1. 17 TH MILLER/SPOOLMAN LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT Chapter 14 Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources

2. Core Case Study: The Real Cost of Gold Gold producers China South Africa Australia United States Canada Cyanide heap leaching Extremely toxic to birds and mammals Spills contaminate drinking water and kill birds and fish

3. Gold Mine with Cyanide Leach Piles and Ponds in South Dakota, U.S. Fig. 14-1, p. 346

4. Mountaintop Removal Video: Plundering Appalachia Video About 20% of the coal used for electricity is mined in central Appalachia, equating to 8% of our electricity. Roughly 45% of central Appalachian coal is from strip mining, and almost 100% of that is mountaintop removal. Therefore, mountaintop removal coal provides roughly only 3% of our country's electricity.

6. At your table, in 5 minutes or less …

7. Major Features of the Earth’s Crust and Upper Mantle Fig. 14-2, p. 348

8. The Earth’s Crust Is Made Up of a Mosaic of Huge Rigid Plates: Tectonic Plates Fig. 14-3, p. 348

9. The Earth Beneath Your Feet Is Moving (2) Three types of boundaries between plates Divergent boundaries Magma Oceanic ridge Convergent boundaries Subduction zone Trench Transform boundaries: San Andreas fault

10. Arabian Plate Caribbean Plate Scotia Plate Philippine Plate

11. Divergent Boundaries A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, lava spews from long fissures and geysers spurt superheated water. Frequent earthquakes strike along the rift. Beneath the rift, magma—molten rock—rises from the mantle. It oozes up into the gap and hardens into solid rock, forming new crust on the torn edges of the plates. Magma from the mantle solidifies into basalt, a dark, dense rock that underlies the ocean floor. Thus at divergent boundaries, oceanic crust, made of basalt, is created.

12. Convergent Boundaries When two plates come together, it is known as a convergent boundary. The impact of the two colliding plates buckles the edge of one or both plates up into a rugged mountain range, and sometimes bends the other down into a deep seafloor trench. A chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to the boundary, to the mountain range, and to the trench. Powerful earthquakes shake a wide area on both sides of the boundary. If one of the colliding plates is topped with oceanic crust, it is forced down into the mantle where it begins to melt. Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into new crust. Magma formed from melting plates solidifies into granite, a light colored, low-density rock that makes up the continents. Thus at convergent boundaries, continental crust, made of granite, is created, and oceanic crust is destroyed.

13. Transform Boundaries Two plates sliding past each other forms a transform plate boundary. Natural or human-made structures that cross a transform boundary are offset—split into pieces and carried in opposite directions. Rocks that line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along, creating a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. As the plates alternately jam and jump against each other, earthquakes rattle through a wide boundary zone. In contrast to convergent and divergent boundaries, no magma is formed. Thus, crust is cracked and broken at transform margins, but is not created or destroyed.

15. Volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin form the so-called Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The trenches are shown in blue-green. (Challenger Deep ~ 36,000 ft. deep)

16. Volcanoes Release Molten Rock from the Earth’s Interior Volcano Fissure Magma Lava 1991: Eruption of Mount Pinatubo Little-known Dormant for 600 years! Benefits of volcanic activity Mountain, lakes Weathering of lava contributes to fertile soil.

17. Mt. Pinatubo (USGS.gov) The second-largest volcanic eruption of this century, and by far the largest eruption to affect a densely populated area, occurred at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines on June 15, 1991. The eruption produced high-speed avalanches of hot ash and gas, giant mudflows, and a cloud of volcanic ash hundreds of miles across. The impacts of the eruption continue to this day. Following Mount Pinatubo's cataclysmic June 15, 1991, eruption, thousands of roofs collapsed under the weight of ash made wet by heavy rains (see example in photo above). Ash deposits from the eruption have also been remobilized by monsoon and typhoon rains to form giant mudflows of volcanic materials (lahars), which have caused more destruction than the eruption itself.

18. Creation of a Volcano Fig. 14-6, p. 351

19. Earthquakes Are Geological Rock-and-Roll Events (1) Earthquake Seismic waves Focus Epicenter Magnitude Amplitude

20. Earthquakes Are Geological Rock-and-Roll Events (2) Richter scale Insignificant: <4.0 Minor: 4.0–4.9 Damaging: 5.0–5.9 Destructive: 6.0–6.9 Major: 7.0–7.9 Great: >8.0 Largest recorded earthquake: 9.5 in Chile in 1960

21. Major Features and Effects of an Earthquake Fig. 14-7, p. 351 Figure 14.7: An earthquake (left), one of nature’s most powerful events, has certain major features and effects. In 2010, a major 7.0 earthquake in Haiti (right) killed at least 72,000 people and devastated this already very poor country.

22. Earthquake Risk in the United States Figure 16, Supplement 8

23. World Earthquake Risk Figure 17, Supplement 8

24. Earthquakes on the Ocean Floor Can Cause Huge Waves Called Tsunamis Tsunami, tidal wave Travels several hundred miles per hour Detection of tsunamis Buoys in open ocean December 2004: Indian Ocean tsunami Magnitude 9.15 and 31-meter waves at shore Role of coral reefs and mangrove forests in reducing death toll

25. 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami Tsunami Animation

26. 14-2 How Are the Earth’s Rocks Recycled? Concept 14-2 The three major types of rocks found in the earth’s crust—sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic—are recycled very slowly by the process of erosion, melting, and metamorphism.

27. There Are Three Major Types of Rocks (2) 1.Sedimentary Sediments from eroded rocks or plant/animal remains Transported by water, wind, gravity Deposited in layers and compacted Sandstone Shale Dolomite Limestone Lignite Bituminous coal

29. There Are Three Major Types of Rocks (3) 2.Igneous Forms below or at earth’s surface from magma Granite Lava rocks 3.Metamorphic Preexisting rock subjected to high pressures, high temperatures, and/or chemically active fluids Anthracite Slate Marble

33. Geology of GSMNP

34. 14-3 What Are Mineral Resources, and What Are their Environmental Effects? Concept 14-3 We can make some minerals in the earth’s crust into useful products, but extracting and using these resources can disturb the land, erode soils, produce large amounts of solid waste, and pollute the air, water, and soil.

35. The Life Cycle of a Metal Resource Fig. 14-11, p. 355

36. Extracting, Processing, Using Nonrenewable Mineral and Energy Resources Fig. 14-12, p. 356

37. There Are Several Ways to Remove Mineral Deposits (1) Surface mining Shallow deposits removed Overburden removed first Tailings: waste material Subsurface mining Deep deposits removed

38. Tailings and Overburden Tailings are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore. Tailings are distinct from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that overlies an ore or mineral body and is displaced during mining without being processed. The amount of tailings can be large, ranging from 90–98% for some copper ores to 20–50% of the other (less valuable) minerals.

39. There Are Several Ways to Remove Mineral Deposits (2) Type of surface mining used depends on Resource Local topography Types of surface mining Open-pit mining Strip mining Contour strip mining Mountaintop removal

40. Natural Capital Degradation: Open-Pit Mine in Arizona Fig. 14-13, p. 357

41. Area Strip Mining in Wyoming Fig. 14-14, p. 357

42. Natural Capital Degradation: Contour Strip Mining Fig. 14-15, p. 358

43. Mining Has Harmful Environmental Effects (1) Scarring and disruption of the land surface E.g., spoils banks Mountain top removal for coal Loss of rivers and streams Air pollution Groundwater disruption Biodiversity decreased

44. Mining Has Harmful Environmental Effects (2) Subsurface mining Subsidence Acid mine drainage Major pollution of water and air Effect on aquatic life Large amounts of solid waste

45. Mountaintop Coal Mining in West Virginia Fig. 14-17, p. 359

46. Ecological Restoration of a Mining Site in Ohio—Hybrid American Chestnuts

47. Removing Metals from Ores Has Harmful Environmental Effects (1) Ore extracted by mining Ore mineral Gangue = waste material Smelting using heat or chemicals Air pollution Water pollution

48. Smelting Metal processing plants and smelters are facilities that extract various metals from ore to create more refined metal products. Metals include copper, nickel, lead, zinc, silver, cobalt, gold, cadmium, etc. Smelting specifically involves heating the ore with a reducing agent such as coke, charcoal or other purifying agents. Primary smelting processes mine ore and concentrates, whereas secondary smelting processes recover scrap. Extractive metallurgical and smelting processes can be highly polluting activities. Some facilities that carry out metal and smelting processes are known to emit high quantities of air pollutants such as hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, offensive and noxious smoke fumes, vapors, gases, and other toxins. A variety of heavy metals: lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, nickel, copper, and zinc are also released by the facilities.

49. Removing Metals from Ores Has Harmful Environmental Effects (2) Liquid and solid hazardous wastes produced Use of cyanide salt of extract gold from its ore Summitville gold mine: Colorado, U.S.

50. Depletion Curves for a Nonrenewable Resource Fig. 14-19, p. 361

51. Market Prices Affect Supplies of Nonrenewable Minerals Subsidies and tax breaks to mining companies keep mineral prices artificially low Does this promote economic growth and national security? Scarce investment capital hinders the development of new supplies of mineral resources

52. Case Study: The U.S. General Mining Law of 1872 Encouraged mineral exploration and mining of hard- rock minerals on U.S. public lands Developed to encourage settling the West (1800s) Until 1995, land could be bought for 1872 prices Companies must now pay for clean-up

53. Colorado Gold Mine Must Be Cleaned up by the EPA Fig. 14-20, p. 363

54. Is Mining Lower-Grade Ores the Answer? Factors that limit the mining of lower-grade ores Increased cost of mining and processing larger volumes of ore Availability of freshwater Environmental impact Improve mining technology Use microorganisms, in situ Slow process What about genetic engineering of the microbes?

55. 14-5 How Can We Use Mineral Resources More Sustainability? Concept 14-5 We can try to find substitutes for scarce resources, reduce resource waste, and recycle and reuse minerals.

56. We Can Recycle and Reuse Valuable Metals Recycling Lower environmental impact than mining and processing metals from ores Reuse

57. Aluminum Cans Ready for Recycling Fig. 14-22, p. 366

58. We Can Use Mineral Resources More Sustainability How can we decrease our use and waste of mineral resources? Pollution and waste prevention programs

59. Solutions: Sustainable Use of Nonrenewable Minerals Fig. 14-23, p. 366