Earth Science REVIEWER

RICHTER SCALE - The scale of measure used to calculate the magnitude

A natural hazard is the threat of an event that will likely have a negative of an earthquake is called the Richter Scale. Charles F. Richter developed
impact. A natural disaster is the negative impact following an actual the original earthquake scale in 1935 called the Richter scale.
occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a
community. TURKEY AND SYRIA EARTHQUAKE - On February 6, 2023, a powerful
earthquake devastated vast areas of southern Turkey (officially the Republic
The term "geological processes" describes the natural forces that shape of Türkiye) and war-torn northwest Syria, leaving millions of people in the
the physical makeup of a planet. region struggling to rebuild their lives. The situation in northwest Syria has
worsened since the disaster, with affected communities enduring immense
EARTHQUAKE – A sudden and violent shaking of the ground that creates challenges: displacement, hunger and malnutrition, lack of access to
seismic waves, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of healthcare, and fires caused by extreme summer heat. Millions of people still
movements within the earth's crust (tectonic plates) or volcanic action. It is a grappling with the aftermath of the destruction face a deteriorating
natural phenomenon resulting from the release of accumulated stress along humanitarian crisis.
fault lines. Earthquakes can occur along plate boundaries, where tectonic 2022 Luzon Earthquake - July 27, 2022, at 8:43am, magnitude of 7.0 Mw
plates interact, or within the interior of tectonic plates. Earthquakes cannot with an epicenter in Abra province. Eleven people were reported dead and
be predicted. No one knows when or where it will occur. 615 were injured. At least 35,798 homes, schools and other buildings were
damaged or destroyed, resulting in ₱1.88 billion worth of damage.
EPICENTRE - The location on the Earth's surface directly above the
earthquake focus, which is the origin of the earthquake. News stories often Effects of Earthquake
mention the epicenter, not the locus, of a quake. • Ground shaking
• Soil Liquefaction
FOCUS - Also called the hypocentre, the focus is the point within the Earth's
• Landslide
crust where rocks begin to slipand fracture along a fault. This releases
• Fissures
energy, causing an earthquake. • Tsunamis
FAULT LINE - Faults are breaks in the Earth's crust. The fault shownisa
'strike-slip like the San Andreas Fault in California, US, where two crustslabs VOLCANIC ERUPTION - A volcanic eruption is when a gas and/or lava are
slide horizontally released from a volcano—sometimes explosively. Volcanoes provide a
number of environmental benefits, for example: fertile soils, hydrothermal
Two Types of Earthquakes energy, and precious minerals.
Tectonic Earthquake - Are produced by sudden movement along faults and A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below
plate boundaries. the surface of the earth.
Volcanic Earthquake - Earthquakes induced by rising lava or magma Volcanoes are majestic natural wonders that captivate our imagination and
beneath active volcanoes. shape the landscapes around us. Volcanoes are openings of the Earth’s
surface.
Magma – a mixture of molten and semi-molten rock found beneath the
SEISMOLOGY - Seismology is the study of earthquakes and seismic waves surface of the Earth.
that move through and around the Earth. Lava – magma that has reached the Earth’s surface
SEISMOGRAPH - The magnitude of an earthquake is measured by an Magma chamber – is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the
instrument called seismograph. Earth.
Conduit - is the central that sometimes called a pipe. Pelean Eruption - During a Pelean eruption, the volcanic vent can become
Crater – the uppermost section of the main vent. blocked by viscous magma, causing a buildup of pressure that is released in
a violent explosion.
What causes a volcanic eruption?
Typically, for an eruption to occur, enough magma must accumulate in the Plinian Eruption - The most powerful eruption type, with a towering ash cloud
chamber under the volcano. Then something needs to trigger the eruption. reaching up to 50,000 feet (about 10 miles) in height, and extremely
That could be an injection of new magma into the chamber, a build-up of dangerous pyroclastic flows.
gasses within the volcano, or a landslide that removes material from the top TRIVIAS AND FACTS:
of a volcano.
1. There are about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, aside from
Process of Volcanic Eruptions the continuous belts of volcanoes on the ocean floor.
1. Magma is continuously heated below the surface (asthenosphere)
2. The world's largest volcano, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, is an active shield
2. Heated magma goes up
volcano. It's so large that it actually makes up more than half of the entire
3. Enhanced formation of bubbles
area of the Big Island of Hawaii!
4. As magma rises, gas bubbles are developed pressure inside the
volcano increases due to trapped bubbles within 3. The deadliest volcanic eruption in history is believed to be the eruption of
5. When pressure exceeds the strength of overlying rocks, fracturing Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815. It killed about 100,000 people.
occurs resulting in a further drop in pressure
6. Magma ejected out as a lava 4. Volcanoes can form new islands. For example, the Hawaiian Islands were
formed by undersea volcanoes that erupted thousands of times over a period
TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS of millions of years!
Icelandic Eruption - Volcanic eruptions produce runny lava that floods the 5. Volcanic ash can be a major hazard. It can cause roofs to collapse,
Earth's surface through long cracks called fissures, which can be up to 15 contaminate water supplies, disrupt agriculture, and even cause respiratory
miles long. problems.
Hawaiian Eruption - Volcanic eruptions characterized by numerous fissures 6. Volcanoes can have a major impact on the climate. Large eruptions can
result in large quantities of hot, thin, and runny lava that flows rapidly out of release tiny particles that can reflect sunlight, cooling the Earth's surface.
the main vent.
7. The word "volcano" comes from the name of the Roman god of fire,
Strombolian Eruption - Short, explosive eruptions shoot thick and pasty lava, Vulcan.
steam, and gas into the air, producing little to no lava. The resulting steep-
sided cone is called a cinder cone. 8. There are different types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes, cinder cone
volcanoes, composite volcanoes (or stratovolcanoes), and lava domes.
Vulcanian Eruption - Vulcanian eruptions are more explosive than Hawaiian
and Strombolian eruptions. They are characterized by the ejection of large 9. The study of volcanoes is called volcanology, and those who study them
amounts of ash, gas and rock fragments in to the air. are known as volcanologists.
Stratovolcanoes Eruption - The most common type of volcanic cone, first the 10. Some volcanoes are under the sea. These are known as submarine
volcano will have an explosive eruption that ejects huge amounts of steam, volcanoes, and they can create quite dramatic eruptions!
gas, and ash followed by the ejection of lava. They are created from a
combination of eruptions forming layers of ash and lava.
Primary and Secondary Effects of Volcanic Eruptions Shield Volcano - Composed of mostly
quiet lava flows. The magma inside a shield
• Floods volcano is rich in iron and magnesium and is
• Mudslides very fluid.
• Power Outages
• Wildfires Since the magma is very fluid, the lava
• Volcanic Gases coming out of the volcano tends to
• Pyroclastic Flow flow great distances.
• Lava Flows
• Lahars
• Food/water supply interrupted
• Cost of insurance claims
• Unemployment LANDSLIDE - A typhoon is a large, powerful, and organized tropical storm
• Long-term issues with the tourism industry characterized by strong winds.
Composite Volcano - Built up of alternating In the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific oceans, the term 'hurricane' is
layers of rock particles and lava. The magma used, whereas in the Northwest Pacific Ocean they are called 'typhoons. '
inside a composite volcano is rich in silica The name 'tropical cyclone' – or sometimes 'severe tropical cyclone' or
and much thicker than magma from a shield
'severe cyclonic storm' – is used in the South Pacific and Indian oceans.
volcano.
Low Pressure Area - In a depression (low pressure), air is rising and blows
Eruptions from composite volcanoes can be
flowing lava or explosions. The explosive in an anticlockwise direction around the low (in the northern hemisphere). As
eruptions come from the trapped gases and it rises and cools, water vapour condenses to form clouds and perhaps
produce cinders and ash. precipitation. This is why the weather in a depression is often unsettled.
High Pressure Area - In an anticyclone (high pressure) the winds tend to be
light and blow in a clockwise direction (in the northern hemisphere). Also, the
Cinder Cone Volcano - Made mostly of air is descending, which reduces the formation of cloud and leads to light
cinders and other rock particles that have winds and settled weather conditions.
been blown into the air. Eruptions from
cinder cone volcanoes are violent and EYE – CENTER It is the calm part of the storm. Area with the lowest air
explosive because of all the gas trapped in pressure, which can be as much as 15% lower than the pressure outside it.
the magma.
EYE WALL - SURROUNDING THE EYE Where the severe weather occurs.
Innermost ring of convection near the center of the typhoon, packing the
fiercest rains and most intense winds.
INNER (RAIN) BANDS - FOUND OUTSIDE OF THE EYE WALL Arching
bands of clouds and thunderstorms that spiral out of the eye wall. – NOAA
Rain and winds are often associated with these bands.
Also referred to as “buntot ng bagyo”. TYPHOON ONDOY - Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo described
Ondoy as a “once-in-a-lifetime typhoon” when it hit the Philippines.
OUTER (FEEDER) BANDS - FOUND OUTSIDE OF THE RAIN BANDS
Occur in advance of the main rain shield. In thunderstorm development, they TYPHOON EGAY JULY 2023 - Five people have been reported killed while
are the lines or bands of low-level clouds that move or feed into the updraft more than 325,000 people have been affected by Typhoon Egay
region of a thunderstorm. (international name: Doksuri) and the southwest monsoon, the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.
Meteorologist - A scientist who study weather. They can tell when and where
a typhoon might begin by studying the temperature over the ocean in areas In a situation report released Thursday, the NDRRMC said the typhoon had
where these storms are likely form. affected 328,356 people or 89,639 families. This included 26,697 displaced
persons and 19,826 people staying in various evacuation centers.
Meteorology - Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which
include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather
forecasting.
LANDSLIDE - A landslide which is also known as a "landslip" is a geological
Weather Radar - Very important to meteorologist because it can detect rain phenomenon that includes huge ground movement such as rock falls and
and severe weather even when it is cloudy or dark. etc. This movement can be triggered by various factors, including heavy
rainfall, seismic activity, volcanic eruptions, or human activities.
PAGASA - The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration (PAGASA) - Conducts research and development • a mass movement of rocks, soil, or debris down a slope.
projects related to atmospheric and allied data.
• a type of 'mass wasting' that goes down a slope with the influence of gravity.
Typhoons are categorized based on their sustained wind speeds. The Saffir-
Rotational Slide - Rotational slides, also known as "slumps", are a type of
Simpson scale, often used for hurricanes, categorizes them from Category
landslide where a mass of soil and rock moves in a rotational manner along
1 (weakest) to Category 5 (strongest).
a curved surface. This typically occurs due to saturation from rainfall, which
Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) - This is the smallest and reduces the friction between the layers of soil and rock.
innermost monitoring domain, whose boundary is closest to the Philippine
Translational Slide - Translational slides are landslides in which a mass of
Islands. Tropical Cyclones inside the PAR warrants the issuance of Severe
soil and rock moves horizontally along a well-defined surface. This
Weather Bulletin, the highest level of warning information issued for tropical
movement is typically caused by weakened ground conditions, making the
cyclones.
slope unstable.
BIGGEST STORM EVER – 1979 Near Micronesia (Western Pacific)
Rock Fall - Rock fall is a type of landslide that involves individual rocks or
TYPHOON SAOLA - Most severe typhoon to make landfall in the Philippines boulders detaching from a steep rock face or cliff and falling due to factors
in the past 12 months. According to the internationally accepted Saffir- like weathering, seismic activity, or freeze-thaw cycles.
Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 4 typhoon.
Rock Toppling - Rock toppling occurs when large rocks or boulders tip over
TYPHOON GLENDA - When Glenda hit in 2014, it sustained wind speeds of from a vertical position. This often happens due to factors like erosion,
up to 140 kilometers per hour and ended up affecting Regions I, III, IV-A, IV- weathering, or seismic events.
B, V, VIII, and the National Capital Region.
Lateral Spread - Lateral spreading is a type of landslide where the layers of
soil and rock move horizontally. This phenomenon is typically associated
with liquefaction, which occurs when water-saturated sediments temporarily
lose their strength during an earthquake.
Debris Flow - Debris flow is a fast-moving mixture of water, soil, and rock
that rushes down steep slopes. It is often triggered by heavy rainfall,
snowmelt, or volcanic eruptions, and it can behave like a fluid, carrying
debris with it.
Effects of Landslide

• Loss of life
• Damaged Property
• Environmental Impact
• Economic Loss
The deadliest landslide ever recorded in the history happened in 1556 in the
Shaanxi province of China, claiming approximately 830,000 lives.
That before, to determine whether there will be a landslide or other disasters,
the base it on the behavior of animals. If animals were seen fleeing an area,
it was taken as a sign of impending disaster.