Less rainfall means there is less water to enter into the facility and transport radioactive waste. On the negative side there are three things which cause me an unsteady feeling. First, the mountain is in an area where there has been volcanic activity. Because of the activity strong gases have entered into the ground which could cause explosions to be destructive. Secondly, the area has several faults running through the area where the proposed facility was to be built.
'The extent to which volcanic processes represent hazards depends on where and when they occur.' Discuss this statement. Volcanic processes become a hazard when they impact upon the human and built environments, killing and injuring people, burying and collapsing buildings, destroying infrastructure and bringing agricultural activities to a halt. Volcanic hazards are influenced by several factors including location, time and frequency of eruptions, and the materials ejected. It is the viscosity of magma that largely determines the nature and power of an eruption and the resultant severity of the hazard.
Gases dissolved in magma provide the motive force of volcanic eruptions, sulphurous volcanic gas and visible steam are usually the first things noticed on an active volcano as well as others that escape unseen for example through hot fumaroles, active vents, and porous ground surfaces. The limitations of taking these samples are remote location of these sites, intense and often hazardous fumes, frequent bad weather, and the potential for sudden eruptions can make regular sampling sometimes impossible and dangerous. Measuring gases remotely is possible but requires ideal weather and the availability of suitable aircraft or a network of roads around a
The impacts created from an earthquake can come from the physical factors of the size, the location of the epicentre and the surrounding areas such as a ground type and the lithology of the rocks. However they can also be influenced by human factors such as land use of an area, population density of an area and the use of technology or the equipment a country have that can monitor the event. By this they can prepare or plan for such a disaster. In my essay I shall discuss how the impacts of the earthquake hazards aren’t always human factors and can vary with different events. I shall use examples of the Kobe Earthquake 1995, Boxing Day Tsunami 2004 and the Haiti Earthquake 2010.
Discuss the view that the impact of earthquake hazards depends primarily on human factors. (40 marks) Although earthquakes are a manifestation of a physical process associated with plate tectonics the hazards they produce are partly determined by human factors such as population density, urbanisation of the population, poverty and earthquake mitigation strategies such as local building codes, education of the population. However, human factors are not the only factors that turn earthquakes into hazardous events. Physical factors such as earthquake magnitude, frequency, local geology and liquifaction are also important as well exposure to tsunami or on low lying coasts also play an important part. A hazard can be defined as natural phenomena that produce negative effects on life.
Plate tectonics and Associated hazards Analyse the factors that cause differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world. (40 Marks) Using case studies we can clearly see the differences in the hazards that volcanoes pose. A hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property or environment. The level of hazard posed by different volcanoes can very greatly, from a weak eruption with minimal impact that causes little damage, to a violent and life threatening explosion. Most of the sixty-plus volcanoes that erupt each year are low risk, however a combination of factors can cause a volcano to be a serious hazard.
To what extent can preparedness and planning mitigate the effects of volcanic hazards? (40 marks) Volcanic activity happens across the surface of the globe and naturally hazards occur too. A hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or environment. It is easy to locate volcanoes, but it is very difficult to predict exactly when activity will take place, particularly a major eruption, this makes it difficult to prepare or plan for one. There is a very big difference that helps prepare for a volcanic hazard and that is whether you are in a MEDC or a LEDC.
West Virginia Chemical Spill Effecting Our Environment Industrialization has greatly impacted our Earth. In the article Federal Grand Jury Investigates West Virginia Chemical Spill, the authors, Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick, emphasize the damage the chemical spill did to our planet. Many people were left with no water to use and the environment was greatly damaged by the spill. Chemical plants allow our society to develop some service such as water, electricity or disposal services. Conversely, Chemical plants can contaminate the pure water or create harmful diseases to humans and the Earth.
Scientists have since seen these patterns as precursory to eruptions at many other volcanoes, including the 2004-2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens. At Mount St. Helens the value of an extensive system of seismic sensors has greatly improved our ability to determine the location and depth of earthquakes, and our ability to understand the physics of magma systems underground. The lack of short-term seismic or other geophysical indications in the hours and days prior to the May 18, 1980, debris avalanche, as well as prior to many short discrete explosions both before and after May 18, underscores that fact that scientists and public officials will not always have warning sufficient to issue short-term predictions of impending eruptive activity. Today, seismic
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami (Boxing Day Tsunami) was an event that caused great loss, destruction and trauma. Within this essay, the nature of the natural hazard, the factors that contributed to this disaster, and the preparedness of the region to handle such an event will be discussed. Furthermore the extensive recovery process and lessons learnt from this disaster will also be looked at. Hazards are a “potential threat to humans and their welfare arising from a dangerous phenomenon… that may cause loss of life, injury, property damage and other community losses of damage.” (Smith 2006, p.11) In the case of the Boxing Day Tsunami, it was the resulting tsunami, not the earthquake, which caused the destruction and ‘displacement of around 1.8 million people.’ (Smith 2006) When the water first receded, many peopl, ‘rushed out onto the once-covered reefs to pick up the stranded fish.’ (McCall 2014) Subsequently when the water eventually returned in the form of a tsunami, the chance of survival for those on the reefs was almost non-existent. Both natural and human factors contributed to transforming the hazard into a disaster.