Scientific Concepts and the Natural World
RINT Task 1 Western Governors University
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The Earth’s Plate Tectonics
James Hutton was the first scientist to address the Earth was millions of years old, as well as alive and is continuously being formed. Charles Lyell popularized uniformitarianism, and believed the Earth was being shaped by slow moving forces. Alfred Wegener introduced the foundation for the theory of continental drift. Wegener was one of the first to recognize and have an understanding of how the Earth works which required data and information from earth sciences. In the 1960s, the theory for the continental drift became known as the theory of plate tectonics or plate building.
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One of the main lessons is that the tectonic forces are still highly active. This is because the quake happened near the fault lines of the Pacific and the North American plate. It shows that scientists are actually right in their findings that state that the world is ever changing. Another example of the lessons learned from the earthquake is the fact that the Earth is a bit unpredictable. Free Powerpoint Templates Page 9
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Scientific Understanding of the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 - Continued
• This earthquake may not have released all of the strain stored in its rocks next to the fault this reveals a potential earthquake in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the near future. The occurrence of the earthquake showed that the Earth did not exhaust all its strain and hence other earthquakes could be expected. However, the dates could not be predicted. The extent of the damage could have been much more devastating for the region, but with the earthquake occurring near the coast this made half of the felt area westward in the Pacific Ocean. The occurrence of aftershocks ten days later reinforces the unpredictability nature and hence makes Geology to be a study that is always evolving. In conclusion, the Earth and the study of cannot be exhausted as every natural occurrence provides a new puzzle to be solved.
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The three faults being considered are thought to have influenced the character of some 120,000 square miles. The Big Pine, Garlock, and San Andreas faults are all mutually active, deep, long, and steep and noted as being conjugate shears. In concert, the faults have defined a primary strain pattern of relative east-west extension and north-south shortening of the area of 120,000 square miles. The large region is noted for its deformity, with the source of this being a northeast-southwest counterclockwise compressive couple. The compressive couple was potentially supported through drag as a result of the deep-seated movement of rock material from the Pacific region (Hill & Dibblee, 1953). The interaction of the faults in the San Andreas region since the Jurassic period have served to shape and contour the present geology of the land, while a study of the paleontology of the region likewise requires such knowledge to effectively determine conditions at any given point in time.
Despite decades of research and the use of modern technology, scientists are still not able to detect in time an imminent earthquake. Even though seismologists mostly know where the faults are and are able to closely monitor the rate of activity on them ranging from a scale of a year to a decade and even a century, a solid short-term day to month forecasting in order to identify the places at risk, still is an insoluble problem. Although this may be true, some scientists in diverse fields choose to follow a different and a rather controversial approach on the subject by studying the unusual animal
In recorded history, there have been 151 earthquakes in Nevada that were a magnitude of 3.5 or higher. As previously mentioned, the mountain ranges of Nevada are typically bound on one side or the other by a fault. There are quaternary faults that range in ages from less than 150 years to around 1.8 million years in existence. The property damage in Nevada from earthquakes was .2 million dollars between 1196 and 2014 based on information from department of energy for the state. As we studied in our textbook, earthquakes can by a number of things, such as shifting faults, or volcanic
Initially, earthquakes shape the Earth’s surface by creating mountains and geysers. In the article “Historic Earthquakes,” it reads, “High intensities were observed in the northwest section of Yellowstone National Park. Here, new geysers erupted, and massive slumping caused large cracks in the ground from which steam emitted” (Stover 3). Consequently, when the geo-process of earthquakes occurs, it molds and changes the earth by creating new geothermal
Over more than 50 decades there has been multiple earthquakes that have been caused by the activity that takes place beneath and above the surface of the earth. For every earthquake there are various effects and consequences, these are generally not preventable but teachable moments. As we study and explore landforms we learn and better understand how today 's structures came about, what took place decades ago and where do we go from here. Thanks to the technology and inquiring minds we are able to study past events like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1964 Alaska earthquake. In comparing these two events we can get an overview of what happened and better prepare ourselves for something like that in the future.
In 2009, six seismologists and a civil servant failed to predict an earthquake that killed 308 people in Italy and were charged with manslaughter. They were sentenced to six years in prison. Only a century ago though, a German meteorologist named Alfred Wegener, was ridiculed for his idea about continental drift. To try to prove his idea, he cut out the continents from a map, stretched them, and fit them together. He also used the evidence that animals and plants on opposite sides of the world look very similar as well as the fact that layered geological formations on one side of an ocean look as though they could go together. For years after he presented this idea, it was attacked and not believed. In the mid-1960 the theory was finally accepted but Wegener did not live to see it.
The earthquakes above give a brief glimpse into the importance of analyzing past and present fault configurations. If scientists could make a breakthrough in this area perhaps we could better predict earthquake activity and better prepare ourselves if it is deemed a potential disaster is looming.
Alfred Wegener was a meteorologist and astronomer. He was the first scientist to introduce the theory of the continental drift. Wegener theorized that at one time the continents were one large landmass or Pangaea that had drifted apart. His ideas were initially rejected by other scientists. It was not until long after Wegener’s death that proof was obtained and his theory verified.
Alfred Wegener had a big role in the Continental Drift. Alfred Wegener is an explorer, German polar researcher, geophysicist, and a meteorologist. His theory on the Continental drift is that once all the continents were combined together called Pangaea. To help support his theory is the distribution of fossils, distribution of rocks and structures, and tropics.
The novel, A Crack in The Edge of The World, by Simon Winchester is a book that educates readers on plate tectonics and how the pushing and pulling of those plates has shaped, and in some cases destroyed, various pieces of the American west. Winchester's focus is on the earthquake that devastated San Francisco in 1906, but he also incorporates his travels across the North American plate and describes how nature and society has fused as one. His book explores constant shifts in time and the reader may find difficulty fully delighting in the never-ending stream of words. Nevertheless, the lengthy descriptions, sentences the size of paragraphs, and an excessive use of parentheses combine to paint a vivid image of the impact the earthquake had
According to a study conducted Christian D. Klose of Columbia University 's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, the quake was triggered by changes in tectonic forces caused by 200 years of underground coal mining. But even more significant was groundwater pumping needed to keep the mines from flooding. For each ton of coal produced, 4.3 times more water was extracted. The mass removal of coal and water caused an “unload” of the entire continental crust. In the case of mining, an unload is the reduction of weight in a certain area, e.g., black coal and water in a colliery. If it has enough time, the tectonic plate reacts to this unload by forming a small deformation. If it does not have enough time because the rate of mass removal is too high, a fault zone can be reactivated
This week we primarily studied the geoscientists rather than geoscience. To be a productive and successful geoscientists it important to think with a certain mindset. For example, when trying to analyze distribution of earthquake energy waves you must use spatial thinking. As learned, spatial thinking helps interpret and identify places, size, and trends of geographic connections. Developing this abstract way of thinking about the world around us helps scientists develop theories and create discoveries. Geoscientist also have a more realist view of the history of the earth. In order to gain a full understanding of the earth it is important to remember that its history goes far beyond mankind. The earth has experienced millions of years of evolution
Did you know that earthquakes can build mountains and volcanoes,destroy houses, lose of jobs, and it have even killed people.An earthquake is when two contients hit together really hard to form a volcanoes or mountains. Gondwana was from 250 years ago. In the blog, there was blue smoke everywhere and helicopters clatter the sky. In the news report, the Loma Prieta Earthquake, killed people and take lots of people out of their houses.In the insurance claim, it would cost over milloins of dollars to fix your home.Earthqukes have an effect on people, earth, and properties.
Developed from 1950’s to 1970’s, plate tectonics is the modern version of continental drift .This theory was first proposed by scientist Alfred Wegener in 1912. Plate tectonics is the unifying theory of geology that explains the structure of the earth’s crust.
It seems that the earthquake brought a trail of things that happen later. So we can learn for this that physical geography and human geography are connected and affects each other almost every time.