December 17th

Today in class we began with a quiz on predicting the epicenter, magnitude and distance of an earthquake. Then we were allowed time to work and our towers and complete the packet on Locating the Epicenter of the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. Tomorrow we will be testing our towers!!!!

Scribe 12/16/09

Hello!

Today we worked on our "locating the epicenter" packet and made sure we could find the time an earthquake occured by the distance to the epicenter and the time of p-wave arrival. Make sure you know how to do everything because we have a 25 minuete quiz tomorow!! oh and tomorow is the last day to finnish towers, and we have to finnish the packets.

P.S Glue strings will work!!

BOOK REVIEW

I found Osha Gray Davidson's Fire in the Turtle House to be the single most emotional book I have read in my entire life. I literally could not go a page without a tear trickling down my face. When I was young, I "adopted" a sea turtle by paying for it to be tagged. I named her Snaps, and I always wondered what happened to her. It has been ten years and I figured she had passed away. This book made me realize that there is a great chance she was diseased with fibropapillomatis, or FP. This disease, with the cause unknown, causes many tumors containing leeches to affect sometimes the entire body of a sea turtle. What scared me was that prior to reading this book I considered myself relatively knowledgeable about sea turtles; however, I had never heard of FP. The shred of hope is that there are people who dedicate their life to the cause. There is even a turtle hospital dedicated to surgically helping turtles diseased with FP, as well as those injured by fishing equipment, etc. I cannot help but hate mankind for killing them for food and leather. This concept opened a discussion in my head. What was wrong about killing a turtle for meat but not a chicken? Both are God's creatures. I think the author does a fantastic job of conveying the rarity, beauty, and fragility of sea turtles. I feel honored to be a sea turtle lover because the author writes that lovers of cold-blooded animals are far. The author made me then realize how the Earth is mostly composed of oceans, and that the biodiversity will be significantly affected by potential extinction. Although no species of sea turtles have become extinct yet, I can only pray that they will not turn out like the sea cow. Although I understand that early settlers in America were extremely limited with food, it is still a struggle for me to forgive them for eating sea turtles as a method of survival and increased health. The author does a fantastic job of putting the issue into a historical context that really made me reevaluate my morals and that of mankind. Overall, this book was extremely well written and interesting. It was chock full of description and scientific terms and statements did not overpower the power. This is an extremely important book for people to read and I think even someone with the heart of a rock would be touched by it.

12/15/09

Well, we started off class today by a current events from Madeline which convieniently had to do with Earthquakes, the current topic we're learning about. After her current events, we worked on our towers. Today was the second to last day to finish working on them. Thursday we will get to continue working on them and on friday we will get to test them. For homework tonight, we had to complete a worksheet. Well, that was about it today!

New study cites lower rate of quakes along some subduction zones

This article from "Geology News" immediately caught my attention because it is so exciting to be able to relate to the outside world what we have learned in class. We all know that most earthquakes essentially form along fault lines. This article addresses the question of "is there a corresponding increase in the number of earthquakes along a fault as the speed of the fault increases?" The new study published in the recent December issue of BSSA shows that this correlation depends on the type tectonic plate boundary. The scientists involved looked at plate velocity and found that it stayed consistent along continental faults but earthquake productivity decreased with increasing spreading rate along ocean ridges. With a little more research, this could show that these areas in subduction zones are potentially safer. The more we can find out about which areas are most likely to have a catastrophic, the better. Thanks to this knowledge in California, there are many many precautions.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/ssoa-nsc120309.php

Monday, December 14

I was not in class yesterday due to a church retreat; however, I think I can gage relatively well what went on thanks to the weekly syllabus. Greg most likely started off the class with his currents events blog about how new discoveries could help predict climate change. Then you guys took notes on locating the epicenter of an earthquake, followed by an activity. The earthquake research questions were due today, and we will be testing the towers on Friday (not Thursday!). Before then it looks like we are going to be working on our towers as well as a Sumatra Quake activity!

Book Review

Defense of Food is a book that looks in to something that is so vital our health, what we eat. It talks about how for the past 30 years we have slowly been replacing real food in our lives with nutrients. And how “nutritionism”, the nutritional value of a food is the sum of all its individual nutrients, vitamins, and other component, is actually making Americans unhealthier. He also argues that nutritionism is leading to western diseases such as diabetes, heart problems, and obesity. The author Michael Pollan luckily offers a healthy escape from our Western Diet and it actually is extremely simple just eat food, not too much, and mostly plants. He also focuses a lot on just enjoying what you’re eating, and if you don’t eat too much you should be fine. I liked this book because you can really see how it relates to all the food around us. I also liked it because it made me think about my health and what I’m putting into my body. So I would recommend this book to anyone interested in health otherwise it could be a long read.

How New Discoveries Could Help Predict Climate Change

So unfortunately I couldn't find much on earthquakes, however I found something I find more important as it affects everyone on the globe. That is, as you probably guessed it, climate change; good thing though that this is some good news. Recently scientist are discovering a way to look at the ocean temperature to predict the climate change of the surface. How are they doing this, you may ask. Well, by creating a 3D model of an ocean from a past warm period and then comparing it to a similar model of a warm period 3.3 million years ago, scientists have discovered that the middle level stayed relatively the same, but that the deepest parts would change climate. More specifically one degree higher than it is now. That's quite impressive that the globe warming isn't just affecting the surface but also the deepest parts of the ocean. But why does this matter? Well by understanding the change in the ocean and comparing to the climate 3.3 million years ago, scientists can use this to again predict future changes. Sorry no picture, not much to see.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091211131605.htm

Friday, December 11th

I wasn't in class on Friday because I was sick so I'm going to have to guess what we did. We took a quiz on earthquakes and then continued to work on our towers is what was supposed to happen. What I did on Friday was, since I was sick, sleep until 12:30 then watch TV. Remember that the essay questions are due on Monday and that they are important for your final tower grade! Thats about it.

Can We Predict Earthquakes? Not quite yet...

The article I read has to do with a new model that has been developed in California by Danijel Schorlemmer that is said to be able to forecast future earthquakes.  The model was developed by looking at the different amounts of stress caused by different fault lines.  Stress deep below the earth's surface is thought to be the cause of earthquakes, and the amount of stress is thought to be how large of an earthquake it will be.  The model measures the stress and location of each earthquake, and depending on the results and fault line the earthquake occurs on, predicts how large and where the next earthquake might occur.  The model is not perfect, and has not yet been proven to be effective.  It also has a lot more development to undergo.  Unfortunately, scientists are still not close to being able to tackle the challenge of finding out when exactly the next earthquake may occur.  This is still a very ground-breaking idea, because the more preparation and information people and scientists have on the topic of earthquake forecasting, the better.

I found this article to be very relevant to the topics that we are currently discussing in class.  In fact, we just read an article talking about early warning systems for earthquakes.  Those systems are designed to react rapidly to an already occurring earthquake and send out information to people in affected areas to be prepared.  These systems only give the people a few seconds to prepare.  A model that predicts the location and severity of an earthquake, even not giving the time, would at least let people in the area know what they are going to be dealing with.  Just knowing that it will happen, even not knowing the timing, will potentially save lives.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091203171712.htm

http://www.alpinesurvival.com/px-earthquakes-map_us.gif (map showing severe US quakes)

Hawaii and Seismometers

Scientists have thought for a while now that Hawaii was formed from a mantle plume, "an upwelling of hot material from deep within the earth", but not all scientists have agreed on this theory. Shear waves (S-waves) travel more slowly through higher temperature areas of the mantle. Scientists can use seismographs from earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or more to put together 3-D pictures of the mantle, and they have. In the past, the only thing that was holding scientists back was that they couldn't find a way to put seismographs in the ocean surrounding Hawaii, but now they've managed to put some on the seafloor surrounding Hawaii and using the data from these seismographs, scientists have found that there is a very large mantle plume under Hawaii that extends 900+ miles into the mantle. This new evidence has got supporters of the plume theory very excited and naysayers are cautiously beginning to agree with the theory. More analysis will have to be done to truly prove the theory, but this has definately helped the theory.

Link to article

Thursday, December 10th

Today, we went over one of the questions on the homework about early warning systems for earthquakes, then we carried on working on our buildings for the double period. That's what we did for the rest of the periods. Most people have at least their first floor up and some have more than that. Also, some people are starting to run out of wood, so if you have spare wood, share it :) Tomorrow we have a quiz on what we've learnt so far about earthquakes - seismic waves and finding the distance to the epicenter from seismographs.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

In Thomas Friedman’s Hot. Flat, and Crowded, the Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times journalist, argues that our planet has become Hot, flat and crowded. The temperature rise from global warming, the flattening from the internet and globalization era, and the rise in population are creating economical and ecological problems for our Earth. The connections that Friedman makes are mind blowing. For example, how rising oil prices cause us to finance both sides of the on Terror and how changing just a few items in WalMart saves this country billions of dollars. Friedman discusses how the solution to global warming will greatly benefit our economy. This proposed Gr War een Revolution would create green technologies and alternative energy and would also generate billions in revenue that would help our country out of its financal woes. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who cares about the future of this planet, of this country, of their children, of their children’s children, or of themselves. Thomas Friedman’s Hot. Flat, and Crowded does a great job of presenting evidence and his presenting solutions to this global problem.

Scribe, Wednesday December 9th

Today in class we took a break from building our towers, and instead learned how to read seismograms! We first learned how to identify the arrival of p-waves, s-waves and surface waves on a seismogram. The p-waves always arrived first, and were the smallest, and then the s-waves arrived, and lastlythe surface waves (which were the largest). We then learned how to use the difference in the arrival times of the P and S waves to determine how far away from the epicenter of the earthquake the seismograph was. With using a graph depicting the amount of time it took for the s or p wave to travel a certain distance we were able to apply the time delay between the two waves to discover the seimograph's distance from the epicenter. We recieved a white packet called "reading seismograms" in class today so if you were absent make sure to pick one up.

December 8th

Since we had no class on Monday, this was our first day back from the "long" weekend. We continued to build our towers today. That's about it. Many groups are starting to glue their wood to their base, creating tall structures. Although they may start to look tall, the towers are far from done. Today, towers were being constructed, groups were fighting for control of the hair dryer and Patrick was doing as little possible for my group. That being said, it was still a productive day.

Pompeii

Robert Harris’ Pompeii is a novel that tracks the effects of Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption on the Roman town of Pompeii. This was a very engaging story because Harris includes interesting details that elaborate on the town’s culture and traditions. This helped to remind me that although Pompeii is a novel, it is based on a true, historic occurrence. Also, it was very effective how Harris weaved in information about the fictional characters with real, scientific events, such as earthquakes, that foreshadowed Mt. Vesuvius’ eruption. Although it was not my favorite book due to its very slow start, I did learn a great deal about volcanoes and the historical eruption from it. So if you are someone who loves learning about the science and social effects of volcanoes, then this book is perfect for you!

Earthquake Map

This is a map of the most recent earthquakes (in the last seven days) that are over 2.5 on the richter scale. This map shows 183 earthquakes, most of them located around the pacific rim. Also, most of them are at least a 5.0 or higher on the richter scale. Some of the main locations and magnitudes are a 5.4 on December 6th on the Kashmir-Xinjiang border region (not along the pacific rim); a 5.4 on December 2nd in Samar, in the Philippines; a 5.2 on December 1st in the New Britain Region, in Papua New Guinea; and a 5.0 on December 3rd in Tonga. Most of the world's earthquakes (90% of them, and 81% of the largest ones) are located along the Pacific Ring of Fire. The other ten percent are located other places around the world. The United Kingdom's earthquake recurrences, for example, are about a 3.7-4.6 every year; a 4.7-5.5 every 10 years; and a 5.6 or larger every 100 years. The magnitude of earthquakes along the Ring of Fire are much higher and occur much more frequently than in The United Kingdom.

Alaskan Village Slipping into the Sea

When scientists gather to speak about global climate change (like at the Copenhagen convention) they usually talk about its effects in terms of 50-100 years. However, global warming is already making its mark on a small Eskimo village located 20 miles south of the Arctic circle in Alaska known as Shishmaref, which is slowly being engulfed by the surrounding sea. Because global temperatures are slowly rising the sea ice that surrounds this small village and protects it from erosion from pounding ocean waves is beginning to melt. Because of this one house has already fallen into the sea, and thirteen other families have been forced to move their homes farther inland. As the sea continues to advance on the village many have been forced to abandon Shishmaref and their traditional culture in search of a safer place to live. Scientists estimate that in addition to the 600 people living in Shishmaref, another 150 million may soon become "climate refugees" because of our planet's rising temperatures. As world leaders meet in Copenhagen, Denmark this week three students from Shishmaref have traveled to the convention to provide witness to the devastating effects of climate change.

What interested me about this article is that our society is constantly bombarbed with facts like, "the worlds oceans could rise 1.4 metres by 2100". Although this is a scary fact, it may not move as many people to action because it may happen 90 years from now. However, this story about Shishmaref is happening right now, and will allow people to see the devastating effects of rising global temperatures on our earth today.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/12/03/shishmaref.alaska.climate.change/

Greenhouse Gas Carbon Dioxide Ramps Up Aspen Growth

It turns out that the rising level of CO2 in the atmosphere is doing more than changing the climate; it's also causing aspen trees to grow faster. Scientists have found that over the past 50 years, these trees' growth rates have gone up by 50%, along with the CO2 amount in the atmosphere. This was done through taking samples of tree's rings (which hold records of the tree's growth). This discovery is important because forests play a big role is regulating the Earth's climate by offsetting the increase of greenhouse gases. This is done by extracting CO2 from the air and converting it into food through photosynthesis.

However, though unknown, the effect these rapidly growing trees may have on the climate is widespread. Because aspen trees are considered "foundation species" in North America, they hold a strong influence on other plants and animals North American forest ecosystems. Scientists are predicting that this new growth could have effects on slower growing plants and their ability to persist (get enough light). If these plants lose their light/food source, they could die off, completely changing the ecosystem. Also, the growing trees will continue to soak up CO2, but won't use excess CO2, which contributes to the greenhouse gases.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091204092445.htm

Friday 12/4

Because we had an early dismissal on Friday, we had a 50 minute period to continue working on our towers. The drawings were finished and Ms. Meyer approved them before we could start working on the towers. We were given 18 sticks of balsa wood, 4 metal plates, glue, a wood base, rulers and Exacto knives and began to construct! By the end of the period, I'm pretty sure that everyone had glued their bases down and started putting up the sides of the tower. It also seems like many groups have decided to put balsa wood in x-shapes along the sides of the towers and beneath the plates. Hopefully this will work when we test the towers against the earthquake simulator! May the best tower win.. :)


Though our towers aren't going to be this detailed, this replica of the Eiffel Tower is completely made of balsa wood!

What to Do in the Event of an Earthquake

Many People are constantly endangered by earthquakes and need to be aware of what to do in the event of an earthquake.

First

* If you feel an earthquake starting, hide under a durable desk or table. This is in order to protect your head from falling objects.
* Open front doors and windows to ensure that you can get out if you need to. Doors can become damaged and stuck in the event of an earthquake.
* Severe shaking lasts only about a minute. Remain calm, before carefully heading outside the building.
* If you are driving, stop the car at the left side of the road, and turn off the engine. If you need to evacuate, it is recommended that you don't use your car but walk for your safety.


Preventing Earthquake-Related Fires

* Once the shaking stops, put out fires immediately. Do not attempt to do so during the earthquake. This is extremely dangerous.
* Close the gas valve so that no gas escapes.
* If you leave your home to evacuate, turn off the breaker so that the electricity will not come on.
* If a fire starts, put it out immediately with a fire extinguisher, or with water, before it spreads. Shout “Fire!” loudly to alert people in the neighborhood and have them help you put out the fire.


Evacuating

* It may be dangerous to venture outside, so check your surroundings carefully before doing so.
* If you need to leave your home to evacuate, remember that protecting your body is the most important.
* If you are unsure of where to evacuate, go to a public space, park, or elementary/junior high school near you.
* Do not go into narrow streets, and avoid walls, which can be dangerous.
* If you need to take shelter, walk for your safety. Do not use your car. Because of causing traffic jam.
* Take only necessary items with you.
* If you are near the ocean when an earthquake occurs, be aware of the danger of tsunamis, and immediately take shelter on high ground.
* Stay away from mountainsides or cliffs, as there is a danger of landslides.
* Turn on the television or radio to get correct information. listen to police or fire department announcements.


http://www.city.kawasaki.jp/73/73soumu/foreigner/english/bosai/jishin.htm

2012? Nope, try 2014

While the world was still getting over its 2012 fever, a new report by the World Wildlife Fund declares that the world must make a significant shift to green technologies by 2014 or the damages of climate change could become a serious problem. In association with an Australian company, Climate Risk, the say that green industries need to grow at a minimum of 22% a year. If we do increase our green industries by 22%, we will cut our emissions to 63% of what they were in 1990 by 2012. The WWF believes that the doomsday scenario is a 2 degree rise in temperature. The best way to prevent that from happening is to cut 1990 emissions by 80% by 2050 , which requires us to grow green industries by 24-29% every year. Now, our climate has greenhouse gasses totaling to 463 parts per million. Once we hit 475 ppm, which we are very close to doing, it would be come difficult if not impossible to stop global warming. President Obama and the U.K. have already started to do what they can to slow down global warming, but green industries haven’t been growing as fast as the WWF would like to see. The WWF thinks that by 2014, the only green energies we will be using are: wind, solar, and biodiesel. If we don’t start growing our green economy by 2014, according to WWF, we will start to see the effects of global warming very soon.

I found this article very interesting, especially in an economic situation like we are in today. If our country needs to start finding green energy, people should start investing money and that would create jobs. With a staggering unemployment rate and hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grant money, why cant people begin to work on green energy. Jobs would be created, new profits to help our economy would be created, and greenhouse gas emissions would slow down. I see no disadvantages to switching to a green economy.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-10/wwf-report-we-have-until-2014-stop-global-warming

Thursday 12/3

Today in class we began the Earthquake Engineering Project.  In this project we get the chance to play architect and design and build our own building structured as best as possible to withstand the effects of an earthquake.

Our job for today's class period was to draw out the design for our buildings, which we will start to construct tomorrow.  We will have about 8 days to work on the construction in class.  On thursday the 17th our completed towers will be tested.  A cool earthquake simulator that Ms. Meyer has will simulate the effects of the earthquake.  If your tower withstands an earthquake, the magnitude on the simulator will be increased.  The person or group who have the longest lasting tower, will get some extra credit.

Specifications:

Height- 15 inches

Width-4 inches

Depth- 4 inches

We will only get the supplies that Ms. Meyer gives us in class, so do not bother going out and buying any wood, that is totally cheating.

http://jazba.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/earthquake-gallery-3.jpg

Lake Kivu

In the Congo there is a lake, Lake Kivu. By crouching in the wrong area near this lake people have died. Beneath Lake Kivu’s surface (and along its shores) there are large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide. People are killed instantly if they stand within an invisible bubble of Carbon dioxide.
The recent eruption of Mount Nyiragongo brought scientists attention to this lake. 392 billion cubic yards of carbon dioxide, and 78 billion cubic yards of methane are slowly building up beneath Lake Kivu. Another eruption of Mount Nyiragongo (which, conceivably, could take centuries) or an eruption of Mount Nyamulagira (which is Africa’s most active volcano) could set off a gas release!
This would be devastating. There have been two other instances like this, in the mid-1980s on a lake in Cameroon 1,700 people were killed. But Lake Kivu is hundreds of times bigger, and according to scientists the gas trapped underwater is even bigger!
This lake could possibly be a great resource for humans. Many companies want to extract Methane from the lake. And if scientists could have access to the lake and the volcanoes, they could be monitored closely and if there was a chance of an eruption or gas release something could be done. But because of war and the fact that resources are scarce in the Congo it is difficult to monitor such things.
To me this is very frightening! The fact that so many lives could be lost because political issues in the Congo prevent scientists from monitoring this lake closely is unbelievable. Another issue that arises is the ethical questions that come from letting people live so close to a lake this dangerous. Nearly 100 people die each year from being trapped in carbon dioxide bubbles, and that is a small fraction compared to the number of deaths that would come if the gas were released. How can we help these people, and how can we prevent more deaths? It is a dangerous situation, and I hope is can be resolved soon.

Kron, J. (2009, November 6). Deadly Gad Flows Add to Lake's List of Perils. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/ world/africa/06kivu.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=volcanoes&st=cse

Wednesday 12/2

Today in class we did a lab with slinkys. The point of the lab was to determine which wave traveled faster, a transverse (s for secondary or shear) or a longitudinal (p for primary) wave. We used stop watches to time how long it took the waves to move from one partner and reach the next. The lab also provided a good visual for how both waves move. Secondary waves are slower than primary waves; they will hit a city after the primary wave has. Secondary waves move perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. In the lab, swinging your arms right to left created the snake-like s waves.

Primary waves arrive to a city first; they are faster than secondary waves. Primary waves move back and forth, in the same direction of motion of the wave. In the lab, one partner grabbed a bunch of slinky and compressed it, and then let the compressed slinky go. These waves were harder to see.

After the lab we got our volcano tests back. We also got another hand out on the two different types of waves along with a packet for our next project. In the project we will be making a tower that can withstand an "earthquake". The homework for the night was just to read over the packet.

Kilauea Is Ruining Agriculture in Hawaii

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11592445



In this article by Brooks Baehr, apparently Kilauea, the Hawaiian shield volcano that's been erupting for a long time, is starting to ruin crops by means of its volcanic fog, or vog as it's lovingly known by.

The Hawaiian government has declared the situation as a disaster and tell farmers they may have to borrow as much as $500,000 to cope with the problems the volcano is causing like 2,000 to 2,500 metric tons of sulfur dioxide being emitted.

The Hawaiian farmers are losing money in the process, temporarily putting farming at a stanstill.

"'We've only got about three plants left after about 181 is what we started with and we've only got three that are trying to survive. It's also impacted our cattle as far as the grass not recovering the way it usually does,' Phil Becker told Hawaii News Now." (Baehr 1). This was a farmer who was interviewed. He seems pretty distraught.

I hope the government can step in and contact somebody who can help with this natural issue. Hawaiian islands, because they are made up of volcanic soil, are especially fertile, so when the volcanoes themselves are destroying the crops, that is not a good thing. In addition, I think Hawaiian coffee is delicious and don't want to see any sort of decline in the coffee bean production.

Predicting Earthquakes

Scientists are trying to figure out a way that they can monitor earthquakes, and ultimately they would like to be able to say what hte probability is for a specific earthquake, on a particular fault in a given year. But it is hard to discover this information accurately.

One method scientists use, is to study the past history of earthquakes on a fault. By studying the past frequency of large earthquakes they can determine the future likelihood of large quakes. However, the occurence of an earthquake is not entirely random, beause as strain is released during an earthquake along on portion of the fault line, it can increase along another part.

Another method it to study how fast strain accumulates, and how much strain was released during the last earthquake, and how much time has pasted since the last earthquake. They can then use an equation to discover when a quake is coming. However, this is difficult becuase using this method requires very detailed information, and the likelihood of this information being available is very small. Finding an effective way of predicting earthquakes can ensure saftely for many more people, but we need to find an productive and efficient way.

unit question 1

Well, in deciding between whether the formation is either a rock or a mineral, there are many thngs that one must look at. First of all, rocks are made out of minerals so whatever is a rock it is a mineral also, but all minerals are not rocks. If it is a mineral there are many tests that one can go about to figure out what mineral it is. You can look at the cleavage of the mineral, the hardness of the mineral, the color and texture of the mineral. And if it is a rock there are many tests one can do to figure out what rock it is. You can look at the rocks' grain size, the color, and so on and so on. Now, to determine whether or not it is a mineral or a rock, this gets trickier. Minerals won't have different grain sizes because they are minerals that have not formed into rocks yet. In most rocks you can tell that there is a mixture of substances. However, there are a couple minerals that are also rocks so at this point it would probably be of best interest to use a chart to help determine which type of mineral or rock it is. By using a chart you can determine if it is a rock or a mineral and then determine which type of rock/mineral it is. Some stumbling blocks that you might come across when trying to make this distinction is that there are not a lot of qualities about either rocks or minerals that makes them extremely distinghishable. One might just have to run many tests and compare with charts to figure it out.

Pompeii

I was originally attracted to the novel Pompeii for two reasons: one because I had always wanted to learn about the historic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii as well as other cities and because I thought it sounded like the most interesting book on the book list to me. Overall, I think this was quite a good and interesting book however, for the majority of the first half of the book it is mostly set-up and clues that show Mt. Vesuvius is soon to erupt. I also found myself getting confused a lot between the characters insanely similar Greek names. This I found a tad boring, but once the eruption started happening it got interesting. I also think that if I had known more about volcanoes when I read the book that I would have found the first part of it more interesting. When we did our volcano unit we learned about some signs that show a volcano is soon to erupt. I probably would have found the first part more interesting with this information because I would almost be able to discover for myself the clues that meant a volcano was on the rise. Overall, I would say I enjoyed this book and that it was a god read.

Pompeii Book Review

Pompeii by Robert Harris was the book I chose because it was a novel and I was way more interested in reading a novel than a non-fiction book. Pompeii combined a good amount of scientific information but, was focused more on being a mysterious story. Pompeii gave great insight to the remarkable disaster that unexpectadly destroyed a civilization. Harris sets up a interesting story and engages readers by twisting dramatic side stories into the main focus of the book, the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. In the beginning of the book I found it difficult to enjoy reading because of all the boring set up and the confusing Roman names. So, be ready to read 250 pages of agonizing set up. But, finally as the eruption draws nearer, he mixes in a fictional love story and bits of greed with the chaos of Pompeii and you become sucked in. By the end of the book you will find it hard to put down the book and I loved the last 100 pages. I would definitely suggest this book, but be prepared for a slow start. I give the book 3 stars out of 5.

TYPES OF VOLCANOES

The foundation of our unit, literally, is the structure of volcanoes. It is imperative to be able to distinguish the four main types of volcanoes. Here I have them grouped by the different subcategories, which makes it easier to compare volcanoes

STRUCTURE:

Shield-quietly sloping, domeshaped mountain

Cinder Cone-narrow base and steep sides

Stratovolcano-large coneshaped mountain

Caldera-composite with a collapsed crater

ERUPTION:

Shield-quiet lava flows

Cinder Cone-explosive eruptions

Stratovolcano-explosive eruptions

Caldera-most explosive

COMPOSITION:

Shield-basaltic

Cinder Cone-pyroclastic material

Stratovolcano-layers of rock particles

Caldera-layers of rock particles

EXAMPLE:

Shield-Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Cinder Cone-Paracutin, Mexico

Stratovolcano-Mt. Vesuvius, Italy

Caldera-Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming

Types of Eruptions

There are 4 types of volcanic eruptions and let me tell you a little bit about each of them.

• Plinian eruptions are the most explosive and dangerous eruptions. Plinian eruptions are the eruptions that explode a large ash explosion into the air and are followed by viscous lava flows and the most dangerous pyroclastic flow. Pyroflastic flow occurs when the ash cloud becomes to dense to support itself so it collapses and rushes down the volcano destroying anything in its path. Yeah John Cusack you would be dead.



• Vulcanian eruptions are also dangerous but they just erupt lots of ash. Pyroclastic flows do occur but the amount of ash is not as great so therefor vulcanian eruptions are not quite as deadly as plinian eruptions.



• Strombolian eruptions shoot fairly viscous lava into the air and down the volcano.



• Hawaiin volcanoes like their name are based upon the volcanoes in Hawaii. The Hawaiin eruptions occur over a vent where lava is forced out, but the lava has a very high viscosity so the lava is slow moving and not very dangerous.

Deforestation Linked to Ancient Eruption

When one thinks of the hazards of volcanoes, what comes to mind are the immediate dangers of ash and lava. On an even bigger scale, volcanoes can even cause slight global cooling. What is often overlooked, however, is volcano eruptions effect on deforestation. A news article posted today cites how a volcano eruption has deforested central India, according to scientists. What is most interesting, is that the volcano to blame erupted 73,000 years ago. It was the volcano Toba that blocked solar radiation for six years and plummeted the world into an ice age. But it is just recently that scientists have linked this catastrophic eruption to deforestation in India. Toba ash was first discovered in 1980, and now new pollen analysis shows the widespread loss of ferns. This shows the dry vegetation after the eruption because ferns thrive in humid environments. It is important to remember the extreme long lasting effects that volcanic eruptions have.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/91511A4AF9C3F20F8625767E00032872?OpenDocument

Monday 11/30

Today, we learned that Ms. Meyer's hard drive had unfortunately crashed, so we had to re-submit our volcano quizzes so she could get the grades back she had lost. After that, we did some review in small groups for our test on volcanoes tomorrow, which will be (if memory serves correct) approximately 30 multiple choice questions with some short answer mixed in. Good luck to everybody!

Volcano Quiz review

We will review for the test tomorrow by reviewing the quiz we took earlier.

1. This type of volcano forms by a series of alternating lava flows and pyroclastic explosions
- Stratovolcano
2. A volcano that has not erupted for hundreds of years, but will again is called a _____
- Dormant volcano
3. Mt Saint Helens is a ____ volcano
- Strato
4. What characterizes a strombolian eruption?
-Lava sprays
5. What evidence suggests Kilauea's past eruptions were explosive?
-Tephra scattered far around it
6. What would either be a type of volcano or example or an actual volcano not made of basalt?
- Cinder Cone
7. Along what type of boundary would you not expect an active volcano?
-Transform
8. What combo of viscosity and magma type is associated with a composite volcano?
-High viscosity, rhyolitic
9. A gradually sloping volcano is a called a _____
-Shield

Historical Eruptions

Mt Vesuvius: Erupted 79 A.D. 3 Roman towns were destroyed, most notably Pompeii where people were almost frozen in time by the pyroclastic flow.

Krakatau: Erupted August 27,1883 On the Indonisian island of Krakatau, distroyed the island leaving a 960 ft deep crater in the ocean floor. It triggered tsunamis and distroyed numerous villages killing about 36,000 people

Mt. St. Helens: Erupted May 18th, 1980. Part of the Cascade

Mountains, its 1980 eruption was the only significant eruption on the continental U.S. causing billions of dollars in damage.

Predicting Eruptions

Warning Signs

Before an eruption, magma moves into the area beneath the volcano and collects in a magma chamber, or reservoir. As it comes closer to the surface, the magma releases gases. These events can offer valuable clues about the likelihood of an eruption. For example, the movement of magma produces small earthquakes and vibrations (seismicity). Magma gathering in a chamber causes slight swelling of the volcano's slopes. Gases released near the volcano can be measured for changes in quantity and makeup.

Monitoring Methods

A number of tools can be used to record these warning signs. Seismographs can detect small earthquakes, while tiltmeters and geodimeters can measure the subtle swelling of a volcano. Correlation spectrometers (COSPECS) can measure amounts of sulfur dioxide--a telltale gas that is released in increasing quantities before an eruption. Using these and other tools, it's possible to closely monitor activity at an awakening volcano.

The Problem of Prediction

Volcanologists are becoming very skilled at predicting the likelihood of an eruption. Still, a number of barriers remain. It's very difficult to pinpoint exactly when an eruption will happen. Often, moving magma doesn't result in an eruption, but instead cools below the surface. Monitoring potential eruptions is expensive. With many volcanoes erupting only every few hundred or thousand years, it's not possible to monitor every site. Volcanic eruptions don't occur without warning, however. If we set up monitoring devices, we should not be caught off guard by disastrous eruptions.

Volcano Quiz Answers

For my unit review I am posting the answers the volcano quiz that we took earlier.  Maybe some of these same questions will be on the test.

1.  A stratovolcano is formed by a series of alternating lava flows and pyroclastic eruptions.

2.  A volcano that has not erupted for hundreds of years but is expected to erupt again is considered dormant.

3. Mount St. Helens is an example of a composite, active volcano.

4. A strombolian eruption is characterized by lava sprays.

5. Tephra is evidence that Kilauea's past eruptions were once explosive.

6. An actual volcano not made of basalt would be a composite volcano because it is an explosive eruption and explosive eruptions have rhyolitic magma.

7. One would not find a volcano along a transform plate boundary.

8. A composite volcano typically has high viscosity, rhyolitic magma.

9.  Picture needed, but shows a volcano with a gentle slope created by lava build up, meaning a shield volcano.

10. The curse of Pele is a curse saying that if you take lava away from the Hawaiian Volcano National Park, you will have bad luck caused by the Goddess Pele.

The Danish?

As scientists debate the causes and effects of global warming, it is a fact that greenhouse gas emissions are going up and so are global temperatures. With people all over the world wondering what they can do to lower their personal emissions, the easiest way is to lower the amount of fossil fuel and coal power that they consume. Alternatives such as wind power and geothermal power have promising futures, although rarely seen in the United States. On the small Danish island of Samso, only 30 miles long and 15 mi wide, they have been given the title of completely energy self sufficient. This island uses 11 wind turbines to provide all of its electricity, and off shore turbines to power all public transportation. With their left over energy, they reinvest it to create new innovations. Samso is being used as an example of a green place and green economy. The manufacturing of turbines alone employs many people while other citizens are employed doing other environmentally friendly jobs. Maybe the U.S. could learn a few things from this tiny island and start doing something about global warming.

Volcanic Eruptions

Strombolian
Strombolian eruptions are named because of activity of Stromboli in Sicily. They are characterised by huge clots of molten lava bursting from the summit crater to form luminous arcs through the sky. Collecting on the flanks of the cone, lava clots combine to stream down the slopes in molten rivulets. The explosions are driven by bursts of gas slugs that rise faster than surrounding magma.
Vulcanian
Vulcanian eruptions are named after Vulcano, following Giuseppe Mercalli's observations of its 1888-1890 eruptions. Another example was the eruption of Parícutin in 1947. They are characterised by a dense cloud of ash-laden gas exploding from the crater and rising high above the peak. Steaming ash forms a whitish cloud near the upper level of the cone.
Hawaiian
Hawaiian eruptions may occur along fissures or fractures that serve as vents, such as during the eruption of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii in 1950. Also, they can occur at a central vent, such as during the 1959 eruption in Kilauea Iki Crater of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. In fissure-type eruptions, lava shoots from a fissure on the volcano's rift zone and feeds lava streams that flow downslope. In central-vent eruptions, a lava fountain is erupted to a height of several hundred meters or more. Such lava may collect in old pit craters to form lava lakes, or form cones, or feed radiating flows.
Plinian
Plinian eruptions are usually the most powerful, and involve the explosive ejection of relatively viscous lava. Large plinian eruptions — such as during 18 May 1980 at Mount St. Helens or, more recently, during 15 June 1991 at Pinatubo in the Philippines— can send ash and volcanic gas tens of kilometres into the atmosphere. The resulting ash fallout can affect large areas hundreds of miles downwind. Fast-moving pyroclastic surges and pyroclastic flows together with “nuées ardentes,” are often associated with plinian eruptions.

Volcanic Hazards

For my unit review post I decided to go through and describe why all the volcanic hazards are hazardous:

Pyroclasitc Flows- These are hazardous because it is all the ash and rock that exploded from the volcano in a land slide down the side traveling at speeds up to 700 mph and temperatures up to 1830 degrees Fahrenheit. They would be impossible to outrun and would incinerate you on contact.

Ash Cloud- An ash could appears after a volcano has erupted. After the volcano erupts a cloud of ash pours out and covers the sky. These are hazardous because it suffocates you if you breathe in the ash and it also can make it very cold since it covers up the sun.

Tephra- Tephra is the rock that is thrown from the volcano when it erupts and it is hazardous because it could hit you and possibly kill you.

Fires- When a volcano erupts magma usually erupts from it and lava flows down the side of the volcano. If this lava comes into contact with anything flamable, it will start a fire and possibly burn down cities.

Lahars- lahars are mud flows that come after the volcano because a side of the mountain collapses after it erupts. This is hazardous because they can crush buildings and such.

Lava- Lava is the magma of the volcano when it reaches the surfaces and explodes out of the volcano. This is hazardous because when it comes out it is at extremely high temperatures and depending on the viscosity it can travel fast potentially starting fires.
Volcanic Gases- Volcanic gases are the gases that escape from the volcano when it erupts. Depending on which gases they are they can either lower or raise the atmospheric temperature and this can be hazardous.
Water Pollution- Water pollution happens because when the volcano explodes ash rains down onto the land surrounding the volcano. If this ash falls into a water source it will pollute the water and then the people won’t have any fresh water to drink from.
Landslides- Landslides occur because when the volcano erupts material spills out sometimes creating a landslide if the volcano was a mountain. This could be dangerous because landslides could crush everything in their path and they are also very fast.
Disease- Diseases can occur from volcanoes because of lack of nutrition of clean water and also because when people breathe in the ash from the volcano it clogs up their lungs ultimately making them suffocate.
Tsunamis- Tsunamis can be caused by a volcano because when a volcano erupts it can cause earthquakes which can cause tsunamis or it can cause large masses of land to fall into a body of water which can also trigger a tsunami.

Black Holes May Form Galaxies

One of the most heavily debated questions in astrology these days is, which comes first; black holes that eat matter, or the galaxies around them? To this point, most theories stated that the galaxies were first. However, a team of scientists has been looking at the only black hole currently known to man that does not have a galaxy surrounding it. Studying it, they see that the areas neighboring it are developing stars at an incredible rate. This has sparked the theory that maybe black holes draw matter to them, thus helping in the formation of galaxies. Exacly how galaxies form is a point of serious controversy, and this solution to that problem is new and unique. Further research to support this must be done, but it is a very interesting thing to think about.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091130112413.htm

Scientists Debunk 2012 Rumor

Everybody knows about the "end of the world" theory regarding 2012, which has been made even more mainstream by the recent movie 2012. But due to widespread panic, NASA has started to post articles that say that the world will not end in 2012. The poles of the earth will not shift. According to them, the world will have a better chance of being destroyed by nuclear war, climate change, or an asteroid strike. Relieving, huh? At most, this movie is meant to be strictly entertainment, not some prediction for the future. Just because the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012, there will not be some unforeseen destruction of Earth.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/editorials/story/962287.html

Review Virtual Volcano Activity

Inside a Volcano

1. Magma is stored inside the magma chamber.
2. The volcano erupts when the magma is buoyant compared to surronding rock. High pressure naturally pushed up magma through the central vent releasing lava.
3. Fissures and conduits are the secondary shifts that branch off of the central vent to release lava through vlocano's side walls.
4. In the illustration it is important to note that the ash layer would be beneath the harden lava layer.

Volcano Comparison Table

Volcano Type Viscosity level Gas level Description Danger Level Examples

Shield Low Effusive Low Hawaiian Islands

Cinder Cone Medium-low Debris, strombolian Low Sunset Crater, Paricutin

Stratovolcano High High Vulcanian/Plinian High Mt. Saint Helens, Mts. Vesuvius

How to Classify Volcanoes

A REVIEW OF HOW TO CLASSIFY VOLCANOES:

1.) History of the volcano's activity

Active: volcano has erupted within 200 years

Dormant: Volcano has not erupted in over 200 years but is expected to erupt again

Extinct: Volcano can no longer erupt-has lost magma source

2.) Volcano's explosiveness

Effusive vs Explosive

Effusive: non-explosive volcanoes; just produces lava flows

Explosive: forms ash clouds

3. Location of volcano

Subduction volcanoes: A oceanic plate goes under a continental pate.

These tend to be the most explosive

ex. Cascades

Volcanic Island Arcs: A oceanic plate goes under a lighter oceanic plate

ex. Indonesian islands

Rift Volcanoes: Volcanoes formed at divergent plate boundaries

ex. Icleand

Hot Spots: Not found near plate boundaries

ex. Hawaii

4. Volcano's shape/nature

Cinder Cone Volcano

ex. Sunset Crater

Composite/Stratovolcano

ex. Mt. Rainier

Shield Volcano

ex. Hawaiian Islands

Caldera Volcano

ex. Yellowstone

Yayyy you're now ready to classify volcanoes!!!

How Lava Viscosity and Pressure Change an Eruption

Low viscosity, low gas: Shield volcano, effusive eruption and lava that flows steadily and is runny,can flow very slowly.
Medium low viscosity, low gas: Cinder cone, minor eruption associated with building of these volcanoes, lava splatters around the rim of the volcano, lumps of lava shot out.
Medium high viscosity, low gas: Dome volcano, minor and uncommon eruption makes pancake like shapes of lava.
High viscosity, low gas: Dome volcano, similar to above, if the dome collapses then a pyroclastic flow can occur.
Low viscosity, high gas:Shield volcano, this is called a fire fountain, lava sprays out of the volcano.
Medium low viscosity, high gas: Cinder cone, strombolian eruption, series of explosions where lava sprays out and is relatively harmless.
Medium high viscosity, High gas: Stratovolcano, vulcanian eruption, loud series of explosions, ash clouds and debris are also present.
High viscosity, High gas: Stratovolcano, plinian eruption, most explosive type, ash clouds, pyroclastic flows and landslides are all associated with this type of eruption.


(Discovery Channel Website)


Website: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/pompeii/interactive/interactive.html

Volcanoes-Unit Review

Parts of a Volcano:
-Central Vent: Opening from which lava flows
-Magma Chamber: Source of molten materials that flow to surface during eruption
-Fissure: Connects vents to magma chamber
-Caldera: Bowl-like depression at the top of a volcano, can be created either by collapse caused by empty magma reservoir or by volcano blowing its top off. Bodies of water often form in the caldera after eruption.

Types of Eruptions:
-Hawaiian: Lava streams
-Strombolian: Huge clots of molten lava burst from summit crater to form luminous arcs through the sky.
-Vulcanian: Dense cloud of ash-laden gas explodes and rises above peek.
-Plinian: Most powerful eruption, explosive ejection of viscous lava, ash and gas travel tens of miles into the air.

Types of Volcanoes:
-Cinder Cone Volcanoes: Simplest type of volcano; rare; eruption: lava cools very quickly and little rocks fall and build on sides of volcano.
-Example: Sunset Crator-Arizona
-Composite/Stratovolcanoes: Explosive and effusive eruptions; piroclastic flows and lava; magma-- high viscosity, flows slowly and hardens while sliding down volcano.
-Example: Mount Rainier-Washington
-Shield Volcanoes: Form by effusive eruptions of fluid, mafic lava; lava flow upon lava flow builds a broad, gently sloping volcanic shape; form on ocean floor over a hot spot; very wide and shallow.
-Example: Mauna Loa-Hawaii
-Calderas: Largest and most explosive volcanic eruptions; huge magma chamber; crater (depression) forms on top around the central vent; ponds and lakes accumulate in calderas after large explosions.
-Example: Yellowstone-Wyoming

Unit 5 Post

Hi guys!
Okay, so it looks like Jay, Nick, Claire, Brett, and Madeline still need to do a unit 5 post and the rest of you guys are done!  For the rest of you that did not, if you did one already, just point it out to me tomorrow after the test.  No need to do another one.  Good luck and email me questions if you have any when studying.

Supervolcanoes and Eruptions

After watching that movie on super eruptions in class I was curious to see what other super volcanoes there are out there and when they last erupted. Also I was curious to learn more about these super volcanoes. There are seven other known super volcanoes out there: Lake Taupo, New Zealand, Lake Toba, Sumatra Indonesia, Whakamaru, New Zealand, Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming U.S., Island Park Caldera, Wyoming U.S., Kilgore Tuff, Idaho U.S., Blacktail Creek, Idaho U.S., and La Garita Caldera, Colorado U.S. After reading this list of all these super volcanoes I was extremely surprised to find how many are in the United States. The most recent eruption of a super volcano was 26,500 years ago and it was the eruption of Lake Taupo in New Zealand. The force of this eruption was said to be greater than the force of all the nuclear weapons combined created by man. After finding out that there are this many super volcanoes out there I am starting to get worried that one may erupt in my lifetime.

Volcano Review

Volcanoes and Climate Change (Last part of review sheet)

Volcanoes contribute to both the warming and cooling of the Earth.

Warming
CO2 emitted from the volcano adds to greenhouse gases. It absorbs infared radiation and heats the Earth.
Chlorine gases in the form of hydrochloric acid cause ozone depletion, which lets more radiation enter the Earth's atmosphere.

Cooling
Sulfur gases released from a volcanic eruption reflect some light back into space
Dust particles (ash clouds, etc) released from eruption also reflect some of the waves back to space.


Virtual Volcano Activity

Low Viscosity (both low and high gas) => Shield Volcano

Medium- low viscosity => Cinder Cone

High Gas (medium high and high viscosity) => Strato/ Composite Volcano


Picture from: http://mrsdlovesscience.com/greenhouse/greenhouse_effect.jpg

Parts of A Volcano and Difference of Magma Vs. Lava

Magma is the liquid material, composed of rock, found within the actual volcano.
Lava is basically magma outside of the volcano, on the surface of the earth.

The diagram to the right gives a pretty good indication of the various parts of a stratovolcano, though other volcanoes have similar figures. The main parts that we need to know are the Magma Chamber, Conduit/Fissure, Central Vent, and Crater.

The magma chamber is the magma reservoir in this diagram. It contains the majority of the active magma.

The fissure, or conduit, is the beginning of a tube like structure, central vent, in the center of the volcano. The conduit connects the magma chamber to the central vent. It is usually the primary point of release for magma.

Last but not least we have the crater which. in a more literal sense, could be the actual hole left after an explosion. However in the context of this diagram, it is merely the exit from which magma is released.

I think this is the picture Ms. Meyer used in our packet, so I hope that's alright that I use it. http://www2.edc.org/sciencequest/2001/SQ0110360/Inside.jpg