GeoCosmo is a non-profit research institute devoted to understanding and formalising the field of pre-earthquake science. The team comprises of a number of multidisciplinary and highly accomplished scientists whose mission is to understand pre-earthquake science with the goal of establishing a true global earthquake forecast system that could save billions of dollars and thousands of lives each year (GeoCosmo, 2015). NASA scientist, Dr. Friedemann Freund, is the chairman of GeoCosmo’s science team and was propelled into earthquake science when he discovered his theory of positive holes. Although pre-earthquake science has been deemed inherently impossible (Kagan, 1997; Geller, 1997), Freund has proposed and tested a number of theories that
The first few seconds of your first earthquake are disconcerting. You don’t know what’s happening. The undulation, the noise, the inability to focus -- it’s all disconcerting. But once you’ve been in a few, you know the feeling. You don’t relax, but you don’t panic, either.
• 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.
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
Patrick J. Buchanan wrote an article titled “Is This Our America Anymore?”, his position is anti-immigration and believes that America will not be ours anymore. Mr. Buchanan stated in his article “ The border will disappear, and America will be a geographical expression, not a country anymore”.(paragraph 14) Buchanan believes this because according to him “it will not be long before Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and Texas resemble California, which is on the brink of default¨.(Buchanan paragraph 12)
In conclusion the recent conception and development of plate tectonic theory has greatly aided our understanding of the distribution of seismic events. We now understand that there is a correlation between earthquakes/volcanoes locations and their proximity to a plate boundary plates are continually moving and earthquakes and volcanoes are found along these boundaries. Exceptions to this rule such as Hawaii also help prove tectonic theory due to their unique creation. Whilst this has helped our understanding we also recognise the fact those in LEDCs with poor access to education are unaware of plate tectonic theory so they cannot understand the hazards that some countries face, nor have the means to mitigate against them thus worsening the
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
What is interesting about this paper is the author’s purpose. It seems as though he is attempting to raise awareness and support geophysics. However, all the points he brings up to discuss he quickly refutes with dangers. This confuses the reader as the article is more intimidating rather than informational. The overwhelming sense of danger associated with each
A ‘hazard’ can be defined as a geophysical process operating within the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere or biosphere which could potentially lead to the loss of human life or property. However, an earthquake only becomes hazardous and therefore needs management if it occurs within close proximity to a vulnerable population. To some extent, any human settlement around the world situated close to or on top of an area of seismic activity is vulnerable. However, not all nations suffer equal devastation.
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.
Professor H.F. Reid introduced observations provided the basis for the landmark "theory of elastic rebound .This theory describes how the earth's crust gradually and elastically distorts with accumulating plate motion until it is suddenly returned to its undistorted state by rapid slip along a fault, releasing the years of accumulated strain and, in the process, generating seismic waves that produce shaking. Before 1906 and Reid's theory, this basic mechanical concept of earthquakes -- that the faulting causes the earthquake and that the earthquake does not cause the faulting -- was not well recognized as a universal principle applicable to the San Andreas
Much of the scholarly literature related to sinkhole science agrees that there is a lack of technology made specifically for sinkhole predication. This gap in the literature has influenced one of the sub-claims that will be discussed in this paper: sinkhole prediction technology is currently in its infancy. Some would argue that geographic information science (GIS) can be used to predict sinkhole development, but the antecedent conditions that lead to the development of sinkholes occur primarily underground, which makes sinkhole prediction using GIS difficult (Brinkmann, 2013, p.134). Intrieri et al (2015) expand on the current state of sinkhole
On January 12th, 2010, the small country of Haiti was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the city of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas (Haiti earthquake of 2010, 2015). The 30-second disaster was just the beginning of a collection of aftershocks that then struck the country relentlessly for days (Haiti earthquake of 2010, 2015). Many areas were reduced to rubble leaving approximately one million Haitians homeless and 350 000 dead and another 300 000 injured (Haiti earthquake of 2010, 2015). The ill-prepared country was sitting on two tectonic plates- the Caribbean and the North American, where there was slippage resulting in the earthquake (KS3 Bitesize Geography). Following the environmental catastrophe, the international community responded, and a relief effort began (Haiti earthquake of 2010, 2015).
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.
This is one, but not the only way to make the phenomenon we know as earthquakes. This fault has not only caused trouble in the past but is likely to bring devastating destruction in the relatively near future. San Francisco had an earthquake, because of this fault, in April 1906 killing over 700 people and causing millions in damage (San). If a new earthquake were to happen it would kill thousands of American citizens along the west coast. Consequently, there would be a major drop in population over there which could reduce the amount of production created in this region all tying back into why the geological aspect of America is a main determining factor for seeing the importance of why America has the properties it has and will have in the future.