Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
small fraction of the incident solar radiation is captured by plants through photo-
synthesis, which allows them to form organic matter (e.g., fuel wood). Occasion-
ally the remains of other organic matter (e.g., plankton and marine animals) ac-
cumulate or are buried through sedimentation or geological activity such as earth-
quakes. In these cases the lack of oxygen prevents complete combustion. Over mil-
lions of years, such buried organic matter is transformed into oil (petroleum), nat-
ural gas, and coal. These are the fossil fuels we are using today ( Figure 2.3 ) .
Figure 2.3 The Earth's energy flows
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