earthquakes

We all have faults and that’s including planet Earth, though Earths faults lead to be a lot more destruction. Earthquakes are a trembling or shaking of the ground caused by a sudden release of energy stored in rocks beneath earths surface. Earthquakes appear all over the planet, and there are many different sizes. Some earthquakes destroy entire cities while others only shake the ground for a moment. Faults are one of the causes of earthquakes, which I will tell about soon as well as the hazards and benefits they give.
Earthquakes can be caused in many ways, some even surprising. It's difficult to definitively link an earthquake to a human activity retrospectively scientists have found compelling evidence of human contributions to a number of quakes. One way humans can increase chances of an earthquake is with skyscrapers. In Taipei, Taiwan stands the worlds tallest building. Built in 2002 and weighing 770,000 pounds, the building was installed with extra steel and concrete to make the skyscraper durable enough to with stand typhoon winds and earthquakes. Though ironic enough, geologist Cheng-Horn Lin thinks that the over sized building is putting to much stress on the sedimentary rock underneath.
Another man made earthquake happened in Oklahoma during 2011 from franking and injecting wells. Geologists say it’s not the extraction of oil or gas that is causing the earthquakes. It’s when waste fracking fluid is injected back into earth that they believe lubricates faults, causing tectonic plates to slip more easily. As the number of franking increase in Oklahoma so do the numbers of earthquakes. It has become so severe that it sky rocketed from being a dozen in 2008 to over a thousand in 2010. As franking causes earthquakes from putting fluids into the earth, groundwater extraction can also cause an earthquake. Removing water from the ground causes the water table to drop, which could lead to a fault destabilizing. One last way earthquakes can be triggered is surprisingly by Seahawks fans. A few months ago in Seattle at a Seahawks game the crazed fans got so excited at a touchdown that they were able to set off a nearby universities seismometer.
It is no surprise to say earthquakes are a danger, and they take thousands of lives every year. Since most earthquakes are unpredictable, collapsing buildings are a principle hazard. They can cause roofs to collapse, large furniture to fall over, glass windows and mirrors to shatter if not the entire building to fall down. Many people have been severely injured from buildings collapsing, as well as trapped and even dead. Sometimes earthquakes knock over electric lines resulting in fires getting started, which can be very dangerous if they are near a ruptured gas line or any spillage of flammable substances. It is common for fires to become wide spread after a large earthquake because of all the chaos and closed off roads to fire fighters.
Tsunamis are another hazard for earthquakes in coastal areas. Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and vertically displaces the overlying water. When a tectonic earthquake deforms the bottom of the sea, the water above that area is thrown off its equilibrium. Waves are formed and the displaced water mass tries to regain it. When the large areas of sea floor rise, a tsunami is created.
With bad comes good, and earthquakes benefit the environment in a variety of ways. One of those ways is by pushing minerals and metals up to the surface. They can sometimes cause a shift in the arrangement of rock formations, mineral and ore deposits as well as tectonic plates. These shifts result in the shifts earth gets sucked into the ground while others portions of earth are pushed back up. This results in replenishing the soil and making it easier to mine for the minerals. Another way earthquakes can benefit earth is by making fossil fuels easier to access. Just like with the minerals, shifting plates make fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas easier to access.
Earthquakes are also essential for maintaining planetary balance. Most earthquakes are along the edges of tectonic plates, which is where most volcanoes are also. They create new volcanoes by disturbing sleeping lava, which later benefits us by making new mountains. They can also trigger volcanic eruptions, which can lead to making more land. The planet constantly recycles itself to sustain the life of our planet.
In conclusion, earthquakes are powerful forces that can lead to devastation all over the world. Whether it be from a deadly earthquake induced tsunami or volcanic eruption, or just a scared football player in Seattle. Though sometimes scary, it is clear to see earthquakes are essential to earth’s well-being.