1. Would earthquakes of similar magnitudes in different regions of the planet ca
ID: 113346 • Letter: 1
Question
1. Would earthquakes of similar magnitudes in different regions of the planet cause approximately the same levels of damage? In your explanation, consider both geologic and human-induced factors.
2. Alfred Wegener presented compelling evidence for his continental drift hypothesis (despite lacking a mechanism) in 1912. So why was the true nature of plate boundaries not determined until the 1960s? (Hint: Don't think of historical scientific developments, but rather the scope and rate of geological processes involved in plate tectonics.)
100 words per question please.
Explanation / Answer
1) The Answer is No because earthquakes of similar magnitude can cause dramatically different levels of damage depending upon the geology and human-induced factors.
An earthquake is a sudden shaking of the ground, when some form of energy that is stored in Earth’s crust is suddenly released, which leads to earthquake.
Geologic factors are:
The length of time of the shaking, the location, the movement of the ground, and the distance from the epicenter.
1.Location
If an earthquake occurs in a populated area damage is more than the unpopulated area or the middle of the seas or ocean.
2. Richter scale
If the magnitude on the Richter scale is more then the damage is also more.
3. Epicenter
The epicenter is the point at the surface right above where the earthquake originates.The location of an earthquake is commonly described by the geographic position of its epicenter and by its focal depth.
Earthquakes are caused by natural processes within the atmosphere or within earth’s crust, but sometimes, humans can actually influence or induce some natural disasters by themselves.
Human-induced factors are:
1. Hydraulic fracturing or injection wells
When extracting the fossil fuel from the ground, workers drill into the crust and inject chemicals in order to disturb and fracture the ground.However, this can cause earthquakes because the induced chemicals to underground to extarct natural gas is not in a natural way.Adding lubrication that may lead to an earthquake.
2. Dams and reservoirs
We see dams and reservoirs all over the world. The main purpose of dams and reservoirs is to store large quantities of water for future use and generate electricity.This water is extremely heavy, powerful and contains a massive amount of potential energy concentrated all in one area.The huge amount of potential energy that is created by this water can induce an earthquake.
3. Geothermal power plants
Geothermal power plants make electricity by powering a generator from hot, pressurized water extracted from deep within the crust.
Earthquakes can also caused by extraction of groundwater,when construction takes place and many more factors can be consider.
But the damage is not same everywhere though the magnitude is same.
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