Environmental Geology

Earthquake

Occur at plate boundaries + stressed, deformed blocks of rock are held together by friction

Potential energy released in waves

Seismic Waves

Mechanical waves that distribute energy released in an earthquake

Focus

Origin of earthquake

Fault

Fracture where rocks on either side have moved relative to one another

Epicenter

Point at earths surface directly above earthquake focus

Prediction methods

Measure stain buildup in rocks + monitor seismic gaps

Moment magnitude scale

Measures energy released in earthquake

Richter scale

Measures ground shake, seismometer measures richter magnitude

Tsunami

Huge seismic, fast-moving sea wave ; destructive because it strikes objects with large mechanical force

Mechanics

Triggered by large disturbance; earthquake subduction

Volcano

Vent that allows heat to escape from earths interior

Shield volcano

Large broad slopes, fluid lava flow

Composite volcano

Steep and symmetrical, explosive eruptions

Cinder cones

Smallest, single vent, erupts cinders, ash and rocks

Ring of fire

Contains active subduction zones throughout region; home to 75% of worlds volcanoes

Hurricanes

Large rotating weather system around low pressure zone, measured on saffir-Simpson scale

Hurricane formation

Warm moist water evaporates and rises as water vapor, then it condenses

Warm air sucked into low pressure zone; gains energy as clouds form

Energy released called latent heat

Hurricane anatomy

Low pressure center called “the eye”

Warm air spirals around the eye and sucked upward across pressure gradient

Climate change

The average weather over decades or longer

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific time

Natural climate change

Solar output, interactions with space objects, earth and sun geometry, and more

Climate change effects

1.4F climate change means raised sea level, melting sea ice, migration of species, and more

Ice Age

Period with cold enough global average temperature that there’s glaciation

Albedo

Measure of surface reflectively; depend on color and chemical composition of a material

Greenhouse effect

Allows short wave radiation from sun to pass through atmosphere

Absorbed radiation is re-resisted as long-wave infrared radiation, heat