EOSC 114 – The Catastrophic

Earth: Natural Disasters

Earthquakes Volcanoes Landslides

Storms Waves
Photos: Karen Kasmauski; /news.discovery.com/earth/volcano-ecuador-
guatamala.html; Brett Gilley; flickr user mrpbps; USGS; NASA
Impacts
 Today
Welcome and Introductions
Teaching Team and Topics
Course Goals
Disaster info you need
About the course
Background Information
 Introductions… You
Take out a blank piece of paper
Write down your name
And
One thing that people might not guess
just by looking at you
 A Fragile System?
Nat.Dis./Rare Events
• measuring our earth
• disaster frequency
• hazard vs. risk
Materials
• characteristics
Energy
• types of energy
• build-up / release
• conversions
Is Earth Fragile?
• population
• humans vs. earth
 The Shaking Earth
Earthquakes
• global distribution, plate tectonics
• local effects, Cascadia
Earthquake Sources
• tectonic forces, rock deformation
• faults, stress
Seismic Energy
• ground motion, wave types
• seismic waves
Human Impact Engineering
• earthquakes don’t kill...
Karen Kasmauski,National Geographic
• ground motion, building motion
Mitigation & Forecasting
Fields
• geology, geophysics, seismology
 The Explosive Earth
Volcanoes
• magma / lava properties
• eruptive products, landforms
• local volcanoes, case studies
• threats (lava, lahars, ash,
pyroclastic flows, gases,...)
• monitoring, prediction
• plate tectonic setting
Fields
• geology, volcanology

Photo Credit: /news.discovery.com/earth/volcano-ecuador-guatamala.html

The Unstable Ground
Landslides
• socioeconomic impacts
• types of mass movements
• causes - triggers - effects
• slope stability: shear strength vs stress
• case studies, BC issues, liquifaction
• investigation, prevention, mitigation
Fields
• geological engineering
• hydrology, glaciology

Photo: Brett Gilley

 The Turbulent Atmosphere
Thunderstorms
• hail, lightning
• downbursts
• gust fronts
• storm energy
Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Fields
• meteorology
• atmospheric sci.

Photo: flickr user mrpbps CC License

 The Violent Ocean
Waves
How they work:
water, waves, energy
Destructive Ocean Waves
• storm surge
• tsunami
• seiche
• rogue waves
Waves on Shorelines
• erosion
• longshore drift
• mitigation
The Future...
Fields
• oceanography Photo: USGS
 Mass Extinctions
Mass Extinctions
• biosphere evolution
• timelines, biostratigraphy
• biodiversity, fossils
• causes of mass extinction
• K/P Event
• dinosaur extinction
• Chicxulub
Meteorite Impacts
• asteroids & comets
• meteors, impact craters
• effects on humans
Fields
• paleontology,
• geochronology,
• biodiversity

Photo: NASA
 A Fragile System? Part 2
Synthesis
• consolidate your
understanding
• linkage of many disasters
Application to You
• disaster scenario
• how you can prepare
Opportunities
• for further study
 Not Every Disaster

Not Covered: • Human-Caused

• Avalanches Disasters
• Forest Fires such as:
• Heat/Cold Waves • Climate Change
• Blizzards • War/Terrorism,
• Floods • Nuclear Winter
• Other Disasters

Photo Credit: Steve Devries

 Why are we doing this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBdvv
XyS-r4&feature=related
A comment on humour

2011 Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami

15,889 deaths,
6,152 injured,
and 2,609 people missing
 Course Goals
A. For earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides,
storms, waves, and meteor impacts, you will:
• Describe how they work.
• Locate the dangerous places where they've
often occurred.
• Describe ways to observe and monitor them.
• Find out why it's hard to forecast them.
• Learn what you and your community can do
to prepare for them.
 Course Goals
B. We will strive to:
• Empower you to be a survivor.
• Enable you to approach new challenges
insightfully.
• Sharpen your observations of nature.
• Stimulate your excitement in our planet.
 Optional Resource
A text:
• Does not matter which one
• Our old texts:
Natural disasters: Custom
Edition for the University of
British Columbia – McGraw
Hill
 Required Resource
iClicker remote:
• 5% participation for
answering iClicker Questions
• Your chance to “make
mistakes”
• We will start recording
iClickers marks Friday
• Register your iClicker
by the end of the month
 iClickers
We know that:
1. Some of you don’t have your clickers yet.
2. You might forget it some days.
3. Your battery might die.
4. You might miss some classes.

Don’t Panic.
Respond to 80% or more of the clicker
questions to earn full marks.
Some notes about Learning
• Lectures are efficient
• Lectures aren’t so great for
retention
• You have to do something
(activities)
• You will be working together
 Some notes about Learning
• There is no gene for these topics
• Being wrong means you are
learning
• Please try to be wrong in class!
• (So you can be right in the exam!)
 Comment from past years
“… At first, I didn't agree with the
interactive aspect of the lectures and
exam; however, I realized it's vital to the
understanding of the topics. As a
naturally shy person, it was
uncomfortable to accept this idea, but I'm
glad I didn't switch to the online version
because I really feel it was a great
experience.”
 iClicker Question - Practice
Which one natural A) Earthquakes or
disaster has most Tsunami
affected you or your B) Volcanoes
family? C) Landslides
(Or if none has
affected you, which
D) Storms
most worries you?) E) Meteor Impacts
(Mass Extinctions)
 Pair up with a neighbour
1)Take out a piece of paper (don’t put
your name on it) and pick one natural
disaster to focus on.

2) This is a deadly disaster. What

information do want to learn to help
you survive this disaster. Create a list.
 Course Connect Site
http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/

Includes:
• Learning Goals • Lecture schedule • Course notes
• Test schedule • Grade distribution • Sample Exam Qs
• and more
 Have Questions?
Before you email a prof! First:
http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/
 Have Questions?
Before you email a prof! Second:
http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/
 Have Questions? - Second
Discussion Boards on Connect
–You can post your questions, and
answer questions from other students.
–TAs also monitor the Discussion Boards
and answer questions.
–Use your campus-wide login (CWL) for
connect
 Have Questions? - Third
Earth Course Assistance Centre (ECAC) - a drop-in help
centre http://www.eos.ubc.ca/courses/ecac/
• 1st floor of EOSC Main bldg. (same bldg as Pacific
Museum of Earth)
• Phone: 604-822-9005 (during hours)
• email: [email protected]

... or Email a Teaching Assistant

[email protected] (any time)
(But the preferred method is via Connect Discussion
Boards.)
 Have Questions?
For other requests (missed exams,
etc.) contact the course administrator:
Lucy Porritt
[email protected]
 Course Evaluation
12% Midterm Exam 1 (individual & group)
12% Midterm Exam 2 (individual & group)
12% Midterm Exam 3 (individual & group)
45% Final Exam (individual & group)
10% Online Homeworks/Quizes
4% Online Project
5% Clicker Participation (for ≥80%
participation)
 Course Evaluation
Assignment & Exam Dates
See Connect - First Exam is Sept 27th!
Test Topics
• Learning Goals!
Tests
• Multiple-choice, closed book.
85% individual and 15% group
• Computer scored
• No calculators, no electronics
 Two stage exams
“These are unlike any test you have
taken before, you will leave the exam
having improved your mark, and with
a smile on your face”
 Optional Lab
EOSC 111 Lab Exploration of
Planet Earth (1 credit)
If you need a lab-based science
credit, take both EOSC 114 & EOSC
111
You are eligible to take the lab if:
Photo: R. Stull
• You are taking EOSC 114,
• or you have taken EOSC 114
Hands-on labs
www.eos.ubc.ca/courses/eosc111/
Don’t Use Laptops in Class

Don’t Distract others!

 Today’s Goals
Define Disaster
List the components of the atom.
List the 1st, 2nd and 3rd most common elements
in the earth, ocean, and atmosphere.
List the metric prefixes and their values from Tera
to Pico
Explain what density is & how it relates to
stratification.
Define fluid, viscosity, and compressibility and
how they relate to the phases of matter.
 What is a disaster?
Easy! Right?

Turn to your neighbour

 Disaster
Dis - Hard, bad, unlucky
Aster – Star (chief star or shooting
star)

“Bad star” or “The stars are evil”

 Disaster
Disaster
Substantial event causing
1) physical damage,
2) injury or loss of life, and/or
3) a drastic change to
the environment
 Matter (Know this!)
Elements: A chemical element consists
of identical atoms.
Atoms: Protons (+) & neutrons in
nucleus, Electrons (-) orbit.
Atomic #: The number of protons.
Atomic Mass #: The number of protons + neutrons.
Isotopes: Same element with same number of protons,
but different numbers of neutrons.
– e.g. carbon12 (= 6 protons + 6 neutrons)
– vs. carbon14 (= 6 protons + 8 neutrons)
•Molecules - Combinations of atoms. Neutral charge.
•Ions - Incomplete combinations of atoms. Have
charge. e.g.: silicate (SiO4)–4
 Earth Materials (Know this!)
Abundance Earth Earth Ocean Atmos.
by Mass Core Crust
Most iron oxygen oxygen nitrogen
2nd Nickel silicon hydrogen oxygen
3rd Oxygen? aluminum chlorine argon
Some Elements mentioned in this Course (Don’t memorize the
list below, just the table above):
Hydrogen (H), Helium (He) , Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), Oxygen
(O), Sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg), Aluminum (Al), Silicon (Si),
Phosphorus (P), Sulphur (S), Chlorine (Cl), Argon (Ar), Potassium
(K), Calcium (Ca), Titanium (Ti), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe),
Nickel (Ni), Iridium (Ir)
 Materials
Compressibility Able to be squeezed or expanded,
so that the mass fills less or more space.
…results in a change in density (mass / volume)
of the object, because of the volume change.

Phases of Matter: Solid, liquid, gas (vapour)

Solids Not very fluid - Not very compressible.
– Liquids Very fluid - Not very compressible.
– Gases Very fluid - Very compressible.
 Materials
Crystals form when molecules
align in a lattice
• Cubic: Halite – Table Salt (NaCl),
• Pyrite (FeS2)
• Octahedral: Diamond (C)
• Fluorite (CaF2)
• Hexagonal: Quartz (SiO2)
• Ice (H2O)
 Materials
Fluids
– Liquids or Gases – flow easily (i.e. change
shape)
Viscosity
– How thick a fluid is
– Measure of resistance to flow
– Depends on temperature & chemical
structure.
 Viscosity
High viscosity – thick, slow flow
Low viscosity – runny, quick flow
 Density
Density = mass / volume = ρ
(how much Matter is in a Space)

Units: kg / m3

Some Examples:
iron = 7870 kg / m3
ocean water = 1025 kg / m3
air = 1.2 kg / m3
 Stratification
Less-dense materials float on top of
denser materials.
Creates layers or Stratification
Stratification
Atmosphere
Ocean
Crust
Mantle
Outer Core
Inner Core
Stratification
Impacts
Storms
Waves
Earthquakes, Volcanoes,
and Landslides
(Deep)
(Very Deep
 Stratification of the Earth
System
These layers/strata are important for
our disasters
Each of them occurs in one or more
strata
The strata defines the disaster
 Disaster Scales
Key to communicating disaster information
Use common, standardized terms and
measurements

Bad example:
“The storm happened that-a-way, 2
generations ago, and was as strong as 500
screaming bunny rabbits.”
 Reminder of Basic Units
International System of Units (SI)
Standard for time is: second (s)

SI Standard unit of distance is:

metre (m)

SI Standard unit of Mass (Matter):

gram (g)
 Quantifying Disasters (Know
this!)
Metric Prefixes:
k = kilo = thousand = 1x103
M = mega = million = 1x106
G = giga = billion = 1x109
T = tera = trillion = 1x1012

c = centi = hundredth = 1x10–2

m = milli = thousandth = 1x10–3
μ = micro = millionth = 1x10–6
n = nano = billionth = 1x10–9
P = pico = trillionth = 1x10-12
 Quantifying Disasters
Numbers in metric
Value = number & magnitude & prefix & units.
Examples:
5 x 102 km
Means:
5 times 100 times thousand x m = 500,000 m

5 x 10–1 Mm
Means:
5 times 0.1 times million x m = 500,000 m (same thing!)
 What you should do next
Read the skipped slides from today’s class before
Wednesday (Green Stars)
• Visit the course Connect Site:
http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/
• Post a hello on the discussion boards (tell us your
interesting thing)
• Find ECAC (and the Museum) in EOS Main
Complete:
• Homework 1a Background Knowledge by Sept 10th and a
Second Chance at this quiz by Sept 20
• Homework 1b and 1c – Worksheet and answers by Sept
20th