GEOL 1250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Total War, Source Rock, Continental Shelf
Document Summary
The uneven distribution of mineral resources leads to a full spectrum of human behavior, from friendly international trade to total war. Settling of heavy minerals during crystallization of magmas. Only source of chromium, nickel, and platinum. Major source of many gemstones and strategic metals (rare) Circulation of hot water driven by magmatic heat. Major source of copper, silver, gold, zinc, lead. As they are brought close to the surface, they cool and produce gemstones. Explosive eruptions that transport very deep rocks onto the surface. Evaporation of water from the ocean or salt lakes. Change in chemistry in the seawater triggered by the rise of oxygen. Only on continental shelves because the seafloor is continuously being subducted. Enrichment of aluminum in soils by the leaching of all other elements in a tropical climate. The world is running out of fossil fuels.