Volcanoes and Earthquakes

•   What role do plate tectonics play in volcanic activity?

  Tectonic plates are essential in the volcanic activity because when they separate magma goes up, the fractures that these have are where magma goes up.
• How do volcanic eruptions affect the environment?

  It can affect the environment with Hazards. Volcanic eruptions impact the environment by releasing ash and gases that can cause global cooling and acid rain, Lava flows and pyroclastic surges destroy habitats and reshape landscapes, while contaminating water systems.
• Can volcanoes cause changes in climate?

  Volcanoes can cause temporary cooling by blocking sunlight with ash and gases, and over long periods, they can also contribute to warming by releasing CO₂.
• What is a volcano? Is MAGMA and LAVA the same?

  It is a fissure or opening in the crust of a planet, through which very hot gases, lava and rock fragments are ejected. Magma and lava aren´t the same, because lava is the magma once emerged on Earth.
• Difference types of volcanoes depending on its activity

  Active Volcanoes:

  -Recently erupted

  -Likely to erupt again

  Dormant Volcanoes:

  -Long period since last eruption

  -Expected to erupt again

  Extinct Volcanoes:

  -No eruption in tens of thousands of years

  -Unlikely to erupt again
•   Natural disasters that are consequences of the volcanic eruptions

  The natural disasters caused are:

  -Lava flow: that destroys rivers, causes forest fires...

  -Pyroclastic Flow: a current of gas and ash.

  -Lahar: It is when snow is melted by the heat, and the water mixed with debris and shed, destroys everything in its path.

  -Explosion: The explosions of the volcanoes.

  -Ash: It can bury regions, destroy harvest and damage all land. 
•       How are volcanoes formed?

  They are formed when magma rises through the cracks of the lithosphere, while the gases trapped in the magma expand, helping magma to rise, when magma is collected in a magma chamber, it rises up through the vent.
• Define SEISMOLOGY and SEISMOGRAPH

  Seismology: It is the science that studies earthquakes.

  Seismograph: Device that precisely records the tremors of earthquake waves.
•       Describe the 3 different types of waves in an earthquake 

  Primary waves: The fastest seismic waves that travel through all materials,

  Secondary waves: Are slower than the primary ones, but cannot travel through liquids or gases, also the speed increases as the material becomes more rigid, the vibrations are perpendicular to the direction of travel.

  Surface waves: When the both of them  reach the surface of the Earth, they become surface waves, these are slowest ones, but the ones with more amplitude, so they have the biggest waves.
• HYPOCENTER and EPICENTER.  What do the intensity of the earthquake depend  on?

  Hypocenter: The point in the geosphere where an earthquake starts.

  Epicenter: The closest point to the epicenter, also the first point to experience the waves.

  The intensity depends on the magnitude of the earthquake, that is the amount of energy released.
• How are the faults formed? Explain two different types of faults

  
  

  If the forces acting on the rock are so strong that they can no longer be plasic, then the rocks break and the resulting blocks move, the fracture is called a fault.

  
  

  Normal: Because of the action of tensional forces.

  Reverse: Because of the compressive forces.
• Which scale do humans use to meassure the intensity of earthquakes? Describe that scale

  We have two scales; 

  Richter scale: Based on the amplitude of the largest seismic wave recorded. 1 would be a small explosión, 2 a butane gas explosión, 3 gas plant exposion.... and 7 the Colombia earthquake.

  Moment magnitude scale: Bases on the slip on the fault where the earthquake happened. 7 would be the Haiti earthquake, 9.5 the Chile earthquake, and 13 would be the Chichxulub cráter.