Atolls, on the other hand, are formed far offshore and they make a ring-shaped reef that close a circular lagoon. Coral reefs are the largest biological structures on the planet. The largest structure is the Great Barrier Reef covering over 2,000 kilometers along the east coast of Australia. The reef is said to be 500,000 to 2,500,000 years old. Besides global warming there is another problem with this beautiful structure and that is the result of several local natural and human factors such as over fishing.
Erosion is a concern in many coastal areas, but is particularly serious to island economies that rely heavily on the tourist industry (oceanexplorer.noaa.gov).” Geological studies of the islands indicate that the western portion of the island has high risk of damaging ground motion, equal to that of Seattle, Washington. The Caribbean and North American plates only have a slight component of subduction as movement takes place. “The Caribbean plate is roughly rectangular, and it slides eastward at about 2 cm/yr relative to the North American plate. Motion along
Maverick’s Wave The Mavericks is one of the most world renowned big wave break in Northern California. It is located about half a mile from the shore of Pillar Point Harbor just north of Half Moon Bay, California. The area is a shallow near shore reef in the locality of the San Gregorio fault, a major active fault within the San Andreas fault system. Motion on the fault zone has uplifted and deformed the rocks in the area near Mavericks into the S and J shaped folds we see on the seafloor (NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries). It contains the biggest waves that attract many surfers around the world.
Such is the case with a little known society called Tikopia. Although Tikopia is physically located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, and is considered Polynesian by many, it is actually a part of the British Solomon Islands. Culturally as well as linguistically, though, the Tikopian people are Polynesian, and should be considered part of Western Polynesia. The island itself is small, only around six square miles, and very volcanically active. The location of the island means that it is tropical in climate, being hot and muggy half of the year and cloudy and cooler the other half.
A. Supporting evidence As a recent book from Glenn Peterson(2009)shows that on the Tikopia island they are primarily agriculturalist as well as fishermen. Some of their crops include taro, maniuc, giant taro, and saga and they also live in small rectangular houses built where they can only be entered on hands and knees. B. Explanation Although Tikopia of Melanesia's primary mode of subsistence is an emerging agriculturist and fishing culture .
Solar radiation has been suspected to play a role in coral bleaching. The consequent exposure to high or low temperatures, increased solar radiation, desiccation, and sea water dilution by heavy rains could all play a role in zooxanthellae loss, but could also very well lead to coral death. -Fresh water dilution Rapid dilution of reef waters from storm-generated precipitation and runoff has been demonstrated to cause coral reef bleaching. Generally, such bleaching events are rare and confined to small, near-shore areas. Nearly all of the world’s major coral reef regions (Caribbean/western Atlantic, eastern Pacific, central and western Pacific, Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf, Red Sea) experienced some degree fo coral bleaching and mortality during the 1980s.
Along the coast of south America, the Nazca plate is moving towards the south American plate. The Nazca plate is oceanic, hence denser; therefore it is subducted underneath the continental crust into the mantle. As the Nazca plate bends down into the mantle it forms a deep oceanic trench. This is made up of long, deep gorges in the sea bed that occur around the edges of some oceans including the Pacific Ocean. The force of one plate being dragged under another causes intense friction and the pressure increases.
The plates meet with each other, and if rough spots cause the movement to stop at the edges, the motion of the plates continue. When the rough spots can no longer hold, the sudden release of the built-up motion releases, and the sudden movement under the sea floor causes a submarine earthquake. This area of slippage both horizontally and vertically is called the epicenter, and has the highest magnitude, and causes the greatest damage. As with a continental earthquake the severity of the damage is not often caused by the earthquake at the rift zone, but rather by
Unique, unlike any other, the Galapagos Islands prove to be remarkable and worthwhile of exploring in great detail. The Galapagos Islands are not only beautiful, but also consists of some very important features, not found in a similar way in other parts of the world. It seems that all that inhabits the islands affect one another, both alive and inanimate. According to the film, a large part of the reason for why there is such huge diversity on the islands is due to the fact that the Galapagos Islands are located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This location is what contributes to the mystifying marine life, as well as the to the different animals living on land.
Compare and Contrast two disaster hotspots in term of their hazards and management of their hazards A hazard hotspot can be defined as a place that has two or more natural hazards affecting it. An example of an MEDC that is a Hazard Hotspot is California, in South-Eastern USA. An example of an LEDC Hazard Hotspot is the Philippines, a group of lots of islands in South-East Asia. California is located on the San Andreas Fault, a conservative plate boundary. This means that it is very susceptible to earthquakes e.g.