Part One
Question One
The likelihood of tectonic dangers is difficult to predict. Scientists can make educated guesses about potential hotspots for these hazards but need help to predict the exact timing or degree of the impact (Vougioukalakis & Neri, 2017). Changes in rock stress, ground subsidence, elevation, or tilt, and changes in rock magnetic and elastic resistivity, animal behavior, and earthquake history can help scientists anticipate the future.
Question Two
There need to be more historical precedents to draw judgments about the probable rise in the frequency of the threats. Historical records have yet to survive due to the persistence of geographical patterns. It is becoming easier to find and report problems as technology progresses, but not to assess their severity.
Question Three
Natural hazards are those that appear out of nowhere and cause harm to people, their property, and the environment. Humans must be robust and well-prepared because they have little influence over natural disasters. When we talk about resilience, we imply the ability to recover quickly from threats, stresses, unfavorable situations, shocks, or challenges without significantly compromising future growth (Greaves & Hunt, 2017). In places prone to tectonic hazards, strong individuals and communities are needed. Learning from past disasters and lowering the dangers that future disasters may pose at all levels is critical for people and communities to cope effectively with disasters.
The scenario, the upset, the capacity to respond, and the response all influence how resilient you are in the face of adversity. The political, social, economic, or institutional framework is the context in which resilience is produced. The term “disturbance” refers to any unexpected jolts caused by the accident. How well people adapt to change, how much stress they experience, how devastating the shock is, and how many options they have for dealing with the shock affect how well they do. The phrase “reaction” refers to activities to address pre-existing problems, such as fortifying defenses, lowering risk, and implementing remedies. The worst-case scenario is that the system fails, making subsequent shocks harder to handle. As a result, resilience is defined as a process that emphasizes outcomes over the injustices caused by the crisis.
Question Four
Social Impacts: Tectonic disasters can cause death, injuries, communication breakdowns, displacement, and lack of sufficient shelter, cleanliness, and medical treatment.
Economic Impacts: The cost of repairing damaged property, the lack of insurance and reimbursement, the destruction of commercial property, and the loss of revenue due to the inability to work are all economic consequences of tectonic risks.
Part Two
Question One
The ground lifts due to tectonic processes, causing mass displacement. When a body is lifted by gravity, erosion can occur (Mergili, 2016). The ground has risen into hills due to many types of erosion, including mass wasting.
Question Two
The steepness of the slope and the strength of the materials above it determine the stability of a hill (Changwei et al., 2016). Slope materials are typically weaker than level materials. Although rocks are generally extremely strong, the strength of individual rocks can vary greatly. Shear stress is proportional to the slope angle.
Question Three
Gravity is the fundamental driving factor. It is the gravitational attraction of everything on Earth’s surface to the planet’s center. Gravity causes an object to collapse when it is horizontal (Kuznetsova et al., 2018). One component of gravity acts parallel to a hill’s slope, while the other acts perpendicular to the hill’s slope. Normal stress acting perpendicular to the object keeps it in place. The forces that keep an object from falling can be categorized according to its shear strength. Cohesion and mechanical resistance are two examples of these forces. The object will slide down the hill if the shear stress exceeds the forces preventing it from sliding down the slope.
Question Four
Water is not used directly in mass-movement techniques. Water rushes off and adds weight to the slope whenever it rains, or ice and snow melt. Fissures, also known as pores, form when water seeps through bedrock or soil. Because water is denser than air, the Earth’s bulk grows. As the strain and associated pressures mount, the inclination becomes dangerously unstable. Water can also change the slope’s constant angle. The surface tension between the rocks and the water increases as the amount of water increases (Coscarelli et al., 2021). As a result, the strength is reduced. Polar water molecules cling to the surface of soil minerals when they absorb water. Boulders and soil become less durable as density increases.
Part Three
Question One
A rise in water concentration is the most common cause of bulk waste. This might happen due to heavy rain, rapid melting of snow or ice, or another event that alters the surface water flow (Coscarelli et al., 2021). The ice may melt quickly if the temperature suddenly rises or if there is a volcanic eruption. The natural flow of water can be altered by constructing roads and structures, the history of slope failures, and natural calamities such as earthquakes. Frost and snowmelt are two other factors that contribute to mass loss. The melting ice may loosen rocks clinging to the hill’s surface. Furthermore, the motion could weaken the limestone or soil. Earthquakes, construction, heavy vehicle traffic, and even mines can all cause significant tremors.
Question Two
It is difficult to assess the severity of tectonic dangers. Researchers use historical records to evaluate the likelihood of future happenings. Even though there is no evidence to suggest that tectonic forces are ubiquitous, it is prudent to be prepared. Slopes shed much mass due to water and gravity.
References
Changwei, Y., Jingyu, Z., Jing, L., Wenying, Y., & Jianjing, Z. (2016). Slope seismic stability. Slope Earthquake Stability, 163–191. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2380-4_7
Coscarelli, R., Aguilar, E., Petrucci, O., Vicente-Serrano, S. M., & Zimbo, F. (2021). The potential role of climate indices to explain floods, mass-movement events, and wildfires in Southern Italy. Climate, 9(11), 156. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9110156
Greaves, I. and Hunt, P. (2017) “The concept of resilience,” Oxford Medicine Online [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780199238088.003.0002.
Kuznetsova, A., Hartmann, L., Heitsch, F., & Ballesteros-Paredes, J. (2018). The role of gravity in producing power-law mass functions. The Astrophysical Journal, 868(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aae6c8
Mergili, M. (2016). Observation and spatial modeling of snow- and ice-related mass movement hazards. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Natural Hazard Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389407.013.70
Vougioukalakis, G.E. and Neri, A. (2017) “Tectonic hazards: Volcanoes,” Environmental Hazards Methodologies for Risk Assessment and Management, pp. 411–446. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2166/9781780407135_0411.
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