Resources

ClassNotes: Geo 1330: Dr Dupre´

Resources and Resources

: a naturally occurring material that is of potential economic use.

: a resource that can be economically and legally used today.

Total Resources

Categories of Resources

________________________ - those that can be replenished over short time spans (e.g. months, years, decades)

_______________________ - those that take long time spans to form (thousands to millions of years)

Types of Earth Resources

- Mineral (Metallic and Nonmetallic)

- Energy

- Water

Fig. 21.2

Types of Energy Resources

• Non-renewable

- -Fossil Fuels

- -Nuclear Fuels

• Renewable- e.g.

- -Solar

- -Wind

- -Geothermal (?)

Sources of Energy on the Earth

- Incoming Solar Radiation

- Geothermal Energy

- Gravitational Energy

Rates of Energy Flux

Solar Radiation*:	120,000 units/yr
Geothermal Energy:	30 units/yr
Gravitational Energy	3 units/yr

* Solar = 99.97%

Energy Transfer:

CO₂ + H₂O + solar energy à Glucose + O₂

_{(Photosynthesis)}

Glucose + O₂_àO₂ + H₂O + energy

_(Oxidation)

Forms of Oxidation include:

Breathing

Decay

Burning

: Those energy resources that have formed as the result of the burial and subsequent transformation of organic material.

Fossil Fuels ARE Solar Energy

Types of Fossil Fuels

- Coal

- Oil

- Natural Gas

- Oil Shales

- Tar Sands

- Gas Hydrates

U.S. Energy Production: 1999 (US Dept. of Energy):

Q. What type of fuel is produced the most in the US?

U.S. Energy Consumption: 1997:

Q. What type of fuel is consumed the most in the US?

Compare the amount of energy produced and consumed in the US from 1949 to 1999.

U.S. Energy Consumption, 1775-1999 (US Dept. of Energy):

U.S. Energy mix from 1850-1994? (fig. 22.2)

What has driven the change in energy mix over the history of our nation?

WorldPopulation: the "J-curve"

What's ahead for the future?

Q. What are the sources of energy used to produce electricity today?

How has that changed since 1949?

COAL

What does it take to form coal?

1) Production of large amounts of biomass

2) Preservation in an oxygen-poor environment

3) Burial and compaction

The formation of coal (see fig. 7.15)

The transformation of peat to lignite to bituminous coal to anthracite.

Location of coal fields in the U.S. (fig.21.5)

Methods of mining coal (fig. 21.6)

Coal Fields in the United States (fig. 21.5)

OIL and GAS

A barrel (42 gallons) of crude oil produces:

Gasoline, fuel oil, jet fuel, asphalt, kerosene, lubricants, petrochemicals, etc.

How do oil and gas deposits form?

1) Production of large amounts of biomass

2) Preservation in an oxygen-poor environment

3) Burial, causing maturation (the breakdown of organic matter into a liquid or gas) in a source rock.

4) Migration out of the source area into a permeable reservoir rock

5) Trapping of fluids by an impermeable seal.

The Anticlinal Theory states petroleum accumulates in structural closures (e.g. at the crests of anticlines)

Types of traps include:

1) Anticlinal traps (fig. 22.4a)

2) Salt Dome traps (fig. 22.4d) – e.g. Spindletop.

4) Fault traps (fig.

5) 22.4b)

4) Stratigraphic traps (fig. 22.4c) – e.g.the East Texas Field

Q. How has US petroleum production and consumption changed over the past 50 years?

A. U.S. production of oil has been decreasing since 1970.

A. U.S, consumption has been largely increasing since at least1949.

A. We presently import over 50% of all we use in the U.S., more than at any other time in our history.

How have U.S. Petroleum Imports changed from1949-1999

How much does a barrel of Crude Oil cost (adjusted for inflation)?

Estimates of world reserves of crude oil

Official Energy Statistics of the US.

What would the world look like if the size of the country was proportional to it's fossil fuel reserves in 1988?

When will we run out of Oil???

	Consumption	Reserves	Resources	"lifetime"
US
World

bbl = billion barrels

How reliable are the estimates of ultimate recoverable oil?

This assumes no increase in the rate of consumption or increase in the size of resources, but...

- From 1985-1995 consumption of oil in the world increased ___%

- The increase in Latin America was ___%

- The increase in Africa was ___%

- The increase in Asia was ___%

How has (and will) energy demand change indifferent parts of the world

How has (and will) population change indifferent parts of the world

Q. Can we maintain production at a constant rate until we run out of oil?

What is the “Hubbert Curve” and why is it important?

How can we increase the reserves of Oil and Gas?

-1) Increase the price

-2) Find new conventional deposits

Q. How much oil does the government estimate can be recovered from ANWR?

Q. At present rates of US consumption, how long would that oil last?

- 3) Get more out of old deposits (enhanced recovery)

- 4) Develop unconventional sources

Q. Can Energy Conservation increase the size of a resource?

Q. How much energy is lost between the wellhead and your tires?

Some unconventional sources of fossil fuels include:

1) Athabasca Tar Sands: 600 billion barrels of tar?

2) Green River Oil Shales: Eocene age lake deposits, 40-50 MY (200 billion barrels of oil?)

Unfortunately, all fossil fuels have one basic problem in common:

That is, emissions of:

- Carbon Dioxide (plus)
- Carbon Monoxide
- Nitrogen Oxides
- Sulfur Dioxide
- Volatile organics
- etc.

Q. Why are CO₂ emissions important?

The Greenhouse Effect (fig. 21.9)

What are the Greenhouse Gases? (excluding H₂O)

Carbon Dioxide:	%
Methane:	%
"CFC’s":	%
Nitrous Oxides:	%
Others:	%

Where does the added CO₂ come from?

Burning of Fossil Fuels:	%
Land clearing:	%
Manufacturing:	%
Fuel wood:	%

CO₂ measurements: Mauna Loa (and ice cores)

Global warming trend (fig. 21.11)

Real data on global change!

How can we measure "paleo-temperatures"?

How has CO₂ concentrations changed over the past 1000 years?

How has temperature changed over the past 1000 years?

Warmest decade in the last 1000 years!

How has global sea level changed over the past 110 years?

For more information on Global Change click here.

Global sea-level rise:1880-1990(compare with temperature rise)

What we know

• Atmospheric CO₂is increasing due to human activity.

• CO₂ is only one of several greenhouse gases increasing due to human activities.

• Global temperature is rising

What we don’t know

• To what extent is increased CO₂(and other greenhouse gases) causing global warming?

• How might global warming affect global climate (including sea level)?

• What can we do about it?

• Is it worth it?

What are our alternatives to fossil fuels??

Consider the total world’s reserves of non-renewable energy

Some possible scenarios for the future include?

We could always use:

• Nuclear

• Renewables, e.g.

-- Geothermal

-- Direct Solar

--Wind

-- Tides

-- Hydrogen fuel cells?

What were we using in 1999?

Nuclear Energy:

Advantage =

Disadvantage =

Geothermal Energy:

Advantage =

Disadvantage =

Solar Energy:

Advantage =

Disadvantages =

But, Renewable Solar Energy comes in many forms….

The Hydrogen Fuel Cell?