Increasing Demand for Abiotic Resources (SL IB Geography)

Abiotic resources

• Abiotic resources are non-living resources
• In the ocean, the main abiotic resources are oil, gas and minerals

Oil and gas

• The ocean houses tonnes of oil and gas, most of which is entirely untouched
• Oil and gas can be found under the continental shelf 
• The Persian Gulf houses over ⅔ of the world’s oil reserves
• Offshore drilling pumps oil and gas to the surface from deeper ocean reserves
• Infrastructure like rigs and pipelines are vital for collecting and transporting oil and gas

The process of oil and gas extraction from the ocean

 

The process of oil and gas extraction from the ocean

Minerals

• Oceans house all sorts of minerals in different layers of the ocean
• Gold, copper, lead, silver, zinc and even diamonds are found on the ocean floor. They lie in the sediments transported by wind, ocean currents and even melted icebergs 
• Sulphur deposits can be found in deep rift valleys or ocean ridges
• Many minerals wash into oceans from the land, so they can be found near the coastline
• Some are much further away. Mineral-rich (like iron or cobalt) nodules cover the abyssal plain
  • Deep-sea dredging/vacuuming extracts these minerals
• Gravel and salt are also extracted from oceans. 
  • In flatter areas, water evaporates, leaving behind gravel and salt deposits
  • We use sea salt in our everyday cooking 
  • Gravel extracts are used to make concrete or cement for infrastructure 

• Demand for abiotic resources is increasing
• As our world grows and technology improves, demand will rise

Increased use

• As economies develop further, demand for oil and gas increases
• Oil and gas are the building blocks of industrialised nations. They are vital resources for everything – whether that be cooking a meal or the entire globalisation process
• Even with the move towards cleaner energy, many of the products we use in our daily life come from oil 
• For most countries, oil and gas are still the main source of fuel and energy
• Seasonality can influence increased demand. In wintertime, we use gas for heating and in summertime, we use it for cooling e.g. power plants
• Cleaner energy resources require metals from deep ocean stores e.g. electric cars or wind turbines 
• Those ignoring climate warnings continue to extract deep oil and gas reserves

Technology

• Technology needs abiotic resources 
  • We use deep-ocean minerals for everything in our daily lives, from small wiring to plane engines
  • We will even require deep sea minerals to build clean energy technologies 
• Improvement in technology has made it significantly easier to extract abiotic resources
  • Monitoring seismic activity to extract oil is becoming more advanced
  • Underwater models can make it easier to extract materials
  • Automated drilling can increase the speed of extraction
  • Sensors for collecting important data are now much cheaper
  • Cloud computing makes it easier to deal with masses of data to increase efficiency

Positive and negative consequences of the increasing demand for abiotic resources

	Positive consequences	Negative consequences
Economic	With the advancement of extraction and monitoring technologies, it is much more efficient Oil, gas and mineral extraction is vital for the global economy and for the individual economies of nations It provides employment in a large industry	A drop in mineral worth causes net losses Demand may reduce as demand for greener resources rise Technological malfunctions can be incredibly costly
Environment	Minerals in the ocean are vital for the future of clean energy production  Ocean extraction avoids major land alteration issues or deforestation, unlike terrestrial extraction The action of deep-sea mining causes less carbon emissions than terrestrial mining	Contamination from oil spills is harmful to marine biodiversity and can affect coastlines Oil spills damage coral reefs Burning of oil and gas is one of the main causes of climate change Oil supply will be depleted in some areas. This leads to exploration in more remote and protected areas, like the Arctic The ocean floor can be a turbulent environment. Mining for reserves may trigger earthquakes or tsunamis The ocean is an unknown environment – we don’t know what kind of damage or species loss is occurring as a result
Geopolitical	Countries may collaborate in utilising abiotic resources, forming diplomatic relationships and increasing security   Extracting resources can also bring power to a country. It is a strategic way of forming close relationships and allies Vital trade and cooperation networks form through ocean extraction	There are few regulations around deep-sea mining, which can cause geopolitical disputes  Problems may arise from territory disputes. Many countries aim to claim territory with rich resources, like the Arctic Countries may extend their EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) to mine new, untouched areas of the ocean Other countries can dispute this with the UN, causing tensions or even conflict Indigenous populations are also put at risk by offshore exploration, e.g. displacement Environmental damage from ocean extraction leads to tensions over sustainability and conservation