Over time there have been many tectonic activities which have created many earthquakes and natural hazards that have had an effect on people’s lives. Most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions do not strike randomly but do occur frequently in certain areas of the world. In this essay I am going to discuss the extent to which humans influence tectonic events. Many people argue that human factors are more of an impact than the physical features of the event itself. I will look into the human factors that claim to have an influential effect on the hazards that occur when there is plate movement upon the earth; these are to include the development of certain countries and whether they are more developed to cope with the likes of a tectonic event, the population density of an area is a key factor to how damaging the event is in how many people it is likely to affect.
Volcanic events occur due to the movement of plate tectonics- this can be at destructive, constructive or conservative boundaries. Hazards are created when these events have an impact on human life/ activity and come in the form of primary and secondary effects. Primary effects include pyroclastic flow, lava flow and volcanic gases. Volcanic gases are emitted from volcanoes almost constantly and include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide. These gases increase around the time of an eruption.
A hazard is a natural event that has the potential to effect both life and property. When looking at earthquakes there is one primary hazard which occurs and this is the shaking of the ground. In addition there are many secondary hazards such as landslides, fires, avalanches, liquefaction and tsunamis. There are many human factors to be discussed such as preparedness, development level, land use and education and many other contradicting factors such as the tectonic setting and the time of year. To show the view that the impact of earthquake hazards depends primarily on human factors, I will situate the essay around some seismic events that have previously occurred; Haiti in the Caribbean, 2010, Christchurch in New Zealand, 2011, Sichuan in China, 2008 and Indian Ocean, 2004.
The Positive Effects of Westward Expansion There were many changes in the United States during Westward Expansion. Though many changes were negative, the positive things outweighed the bad things. Without Westward Expansion the US would never be the strong, independent nation it is now and we gained almost one third of the land that we own now. Also, another positive effect on the United States was the California Gold Rush, which brought diversity to our country and created jobs. After all of the bad things that our country went through, we came out as a stronger nation.
A risk assessment shows that the chances of a volcanic eruption in the next 10,000 years is 1 in 10, 0000 ("Volcanic hazard at," 2002). This region has had some volcanic activity within 12 miles of the Yucca Mountain. Some of the eruptions have caused some levels of magma. Because of the level of volcanic gases contained in the magma the eruptions have been explosive ("Volcanic hazard at," 2002). This could be a problem if an eruption was to take place at the Yucca Mountain or close by.
‘How do people and society respond to environmental hazards and what factors influence their choice of adjustments?’ (Cutter 1996). Discuss this statement with reference to examples of both natural and technological hazards. Introduction Environmental hazards fall under two headings: Chronic and Catastrophic. Catastrophic hazards are those with a high magnitude and low frequency. They create huge media attention as the rate of change from what would have been considered as ‘normal’ conditions is very high, for example an earthquake can turn an entire city to ruins and kill hundreds of people in just minutes.
Wisner, Blaikie and Davis (2004) argue that "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability,” meaning that in unpopulated areas hazards can not become disasters as there is no vulnerability (Quarantelli 1998). Without humans being involved, tsunamis are nothing but giant waves; they may modify areas of deserted land and destroy coral reefs but that does not make them disasters. Tsunamis become disasters when humans are involved; when their lives are at risk, their homes are destroyed, their livelihoods are lost etc. In addition, the economic loss caused by tsunamis could also largely effect the country as a whole. This essay will address the factors that affect the quality of human life in the 2011 Japan and 2004 South Asia tsunamis, and what made them become two of the word's biggest disasters.
However, settlement of volcanic regions is commonplace due to the benefits which come with the area. To some the idea of settling near a volcano is absurd, however, at the time of the settlement of many towns and cities across the globe little understanding of volcanoes and its processes was around and therefore there was little apparent hazards. Additionally, for the many that live in less economically developed areas, they must compare the potential risks with the potential benefits. In most cases, settlement occurs, along with further migration and population growth. The allure of some of the most fertile soil in the world, incredible tourism opportunities and potential ore deposits is overwhelming for those who live in poverty.
Everyday day across the world, plate tectonics and their respective movements cause various seismic and volcanic hazards and a common idea is that the poorest people suffer the greatest from the impacts of these hazards in their LDCs. This, however, is only true in some cases as there are several other factors that affect how severely people are impacted by the hazards in both human and physical ways. I personally disagree with this view and this is due to several topics I have studied considering both human and physical factors. The first point I will make is based simply on the fact that volcanoes and earthquakes can have different hazards within them both primary and secondary which can have the same impacts no matter whether you are rich or poor, a tectonic hazard does not specifically target poorer people, it affects the area surrounding the cause. With a volcano you can have different types of hazard depending on the location is respect to constructive and destructive margins and also including hot spots, at a constructive margin or hot spot you find shield volcanoes with basaltic lava and these eruptions are common enough that you can stay away from the danger zone at which point you are in little or no danger, Mauna Loa in Hawaii is a good example of this as nobody lives close enough to the vent to be in danger.
Volcanoes and earthquakes In the world, there are many natural disasters which occur without the human's contribution. Volcanoes and earthquakes are some disasters that have a huge impact on many things. These two types of natural events can compare or contrast to each other. These natural disasters have differences more than similarities. Volcanoes and earthquakes are different in three things: the geology, the process, and the effect.