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Earthquakes have been a natural part of Earth for many years and are caused by a shift In the Earth’s tectonic plates. Tectonic plates shift when two separated pieces of Earth’s crust push together because of the pressure of the hot air below them pushing up on the plates from the heat of the Earth’s core. This pressure must be released somehow, so when the pressure becomes too great for the plates to withstand, one part of a plate gives way to the pressure by rising above the other part of the tectonic plate. This then causes the top plate to overlap and collide with the other plate.
This collision causes a massive shake on Earth, which we know most commonly as an earthquake, or seismic activity. When tectonic plates that are not submerged underwater shift, It causes an earthquake on land. When tectonic plates that are submerged underwater by a large lake or an ocean shift, it creates a tsunami. These two reactions can cause different sizes of disaster. The sum of the damage created by an earthquake is measured on the Richter scale, where a 1. 0 earthquake has done the least amount of damage, and a 10. 0 earthquake has done the most amount of damage.
My goal in writing this report is to conclude if we should or should not geothermal drill into the Earth to receive power to our power rids. Recommendation: My recommendation as relating to earthquakes and tsunamis Is to begin to decrease the amount of geothermal drilling In the united states. Earthquakes can be induced by this drilling as the drills companies use drill into the reservoir of hot water Just above the Earth’s lower crust. When this reservoir is drilled into, a massive amount of pressure is released, causing the water in the reservoir to turn to steam In an instant.
This steam then rises up the drill and powers a motor which powers our power grids. This sudden release In pressure from drilling can cause a big problem: the pressure pushing up on the tectonic plates becomes unequal in spots. When the pressure becomes unequal, it causes one part of the tectonic plate to fall just a hair, and that is all it takes. Then the tectonic plate splits, causing the side with more pressure to overlap the side with lower pressure. When the plates collide and settle on top of each other, it causes an earthquake or a tsunami.
Other events that can take place due to seismic activity are landslides, fires, receive power by using solar power, windmills, or even electric-kinetic road ramps, where cars drive over a pad in the road that activates a motor. We have plenty of other ways to produce electricity then geothermal drilling, so why continue to use a theory to give us power that could cause mass destruction? A>E: Despite previous findings, there is a such thing as earthquake weather. When the atmosphere warms or cools dramatically, it is usually a sign that an earthquake will occur soon.
This extreme warming or cooling will block off the water that seeps into the ground to keep the reservoir in the upper crust full. When this reservoir of water begins to dry up as a result of a lack of rain, it puts more stress on the tectonic latest by making them dry and all the while more brittle. As you can imagine, the process of sandstone drying makes it easier to snap than if the sandstone was wet like putty. The same theory applies to tectonic plates: the sandstone drying up makes the tectonic plates more prone to shifting or snapping in half.
When more rain falls from the atmosphere and creates floods, it overflows the reservoir and soaks the dirt. Once again, as you can imagine, this soggy sandstone will crumble. The reservoir in the upper crust needs Just the right amount of water to keep the tectonic plates stuck together like glue. Before the Haiti earthquake, the electron contentment of the ionosphere skyrocketed so greatly that it reached its maximum count. Infrared emissions also skyrocketed, which gave researchers a big hint that when the weather becomes significantly warmer, an earthquake is very likely to happen.
According to http://www. Anytime. Com/cirri/2009/11120/climacteric-how-storms- can-trigger-earthquakes-28304. HTML, storms can trigger earthquakes. Most of these earthquake – triggering storms come with massive amounts of rain. Such powerful rainstorms result in a sudden decrease in the pressure buildup under the reservoir, cause water to shoot up to land – almost like a geyser – and then the spot where the water shot out of collapses. This collapse is caused by the friction of two tectonic plates that have split apart and are fighting for space, so to speak.
Then one half of the plate gives out, and slides over the top of the other plate. This is such a great amount of friction that it sends a “showplace” through many states, if not through the ocean, too. E>A: A recent underwater seismic movement (earthquake) cracked the seabed near Pakistani. In most cases, Methane gas is stored under the sea bed. When this seabed racked, it sent methane gas bubbles floating up to the top of the ocean to pop and release methane into the atmosphere. Methane gas is very harmful to the atmosphere, as according to http://www. EPA. Ova . Just like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, methane is also a greenhouse gas. Methane traps in the Sun’s heat, which can cause significant heating of the atmosphere. Can trigger volcanic eruptions, ash can be sent into the atmosphere, too. All of these three emissions into the atmosphere can add to the deadly effects of air pollution. Last but not least, as according to http://www. Ask. Mom/question/how-do-earthquakes- affect-the-atmosphere, the combination of gas, dirt, and ash that is released into the atmosphere can block out the Sun for a number of days.
B>E: As far as my research brought me on how the biosphere influenced an earthquake, I could not come to a conclusion as to how any other organism that lives on Earth besides humans influenced earthquakes. According to http:// www. Data. Sec. Org/Module/footnote. HTML, humans are indeed the only living organisms that can influence or effect and earthquake. When humans geothermal drill to send our power grids power, they release the eater that is held in the reservoirs below the tectonic plates that the tectonic plates rely on.
Although many gee – drilling companies claim that they vaporize only 75% of the water in the reservoir and release 25% back in, NOAA claims that the story isn’t quite true. When the water is taken out of the reservoirs that the tectonic plates rely on, it causes the plates to dry up and become prone to movement. We also influence earthquakes by drilling water wells, drilling for oil, and by creating injection wells. E>B: Earthquakes send massive amounts of dirt, dust, debris, and methane into the atmosphere.
These pollutants in the air can trap the heat given by the Sun, therefore adding to the effects of global warming. When these pollutants trap the heat, it can add more of an affect to global warming by acting like a Thermos – everything inside stays heated up for at least 6 hours. 6 hours of the heat trapped from the sun inside our ozone layer can be enough to melt polar ice caps by 2 inches in 6 hours, as according to http://www. Wunderkind. Com/climate/scale. Asp. Heating of other places such as the ocean and other lakes and bodies of water can greatly affect species too.