Contemporary+Science+Research

Contemporary Science Research

Research in 2011

For this section, I have done research on 3 topics. They are Earthquake, Tsunami and Volcano.

1. **__Earthquakes__**



Earthquakes are defintely not something you want to trifle with. An earthquake is the result two blocks of earth passing one another. The fault, or the fault plane, is the surface where they slip. The hypocenter is the area directly beneath the surface of the earth. It is where the earthquake begins. Conversely, the epicenter is the area directly above the earth's surface



.

Foreshocks are earthquakes which are of smaller magnitude recorded on the Ritcher Scale as compared to another earthquake which follows that has a larger magnitude recorded on the Ritcher Scale. A main earthquake is usually named as a mainshock. A mainshock is the earthquake with the largest magnitude. To date, it is impossible to tell if an earthquake is a foreshock or a mainshock till a larger earthquake occurs. Aftershocks is another type of earthquakes. A mainshock will always be followed by an aftershock, which is a smaller earthquake as compared to the mainshock. It occurs at the same location as the mainshock. The aftershock can continue from days to even months depending on the severity of the mainshock.

The earth comprises of 4 major layers. They are the inner core, the outer core, the crust and the mantle. Both the crust and the top of the mantle forms a thin 'skin' on the surface of Earth. This 'skin' is made up of many pieces move around, sliding pass one another, and in the process, bumping into each other. These pieces which form the 'skin' are called tectonic plates. The edges of these tectonic plates are usually called plate boundaries. They are made up of many faults and earthquakes mostly occur on these faults. These edges of the plates are by nature rough and they will be stuck at one spot while the rest of the plate moves. An earthquake occurs when the plate moved a sufficient distance, following which, the edges unstick on one of the fault. This, in turn, forms an earthquake.



The earth shakes when there is an earthquake. The edges of faults are stuck together while the rest of the block is moving. Energy is being stored up while the rest of the block moves. As a result, the energy causing blocks to slide past one another is being stored up. Once the force of the moving blocks is greater than the friction of the jagged edges of the fault and unsticks itself, there is a release of all the stored energy. It vibrates in all direction in the form of seismic waves. A good illustration of seismic waves would be the ripples on a pond. These waves shake the earth as they navigate through the earth. When they finally reach the surface of the earth, they shake the ground and everything on it. As a result, the earth shakes when there is an earthquake.

The severity of an earthquake is measured by the Richter Magnitude Scale, which is determined by the logarithm of the amplitude of waves recorded by a seismograph. This table below shows the description, earthquake effects, frequency of occurence and of the different magnitudes measured by the Richter Magnitude Scale.

(//Based on U.S. Geological Survey documents.//)
 * ~ Richter magnitudes ||~ Description ||~ Earthquake effects ||~ Frequency of occurrence ||
 * Less than 2.0 || Micro || Micro earthquakes, not felt. || About 8,000 per day ||
 * 2.0–2.9 || Minor || Generally not felt, but recorded. || About 1,000 per day ||
 * 3.0–3.9 ||^  || Often felt, but rarely causes damage. || 49,000 per year (est.) ||
 * 4.0–4.9 || Light || Noticeable shaking of indoor items, rattling noises. Significant damage unlikely. || 6,200 per year (est.) ||
 * 5.0–5.9 || Moderate || Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. At most slight damage to well-designed buildings. || 800 per year ||
 * 6.0–6.9 || Strong || Can be destructive in areas up to about 160 kilometres (100 mi) across in populated areas. || 120 per year ||
 * 7.0–7.9 || Major || Can cause serious damage over larger areas. || 18 per year ||
 * 8.0–8.9 || Great || Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred kilometres across. || 1 per year ||
 * 9.0–9.9 ||^  || Devastating in areas several thousand kilometres across. || 1 per 20 years ||
 * 10.0+ || Massive || Never recorded, possibly planetwide devastation; see below for equivalent seismic energy yield. || Extremely rare (Unknown) ||

I would like to thank these following websites:
 * 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_magnitude_scale
 * 2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake
 * 3) http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01424/how_do_earthquakes_form.htm
 * 4) http://library.thinkquest.org/3669/3669/earthquakes.html

2. **__Tsunamis__** Tsunami is actually a Japanese word which was traslated to English. The word 'tsu' means harbour while 'nami' means wave. To the general public, a tsunami is usually referred as tidal waves. To the scientist, a tsunami is usually referred as seismic sea waves. However, the word 'seismic' might be misleading as it might imply an earthquake-related event. However, a tsunami could be also caused by a non-earthquake related event, such as a landslide, for instance. A tsunami wave can travel more than 100km across very quickly at about 700km/h, however only one meter high in the open ocean.

Tsunamis can be formed as a result of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or landslides which happen under the sea. Tsunamis can be formed when the sea floor displaces the overlying water vertically. A large amount of energy are released as a result of the movements. For instance, there is a volcanic eruption. As a result, the ocean floor moves upwards quickly. This in turns pushes a lot of ocean water upwards, thus forming waves. A earthquake is able to lift sufficient amount of water off the sea floor to form huge waves. Nearly four-fifth of all tsunamis in the world occur in the Pacific Ocean. It is due to the large amount of undersea geological activity there. Tsunamis are also possible in areas with large bodies of water.



Before a tsunami can reach land, there is a drawback. The water along shores recedes drastically, exposing areas which were initially submerged. The water propagates outwards with the trough of the wave at its front. This causes a drawback to occur. It beings prior to the arrival of the wave to the interval equal to half of the wave's period. A drawback might exceed more than hundreds of metres, so people who stay at the exposed seabed when a drawback occurs are totally unaware of the danger which looms ahead. However, this retreating of sea water is actually a very important warning sign for all of us. We have ample time to evacuate once we know that there will be a tsunami because the enormous volume of water would hit the shore about 5 minutes later.



When we face a tsunami, we should stay aware from shore and immediately evacuate to higher ground. Yes, it is always tempting to watch a tsunami from the coast. However, we should never assume that we are able to outrun a tsunami. A tsunami travel much faster than an average person can run. Also, we should never have the assumption that it is safe to return to the shore right after the first wave. Tsunamis are a sesries of waves with waves getting stronger with ever subsequent one. We should only return to shore when the authorities state that it is safe to do so.

This video highlights the destructive impact of tsunamis which striked Japan in 2011.

media type="youtube" key="APEsVeE7FGk" height="335" width="544"

I would like to thank these following websites:
 * 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami
 * 2) http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/tsunami2.html
 * 3) http://www.ussartf.org/tsunamis.htm
 * 4) http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/tsunami-profile/

3. **__Volcano__**

Almost all of the volcanoes in the world are formed by the movement of tectonic plates which are found on the earth's surface. The plates are somewhat huge pieces of rock which. They 'float' on the mantle in a constant motion, though travelling at a slow speed. Sometimes, they move towards each other. Conversely, they move apart. As a result, one will sink while the other rise above it. This forms volcanoes.

Deep inside Earth, it is extremely hot. Rocks slowly melt and they become a think hot substancce called magma. It is lighter than the rocks all around it, as a result, the magma rises. They are then collected in magma chambers. Eventually, some of the magma are pushed out through the vents and fissures in the surface of the Earth. This is a volcanic eruption.



Some kind of volcanic eruptions are explosive while some kind of volcanic eruptions are not. The explosiveness of an eruption is dependent on how runny or sticky the magma is. Should the magma be thin and runny, gases can escape easily. As a result, when this kind of magma erupts, it will flow out of the volcano. Lava seldom kill people as they move at a considerable slow speed, allowing people to escape. However, lava can bring about massive destruction to buildings in its path.

If the magma is thick and sticky, gases are unable to escape easily. This in turns causes pressure to build up inside till gases escape violently and explodes. This kind of eruption causes magma to blast into the air and then break apart into many pieces more commonly known as tephra. Tephras can be as tiny as particles of ash to as big as house-size boulders. Explosive volcanic eruptions are dangerous and deadly. Clouds of hot tephra could be blasted out from the side or the top of a volcano. They can destroy almost everything in its path. Ash which are erupted into the sky will fall back to Earth. Should the ash be thick enough, blankets of ash are able to suffocate living things all around us, such as plants and animals, and perhaps including us.

There are three popular classification of volcanoes. They are, active, dormant and extinct. They are classified by the frequency of eruption. A volcano which erupts frequently is classified as an active volcano, while a volcano which erupts in historical time but not now are called dormant, while a volcano which have never erupted in historical time are called extinct. An active volcano is a volcano which scientists consider that it might erupting or likely to erupt in time to come. Extinct volcanoes are those which scientist consider unlikely to erupt again due to the lack of lava supply.

This video highlights the destructive impact of a volcano.

media type="youtube" key="Hec9yK-QQ4o" height="405" width="495"

I would like to thank these following websites:
 * 1) http://www.familyonbikes.org/educate/lessons/volcanoes.htm
 * 2) http://www.ussartf.org/volcanoes.htm
 * 3) http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_volcanoes_form
 * 4) http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/english.html

Research in 2010

For this section, I have done research on 3 topics. They are Global Warming, Deforestation and Pollution.

1. **__Global Warming__** Global Warming is affecting us and it is increasing in severity every single day. Global Warming is simply defined as an increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and the increase in temperature causes climatic changes. It is extremely dangerous as when the Earth's average temperature increases, the polar ice caps starts to melt. This will cause in the rise of sea level. Animals living in the North Pole and South Pole would then die as they would not have ice caps to live on. Ares which are very close to sea level would be completely submerged. Also, due to the increase in temperature, animals and plants would die.

The rise of temperature is caused by Greenhouse Effect. Greenhouse Effect can be explained using a simple example. A car is parked under the sun on a very hot day. Let the car be the Earth. Heat and light enters the car and heats up the car. Then, it bounces off the inside of the car. Light would then be able to escape from the windows of the car. However, the heat is unable to escape from the car as it cannot get out of the car. As a result, the temperature rises and this sit the Greenhouse Effect. This is an example of the Greenhouse Effect.



This process makes the Earth warmer but it does not really benefit us. As I have stated above, many living things would not be able to stay alive. Plants and animals would start to die and the amount of food we have would be greatly reduced. With lesser food, like grass, for the animals to eat, the population of the animals would decrease. After which, the population of humans will also start to decrease as we would have a distinct decrease of food to eat. After a period of time, plants, animals and people would all die.

Electrical pollution causes Global Warming. Fossil fuels are burnt to create electricity. Examples of fossil fuels include Oil, Petroleum, Dead plants and animals. When these substances are burnt, greenhouse gases are accumulated in the Ozone. These greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, Chlorofluorocarbon and etc, traps more heat on Earth thus the temperature of Earth increases with the increase of greenhouse gases in the Ozone.

Almost every action we do daily increases the severity of Global Warming. These actions include:
 * Watching television programmes
 * Switching on lights
 * Using an air-conditioner
 * Using a computer
 * Washing our clothes using a washing machines
 * Riding in a vehicle (cars, motorcycles, buses, etc)

People everywhere in the world now are trying their best to stop Global Warming. We can simply help to stop Global Warming by trying our best to do these:


 * When going to a common destination with someone you know, carpool.
 * Take public transport when traveling
 * Switch off lights, television or any electricity-consuming products when not in use
 * Use energy saving equipments such as energy-saving bulbs.
 * Save energy (Use fans instead of air-conditioner)

I would like to thank these following websites:
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
 * http://www.climatehotmap.org/
 * http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/global_warming.htm
 * http://globalwarming.com/
 * http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=global%20warming
 * http://webpages.csus.edu/~bm884/global-warming.jpg

2. **__Deforestation__**

Deforestation simply means the process of logging and burning naturally occurring forests. People chop down trees for the following reasons:
 * Clearance of land for settlements, agriculture and pasture for livestock
 * Charcoal from the trees
 * Timber from the trees
 * Extracting minerals or fossil fuel which are in the ground under the trees

It might seem that the removal of trees does not affect us at all as there are still millions of trees out there. However, by chopping down trees, we are harming ourselves slowly. The trees are one of the most important living things on Earth. These 'green lungs' are vitally important to our environment and this includes the animals and us. These 'green lungs' take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen and they are the home of millions of species. Of course, they beautiful the surroundings. Trees are getting chopped down at a extremely fast rate and about more than 50% of the trees have already been chopped down by human.

Deforestation contributes to Global Warming. It is said that deforestation is responsible for 20% of greenhouse gases emission. By chopping down trees, we are also increasing the severity of Global Warming. These 'green lungs', takes in carbon dioxide and gives out oxygen while carrying out Photosynthesis. By chopping them down, lesser carbon dioxide would be taken away and lesser oxygen would be produced. As the carbon dioxide is not absorbed away, they would be accumulated in the ozone, thus trapping more heat on Earth and this would cause the Earth's temperature to increase.

Burning trees is definitely a much faster way to clear trees than to chop down trees. However, burning trees have a negative impact on our environment. Large amount of carbon dioxide is released due the process of combustion and these carbon dioxide would be accumulated in the ozone, thus trapping more heat and increasing the Earth's temperature.

Deforestation would also cause:


 * Drying out of previously moist forest soil. This is because as the soil is more exposed to the sun as the lack of canopy leaves nothing to prevent the moisture from the soil from quickly evaporating into the atmosphere. Therefore, the previously moist soil would then become dry and cracked.[[image:Drying_out_of_previously_moist_soil.jpg]]


 * Drastic increase in extremes of temperature. Trees provide shade and the area with shade has a moderate temperature. The temperature may be 36 Degrees Celsius and around 15 Degrees Celsius in some area with shade. However, without shade, the temperature may be 54 Degrees Celsius in the day and much cooler in the night.


 * Soil erosion. As trees are removed, there would not be any roots to hold the soil firmly into the ground. After the trees are removed, the soil would be easily removed when the wind blows or when it rains. The soil would then be washed off to nearby water sources and thus polluting them.


 * Extinction of many species of both animals and plants. As pointed above, trees are the habitat of many animals. When we chop them down, the animals would not have any home and they would most probably be very exposed to their predators. Hence, the population of that animals would die off. Once one link of the food chain is broken, the rest would most likely be broken, hence causing a lot of other animals to die.


 * Flooding and drought. Forests have the important task to absorb and store large amount of water quickly when there is a heavy downpour. However, one forests are cut down, the flow of water would be disrupted which would then lead to flood in some areas and drought in other areas.


 * Change of climate. As emphasized above, trees store a huge amount of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide which are absorbed by the trees would be used to produce carbohydrates, proteins and facts which make up the tree. However, once the trees are cut down or burnt, they would be left to rot. Once this happens, the carbon dioxide would then be released into the atmosphere and this would increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.


 * Disruption of the hydrological cycle. Trees absorb water via their roots which are then released into the atmosphere through their stoma. A large amount of water are circulating in the ecosystem of the forests. However, when the trees are cut down, the climate in that area gets drier.

I would like to thank these websites:
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation
 * http://www.earlham.edu/~pols/17Fall96/inneske/effects.HTM
 * http://www.buzzle.com/articles/causes-and-effects-of-deforestation.html
 * http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Effect-of-Deforestation&id=510236
 * http://www.letransmuteur.net/wp-content/uploads/sdm-gene-02-deforestation.jpg
 * http://asymptotia.com/wp-images/2008/05/cracks_at_death_valley.jpg

3. **__Pollution__**

Pollution simply means the introductions of contaminants into an environment which causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem. There are many different types of pollutions, but i will be concentrating on air, water, land and thermal pollution.


 * **Air Pollution [[image:Air_Pollution.jpg width="351" height="242"]]**

Air pollution is caused due to the excess emission of gases into the atmosphere. Also, it is due to the emergence of new chemical reactions of non-biodegradable compounds. Air pollution causes Global Warming, acid rain, smog and ozone depletion.

Air pollution is caused by the following sources:


 * Sulfur, chlorine from volcanic activity
 * Methane emitted from animals
 * Smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires
 * Exhaust from motor vehicles
 * Production of fuels
 * Industrial processes
 * Solvent evaporation
 * Forest fire

Fumes released from industries pollutes the air to a great extent. However, people are trying ways to reduce the amount of pollutants released from industries. Industries are now equipped with scrubbers. There are many different types of scrubbers such as the baffle spray scrubber and spray tower.

A scrubber clean the gas by using Calcium Hydroxide as you can see in the diagram on the right. Bag-houses are also used to collect heavy dust loads. It filters the dust and the remaining clean air would then be blown out.

Air pollution could have both short-term and long-term effects on our health. Short-term effects includes irritation to the eye, nose and throat. Our bronchitis could be infected too. We might also have headaches and allergic reactions. It might also aggravate people with asthma. On the other hand, air pollution might cause us to have lung cancer, heart diseases and even brain, liver and kidney problem. Constant exposure to air pollution might affect young children or old people's medical condition.


 * **Land Pollution [[image:Land_pollution.jpg]]**

Land pollution is also called soil pollution some times. Land pollution is just the deposition of solid waste, accumulation of non-biodegradable materials and toxification of chemicals into poison.

Land Pollution is caused due to the following sources:
 * Mining
 * Sludge from sewage
 * Industrial
 * Demolition and constructions
 * Waste from agriculture

Land pollution have a lot of negative impact on our environment. Some includes destroying habitats of the animals. As a large percentage of waste is dumped into water, the waste might reduce the amount of light penetrating into the water, thus leading to oxygen depleted in the water. Also, it might cause acid rain which would damage trees and other plants.

Definitely, there are ways to prevent land pollution. The simplest way is to recycle. We can also help by reusing any items that we can, avoid buying non-biodegradable products.


 * **Water Pollution [[image:Water_Pollution.jpg width="420" height="288"]]**

Water pollution simply means the introduction of chemical, biological and physical matter into large bodies of water that degrade the quality of life that lives in it and consumes it.

Factories, refineries, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers contribute to water pollution. Other sources includes human sewage and oil spills. There are numerous effects of water pollution. Some water pollutions can be noticed almost immediately, whereas some others does not show up for months or year. This is because the pollutants in the water are colourless. Some of the effects include:
 * Spread of diseases via polluted water. Diseases such as typhoid and cholera can be contracted by drinking contaminated water. Our heart and kidneys might not function properly if we consume polluted water regularly. After drinking polluted water for a period of time, we might have poor blood circulation, vomiting and even damage to the nervous system.
 * Acid Rain. Sulfate particles might harm animals living in water bodies.
 * Change of overall chemistry of the water. Pollutants in the water might cause the water to have a change in PH value and temperature. These changes might affect both the animals and plants living in the water.
 * Damage of the food chain. The toxin in the water would travel to the humans when the humans eat the animals' meat.
 * Food sources are contaminated. These marine food sources might be contaminated or even eliminated by the pollutants present in the water bodies.

We can help to prevent water pollution by not throwing rubbish and other chemicals into water bodies. We can also:
 * Take note not to dispose paints and oils down the drain
 * Use environmentally friendly household products such as washing powder
 * Take note not to dispose rubbish into water bodies


 * **Thermal Pollution [[image:http://elseware.univ-pau.fr/MAINPAGEPUB/thermalpollution.jpg width="406" height="309"]]**

Thermal pollution means that there is a large inputs of heated water from a single plant or a number of plants using the same lake or slow-moving stream can have harmful effects on aquatic life.

As the water warms up, there would be a lower level of dissolved oxygen in the water as compared to a cool water body. This lowered level of dissolved oxygen in water can harm the animals living in the water body. Thermal pollution may increase the metabolic rate of these animals and this increased rate of metabolic may result in shortages of food. This might result in a sudden decrease in the population of the population of animals living in the water. Marine organisms might also suffer from thermal shock due to the change of temperature.

Due to the higher temperature of water, the organisms might migrate to a warmer water body. Hence, there would be more animals in the same water body. This would then lead to fiercer competitions for food and the more adapted organisms moving into the new water body may have an advantage over the new organism who are not used to the warmer temperature. Therefore, in this case, biodiversity can be decreased over time.

I would like to thank this following sites:
 * http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111040/Types/types.php
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution
 * http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/Frames/pollution-health-effects-f.html
 * http://www.greenstudentu.com/encyclopedia/pollution
 * http://www.pollutionissues.com/images/paz_02_img0209.jpg
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_pollution#Impacts
 * http://scipeeps.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/land-pollution.jpg
 * https://thebrightestman.wikispaces.com/file/view/plastic.jpg/75659743/plastic.jpg
 * http://www.water-pollution.org.uk/preventingyou.html
 * http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/~ahmad/kuliah/manusia/artikel/thermal.htm