2.

1 Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Sunday, January 2, 2022 9:11 AM

Main types and features of volcanoes:

Strato-volcano (composite cone volcano): a high steep-sided volcano made from thick acid
lava
Shield volcano: a low flat volcano made from runny basic lava

Active volcanoes: volcanoes that have erupted in recent times

Dormant volcanoes: volcanoes that have not erupted for many centuries but may erupt
again
Extinct volcanoes: volcanoes that are not expected to erupt again

Crater: the depression at the top of a volcano following a volcanic eruption

Vent: the channel which allows magma within the volcano to reach the surface in a volcanic
eruption
Magma: molten materials inside the earth's interior [when magma is ejected, it is called
lava]
Chamber: the reservoir of magma located deep inside the volcano

Features of earthquakes:
Focus: the place beneath the ground where the earthquake takes place
Epicenter: the point on the ground surface hit by the earthquake above the focus
Magnitude: the strength or force of earthquakes

Measurement of earthquakes:
Mercalli scale (by observation) Richter scale (by using the seismograph)
Positive Convenient (no equipment) Accurate
Objective
Scientific
Negative Not accurate Inconvenient (equipment needed)
Subjective
Less scientific

Plate tectonics:

Plate
boundar…

The oceanic crust moves towards the continental crust and sinks beneath it due to its
greater density;
Deep-sea trenches and island arcs are formed; the continental crust is folded into fold
mountains;
Volcanic activity is common

Two plates move apart from each other causing sea-floor spreading;
New oceanic crust is formed, creating mid-ocean ridges;
Volcanic activity is common

Two plates slip sideways past each other but land is neither destroyed nor created

Two continental crusts collide; as neither can sink they are folded up into fold mountains

Volcanoes Earthquakes Fold mountains

Destructive Violent (strato-volcanoes) Violent Yes
Constructive Gentle (shield volcanoes) Gentle No
Conservative None Violent No
Collision None Violent Yes

Formation of volcanoes & causes of volcanic eruptions:

Destructive plate boundaries (stratovolcanoes):
1) As an oceanic plate crashes into the continental plate, the denser oceanic plate sinks
beneath the continental plate and melts, creating magma.
2) Magma often contains water dissolved within it as gas. As the magma rises, it may
reach a depth where the pressure is lower. The dissolved gas can no longer be held in
solution in the magma and it begins to form bubbles, which expand.
3) In runnier magmas, the gas is able to escape. But in thick viscous magmas, the gas is
released explosively at the surface – producing very violent eruptions that spray lava
high into the air.
4) Bubbles of liquid lava burst explosively in the air and then the material cools and
solidifies and falls to the ground. This is how the pyroclastic material (solid) is
produced.
5) The build-up of this material leads to the formation of the volcano.
Constructive plate boundaries (shield volcanoes):
1) Plates move away from each other, leaving gaps in between.
2) Magma rises to fill the gap.

Formation of earthquakes:
1) Earthquakes are caused by plate movements – either towards each other, away from
each other or sliding past each other.
2) Stress and pressure builds up as the plates try to move.
3) Then there is a sudden release of pressure when the plates break free (along a crack
in the Earth called a fault).
4) Huge amounts of energy are released and the shock waves or vibrations travel
through the Earth as an earthquake wave or seismic wave.

Impacts of volcanoes and ways to reduce the aftermath:

Negative impacts:
[Blue: type of hazard: direct/primary vs indirect/secondary]
Ash falls (indirect) (fine ash is blasted into the atmosphere, where it can stay
in suspension for many months)
Bury buildings
Cancellation of flights
Block the sun, cause the weather to be cooler and affecting
crops
Pyroclastic flows (direct) (hot solid material travel rapidly down valleys and slopes)
Impossible for people to escape --> deaths
Lateral blasts (direct) (sometimes a volcano can explode sideways)
Destroy houses and property
Mudflows (lahars) (direct) (when ash mixes with water and travels down river valleys)
Wash away buildings, road, bridges and people
Volcanic gases (direct) Carbon dioxide --> suffocation
Other poisonous gases --> burn; lung diseases
Acid rain (indirect) Damage buildings
Serious effects on plant and animal species
Post-eruption famine and [especially in LEDCs]
disease (indirect)
Tsunami (indirect) (collapse of volcanoes into the sea --> tsunami)
Lava flows (direct) Destroy buildings
but rarely result in direct death (travel slowly)
Reducing risks:
Lava flow Mechanical excavators --> channel lava flows away from buildings
diversion Spray water over lava --> make them solidify and stop flowing
Mudflows Build walls across valleys to trap mudflows and protect settlements further
barriers down the valley
Building Stronger roofs --> stop them collapsing when covered with ash
design
Volcano Measuring features that happen before an eruption: small earthquakes,
monitoring ground deformations and gas emissions --> give early warning of future
eruptions
Remote Monitor the location of ash clouds from satellites --> warn aircraft
sensing
Hazard Look at the pattern of past eruptions --> predict future eruptions
mapping and --> ban on building in high-risk areas; preparation of emergency response
planning plans (constructing evacuation routes)
Positive impacts:
Geothermal power Generate electricity
Hot water --> central heating systems; swimming pools
Fertile soils Some types of lava and ash weather rapidly in tropical
conditions --> a rich, thick soil layer
Volcanoes creating Produce new islands and enlarge existing landmasses
landmass
Tourism Attract tourists --> help the economy
Minerals and mining Sulfur
mineral deposits formed by now extinct volcanoes

Impacts of earthquakes and ways to reduce the aftermath:

Hazards:
[Blue: type of hazard: direct/primary vs indirect/secondary]
Ground shaking (primary)
Surface faulting (primary)
Ground failure and soil liquefaction (secondary)
Landslides and rockfalls (secondary)
Debris flows and mudflows (secondary)
Tsunamis (secondary)
Negative impacts:
Total or partial destruction of building structures
Interruption of water supplies
Breakage of sewage disposal systems
Loss of public utilities such as electricity and gas
Floods from collapsed dams
Release of hazardous material
Fires
Spread of chronic illness
Factors influencing the damage of an earthquake:
Strength of earthquake
Number of aftershocks
Population density
Type of buildings
Time of the day
Distance from the epicenter
Type of rocks and sediments
Secondary hazards
Reducing risks:
• Better forcasting an warning
○ Measure crustal movements
○ Record changes in electrical conductivity
○ Note strange and unusual animal behavior
○ Check historical evidence for trends of earthquakes
• Building design, building location and emergency procedures
○ Light walls and gables
○ Light roofs
○ Small windows (reduce the weak parts of a building)
○ Reinforces walls
▪ Reinforce concrete walls with steel or bamboo
▪ Reinforce traditional adobe walls with plastic mesh
○ Confined masonry (brick walls framed and connected to the roof)
○ Shock absorbers (tyres are filled with stone and sand and fastened between
floor and foundation)
○ Deep foundations (allows the bulding to sway)
○ Boilers and chimneys firmly fixed to walls
• Making a bridge safe
○ Arched steel plates
○ Wide concrete pillars
○ A rubber layer between the pillars and bridge surface (absorb shock waves)