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An alternative to ocean fishing is aquaculture , a method in which fish and shellfish are deliberately raised for food. There are two types of aquaculture: fish farming and fish ranching. With fish farming , the fish or shellfish (e.g. carp, catfish, oysters) are raised in closed ponds or tanks with a controlled environment. When they reach maturity they are harvested. Fish ranching is used with species such as salmon that live one part of their lives in freshwater and the other part in salt water ( anadromous species ). Salmon are raised in captivity for a few years and then released. They are harvested when they return to spawn. Some of the disadvantages of aquaculture include the need for supplying large amounts of food and water, and disposal of the large amounts of waste that are produced.

Algae into oil, bones into stones

Scientists and textbooks tend to separate biological and geological entities and processes, but the complex cycling of matter on Earth actually blurs those categories. Indeed, some of our most important energy and mineral resources have biological origins. As a consequence, the location and size of these resources depends upon the distribution and productivity of ancient habitats.

Petroleum

Petroleum is a generic term for oil and natural gas, and their products. Petroleum doesn’t look organic, but it is derived from the remains of countless marine organisms. It begins with blooms of microscopic algae and other plankton in oceans and large lakes. These organisms sink when they die, and if the seafloor or lakebed they land on has low oxygen and high sedimentation, they can be buried in mud before they decompose. At depth and over time, heat and pressure begin to convert the organic molecules into hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons begin to liquefy into oil at 50-60° C, and vaporize into methane at 100° C. If the temperature exceeds 200° C, they break down and disappear.

Where petroleum is abundant, it can be pumped from below ground and refined into fuels such as gasoline, propane, jet fuel, and heating oil, and into tar and asphalt. Petroleum is also a component of plastics, dyes, synthetic fibers, fertilizers, compact discs, cosmetics, and explosives.

Petroleum is extremely useful, but it is unevenly distributed around the world, and reserves are being depleted rapidly. Petroleum formation is a complex process that requires just the right biological conditions to produce sufficient plankton, and just the right geologic conditions to preserve and cook the organic matter. The entire sequence takes a million years or more. Because many countries, like the United States, have very limited deposits, and because all petroleum reserves are being drained rapidly, conservation and alternatives are gaining importance. For instance, worn highway asphalt is now being reprocessed and replaced rather than discarded. Plastic recycling is becoming more widespread. Wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal, and hydroelectric power is increasing.

Limestone

Limestone is a type of rock made of calcium carbonate. Although few things seem less life-like than rocks, most limestone is actually biogenic, formed from the shells and skeletons and excretions of marine invertebrates. In the shallows around tropical islands and continents, warm clear water, strong sunlight, and abundant nutrients allow mollusks, crustaceans, and plankton to flourish. When these creatures die or molt, their hard parts fall to the sea floor. As the remains pile up, the weight of the overlying debris compacts the deepest layers. Cements precipitate out of groundwater, fusing the individual fragments into solid rock. Some limestone goes no further, so that the component shells remain distinct and clearly visible. In other limestone, subject to more intense heat and pressure, the organic material is recrystallized into a featureless mass.

Limestone is widely used in industrial processes. Crushed limestone is a component of cement, paper, plastic, and paint, and is used to adjust the pH of soil and water. Whole limestone that retains visible shell material is used for decorative stonework. Common blackboard chalk is a limestone made from microscopic skeletons.

Limestone is extremely abundant, making up about 10-15% of all sedimentary rocks on Earth, so that even though it is heavily used, its reserve are not being significantly depleted.

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Source:  OpenStax, Ap environmental science. OpenStax CNX. Sep 25, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10548/1.2
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