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Catastrophic Events

Catastrophic Events. Catastrophic Events. Catastrophic Event Any event naturally occuring or caused by human action that: Causes severe damage to the land Endangers human life or causes loss of life Speeds up the effects of erosion and deposition Also known as natural disasters. Tornadoes.

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Catastrophic Events

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  1. Catastrophic Events

  2. Catastrophic Events • Catastrophic Event • Any event naturally occuring or caused by human action that: • Causes severe damage to the land • Endangers human life or causes loss of life • Speeds up the effects of erosion and deposition • Also known as natural disasters

  3. Tornadoes • High speed rotating winds often greater than 250 mph forming a funnel shaped cloud • Extreme low pressure causing materials to be sucked up into the funnel like a vacuum • Ranked from F-0 Tornado (light damage such as broken tree limbs) to F-5 Tornado (total demolition of and area including concrete sucked up from the ground) • Causes erosion

  4. Meteor Strike • Meteor are objects in space that collide with Earth • What would be the effects of such a strike from a LARGE Meteor? • Creation of a crater with a lot of localized damage • Debris would fill the atmosphere for years blocking sunlight . How would this affect life on Earth? • Plants die due to lack of light, animals starve, temperatures cool down causing an ice age. • Some Scientists theorize that a large meteor strike caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

  5. Droughts Long periods of time with little to no significant precipitation What other disasters can this cause? Famine, Dust Storm, Erosion of soil.

  6. 8. Wildfires • Caused by lighting or careless handling of fire • What conditions could make fire more likely to occur? • Lighting, drought, high winds • What other disasters could this bring? • Floods, Erosion, smoke blocking out sunlight

  7. Flood • Occurs when a body of water overflows its normal boundaries • What disasters could cause a flood? • Caused by heavy rains from hurricanes or thunderstorms • melting snow or ice • Causes damage to home, property and erosion of top soils

  8. 5.Hurricanes Hurricanes/Typhoons/Cyclones Hurricane Katrina • A large, swirling, low pressure system forming over a warm ocean with a calm “eye” in the center

  9. Hurricanes/Typhoons/Cyclones • Measured by the Saffir-Simpson Scale from Category 1 (winds of >75mph) to Category 5 (winds >155mph) • Called a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean, a typhoon in the Pacific Ocean and a cyclone in the Indian Ocean • What other disasters can this cause? • Often bring storm surge (flooding), tornadoes and heavy rain onto land causing erosion. • The more people move towards the coasts the greater in damage costs

  10. Earthquakes Earthquakes occur when the plates, making up the crust of the Earth, move causing energy to be released in the form of a wave The movement is along the boundary of the plates called a fault and the waves are called seismic waves Seismic waves are measured by the Richter Scale on a machine called a seismograph

  11. Tsunamis After an earthquake occurs on the ocean floor, the shift can cause a huge wave to form and rush towards land Most tsunamis are less than 1 meter deep on formation however as the distance from the seafloor to the surface of the water decreases as the wave moves towards land, the height of the tsunami increases (can be as high as 30m above sea level) racing towards land at speeds averaging 700 meters per hour. Not all ocean floor earthquakes form a tsunami, however, a tsunami cannot form without the earthquake occurring

  12. 7. Volcano • Magma from deep within the Earth rises to the surface of a cone shaped mountain scorching everything in its path • Volcanoes form where there is movement of the plates of the Earth’s crust (both at convergent and divergent boundaries)

  13. Volcanic Eruptions • How can a Volcanic Eruption cause problems away from the immediate area? • Volcanic dust and ash are thrown into the air blocking sunlight for long periods. • How would this affect climate? • Colder temperatures and fewer plants • Higher amounts of sulfur producing ACID RAIN. • Potential for flooding, mudslides erosion.

  14. Ring Of Fire • Area along the plate boundaries where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

  15. 9. Mass movements Large areas of land changes location over a period of time (change can be gradual or can occur quickly) What are different types of mass movement? Avalanche Landslides Mudflows Usually occurs with another event such as: floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or after wildfires

  16. Wildfires Fires that are either naturally forming due to lightning strikes or man made that burn large amounts of land Forest fires can cause an increase in flooding.

  17. Summary Questions • Scientists hypothesize that a large meteorite struck the Earth and killed all the dinosaurs, even those on the other side of the Earth. Describe how this event could have caused their extinction. • How do we plan ahead in order to survive catastrophic events?

  18. Yet more Summary Questions • Explain possible impacts of a volcanic eruption on the Earth’s surface. • If cities along coasts and major inland waterways experienced a population growth, what affects would this growth cause if floods and hurricanes occur.

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