Mining and use of Natural resouces - Essay Example

Mining and Use of Natural Resources The geology scope is large and important to the human beings lives on the planet. It is not easy to imagine a modern civilization that lacks the resource geological inputs such as gas, coal, metals, industrial minerals, and oil. The external and the internal earth geological processes are responsible for the current landforms such as the surface/subsurface water bodies and soil for agriculture; these are very important for the human lives (Husain, 2008). Geology offers alertness to geological hazards such as floods, earthquakes, seawater intrusion and volcanoes; the awareness of these hazards has made the modern man life safe through the modification of the houses and other infrastructures (Husain, 2008).

The possibility of an earthquake occurring is 100 percent and that means an earthquake can occur anytime and somewhere on the earth. Asserting that an earthquake will occur does not really mean that earthquake has been predicted (U.S. Geological Survey, 2009). Presently, earthquake cannot be predicted but the statement may be true due to the fact that a number of earthquakes (in millions) occur each year, thus, their occurrence daily is in thousands (they are too minute to be located). Earthquake prediction is a possibility in the future.

There is an ongoing research done by USGC and other state and federal agencies, private institutions and universities. The reality of earthquake prediction is possible some day in the future but this is only when the mechanisms of earthquake are fully exploited (U.S. Geological Survey, 2009). Industrialization and urbanization are responsible for different types of surface/subsurface water pollution and wastes and it has become mandatory for the schools in the developing countries to offer geoscience education.

The neglect of the subject at some level of education (especially at the junior level) has caused the lack of awareness about energy conservation, environmental protection, and the conservation of other geological raw materials (Husain, 2008).With the help of the geology-based assessment methodology, it is estimated that there are about 53 (TCFG) trillion cubic feet of nonassociated natural gas in undiscovered and conventional accumulations and mean volumes of 896 million barrels of oil in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the adjacent State waters; this is according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The volume of undiscovered oil estimated by U.S. Geological Survey is lower than the one estimated in 2002 and this is due to the recent exploration drilling that showed reduced reservoir quality and a quick transition from oil to gas in Alpine sandstone (U.S. Geological Survey, 2010). The main focus of exploration has been the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) and this has been influenced by the mid-1990s discovery of Alpine field (the United States’ largest onshore oil discovery for the last 25 years) (U.S. Geological Survey, 2010).

Geology is very vital in discovering new natural resources such as in the case of Alaska; the explorations done in the mid-1990s led to the discovery of oil and gas in the Alpine fields. ReferencesHusain, V. (2008). Importance of geology education in schools of developing countries. Retrieved from http://www.cprm.gov.br/33IGC/1285572.htmlU.S. Geological Survey. (2009). 100% chance of an earthquake. Retrieved from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/100_chance.phpU.S. Geological Survey. (2010). 2010 updated assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA).

Retrieved from http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2010/3102/