Plate Tectonics, Natural Resources & Management

Landscape painting with factory in the background What are natural resources?

Natural resources are naturally occurring materials or substances that have value. That value of the individual resource may be economic, ecological, aesthetic, and/or bequest. Whether the resource is sunlight or petroleum, all resources are needed and vary in availability by location and demand. Further, natural resources are not evenly distributed throughout the landmasses on Earth. Plate tectonics is a chief factor for this inequitable division, especially of mineral resources. Further, latitude determines the availability of many resources such as water and sunlight. Natural resources can be renewable or nonrenewable, but sustainable use and management must be applied to ensure they are available for the long term.

Essential Questions

What is a natural resource?
How do renewable and nonrenewable resources differ?
What is the Tragedy of the Commons?
How are natural resources managed and conserved?
How does per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) relate to the consumption of natural resources?
When did Earth's resources form?
What is the composition of each of Earth's layers?
What is the practical significance today of the way Earth's resources were distributed when the planet formed and cooled?
What is Plate Tectonic Theory?
When the "plates" move, what are the consequences?
How do earthquakes and volcanoes occur?
Why are economically valuable mineral resources distributed unevenly on the planet?
Describe the various types of surface mining operations.
What are the consequences of surface mining versus subsurface mining, and how has mining legislation tried to reduce those impacts?
What are rare earth elements and how are they used?

Key Terms

Natural resources - naturally occurring materials with use-value.
Renewable - can be remade or reused in a time period usable easily within a human lifespan
Nonrenewable - cannot be replenished in a human lifespan and are being used up faster than they can be remade by natural processes
The Tragedy of the Commons - a term coined by Garrett Hardin in 1968 to illustrate the degradation of the environment that can occur when there is open and uncontrolled access to resources
Plate Tectonics - a model of the Earth's surface where it is composed of several large plates that move relative to each other
Earthquake - a geological event caused by seismic waves measurable at the Earth's surface
Volcano - landform created by the upward movement of magma
Minerals - naturally occurring elements and/or inorganic chemical compounds
Ore - minerals located in the earth's crust
Ore deposits - deposits of minerals in high enough concentrations to be worth being mined
Surface mining - types of mining where ore deposits are close to the surface or surface is moved to expose deposits
Subsurface mining - or underground mining where deposits are deep within the Earth's surface
Sustainability - management of natural resources and the environment that allows the restoration of resources and ecosystems to retain functionality
Reclamation - basic remediation of the land after the closing of a mine with the goal of mitigating the impact of mining
Richter scale -a formerly used base 10 logarithmic scales of the ratio of the amplitude of seismic waves to quantify the energy released by earthquakes.
Moment magnitude scale (MMS) - the current scale used to measure the size of earthquakes, notably larger quakes in magnitude between 3 and 7
Epicenter - the point on the Earth's surface above the origin (or focus) of an earthquake
Focus - or hypocenter is the origin of an earthquake's energy release
Rare earth elements - seventeen elements with similar properties and tend to be dispersed and not in economically valuable deposits. Many have highly valued technological applications.
Acid mine drainage - highly acidic water that drains from mining sites (notably coal mines) often entering water supplies and causing environmental damage

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.