Geology and Natural Resources - Western Michigan University · Geology and Natural Resources ......
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Transcript of Geology and Natural Resources - Western Michigan University · Geology and Natural Resources ......
Geology and Natural Resourcesgy
Brought to you by:g y yWestern Michigan University Department of GeosciencesDepartment of Geosciences
andThe Michigan Geological Repository for
Research and Education’sK-12 Outreach Program – Core Kids
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Geologists wear many hats.
Lots of geologists studyLots of geologists study natural resources.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Geology and NaturalGeology and Natural Resources
What do geologists do?What is under Michigan?How did it get there?Why study Michigan geology?
Michigan’s geological natural resources.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE)Research and Education (MGRRE)
Department of GeosciencesCollege of Arts & Sciencesg
Western Michigan UniversityWMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Bring them to the repository to keep them safe and dry…
Drill down into the earth and Bring up “core samples"…
Study themto learn aboutth k dthe rocks underMichiganWMU-MGRRE Core Kids
How do geologists How do geologists look beneath thelook beneath thelook beneath the look beneath the surface to find out?surface to find out?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
How did the rocks How did the rocks under Michigan getunder Michigan getunder Michigan get under Michigan get there?there?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Long ago, Michigan was an ocean basin!Ancient Corals
Found in Michigan
How do we know?
We have
Living Corals in the Bahamas
fossilized coral and other marine
l t dplants and animals in the rocks beneathrocks beneath our feet!
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Geologists study today’s environments to find out what the earth was like in the past. What they learn about the past
M d S di t D iti
p y pand present helps us to plan for the future.
Ancient Deposition in the Michigan Basin
Modern Sediment Deposition In the Bahamas
100 miles100 miles
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
S i l fSuccessive layers of rock record ancient environments.
Geologists study rock samples and data fromsamples and data from beneath the surface and construct a t ti hi lstratigraphic column
describing the geologic history of the area.y
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Citation to be added
Why do we study the rocks fromunderneath Michigan? Why do wecare what is in the rock?care what is in the rock?
Think………..
What is in the rockWhat is in the rockthat we use every day?that we use every day?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
What Is Under Michigan?
What are some examples of the natural resources found in Michigan’s rocks?resources found in Michigan s rocks?
Water for Oil for Natural gasdrinking, washingand cooking
gasoline andmaking plastics
for heatingour homes
MineralsIron, Copper,
others WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Minerals
I h i i k dIn the wintertime, trucks spreada mineral on the roads in Michigan a mineral on the roads in Michigan to make it safer to drive.
Do you know what this mineral is?mineral is?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
How did layers of salt getHow d d layers of salt getinto the rocks under Michigan?
From http://www.saltinstitute.org/mich-1.htmlWMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Virtually every city, county, and municipality has a storehouse of Michigan salt to be used on roads a storehouse of Michigan salt, to be used on roads in winter. This one is a small storage shed of saltfor the Meridian Mall in Okemos for the Meridian Mall in Okemos.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Halite is found in layers and coal is found in layerscoal is found in layers.
What about water, oil and natural gas?What about water, o l and natural gas?
Where are liquids and gases found?Where are liquids and gases found?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
What Is Under Michigan?Name
Natural GasWhere are these natural resources found?
Are they in underground rivers, lakes and pools?WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
What Is Under Michigan?Name
Natural Gas
Or could they be inside theOr, could they be inside the rocks?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Fi t h d di t kFirst, where do sedimentary rocks come from?
SEDIMENTS!SEDIMENTS!
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
ExperimentWhat happens to water or oil that
ppp
is poured on top of sediments?
What do you think will happen?What do you think will happen?Will the water pool on top?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
What Is Under Michigan?Name
Rocks Have Holes?Sedimentary rocks are made when sediments are buried and cement
together over many millions of years.
Just like there is space between grains of sand and sediment on a beachJust like there is space between grains of sand and sediment on a beach, there can also be space between sediment grains after they have turned
to rock. These spaces are called “pores”.
Some of these spaces can be filled with the remains of algae andtiny animals that turn into oil over many millions of years. The oil
then fills the “pore space ”then fills the pore space.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
What is the answer to our question?Are oil, water and natural gas found
in underground rivers, lakes and pools?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
NONOWater, oil and natural gas are in the
pore spaces between grains within rocks The jobpore spaces between grains within rocks. The job of many geologists is to find and recover these
natural resourcesnatural resources.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
“Porous” rocks have pore spaces that can be filled with water, salt
water, oil or natural gas.water, oil or natural gas.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
If those pore spaces are connected t th th t li id fltogether so that liquid or gas can flow through the rock, the rocks are called “permeable”, and we can extract the
resource.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
How do geologists measure permeability?
We measure permeability in the field and in the laboratory with a permeameter. This model is a portable “minipermeameter”. Gas is forced into a rock sample and then measurements of how fastrock sample and then measurements of how fast the gas travels through the rock are sent to the computer. WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
In the classroom We measure bili i bi l !permeability using a bicycle pump!
Experiment
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
Porous and permeable rocks are critical for storing water, oil and natural gas and even theand natural gas, and even the pore space itself is a natural
resource.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
We can also push gas back into the p grocks below us and push out oil or salt water that is in the pore spaces.water that is in the pore spaces.
• This means that we could put unwanted “greenhouse gases” into the ground instead of releasing them into the atmosphere.
•This procedure is called carbon dioxide sequestration.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
q
Everything we have and Everything we have and everything we use comes y gfrom our natural resources.
Most of the natural resources we use E th M t i ls min ls t are Earth Materials – minerals, water,
oil and natural gas.
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids
What Is Under Michigan?
Natural Resources !
What other geologic natural resources do we use use every day?resources do we use use every day?
WMU-MGRRE Core Kids