Global Systems & Cycles Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, water vapour and methane trap heat in the atmosphere, making it possibl e for life, as we know it, to exist. Agr iculture, transport and industrial proces ses are contributing greater amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosp here, increasing natural rates of warmin g.
GLOBAL SYSTEMS, LIKE THE CARBON AND WATER CYCLES, EXIST IN A DELICATE BALANCE THAT INFLUENCES THE AIR WE BREATHE, THE WATER WE DRINK AND THE MATERIALS WE CONSUME. The water cycle includes the pro cesses of precipitation, in the form of ice, sleet, rain and snow, the movement of water on Earth and its return to the atmosphere. Most life on Earth needs water to survive; to consume and /or as a habitat.
Water cycle Carbon cycle
gases Organisms release and absorb sise. nthe tosy pho or ire as they resp anic As organisms die, they add org y, their nall asio occ le matter to rocks, whi ils. foss as ved ser pre be may remains anic org this Under specific conditions il fuels, matter can be converted to foss bon. car for sink m -ter long ther ano
Evaporation from water surface s and vegetation adds water vapour to the atmosphere.
soil and marine biota Rain, rivers, organic matter from oceans. The ocean our rs ente all add to the carbon that at the seafloor new acts as a sink for carbon, where e are formed. ston lime carbonate rocks such as
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Oil and Gas Formation
OIL AND GAS PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN OUR DAILY LIVES, FROM THE CARS WE DRIVE TO THE FOOD WE EAT.
Future Oil and gas are nonrenewable ene rgy sources – they take a long time to replenish. Man y everyday materials like plastic and clothing are cre ated using fossil fuels. Our demands for oil and gas con tinue conventional sources are becomi to increase and ng scarce. But new technologies are allowing us to access unconventional reserves that were once imposs ible to tap into.
Ancient marine life
marine organisms die, When plankton, algae and other Over millions of years, an. oce they sink to the bottom of the bury the dead plants and sediment (mud, silt and sand) can (without oxygen). t animals in an anoxic environmen
Rocks compressing
Molecular change
As more layers of sediment cov er the organic material, the increasing heat and pressure change the fossils to a material called kerogen, and the sediment form s rocks. When kerogen is under high tem peratures and pressure, its carbon bonds are broken apart and form lightweight molecules call ed hydrocarbons. These form into either oil or gas depending on heat conditions. The oil and gas slowly seeps up through rock or sediment until it gets trapped by an impermeable layer, a fault or a fold.
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Plate Tectonics Mid-ocean ridge
THE UNIQUE CYCLING OF ROCKS THROUGH PLATE TECTONICS FORMS MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOES, CAUSES EARTHQUAKES, AND CREATES CONDITIONS THAT ARE BENEFICIAL FOR LIFE ON EARTH.
The cracked crust The Earth’s brittle crust is formed from large and small ‘plates’ of solid rock sitting above a mantle in constant motion. Plate tectonics describes the geological processes and formations that create and destroy this crust, including: mid ocean ridges, mountain building, volcanic chains and island arcs, subduction zones and transform faults.
Volcanic Mountain Chain
Volcanic island arc
Mid-ocean ridges s basaltic rock at Upwelling mantle material form where the plates ins cha n ntai mou long underwater lise, magnetic stal are pushed apart. As rocks cry of the Earth. axis N-S t ren cur minerals align with the of ‘flipped’ and This axis flips, creating a pattern d in the pattern ecte ‘non-flipped’ states that are refl ridges. This the from out ead of rocks as they spr of millions of years. process happens over hundreds
Rift valley Plates Continental crust sits like floating islands of thick, lighter rocks, e while denser oceanic crust is mor ses ces pro the by regularly destroyed ue of plate tectonics. The Earth is uniq a ing hav in compared to other planets s. onic tect e plat of complex system
Mantle convection Subduction zones Small amounts of crustal rocks partially melt due to dehydration of the sub ducting crust, volcanoes form and the sink ing process pulls the plate deeper into the Earth, driving further plate motion.
Subduction zone
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Plate boundaries The massive forces at plate boundaries cause earthquakes and volcanoes, and can lead to tsunamis. Plate boundaries can be divergent (pulling apart), convergent (pushing together) or transform (sideways or rotational movement).