Anush Shandilya Ganesh July 6, 2013

GOOGLE EARTH – TRACKING EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES

Earlier it was only possible for someone to track any geographical event through radio or TV news or so. Thanks to Google, the avenues for tracking such events have grown far beyond just media. The following information provides a list of selected recent earthquakes along various boundaries and 4 types of volcanic eruptions….

EARTHQUAKES:

1) The picture represents the details of the Earthquake that occurred in Indonesia on Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 9:24 PM Local Time. Indonesia is one of the Earthquake prone centers of the world. It is observed that the Magnitude noted was 4.7 with a focus depth of 35 Km which is considered moderate. It is also noted that the earthquake occurred near a Continental –Continental Convergence. The latitude noted is Epicenter.

2) A Magnitude of 4.7 is noted in the South Sandwich Islands region where the earthquake struck the Oceanic – Oceanic Convergence region. This occurred on Monday, July 8, 2013 at 6:09 AM. The focus depth thus notes is 54.90 Km which is quite intense. The latitude noted is Epicenter. The oceanic plates move in opposite directions thereby leading to earthquake as a measure to release strain.

Anush Shandilya Ganesh July 6, 2013

3) A high magnitude of 6.1 is noted in case of earth quake that had occurred in Solomon Islands. This occurred on Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 4:16 AM Local time. One of the factors noted for such a high magnitude notes is that, the convergence noted is Oceanic – Continental. The continental plates ground on one another and high strain is released in the form of earthquake. The focus depth is observed to be 72 Km.

Anush Shandilya Ganesh July 6, 2013

4) An earthquake occurred in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, a place which is prone to high magnitude land disruptions. This occurred on July 2, 2013, Tuesday, at 8:55 PM Local time. The location noted, being an island, the convergence seems to be Continental – transform boundary. The magnitude noted is 5.3 with a focus depth of 25.5 Km.

5) The picture shows the details of an earthquake that occurred in South Sandwich Islands Region on July 3, 2013, Wednesday at 6:16 PM Local time. The force noted is divergent which means that the oceanic plates ground on each other at the opposite direction. This has resulted in magnitude of 5.3 at a focus depth of 140.7 Km.

Anush Shandilya Ganesh July 6, 2013

VOLCANOES:

1) Yellowstone is an area found in Wyoming, USA. The eruption at an elevation of 2805 meter at a latitude of 44.43 degree N. This is one of the largest known eruptions of the world. The longitude noted is 110.67 degree W.

2) Pinacate is a roughly 55 x 60 km volcanic field in the Sonoran desert of Northwestern Mexico. Clinder Cones Volcanic eruption occurred at a Summit Elevation of 1200 + m with a latitude of 31.772 degrees N and longitude of 113.498 degree W.

Anush Shandilya Ganesh July 6, 2013

3) A massive eruption of shield volcano occurred in the Hualalai of Hawai Islands at a summit elevation of 2523 m. The Latitude noted was 19.692 degree N and longitude of 155.87 degree W.

4) Taburete Volcano rises above the Pacific Coastal Plain east of Rio LEmpa, El Salvador. The prominent Volcanic type found here is Stratovolcano at a summit elevation of 1172m. The latitude noted is 13.425 degree N and longitude of 88.532 degree W.

Anush Shandilya Ganesh July 6, 2013

Frankly, I have never been a big fan of studying geography as a subject. I like to have mini conversations on the earth and stuff but I have never had keen interest in studying it as a subject, taking tests and doing assignments! I took this class just because Physical Sciences is a requirement and that this class was online. A week or two into the course, my perspective complete changed! The way this course was designed really helped me look at geography in a different manner. Especially, with the continuous use of Google Maps, I found meaning to what I am studying and had a chance to apply and see every aspect is read about. After all that, I am able to take the subject in a much more interesting manner and study it with passion. I learnt a wide range of geographical aspects, which I ignored earlier in school, but my favorite parts of it were the Internal Processes and Mass Wasting. It gave a very good introduction to earthquakes and volcanos (the cool stuff as mentioned in the PowerPoint) which I really enjoyed reading about. I always knew the effects of an earthquake or a volcano but this reading introduced me to the causes. Mass Wasting was just too interesting to read. I still don’t understand why I enjoyed that so much though.

Reflection Questions:

1) Correlation between earthquakes and volcanoes with respect to the Theory of Plate Tectonics:

- The Plate Tectonics is the theory that the scientists use to describe the motion in the inner layers of the earth. The numerous plates that are found in the interior of the earth’s surface are of varied sizes. The plates are also continuously in motion at various speeds. Sometimes, the plates pull apart or slide by each other or even collide, creating tectonic activities. Such happenings are portrayed by the earth as earthquakes. Most of these activities occur in the boundaries of the plates.

- Similar to earthquakes, Volcanos are also a result of tectonic activities. Volcanic eruptions are essentially linked to two tectonic plate boundaries, namely convergent and divergent. Unlike earthquakes, volcanoes may also commonly occur in the intra-plate boundaries. They are common only in places where boundaries are continental-oceanic or oceanic-oceanic.

2) What is the spatial relationship that exists between earthquakes and volcanoes? - There are many studies that prove that there exists a spatial relationship between an

earthquake and a volcanic activity. Besides the effect on the tectonic plates, there may be other reasons like local population and similar aspects. The spatial relationship of earthquakes and volcanoes are prominently because of the dimension of their dislocation which may be in the form of fault sizes and earthquake magnitudes or intrusion size and volume. Seismicity in the immediate surroundings may increase when there are volcanic eruptions but when there is a large tectonic earthquake, it may result in a volcanic eruption even if the distance between the plates are huge. In many cases, the location of a volcanic activity is far from the location of an earthquake.

Anush Shandilya Ganesh July 6, 2013

3) Describe what you have learned from this course and this assignment about earthquakes and volcanoes and how your knowledge has now informed your worldview about natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes.

- As mentioned in my introduction, I really enjoyed learning about the cause and effects of earthquakes and volcanoes. The part I enjoyed the most was trying to find places that had the disasters based on different boundaries. I got an idea of how the boundaries are spread out and which countries are affected in what type of boundaries. I am not the best person to show interest over disasters, but I enjoyed doing this as much as I could. I never knew earlier that volcanic activities and earthquakes are related in a very close way. That part of the fact was a real surprise to me.

- Now whenever I hear or read about an earthquake or a volcano, I think about the boundaries naturally! Not that I am able to place them and locate the boundary in my head, but the fact that someone (ME) who never enjoyed geography in high school is able to relate to natural happenings was an interesting thing to me. I even tried to find the mild earthquake that happened in my home city a few years back. I wasn’t able to find it then but I was happy about the drive I had in me to apply the things I learnt in class. I also happened to come across a research article called “Tectonophysics” through which I gained a lot of information.

WORKS CITED:

http://www.volcanotectonics.de/reprints/Eggert_Walter_Tectonophysics2008.pdf

http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/plate-tectonics.html

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/plate_tectonics/rift_man.php