WHAT ARE FALLING STARS?

WHAT ARE FALLING STARS?
For thousands of years men have looked up at "falling stars" and wondered what they were and where they coem from. At one time it was believed that they came from other worlds.
Today we know that they are not "stars" at all. We call them "meteors." They are small, solid bodies which travel through space, and which may also pass through the earth's atmosphere.
When meteors come within our atmosphere, we can see them because they leave a fiery train of light. This is caused by the heat made by the friction, or rubbing, of air upon their surfaces.
Strangely enough, most individual meteor particles are quite small, about the size of a pinhead. Occasional meteors weigh many tons. Most meteors are destroyed entirely by heat as they pass through the earth's atmosphere. Only the larger meteor fragments over reach the earth. Scientists believe that thousands of meteors fall to earth each day and night, but since most of the earth's surface is covered by water, they usually fall into oceans and lakes.
Meteors may appear in the sky singly and travel in practically any direction. But meteors usually occur in swarms of thousands. As the earth travels in its path around the sun, it may come close to such swarms of meteors, they become fiery hot upon contact with the upper layers of the atmosphere, and we see a "meteors shower."
Where do meteors come from? Astronomers now believe that hte periodic swarms of meteors are the broken fragments of comets. When comets break up, the millions of fragments continue to move through space as a meteor swarm or stream. The swarms move in regular orbits, or paths, through space. Once such swarm crosses the earth's path every 33 years.
When a piece of meteor reaches the earth , it is called "a meteorite." It has fallen to the earth because gravity has pulled it down. Far back in Roman times,in 467 B.C, a meteorites fell to the earth and its fall was considered such an important event that it was recorded by Roman historians!

WHAT IS COMET?

WHAT IS COMET?
At one time, the appearance of a comet caused people to tremble with fear. They believed that comets were evil omens foretelling plagues, wars, and death.
Today, we have a pretty good idea of what comets are, though we still don't have all the answers about them. When a comet first appears, it is seen as a tiny point of light, thoughi it may be thousands of miles in diameter.
This point of light is "the head," or nucleus, of the comet. Scientists think it is probably made of a great swarm of bits of solid matter, combined with gases. Where this matter originally came from is what is still a mystery.
As the comet approaches the sun, a tail usually appears behind it. The tail consists of very thin gases and fine particles of matter that are shot off form the comet's nucleus of the comet is a third portion, known as "the coma." It is a glowing cloud of matter that sometimes reaches a diameter of 150,000 miles, or even more.
Comet tails are very different in shape and size. Some are short and stubby. Others are long and slender. They are usually at least 5,000,000 miles in length. Sometimes they are almost 100,000,000 miles long! Some comets have no tails at all.
As the tail grow , the comet gains in speed because it is nearing the sun, moving toward it head first. Then a curious thing happens. When the comet goes away from the sun, it goes tail first with the head following. This is because the pressure of light from the sun drives off the very small particles from the comet's head to form its tail, always in a direction away from the sun.
As a result, when the comet goes away from the sun, its tails must go first. During its journey away from the sun, the comet gradually slows down and then disappears from sight. Comets may remain out of sight for many years, but most of them reappear eventually. Comets make trip after trip around the sun, but they may require a long time to make a single revolution.Halley's Comet, for example, takes about 75 years to make its trip around the sun.
At present, astronomers have listed almost 1,000 comets, but there must be several hundred thousand comets in our solar system which remain unseen!

WHAT IS THE BRIGHTEST STAR?

WHAT IS THE BRIGHTEST STAR?
Have you ever looked up at the sky and tried to find the brightest star? You amay imagine that the number of stars you can see is countless.
But the most that can be seen without a telescope are about 6,000 stars, and one-quarter of them are too far south to be seen in north America.
Ever since the days of the Greek astronomers, 2,000 years ago, the stars have been divided into classes according to their magnitude or brightness. Until the invention of the telescope, only six magnitudes, or degrees of brightness, were recognized. Stars of the first magnitude are the brightest, and stars of the sixth magnitude the faintest. Stars fainter than the sixth magnitude cannot be seen without a telescope. Today, stars can be photographed with modern telescopes down to the 21st magnitude.
A star of any given magnitude is about two and a half times fainter than a star of the magnitude above it. There are 22 stars of the first magnitude, the brightest stars, and the brightest star of all is Sirius, which has a magnitude of -1.6 . This makes Sirius over 1,000 times brightest than the faintest star that can be seen with the naked eye.
The lower we go down in magnitude, the more stars there are in that class. Thus, there are 22 stars of the 1st magnitude and about 1,000,000,000 stars of the 20th magnitude.

WHAT IS THE MILKY WAY ?

WHAT IS THE MILKY WAY ?
There is probably nothing more mysterious and wonderful-looking in the sky than the Milky way, stretching like a band of jewels from one end of the sky to the other. In ancient times when prople gazed at this spectacle,they were filled with the wonder and beauty of it just as you are.But since they didn't really know what it was, they made up all sorts of strange and beautiful explanations of the Milky Way.
For example, in early Christian times, people thought it was a pathway for the angels,so they could go up to heaven on it. Or they imagined it was an opening in the heaven, so that we here on earth could have a glimpse of the glory that existed beyond.
Knowing the facts about the Milky Way, as we do today, doesn't remove any of the wonder of it. The facts are just as any "made-up" idea!
Our galaxy is shaped rougly like a watch, round and flat. If you could get above it and look down on it, it would look like an immense watch. But we are inside the galaxy,and when we look up we are looking towards the edge from inside the "watch." So we see that edge curving around us. And since there are millions of stars in it, we see it as the Milky Way.
Did you know that there are at least 3,000,000,000 stars in the galaxy? And here is an idea of its size. It takes eight minutes for light from the sun to reach the earth. For light from the center of the galaxy to reach the sun,it takes about 27,000 years!
The galaxy rotates about its center like a wheel. From our position in it, it takes about 200,000,000 years just to make one revolution!

WHY DID ASTRONOMERS THINK THERE MIGHT BE ?

WHY DID ASTRONOMERS THINK THERE MIGHT BE LIFE ON MARS?

As you know, scientists are now conducting all kinds of experiments to see if life can be found anywhere else in the universe. Naturally, it is easier to explore our own solar system for signs of life than it is to probe outer space. And one of the places where some scientists thought a form of life might have been found is the planet Mars.

Why did they pick Mars? Well, Mars is considered to be a sort of twin of our own planet earth. It is the next planet beyond the earth in distance from the sun. Mars is about half the diameter of the earth and it rotates around the sun in just under two years. But Mars has a day that is almost equal in length to our dady here on earth.

In observing Mars, astronomers have noticed certain things that indicate a form of life may be possible there. First of all, Mars has seasons like the earth. In fact, as the seasons change on Mars, there seem to be changes on its surface. The dark areas get stronger in the spring and summer, and the colour changes from bluish-green to yellow. Could this be vegetation?

Astronomers also believe that there is at least a small amount of water vapor in the atmosphere of Mars, and this would be helpful in supporting life. Then, too, in 1887 an Italian astronomer, Giovanni Schiaparelli,reported seeing markings on the surface of Mars that resembled canals. "Could these have been built by Martians in order to carry water from the polar regions to the desert areas?" scientists wondered.

In 1976 two American Viking space probes landed on the surface of Mars. The instruments in the space probes searched the surrounding soil for signs of life and radioed their results back to earth. These results showed that either there are germs in the soil or that the soil is very unusual and not like that on earth. If life does exist on Mars it would be a very simple form of life.

WHY ARE THE ECLIPSES SO RARE?

WHY ARE THE ECLIPSES SO RARE?

When the moon in its journey around the earth passes directly between the earth and the sun, it casts its shadow on the surface of the earth, and an eclipse of the sun takes place.
An eclipse of the sun occurs only when the moon is new, for then the moon is on that side of the facing toward the sun. Then why isn't there an eclipse of the sun every time there's a new moon? The reason is that the path of the moon around the earth does not lie directly in line with the orbit of the earth about the sun. In its 29-days trip around the earth,the moon passes sometimes above and sometimes below the path of the earth.
An eclipse of the sun can be total, annular, or partial. If the moon hides the sun completely, the eclipse is total. But the moon is not always the same distance from the earth. Often, it is too far from the earth to hide the sun completely. Then, when an eclipse takes place,the moon is seen as a dark disk which covers the whole sun except a narrow ring around its edge. This thin circle of light is called "the annulus" meaning "ring".This is an annular eclipse.An eclipse is partial whenever only part of the disk of the moon comes between the sun and the earth.
An eclipse of the moon occurs only when the moon is full, for then it is at the opppsite side of the earth from the sun. When the moon comes directly behind the earth as seen from the sun. when the moon comes directly behind the earth, as seen from the sun,it passes gradually into the great shadow-cone cast by the earth and disappers from view. A total eclipse of the moon then occurs. A partial eclipse takes place when the moon enters only partly into the shadow.

In some years, no eclipses of the moon occur. In other years, there are from one to three. Every year, there must be at least two solar eclipses, and there may be as many as five. At any one place on the earth'h suface,a total solar eclipse will be visible only once in about 360 years.

WHY IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM THE WAY IT IS?

WHY IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM THE WAY IT IS?

As far as we know, there is no reason why the solar system is arranged exactly as it is. It might have been arranged differently. This has to do with the way it originated. But man has discovered certain laws of nature that seem to keep the solar system in its present pattern.
Earth, like the solar planets, follows its path, or orbit, around the sun.
The period of time that the earth takes to go around the sun is called a year.
The other planets have orbits larger or smaller than the earth's.
How this solar system came to be and how the planets came to have the size,location,and orbits they have, astronomers cannot fully explain. But they have teo main types of thories. one type of theory suggests that the formation of the planets was a part of the gradual change of the sun from a whirling mass of hot gas to its present size and brilliance. The planets formed as small whirling masses in the giant gas and dust cloud as it turned.
Another group of theories is based on the idea that at some time here was a near-collision between the sun and another star passing nearby. Large pieces of the sun were pulled away and began to resolve around the sun at different distances. These are now planets.
No matter which theory is right, the solar system caem to be as it now is more or less by chance. Why does it stay this way? Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion state that all planets travel about the sun in an elliptical ( oval ) path; that a planet moves faster in its orbit as it nears the sun; and that there is a relation between its distance from the sun and the time it takes to make an orbit. Newton's law of Gravitation, of which kepler's three laws were an indispensable part, explained how two objects attract each other.
So the solar system remains as it is because certain laws of nature maintain the relationship of the sun and the planets.

WHY DO SUNSETS LOOK RED?

WHY DO SUNSETS LOOK RED?

A beautiful red  sunset, the colors warm and glowing, is one of the loveliest sights we can imagine. And sometimes, when we look at it we might say, "see how red the sun is!"
But, of course, we know that the sun itself hasn't become red or changed in any way. It merely looks that way to us at that particular time of day. In fact, at that very moment people are looking at that same sun thousands of miles to the west and it doesn't look red to them at all.
What produces the colors of a sunset is the distance that the sunlight must travel through our atmosphere. the lower it is, the more of our earth's atmosphere does that light travel through.
But first, let's remind ourselves that sunlight is a mixture of light of all colors. Normally, this mixture of light appears as white to our eyes. But the atmosphere has molecules of air, dust, water vapor, and other impurities present in it. As the light passes through them, different colors are scattered by these particles. Now, it so happens our atmoshere scatters out violet, blue, and green light more than it does the reds and yellows. So when the sun is low, this scattering leaves more reds and yellows for us to see and we have a reddish sunset.
By the way, this scattering of light also explanis why the sky liiks blue, Violet and blue light have short waves and are scattered about 10 times more than red light waves by our atmoshere. This means that the red rays go straight through our atmosphere, while the blue waves don't come through directly but are scattered by the air, water, and dust particles. It is this scattered light that we see as the blue sky when we look up.

how big is the universe?

HOW BIG IS THE UNIVERSE 

It is impossible for the human mind to conceive a true picture of the size of the universe.We not only don't know how big it is,but it is hard for us even to imagine how big it might be.
If we start from the earth and move out, we'll see why this is so. The earth is part of the solar system,but a very tiny part of it.The solar system consists of the sun, the planets that revolve around it , the asteroid, which are tiny planets, and the meteors.
Now, this whole solar system of ours is only a tiny part of another, much bigger system called " a galaxy". A galaxy is made up of many millions of stars,many of which may be much larger than our sun, and they may have solar systems of their own.
So the stars we see in our galaxy, which we call "the  Milky Way". are all suns . They are all so far away that distances are measured in light years instead of in miles. Light travels about 6,000,000,000,000 miles in a year. The bright star nearest to the earth is Alpha Centauri. Do you know how far away it is ? 25,000,000,000,000 miles!
But we're still talking only ablut our own galaxy. This is believed to be about 100,000 light years in width. This means 100,000 times 6,000,000,000,000 miles! And our galaxy is only a tiny part of a still larger system.
There are probably millions of galaxies out beyond the Milky Way.
And perhaps all these galaxies put together are still only a part of some larger system!
So you see why it is impossible for us to have an idea of the size of the universe. Incidentally, it is believed by scientists that the universe is expanding. This means that every few billion years two galaxies will find themselves twice as far apart as they were before!

Asia Satellite Image and Map - Satellite Photos - GEOLOGY.COM

Asia Satellite Image and Map - Satellite Photos - GEOLOGY.COM

Geologist Job in Africa

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Department of Chemical Engineering at BUITEMS

Department of Chemical Engineering


Establishment of Chemical Engineering Department at BUITEMS was an urgent need of
Balochistan province, which needs industrialization at an accelerated pace. This is based on
the fact that this province is full of minerals, oil and gas resources.
One of the main attractions of Balochistan is its unexploited geological potentials. It occupies a
strategic location in relation to central Asia and sits on geological belts with known world-class
mineral deposits. Balochistan produces 40.2 % of the primary energy of Pakistan in the form of
natural gas, coal and electricity, of the total mineral fuel reserves of the country, Balochistan
contains more than 33 % of the natural gas, about 9% of the coal and about 2% of the probable
oil reserves.
A little has been done uptil now for the exploitation of these rich resources. This needs chemical
/metallurgical industries for the processing of valuable minerals and for the manufacture of
petrochemical products from the available oil and gas deposits in this province.

SCOPE

o There are a lot of opportunities for Chemical engineers in Pakistan
and abroad, as they deal with applying scientific and mathematical
principles, synthesizing new materials, transforming combinations of
elements of matter and developing the processes to do it all safely,
efficiently and on a large scale.
o Chemical engineers turn raw materials into valuable products. They
will often specialize in a particular area once they become established,
including biochemistry, the environment or petrochemical refining.
o Chemical engineering largely involves the design and maintenance of
chemical processes for large-scale manufacture.

VISION

o To be the leading Chemical Engineering department in Pakistan with
innovative and improved programs.
o To be the prolific department in providing the highly trained graduates
needed in the chemical and petrochemical production facilities
located in Pakistan and the Gulf Coast area.
o To achieve national and international recognition through the
educational and research achievements and the professional
service of our faculty, staff and students.

MISSION

The Department of Chemical Engineering is committed to establish conductive
environment for top class professional education and research in the field of
Chemical Engineering. The Department is committed to produce quality Chemical
engineers with expertise in operation and design of Chemical processes and their
modifications.
The Department of Chemical Engineering is also devoted to solve the industry's
technical and managerial issues targeting not only the current needs of industry but
also acting as a key source of ideas and expertise for the long term competitiveness
of the entire Chemical industry of Pakistan. This will also be source centre for
technical human resources, executives and consultants.

OBJECTIVES

o To produce professional Chemical Engineers (men and women) of
high calibre and expertise to meet the demand of Chemical /
Petrochemical industry of Pakistan.
o After graduation, Chemical Engineers of this University will serve in
Oil & Gas industry, SANDAK Project. Sui (PPL), Pirkoh, Loti, Uch,
Zin, Jandran of OGDCL & BG, BOSICOR refinery, HUBCO Pvt. Ltd.,
provides another prospect of utilizing their skills as a Chemical
Engineer.

o To enable the youngsters of Pakistan in general and youngster of
Balochistan in particular to acquire expertise in the different areas/fields
of Chemical Engineering.
o To develop trained human resources for Chemical process industry of
Pakistan.
o To analyze industrial Chemical Engineering Problems and synthesize
solutions to those problems, compare favourably in their knowledge of
chemical engineering.
o To use their training as a springboard to further professional and
career development.

Department of textile engieering at BUITEMS

Department of Textile Engineering

Introduction

Balochistan having fertile land and growth environment is quite suitable for growing cotton.
Balochistan is also rich in wool production. Keeping in view the need of expertise in the field
of wool processing in particular and cotton / manmade fabrics in general, BUITEMS launched
the BS Textile Engineering program with the intake of 20 students in Fall 2004 at Takatu
Campus in the former Bolan Textile Mills, Baleli, Quetta with the high spirit and hope to produce
quality textile engineers with the expertise in processing the wool, cotton and manmade fabrics.
It is an accredited program by the Pakistan Engineering Council.
After graduation, Textile Engineers of this University will serve in the textile industry of
Pakistan particularly the areas of Hub district Labella which caters more than 30 textile units. In
near futur Gawadar will be the Centre of industrial zone and demand of Textile Engineers will be
increased.

VISION

o BUITEMS should be one of the best in producing quality textile
engineers for the textile industry.
o To Make the department a Centre of Excellence in education and
research on textiles including operation and design of textile
processes and machinery.
o To Solve the industry’s technical and managerial issues.
o To become a major source of ideas and expertise for the long term
competitiveness of the entire textile industry of Pakistan.

MISSION

The Department of Textile Engineering believes in establishing conducive
environment for top of the class professional education and research in the field of
Textile Engineering. The Department is committed to produce quality textile
engineers with expertise in operation and design of textile processes and machinery.
The Department of Textile Engineering is also devoted to solve the industry’s
technical and managerial issues targeting not only the current needs of industry but
also acting as a key source of ideas and expertise for the long term competitiveness
of the entire textile industry of Pakistan. This will also be source centre for technical
human resources, executives and consultants.

OBJECTIVES

o To produce professional textile engineers of high calibre and expertise
to meet the demand of textile industry of Pakistan.
o To enable the youngsters of Pakistan in general and youngster of
Balochistan in particular to acquire expertise in the different areas /
fields of textile engineering.
o To develop trained human resources for textile process industry and
textile machine manufacturing industry of Pakistan.
o To establish a Centre of Excellence in textile engineering in general
and wool development and processing in particular.

OUTCOME OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Department intends to produce 40 to 50 BS Textile Engineering, 10 to 20 Master’s
in Textile Engineering and 1 to 5 PhD in the near future. Present intake is from 35-50
students each year.
The courses offered by the Department of Textile Engineering are intended to result
in:
o Minimization of unemployment.
o Improvement of living standard of the people of Balochistan
o Industrialization in the province
o Improvement of technical and scientific approach for production of
textile commodities.
o Effective utilization of textile resources of the province (wool/ cotton)
o Inducement of entrepreneurship (textile industry), in Balochistan as
well as Pakistan.

Department of petroleum and gas at BUITEMS

Department of Petroleum & Gas Engineering


Introduction

Balochistan is rich in natural resources like Oil, Gas and Minerals. The largest
reserves of gas exist in the area of Sui of this Province, which meets one-third of the country’s
energy requirements. Therefore keeping in view this essential need a department of Petroleum
and Gas was initiated in the fall of 2004 as the first and pioneering department in the then newly
established Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences (later renamed as the Faculty of
Engineering since September 2007.




SCOPE




o Pakistan’s current daily oil & gas production have reached 70,000
barrels of oil and 4 Billion cubic feet of gas repectively.
o Presently, 42 companies are working in Pakistan which have been
awarded 118 exploration licenses and 127 leases.
o Seventeen new blocks have been opened which would support the
ongoing exploration activities in the country and open major
opportunities for the prospective investors in diversified fields.
o Department of Petroleum and Gas Engineering program imparts to its
students modern scientific and computer skills for exploration,
development and exploitation of the oil and gas reserves and to
apprise them of the technological advances in Drilling, Production and
Reservoir Engineering as well as Safety with special reference to
Environments.
o Petroleum engineers produced by the department will be absorbed in
exploration & production, plus service and marketing activities of
national and multinational Companies of the world.

VISION


o BUITEMSshould be one of the best institution in the country to produce
quality petroleum engineers for the petroleum industry.
o To make the department a Centre of Excellence in education and
research on petroleum including reservoir, production and drilling
techniques for oil and gas fields.
o To solve the industry's technical and logical issues by using advanced
software and calculations.
o To become a major key source of ideas and expertise for the long term
competitiveness of the entire petroleum industry of Pakistan.

MISSION


The Department of Petroleum & Gas Engineering is committed to use
modern institutional technology to enhance learning and continue a
program of excellence in research to provide students with the necessary
skills to achieve success in their future professional careers not only in
Pakistan but also in the rest of the world.

OBJECTIVES


o To enable graduates to understand the importance of professional
responsibility and high ethical standards.
o To Produce engineers to assume positions of technical leadership in
the industry making use of their specialized knowledge of petroleum
engineering.
o To promote effective oral and written technical communication skills to
meet the challenges of the future petroleum engineering profession.
o To provide students with an education back ground in the
fundamentals, enabling them to succeed in graduate studies and
research in petroleum engineering.

OUTCOME OF THE DEPARTMENT


The Department of Petroleum & Gas Engineering intends to produce 40-50 Petroleum
Engineers with BS degree in Petroleum & Gas Engineering each year.
The Department intends to produce 10-20 MS degree holders and 1-5 Ph.D degree
holders in Petroleum and Gas Engineering.
The Department has already produced up to 100 Petroleum Engineers with BS
degrees from three (3) Batches.
o The courses offered by the Department of Petroleum & Gas
Engineering are intended to result in:
o Minimization of unemployment.
o Improvement of living standard of the people of Balochistan.
o Industrialization in the province.
o Improvement of technical and scientific approach for production of Oil &
Gas.
o Effective utilization of oil & gas resources of the province.
o Inducement of entrepreneurship (Petroleum & Gas Industry in
Balochistan and as well as in Pakistan)

Computer Networks complete notes

Please visit this link

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Geologic Resources complete notes

Mineral Resources

Building

Stone, Sand, Gravel, Limestone

Non-metallic Minerals

Sulfur, Gypsum, Coal, Barite, Salt, Clay, Feldspar, Gem Minerals, Abrasives, Borax, Lime, Magnesia, Potash, Phosphates, Silica, Fluorite, Asbestos, Mica

Metallic Minerals

• Ferrous: Iron and Steel, Cobalt, Nickel
• Non-ferrous: Copper, Zinc, Tin, Lead, Aluminum, Titanium, Manganese, Magnesium, Mercury, Vanadium, Molybdenum, Tungsten, Silver, Gold, Platinum

Energy Resources

• Fossil Fuels: Coal, Oil, Natural Gas
• Uranium
• Geothermal Energy

Types of Ore Deposits

• Magmatic: Pt, Cr, Fe, Ni, Ti, Diamond
• Pegmatite: Li, Be, U, Rare Earths, Feldspar, Mica, Gems
• Hydrothermal:
  • 600 C: W, Sn
  • 400 C: Au, U, Ag, Co, Mo
  • 200 C: Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb
  • Cool: Hg, As
• Sedimentary Rocks: Fe, Cu, U, Mn, Mg
• Weathering:
  • Secondary Enrichment: Cu, Ni
  • Soils, Al, Ni
• Placer: Pt, Au, Sn, Ti, W, Th, Rare Earths U (Fossil), Gems

Concentration Factors and Economics

• Natural Abundance
• Geologic Processes to Concentrate Element
• Intrinsic Value of Material
• Cost of Extraction from Earth

Prospecting and Exploration

• Satellite and Aerial Photography
• Remote Sensing
• Geological Mapping
• Geochemical Sampling
• Magnetic Mapping
• Gravity Mapping
• Electrical Sounding
• Radioactivity Mapping
• Seismic Methods
• Reflection - Detailed but Expensive
• Refraction - Cheap but Not Detailed
• Core Sampling and Well Logging

Mining

• Surface: Strip, Open-pit
• Placer: Dense Minerals in Alluvium Underground

Economic Factors in Mining

• Richness of Ore
• Quantity of Ore
• Cost of Initial Development
• Equipment, Excavation, Purchase of Rights
• Operating Costs
• Wages, Taxes, Maintenance, Utilities
• Price of the Product
• Will Price Go up or down?

Life Cycle of a Mine

• Exploration
• Development
• Active Mining
• Recovery of Ore
• Crushing, Milling, Flotation, Chemical Separation
• Smelting and Refining
• Disposal of Waste (Tailings)
• Shut-down

Issues in Mineral Exploitation

• Who Owns (Or Should Own) Minerals?
  • Landowner, Discoverer, Government
  • Unclaimed Areas: Sea Floor, Antarctica
• Who Controls Access for Exploration?
  Remote Sensing vs. Privacy
• Hazards of Mining
  • Safety
  • Mine Wastes
  • Pollution
    • Dust
    • Sulfur (H2SO4)
    • Acid Rain
    • Acid Runoff
    • Dissolved Metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, As...)
  • Noise
  • Environmental Problems
    • Exploration
    • Construction and Operation
• Economic Impact
• "Boom and Bust" Cycles

Geothermal Energy: A Free Lunch?

Environmental Problems of Geothermal Energy

• It is Finite
• Heat Sources Can Be Exhausted (Geysers, California)
• Sulfur Emissions
• Disposal of Mineralized Brines

Technical Problems of Geothermal Energy

• Corrosion
• Mineral Deposition in Pipes
• Non-Productive gases (Carbon dioxide, methane, etc. These do not condense like steam, hence reduce efficiency. Must be removed)
• Low Temperatures
• Low Thermodynamic Efficiency

Thermodynamic Efficiency

Thermodynamic Efficiency is defined by the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It is the maximum possible efficiency any heat-driven process could produce, before any practical considerations like friction, heat losses, etc. The formula for thermodynamic efficiency is:

Eff. = (Ti - Tf)/Ti
(T = Degrees Kelvin = Degrees C + 273)
(Ti = initial temperature, Tf = final temperature)

Automobile Engine

• Ti = 1200 C = 1473 K
• Tf = 500 C = 773 K (If you don't believe this, drive for a half hour or so and then touch your exhaust manifold!)
• Eff = (1473 - 773)/1473 = 48%

One of the fondest popular fantasies is that there is a device being kept secret by the oil companies and car manufacturers that would allow cars to get hundreds of miles per gallon. As this calculation shows, no amount of tinkering with the engine will do much better than double gas mileage (actually much less). Most of our improvements in gas mileage have come from reducing weight, air resistance and friction. This is one reason why most new cars have spare tires about the size of bagels, for example.

Typical Steam Power Plant

• Ti = 700 C = 973 K
• Tf = 200 C = 473 K (This is what the big cooling towers at power plants are for - to drop that final temperature and maximize Tf-Ti.)
• Eff = (973 - 473)/973 = 51%

Critics of current energy practices point out that most energy is used to produce temperatures below the boiling point of water, and ask if it makes sense to have power plants generating extremely high temperatures. The answer is yes; it results in high thermodynamic efficiency. Attempting to supply hot water or hot air directly would lose far more energy in transmission losses than it would save in heating bills.

Geothermal Power Plant

• Ti = 150 C = 423 K
• Tf = 80 C = 353
• Eff = (423 - 353)/423 = 17%

This Is Before Any Engineering and Operating Losses. The situation above is actually a very favorable one as geothermal power sources go. Actual achieved efficiencies:

• Automobile on Highway: about 5%
• Geothermal Plant: 5% or So, Sometimes less than 1%

Who's Got the Oil?

According to one comprehensive listing of the world's great oil fields, the total known oil reserves (including amounts already extracted) total 2100 billion barrels. These are concentrated in:

• 8 fields with more than 30 billion barrels; total 290 billion or 14%
• 24 fields with 10-30 billion barrels; total 363 billion or 17%
• 95 fields with 2-10 billion barrels; total 407 billion or 19%
• 385 fields with 0.5-2 billion barrels; total 341 billion or 16%
• 18,000 fields with less than 500 million barrels: 700 billion or 34%

The pattern is clear: oil is overwhelmingly concentrated in a small number of giant and supergiant fields. There are not many places left to hide something that big. The discovery rate of giant fields has been falling for decades.

Giant Oil Fields

The figure above shows the proportion of the world's oil reserves in fields of various sizes.

The figure above shows the regional location of oil fields larger than one billion barrels. Note the overwhelming importance of the Middle East. The two largest fields are Gharwar in Saudi Arabia and Burgan in Kuwait. Still wonder why we fought the Gulf War?

Is There a Lot More Undiscovered Oil?

• 80 per cent of oil being produced today is from fields discovered before 1973.
• In the 1990's oil discoveries averaged about seven billion barrels of oil a year, only one third of usage.
• The discovery rate of multi-billion barrel fields has been declining since the 1940's, that of giant (500-million barrel) fields since the 1960's.
• In 1938, fields with more than 10 million barrels made up 19% of all new discoveries, but by 1948 the proportion had dropped to only 3%. Most oil fields are less than ten million barrels, and ten million barrels will supply the United States with less than a day's worth of energy. Large oil fields make up a disproportionate part of the world's oil supply. The ten largest oil fields contain a fifth of the world's oil reserves; twenty more bring the total to a third. 500 large fields contain two thirds of the world's known oil. The remainder is distributed among 20,000 or more small oil fields. The fact that discoveries of large fields are getting rarer means only one thing: we are running out of new oil to find.

Is the Energy Crisis a Myth?

One of the clearest analyses of the energy crisis is Energy Sources -- The Wealth of the World, by Eugene Ayres and Charles A Scarlott, two industrial scientists. This work is worth quoting in some detail.

The internal-combustion engine used for automobiles is a fragile device compared with other prime movers -- even compared with the internal combustion engines used for diesel- electric locomotives that have been known to go over a million miles without mechanical overhauling.

Something about the possession and operation of a motor car provides effective anesthesia for any awareness of economy ... A few people for technical reasons keep an account of miles per gallon of fuel, depreciation per mile, and other costs of motoring, but the result is usually so appalling that the accounts are hurriedly discontinued and forgotten.

The advertising specialists, conscious of the public pulse, do not waste much space and money talking about economy. They talk instead, of performance, comfort, style and reliability. Nearly everything said about a new car means lower fuel efficiency ...

... the energy-system efficiency of the motor car with petroleum motor fuel is, thus, 5 percent ... no one is proud of this accomplishment -- least of all the automotive-design engineers ... The trouble is, every time the design engineer manages to save a few BTU it is more than spent answering the clamor for softer tires, for radio, for better heaters, more lights, cigarette lighters and possibly even air conditioning.

Histories written a few centuries hence may describe the United States as a nation of such extraordinary technologic virility that we succeeded in finding ways of dissipating our natural wealth far more rapidly than any other nation. At any rate, we are having a wonderful time doing it. From the discussions in the earlier chapters of this book it is clear that the problem of energy for the United States is not one of the dim future. It is upon us now.

You may wonder why this book was quoted at such length; after all, it is little different from what energy analysts say all the time, although some of the remarks are clearly dated. These quotes are pretty much the same as any contemporary energy study, with one very important difference. They were written in 1952! Here's how Ayres and Scarlott viewed our future oil supplies.

Our imports of petroleum are small but each year they become larger. By 1960 they are likely to be quite substantial. By 1970 they will almost certainly be huge -- if foreign oil is still available then in sufficient quantity (emphasis mine) ... This tiny period of earth's life, when we are consuming its stored riches, is nearly over ... Fortunately for us there is still time for fundamental research [on alternative energy sources]. But not too much time.

There it is, all laid out with clockwork precision almost fifty years ago. We cannot say we weren't warned or that we were taken by surprise.

The unmistakable signs to those who were willing to see go back even further in time. As noted earlier, even before World War II the number of discoveries of new large oil fields was declining.

The person who has done the most to develop resource prediction strategies is M. King Hubbert. Hubbert is no neglected prophet but a long-respected petroleum geologist. Hubbert noted that the production history of an oil field follows a bell-shaped curve; increasing development, a production peak, then decline as the field is depleted. The cumulative production curve, which is actually a graph of the area under the bell curve with time, is a gentle S called the sigmoid curve. Oil fields often consist of a number of disconnected reservoirs, so if the curve applies to a single field it might also apply to a region, a state, a nation, or even the entire world. Hubbert also noted that production from new oil fields typically lags behind discovery by about ten years. In 1958, Hubbert noted that new discoveries in the U.S. had already peaked and were declining, and he predicted that U.S. oil production would peak in the late 1960's; it peaked in 1967. There was a later surge after the North Slope oil fields were discovered, but based on what was known in 1958, Hubbert was right on target.

Hubbert's curve has an interesting property. The sides of the bell-shaped curve rise steeply, and most of the area, or total production, is in a narrow band under the peak. Because of this geometric property, even a huge increase in the total production has little effect on the date the peak is reached and decline begins, If we were suddenly to double or triple our energy reserves, we would find plenty of ways to use it: bigger and more comfortable cars, cheaper jet fares and more flights, more electrical appliances, less insulation, throwaway containers, and so on (have doubts? I have three words for you: Sport Utility Vehicle). The sobering reality is that no oil discovery, however large , can forestall the energy crunch very long. Hubbert published a prediction of global oil production in 1969, based on energy use to that time. If the total recoverable oil on earth amounted to 1.35 trillion barrels (a generous estimate in 1969 and 50% more than the total reserves known in 1981), petroleum production would peak and begin to decline about 1990. If the total is half again larger yet, 2.1 trillion barrels (the figure used in the diagrams above), the time of peak production shifts only by ten years, to 2000. We can (and have) flatten out the peak artificially by regulating energy use or raising prices, but the days of unlimited cheap energy are gone with the dinosaurs. Frankly I think the mobile lifestyle we enjoy has a lot of good features; I'd like to see some way to guarantee cheap energy, but fantasy and denial won't bring it about.

We will not run out of oil anytime soon. Oil will be available through the 21st century and probably well after. What will happen is that sometime in the next couple of decades, world demand will exceed production. Oil can only be made to flow through the rocks just so fast, and extracting it too fast can actually shorten the life of an oil field; there may be lots of oil left but so finely dispersed that wells go almost dry. When demand exceeds production the price will go up and stay up.

Some Final Blunt Comments

Americans complain bitterly whenever they have to pay more for something than they think they should (translation, any price that interferes with their buying something else they want). A sense of entitlement pervades American society. Only someone who believes in the Easter Bunny could doubt that oil companies and oil-producing nations try to keep prices up. But consider the following:

• What have you personally done to deserve access to petroleum at any price? You haven't helped find it, extract it, ship it or refine it. You didn't develop the geological knowledge to locate it, the chemical knowledge to refine it or the engineering knowledge to turn the science into technology. So why, exactly, are you being treated unfairly if those who do the work charge you high prices for it?
• If you think energy is such a scam, get up off your butt and do something about it. I don't mean the glorified panhandling that we call fund-raising or "educating the public" or political campaigning. If you think there are vast undiscovered reserves out there, study geology and engineering and business, start your own private wildcatting firm (there are lots already - it can be done) and find it!. If you think we could produce it cheaply synthetically, major in chemistry and make it happen, or major in genetics and develop a microbe that can do it. If you think the answer is alternative energy sources, major in physics and engineering and develop them. But don't major in Nondescript Studies and then complain when other people don't do it for you.

References

• Marie Plummer Minniear, 2000; Forecasting the Permanent Decline in Global Energy Production, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 48, no. 2, March 2000, p. 130-136.
• S.W. Carmalt and Bill St. John, 1984; Giant Oil and Gas Fields, in Michael T. Halbouty, ed., Future Petroleum Provinces of the World, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 40, p. 11-53. Source of the oil field data above.
• Colin Campbell and Jean H. Laherrere, 1998; The End of Cheap Oil, Scientific American, v. 278, no. 3, pp. 78-83. Contains a good discussion of just how hard it can be to obtain accurate figures of petroleum reserves.
• Eugene Ayres and Charles A Scarlott, 1952; Energy Sources -- The Wealth of the World, McGraw-Hill, 344p.

Subduction Zones and Orogeny complete notes

What is Orogeny?

Orogeny is the variety of processes that occur during mountain-building, including:

Distinctive Patterns of Deposition

Shallow-water sedimentary rocks on the inner side of the mountain belt, thick deep-water sedimentary rocks in the heart of the mountain belt. Thick accumulations of sandstone and conglomerate accumulate late in the history of the mountain range as it erodes.

Deformation

Folding and thrust-faulting

Metamorphism

Greenschist and amphibolite metamorphism in the core of the range, blueschist metamorphism along its outer edge.

Intrusions

Granitic batholiths are usually associated with orogeny.

Volcanic Activity

Along the crest of the mountain range there is typically a chain of andesite volcanoes.

Oceanic Trenches

Along the outer edge of most currently active mountain belts is a narrow, deep oceanic trench.

Seismic Activity

Shallow great earthquakes along the inner wall of the trench, then deeper earthquakes along a planar zone dipping beneath the mountain range, reaching depths of up to 700 kilometers.

Why Mountains Form

Mountains form at subduction zones. Shown below is a true-scale cross-section of the Andean subduction zone in northern Chile (roughly 25 S).

The vertical change of 15 kilometers in only a few hundred kilometers distance is the largest elevation change on Earth in such a short distance. Plates consist not only of the crust, but about 150 kilometers of the underlying mantle as well. Collectively the crust and associated mantle are termed the lithosphere. Oceanic crust is typically 5 kilometers thick. The continental crust thickens from its normal 40 kilometers to 70 beneath the high Andes. When the descending slab reaches a depth of about 100 kilometers, it begins to melt, causing, directly or indirectly, many of the events associated with mountain-building.

Why Mountains are High

Mountains are high because orogeny shortens and thickens the crust, and isostasy causes the thicker crust to rise. Some of the processes are shown above:

1. Even uniform materials, when compressed from one direction, tend to expand in the direction of least resistance.
2. Layered rocks shorten by folding, but the stack of layers also becomes thicker.
3. Thrust-faulting thickens the crust by stacking slices of crust atop one another.
4. Intrusions add volume to the crust.
5. A great deal of magma never invades the crust but accumulates at its base, a process calledunderplating.
6. Where the crust is heated, thermal expansion causes the rocks to become lighter and more buoyant.

Types of Subduction Zones

Ocean-Ocean

• Both plates are oceanic crust
• Because both plates are basaltic, most volcanism is basaltic
• Initially results in an island chain, but long-continued subduction and accumulation of volcanic rocks and sediments can create a substantial land mass.
• Examples:
  • Present day: Aleutians, Marianas, Lesser Antilles
  • Past: Isthmus of Panama, Cuba and Greater Antilles?

Ocean-Continent

• Descending plate is oceanic crust, overriding plate is a continent.
• The most "typical" orogenic belt
• Initial volcanism is basaltic, but increased melting and mixing of magma with crustal rocks results in andesite and finally rhyolite volcanism.
• Examples:
  • Present day: Andes, Indonesia, Japan
  • Past: California Coast Ranges

Continent-Terrane

• Often continent-ocean subduction will bring a continent into contact with an island arc or small continental fragment.
• This happens to most orogenic belts eventually.
• Result is many fault-bounded regions sharply different from adjacent rocks.
• Examples:
  • Present day: Eastern "tail" of New Guinea.
  • Past: Western North America, China

Continent-Continent

• Sometimes continent-ocean subduction will bring a continent into contact with another continent.
• Result is an orogenic belt in the middle of a continent.
• The two sides of the orogenic belt are separated by a suture marked by blueschist metamorphism, melange, ophiolites and major faults. The rocks on either side of the suture may show quite different histories.
• Examples:
  • Present day: Alps, Himalaya, Persian Gulf
  • Past: Appalachians, Urals

Anatomy of an Orogenic Belt

Shown here is a simple continent-ocean orogenic belt. We can divide an orogenic belt into parallel zones defined by their deformation, lithology, or metamorphism. These zones may approximately coincide with each other but somewhat overlap, so it's necessary to have distinct names for them.

Structural Zones

The Accretionary Prism

Sediment eroded from the orogenic belt accumulates in the trench and is intensely deformed as the plates converge. Like the wedge of earth ahead of a bulldozer, the sediment thickens until it is capable of resisting further deformation.

The Igneous Arc

When the descending plate reaches about 100 kilometers depth, it begins to melt. Magma invades the crust, creating batholiths and a volcanic mountain chain. The intrusions also produce metamorphism, and by making the crust more ductile, make it easier to deform. This is the belt of greatest deformation, metamorphism and igneous activity.

The Foreland

Here, metamorphism is mild but compression of the crust results in folding and thrust-faulting. Often this deformation is "thin-skinned", meaning that rock layers near the surface become detached from deeper layers much the way a carpet wrinkles when a piece of furniture is pushed over it.

This process is called decollement. Usually the layer where separation occurs is made up of weak rocks like salt, gypsum, or shale.

The Craton

This is the stable interior of the continent. It may be thinly mantled with sedimentary rocks or have large areas of ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Lithologic Zones

The Eugeocline

The rocks of the accretionary prism and much of the igneous arc consist of great thicknesses of immature deep water sediment. Often these rocks show evidence of deposition in an unstable setting, such as evidence of turbidity flows or submarine landslides. This sort of deposit is known as flysch. Such rocks are typical of a continental rise or trench setting. Accompanying these rocks are often submarine volcanic rocks, pillow lavas.

The Miogeocline

The rocks of the foreland are typically shallow-water sedimentary rocks typical of a continental shelf, which become thinner toward the interior of the continent. Igneous rocks are uncommon.

As the mountain belt rises, great thicknesses of sandstone and conglomerate are deposited on its flanks and frequently bury much of the foreland. These rocks are typically shallow-water or terrestrial, often red in color, and are called molasse deposits.

The Platform

The stable interior of the continent will often be covered with thin layers of shallow-water or terrestrial sedimentary rocks. This thinly-mantled region, part of the craton, is the platform

The Shield

Areas where ancient crystalline rocks are exposed over wide areas are called shields. Every continent has at least one shield. The shield and adjacent platform together make up the craton. Driving from Green Bay to Wausau takes you from a platform into a shield.

Metamorphic Zones

One of the best indicators of former subduction is the presence of paired metamorphic belts, a belt of typical Greenschist and Amphibolite metamorphism flanked by a belt of Blueschist metamorphism.

Greenschist-Amphibolite Metamorphism

The rising magma from the descending plate heats the crust, resulting in greenschist and amphibolite metamorphism in the igneous arc. At very high temperatures, rocks become very dehydrated; even muscovite mica breaks down to potassium feldspar and amphibole to pyroxene. This sort of metamorphism, called granulite metamorphism, occurs deep in the crust just about everywhere simply due to the normal geothermal gradient. At 25 degrees per kilometer, the temperature at the base of the crust, 40 kilometers deep, is 1000 degrees C. Of course, unusually intense heating can cause it to occur at shallower levels.

Blueschist Metamorphism

At high pressures but low temperatures, rocks are metamorphosed to blueschist grade. The reason temperatures are abnormally low is that the descending slab is still cool and helps keep adjacent rocks cool as well.

Normally sodium is the most predictable major element; it occurs just about exclusively in plagioclase. At high pressure and low temperature, though, albite feldspar breaks down and forms the pyroxene jadeiteand amphiboles like glaucophane and aegerine. The amphiboles are bluish, hence the term "blueschist"

It's a bit puzzling that there are very few blueschist rocks older than Mesozoic. Possibly older mountain belts have been eroded to depths where temperatures were too high for blueschist metamorphism. Or perhaps, in most orogenic belts these rocks eventually get heated to greenschist grade, and we only see the places where it hasn't happened yet. Some people have suggested that the geothermal gradient was higher in the past, meaning the deep earth was too hot for blueschist metamorphism.

Eclogite Metamorphism

At about 100 kilometers depth, pyroxene, olivine and plagioclase recrystallize to a denser form to produce sodium-bearing pyroxene and garnet. The result is one of the most beautiful of rocks, eclogite, a mass of light green pyroxene enclosing pink garnets.

Note that the boundary of eclogite metamorphism rises upward within the descending slab. This happens because the rocks are relatively cool. High temperatures inhibit the recrystallization of rocks to denser forms because high temperatures cause materials to expand. Thus eclogite metamorphism occurs at shallower depths in the descending slab. The slab in that area is denser than the surrounding mantle, and its greater density assists it in sinking. This mechanism is called slab pull and is one of the driving mechanisms of plate tectonics.