Environmental Geology

earthquake (seismic slip)

The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface

creep (aseismic slip)

movement along faults occurs gradually and relatively slowly and smoothly. Fault displacement without significant earthquake activity

body waves

seismic waves that travel through the Earth's interior

P waves

A type of seismic wave that compresses and expands the ground.

S waves

A type of seismic wave that moves the ground up and down or side to side

surface waves

seismic waves that travel along the Earth's surface

Seismograph

A device that records ground movements caused by seismic waves as they move through Earth

Richter scale

A scale that rates an earthquake's magnitude based on the size of its seismic waves.

Magnitude

Greatness of size, strength, or importance

Mercalli scale

A scale that rates earthquakes according to their intensity and how much damage they cause at a particular place

ground motion

the intensity of ground shaking

liquefaction

The process by which an earthquake's violent movement suddenly turns loose soil into liquid mud

landslide

a slide of a large mass of dirt and rock down a mountain or cliff

tsunami

A giant wave usually caused by an earthquake beneath the ocean floor.

Parkfield Project

Began in 1985, in anticipation of another M 6 earthquake in 1993. The actual earthquake occurred in 2004.

earthquake cycle

The concept that there is a periodic quality about the occurrence of major earthquakes on a given fault zone, with repeated cycles of stress buildup, rupture, and relaxation of stress through smaller aftershocks

simplification

assumes pressure builds in a constant way and rocks behave similarly

earthquake precursors

change in land elevation, changes in ground water levels, peculiar animal behavior, an increase in foreshock activity

earthquake risks

fires, landslides, liquefaction, etc.

forecasting

method for predicting how variables will change the future, works with probabilities

concerns related to earthquake predictions

property values, evacuation difficulties, legal liability

earthquake control

releasing energy, fluid injection

human causes of earthquakes

fluid injection for waste disposal, solution mining, geothermal power generation, secondary oil recovery, fracking

ohio earthquakes

1987, 2001, and 2003 due to fluid injection

areas of risk for earthquakes

alaska, san francisco, los angeles

fracking

The pumping of water at high pressure to break apart rocks in order to release natural gas

water acquisition

large volumes of water are withdrawn to be used in fracking

frackings impacts on drinking water

change in quantity of water available

change in drinking water quality, release to surface and ground water

chemical mixing

acquired water is combined with chemical additives and proppant to make fracking fluid

volcano

pope or vent in the earth's crust through which lava, ash, gas, and dust are emitted

fissure eruption

lava emitted through seafloor spreading ridges and continental rifts

magma

Molten rock beneath the earth's surface

mafic

describes magma or igneous rock that is rich in magnesium and iron and that is generally dark in color

basaltic lava

A lava type of mafic composition that has a low silica content, erupts at high temperatures, and flows readily

felsic magma

magma with a high silica content and large volume of gas (explosive eruptions)

areas where magma forms

divergent plate boundaries, subduction zones, hot spots

divergent plate boundaries create

mafic magma, fissure eruptions

subduction zones form

complex magma, ring of fire

volcanic hazards

lava, pyroclastics, lahars, volcanic ash, steam explosions, toxic gases

lava

magma that flows to the surface

pyroclastics

hot fragments of rock and magma emitted during an explosive eruption.

lahars

volcanic mudflows

Nuees Ardentes

Super heated, denser than air deadly volcanic gases.

mt. vesuvius

Volcano that destroyed Pompeii

Steam Explosions

phreatic eruptions

Krakatau, Indonesia

36,000 people drowned from seismic sea waves hitting surrounding islands; occurred in 1883 - dust from the volcano caused global cooling; it caused snow to fall in July in New England; ejected 18-20 cubic kilometers of mountain into the atmosphere

toxic gases

carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur gases, hydrochloric gases

carbon dioxide

about 0.2 billion metric tons from volcanoes each year

volcanoes and climate change

sulfur dioxide can cause global cooling

carbon dioxide can promote global warming

significant cooling

sulfuric acid condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form fine sulfate aerosols, the aerosols increase the reflection of radiation from the sun back into space, cooling the earth's lower atmosphere

mt. pinatubo

volcano in the Philippines; its explosion cooled Earth's temperatures for a year

sulfur dioxide

injected 20 million tons into the air with mt. pinatubo, cooled the earth's surface for three years

shield volcano

a wide, gently sloping mountain made of layers of lava and formed by quiet eruptions

hawaiian islands

shield volcanoes, built over hot spot, mauna loa rises 10 km from sea floor

heimaey iceland 1973

5,000 evacuated under 6 hours due to contingency plan

lava stopped by spraying seawater, ash clearance from roofs, $2 million gov't funds, rebuilt property and monitoring seismometers

volcanic domes

rounded, steep-sided mounds formed by viscous magma; relatively high silica content (70%); rhyolite; explosive eruptions

mount st. helens 1980

Dormant since 1857

Produced one of greatest landslides in history

Stratovolcano

VEI-5

57 deaths

$1.1 billion in damage

novarupta

largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century

cinder cones

small, steep-sided volcanoes that erupt gas-rich, basaltic lavas

composite volcanoes

A tall, cone-shaped mountain in which layers of lava alternate with layers of ash and other volcanic materials

volcanic precursors

earthquakes, bulging, tilt or uplift of surface, change in gases, anomalous animal behavior

future places for a volcano

hawaii, cascade range, the alteutians, mammoth lakes, long valley, yellowstone calderas

global energy use

Renewable energy resources provided about 13% of energy worldwide

1 BTU

amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit

fossil fuels

Coal, oil, natural gas, and other fuels that are ancient remains of plants and animals.

per capita

for each person; in relation to people taken individually.

US consumption

us is the largest consumer, producer, and importer of energy in the world, consumes 18% of the worlds energy resources

China consumption

by 2040 china is expected to consume 2x the energy the us consumes

oil

A liquid fossil fuel formed from marine organisms that is burned to obtain energy and used in the manufacture of plastics.

natural gas

A gas with high methane content, found along with various fossil fuels and is used as a fuel.

1 barrel

42 gallons of oil

ANWR oil

the arctic national wildlife refuge is North America's largest oil field. accounts for 17% of us production, likeliest possibility for the discovery of lots of oil, us uses 20 million barrels of oil every day, satisfy our consumption for 15-27 months.

permafrost problem

permafrost is melting which supports the alaskan pipeline, lost half of its exploration season to warmth

strategic petroleum reserve

largest stockpile of government owned emergency crude oil, established in 1975 after oil embargo, stored in underground salt caverns in texas and louisiana, 61 days of protection against embargos

primary oil recovery

the extraction of crude oil pushed to the surface by built-up pressure in the reservoir

secondary oil recovery

injection of water to extract another 10-20% of the oil reservoir after the primary recovery stage

enhanced recovery methods

recovery techniques that heat the oil thus reducing its viscosity and making it easier to extract. steam injection is the most common form

oil spills

10,000 spills in us water each year

15-25 million gallons annually

sources of oil spills

oil tankers, drilling accidents, careless disposal of used oil, intentional destruction of pipelines, natural seeps

oil spill clean up

Burning, absorbent pads, coagulants and dispersants and floating booms

exxon valdez oil spill

Major tanker accident in Alaska in 1989, that resulted in a major oil spill in Prince William Sound.

shale gas

Natural gas occurring within or extracted from shale.

geopressurized natural gas

-Natural gas dissolved in brine at Great Depths

-Deep Drilling is currently not economic

methane hydrates

Small bubbles or individual molecules of methane (natural gas) trapped in a crystalline matrix of frozen water.

clathrate

a compound in which molecules of one component are physically trapped within the crystal structure of another.

coal

A fossil fuel that forms underground from partially decomposed plant material

peat

partially decayed plant matter found in bogs

lignite

soft brown coal

bituminous

the second-purest form of coal.

anthracite

coal of a hard variety that contains relatively pure carbon and burns with little flame and smoke.