200.

16 Environmental Geology

7/26/2006

Geological Resources

Bingham Copper Mine

Earths Natural Resources

Minerals, Metals and Fossil Fuels

Deposits are collectively called reserves. Reserves are

known deposits that can be mined or drilled today (Present reserves)

those that can be tapped into great expense or with new technology
and all deposits not yet discovered.

How long will the reserves last? What will happen when they
have been exhausted? Where do we find fuels in the future,
and how do they affect the environment?
Most resources are not renewable because it took millions of
years to build them up while they are consumed within the
short period of 100 years or so.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, people have been
trying to develop substitutes for natural resources such as
synthetic minerals or alternative energy sources.
Metals can be recycled

Mineral Resources

Building
Stone, Sand, Gravel,
Limestone
Non-metallic Minerals
Sulfur, Gypsum, Coal,
Barite, Salt, Clay,
Feldspar, Gem
Minerals, Abrasives,
Borax, Lime,
Magnesia, Potash,
Phosphates, Silica,
Fluorite, Asbestos,
Mica
Metallic Minerals
Ferrous: Iron and
Steel, Cobalt, Nickel

J.M. Piwowar

Metallic Minerals
Non-ferrous: Copper,
Zinc, Tin, Lead,
Aluminum, Titanium,
Manganese,
Magnesium, Mercury,
Vanadium,
Molybdenum,
Tungsten, Silver, Gold,
Platinum
Energy Resources
Fossil Fuels: Coal, Oil,
Natural Gas
Uranium
Geothermal Energy

200.16 Environmental Geology

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ROCKS AND MINERALS

A mineral is a naturally occurring,

inorganic, solid element or
compound with a definite chemical
composition and regular internal
crystal structure.

Quartz

A rock is a solid, cohesive,

aggregate of one or more minerals.
Each rock has a characteristic
mixture of minerals, grain sizes,
and ways in which the grains are
held together.

Rock Cycle Animation

Lava Flow

Transport

Settling

Cementation

Metamorphism

Melting

Lava Flow

Rock Cycle

J.M. Piwowar

200.16 Environmental Geology

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Sediments Transport

Rock Cycle

Sediments

Rock Cycle

Sand Grains

Rock Cycle

J.M. Piwowar

200.16 Environmental Geology

7/26/2006

Metamorphism

Rock Cycle

Melting

Rock Cycle

Rock Types
Three major rock classifications:
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
Igneous Rocks- Most common type of rock in earths crust.

Solidified from magma extruded onto the surface from volcanic vents.

Quick cooling of magma produces fine-grained rocks. - Basalt

Slow cooling of magma produces coarse-grained rocks. - Granite

Sedimentary Rocks

from weathering
Mechanical - Physical break-up of rocks into smaller particles without a change in
chemical composition.
Chemical - Selective removal or alteration of specific components that leads to
weakening and disintegration of rock. -Oxidation
Sedimentation - Deposition of loosened material.
Deposited materials that remain in place long enough, or are covered with enough
material for compaction, may again become rock.

Formed from crystals that precipitate out of, or grow from, a solution.
Shale, Sandstone, Tuff
Metamorphic Rocks

Pre-existing rocks modified by heat, pressure, and chemical agents.

Chemical reactions can alter both the composition and structure of rocks as they are
metamorphosed.

Marble (from limestone); Quartzite (from sandstone); Slate (from shale)

-

J.M. Piwowar

200.16 Environmental Geology

7/26/2006

Types of Rocks
Types of Rocks
Type

Sedimentary rocks

Characteristics

Examples

Igneous rocks are created when molten material such

as magma (within the Earth) or lava (on the surface)
cools and hardens. The hot material crystallizes into
different minerals. The properties and sizes of the
various crystals depend on the magma's composition
and its rate of cooling.

Granite
Obsidian
Basalt
Pumice
Andesite
Diorite
Rhyolite

Sedimentary rocks are made up of sediments eroded

from igneous, metamorphic, other sedimentary rocks,
and even the remains of dead plants and animals.
These materials are deposited in layers, or strata, and
then are squeezed and compressed into rock. Most
fossils are found in sedimentary rocks.

Sandstone
Shale
Conglomerate
Limestone
Chert
Coal
Gypsum

Metamorphic rocks are produced when sedimentary or

igneous rocks are transformed by heat and/or pressure.
The word "metamorphic" comes from the Greek
language, which means "to change form."

Marble
Slate
Quartzite
Schist
Gneiss

Metamorphic rocks

Examples of igneous rock types

Obsidian: volcanic glass having no crystals at all.
Gabbro: A plutonic
rock

Porphyritic andesite: This

volcanic rock has a finegrained gray matrix
enclosing long, black
amphibole (hornblende)
phenocrysts. The matrix
grains are too small to
identify

Basalt: a volcanic rock

that, in this case, contains
no vesicles or
phenocrysts. The crystals
are too small to identify
and the basalt rock type is
inferred from its dark
color.

Scoria: a vesicular volcanic

rock, in this case a vesicular
basalt. The crystals are too
small to identify so the basalt
rock type is inferred from its
dark color.
The vesicles (bubbles) form
as dissolved gasses come out
of solution of the original
homogeneous silicate liquid.

Porphyritic granite: This

plutonic rock has
phenocrysts of orthoclase
set in a finer grained
matrix of orthoclase,
albite, quartz, and
biotite. These crystals are
all large enough to
identify, distinguishing it
from a volcanic rock.

Examples of some clastic sedimentary rocks and their textures

Shale: no grains are visible, or perhaps only a few muscovite crystals are seen
on bedding surfaces. Shales are mostly made out of clay, a diverse group of
very tiny mica-like minerals. Some shales are very soft and fall apart in water,
others can be quite hard. Shale is the most common sedimentary rock type on
earth.
Siltstone: grains are barely visible with a hand lens or low power
microscope. Grains are too small to identify except as indicated by dark or
light color. Quartz and clays are the most common minerals.

Sandstone: grains are visible and many types can be identified with a hand
lens or low power microscope. The grains in this sample are moderately well
rounded and well sorted.

Arkose: a sandstone having a lot of feldspar. Grains in arkose are usually

angular, indicating a short transport distance from the source area. This
sample happens to bee poorly sorted, though this is not a characteristic of
most arkoses.

Conglomerate: a rock containing >50% clasts larger than 2 mm (the limit for
coarse sand), though conglomerates people usually think about usually have
pebble size grains or larger. Clasts may be any rock type, and are commonly
a mixture in any one outcrop

J.M. Piwowar

200.16 Environmental Geology

7/26/2006

Typical metamorphic rock types defined by grain size and foliation quality

Slate = a very fine-grained, well-foliated

rock in which the grains are mostly too small
to see even with a hand lens or low power
microscope. Sheet silicates are abundant
(typically muscovite and chlorite).
Phyllite = a fine-grained, well-foliated rock
in which the grains are barely visible with a
hand lens as shiny flakes. Sheet silicates are
abundant (typically muscovite and chlorite).

Schist = a medium- to coarse-grained, well

foliated rock in which the grains are easily
seen and identified by eye or with a hand
lens. Sheet silicates are abundant (typically
muscovite and biotite).

Gneiss = a medium- to coarse-grained rock

having a poor foliation. Minerals are easily
visible and identifiable by eye or with a hand
lens.

Folding of Rocks

A fold can be defined as a bend in rock that is the response

to compressional forces (heat & pressure). Folds are most
visible in rocks that contain layering. Extreme deformation
can cause rocks to break

OIL Formation

organic
material
settles, is
buried, and is
transformed
by heat and
pressure into
oil.

J.M. Piwowar

In View 2 an oil trap is formed: the area folds into an

anticline, and oil migrates and accumulates in the
anticline crest.

200.16 Environmental Geology

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Formation of Coal

Plant materials buried

under sediments decay to
form peat, a compressed
mass of plant remains.
Compaction forces water
out of the sediments to
form lignite, a soft, brown
coal.
Further compression and
aging turn lignite into
bituminous coal, a soft,
black coal.
Heat and pressure
metamorphose bituminous
coal to anthracite, a hard
coal that is almost pure
carbon.

Where the Oil Is

The Geography of Oil

J.M. Piwowar

200.16 Environmental Geology

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Hubbert Curves

In 1956, Oil geologist M. King Hubbert noted that rates of

oil production follow a bell-shaped curve.
Cumulative production follows a slanting S- curve
Production lags discovery by about ten years.

Hubberts 1956 Prediction

Where We Stand Today

J.M. Piwowar

200.16 Environmental Geology

7/26/2006

What if We Find More Oil?

Even a huge
increase in total
oil has very little
effect on the
peak and decline
of production.
Why? We waste
most of it on
inefficient uses.

One Solution: Limit Production

Is There a Lot More Undiscovered

Oil?

80 per cent of oil being produced today is from

fields discovered before 1973.
In the 1990's oil discoveries averaged about
seven billion barrels of oil a year, only one third
of usage.
The discovery rate of multi-billion barrel fields
has been declining since the 1940's, that of giant
(500-million barrel) fields since the 1960's.
In 1938, fields with more than 10 million barrels
made up 19% of all new discoveries, but by
1948 the proportion had dropped to only 3%.

J.M. Piwowar

200.16 Environmental Geology

7/26/2006

Oil Discovery Rates

Some Relevant Quotes

... the energy-system efficiency of the motor
car with petroleum motor fuel is, thus, 5
percent ... no one is proud of this
accomplishment -- least of all the
automotive-design engineers ... The
trouble is, every time the design engineer
manages to save a few BTU it is more
than spent answering the clamor for softer
tires, for radio, for better heaters, more
lights, cigarette lighters and possibly even
air conditioning.

Petroleum is a Syllogism

There is a finite amount of it in

the world
We are using it and not
replacing it
Therefore we will eventually run
out of it
Any of this not clear?

J.M. Piwowar

10

200.16 Environmental Geology

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The End of Cheap Oil

Known petroleum can last at least a

couple of centuries more, but
It only flows through the rocks so fast.
No amount of drilling will make it flow
faster, and careless drilling can shorten
the lifetime of an oil field.
Sometime in the 21st century, global
demand will outpace production capacity
and
Oil will go to the highest bidder.

Metals

Metals consumed in greatest quantity by world

industry (metric tons annually):
-

Iron
Aluminum
Manganese
Copper and Chromium
Nickel

(740 million)
(40 million)
(22.4 million)
(8 million)
(0.7 million)

Metals Conservation

Recycling

Recycling waste aluminum consumes onetwentieth the energy of extraction from raw ore.

Reduce metal consumption by using new

materials or new technologies.

J.M. Piwowar

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