NATURAL RESOURCES

WHAT ARE NATURAL

RESOURCES
• Natural resources are materials from the Earth that are used to support life
and meet people's needs.

• Any natural substance that humans use can be considered a natural resource.
Oil, coal, natural gas, metals, stone and sand are natural resources.

• Other natural resources are air, sunlight, soil and water.

 1. THE BREATHE OF LIFE : AIR

• Air is an invisible mixture of several gases, water vapour, and impurities.

The mixture of gases includes nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), carbon
dioxide (0.3%), and other trace gases (0.7%).

• The air surrounding the earth is called the atmosphere.

• The atmosphere is divided into distinct layers- troposphere, stratosphere,

mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere, and ionosphere.
 a) RAIN

• Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor
and then fall under gravity.

• Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for

depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth.

• It provides water for hydroelectric power plants, crop irrigation, and suitable
conditions for many types of ecosystems.
b) AIR POLLUTION

• Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by

any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural
characteristics of the atmosphere.

• Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and

forest fires are common sources of air pollution.
 2. WATER : A WONDER LIQUID
• Water is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless
chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere.

• Water covers about 71% of the Earth's surface, with seas and oceans making up
most of the water volume on earth.

• 70% of the freshwater used by humans goes to agriculture.

a) WATER POLLUTION

• Water pollution is the contamination of water sources by substances which

make the water unusable for drinking, cooking, cleaning, swimming.

• Pollutants include chemicals, trash, bacteria, and parasites.

• Water pollution destroys important food sources and contaminates drinking

water with chemicals that can cause immediate and long-term harm to human
health.
 3. MINERAL RICHES IN THE
SOIL
• The earth's soils hold 13 different minerals that provide nutrients to plants.

• Soil is rich in minerals such as iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium,

sulphur etc.
a) FORMATION OF SOIL
• The Sun heats up rocks during the day so that they expand. At night, these rocks cool
down. This results in the formation of cracks and ultimately huge rocks break up into
smaller pieces.

• Water get into the cracks in the rocks formed due to uneven heating by the sun. If this
water later freezes, it would cause the cracks to widen.

• Living organisms also influence the formation of soil. The lichen grows on the surface of
rocks. While growing, they release substances that cause the rock surface to powder down.
 b) SOIL POLLUTION
• Soil pollution refers to the contamination of soil with anomalous concentrations of toxic
substances.

• Phenomena such as erosion, loss of organic carbon, increased salt content, compacting,
acidification and chemical pollution are the major causes of soil pollution.

• Soil pollution has an adverse impact on food security in two ways –it can reduce crop
yields due to toxic levels of contaminants, and crops grown in polluted soils are unsafe
for consumption by animals and humans.
 4. BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
• Biogeochemical cycles mainly refer to the movement of nutrients and other
elements between biotic and abiotic factors.

• The common Biogeochemical cycles are:

• Water cycle
• Nitrogen cycle
• Carbon cycle
• Oxygen cycle
a) WATER CYCLE

• The water cycle shows the continuous movement of water within the
Earth and atmosphere.

• Liquid water evaporates into water vapor, condenses to form clouds, and
precipitates back to earth in the form of rain and snow.
 b) NITROGEN CYCLE
• Nitrogen Cycle is a biogeochemical process through which nitrogen is
converted into many forms, consecutively passing from the atmosphere to
the soil to organism and back into the atmosphere.

• It involves several processes such as nitrogen fixation, nitrification,

denitrification, decay and putrefaction.
 c) CARBON CYCLE

• Carbon Cycle is a biogeochemical cycle where various carbon compounds

are interchanged among the various layers of the earth.

• Nature tends to keep carbon levels balanced, meaning that the amount of
carbon naturally released from reservoirs is equal to the amount that is
naturally absorbed by reservoirs.
 d) OXYGEN CYCLE

• Oxygen cycle refers to the movement of oxygen through the atmosphere,

biosphere and the lithosphere.

• The Oxygen Cycle is an essential biogeochemical Cycle to maintain the

concentration and level of Oxygen in the atmosphere.
 5. OZONE LAYER

• The ozone layer is a thin part of Earth's atmosphere that absorbs almost all of the sun's
harmful ultraviolet light.

• The ozone layer sits in the stratosphere between 15 km and 30 km above the earth.

• The main causes of ozone depletion and the ozone hole are manufactured chemicals,
especially manufactured halocarbon refrigerants, solvents, propellants, and foam-
blowing agents chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), HCFCs, halons), referred to as ozone-
depleting substances (ODS).