NATURAL RESOURCES

Cards (29)

  • petroleum (oil) - composed of hydrocarbons
  • petroleum - highly flammable liquid
  • natural gas - flammable gas mixture conisisting of methane
  • it is the cleanest fossil fuel
    natural gas
  • geothermal energy - natural heat of earth
  • geothermal gradient - rate at which temperature increases with depth
  • magma - molten rock underneath the suface of earth
  • minerals - naturally occurring inorganic solid substances that are composed of ions and molecules bonded together
  • crystalline - ions and molecules of a mineral arranged in a regular network
  • rocks - naturally formed aggregates of minerals
  • enumerate 3 types of rocks
    1. igneous - formed from the solidification of lava
    2. metamorphic - form from preexisting rocks
    3. sedimentary - form from fragments of older rocks o ions dissolved in water
  • earth materials - naturally occurring resources found on earth
  • soil - when rock fragments created by weathering are altered by biological processes
  • erosion - transport of soil and sediments
  • weathering - breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces due to physical, chemical or biological agents
  • deposition - particles fall out of the transporting medium and settle on a surface
  • water pollutants - disease-causing microorganisms
  • oligotrophic - freshwater environments that are clear but have low biological productivity
  • eutrophic - nutrient-rich waters
  • algal blooms - influx of nutrients together with an increase in temperature and more sunlight penetrating the water
  • dinoflagellates - blooms of microscopic algae
  • minamata disease - mercury poisoning from eating fish contaminated with mercury
  • sedimentation - water carries sedinemnts to rivers and other bodies of water
  • siltation - increased concentration of sediments on the bottom of bodies of water
  • thermal pollution - sudden increase or decrease in water temperature
  • blast fishing - uses dynamite and results in killing of fish
  • coral reefs - nursing ground for fishes
  • janitor fish - originally imported by fish hobbyists, now found in many aquariums
  • ways to contaminate oil
    1. oil may be pumped into another ship
    2. dispersants applied to oil slick
    3. burn the oil