eosc 114 full notes
EOSC 114 – Final Review Notes
Get A’s or die trying.
Jason Kim
Unit 1: A Fragile System
At least 3 earthquake recording stations are required to find the location of the earthquake epicenter. A single recording station can only calculate distance, but not direction; to cover all possibilities, a complete circle is drawn around that station. If only two earthquake recording stations are used, the circles will overlap at two points. Data from a third recording station will eliminate one of these points.
Explain what density is & how it relates to stratification.
Density = mass/volume; how much mass fits into a space. Unit: kg/m3 3
Stratification = less-dense materials float on top of denser materials
This is found in the atmosphere, the ocean, the earth, etc.
Explain why disaster scales are based on the Order-of-Magnitude concept, and interpret graphs with logarithmic scales.
Without using a log scale, sometimes a graph will be too large.
“Orders of magnitude” are powers of 10 – a logarithmic graph steps by powers of 10
Converting an exponential curve into a logarithmic graph will give a linear graph.
Many disaster scales use powers of 10: Richter, Fujita, Torino, Beaufort, etc.
Relate natural-disaster risk & intensity to frequency, return period, and consequences (costs).
Risk = probability severity * cost of damage ($ + human lives)
Intensity is inversely proportional to frequency.
Return period = average number of years between disaster events of the same magnitude
RP (M) = time span of data / # of cases of magnitude M.
Explain how some recent disasters were associated with concentration or dilution of energy.
Time scales for energy to build up and release
Concentration of energy
Dilution of energy
Earthquakes: years -> minutes
Volcanoes: decades -> days
Hurricanes: months -> days
Storms: hours -> minutes
Rogue waves: hours -> seconds
Tsunami: minutes -> hours
Floods: hours -> days
Get the disaster info
Get A’s or die trying.
Jason Kim
Unit 1: A Fragile System
At least 3 earthquake recording stations are required to find the location of the earthquake epicenter. A single recording station can only calculate distance, but not direction; to cover all possibilities, a complete circle is drawn around that station. If only two earthquake recording stations are used, the circles will overlap at two points. Data from a third recording station will eliminate one of these points.
Explain what density is & how it relates to stratification.
Density = mass/volume; how much mass fits into a space. Unit: kg/m3 3
Stratification = less-dense materials float on top of denser materials
This is found in the atmosphere, the ocean, the earth, etc.
Explain why disaster scales are based on the Order-of-Magnitude concept, and interpret graphs with logarithmic scales.
Without using a log scale, sometimes a graph will be too large.
“Orders of magnitude” are powers of 10 – a logarithmic graph steps by powers of 10
Converting an exponential curve into a logarithmic graph will give a linear graph.
Many disaster scales use powers of 10: Richter, Fujita, Torino, Beaufort, etc.
Relate natural-disaster risk & intensity to frequency, return period, and consequences (costs).
Risk = probability severity * cost of damage ($ + human lives)
Intensity is inversely proportional to frequency.
Return period = average number of years between disaster events of the same magnitude
RP (M) = time span of data / # of cases of magnitude M.
Explain how some recent disasters were associated with concentration or dilution of energy.
Time scales for energy to build up and release
Concentration of energy
Dilution of energy
Earthquakes: years -> minutes
Volcanoes: decades -> days
Hurricanes: months -> days
Storms: hours -> minutes
Rogue waves: hours -> seconds
Tsunami: minutes -> hours
Floods: hours -> days
Get the disaster info