The earth, its rocks and minerals

Structure of Earth
Core: centre of the Earth, divided into solid and the
molten core, it has more than 4000.C
Mantle: thick shell of molten rock. Its the source of
magma that reaches the Earth on volcanic eruptions.
Earth Crust: its the surface of the Earth, and has
between 5km and 100km thick.
Types of rock
Igneous rocks: formed when magma reaches the surface
and cools. Examples: granite and basalt.
Sedimentary rocks: formed of sediments of rocks that
reach the sea bed and compressed. Examples:
sandstone, clay and limestone.
Metamorphic rocks: rocks that are changed by heat
(magma) and pressure (tectonic plates). Examples: clay
is changed into slate and limestone into marble.

Methods of search and extraction of rocks and minerals

Opencast mining: Its used when rocks outcrop or are
near the Earths surface first you have to clear the
vegetation and remove the topsoil, then use explosives
to break up or lose the wanted rock. Finally, remove it
and transport it.
Deep mining: Its used when rocks are deep below the
surface, and its more expensive and dangerous (they can
collapse). First you have to sink a vertical shaft down to
the rock layer and make a horizontal tunnel following it;

then, you extract the minerals, and bring the loose rocks
and minerals to the surface.
Uses of rocks and minerals in industrial processes:
Nearly all igneous and metamorphic rocks are used for
construction and road building.
Industrial raw materials:
1. Chalk: cement
2. Gravel: concrete
3. Clay: bricks and pottery
4. Sand: glass
Limestone: for road building, building stone, cement and
concrete, steel works and power stations, and lime for
fertilizers.

Impacts of mining on environments

Clearance of natural vegetation:
- For roads and railways
- For opencast mining
Surface piles of waste
Air pollution from dust and fumes of chimneys used in
refineries.
Water pollution of rivers and streams from water flowing
through old mines.
Fishes, water creatures and plant life dies from the low
concentrations of oxygen.

Impacts of mining on people

Deep mining bad impacts: It affects miners, who work in
narrow spaces, deep underground, in wet, dirty and
dusty conditions. They generally suffer injuries and even
get trapped in the mine. Its also an unhealthy work, it

causes breathing and chest problems, and the life

expectancy is lower.
Opencast mining bad impacts: Wildlife is driven out of
the area, and people living nearby suffer from air (dust
and dirt), visual and noise pollution.
Mining positive impacts: It benefits most of all the
economy, because developing countries earn lots of
money, which is used to improve the quality of life of
people in the country. Its also a well paid job because it
s very dangerous.

Conservation of environments damaged by mining

The most environmentally friendly action is for the mining
company to fill in the hole and replace the top soil, in order to
try to leave the land in a similar condition to what it was like
before.
After the hole on the surface has been filled in, the land can
be used again:
- Landscaping: trees, grasses, and shelter belts can
be planted; these should grow well as all the old top
soil has been replaced.
- Restoration: the land is being restored, as near as
possible, to what it was like before the mining.
Farmers may be able to start using the land again.
- Reclamation: the land has been reclaimed from
mining to be used for farming.
- Waste disposal: Old quarries and large holes left
after the mining stopped are often convenient
places for the disposal of waste. This is done by
landfilling, which is a cheap and easy way to
dispose of waste.

Fossil fuels: formation, search and extraction

Coal, oil, and natural gas are the three types of fossil fuels.
They have two common characteristics:
They were formed from the decomposition of the remains
plants and animals.
It has taken millions of years for them to accumulate and
form deposits which are large enough to be mined for
human use.
Formation of Coal
Coal was formed in places where dense forests were found. As
the vegetation die and decompose it started to form a thick
layer of peat. Later rivers covered the peat with deposits of
mud and sand; and the compression of these resulted in
sedimentary rocks which hardened into coal. Coal is a black
rock, which is very useful because it gives out heat as it burns.

Formation of oil and natural gas

Gas and oil were formed from the decomposition of plants and
dead creatures. Each one rotted to form a tiny spot of oil.
Their remains were covered by mud and sand. As the sand
was compressed into sandstone rock, the oil and gas
separated and rose through the sandstone filling in the spaces
between the particles of rock. As gas is lighter it rises to the
top.

Alternative energy sources

An alternative source of energy refers to an energy source
that can be used as a replacement for the fossil fuels. They

are sustainable sources of energy (people will be able to use

them long after fossil fuels have run out).
Hydro-electric: fast flowing water, such as from a
waterfall or below a lake.
Geothermal: heat from the ground in areas of volcanic
activity.
Solar: heat from the light of the sun using solar panels
and photovoltaic cells.
Wave: force of the sea waves as they break against the
coastline.
Wind: using tall turbines driven by the force of the wind.
Biomass: using fuel wood, crop wastes and animal dung
as fuel.

Advantages
Renewable (always available)

Disadvantages
High costs of research (new
technology)
Clean (no local pollution)
May use toxic substances (PVs to
turn sunlight into energy)
Locally and widely available (one Bad environmental effects (HEP
or more are likely to be available)
may cause flooding)
Do not contribute to global May be wrong weather (days
warming (no CO2 emissions)
without wind or sun).
Too expensive for poor countries to
develop

Strategies for conservation and management of fossil

fuel reserves
Development of alternatives.
Saving on energy use.
Finding new and better alternatives requires new technology:
For example using photovoltaic cells (Solar power) another
technological breakthrough that will bring costs down.

The big hope for future energy is hydrogen fuel cells cars and
hydrogen buses, which have already been made. But what
scientist and researchers are looking for is a way to generate
hydrogen from cheapest and most renewable source of
energy. The eventual aim is to generate enough renewable
hydrogen to produce electricity.

Strategies for saving on energy use

Producing more power from less energy consumption. This is
being researched for airplanes and cars, and will allow more
kilometers per liter.
Switching off lights and machines when they are not in use
Placing insulation layers under roofs so less heat is lost in
winter.
Installing energy-efficient ligthing heating and air conditioning
systems

Plate tectonics
The earths crust is not a continuous unbroken layer; its
divided up into seven major plates and many smaller ones. In
the middle of plates little tectonic activity occurs, but their
boundaries are zones of movement and great crustal activity,
leading to earthquakes, volcanic activity, folding and
mountain building.

Earthquakes
During an earthquake the ground shakes and vibrates rapidly.
The waves caused by earthquakes are recorded on sensitive
instruments called seismographs. The strength of an
earthquake is measured in the richter scale.

 Negative impacts: It damages buildings; pillars

supporting bridges and roads can collapse; people can
die because they get trapped inside their houses, works
or vehicles.

Primary and secondary effects: Primary effects are those

caused by the earthquake itself; secondary effects are

those that happen in the minutes hours and days after

earthquake.
In towns and cities, fire is the most dangerous secondary
effect

Volcanoes
A volcanic eruption occurs when magma rises to the surface.
Lava pours out and builds up a cone-shaped mountain
Positive impacts: Volcanic soils are some of the worlds
most fertile because they are rich in minerals of many
different types.
Negative impacts: Some volcanoes erupt suddenly
without warning, having been dormant for hundreds of
years, and this ones are the most dangerous.

Strategies for managing impacts

Employ scientist to monitor the volcanoes.
Use satellites to monitor heat changes which is useful for
volcanoes in remote locations and in developing
countries without ground station.
Train and educate local people in emergency procedures

Elements of soil
Land Pollution
Land Pollution from farming: The unmanaged
wastes that pollute land and water are farm animal
wastes, residues of farm additives, acid deposition
(acid rain) and toxic spillages.

 Harmful effects of fertilizers and pesticides:

* Eutrophication: Fertilizers and pesticides increase
food output from the land;however, they are not
always beneficial to the soil. Nitrates and
phosphates (common ingredients of fertilizers) are
leached from the soul into the underground water
supplies, and eventually find their way into surface
water courses. Here they enrich the water and
encourage the rapid grow of algae, which when they
die, use for decomposition so much oxygen, that
water is left without it.
This process is known as eutrophication, and as a
consequence plant and animal life in this water
course die because there is insufficient oxygen.
* Kill of organisms: Too much pesticide not only kills
insect pests, but also other harmless species as
well; which leads to a great reduction in the variety
of the local fauna. They also kill vital organisms
resulting in a slower rate of decomposition of the
organic materials; which means a slower release of
plant nutrients into the soil. All this indiscriminate
use of pesticides affects the food chain.

Salinization: Human activities increase the amount

of salts in soil, which reduces crop output. This is
because salts are drawn up to the top of the soil,
and water evaporates. A hard crust of salt is
deposited on the surface, and as most plants and
crops cannot tolerate the high level of salt, the
wither and die. Salinization is a particular problem
in irrigated land.

 Domestic waste: Garbage comes from the

preparation, cooking and serving of food; and from
the throwing away of rubbish. The amount of land
pollution depends on the efficency of the waste
collection and disposal operations. Domestic waaste
must be treated, if not it spreads contamination.
Toxic waste: Toxic wastes are wastes from foodprocessing and scraps of wood and metal. Waste
from greatest concern are lead, mercury, arsenic
and cadmium; and nickel, chromium and zinc in
greater concentratons.
Nuclear
waste:
It
may
cause
long-term
environmental implications because of the emission
of radioactivity and disposal of waste. Every
radioactive substance has a time for its radioactivity
to die away; that's why they must be stored safely
either deep underground or at the plant; plutonium
for example has a half-life (life of its radioactivity) of
250000 years.
Emissions from nuclear power stations have been
linked with increased cancer, especially leukaemia,
in surrounding areas.