the ground.
What are hot springs?
Hot springs are created by underground water that is heated and percolates to the Earth’s surface. Aside from being natural baths, the steam from hot springs can be used to drive turbines, which create electricity. This type of energy production is called geothermal energy.
Sinkholes have become a growing problem in the United States, destroying roads and sometimes even swallowing houses.
Where are hot springs used by people around the world?
Hot spring baths have been used in cultures throughout the world since ancient times. They are found in such places as Japan, Taiwan, Australia, the United States, Iceland, and Sicily.
Why does the ground sink?
In many places around the world, seemingly solid land lies over vast oil deposits or water aquifers. Without the liquid supporting it, the ground sinks into the space left behind. In some parts of California’s Imperial Valley, the land has dropped more than 25 feet (7.6 meters) due to underground water being removed from the area. Unless the pumping of underground water and oil is stopped, the land will continue to sink.
Why do houses fall into sinkholes?
Houses that sit upon limestone rock have the proclivity to fall into sinkholes. As underground water wears away the limestone rock, it creates underground caverns. If the water wears away too much limestone, the cavern may collapse, taking anything on the surface with it. A sinkhole is just one of the many reasons to have your home inspected by a geologist.
What is a renewable resource?
A renewable resource is one that can be replenished within a generation. Forests, as long as they are replanted, are a renewable resource. Materials such as oil, coal, and natural gas are known as nonrenewable resources because they require millions of years to be created. So, once the world’s supply of oil is gone, it’s gone for a long, long time.
When will we run out of oil on Earth?
Scientists estimate that there are approximately 1.3 trillion barrels of oil on reserve (not yet pumped) in the world’s oil fields, deep beneath the Earth. Debate continues whether or not we have reached the point of maximum production of this oil, which is called “peak oil.” Based upon today’s rate of demand and consumption, many experts believe that we have approximately 40 years before the world’s oil supplies will be nearing depletion. Many other scientists believe that new technologies and findings will enable the world to extend this period past this date. By 2040, many forecast that the production of oil will be 20% of what it is today. Because of technology, like horizontal drilling and fracking, used to extract oil from relatively inaccessible places, we may delay the time when the world runs out of oil.
What are perpetual resources?
Perpetual resources are natural resources, such as solar energy, wind, and tidal energy, that have no chance of being used in excess of their availability. They can be used for power generation and conversion to electric energy indefinitely.
What are fossil fuels?
Underground fuels such as natural gas, oil, and coal are all known as fossil fuels because they are encased in rocks, just like fossils. It takes millions of years of compression and the building up of dead plants, animals, and organic material to create these fuels.
What is a fossil?
The outline of the remains of a plant or animal embedded in rock is called a fossil. Fossils are formed when a plant or animal dies and becomes covered up by sediments. Over time, the layers compress the remains, which are then embedded into the rock.
What are basins and ranges?
Basins and ranges are sets of valleys and mountains that are spaced close together. Most of Nevada and the western part of Utah are composed of sets of basins and ranges.
What is permafrost?
Permafrost describes ground (including soil, rock, organic material, and ice) that is permanently at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) for a minimum of two consecutive years. Its thickness depends on location but can extend from 9.94 to 4,921 feet (3 meters to 1,500 meters) beneath the surface. Permafrost occurs in higher latitudinal regions, which have cold climates.
Is the permafrost thawing?
Yes, the permafrost is thawing. In places with great areas of permafrost, such as Alaska, the permafrost has warmed to the highest level in 10,000 years. During the last 50 years, the Arctic regions have been warming to record-high temperatures. During this time, Alaska’s average temperature has warmed an average of 3.3 degrees above normal.
Why is permafrost so important?
Aside from the mediating effects on the Earth’s temperature, permafrost provides a cover for the habitat that supports wild flora and fauna, which provide sustenance for the entire ecosystem of the Arctic regions, including the many indigenous people who live there. Permafrost also covers organic rich sediment that contains methane hydrates, which may be released into the air as “greenhouse gases.” As the permafrost thaws, these greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere and may contribute to global climate change. Permafrost makes up 24% of all land in the Northern Hemisphere.
What are greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gases are chemical compounds that absorb and emit thermal radiation, are present in our atmosphere, and allow direct sunlight to reach the Earth’s surface. But as the heat bounces back from the Earth to the atmosphere, the gases absorb this energy, and less heat from the surface of the Earth is able to escape back into the atmosphere and is trapped in the lower atmosphere. Many greenhouse gases are found in nature, like carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone, and are regulated by a process called the carbon cycle. The trouble is that man-made greenhouse gases from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and carbon dioxide created by man-made activities such as the burning of forests and the use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) cause these gaseous emissions to unnaturally rise. For example, human activity causes carbon, which exists in nature in a solid form (as coal), to move to a gaseous form, increasing the concentrations of these gases in our atmosphere.
Evidence is piling up that greenhouse gases from human industry are contributing to global warming of the planet.
When did man-made greenhouse gases begin to be an issue for mankind?
Scientists believe that man-made greenhouse gases began when people began to burn coal at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. Measurements of carbon dioxide occurring in our atmosphere in the present day, compared to 1750, show a 40% increase. Experts believe this is a major contributor to the effects of a phenomenon called global warming. The effects of the sudden warming impacts many aspects of our global ecosystem, including our marine ecology, the lives of billions of
