Higher Environmental Science

Unit 2
Earth’s Resources

1. Geosphere
Key terms

Bauxite, chemical weathering, constructive plate boundary, convection, convection currents, convergence,
core, crust, destructive plate boundary, district heating scheme, divergence, earthquake magnitude, extrusive
rock, fault, fold mountains, frictional heat, geothermal energy, geothermal gradient, gravitational
contraction, gravitational potential energy, greenhouse gas, ground source heat pump, hydrothermal vent,
intrusive rock, kinetic energy, laterite, lava, leaching, magma, mantle, metallic mineral, ocean trench, open
cast mining, ore, ore deposit, overburden, particulates, percolation, plate boundary, plate tectonics,
radioactive decay, rift valley, runoff, smelting, subduction zone, superheating, tailings
a. Earth’s Internal Heat

Sources of Internal Heat:

1. Extra-terrestrial impacts: during Earth’s formation the kinetic

energy contained in colliding extra-terrestrial bodies was converted to heat
energy upon impact. 

extra-terrestrial - of or from outside the earth or its atmosphere e.g. meteors

2. Gravitational contraction: in the early stages of formation, the

Earth contracted into a smaller volume, resulting in gravitational potential
energy converting to heat energy. At the same time, frictional heat was
generated by denser iron and nickel rich material sinking to the core. 

Earth formed by the gradual accumulation of small, rocky bodies in

orbit around the Sun. As Earth accumulated these small bodies, it  grew in
size  and mass.  As Earth’s mass increased, gravity increased. Gravity increased caused Earth’s
centre to squeeze together with so much force that the pressure raised temperature.

3. Decay of radioactive elements: disintegration of natural radioactive elements

in the mantle and crust generates heat energy. 

Heat Flow – Convection currents

Convection occurs in both the mantle and the core. This is a circulation pattern in which warmer low-density
material rises and cooler high-density material sinks. This transfers heat to the Earth’s surface and drives
plate tectonics.
    

 b. Mechanisms of Plate Boundaries

Over time, the outer shell of the Earth formed a crust, as the planet cooled down.  As it cooled it cracked
(like a hard-boiled egg), and the slabs of crust became tectonic plates.  

The earth can be divided into layers: crust, mantle, inner and outer core.

The inner core

This solid metal ball has a radius of 1,220 kilometers (758 miles), or about three-quarters that of the moon.
It’s located some 6,400 to 5,180 kilometers (4,000 to 3,220 miles) beneath Earth’s surface. Extremely dense,
it’s made mostly of iron and nickel. The inner core spins a bit faster than the rest of the planet. It’s also
intensely hot: Temperatures sizzle at 5,400° Celsius (9,800° Fahrenheit). That’s almost as hot as the surface
of the sun. Pressures here are immense: well over 3 million times greater than on Earth’s surface. Some
research suggests there may also be an inner, inner core. It would likely consist almost entirely of iron.

The outer core

This part of the core is also made from iron and nickel, just in liquid form. It sits some 5,180 to 2,880
kilometers (3,220 to 1,790 miles) below the surface. Heated largely by the radioactive decay of the elements
uranium and thorium, this liquid churns in huge, turbulent currents. That motion generates electrical
currents. They, in turn, generate Earth’s magnetic field.

The mantle

At close to 3,000 kilometres (1,865 miles) thick, this is Earth’s thickest layer. It starts a mere 30 kilometers
(18.6 miles) beneath the surface. Made mostly of iron, magnesium and silicon, it is dense, hot and semi-solid
(think caramel candy). Like the layer below it, this one also circulates. It just does so far more slowly.

Near its upper edges, somewhere between about 100 and 200 kilometers (62 to 124 miles) underground, the
mantle’s temperature reaches the melting point of rock. Indeed, it forms a layer of partially melted rock
known as the asthenosphere (As-THEEN-oh-sfeer). Geologists believe this weak, hot, slippery part of the
mantle is what Earth’s tectonic plates ride upon and slide across.

Diamonds are tiny pieces of the mantle we can actually touch. Most form at depths above 200 kilometres
(124 miles). But rare “super-deep” diamonds may have formed as far down as 700 kilometres (435 miles)
below the surface. These crystals are then brought to the surface in volcanic rock known as kimberlite.

The mantle’s outermost zone is relatively cool and rigid. It behaves more like the crust above it. Together,
this uppermost part of the mantle layer and the crust are known as the lithosphere.

Magma is primarily a very hot liquid, which is called a 'melt. ' It is formed from the melting of rocks in the
earth's lithosphere, and the asthenosphere, which is the layer below the lithosphere.

The crust

Earth’s crust is like the shell of a hard-boiled egg. It is extremely thin, cold and brittle compared to what lies
below it. The crust is made of relatively light elements, especially silica, aluminum and oxygen. It’s also
highly variable in its thickness. Under the oceans (and Hawaiian Islands), it may be as little as 5 kilometers
(3.1 miles) thick. Beneath the continents, the crust may be 30 to 70 kilometers (18.6 to 43.5 miles) thick.

Plate tectonics

Along with the upper zone of the mantle, the crust is broken into big pieces, like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle.
These are known as tectonic plates. These move slowly — at just 3 to 5 centimeters (1.2 to 2 inches) per
year. What drives the motion of tectonic plates is still not fully understood. It may be related to heat-driven
convection currents in the mantle below. Intense geological activity occurs at plate boundaries, where plates
move away from each other, past one another, or towards each other. These actions cause most earthquakes
and volcanoes. It’s a slow ride, but it makes for exciting times here on Earth’s surface.
Constructive (divergent) plate boundaries

These occur where convection currents in the upper

mantle are diverging. If this occurs below a continent, a
rift valley will form. This type of plate boundary is
mostly found in oceans, where the plate type is oceanic
on both sides. As the plates move apart, the underlying
mantle melts, forming magma. The magma rises
upwards, erupting through the crust and filling the gap
between the plates, creating new oceanic crust. A chain of
underwater volcanoes is created along the spreading plate
margins.

Hydrothermal vents are often located near constructive plate boundaries.

These deep faults form when the oceanic plates move apart. Cold seawater percolates down through the
faults and is superheated through contact with the magma, before returning to the seafloor via hydrothermal
vents.

The superheated fluids often contain dissolved metallic

minerals. As the fluids make contact with the seawater and
cool, the dissolved minerals are deposited on the sea floor.
The minerals often accumulate in substantial volumes,
which can potentially be exploited.
Destructive (convergent) plate boundaries

These margins occur where convection currents in the upper mantle are converging, forcing the plates above
to move towards each other. Subduction zones occur where continental plate and oceanic plates converge.
The oceanic plate moves below the continental plate because it is denser, also carrying down oceanic
sediments and seawater. The addition of the sediments and seawater lowers the melting point of the plate
materials.

The magma generated from subduction zones has high levels of gas
present and is very explosive. This molten material forces its way up through faults to the surface of the
continental plate, erupting as a volcano. Molten material reaching the surface is known as lava, and cools to
form extrusive rock. Magma that cools and solidifies before reaching the surface forms intrusive rock.

The magma carries concentrated metallic minerals

into the upper crust. Significant metallic mineral
deposits are often found near ancient plate
boundaries. As the oceanic plate moves below the
continental plate, a deep ocean trench forms at the
junction. Subduction also causes crumpling along
the edge of the continental plate, forming fold
mountain chains. Earthquakes at this boundary can
be of high magnitude due to the release of frictional
pressure that builds up between the two plates.

c. Aluminium

Aluminium is the third most abundant element and most common metal within the Earth’s outer layer,
making up around 8% of the crust. Much of the world’s aluminium resources is obtained from an ore known
as bauxite, which is rich in aluminium oxide.

Bauxite forms in tropical areas around the equator and in tropical regions, where high temperatures and
abundant rainfall result in the extreme chemical weathering of rock, particularly granite. About 90% of
global bauxite supplies are found in these tropical areas. As water percolates through the soil in the hot,
humid climate, nutrients such as silica are dissolved and are leached downwards. The soil that remains,
known as laterite, can be rich in aluminium oxides, which is insoluble, and as a result rich ore deposits near
the surface can develop, which also makes mining them very easy.

This is shown in Figure 1.

1. Formation of Bauxite
 73% of bauxite is found in just
five countries: Guinea, Brazil,
Jamaica, Australia and India.
Guinea has the largest supply of
bauxites, 5.3 billion tonnes
(28.4% of the global supply)
while the world’s largest
producer of bauxite in 2021 is
China which produced about
58.2% of all supplies; followed
by the Middle East (8.6%) and
Asia (exc. China) (6.7%).
Most of this is extracted by
open-cast mining (removal from
the earth in an open pit).
However, there are concerns over the extraction process and associated impacts.

Environmental impacts of mining and processing bauxite ore

‘Bauxite in Malaysia: The environmental cost of mining’
Amid the monotonous dark green lines of Malaysia's endless palm oil plantations, there are now vivid
red gashes in the hills behind the east coast town of Kuantan. These have appeared only in the past 18
months, as a frenzy of open-cast bauxite mining gripped Pahang province. Tonnes of bauxite are being
transported out of the region. It is the world's main source of aluminium so is vital for the construction
of everything from airplanes to saucepans and cooking foil.
The numbers are staggering. Annual output of bauxite ore has increased from a little over 200,000
tonnes in 2013, to nearly 20 million tonnes last year. Malaysia is now the world's top producer,
accounting for nearly half of the supply to China's massive aluminium industry.

Growth of Malaysian mining

Malaysia has a long history of mining, especially tin, but until very recently it scarcely registered on
global markets as a source of bauxite. That changed suddenly in January 2014, when, in an attempt to
boost its own aluminium-smelting industry, Indonesia banned exports of bauxite ore. Up to that point
Indonesia had been China's major supplier.
Several Indonesian mining companies then started looking at the hills above Kuantan, where the
plentiful bauxite was of a lower quality than that available in Indonesia and Australia.
Much of the land in Pahang province has been redistributed to settlers so they could cultivate it with
rubber, palm oil or fruit orchards. Therefore all the companies had to do was approach smallholders
whose properties contained bauxite, and offer them substantial sums of money to allow their land to be
mined.
Most of the plots were quite small, allowing the companies to exploit a loophole in Malaysian law,
which only requires an environmental impact assessment for plots larger than 250 hectares. The little
country roads winding through the hills were suddenly clogged with huge lorries carrying the ore to
the port in Kuantan. The rivers ran red with bauxite sediment, staining the sea as they flowed out.
Some of the mines had licences; many did not.
"It became a whole mad rush," says the opposition member of parliament for Kuantan, Fuziah Salleh.
There were 44 companies with export licences, and they were all rushing to get as much as they could
get from anybody who was willing to sell their raw ore:
"The greed, the need, of certain people, outweighed welfare of the common people and the authorities
allowed it. And I think there is a lesson to be learned."
 The lesson has perhaps been learned. The federal government has ordered a halt to all mining while it
rethinks the regulation of the industry. Seven people have been detained on suspicion of corruption.
But the damage to the environment and future health risks remain unknown, and worrying.

How badly has bauxite polluted the water?

The Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) has been taking samples from the Sagu River, at the point where
water is pumped out for Kuantan's domestic supply. They collected bottles of water and trays of
alluvial mud, and analysed them to detect the presence of heavy metals, arsenic and mercury, which
typically exist in bauxite sediment.
Government officials are already doing similar tests, but the failure to regulate the bauxite industry has
damaged public trust in its efforts; the MNS volunteers said they wanted to do the tests themselves to
ascertain how badly polluted the water supply is. Marine scientists have also warned of possible
catastrophic damage to the ecosystem off the coast of Pahang.
The official who ultimately bears responsibility for what has happened in Pahang is the state's Chief
Minister Adnan Yaacob. A veteran politician from the ruling UMNO party, he has been in the job for
16 years, and under Malaysia's federal system chief ministers wield a lot of power.
He turned down the BBC's request for an interview. But he has since acknowledged that the state
government failed to control bauxite mining, and that he had not sought central government help
because he believed he could handle the situation locally.

Demanding compensation

Che Long bin Che Ali is one of the residents in the bauxite zone who refused to lease out his land,
where he cultivates fruit trees. He worries about the impact on the health of future generations.
But his house is right next to one of the roads used by the ore lorries; everything inside and outside his
home was covered by a thick film of red dust, and the trees started to die.
He began stopping the lorries and demanding compensation payments from them. What had once been
a durian orchard a few hundred metres down the road now lies abandoned and propped up on a high
slab of red-brown earth. All around, the excavators have dug out a desolate moonscape of earth piles
and gaping holes.

"This has not helped us, I am not angry with the bauxite industry. I know it brings income for the
government, but it must follow proper regulations. Don't pollute our roads, don't pollute the rivers. A
handful of people enjoy the profits, but in future many people could suffer."

As the three-month moratorium took hold, fleets of lorries were left idle in jungle clearings, next to
stockpiles of ore that have not yet been exported. Once the moratorium expires, it is not clear what
will happen. Many residents want mining to be banned permanently. The state is thought to have only
10 years of bauxite reserves left.
Perhaps just a few hundred settlers got rich from the bauxite boom, and a few dozen well-connected
companies. The state collected a 5% royalty on exports, but opposition politicians argue the federal
government could have imposed a 10% duty, but did not do so.

Whatever the benefits were, they do not appear to justify the enormous environmental damage that has
been done.

Properties and Uses

Aluminium has a number of properties which make it highly attractive for human use: it is relatively soft; it
is lightweight; it is non-magnetic; it is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and it is ductile and so
can be shaped and stretched without breaking. It is also highly reflective which makes it ideal for use in
mirrors and heat resistant equipment.
It naturally generates a protective oxide coating which means it is resistant to corrosion.
As a result it is one of the most important and widely used metals in the transport, construction, packaging
and electrical sectors. In transport, aluminium is used in cars (engine blocks, cylinder heads, transmission
housings and body panels), trucks and buses (sheet and plate for bodies), in railway stock and in aircraft.

How it’s Made

Even though aluminium is the most common metal on the planet, pure aluminium does not occur naturally.
Aluminium atoms easily bind with other metals, forming compounds. At the same time, it's impossible to
isolate aluminium by simply melting down the compounds in a furnace, as is the case with iron, for
example. The aluminium production process is much more complex and requires huge amounts of
electricity. For this reason, aluminium smelters are always built in the vicinity of power energy sources,
usually hydroelectric power plants that don't contaminate the environment.
1. Bauxite grinding
The bauxite mineral is transported to refineries where the clay is washed off and the bauxite passes
through a grinder to produce a more consistent material.
2. Bauxite crushing and digesting – producing sodium aluminate
The ground mineral is pumped into large pressure tanks with a caustic soda or sodium hydroxide
solution, and a steam heat is applied. The caustic soda reacts with the aluminium compounds in the
bauxite material to produce a solution of sodium aluminate (also known as slurry). The unwanted
residues (also known as red mud), containing iron, silicon and titanium, gradually sink to the bottom
of the tank and are removed.
3. Settling
The sodium aluminate solution is then passed through into lower pressure settling tanks. The solution
at the top of the tanks is directed downwards through a series of filers to remove excess red mud. The
remaining alumina is then passed through huge “leaves” or cloth filters to remove any solids in the
solution.
4. Precipitation
The sodium aluminate solution is then cooled and pumped into large precipitators (sometimes as tall
as a 6-story building). Aluminium hydroxide seed crystals added to the solution to start the
precipitation process. At this point, large aluminium crystals are formed.
5. Calcination
The crystals are then heated in rotary kilns to temperatures over 960°C. This extracts the last
impurities and creates a white powder, known as alumina or aluminium oxide. The refined alumina is
transformed into aluminium through the smelting or Hall–Héroult process.
6. Smelting process
The alumina is poured into a reduction cell with 950°C molten cryolite. 400kA electrical currents are
passed through the mixture to break the bond between the aluminium and oxygen. The result is
99.8% pure aluminium.
Key process of obtaining aluminium from the bauxite ore through electrolysis:
1. After mining the bauxite ore, this is crushed to yield a white powder known as alumina from which
the aluminium metal can be obtained.
2. The alumina is dissolved in molten cryolite, an aluminium compound with a lower melting point
than aluminium oxide
3. This is heated to 1,200°C so electricity can pass through the liquid in an electrolytic cell.
4. Electricity is passed through the solution in a process known as electrolysis, allowing
the ions in the solution to separate. Aluminium ions which have a positive charge are attracted to the
negative electrode (the cathode). These sink to the bottom of the tank where it is tapped off as liquid
metal. This process is often referred to a smelting
5. The liquid metal is allowed to cool and can then be cast into aluminium blocks or processed in a
rolling mill to products such aluminium sheets and foil.

Problems with extracting Aluminium

Despite its usefulness in a wide range of products and resources, the extraction of aluminium from its ore is
not an easy process. It is very energy intensive and expensive.
As well as the high energy costs, additional costs are incurred because the anodes (positive electrodes)
which are made of graphite (carbon) react with the oxygen gas which is given off during the electrolysis
process slowly takes a little piece of carbon away with it. These anodes need replacing between every 20
and 30 days. The electrolysis of aluminium also produces waste gases such as hydrogen fluoride (HF) which
if untreated, is toxic and corrosive and can cause severe burns to humans.

Due to the large quantities of electricity required to power the smelting cells, aluminium processing factories
are often located in places where cheap electricity is available. Iceland for instance does not have abundant
reserves of bauxite yet has three major smelting plants due to the cheap electricity which is available from
the nation’s geothermal and hydroelectric energy. Other major producers of the finished metal include
Canada, Norway, Sweden and China, the world’s biggest consumer of aluminium.
d. Geothermal Energy

Geothermal gradient

Sources of geothermal energy

Production of geothermal energy

Benefits and challenges of using geothermal energy

2. Hydrosphere
Key terms
Aquifer, condensation, Coriolis effect, evaporation, evapotranspiration, global ocean conveyor belt,
groundwater, Gulf Stream, infiltration, ocean circulation, ocean gyre, percolation, precipitation, runoff,
sublimation, thermohaline circulation, transpiration, upwelling

2a. Hydrological cycle

The hydrological cycle is also known as the  water cycle.

Seas and oceans contain 97% of the world's water, and ice holds 2 %. That leaves just 1 % of the world's
water as fresh water on land or in the air. 

This is a closed cycle as all the water is constantly moving somewhere within the system

Hydrological Cycle – Processes

Precipitation: The moisture that falls from the atmosphere as rain, snow, sleet or hail The
volume/intensity/form/ geographic location will influence whether the water will flow into streams/runoff or
infiltrate into the ground

Sublimation: Is the process whereby snow/ice changes into water vapour without first melting into water.
Occurs more at high altitude when there is low humidity/dry winds/low air pressure .

Infiltration: Is the process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil. Infiltration is influenced by
ground cover/existing moisture content of the soil/soil temperature/rainfall intensity.

Percolation: Is the downward movement of water through soil pores (and rock)

Runoff: The movement of water across the ground surface

Is influenced by rainfall intensity/duration/ground slope/soil type/ground cover/permeability of rock

Transpiration: Is the process by which plants return moisture to the air

Plants take up water through their roots and then lose some through leaf pores when air passes over

Evaporation: The physical state of water changes from liquid to gaseous/vapour as surface water is warmed
by the sun’s heat.

Condensation: The cooling of water vapour until it becomes a liquid

Water vapour condenses onto small airborne particles to form dew, fog or cloud

Storage

- Can be both surface or subterranean (under the surface of the earth)

- Includes atmospheric moisture
- Stored on the surface as soil moisture (in upper layer)/snow & ice/glaciers watercourses(rivers,
streams etc)/lakes/oceans
- Interception occurs when trees/vegetation or other barriers (natural or man-made) prevent
precipitation reaching the ground surface
- Subterranean/groundwater storage includes soil moisture (in lower layers)/aquifers/rock
fractures/crevices
2b. Oceanic circulation

Global ocean conveyor belt

The global ocean conveyor belt is a constantly

moving system of deep ocean circulation driven by
thermohaline circulation and surface wind currents.
As ocean water in polar regions cools it forms sea
ice, drawing out the freshwater and causing the
surrounding water to get saltier. This increases its
density and the cold water starts to sink. Surface
water is pulled in to replace the sinking water,
which then also becomes cold and salty enough to
sink.

This initiates the deep ocean currents driving the

global ocean conveyor belt. The Gulf Stream
transports warm water away from the equator. As
more warm water is transported north, the cooler water sinks and moves south of the equator down towards
Antarctica. Eventually, the cold bottom waters return to the surface through mixing and upwelling,
continuing the ocean conveyor belt that encircles the globe. The water that returns to the surface through
upwelling is usually rich in nutrients. These boost the growth of primary producers, which support the
marine food web.

Factors affecting oceanic circulation

Coriolis Effect
This is the rotation of the earth. Because the Earth rotates, circulating air is deflected. The air deflects
toward the right (clockwise) in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left (anti clockwise) in the Southern
Hemisphere, resulting in curved paths.

Thermohaline circulation (thermo = temperature; haline = salinity)

Cold, salty water is dense and sinks to the bottom of the ocean while warm water is less dense and remains
on the surface.

Surface Winds
Create a frictional drag on large water surfaces and the resultant ocean currents tend to follow the prevailing
wind direction.
The trade winds move the equatorial current westwards towards the Caribbean

Continental Location
Continents deflect currents back into the oceans.
Central America deflects the Equatorial current across the Atlantic towards Europe

Ocean gyres

Global winds drag on the water’s surface, causing it to move and build up in the direction that the wind is
blowing. The wind direction is influenced by the Coriolis effect, resulting in the deflection of major surface
ocean currents to the right in a clockwise spiral in the northern hemisphere and to the left in an anti-
clockwise spiral in the southern hemisphere. These major spirals of ocean-circling currents occur north and
south of the equator, but not at the equator as the Coriolis effect is absent there. The edges of a gyre and its
content constantly change with ocean currents and winds, but the circulating nature of ocean gyres traps
marine debris and can distribute this over huge surface areas and throughout the top of the water column.