Plate Tectonics

The structure of the earth

The earth structure is split up into four layers, these are the crust ,
mantle, outer core and inner core.

The crust: The crust covers the mantle and is the earth's hard outer shell,
the surface on which we are living. Compared to the other layers the crust
is much thinner. It floats upon the softer, denser mantle. The crust is
made up of solid material but this material is not the same everywhere,
this layer has the least dense and coolest. There are two types of crust,
the oceanic and continental, these have a range of thickness with up to 70
kilometres on the continental crust and only 10 kilometres on the oceanic
crust. It is separated from the Mantle by the Mohorovijic (Moho) boundary.

The mantle: The layer above the core is the mantle. It begins about 6
miles (10 kilometres) below the oceanic crust and roughly 19 miles (30
km) below the continental crust. The function of the mantle is to separate
the inner mantle and the outer mantle. It is about 1,800 miles (2,900
kilometres) thick and makes up nearly 80 percent of the Earth's total
volume. It is a semi-moltern layer at about 5000c, at these high
temperature there are convection currents in the mantle.

The outer core: The outer core is about 1,800 miles below the earth's
surface and is roughly the size of Mars. The core is a dense ball of the
elements iron and nickel which are liquid at about 6000c.
The inner core: This is also at 6000c but due to the high pressure the
nickel and iron which it is made up of remains solid it is at the centre of
the earth.

Lithosphere:

This is the layer of the earth which consists the ridged top part of the
Mantle and the crust layers.

Asthenosphere:
The asthenosphere is the ductile part of the earth just below the
lithosphere, including the lower mantle. The asthenosphere is about 180
km thick.

Both parts are in a series of interlocked pieces called plates

The point between 2 plates is called a plate boundary
The plates are constantly moving (very slowly). In parts of the world where
the plates are moving apart, a constructive (or divergent or
tensional) plate boundary is formed. New oceanic crust is formed as
the magma rises and solidifies e.g. Eurasian and North American Plates.
In other parts of the world the plates are moving together e.g. the Nazca
and South American plates creating destructive (convergent or
compressional) plate boundaries , where crust is being destroyed.
Finally in areas of the world where the plates are sliding past each
other, sometimes in the same direction e.g. the Eurasian and South
American plate or in opposite directions e.g. the Pacific and the Juan de
Fuca Plate. There are called conservative (transverse or passive)
plate boundaries.
Plate boundaries are associated with tectonic activity but the type of
tectonic activity is largely determined on the type of plate boundary.

Why Plates Move

Plates at our planets surface move because of the intense heat in the

Earths core that causes molten rock in the mantle layer to move. It moves in a
pattern called a convection cell that forms
when warm material rises, cools, and
eventually sink down. As the cooled material
sinks down, it is warmed and rises again.
Scientists once thought that Earths plates just
surfed on top of the mantles giant convection
cells, but now scientists believe that plates
help themselves move instead of just surfing
along. Just like convection cells, plates have
warmer, thinner parts that are more likely to
rise, and colder, denser parts that are more
likely to sink.
New parts of a plate rise because they are warm and the plate is thin. As hot
magma rises to the surface at spreading ridges and forms new crust, the new
crust pushes the rest of a plate out of its way. This is called ridge push.
Old parts of a plate are likely to sink down into the mantle at subduction
zones because they are colder and thicker than the warm mantle material
underneath them. This is called slab pull.

Proof of plate movement/continental drift

Alfred Wegener predicted in the 1930s that the world was once one
supercontinent called Pangaea. He said that 200 million years ago it had begun
to break up and formed two continents called Laurasia and Gondwanaland
150 million years ago. Thereafter 100 million years ago the continents began to
split and 50 million years ago they had started to spread out into the world map
we know today.
Evidence to support this includes:

Fossil evidence - same species of land animals found on opposite sides of

the Atlantic Ocean
Climate evidence - coal deposits and fern fossils in Antarctica (showing it
used to be more equatorial). Also glacial deposits in India, South America,
Africa and Australia which are too hot for glaciers today.
Similar rock types - same age and composition found in Africa and South
American continents
Continental fit- Some continents such as the eastern seaboard of South
America and western seaboard of Africa seem to fit together like a jigsaw
puzzle.
Paleomagnetism- The evidence for plate tectonics is the alternating
polarity of the rocks that form the ocean crust. Iron particles in lava
erupted on the ocean floor are aligned with the Earths magnetic field. As

the lavas solidify, the iron they solidify and provide a permanent record of
the Earths polarity at the time of the eruption - called paleomagnetism.
This happens as the earths polarity flips roughly 400000 years since the
iron line up when it is created with the magnetic north, the striped pattern,
which is mirrored exactly on either side of a mid-oceanic ridge, suggests
that the ocean crust is slowly spreading away from this boundary.

Constructive Plate Boundaries

There are two types of constructive plate boundary.

Oceanic-Oceanic - e.g. North Atlantic Ridge

Continental-Continental - e.g. African Rift Valley

Oceanic-Oceanic Boundaries
Here rising convection currents force two plates apart, the release of pressure on
the asthenosphere causes it to become molten and rise.
Process: Sea Floor Spreading
Rising magma forms new oceanic crust along the oceanic ridges and old crust is
being destroyed at oceanic trenches. The concept of sea floor spreading and
continental drift were combined to create the theory of plate tectonics.
Evidence for this includes that there is an oceanic ridge system e.g. the MidAtlantic Ridge in all of the worlds oceans. Also the youngest rocks in oceans are
found along the ocean ridge system and the oldest rocks are present along the
margins of ocean basins.
Volcanic Activity
Shield Volcanoes

Dominated by fluid, high temperature, low viscosity, basaltic magma

Low, dome shaped profile
Typical slopes of 15
Lava flows down slope, away from the central vent
Many shield volcanoes have a central caldera
Examples: Hekla and Katla

Ocean Ridge Volcanoes

Volcanic activity under water, for example at the Mid Atlantic Ridge
Submarine oceanic ridge volcanoes e.g. Surtsey 1964, form new islands
Passive volcanic activity, low magnitude and not dangerous
Volcanic activity at conservative plate margins is often associated with
fissure type eruptions.
Why is volcanic activity at constructive plate margins non-violent?

Composition of the magma determines the type of rock that forms and its
behaviour during the eruption
Chemical composition (SiO2 content) and the gas content (H2O and CO2)
are the main behaviour controls
SiO2 content controls the viscosity of magma

Viscosity: a measure of how easily a fluid flows. Water has a low viscosity and
molasses have a far higher viscosity
Viscosity in turn controls the amount of gas that can be trapped in the magma.
The greater the viscosity, the more gas in the magma.
Types of magma:

Basaltic Magma: constructive boundaries - low viscosity, slow cooling,

low gas content - shield volcanoes - gentle eruptions

Type of magma leads to the violence of eruptions, high SiO 2 magmas with high
gas content tend to plug vents leading to explosive eruptions.
There is no seismic activity at constructive plate margins
Continental-Continental Plate Boundaries
Process: Rifting (Block Faulting)

When a block of land slips down as the land on either side has moved away to
form a Rift Valley e.g. the East African Rift Valley
The floors f rift valleys often have volcanoes along the floor e.g. Mt.
Kilimanjaro which is dormant. They form as the plates pull apart and the
magma rises to the surface.

Destructive
These types of boundaries are:

Continental-Continental Boundaries
Oceanic-Oceanic Boundaries
Oceanic-Continental Boundaries

Continental-continental Boundaries

Plate Boundaries

When two continents meet in a collision zone, there is very little/no

subduction (no volcanic activity as neither are absorbed into the mantle) as
both are relatively light and buoyant, resisting downward movement. The
outcome is that two continental masses become crumpled and compressed
together to form Fold Mountains e.g. The Himalayas.
Geosynclines: This is a vast down
warping of the crust which occurs
when two continental plates collide.
This is the start of Fold Mountains. A
sea will occupy the geosynclines and
over millions of years sedimentary
rocks will form in the base. The
ongoing collision of the 2 plates will
fold these sediments into
antisyncinoriums and synclinoriums i.e. a mountain range.
The types of Lava

Andesitic Magma: destructive boundaries - high viscosity, fast to

solidify, high gas content -composite volcanoes - explosive eruptions - full
of impurities from subduction of plate
Rhyolitic Magma: destructive boundaries - high viscosity, fast to solidify,
high gas content -composite volcanoes - explosive eruptions - full of
impurities from subduction of plate
o

Oceanic-Oceanic Convergence
Here the is subduction of the lithosphere which leads to volcanic activity
as the material melts and forms magma
As the plate is subducted there is a lot of friction leading to submarine
earthquakes which in turn can cause tsunamis. As the two heavy oceanic
plates converge, the sinking plate exerts a strong dragging force creating
a pronounced trench, e.g. the Marianas Trench that cuts 11000m into the
earths crust
Oceanic-oceanic boundaries have a lot of frictional heat which gives high
rise to abundant molten magma arriving at the earths surface to create a
string of volcanos following the curved line of the trench. This string of
volcanic islands is called a island arc. E.g. the Japanese Ryukyu Islands
and the Hawaiian islands
Tsunamis
These are caused as a result of natural primary hazards meaning they
are a secondary hazard mostly as a result of tectonic activity

The water is vertically displaced and waves

move outwards as the sea floor is deformed as
the earthquake strikes.
Tsunami waves travel very fast on the open
ocean but their destructive power comes from
their towering heights which they attain as they
approach the coast
Waves travel at 800km/h (500mph), but due to enormous wavelength
the wave oscillation can take 20-30mins to complete a cycle and has
amplitude of 1metre.
Very difficult to detect over deep water meaning they go unnoticed by
ships

Management of Tsunamis
Prediction:

Pacific Ocean Tsunami Warning System - gives an early warning - however

there is no such thing in the Indian ocean (poor suffer more)
Communication in MEDCs e.g. telecommunications better than in LEDCs
which prevents prediction reaching the poor in LEDCs

Education:
Local population aware of hazards in MEDCs and are taught how to
respond
Nothing like this in LEDCs
Protection:
Buildings along a coastline have preventative measures taken to lessen
tsunami impact
Building walls are built perpendicular to the shore, so waves can go
through them rather than knocking them over.
Stilts used to prevent damage
Forest planting between the coastline and buildings as trees rapidly slow
waves down and cause them to lose a lot of energy
Continental-Oceanic Convergence
Where oceanic and continental plates meet, the heavier oceanic matter
sinks below the lighter continental plate in the subduction zone.
One example is the Nasca plate being subducted beneath the South
American Plate. Subduction zones are commonly marked by a long narrow
trench in the ocean floor.
Strong destructive earthquakes are associated with this type of plate
margin and may occur on the surface or as deep as 700km

 Volcanic activity is also a feature of subduction as molten material from

the subducted plate works its way back through the continental plate
under considerable pressure to create violently erupting composite
volcanoes.
New fold mountains creation but with a volcanic root e.g. Mount St. Helens
Tsunamis, generated close to the shoreline can also occur at this type of
plate margin
Volcanic Activity

Volcanoes result from magma rising of the melting subducted plate

The composition of the magma is andesitic (melted basaltic crust plus
sediment carried on the crust)
The magma is very gaseous, particularly when enriched with water vapour
- high explosive eruptions
Stratovolcanoes are constructed from feeder conduits extending to the
surface
Granitic (rhyolitic) intrusions are also formed, becoming trapped within the
volcanic pile overlying the region of subduction giving potential for very
explosive eruptions

Stratovolcano/ composite volcanoes

These are volcanoes which alternate between periods of lava flows (constructive
phase) and periods of explosive eruptions (destructive phase).

Called composite
of both lava flows and
they can lay dormant for
Vesuvius

volcanoes as made up
pyroclastic deposits,
hundreds of years e.g.

Andesitic magma is a mix of basaltic and rhyolitic magmas in many cases. Gases
add great pressure when the feeder conduit becomes plugged, contributing to
the explosive power.
Stratovolcanoes can grow 1000s of metres high during the constructive lava
phase
Constructive phase often ends with a destructive phase - an explosive eruption

Seismic Activity

This occurs at a very high magnitude as heavier oceanic plate is subducted

under continental plate releasing large amounts of energy and causing a high
magnitude earthquake.

Transform Boundaries

Here the dominant form of movement is sideways, with the plates slipping
past each other. These are also known as passive or conservative plate
boundaries
The San Andreas Fault is an example of this where the Juan de Fuca plate
is moving against the North American Plate. Sections of the fault creep
forward building pressure, then locked segments slip past each other
causing earthquakes
No subduction so no volcanic activity at transform boundaries

Case Study: Haiti 2010

Date: 12th January 2010
Magnitude: 7
Depth: 13km
316000 deaths
300000 injured
1 000 000 homeless
caused major damage to capital Port-au-Prince
No building regulations so everything destroyed
Starvation and diseases were secondary impacts
Damage to communication systems, hospitals, transport and electrical
networks hindered aid and response

Hotspots
This is a point on the crust immediately above a hot plume within the mantle
Heat from the mantle (and some magma) rises to the hotspot (basaltic magma)
The rising mantle material is called a mantle plume.
Very passive eruptions from shield volcanoes due to the magmas composition
Case Study: Hawaii
Long chain of 129 volcanoes, of which 123 are now extinct as the plate moves
north-west
As the plate continues to move there will be a new Hawaii and islands further up
the chain will die to form submarine seamounts.
Extrusive volcanic Features

Geysers: water is heated at depth in the crust by magma changes. This

can occur in areas where active volcanoes do not exist. The superheated

water can escape periodically as steam and hot water. A geyser is an

intermittent turbulent discharge of superheated water ejected
and accompanied by a vapour phase. When hot water moving
upwards mixes with muds near the surface, a bubbling, boiling
mud volcano may form. In some places e.g. in Pamukkale, Turkey they
have become tourist attractions.
Fumaroles: areas where superheated water turns to steam as it
condenses on the surface. This and geysers are typical of Solfatara
areas in Italy where the escaped steam and water are mixed with sulphur
rich gases.
Solfatara: This is where gasses mainly sulphurous it is released on to the
surface.

Intrusive volcanic Features

Form as magma cools and solidifies within the crust, particularly along faults and
bedding plains.

Battholith: e.g. Dartmoor, Devon - massive magma intrusions into the

crust which cools and solidifies. Tors are the uppermost part of the
exposed battholith.
Dyke: magma intrusion into a vertical fault which solidifies. Not usually
visible as are small scale intrusive features. Sometimes a swarm of dykes
will form.
Sill: e.g. Great Whin Sill, Northumberland - cooled and solidified magma
between two strata (layers of rock) along the bedding plain. These are not
usually visible but can be seen at the high force waterfall on the northern
part of the River Tees.
Lacolith: when magma cools and solidifies along the bedding plain but
the volume of magma forces the overlying strata into a dome which will
become visible at the surface as a small hill. Cedar Tree Lacoliths can
form which are multiple intrusions along the bedding plains.

Process: Seismic Activity

High magnitude seismic activity, but low volcanic activity
An earthquake is a vibration of the earths surface caused when energy
is suddenly released through the dislocation of segments of the earths
crust.
At destructive plate boundaries the crust is subjected to strong bending
forces and will suddenly break and move to a new position when its
strength is exceeded. This sudden movement generates shock, or seismic
waves which travel outward from the point where the energy was
released, known as the focus.
Most damage will occur at the epicentre, the point on the earths surface
immediately above the focus.

P and S Waves
P waves: primary waves: these are longitudinal waves which push and
pull the earth. They are the fastest body wave with speeds of 6km/s
meaning they arrive first
S waves: secondary waves: these are transverse waves which shake
the earth from side to side. They arrive second at speeds of 4km/s.
S waves will only travel through solids
P waves travel through solid and liquid and are refracted
as they pass through a medium
The paths of the waves are curved as they density is
gradually changing
Magnitude
The Richter Scale
Earthquake strength or magnitude is measured on the Richter Scale. This
scale is logarithmic meaning that each point represents a ten-fold increase
in the amount of energy involved
Earthquake magnitude is measured using a seismometer or seismograph
on a scale of 1-8.
The Mercalli Scale
This measure the intensity i.e. the damage caused rather than the energy
This is a scale of 1-12.

Management of Natural Hazards

Assessing Hazards and Risks
Hazard and risk assessment are not synonymous
Hazard Assessment consists of the following:

When and where hazardous processes have occurred in the past and the
severity of the physical effects of the past hazardous processes
(magnitude)
The frequency of occurrence of hazardous processes
The likely effects of a process of a given magnitude if it were to occur now
Making all of this information available in a form useful to planners and
public officials responsible for making decisions in the event of a disaster

Risk Assessment involves not only hazards from a scientific point of view but also
the socio-economic impacts. Risk is a statement of probability that an event will

cause a certain amount of damage or a statement of economic damage of an

event. It consists of:

Hazard assessment as above

Looking at the location of buildings and other infrastructure in the areas
subject to hazards
Potential exposure to the physical effects of a hazardous situation
The vulnerability of the community when subjected to the physical effects
of the event
This aids decision makers and scientists to compare and evaluate potential
hazards and set priorities on mitigation and on where to focus resources
and further study

Hazard Prediction - involves when, where and how big

Some hazards such as tropical cyclones are highly predictable in terms of

where and when they will strike. Their likely impact is also often correctly
judged
Some hazards, such as volcanic eruptions are predictable to a degree. It
cannot be precisely said when they will next erupt, but precursors give
some short term warning. The nature of the volcano also gives an
indication of what type of eruption to expect.
Other hazards, such as earthquakes and landslides are totally
unpredictable as it cannot be said when, where of how damaging they will
be.

Earthquake Prediction
Earthquakes in terms of their precise location, time of occurrence and
magnitude cannot be predicted
There have been many failed and yet to be successful attempts at
earthquake prediction and these include:
o Animal behaviour
o Mapping epicentres of pre-quakes
o Radon gas levels
o Changes in water levels in wells
Mapping the location of miniscule earthquakes showed no correlation so
cannot be used to predict large earthquakes
The seismic gap theory was tested at Parkfield California and looked at the
historical records, finding that every 20-30 years there was a magnitude 6
quake. However a small earthquake predicted a large earthquake in 3
days however this never came so the theory failed. This uses the patterns
of earthquakes which have occurred in the past.
Radon gas levels were thought to move to different levels which could
then be measured to predict quakes however this was also ineffective.
Changes in water levels were supposed to help show cracks in the surface
which would indicate an earthquake
Animal behaviour - it was said that snakes and rats appeared drunk just
before an earthquake

Volcano Prediction
Volcanoes can be continuously monitored by taking accurate measurements,
however many surveillance methods are very expensive and require skilled
operators and sophisticated instruments in observatories. The problem is that
many of the most dangerous volcanoes are situated in developing countries
which do not have the money for careful observation of their volcanoes.
There are number of different methods which are often used in conjunction with
one another.

Seismographic Monitoring - Rising magma causes earth tremors which

will increase in frequency and intensity as it approaches the surface.
These shallow volcanic earthquakes are the most reliable sign that a
volcano is going to erupt. They can be detected by automatic telemeter
recorders which relay immediate interpretations to an observatory.
Hawaii for example has 51 seismometers.
Tiltmeters - there are accurate levels composed of three graduated pots
arranged in a triangle and filled with water or mercury. Rising magma
often causes ground deformation which is recorded by the tiltmeters.
Tilting is recorded when rising magma causes a bulge which happens
slowly as an eruption looms. For example the Mount St. Helens Bulge
could be seen for 2 months before the eruption.
Surveillance by Satellite - this is a very costly method that is still
relatively new. However it offers some of the best future prospects for
volcano prediction. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is used to
monitor ground displacements which could pinpoint future activity. GPS
uses data transmitted by orbiting satellites. For example the TOMS
satellite produced an image of the Pinatubo volcanic cloud emitted during
the 1991 eruption.
Gas and Steam Emission - increased emissions from fumaroles,
mudpots and solfatoras can indicate that magma is rising closer to the
surface. However such information is difficult to collect because the
emissions can damage the instruments. For example greater fumaroles
activity gave warning of the Askja eruption in 1961. However there has
been increased fumarole activity near Mount Baker in 1975 but an
eruption has never materialised.
Hazard Assessment Maps - On these the areas of greatest danger and
highest risk around the volcano are identified. This means that danger
zones can be precisely pointed out correctly so that people living in the
danger zones can be evacuated. This is very effective for example with the
1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption where 35000 were evacuated.

Hazard Protection
There are a variety of methods which can be used to protect against both
earthquakes and volcanoes.
Earthquake Protection - saves lives but no earthquake proof

Education - teaching people what to do when an earthquake strikes,

before, during and after
Building regulations - use high quality materials and improved strict
regulations to protect against damage
Diagonal bracing - used in buildings in addition to reinforced concrete
Wooden buildings - wood is more flexible so is less likely to collapse
during an earthquake
Cut electric supply when >5.0 quakes strike - prevents secondary
hazards such as fires
Hazard Mapping - looks at the configuration of faults, soils and
buildings etc to know where buildings should not be built - GIS systems
Improvement in telecommunications - helps facilitate rapid
response
Vertical columns - these are extremely strong and prevent buildings
from pancaking
Lead extrusion dampners - with these the ground will move but the
building will not, preventing the building from collapsing e.g. under the
Claston Building
Metal jackets on reinforced pillars -prevents concrete from falling
out and causing the concrete to collapse as it did for example on the
Shanghan Highway.
Soft Soils - Resonance and Liquefaction
These go against all earthquake protection, no matter how well the
building is built it will collapse if built on soft soils.
Liquefaction - soft soils turn to quicksand when an earthquake strike so
buildings will fall over
Resonance - buildings that are between 3-6 storeys high will resonate
and destroy themselves - they will shake themselves until they collapse
Case Study : New Zealand
B values used to try and predict quakes however b value was
supposed to be high just before a quake although there has been
high b-values for a long time and no earthquake.
1931 Napin Quake was the turning point in protection in New
Zealand
Decided to begin building with wood rather than stone making N.Z
homes some of the safest in the world
Car ports were banned and existing buildings reinforced
Earthquake building code was imposed in 1935 and is the strictest
in the world
Volcanic Eruption Protection
Structural (Mainly MEDCs)

Concrete shelters to protect from volcanic bombs e.g. Mt Unzen in Japan

Concrete lava/lahar diversion channels - Mt Unzen, Japan
Pitched roofs made from corrugated iron - Iceland
Building houses on stilts to protect against lahars
Non-structural (behaviour modification - most effective in MEDCs
Drills, education and simulations with the civil defence
Issue hard hats and face masks
Evacuation e.g. Mt St Helens, Montserrat
Establishing danger zones to prevent public access
Regular news updates on the state of volcanic activity

Response
Immediate
This is the life sustaining response:

Shelter - tent etc can come from charities, government etc - emergency
aid
Access to clean water - mainly through Non-governmental organisations
(NGOs)
Food - NGOs and foreign governments
First aid (medicines) - MSC, Red Cross, NGOs
Airlifts usually organised - helicopters and Chinooks by foreign
governments
Pontoons (temporary bridges) built to help initially repair roads to help aid
- usually involves foreign military
Bulldozers sent to clear landslides, debris etc
International recue - very fast response that rescues survivors with heat
sensing, dogs and infrared - sent by MEDCs
Evacuation of people from the area
Money - however much is often lost/misapprotionated

Medium Term

Electricity, water, sewage supplies restored to prevent the spread of

disease - however sometimes none of these things are in place originally
Construction of poor permanent bridges/roads
Restoration of telephone masts - helps aid workers communicate

Long Term
Rebuilding of homes, schools, hospitals etc - however requires money e.g.
donations from world bank or directly from MEDCs unilateral/multicultural aid.
Multicultural aid - aid for one country from many but often with
strings/conditions attached

Development aid - this is the best type of aid as no conditions. Usually

comes from NGOs e.g. to establish stable farming - this is needed of a
country is ever going to develop/improve.
Disaster Management
Prediction/protection - however most structural protection beyond the
means of most LEDCs
There is no way LEDCs will ever have the technology to predict disasters
without receiving aid
Hazard mapping will only be effective if the economic benefits of living in
dangerous areas e.g. on the slopes of active volcanoes are outweighed by
the potential dangers

Case studies

Mount Pinatubo
Where: Philippines, East Asia
Plate boundary: Philippine plate sub-ducts beneath the Eurasian plate
When: 1991, 7th to 15th June
Type of volcano: Composite or stratovolcano due to Andesite lava
present.

Last eruption: 1380

VEI: 6
Timeline:
April 2nd: Volcano started having small eruptions along a 1.5 km fissure,
these continued for a couple months with the surrounding areas being
dusted with volcanic ash and there being hundreds of small earthquakes
every day. First evacuation of 5000 people happened
May 13th -28th: Rapid increase in the amount of Sulphur Dioxide so there is
rising magma in the volcano, by the 28th May this has decreased a lot
which would mean that the magma had been blocked.

June 5th: The First eruptions with magma happened, there was also a high
alert sent out that there could be a major eruption within the next two
weeks.
June 7th: There had been a large lava dome form which caused a
evacuation area of 20km from the volcano and 20,000 people evacuated
June 15th: The big eruption lasted for nine hours, which caused a ash
plume which was 7km high. A tropical storm called Yunkya caused the ash
to mix with the water vapour which caused lahars down river valleys.
There was a 10 up to 30 inches of ash covering a 2,000km radius from the
mountain.
After June 15th: A large amount of sulphur dioxide to be released (15 30
million tons), this mixed with water and oxygen to become sulphuric acid
to fall as rain which is harmful to people. The gas and ash reached 34km
into the atmosphere which was then transported around the world

Effects :
Short term

Jets flying over the Philippines sustained damage and cost about
$100,000 in repairs
About 20 million tons of sulphur dioxide were released into the
atmosphere
Over 800 people were killed
The volcano itself was decrease in height by 2.5 km
58,000 in total evacuated
$700 million in total damages
4,000 homes were destroyed and 70,000 were damaged
Roads were damaged
Long term

There were 200,000 people effected in the area.

The local American air base was shut down
Global temperatures dropped by 1 around the world for a year
Over 1 million animals died
Respiratory disease

Management

Some 58,000 people were evacuated

Massive rebuild effort was put into place to help the local
communities recover from the disaster

Thanks to early warning system there were 5,000 people saved and
a $250 million in property damage

Response

Clarks air base which was locate near the volcano was abandoned
by the US forces
The government improved the strategies for long term aid and
disease control also evacuations were more prepared for.
Improved alert systems for better early warning with a more
integrated system so more people can knows theres a evacuation
in place.
They had also increased the amount of storage of medical supplies
food and water in preparation for disaster.
Some people moved away from the area

Mount St. Helens

Where:

When:

North America, In the state of Washington

March 20th- May 18th 1980

What plate boundaries:

Subduction zone Juan de fucia plate subducts

beneath the North American plate

Last Eruption: 1857

VEI: 5

What caused it:

From March 20th earthquakes of magnitude greater than 4.0

on the richer scale was directly beneath the volcano occurred
There were minor earthquakes at 15 per hour after that, and then from 27 th
March there were earthquakes greater than 4.0 on the richer scale occurring at
least 3 times a day. This then increased to about 8 per day just before May 18th

Then in the last week of April until May 18 th there was a growth of a bulge on the
north face of the volcano this was called a cryptodome this was due to a
blockage in the main vent.
Then on May 18th at about 8;42 am local time a 5.1 earthquake hit directly
beneath the volcano caused the north face of the volcano to become a landslide
this cause the magma which was under pressure to suddenly erupt which cause
a Pyroclastic flow and ash column to grow to a height of 12 miles which was
called a Plinian eruption,

Main eruption:

The landslide on May 18th covered an area of 23 miles which had a speed
of 240km/h.
There was a lateral blast due to plug being removed, which reached
17miles north of the volcano which had temperature of up to 350c
Lahars came from the Columbia and the Cowlitz River which affected up to
300km of the river
Pyroclastic flow covered an area of 6 miles and reached 5 miles from the
volcano which was about 700c at speeds of up to 130 km/h
Ash reached a height of 12 miles and fell in 11 states as far as 430 km
away and had a depth of up to 10 inches from the volcano

Short term impacts

57 people died
Mud flows covered some areas by 50m
Ash covers an area of 22,000 miles2
Ash reached east coast of America
47 bridges, 185 miles of highway and 15 miles of railways all
destroyed
200 house destroyed
Ash created problems with water treatment and transport systems
Estimated cost of $2.74 billion
Volcano decreased in height of by 400m
Over 50,000 animals died with over 40,000 salmon lost due to forced
to swim through turbines in hydroelectric dams along the rivers.

Long term impacts

Due to crop loss it cost 100 million which is 7% of crop value for that region
Tourism vastly increased after the eruption due to interest in the volcano
Very expensive cleanup of the area affected
Power blackouts due to falling ash

Management

There was as of April 30th a red zone around the volcano which people was
restricted access and forced to pay a fine of $500 or imprisonment for 6
months.
After government appointed $1 billion was supplemented to help disaster
relief.

Response

Lots of ash had to be removed with an estimated weight of 1 million

tonnes and cost $2.2 million to remove and some places even took 10
weeks to be cleared
Lots of timber had to be cleared so many people gained jobs if only
temporary
$1 billion was supplemented to help disaster relief

Earthquake case-study
Haiti
Where:
Caribbean islands, Hispaniola, Haiti
When:
12 January 2010
Boundary:
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system, where the Caribbean plate meets the
Gonve Micro-plate
Boundary type:
Conservative plate boundary

What happened:
There was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Richter scale with an
epicentre near the town of Logne, approximately 25 km west of Port-au-Prince.
There were 52 aftershocks all greater than 4.5 on the Richter scale from 12 th
24th January. It caused a tsunami which there were an alert but was immediately
cancelled
Effects:

Effect
People effected

Description
3,000,000 people

Killed

90,000-300,000 people

Injured

300,000 people

Homeless

1,000,000 1,800,000 people

Buildings damaged

300,000 buildings
In some places 90% of buildings
destroyed
1,300 schools and 50 health care
facilities were destroyed
Many roads blocked with debris

Roads
Communications

Disease

There was severe damage to the

communications infrastructure with all
TV and telecommunications cut off
There was also diseases easily spread
through the country with as severe
outbreak of Cholera after the
earthquake

Management

There were make shift shanty towns built for the millions of homeless
Due to the masses of bodies there where mass graves built for all the
bodies or they were burned
Orphanages was destroyed so families in the US adopted 400 children
from Haiti
The Dominican republic sent cook trucks to help supply food

Response:

There was a lot of aid from other countries with the Dominican republic
giving first with food, water and heavy lifting machinery, also hospitals
were made available for the wounded
Many countries arrived with aid and people to help such as doctors and
cooks to help with the recovery
American red cross raised 4million in 24 hours for the Haiti effort
A hospital ship was sent to help with the recovery
There were around 100 planes every day sent to help with the relief effort
Roughly 1 billion was donated to Haiti which was enough to give every
family 22,000 each

Kobe earthquake
Also known as the Great Hanshin earthquake
When: Tuesday, January 17th 1995, at 5.46 am local time

Where: Kobe, Japan

Plate boundaries: Philippines plate sub-ducts under the Eurasian plate
but Kobe lies also on a third boundary with the pacific plate which also
sub-ducts underneath the Eurasian plate.

What happened: An earthquake of magnitude 7.3 beneath Kobe at a

shallow depth of 16km. the earthquake hit Japans second most populous
city with 10 million people living there, it lasted for 20 seconds. The
ground move 1m vertically and 0.5m horizontally. There were a big
outbreak of fires all over the city which caused most deaths there were
also over 1,300 aftershocks. There were also some liquefaction.

Impact

Description

People killed
Injured
Infrastructure

Over 6,300
40,000
Roads blocked by debris and the
Hanshin Expressway, motorway
built on stilts toppled over. Railways
were also buckled and station
damaged so bullet train was out of
service. At the port 120 out of 150
ships were destroyed and most of
the cranes fell or tilted making the
dock not usable
There were 200,000 building
collapses
All utilities such as electricity,
telephones and gas where shut
down to prevent further damage
but some gas still leaked which
caused over 150 fires which killed
over 1,000 people.
300,000
Many of the factories such as
Mitsubishi closed for a couple weeks
$100 billion or 2.5% of GDP
Only 3% of the city had earthquake
insurance

Buildings
Utilities

Homeless
Industry
Cost
Insurance

Management:

Many of the public systems such as electricity, gas etc where back
up and running by the following July, along with most of the rubble
from the earthquake
All the trains were up and running again by August.
30,000 troops were sent to assist with the cleanup
250 trucks of bottled water was sent into the city
Buildings such as schools were turned into temporary
accommodation for 270,000 people.

Response

The people of Kobe learned from the catastrophe by improving the

safety standards of their buildings, making sure they were made of
earthquake-proof also fire-proof materials, making sure that the
buildings were built on solid rock, and ensuring that all houses and
buildings would be able to absorb shocks well.
There were more seismographs and other machines installed in
order to better keep track of how the earth was moving, so they
would be better prepared next time.
The highway had rubber blocks to help absorb the shock installed
Buildings were built further apart so less likely to collapse onto each
other.
Many people moved away from a city to a area less prone to
earthquakes
Many old buildings collapsed so newer earthquake proof buildings
were built in their place.