, Magnesium, copper, Chromium and nickel
ii. Useful, because metals are light, strong, malleable (Easily shaped)
iii. Conduct electricity well
b. Rare Earth Metals: key production of small electronics
i. Small amounts make motors 90 percent lighter and lights 80 percent more
efficient
ii. Mining and processing metal produces waste water rich in sulfuric acid
2) Fossil Fuels Originated Peats and Plankton
a. Fossil fuels carbon based compounds
b. Coal comes from leaves and other plant material(Peat)
i. Pressure, heat, and time converted swampy deposits into rock hard coal
seams
c. Oil derives from the remains of plankton and algae
i. Accumulated on sea floor million years ago
3) Conserving Resources Save Energy and Materials
a. Conservation help reduce affect of mining and processing, water use and
contamination, air pollution, and energy use
i. Recycle helps the environment with waste and is cheaper than producing
raw material
4) Resources Substitution Reduces Demand
a. Consumption of minerals, metals, and fuel can be reduced by substituting with
technology
Ex: Plastic pipes decrease copper, lead, and steel
Chapter 14.3: Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction

EPA list more than a hundred toxic air pollutants released from U.S. mines every year

Pollution from chemicals in sediment runoff is a major problem I local watersheds

Minerals exposed to air/ water produce sulfuric acid
1) Difference Mining Techniques Pose Different Risk to Water and Air
a. Underground Coal Mines: Coal dust, natural gas part of coal beds can cause
explosions and incontrollable fires
i. Fires can be impossible to control/ extinguish due to inaccessibility and
size of fire
ii. Fires consume 200m tons of coal every year and emit as much Carbon
Dioxide as cars in the U.S.
iii. Ex: Pennsylvania mine has been burning since 1962; Cost $40m and
continues to expand
b. Open Pit Mines: Used to extract massive beds of metal ores, coal, and other
minerals
i. Environment problem is water gets into pits; metal mines create a toxic
soup; no one knows how to detoxify this endangering wildlife
c. Strip Mines: Surface stripped to cheaply and quickly expose the coal, then put
debris back into mine
i. Produce majority of coal in U.S.
ii. Historically debris (spoil) dumped in soil banks, which eroded allowing
contaminants to enter surface and ground water. Lack of topsoil means
banks to grow back slowly
iii. 1977 SMCRA required better restoration of strip mining; compacted
acidic soil makes restoration difficult
d. Mountaintop Removal: Removes mountain top surface to expose coal
i. Majority of debris gets into river valleys
ii. Ex: 2011 EPA stopped the Spruce No. 1 W.V. because disposal of debris
violated Clean Water Act
2) Processing Also Produce Acid and Metals
a. Metals are extracted from ores by heating or with chemical solvents
i. Both release toxic materials, which are harmful to the environment than
mining
ii. Smelting: Roasting ore to release metals, major source of air pollution
1. Dense clouds of sulfuric acid dioxide poison vegetation and soil
from smelting
b. Ores washing and leaching consume a lot of water
i. Ore produce, water, contains sulfuric acid arsenic, and heavy metals
which contaminate lakes
ii. EPA believes clean-up for streams and abandoned mines will cost $70b
iii. Companies gone bankrupt leaving public to clean up
iv. Companies cleanup bill cuts into company values and stock prices
3) High Value Minerals can Support Corruption
a. Political and human cost result in mineral extraction and trade
i. Valuable materials have financed political dictators, gangs, etc..
ii. Civil rights organizations campaigns for documentation of gems to
prevent use of financing for crimes against humanity
4) Quantitative Reasoning
a. World’s worst population problem affecting human health: lead mercury,
chromium
i. Lead smelting and small scale gold mining used a lot of mercury and has
no environment control; are worst causes
Chapter 14.4: Geological Hazards
1) Earthquakes Occur on Plate Margins
a. Earthquakes: movement in Earth’s crust that occur along faults where plates slide
past each other
i. Creep/ Seismic Slip is movement along faults occur smoothly
ii. Friction prevents slipping so stress builds until released with sudden jerk
iii. Most earthquake deaths are caused by weakly built buildings; prevent by
padding beneath building
2) Tsunamis can be More Dangerous than Earthquakes that Trigger them
a. Tsunamis: powerful waves triggered by earthquakes or landslides
i. Effect: Wash away buildings, cars, trains, destroy nuclear power plants,
causing radiation levels in milk, seafood, vegetables, and water supply
3) Volcanoes eject gas and ash and lava
a. Volcanoes and other undersea magma vents produce Earth’s Crust
b. Killed people by dense, hot toxic gases accompanied by ash flow
c. Pyroclastic clouds: deadly air mix of hot gas and ash
d. Sulfur emissions from volcanic eruption, rain and atmosphere moisture creates
sulfuric acid
i. Sulfuric acid and solar radiation create cooling of world climate
4) Landslides and Mass Wasting Bury Villages
a. Mass Wasting: Geological materials moved down slope
b. Landslides: rapid down slope movement of soil/ rock
c. In narrow canyons mud slides carry away hoods and burry down slope areas and
debris
d. Floods take large number of lives and cause most property damage
i. Heat storage in atmosphere causes: severe droughts, intense rainfall,
severity and frequency of floods
ii. Control floods by building : levees and floodwalls to keep water within
river banks and river channels are dredged and deepened to allow water to
reduce faster
e. National Flood Insurance Program created by FEMA aids people who can’t buy it
5) Beaches Erode Easily, Especially in Storms
a. Beach erosion occurs on all sandy shorelines: motion of waves is constantly
redistributing sand and other sediments