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The Geosphere! Earth • Seismic waves are used to study the interior – Detect changes in the material as they travel through • Seismologist measure the change in speed and direction of the waves • Earth has 3 parts – Crust – Mantle – Core Layers of the Earth • Crust – Outer layer – Thinnest layer – Only 1% of the planets mass • Mantle – Beneath the Crust – Made of rocks with medium density – 64% of the planets mass • Core – Innermost layer – Composed of the most dense elements Structure of the Earth • Lithosphere – Cool rigid layer – Includes crust and upper mantle – Divided into tectonic plates • Asthenosphere – Solid layer of mantle – Made of rock that flows slowly – Allows tectonic plates to move Structure of the Earth • Mesosphere – Lower part of the mantle • Outer core – Outer shell of earths core – Made of liquid nickel and iron • Inner core – Made of solid nickel and iron Plate Tectonics • Tectonic plates glide on top of the asthenosphere • Major plates – North American – South American – African – Pacific – Eurasian – Antarctic Plate Boundaries • Types of Movement – Collide – Separate – Slide past one another • Can form – Mountains – Earthquakes – Volcanoes Earthquakes • Fault: Break in earths crust where blocks of crust slide past one another • Richter Scale: Measures earthquakes magnitude (energy) Earthquakes • Occur mostly at or near tectonic plates due to the stress on the plates • Many occur along San Andreas Fault Earthquake Hazard • Area’s earthquake hazard level determined by past and present activity • Earthquake resistant buildings are slightly flexible Volcanoes • A mountain built from magma (melted rock) that rises from Earths interior – Usually near plate division or collision – Can be on land or under water – If under water it may lead to island formation Effects of Eruption • Clouds of hot ash, dust and gasses flow down – Cause mud flow – Ash covers crops, damages engines, cause breathing difficulties • Causes climate changes Erosion • Erosion: Removal and transport of surface materials • Water erosion – Rivers: Create deep gouges through mountains – Oceans: Water continually beat against the land surface • Wind erosion – Plants root soil, if no plants soil will blow away LAND Chapter 14 How we use land • • • • Farming Mining Building (cities and highways) Recreation • Land cover: What you find on a patch of land Types of Land Cover • Forest • Field of grain • Parking lot • Most land provides one or more resources used by humans Urban vs Rural • Urban Land: Land that is covered mainly with buildings and roads • Rural Land: Land that contains relatively few people and large areas of open space • Land use in the united states – 28% farmland – 6% Urban – 26% Pasture -- 20% Cropland -- 13% Parks -- 7% Other Industrial Revolution Impact • Due to the industrial revolution, people started going from rural to urban areas – Machinery made it more possible for less people to have to work on the farm – More transportation to go farther with the products – More jobs available in cities • The result… – Urban areas took over more land The Connection • Rural areas produce resources that people depend on – – – – – Clean water Fertile soil Crops Trees Oxygen • Ecosystem services: Resources produced by natural and artificial ecosystems Rural Land • The area of rural land that is needed in order to support a person depends on – Climate – How they live – How the resources are used • Example: In a wet climate, most agriculture depends on rain for irrigation and not lakes and rivers. Land Use: Caldwell, NJ Green(private) 13% Green(community) 24% Shopping 13% Water 2% Housing 9% Water Housing Pavement Pavement 39% Shopping Green(community) Green(private) Urbanization • Urbanization: The movement of people from rural areas to cities • Why would this happen???? • People leave rural areas for more plentiful and better paying jobs in towns and cities Metropolitan Areas • Small towns that have grown together to form larger urban areas • Examples – Washington, D.C.- Baltimore – Denver-Boulder – Manhattan-Queens-Bronx Urban Area Growth • If an urban area grows slowly… – Roads and public transportation are designed to handle the growth (Free flowing traffic) – Buildings, roads, parking lots are mixed with green areas • If urban areas grow to fast, – It can overwhelm the infrastructure and lead to traffic jams, insufficient housing, and pollution Infrastructure • This is all of the things that a society builds for public use • It can include – – – – – – – – – – Roads Sewers Railroads Bridges Canals Schools Fire stations Hospitals Libraries Power lines Urban Problems • Urban crisis: When more people live in a city than its infrastructure can support • Urban sprawl: Rapid expansion of the city into the countryside around the city – This results in suburbs Suburbs • Built on land that was previously used for food production • Most Americans live in suburbs compared to countryside and cities. Marginal Lands • Land that is poorly suited for building – As cities grew, suburbs are built on these marginal lands • An example is Los Angeles – – – – Built on a basin The cities go into mountains This causes landslides It becomes difficult to repair the damage Urbanization Impacts • Cities generate and trap more heat – The heat is generated through the infrastructure that makes the cities run – Roads absorb heat • Result of more heat: Heat Island – The increased temperature in the city Heat Islands • Heat islands can cause changes in local weather • Hot air rises over a city, cools as it rises, eventually producing rain clouds… – So there is increased rainfall • To help heat islands – Plant trees for shade – Install rooftops that reflect instead of retain heat Urban Planning • Land-use planning: Determining in advance how the land will be used – Where to build houses, businesses, factories – Where the land will be protected – Where the land for recreation will be – The best locations for shopping malls, sewers, electrical lines, ect. The problem… • Land-use models are – Complex – Controversial • They require detailed reports of information addressing the impacts • The public can comment • Can be disagreed upon by other people (developers, governments, businesses) Transportation in Cities • Most cities are difficult to travel in without a car • Most American cities are built after the invention of cars and cover large areas • European cities are built before the invention of cars and have narrow compact roads Mass Transit • Use busses and trains to move many people at one time • Save energy • Reduce highway traffic • Reduce air pollution • Limit loss of land to roadways and parking lots Open Space in Urban Areas • Set aside for scenic and recreational enjoyment – Parks, gardens, bike trails • Greenbelts: provide important ecological services • Benefits: – – – – – Absorb carbon dioxide Produce oxygen Filter out pollutants Absorb rainwater and runoff Spaces for exercise and relaxation WASTE Waste • Waste: Any discarded solid material – Includes everything from junk mail to coffee grinds and even cars • Many towns are running out of room to get rid of waste Waste Problems • Problems are caused by – The amount of solid waste – The type of waste • Biodegradable: Can be broken down by natural processes – Paper, cotton, leather • Nonbiodegradable: Cannot be broken down by natural processes – Polyester, nylon, plastic Waste • Plastic is made from petroleum and natural gas – Cannot be broken down by natural processes • Types of Waste – Municipal waste – Manufacturing waste – Mining waste Waste • Municipal Waste: What we throw out on a day to day basis – 2% of solid waste – Could fill a convoy of garbage trucks that would stretch around the Earth – Increases faster than all the other wastes combine Waste • Manufacturing waste: computers, audio equipment, printers – Scrap metal, plastics, paper, sludge, ash • Mining waste: Waste rock, minerals, topsoil – Rock and minerals left over from excavating – Left dumped in oceans or used to refill mines Waste Management • Most municipal waste in the US is sent to landfills • Some waste is incinerated (burned) • Some is recycled • Landfill: Permanent waste-disposal facility where wastes are put into the ground and covered with soil or plastic – 50% of municipal and manufacturing solids end up here Landfill Problems • Leachate: Liquid that has passed through compacted solid waste in a landfill and contains chemicals • Methane: Produced by organic waste decomposing where there is no oxygen – Highly flammable How to Prevent this • Landfills must be lined with clay and plastic liners • Must have systems for collecting and treating leachate • The EPA suggests that the active landfills in 20 states will be filled to capacity within 10 years Incinerators • Incinerated materials can take up less space… but can also produce toxic gas • Must have special air pollution control devices which do not remove all toxins Solid Waste • Source Reduction: Any change in design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials or products to reduce their amount of toxicity before they become municipal solid waste Buying Less • If you buy products that have – Less packing – Last longer – Can be reused • Then the manufacturer will create more of those products… SUPPLY AND DEMAND • These products could save resources and reduce waste disposal problems Recycling • Reusing materials or recovering valuable materials from waste – Saves energy, water, and other resources • 70% less energy to make paper from recycled paper then from trees Compost • People put fruit and vegetable scraps in compost piles • Warm, moist, dark conditions allow bacteria to grow and break down the waste rapidly • The result is dark brown crumbly material used to spread on gardens and fields to enrich the soil (Lots of nutrients) Problem with Recycling • Juice boxes are made from cardboard, foil, and plastic • Its hard to recycle because you can’t separate the 3 items • More things could be recycled if they were made of • Glass • Cardboard • Aluminum Degradable Plastics • Photodegradable: When left in the sun for many weeks it becomes weak and brittle and breaks apart • Green Plastic: Made from sugars from plants and chemicals that make up the plastic – Uses less fossil fuels – When this plastic is buried the bacteria in the soil eat the plant sugars and leave the weakened plastic which eventually breaks down