Earth Science
Unit 3
Have you, or someone you know, personally experienced an earthquake? Describe the moment just before the earthquake. What was the earthquake itself like? How was your life and the local population affected?
Or:
Imagine that your city was hit by a major earthquake. What kind of damage would you see? For example, are there dams upstream of your city that might burst and release floodwaters? Are there any major pipelines that would be vulnerable, leading to fires? Are you near a coast? Is there a threat of tsunamis? Do you think your city’s building codes are enough to withstand a major earthquake?
My friend described to me the experience of an earthquake. While watching a football match in a hotel, there was some rumbling noise. Suddenly, the tables and chairs started shaking. After about a minute, the shaking intensified to the point that loose objects were falling on the floor. After about three minutes, the shaking subsided and they all run out to a flat ground outside the hotel. Some buildings collapsed while others developed cracks along the walls. For the rest of the week, business came to a standstill, as the entire community was involved in searching for people buried under the rumble.
Unit 4
Discuss the geologic history of the area where you live or grew up. Discuss some of the major factors that might have played a role in shaping the local terrain (major rivers, sea-level changes, volcanoes, ancient sea beds, glaciers, earthquakes, etc.). If needed, spend a few minutes researching your state on-line, (search for your state and “geologic history”). Be sure to list all sources that you use in your answer.
Based on the descriptions of the other students, respond to a student who lives in a place that you would like to live or visit. What is it about the geology of the place that intrigues you? Be sure to keep the discussion based in science
One of the major factors that has shaped the area I live is the action of rivers and ocean levels millions of years age. Tennessee region comprises of three major physical landforms, which include highlands and basins, mountains, and the river valley plain. The area is divided into three major divisions namely East Division, Middle, and West Tennessee Division (Rodgers, 1993). During the Paleozoic era, deposition of sediments to the Mississippian occurred, affecting the Middle Tennessee region. These sediments came from the Ordovician period. The sediments comprised of deep ocean limestone. During the Mesozoic era, sediment deposition occurred along the Tennessee River basin. During the Cenozoic era, there was a significant drop in the seal level (Rodgers, 1993). This led to formation of the deep Tennessee River valley. One of the place I would like to visit is the Utah region to learn more about the canyons and the rocky terrain.
Unit 5
This NASA video shows one example of how humans have impacted the oceans. Discuss at least two other examples of how human activities impact oceans. You might consider fisheries, oil exploration, transportation, dams, global climate change, shoreline development, etc. Be sure to explain how these activities affect the oceans.In your response to another student, discuss ways that we might lessen our impact on the oceans.
Human activities such as oil exploration significantly impact the marine environment. Oil exploration in the sea has resulted in oil spills over the past, which negatively affect the marine environment. In addition, dangerous substances such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and others contaminate ocean waters during oil mining (In Allen, In Pondella, & In Horn, 2006). All these lead to destruction of marine life. Global climate change has led to melting of the polar ice caps. This has contributed to rising sea levels. The oceans are absorbing more heat than usual due to climate change. This has led to high sea surface temperatures, which in turn affects currents and water salinity. Humans can lessen the impact of dam construction on the oceans by building smaller dams. Large dams have a high impact on the river flow, which affects the marine environment.
Unit 7
When comparing tornadoes and hurricanes, which do you consider more destructive and why? You might compare how they differ in size, speed, predictability, or damage. Have you ever experienced either? Describe your experience.
Hurricanes are more destructive. There are two reasons why they are destructive than tornadoes. First, hurricanes last longer than tornadoes. Hurricanes can last for more than two days and cover a wide region, while tornadoes are localized and cover a small region. Secondly, hurricanes are sometimes accompanied by heavy rainfall and flooding, which adds to their destructive power. I have experienced a hurricane in the past. The hurricane had strong powerful winds accompanied by heavy downpour.
Unit 8
Part I: It has been stated that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do the oceans. Compare what you have learned in Unit V with this Unit. Do you think, as a nation, we should invest more resources in space exploration or in ocean exploration? Why? Support your answer.
The nation should invest more in ocean exploration. Vast parts of the ocean remains unexplored even today. Exploring the ocean may not be an enormous challenge since the technology is already in place to facilitate deep-sea exploration. This can help in documenting additional sea species and learning more about the evolutionary history. While space exploration is interesting, the current technology is limited due to the vast distances. As such, space exploration is unlikely to yield any tangible results in the near future. One of the things I learnt from the course and will stick me for a long time is about the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. The topics were relatively easy, thus I did not struggle with any topic.
Reference
In Allen, L. G., In Pondella, D. J., & In Horn, M. H. (2006). Ecology of marine fishes: California and adjacent waters. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Rodgers, J. (1993). Geological map of East Tennessee with explanatory text. State of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Geology. Retrieved from http://www.tennessee.gov/assets/entities/environment/attachments/geology_bulletin- 58_2text.pdf
