Earth Resources and Environmental Impacts

by O'hara, Kieran D.

• ISBN13: 9780470564912
• ISBN10: 0470564911
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-01-21
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Earth Resources and Environmental Impacts uses everyday examples and current issues to help readers understand how mineral, water and energy resources – and the impacts of their use and extraction – affect their daily lives. A historical perspective makes the material in this text fascinating by showing readers that the earth’s resources have always been fundamental to society, even as far back as the Stone Age. Environmental impacts and sustainable use of energy and mineral resources are emphasized. With the increase of public interest surrounding environmental impacts, readers will appreciate the knowledge gained from this text.

Author Biography

Kieran O'Hara's research interests are in the areas of structural geology and geochemistry. Over the past several years research has focused on frictional heating processes during earthquakes and the effects it has on the rock record. This work centers on the geochemical and structural study of pseudotachylytes (frictional melts), and also on the effect of frictional heating on coal. A novel technique (O'Hara, 2004) has been developed using vitrinite reflectance in coal to estimate the paleo-stress on ancient seismogenic faults. A second area of interest is in ductile shear zones, especially the geochemical and finite strain changes in continental mylonite zones in the northern and southern Appalachians. Fluid inclusion research in tectonically deformed terranes is also a topic of current research (O'Hara and Becker, 2004).

Table of Contents

Article I.                 

PART I. EARTH SPHERES AND EARTH MATERIALS

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Earth Spheres and their Interactions

Chapter 3. Earth Materials I - Minerals

Chapter 4. Earth Materials II - Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks

PART II MINERAL RESOURCES

Chapter 5. Ore Deposits and Mineral Exploration

Chapter 6. Abundant  and Scarce Metals

Chapter 7. Non-metals and Industrial Minerals

Chapter 8. Environmental Impacts of Metal Resources

Article II.           

PART III ENERGY RESOURCES

Chapter 9. Energy Perspectives

Chapter 10. Carbon-based Energy Resources

Chapter 11. Environmental Impacts of Carbon-based Energy

Chapter 12. Non Carbon-based Energy Resources

Chapter 13. Environmental impacts of non Carbon-based energy

Article III.            

PART IV Water and Soil Resources

Chapter 14. Water Resources

Chapter 15. Soil Resources

Chapter 16.  Environmental impacts on Water and Soil Resources

Article IV.

PART V Text Boxes and Calculation boxes

Chapter 1

Calculation box 1.1. Carbon dioxide projections

Text box 1.1. Welcome to the Anthropocene

Chapter 2

Text box 2.1. Alexander von Humboldt

Text box 2.2. Who owns the Ocean’s resources?

Calculation box 2.1. Global sea level rise due to Greenland ice melting

Calculation box 2.2. What is the mass of the atmosphere?

Text box 2.3. The geologic time scale

Chapter 3

Text box 3.1. Arsenic in the environment

Calculation box 3.1. The Age of the Earth

Chapter 4

Calculation box 4.1. The triangular plot

Chapter 5

Text box 5.1. History of smelting furnaces

Text box 5.2. Fluid inclusions

Text box 5.3. Mineral resources of Afghanistan

Chapter 6

Text box 6.1 The Strength of alloys

Chapter 7

Text box 7.1. Building stones of Washington D.C.

Chapter 9

Text box 9.1. The price of electricity

Calculation box. 9.1 Combustion of gasoline

Calculation box 9.2. Geothermal heat flow

Text box 9.2. The Pickens’s energy plan

Chapter 10

Text box 10.1. Units and conversion factors

Calculation box 10.1. Vitrinite reflectance temperature

Text box 10.2. The future for algal biofuel

Chapter 11

Calculation box 11.1. Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere

Calculation box 11.2. Trace elements in the Kingston coal ash spill

Chapter 12     

Calculation box 12.1. Binding energy of uranium

Calculation box 12.2. Wind turbine power

Calculation box 12.3 Hydroelectric turbine power

Chapter 13

Text box 13.1. Radon gas in the home

Chapter 14

Calculation box 14.1. Sea level rise due to thermal expansion

Calculation box 14.2. Darcy’s law

Chapter 16

Calculation box 16.1. The temperature record