Natural Disasters Flashcards

17/05/2017 Natural Disasters Flashcards
Cards
Term Definition
What is the difference between an -Effusive eruption: lava flows out of the
effusive eruption and an volcanoe
explosive eruption? -Explosive eruption: explosion that breaks
and tears apart magma into pyroclastic
debri.
Term Definition
Icelandic: fissure erupion, low

viscosity + low volatiles(H2O)
What are the five categories of
Hawaiian: Lava fountains and
eruption? extensive flows from vents and
fissures, low viscosity + low
- describe each category volatiles(H2O)
Strombolian: explosive
blasts, Low‐moderate viscosity

+moderate H2O
Vulcanian: Moderate‐sized
explosive eruption ‐dense cloud
of ashladen gas rises high above
peak Moderate‐high visocoty,

moderate high H2O
Plinian: High viscosity, high

H2O, Large explosive eruptions
Term Definition
What does VEI stand for?

Volcanic Explosivity Index
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Term Definition
Ash and bombs
Pyroclastic flow
What are the principle volcanic
Lava flow
hazards?
Lahar
Debris avalanche
Term Definition
Ash and Bombs

Which volcanic hazards are most
Pyroclastic flow
deadly?
Lava flow
Term Definition
What is a lahar?
Volcanic Mudflow
Term Definition
seismic monitoring
ground deformation
What monitoring techniques are
used at volcanoes?
gas changes
telemetry
Term Definition
Hazard Mapping
What are the components of

Monitoring
volcanic hazard mitigation?
Education
Alert System
Term Definition
-normal/green
What are the 4 alert categories for -advisory/yellow

volcanoes?
-watch/orange
-warning red
Term Definition
Masses of debris or bedrock

What is mass wasting (mass movement in
your book)? moving downhill
Term Definition
What is the main driving force behind

mass wasting? GRAVITY
Term Definition
Steepness of slope
What factors control slope stability? Relief (vertical elevation change)
= gravity
Rock type
- material
- structure
Water:
-Adds weight
-Acts as a lubricant
Vegetation
- Roots hold soil together
- Absorb water
Triggers
Term Definition
Oversteepening
Overloading
What are common triggers for landslides?
Undercutting
Earthquakes
Removal of vegetation
Term Definition
-adds weight
-decreases shear strength

Why can water both strengthen a slope or
make it less stable? ▪ may increase shear
strength in unsaturated
debris
Term Definition
marine clay: inherently weak material, Rain

or groundwater can dissolve away the
What is quick clay?
salt leaving clay+water that can easily be
destabilized
Term Definition
Flow
What are the main types of mass wasting
(classified according to type of Slide -translational +rotational
movement)?
Fall
Term Definition
What is soil creep? very slow flow
Term Definition
tilted fence posts
What are the indicators for soil creep? curved tree trunks
bed rock bent downslope
Term Definition
slide: block bed slides along a slide

surface, relatively coherent
How is a flow different to a slide?
flow: moving mass of unconsolidated

material
Term Definition
rotational slides: move downward and

outward on top of curved slip surface
How is a translational slide different to a

rotational slide? translational slides:masses move down
and out by sliding on surface of
weakness; faults, joints, clay, etc.
Term Definition
Block of bedrock that
How is a fall different to a flow or a slide? breaks off and falls freely
(or bounces) down a cliff
Term Definition
Earthflow: earth moves as viscous fluid
What is the difference between an

earthflow, a mud flow and a debris flow? Mudflow: flowing mix of soil and
water, dominated by fine‐grained
material
Debris Flow: flowing mix of debris and

water, dominated by coarse‐grained
material
Term Definition
dry climates
Where do debris flows commonly occur? volcanoes(called lahars)
after forest fires
Term Definition
Where do debris avalanches commonly Mt. St. Helens; Shasta; Cotopaxi,

occur?
Ecuador
Term Definition
Slab Avalanche: breaks off and slides

down the slope
What are the two types of snow avalanche
and how do they differ?
Loose Powder avalanche: lots of air mixed
with snow
Term Definition
-Ground surface moves downward
-Caused by compaction of loose

What is subsidence? watersaturated sediment
-Can be caused by removal of

groundwater or
oil from the subsurface
-Can be catastrophic: sinkholes form

when surface collapses into
an underground cave
Term Definition
Can be caused by removal of

What commonly causes subsidence?
groundwater or
oil from the subsurface
Term Definition
Give an example of an area undergoing

subsidence? Mexico City
Term Definition
drainage
How can mass wasting hazards be
mitigated (name some different mitigation retaining walls
methods)?
anchor bolts
terracing
fiber rolls
re‐ vegetation
Term Definition
Weather:Highly variable conditions in

the atmosphere
What is the difference between weather
and climate? (hour‐hour, day‐day, season season,
year‐year variability)
Climate: Average pattern of weather in

a region over long periods of time
(One exceptionally cold or hot season

is not viewed as climate variability)
Term Definition
How much of the sun's radiation is 70% absorbed

absorbed into Earth's climate system? How
much is reflected? 30% Reflected
Term Definition
Nitrogen
What are the main components of Earth's Oxygen

atmosphere? What are the three most
Argon
abundant?
Carbon Dioxide
Neon
Helium
Methane
Krypton
Water Vapor
Term Definition
What are the four layers of the atmosphere

and how are they defined (i.e. what is the
factor that best demarcates the
boundaries between them)?
Term Definition
The higher up you are, the less air

pressure. The air thins out the higher
How does atmospheric pressure change
with altitude? you go, thus leaving less air in the
atmosphere to push you down.
Term Definition
As air rises it expands and
When a packet of air rises, does it cool cools.

down or heat up? What happens to water
Cool air can't hold as much
vapor as the air rises?
moisture so moisture
condenses as clouds .
Term Definition
As air sinks it contracts and
When a packet of air drops down, does it warms.

cool down or heat up? What is the result of
Warm air can hold more
this in terms of water vapor?
moisture so evaporation
dominates
Term Definition
the rate of temperature change with

What is meant by adiabatic lapse rate? altitude in a still air mass is lower than
the temp changes in a rising air mass
Term Definition
What is the dry adiabatic lapse rate (i.e. the as air cools, it has less ability to hold
value)? water vapor; thus, its relative humidity
increases
Term Definition
Hadley cells ‐ warm air rises at equator

and sinks at ~ 30oN and S then flows
What drives global air circulation? away
-Westerlies ‐ flow towardpoles
-Trade winds ‐ flow toward equator
Cold air flows from the poles (polar

easterlies)
Where westerlies meet polar easterlies

= polar front
Term Definition
Currents in the oceans and atmosphere

turn
What is the Coriolis Effect?
-moving bodies turn to the right in the

northern
hemisphere
-moving bodies turn to the left in the

southern
hemisphere
Term Definition
Polar Cells
What are the three main convection cells
Ferrel Cells
in global air circulation?
Hadley Cells
Term Definition
Narrow bands of high- velocity

What is a jet stream?
winds ‐ meandering flow
Term Definition
What mostly drives global ocean

circulation? Mostly driven by winds
Term Definition
What drives deep ocean circulation? Affected by temperature and salinity
Term Definition
Surface Flow is Toward South America
What is El Niño? - East across the Pacific

- Down‐welling near Peru
- Warm surface temperatures
- Ocean Storms
Term Definition
Global Temperature Rising
Global Sea Level Rising

Describe the lines of evidence for global
warming
Glaciers are retreating
Changes in Artic and frozen ground
Term Definition
What methods are used to extend the

record of global temperatures (and CO2)
back beyond our record-keeping
Term Definition
-Volcanic eruptions
-Variations in the Earth's orbit ‐

What processes can cause global climate Milankovitch Cycles
change?
- Solar radiation
-Greenhouse gases
Term Definition
-the rays from the sun hits earth

-the rays reflect back towards space
-but the greenhousegases pick up the heat from
sunrays
Describe the greenhouse effect -some of the heat continues to space
-the captured heat now spreads in every
direction
-the extra heat keeps the earths temp in
balance
-human activity are letting out greenhouse
gases from cars and factories
- a lot more heat is captures by the
greenhousegases
-the climate is changing
Term Definition
Water vapor
List the common greenhouse gases in the Carbon dioxide

atmosphere
Methane
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Ozone
Term Definition
Natural:
Volcanoes
Methane
Name some sources of greenhouse gases
Ice Ages
Anthropogenic:
Burning of Fossil Fuels
Cement Productions
Deforestation
CFCs
Term Definition
Burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural

gas)
What are the main anthropogenic sources Cement production
of CO2 ?
Deforestation
CFCs
Term Definition
-25% of global energy consumption
Describe the relationship between human - ~5% of global population

activities and global climate change
U.S. person uses:
-7 times as much energy as a person in

China
- 25 times as much energy as a person

in India
- twice as much energy as a person in

western
Europe
Term Definition
Sea level change
Describe the consequences of global

warming
Ocean acidification
Ocean circulation
Destruction of tropical plant diversity
Desertification of productive crop land
Increased INTENSITY and FREQUENCY

of
climatic and weather events:
- Increased drought in some areas
- Increased flooding in some areas
- More hurricanes, typhoons etc

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17/05/2017 Natural Disasters Flashcards

Icelandic: fissure erupion, low

blasts, Low‐moderate viscosity

peak Moderate‐high visocoty,

Plinian: High viscosity, high

What does VEI stand for?

Ash and bombs

Ash and Bombs

What are the components of

What are the 4 alert categories for -advisory/yellow

Masses of debris or bedrock

What is the main driving force behind

- Roots hold soil together

-decreases shear strength

marine clay: inherently weak material, Rain

What is soil creep? very slow flow

tilted fence posts

bed rock bent downslope

slide: block bed slides along a slide

How is a flow different to a slide?

flow: moving mass of unconsolidated

rotational slides: move downward and

How is a translational slide different to a

Block of bedrock that

(or bounces) down a cliff

Earthflow: earth moves as viscous fluid

What is the difference between an

Debris Flow: flowing mix of debris and

Where do debris flows commonly occur? volcanoes(called lahars)

after forest fires

Where do debris avalanches commonly Mt. St. Helens; Shasta; Cotopaxi,

Slab Avalanche: breaks off and slides

-Ground surface moves downward

-Caused by compaction of loose

-Can be caused by removal of

oil from the subsurface

-Can be catastrophic: sinkholes form

Can be caused by removal of

Give an example of an area undergoing

Weather:Highly variable conditions in

Climate: Average pattern of weather in

(One exceptionally cold or hot season

How much of the sun's radiation is 70% absorbed

What are the main components of Earth's Oxygen

What are the four layers of the atmosphere

The higher up you are, the less air

As air rises it expands and

When a packet of air rises, does it cool cools.

As air sinks it contracts and

When a packet of air drops down, does it warms.

the rate of temperature change with

Hadley cells ‐ warm air rises at equator

-Westerlies ‐ flow towardpoles

-Trade winds ‐ flow toward equator

Cold air flows from the poles (polar

Where westerlies meet polar easterlies

Currents in the oceans and atmosphere

-moving bodies turn to the right in the

-moving bodies turn to the left in the

Narrow bands of high- velocity

winds ‐ meandering flow

What mostly drives global ocean

What drives deep ocean circulation? Affected by temperature and salinity

Surface Flow is Toward South America