![]() This poor drainage along with continual growth of vegetation, high levels of rainfall and a low levels of oxygen lead to the formation of peatlands.įossil fuels are burned to produce energy. These features are evident in the topography of Ireland, especially the midlands, and lead to poor drainage of the soil. When the last ice-age ended and ice melted it left behind glacial features such as eskers and moraines. Peat formed in areas where there was poor drainage. These plants accumulated and decayed over hundreds of thousands of years in waterlogged areas. Peat was formed by the decay of plants and in some cases trees. Peat is a very young form of coal, if left for a long period of time peat will eventually form coal. Natural gas consists mainly of Methane (CH 4) but can also contain other gases such as Butane and Propane. In other cases the oil and gas deposits are trapped under impermeable layers of rock and drilling is necessary. In some cases these deposits rise to the surface and seep out into soil and water. With all of these factors combined the decayed plants and animals form oil and gas deposits. As the layers build up the weight increases and the sediment is pushed further down, this increases both the temperature and pressure. In some areas where there is little tidal movement such as lakes or seas the plants and animals begin to decay in the absence of oxygen. As these plants and animals died they fell to the bottom of the ocean and formed layer after layer of sediment covered by sand and mud. The oil and gas we use today was formed by the decay of microscopic plants and animals that lived in the ocean millions of years ago. As the plants and ferns continued to decay in the absence of oxygen they formed coal.Ĭoal formation stage. Water and soil built up on top of these layers and over thousands of years pressure and high temperatures would cause the decayed plants and ferns to undergo chemical and physical changes which pushed out the oxygen from the decaying layers. When these plants and ferns died they decayed and formed layers at the bottom of the swamps. Hundreds of millions of years ago, even before the dinosaurs, there were huge plants and ferns that lived in swamp forests. Fossil fuels formed from the decomposition of plants and animals from millions of years ago this is why they are called fossil fuels. ![]() The bonds between the Hydrogen and Carbon atoms store energy, by burning the compounds in the presence of Oxygen the bonds are broken and the stored energy is converted to heat energy, forming Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) in the process.įossil fuels are non-renewable, this means that their supply is limited and they will eventually run out. These fossil fuels are all Hydrocarbons, they are compounds formed from only two elements, Carbon and Hydrogen.įossil fuels are used to produce energy in the home they are burned to produce heat, in large power stations they are used to produce electricity and they are also used to power engines. ![]() ![]() Fossil fuels such as Coal, Oil and Gas are some of the most important natural resources that we use everyday. ![]()
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