Tectonics case studies

Question 1

what was the magnitude of the Haiti 2010 EQ

Answer 1

7.0 magnitude

Question 2

what was the Haiti EQ caused by

Answer 2

• North american plate slid past Caribbean plate at a conservative plate margin -
• both moving in same direction but one was moving faster than the other
• pressure then built up due to friction pressure was released causing the EQ

Question 3

what was Haiti’s economy like in 2010 when the EQ hit

Answer 3

GDP per capita- around 350 dollars
between 5-6 million people lived in rural areas - 85% of rural population practised agriculture - 26% of Haiti’s economy

Question 4

what were the socio- economic impacts of the Haiti EQ

Answer 4

just over 400,000 buildings damaged or destroyed including 4,000 schools and presidents building in port-au-prince
250,000 died

Question 5

what were some responses to the Haiti EQ

Answer 5

100 million in aid given by USA and 330 million by EU over 800,000 people placed in aid camps. over 100,000 tents and a million plus tarpaulin shelters provided

Question 6

what were some human reasons for the Haiti EQ

Answer 6

poverty - one of the poorest countries in the world -substandard housing and lack of sanitation - houses poorly structured so easily toppled and people more vulnerable
deforestation - left soil unstable and more likely to cause mudslides and landslides
weak infrastructure - poor access to healthcare, transport and electricty - harder for aid workers to reach people and provide adequate support
political instability - poor governance and corruption made coordinating relief efforts harder- reports of violence and looting after event

Question 7

what are some physical factors that contributed to the Haiti EQ

Answer 7

location- Haiti is right on the fault zone between the north american and Caribbean plate
Depth - was a relatively shallow EQ - 8-10km below earths surface - more destructive as release more energy closer to surface
mag- high mag so more energy released

Question 8

what was the VEI of the EFJ eruption in iceland

Answer 8

4

Question 9

what caused the EFJ eruption in 2010

Answer 9

iceland lies on mid atlantic ridge (constructuve margin) where eurasian plate moves away from north american plate as plates move apart magma rises to surface - active volcanoes
seemingly caused by meeting of one body of magma with another type of magma

Question 10

what were the socio economic impacts of the EFJ eruption

Answer 10

• no deaths
• 5000 farmers and families had to be evacuated from areas around volcano
• roads around volcano shut down
  -local population evacuated safely because of respiratory threats from ash build up
  -airspace closed across europe with at least 17,000 flights a day being cancelled - this cost airlines more than 200 million dollars a day - around 2 billion loss overall
  -estimated london lost 102 million of tourist income
• world bank estimated african countries lost 65 million dollars due to effect of shutdown on perishable exports

Question 11

what were some environmental impacts of EFJ eruption

Answer 11

Air pollution- released large amounts of ash and sulphur dioxide which is hazardous to humans as well as crops and vegetation
glacial melt- EFJ was under a glacier which caused it to melt and cause floods in nearby areas
soil erosion - ash eroded soil impacting local ecosystems

Question 12

what were some responses to EFJ that helped reduce impacts

Answer 12

evacuations - icelandic authorities quick to implement evacuation plan for surrounding areas
risk communication - governement provided clear and timely info about eruption and potential impacts - reduced panic and confusion and guide response efforts to where most needed
air traffic management- air traffic was badly disrupted bit management meant organisations could develop new protocols for flying through ash clouds so resumed safely and quickly
scientific monitoring - icelandic meteorological office monitored eruption closely reducing impacts on public health and safety infrastructure and economy

Question 13

physical factors that contributed to the cause of the EFJ eruption

Answer 13

location - southern iceland - very close to boundary - known for high levels of volcanic activity
magma chamber - magma chamber beneath EFJ when the pressure builds it can cause it to rise to surface
glacier- located under glacier which caused melting and flooding

Question 14

What was the mag of the Christchurch EQ in 2011

Answer 14

6.3 magnitude

Question 15

what caused the Christchurch EQ in 2011

Answer 15

Transform / conservative boundary
pacific plate moving south west relative to the australian plate
the fault that ruptured during EQ was previously unknown

Question 16

what physical factors contributed to the christchurch EQ in 2011

Answer 16

Depth - shallow depth of the earthquakes focus - about 5km deep - stronger shaking and more intense ground acceleration
location of Fault line- city was built on alluvial soils and sedimentary rock - more susceptible to soil liquefaction
Location- New zealand situated on boundary of the pacific and australian plates - high levels of tectonic activity

Question 17

what human factors contributed to the Christchurch EQ

Answer 17

buildings - many older buildings built before modern building codes so not designed to withstand strong shaking and ground acceleration
land use - buildings built on alluvial soil and sedimentary rock - vulnerable to soil liquefaction

Question 18

responses to the christchurch earthquake that reduced impacts

Answer 18

emergency response - emergency responders quick to provide aid
evacuation and shelter - ordered evacuation of certain areas of the city and established relief centres for those displaced
international aid
communications- public constantly updated and instructed on how to stay safe
building inspections and demolitions - conducted safety checks of buildings and ordered demolition if deemed unsafe

Question 19

what were the socio economic impacts of the christchurch earthquake

Answer 19

loss of life and injury - 185 fatalities and thousands of injuries
damage to buildings and infrastructure - estimated loss of billions of dollars
disruption to business and employment - many forced to close or relocate due to damage to premises - impacted local economy and employment levels
housing shortages and displacement - many residents forced to relocate due to damage and risk
psychological impact- many experienced trauma
tourism industry - many visitors had to cancel trips
insurance - many insurance claims and financial losses for people - impacted economic recovery

Question 20

Environmental impacts of christchurch

Answer 20

soil liquefaction- released sediment into water ways
landslides - more damage to homes and habitats
water contamination - made it difficult to access safe drinking water and impacted aquatic ecosystems

Question 21

what was the VEI of the pinatubo eruption in 1991

Answer 21

VEI of 6

Question 22

what did the eruption of mount pinatubo cause

Answer 22

high speed avalanches of hot ash and gas
giant lahars
large cloud of volcanic ash - rose 22 miles into the air
led to acid rain due to due to 22 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide emitted

Question 23

what was the pinatubo eruption caused by

Answer 23

subduction of the Philippine sea plate beneath the eurasian plate which created a magma chamber beneath mount pinatubo

Question 24

what were some physical factors that contributed to the pinatubo eruption 1991

Answer 24

volcanic gases - magma chamber was full of sulphur dioxide and other volcanic gases - made eruption more explosive
proximity to magma chamber - was very close
structure of mountain- steep died and at an intersection of multiple faults - more prone to eruption
climate conditions - preceded by heavy rainfall and typhoons - destabilised the volcano

Question 25

what were some human factors that contributed to the Mount pinatubo eruption

Answer 25

population growth and land use change - led to deforestation, mining and other activities that destabilised the mountain
poor land use practice - improper mining and logging practices - caused soil erosion and sediment build up in rivers which contributed to the lahars
lack of evacuation planning - despite warnings from scientists about possibility of eruption no plan was made - significant loss of life and damage
limited monitoring and communication - not sufficiently to provide accurate and timely info - limited ability of local authorities to response effectively

Question 26

what were some socio economic impacts of the mount pinatubo eruption

Answer 26

• overall just over 700 deaths
• 75,000 evacuated
• 200,000 homeless
• agricultural land damage - 1.5 billion pesos
• full economy recovery of 10 billion

Question 27

what were some environmental impacts caused by the mount pinatubo eruption

Answer 27

destruction of forests and habitats
contamination of water sources
air pollution- acid rain and other forms
climate impacts- caused a temporary cooling due to release of large amounts of ash into upper atmosphere

Question 28

what was the Asian tsunami 2004 caused by

Answer 28

subduction of indio-australian plate under eurasian plate
magnitude 9 EQ
sea floor uplifted and displaced seawater

Question 29

What were some impacts of the asian tsunami 2004

Answer 29

killed 240,000 plus people in 14 different countries
80,000 houses destroyed
led to dysentery and cholera due to lack of clean water and sanitation in refugee camps- killed estimated 150,000 extra

Question 30

physical factors that contributed to the 2004 asian tsunami

Answer 30

Earthquake - was one of the most powerful ever recorded - energy released the same as detonation of multiple atomic bombs
depth of EQ- 30km deep - relatively shallow - increased intensity
location of EQ- occurred along convergent plate boundary
coastal topography - many ares were flat and lower lying so experienced greater damage

Question 31

what were some human factors that contributed to the Asian 2004 tsunami

Answer 31

lack of warning sytems - no effective warning system in place - people caught of guard
poor land use planning - many people were living in areas vulnerable to tsunamis (low lying) due to development
lack of infrastructure - many communities lack roads, bridges and emergency shelters - difficult for aid
lack of preparedness - many communities lacked resources and training to respond effectively
political instability - conflict - e.g. in sri lanka and indonesia where ongoing conflict made coordinating relief harder

Question 32

responses to the Asian tsunami 2004 that reduced impacts

Answer 32

aid- massive international effort to rescue and provide relief efforts 7 billion dollars by US and IGO’s
reconstruction and rebuilding - years after
creation of warning systems - many countries have now implemented new systems such as sirens text messages
increased disaster preparedness - more training programmes for responders and communities

Question 33

what caused the 2011 Tohoku tsunami

Answer 33

9 magnitude earthquake uplifted 80 miles off the coast of sendai
convergent margin

Question 34

what were some impacts of the Tohoku tsunami

Answer 34

nearly 16,000 deaths and thousands missing
300,000 destroyed and future 1 million destroyed
over 200 billion in damages
It hit a nuclear power plant and disabled the power supply - high radioactive releases - contaminated water leaked into pacific ocean and fishing grounds
many displaced

Question 35

what were some physical factors that contributed to the 2011 Tohoku tsunami

Answer 35

magnitude of the earthquake - 9 on the richter scale - one of largest ever - caused sea floor uplift that displaced a vast amount of water
depth - epicnetre was 70km offshore with depth around 30km - allowed for significant amounts of water displacement
location - off coast from a highly populated and developed area - location of EQ made it easier for waves to reach and affect the coastline
shape of coastline - in some areas the coast funneled the waves into narrow channels amplifying height and power
timing of quake - occurred at 2:46pm local time - middle of workday when many people were in high rise buildings or close to coastline - increased casualties

Question 36

what were some factors that helped mitigate the effects of the 2011 tohoku tsunami

Answer 36

early warning systems - japan has one of the most advanced tsunami warning systems in the world - wothin minutes a warning had been issued allowing people to evacuate to higher ground
evacuation plans - many coastal towns in japan have well established evacuation plans and designated evacuation routes
building codes - has some of the strictest building codes in the world - many designed to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis
emergency response - have highly trained and well equipped emergency response team
community resilience - japanese communities known for their strong sense of community and cooperation
international aid - lots of financial assistance supplies and medical equipment