Paper Example on Geology in the News

Introduction

People cannot control nature and its powerful forces. Natural events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods keep occurring in different geographical locations on earth. These geologic processes have a direct, and often catastrophic, effect on life and human beings. They sometimes occur with a severity that causes loss of lives and damage to property on a massive scale. When these processes end up destroying life and property, they are referred to as natural disasters. Natural disasters are often overwhelming to local response teams and can severely hamper the economic and social development of a region.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Volcanic Eruption in Kilauea, Hawaii

Volcanic eruptions occur when molten magma and gases are discharged from a volcano. Magma is formed due to the melting of rocks deep within the earth's surface. The extreme heat in the earth's crust causes some rocks to melt away and form magma. The liquid state makes it light, and hence it floats above the rocks into magma chambers. When the magma accumulates, it builds up the pressure, and it begins to force its way to the surface via vents and fissures where it erupts as lava. Volcanic eruptions can be explosive or not depending on the viscosity of the lava. Runny lava allows gases to escape while thick lava locks in the gases thus generating the explosive effect. The explosive nature of Mt. St. Hellens was caused by thick lava ("How Do Volcanoes Erupt?", 2018). Volcanic eruptions can have devastating consequences on people's lives depending on their severity.

Runny lava has been witnessed in the recent Hawaii eruptions. The Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupted on 3rd May. Geologists are suggesting that it could be the largest eruption in the history of this volcano with estimates showing that it could last for months or years. The lava has been flowing consistently, and it is under pressure since it is emanating from a single fissure. The lava is extremely hot, and it incinerates everything in its path making it a danger to humans. It has destroyed approximately 800 homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate in caution (Gorman, 2018). If the walls of the fissure give away, more people could be at risk since they will be exposed to the running lava. Volcanoes lead to loss of property and destruction of lives.

Hokkaido Earthquake in Japan

Earthquakes are formed as a result of the coming together of two tectonic plates along a fault line. The earth's surface is made up of a thin skin composed of the crust and upper mantle. However, this outer layer is not all in one piece but rather in different parts like a jigsaw puzzle ("The Science of Earthquakes," 2018). These pieces are known as tectonic plates, and they are in constant movement as they slide and bump against each other. The plate boundaries come together and form an area with fault lines, and hence it is why many earthquakes occur in the same geographical zones. The plate boundaries are rough edges, and hence they get stuck as the plates keep moving. Pressure builds up because the energy used in sliding past each other is not dispensed. When the force of the moving tectonic plates overcomes the friction at the edges, they become unstuck, and an earthquake occurs as the pent-up energy is released. The energy flows in seismic waves that reach the earth's surface causing the tremors ("The Science of Earthquakes," 2018).

The Japanese island of Hokkaido was rocked by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake on 6th September. People were reported dead while others were injured and displaced by this earthquake that paralyzed the entire island. It paralyzed train transport, triggered landslides, collapsed buildings, and knocked out electric installations leaving the 5.3 million residents without power. The tremor lasted for about 30 seconds, and it shook buildings and caused mudslides which buried cars on the roads. A series of smaller shocks followed this initial one ("Japan earthquake," 2018).

Landslides in Sri Lanka

The term landslide refers to the uncontrollable downhill movement of massive amounts of rocks, earth, and debris. Landslides occur when materials on steep slopes are forced downward, and they can happen gradually or suddenly. The landslides are caused by multiple factors that may affect the stability of a hill, but the primary cause is usually the influence of gravity. Gravitational forces exert a downward pull on the weakened materials that make up a slope, and the downward motion is either gradual or sudden depending on the stability of a region ("Landslide", 2018). Landslides are classified depending on the type of materials that move downslope. For example, there are mudslides, debris flows, and rock falls.

Landslides can occur due to geology where the earth or rock is fractured, weak, or structured in different layers that cause imbalance. Morphology is also a contributor since slopes that lose their vegetation have nothing to hold the materials in place. It makes a slope vulnerable to external triggers like rain. Heavy rainfall and snowmelts can trigger landslides due to the massive amounts of water that alter the pressure within a slope. The change in pressure leads to instability as the water-laden materials, which are now heavier than when they were dry, succumb quickly to gravity ("Landslide", 2018). Human activities like construction, excavation, and deforestation also destabilize the surface materials thus triggering landslides.

Heavy rains hit Sri Lanka in 2017 leading to devastating flooding and triggering landslides that killed over 100 people (Horswill, 2017). People who live downhill in vulnerable slopes end up suffering death and destruction when landslides occur suddenly. Two days of heavy rainfall had triggered the landslides as the slopes became saturated with water. Deforestation had contributed to these floods since it had left the soil bare, which reduced its water-holding capacity. The victims died when entire mountainsides were dislodged by the floods and fell on the homes below. Hundreds of others had been displaced from their homes and had to congregate in temporary shelters opened by the government (Horswill, 2017).

Flooding in Kerala, India

Flooding occurs due to massive amounts of water encroaching on the previously dry land. Floods can build up over time or occur suddenly thus leaving people with no chance to evacuate. One of the most common ways that floods occur is when heavy rains cause rivers, dams, and streams to fill past their capacity("Floods", 2018). When they are full, the water pressure pushes against the banks causing the water to overflow and spill over to dry land. A ruptured dam levee could also cause flooding if it gives way causing the massive amounts of water to flow downhill inundating everything suddenly. Heavy rains in waterlogged areas also cause flooding as the soil quickly exhausts its drainage capacity. Rapidly melting ice caps and glaciers also lead to flooding as the amount of water flowing downhill suddenly increases. Coastal flooding is another significant cause since hurricanes and tsunamis cause disturbances on the ocean thus moving the water in waves ("Floods", 2018). When such waves reach the shoreline, they have nowhere else to go but inland. This sudden injection of massive amounts of water causes deadly flash floods in coastal regions.

India's state of Kerala experienced some of the worst floods to have occurred in a century. The floods in August were caused by weeks of consistently heavy rainfall that triggered landslides in the hilly areas and caused 34 dams to open their floodgates as they rapidly filled to dangerous levels (Safi, 2018). The coastal regions of Kerala were also swamped. Meteorologists said that Kerala had received about 37.5% more rainfall than the usual. The floods submerged roads and damaged communication networks killing about 300 people and leaving more than 220,000 homeless (Safi, 2018).

Conclusion

People have no control over the occurrence of natural events. When they occur and impact human lives, these events are referred to as natural disasters. Many disasters have hit various regions on earth leading to death and destruction of property. The recent volcanic eruption in Hawaii, the landslides in Sri Lanka, the earthquake in Japan, and the floods in India all show how natural events can end up exerting a toll on people. All these events resulted in death and destruction of property as they created humanitarian crises. People can learn from the patterns of events to minimize the scale of disaster. For example, building away from coastlines will reduce the destruction that occurs in coastal regions.

References

Floods. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/floods/?user.testname=none

Gorman, S. (2018). Hawaii volcano eruption slows to a virtual halt after more than three months. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hawaii-volcano/hawaii-volcano-eruption-slows-to-virtual-halt-after-more-than-three-months-idUSKBN1KS0DY

Horswill, I. (2017). More rain forecast in Sri Lanka where landslides have killed 126 people with 97 missing. Retrieved from https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/more-rain-forecast-in-sri-lanka-where-landslides-have-killed-126-people-with-97-missing/news-story/714a5204300e95c1d8f50ed9ddec0371

How Do Volcanoes Erupt? (2018). Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-do-volcanoes-erupt?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products

Japan earthquake: Eight dead and dozens missing in landslides as lights go out on Hokkaido. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/06/landslides-power-outages-powerful-earthquake-hits-japan/

Landslide. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/landslide/Safi, M. (2018). Kerala floods: death toll rises to at least 324 as rescue effort continues. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/17/kerala-floods-death-toll-rescue-effort-india

The Science of Earthquakes. (2018). Retrieved from https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/eqscience.php