Natural Resources: Exploitation, Types, and Hazards
Natural Resources and Their Exploitation
Natural resources and their exploitation are elements of nature used by society, with its technology, for their benefit. Resources can be renewable or non-renewable. Renewable resources have short periods of time needed for recovery. Non-renewable resources will run out as consumed, and renewal cycles are long. Human activity is producing the overexploitation of certain natural resources.
Types of Natural Resources
Water Resources: Water is a basic resource
Read MoreEarth’s Dynamic Systems: Climate, Structure, Plate Tectonics
Greenhouse Gases and Earth’s Climate
Greenhouse gases are transparent to visible radiation from the sun but opaque to the infrared radiation that the planet emits. This property influences Earth’s climate.
The Greenhouse Effect Explained
The greenhouse effect is a rise in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface. This occurs because certain gases (like carbon oxides from industrial combustion and other greenhouse gases) trap heat radiation, making it difficult for heat to dissipate,
Read MoreAncient Greek Architecture: Temples, Orders, and City Planning
Origins in the Aegean
Background: Early architectural developments occurred on the island of Crete, situated between the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. The Minoan Civilization (Neolithic, Bronze Age) flourished through trade and maritime supremacy. This influenced the subsequent Mycenaean culture in the Peloponnese.
Minoan and Mycenaean Architecture
Key Characteristics
These early cultures constructed palaces, mansions, private homes, and tombs, often with complex, almost labyrinthine layouts. Buildings
Read MoreHarnessing Renewable Energy: Ocean, Solar, and Wind Power
What is Ocean Energy?
Ocean energy is a term used to describe all forms of renewable energy derived from the sea.
There are two broad types of ocean energy: mechanical energy from the tides and waves, and thermal energy from the sun’s heat.
Ocean energy is classified as:
- Wave energy: Generated by converting the energy of ocean waves (swells) into other forms of energy (currently only electricity). There are many different technologies that are being developed and trialled to convert the energy in
Understanding Lithospheric Plates, Boundaries, and Tectonics
Lithospheric Plates and Plate Tectonics
The lithosphere is the solid outer layer of the Earth, encompassing the entire crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. It is composed of lithospheric plates, which are irregularly shaped pieces of varying size. Most plates are mixed, consisting of both oceanic and continental lithosphere. These plates move as if floating on the more plastic asthenosphere.
Plate Boundaries
The movement of lithospheric plates results in three primary types of plate boundaries,
Read MoreFossil Fuels: Formation, Uses, and Types
Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels – oil, coal, and natural gas – were formed millions of years ago from the organic remains of dead plants and animals. Over thousands of years, the remains of beings that populated the planet in its various stages were deposited on the bottom of seas, lakes, and other water bodies. They were covered by layer upon layer of sediment. It took millions of years for the chemical reactions of decomposition and the pressure exerted by the weight of these layers to transform