When Earth Attacks Study Guide Course outline: I. Lectures 1-2: Intro to Earth, Us, and Mitigation II.

Lectures 3-8: Volcanoes III. Lectures 8-10: Earthquakes IV. Lectures 11-12: Water I. INTRODUCTION TO EARTH, US, AND MITIGATION 3/6 Humans perpetuate an egocentric view of the world, in which the earth attacks us, when in fact we are the interlopers When earth attacks: geological processes like volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, hurricanes Us: biological creatures v. modern, high-tech, rich, and fragile civilization Volcanoes defined: mountains where magma (molten rock) erupts at Earths surface Earthquakes are dynamic, transient events that occur at earths faults wherein earths surface accelerates, and are relatively short (most last 2-3 minutes) May trigger landslides (perhaps best example of human stupidity as landslides occur repeatedly in the same area) (La Conchita California), tsunamis, (Japan 2011) or fires (San Francisco 1906) Kill so many people because the structures that we build are too weak, though we know how to build buildings better (problem: money) Example of successful buildings 1964 Niigata Japan buildings fell over but retained structure Type of soil also comes into play likelihood of building falling over depends on its connection to the soil beneath Droughts: great civilization killer Natural hazards from solid earth: earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides Natural hazards from atmos/ocean earth: hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis Small and everyday: severe weather, erosion/climate, some floods 3/8 Us as fancy creatures: we can no longer afford natural hazards because of the value we attach to stuff We feel rich because we are surrounded by powerful things that are cheap. Anything that takes that away is very damaging and costly (electricity) These natural hazards are natural, so we should not reverse these treads. But, we cant afford them. Assumptions (that must be changed): someone must pay Our understanding of these processes can reduce these hazards: MITIGATION, MITIGATION, MITIGATION Reduces: 1) death and 2) economic loss Everyday examples of mitigation: not living in hazardous area, motorcycle helmet, avoid paying for fender-bender car accidents by not driving in ice storms/ purchasing insurance Tornado storm cellars we seem to have lost this technology were more urbanized = less space, so it is more difficult to build cellars outside house A law necessitating storm cellars is under consideration. Why is this necessary? This technology is not lost, but only available to the rich In the US, whether you are killed or not in a natural disaster is determined

by whether you are rich or poor. Mobile homes especially vulnerable 3/13

Insurance can mitigate cost of tornadoes BUT: Californians cant purchase earthquake insurance, those who live in the flood plain cant get flood insurance Deadliest natural disasters are associated with water/drowning hurricanes, earthquakes Most in China: earthquakes, big rivers (which supports agriculture which supports high population density), formerly poor population and cheap housing Most expensive disasters occur in wealthy nations Japan, China, US, Italy have greater insured losses More recent disasters more costly Potential questions from section I: Where have the deadliest natural disasters most frequently occurred? (A: China) What makes China so vulnerable to devastating natural disasters? (A: 1. Transitioning between old, poor construction and its new status as a rich nation 2. Big rivers which support high population density are liable to flood 3. Frequent earthquakes because it is above a fault) What is the best definition of a volcano? What is the best definition of an earthquake? What are the two ways us can be defined? What are the implications of either definition? What are three secondary risks associated with earthquakes? (A: fires, landslides, tsunamis) Why are earthquakes so deadly? What country has done most to mitigate this risk? What type of natural disaster qualifies as the great civilization killer? What are the two types of damage mitigation seeks to limit? What factor best indicates whether one will survive a natural disaster?

II. VOLCANOES 3/15 Eruptive style 1: Passive basaltic, dark, smooth magma Ex: Hawaii Shield volcanoes low, round mound Eruptive style 2: Explosive style andesite magma light color, holes Shape: strato pointe, cone-shaped Ex: Mt. Fuji, Cascades Islands, Congo Volcanic belts along the rim of the Pacific basin on plate boundaries these are strato volcanoes Much of this belt (Ring of Fire) occurs below sea level Ex: Galapagos Islands, Easter Islands Underwater volcanoes contribute by far most to the worlds magma output Plate Tectonics Defined: The Earths surface is divided into a small number of tectonic plates with

irregular outline and varying size, each plate moves as if it were rigid, with all relative motion concentrated at the Plate Boundaries, and there are three types of plate boundary motion: divergent, or mid-ocean spreading centers; transform faults; and convergent, or subduction zones. 3 types of faults: 1) Divergent/mid-ocean ridge spreading centers 2 plates move away from each other Balsaltic magma coalesces in chamber 2) Transform faults Connect divergent and convergent schemes Common in oceans, not so much on land Ex: San Andreas fault 3) Convergent/subduction zones recycle rock of oceanic plate back into earths interior Build up stress and strain, which results in earthquakes Andesitic volcanoes on top of them because cold material is being put back into earth There are still volcanoes located far away from plate boundaries 3/20 Volcanoes: The Good Part of the earths natural system climate Provides raw materials for rich soils, which then support agriculture that feeds us Chemical cycles Gases like water, sulfur, carbon dioxide, and others are emitted from volcanoes Some are captures in rocks with vesicles, some are released into atmosphere CO2 emitted by mid-ocean ridges creates Greenhouse Effect/determines earths temperature Volcanoes maintain earths CO2 level Increase greenhouse gases absorb and re-radiate heat Colder temperatures occur at a higher level in the atmosphere than the ground the proper temperature of the earth is not at earths surface, but in the higher atmosphere Hot air on bottom, cold air on top in the troposphere requires cycle/ inversion this makes our planet more livable due to water vapor and carbon dioxide (two greenhouse gases) By giving us a warm temperature at the bottom of the troposphere, volcanoes have helped make our planet more livable Carbon emitted dictates type of soil (?) The long time-scale Carbon Cycle that determines the average Carbon dioxide concentration. Volcanoes are the key emission source Sulfur: The key gas for the short time-scale climatic effects of volcanic eruptions Responsible for lifting materials into stratosphere during eruption (Pinatubo), where those materials may remain for a long time Volcanic eruptions produce short-term global cooling Ex: Following Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 Volcanoes and Soil Rich soil (temperate climate): upper layer of organic rich (a couple meters deep) (decaying leaves), then decayed humus/minerals (magnesium, potassium, iron, etc. trace elements for plants from rocks why a rich soil is a young soil) Poor soil (tropical climate): shallow organic layer, high temperature + too much rainfall

+for a long time = trace atoms are gone (unless held by plants), mineral layer lacks these minerals All of the minerals are held in the trees Best soils: mid-latitude, temperate, North America, band in Northern Europe, East China, Argentina In some cases, due to previous episodes of volcanism Worst soils: Australia (mostly desert), South America (rain forests), tropical Africa (except Indonesia) Indonesia/Guatemala has rich soil because they have the occasional replenishment of their soil by new rock by volcanoes = rich agriculture 3/22 Volcanoes: The Bad Strato volcanoes at subduction zones are explosive and dangerous Andesitic magma erupts explosively whereas basaltic magma flows up and out due to differences in magma viscosity Andesitic magma: Source rock is green peridotite Why does cold water and other sediments (oceanic lithosphere) get subducted to produce andesitic magma? Current (questionable) theory: top of subductive slab is about 10 km, and at that pressure, water rises to higher temperature and minerals change. Water is released from rocks and migrates to mantle rocks (peridotite). Water then triggers melting of the rock, producing basaltic magma BUT: these volcanoes can erupt as andesitic change due to assimilation/contamination, fractional crystallization, magma mixing Viscosity: property of a fluid: low viscosity flows faster and further (water), high viscosity flows less (honey) Viscosity may change due to temperature changes warm v. cold honey the same with magma Basaltic magma has low viscosity Andesitic rock has high viscosity, so it may get stuck in the shallow magma changer Contains gases that provide pressure for eruption, creating fragmentation or bubbly flow. (like opening a Coke bottle) Volcano Hazards Pyroclastic flows: #1 hazard: hot, fast, lifted out of volcano Ex: Mt. Vesuvius near Naples (Pompei disaster), Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines (success in mitigation) Lahar: cooler, like a mudflow, but will still flow fast may flood villages Pyroclastic flow + water = fast mudflow Lahars more likely with capped volcanoes with ice and water on top (like Mt. Fuji, Mt. Ranier) Ex: Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia): high elevation, a lot of snow and ice lahars; in 1985, a lahar swept through the valley and killed 23,000 people who lived along the river valley Hazards: Local: pyroclastic flow/lahar Regional: ash

 Global: climate change 3/27 How do we mitigate these hazards? 3 Ps: prevention, prediction, preparation Cannot be prevented, but CAN BE predicted Preparation: hard to mitigate economic loss (houses), and evacuation requires a lot of preparation Zoning techniques Dont build on previous flows (to prevent lahar damage) People are tempted to live near lahar-prone areas (good soil) like Seattle-Tacoma area below Mt. Ranier Prediction Seismographs detect tiny earthquakes, and volcanologists know a volcano has entered its active phase always a precursor RSAM scale Instruments measures volcanic gases Mountains swell USGS alert levels: green, yellow, orange, red In sum: prevention no; prediction always; preparation yes, but problems of red tape and money Case Histories Mt. St. Helens (1980) Cost: 57 people killed, $3 billion Pyroclastic flow evolved into a mudflow with rain Predication: volcanologists told authorities zone around volcano should be evacuated, and authorities acted on that recommendation March 15-May 18: First small earthquakes, then stream eruptions, ash explosions, eruption Red and Blue zones declared by governor, and the system has been used ever since Red Zone evacuation saved an estimated 5,000 lives Exception: loggers (companies put pressure on governor to restrict Red Zone) and Harry Truman 53 people died outside of the Red Zone Real question: should governments use police power to save people from their own bad decisions or behavior? Should it matter if the nation is a democracy or a dictatorship? Mt. Pelee, Martinique (1902) Pyroclastic flow At least 25,000 killed, town devastated People encouraged to stay by politicians who needed a certain number of votes to legitimize their elections manipulated media, police Mt. Pinatubo, the Philippines (1991) Best example of success scientists worked with government officials Saved as many as 55,000 people American intervention (naval base) helped evacuation

Potential questions: What are the two types of eruptive styles of volcanoes? What types of magma are characteristic of each type of eruption? What shapes are these volcanoes?

What is viscosity? Which type of magma has higher viscosity? Why does cold water and other sediments (oceanic lithosphere) get subducted to produce andesitic magma? What type of volcano contributes most to earths magma output? What are the three types of faults and where are they found? What types of volcanoes are associated with each? What are two main benefits of volcanoes? What does CO2 emitted from volcanoes do? Sulfur? Carbon? What are the characteristics of good soil? Where is it found? What are the characteristics of bad soil? Where is it found? Expectations? Case histories: failure/success: Mt. Pinatubo, Mt. Ranier, Mt. St. Helens III. EARTHQUAKES 3/29 Earthquakes are dynamic, transient events Defined: Rapid shear slip across a fault surface Shear slip: sliding past one another, across fault surface against friction because of this stress, faults slip at a very fast velocity creating vibrations/ seismic waves 2 types of movement : stick/slip or slide smoothly (creep = no earthquake) Faults Strike slip fault (horizontal) Disruption documented by geologists by digging up layers of sedimentary rock Dipping at angle normal slides down, reverse Dip-slip see exposed fault surface Thrust/reverse rising rock falls down (would otherwise form an overhanging cliff) Rock so weak that it buckles and folds Greatest faults are at subduction boundaries (underwater) Nanki Trench in Japan Rapid slip generates earthquakes via seismic waves reflected off of earths surface, which creates shaking Amplitude decreases with distance (like ripples in a pond) Seismic waves are made up of both P waves (horizontal) and S waves (vertical) S waves responsible for earthquake damage Love waves: sideways, S-wave-like motion Rayleigh wave: rolly motion Wave amplitudes are largest in the epicentral region Maximum acceleration (change in velocity per time) is about 1 g vertical and horizontal We can withstand this shaking. The structures we build cannot, they aer vulnerable to horizontal, not vertical, g. This is dangerous because: structures fall, landslides triggered, tsunamis generated (fault beneath ocean lifts water above creating giant waves) 4/3 Almost all earthquakes are: shallow (in oceanic lithosphere), at plate boundaries, at subduction zones (around Pacific Ocean basin, Indonesian arc, Caribbean, Italy, Japan) Exception: Northeastern US in the middle of the plate, yet we still get earthquakes no explanation

How Big? Old-fashioned way: observed maximum intensity According to peoples reports Magnitude 1: Not felt except by a few under especially favorable conditions Magnitude 2: Felt only by a few persons Magnitude 5: boundary between we felt it and no economic danger or injuries/ both damage and injuries (equate to 4.0-4.9 on Richter scale); felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes, windows broken. Unstable objects overturned. Some pendulum clocks may stop. Does measure things we are interested in related to mitigation Now Measured by magnitude First introduced by C. Richter in the 1930s to measure California earthquakes Seismic waves (S waves) amplitude recorded by seismograph proportional to log10(max Amp) at a standard epicentral distance Find the largest wave amplitude, take the log10 of this value, correct for the distance from epicenter to seismograph = magnitude Problem with this method: saturation of waves (especially after magnitude 8) Gutenberg and Richters MS scale solved this problem: In a typical year, well have 1 magnitude = 8+ earthquake, and about 1 magnitude = 7 earthquake each month Magnitude 6-7: 250 per year Magnitude 5-6: 3,500 per year Magnitude 4-5: 50,000 per year Isoseismal Maps show earthquake intensity observations Earthquake Engineering If less than a magnitude 5 with well-built structures, we should be okay Bad engineering decision: false brick store-fronts, build on soft water-saturated sediments (hard rock holds well), parking garage under building, build in plains Soft sediments especially harmful in 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in California Ex: 2010 Haiti Earthquake (M=7) was not horrible because of the shaking, but because the buildings were poorly constructed Engineers may want to build safe buildings, but due to economic, fashion, and social/ political concerns, they are forced to build cheap structures Structures fail because: Ground/soil beneath buildings and roads and pipelines fails due to shaking (landslides) Soil compaction and liquefaction Liquefied soil Alaska 1964 Soil compaction 1964 Japan Horizontal acceleration (like wind) What to do: shear bracing (triangles), tough roofs and walls, joints, wood-frames (but only in rich countries with forests) Materials from best to worst: wood frame, steel framework (necessary for taller buildings), steel-reinforced concrete (flexible, versatile) Good engineering decisions: symmetric structures, small windows tip over but maintain integrity Bad engineering decision: un-reinforced walls (mud in poor countries), heavy roofs,

Potential questions:

o What is an earthquake? 7

o What is a shear slip? o What are the two types of movement along faults? o At what type of plate boundaries do most earthquakes occur? o Compare and contrast new and old methods of observing earthquake intensity. o What number on the scale represents the boundary between some harm and serious shaking? o Describe how Gutenberg and Richters method of predicting earthquakes works. o What type of sediments are most stable during an earthquake? o What are examples of good earthquake engineering decisions? Bad decisions? o Describe soil compaction and liquefaction.