1. Tectonic hazards & processes key words

Question 1

What is meant by ‘basalt’?

Answer 1

• Fine grained, igneous rock.
• Underlies more of the earths surface that any other rock type,especially ocean basins.
• Mainly associated with constructive plate boundaries.

Question 2

What is meant by ‘andesite’?

Answer 2

• Typically found in lava flows, produced by stratovolcanoes.
• A rock type generally formed after oceanic plate melts during it’s descent into the subduction zone.

Question 3

What is meant by ‘rhyolite’?

Answer 3

• A rock type formed from granitic magma in continental or continent margin volcanoes.
• It is rarely produced at oceanic eruptions.

Question 4

What is meant by ‘subduction zone’?

Answer 4

• The place where two lithospheric plates come together , one riding over the other.
• Most volcanoes on land occur parallel to and inland from the boundary between the two plates.

Question 5

What is meant by ‘benioff zone’?

Answer 5

• A dipping flat zone where earthquakes are produced by the interaction of a down going oceanic crustal plate with a continental plate.

Question 6

What is meant by ‘mega disaster’?

Answer 6

• An extreme disaster which can have global impacts.

Question 7

What is meant by ‘resilience’?

Answer 7

• The capacity to overcome or recover from a setback or hazard.

Question 8

What is meant by ‘mitigation’?

Answer 8

• Reducing the impact of a problem.

Question 9

What is meant by ‘hazard profile’?

Answer 9

• A method to help in preparation for a hazard.
• Using several key elements such as speed of onset and areal extent.

Question 10

What is meant by ‘crustal fracturing’?

Answer 10

• When the earths crust causes rock to break and fracture under stress and strain caused by seismic stresses.

Question 11

What is meant by ‘areal extent’?

Answer 11

• The area over which damage occurs or a hazard is felt.

Question 12

What is meant by ‘spacial predictability’?

Answer 12

-The extent to which the location of a hazard can be known in advance.
- This is generally easy for volcanoes but less along fault lines.

Question 13

What is meant by
‘speed of onset’?

Answer 13

• The time between an event occurring and it being felt.

Question 14

What is meant by ‘PAR model’?

Answer 14

-p A model developed by Blaikie et al (1994).
- It depicts disaster as a product of physical exposure and socioeconomic pressure.

Question 15

What is meant by ‘threshold’?

Answer 15

• The level of resilience a community has before it has before it is overwhelmed by a disaster.

Question 16

What is meant by ‘focal depth’?

Answer 16

• The depth of an earthquake, the point within the earth where an earthquake rupture starts.

Question 17

What is meant by ‘community adaption’?

Answer 17

• Cooperation within communities to change people’s way of life to reduce tectonic hazard impact.

Question 18

What is meant by ‘community preparedness’?

Answer 18

• Cooperation within communities to get ready for tectonic events.
• This can take a variety of forms.

Question 19

What is meant by ‘multi-hazard zone’?

Answer 19

• An area which suffers from two or more hazards.

Question 20

What is meant by
‘hydro-meteorological hazard’?

Answer 20

• A hazard relating to weather or weather patterns such as tropical storms, floods or droughts.

Question 21

What is meant by ‘retrofitting’?

Answer 21

• The addition of something to a building after it was built to help it withstand tectonic events.

Question 22

What is meant by ‘lithosphere’?

Answer 22

• The strong upper 100 km of the earth, tectonic plate.

Question 23

What is meant by ‘asthenosphere’?

Answer 23

• The weak, easily deformed layer of the earth which acts as a lubricant for the tectonic plates to slide over.