Geology. Козлова Е.П. - 41 стр.

human community as well). That is why the lithosphere, or the earth’s shell, is
likewise the object of ecological geology.

                      Ecological Specifics of the Lithosphere

        Thus far only the uppermost part of the earth’s shell has been studied well
enough. It supplies us with minerals and carries all the various civil – engineering
facilities – industrial enterprises, transportation, communications and all. Before
determining the extent of environmental modification and the damage that goes with
it, we should have a clear idea of corresponding functions of the lithosphere.
According to Professor Trofimov, these are the resource – related, geodynamic and
geophysical – geochemical functions. Partway the latter two affect the atmosphere,
the hydrosphere and the biosphere which are in contact with the lithosphere and
interact with it.
         Now, the lithosphere supplies biota, a totality of living organisms (man
including), with vital mineral substances and diverse chemical compounds and
elements (in solid, liquid and gaseous form). This is the resource function. The
lithosphere is not only a depositary of useful minerals that originated dozens and
hundreds of million years ago, it is also a producer of mineral substances consumed
by the plant and animal kingdoms. The lithosphere’s resource function likewise
encompasses what is known as the geological space in which biota exists.
         As to the geodynamic functions of the shell, the ongoing processes there are
acting, directly or indirectly, on the living world – either by stepping up or by
slowing down the vital activity of organisms; this action may be even the cause of
their death. For instance, volcanic eruptions that spew forth a large amount of carbon
dioxide, steam and vapors, sulfur compounds and other harmful substances.
Disastrous earthquakes can even modify the climate on our planet and trigger huge
natural calamities.
         Natural and technogenic processes are responsible for geochemical and
geophysical anomalies in the lithosphere that may vary in their intensity. Such
anomalies affect living organisms via the sanitary-hygienic and medico-biological
condition of territories. Thereby the lithosphere has a direct bearing on human health.

                         Lithosphere’s Resource Function

         A variety of exogenous factors are acting on the terrestrial surface and its
rock. These are the circadian and seasonal temperature changes, the atmospheric
moisture and the surface waters, particularly if they contain organic and inorganic
acids. The temperature differentials erode solid rock and cause cracks and fissures in
it; water seeps in and washes out readily soluble compounds and minerals.
         Insoluble ore elements are concentrated on the earth surface as a result of
rock-erosion and denudation and come to be deposited in magmatic, metamorphic
rocks transformed by erosion. It is under such conditions that commercial bodies of
cobalt and nickel are formed, as well as kaolin (porcelain clay) and bauxites from
which aluminum is mined.

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