EARTH122 Lecture 7: EARTH 122 Chapter 7
Document Summary
Peat deposits formed over 8,000 years are up to 6 m thick. Interdisciplinary research project studying the in uence of climate on carbon balance. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world. By volume, about 4 trillion m3 of peat are in the world, covering a total of around 2% of global land area (about 3 million km2), containing about 8 billion terajoules of energy. Over time, the formation of peat is often the rst step in the geological formation of other fossil fuels such as coal, particularly low-grade coal such as lignite. The bridge between life and the inanimate world . Soil as a system: soil consists of mineral matter, organic matter, air, and water. Dead and living microorganisms, and decaying material. Bacteria, algae, earthworms, insects, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. franklin d. roosevelt, former u. s.