Intro Flashcards
Reasons why loss of life from disasters has decreased in Canada and the US
- Higher engineering standards
- Education
- Land-use planning
Have economic losses from disasters increased or decreased in Canada and the US?
Increased
Define process
The way in which events affect the Earth’s surface
Three energy sources for processes
- Gravitational attractions of Earth
- Earth’s internal heat
- Sun
Define mitigation
Actions taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from natural hazards
Three processes that can have global repercussions
- Climate change
- Eruptions of super volcanoes
- Large meteorite impacts
Magnitude frequency concept
An inverse exponential relationship exists between the magnitude of an event and its frequency
Geologic cycle
The processes that create/modify the materials on/near the Earth’s surface
What is the tectonic cycle, what drives it, and what does it do?
- Involves the creation, movement, and destruction of lithospheric plates
- Driven by deep forces within the Earth
- Responsible for rock and mineral resources and hazards like earthquakes and volcanoes
What is the rock cycle and how is it linked to the other cycles?
- Worldwide recycling of three major groups of rocks, driven by Earth’s internal heat and energy from the sun
- Depends on tectonic cycle for heat/energy, biogeochemical cycle for materials, hydrologic cycle for water
What are lithospheric plates?
large blocks that form the outer shell of Earth
Rocks vs minerals
- Mineral: crystalline substance with a specific elemental composition and a narrow range of physical properties
- Rocks: aggregates of one or more minerals
What is the hydrologic cycle and what drives it?
- The cycling of water from the oceans to the atmosphere, to islands and continents, and back again
- Driven by solar energy
Three types of rocks and how they’re created
- Igneous: Crystallization of molten rock
- Sedimentary: When sediment is deposited, a process called lithification
- Metamorphic: With deep burial, sedimentary rock may be metamorphosed by heat, pressure, and chemically active fluids
What is the biogeochemical cycle and how is it related to the other cycles?
- The transfer or cycling of an element(s) through the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere
- tectonic cycle provides water/gases, heat, and energy, rock/hydrologic cycles transfer and store chemical elements
