Lecture Study Guide
Natural Disasters

DISCLAIMER: This is a study guide ONLY! Some of these concepts may appear on the test, some may not, and some concepts may be on the test that are not included here. Refer to your syllabus to know which chapters you will need to know for each exam! Please read the appropriate chapters in your text and review your lecture notes. You may also want to check out your textbook's website.

Introduction

• Explain the steps involved in the scientific method, including the difference between observation, hypothesis, scientific theory, and fact.
  
• Briefly explain the origin of the solar system using the nebular hypothesis.
• Know the internal and external sources of energy for natural disasters.
• The four "spheres" of the Earth
  

Natural Disasters and the Human Population

• Understand how populations and urbanization has changed from the Stone Age to the present
• Know where and the names of the earliest civilizations discussed in class (Mesopotamia, Nile River Valley, Indus River Valley, Yellow River Valley, Mexico & Peru)
• Know the natural & human determinants for the earliest civilizations
• Be able to explain what a population pyramid is, how they are used, and the stages populations go through.
• Understand the concepts of growth rate, doubling rate, birth and death rates and how they affect populations
• Know the three things hinder the growth of developing countries today
  

Plate Tectonics

• Know the difference between a P and an S wave. Be able to identify which is which based upon a written description and a picture, and some of their properties
• Know the layers of the Earth, both by composition (core, mantle, crust) and physical properties (inner core, outer core, mesosphere, asthenosphere and lithosphere), and be able to identify which is which based upon a written description and a picture
• Know what continental crust is and what type of rock is compositionaly similar to
• Know what basaltic crust is and what type of rock is compositionaly similar to
• Know what paleomagnetism is
• Be able to name and identify the three types of plate boundaries and be able to give an example of each (a geographic place, for example, not a definition - ie, divergent boundary = Mid Atlantic Ridge)
• Know which plate CSULA is on (hint: it's NOT the North American Plate!)
• Be able to name and identify the three types of convergent plate boundaries.
• Know what a hot spot is and how they form
• Understand how plate tectonics are the source of many natural disasters

Earthquakes & Case Studies

• Understand why earthquakes are mostly concentrated along plate boundaries
• What is an earthquake
• Understand the different types of faults (Dip-Slip Faults, Strike-Slip Faults and Transform Faults) and the subdivisions of each.
• what footwall, hanging wall, horst, & grabens are
• know the following terms: focus, faults, epicenter, hypocenter, elastic rebound, foreshock, mainshock, aftershock
• how earthquakes are measured
• where earthquakes occur
• what a seismogram and a seismograph are, and how they work
• Know the difference between intensity and magnitude scales
• Know the various types of hazards associated with earthquakes, and which ones do the most damage.
• Know the characteristics of Body and Surface waves. ESPECIALLY know what Love and a Rayleigh waves are!
• Know what the severity of ground shaking depends on
• Know the factors that determine structural damage
• Know what some of the earthquake hazards are
• Be able to summerize in one or two sentences each of the earthquakes discussed in class (type of fault involve, why the earthquake is important, the number one cause of damage, etc)
• For each of the following earthquakes, be able to descibe what caused the greatest amount of damage in the affected area (ground shaking, tsunami, liquifaction, to name a few) and give a reason for how it could have been prevented
  
  1. San Francisco - 1906
     
  2. Loma Prieta - 1989
     
  3. Sylmar - 1971
     
  4. Northridge - 1994
• Understand how the construction of buildings and their furnishings can affect the amount of damage inflicted on the structure.

Tsunami

• Know what a tsunami is and how they form
• Understand the link between the proximity to the source of the tsunami and the greater the danger to the coastline
• Know what two areas are currently concidered a tsunami threat
• Know what can be done to inform the public about the danger they pose and why this is important.

Mass Wasting& Case Studies

• What mass wasting is
• Understand the major causes of mass wasting/landslides
• Know h ow mass wasting is classified
• Know the following terms: Slide, creep, slump, topple, fall, flow, torrent, lahar, debris flow
• Know and understand how mass wasting events can be prevented and mitigated
• Know what land subsidence is and the possible causes
• Understand how karst topography works and why it is a hazard
• For each of the following events, be able to determine the cause of the event, what happened, and how it could have been prevented (if possible):
  • Vaiont, Italy
  • Canadian Quick-Clay Slope Failures
  • Point Fermin, California
  • Portuguese Bend, California
  • La Conchita, California
  • Turnagain Heights, Anchorage, Alaska
  • Vargas, Venezuela
  • Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta
  • Winter Park, Florida
  • Johannesburg, S. Africa
  • Yucatan Peninsula
  • San Joaquin Valley, CA
  • New Orleans, LA

Introduction |Natural Disasters and the Human Population | Plate Tectonics | Earthquakes | Tsunami | Mass Wasting | Volcanoes | Storms | Flooding | Coastal Erosion | Fire | top | Natural Disasters Home Page

Volcanoes & Case Studies

• Understand the factors that will determine the violence of an eruption
• Understand how silica content, volitiles, and temperature can affect a magma's viscosity, and how viscosity can determine the eruptive style of a volcano
• Know where volcanoes are likely to form and why
• Understand the differences between explosive and non-explosive eruptions, including which type of geographic location and magma type is associated with each
• Understand the hazards associated with volcanoes
• Know how volcanoes cause damage and some of the examples given in class & in the textbook
  • Nyiragongo, Zaire 2002
  • Iceland
  • Lassen Peak, California
  • Mt. St. Helens
  • Mount Shasta, California
  • Kelut, Indonesia
  • Nevado Del Ruiz, Colombia
  • Mount Rainier, Washington
  • Cameroon
  • Mt. Unzen, Japan
  • Laki, Iceland Fissure Eruption
  • Tambora, Indonesia

Storms

• Know what storms are & the types of storms listed in class
• Thunderstorms: know the stages, classifications and hazards
• Understand how a tornado works, where they are likely to occur and why.
  • Tornadoes to know: 1999 Okalahoma City Tornado, Tri-State Tornado, The Super Outbreak
• Understand how and where extratropical and tropical cyclones form
• Know the types of extratropical cyclones
  • Storms to know: The Eastern U.S. “White Hurricane” of 1993, Northeastern United States Blizzard, and the Canadian Ice Storm
• Know what a hurricane is, what it's function is, how they form, and where they occur
  • Hurricanes to know: Galveston, Mitch and Katrina
• Know what a storm surge is and how it causes damage to the coastline.

Flooding

• Understand how the hydrologic cycle works
• Know what the three fates of precipitation are
• Understand what the function of rivers is and how rivers work
• Understand how sediment is transported and the three types of loads
• Know the following terms: load, capacity, competence, deposition
• Be able to discuss a river's journey from the headlands to the ocean.
• what floods are
• How floods cause damage
• Understand the relationship between flooding, erosion and urbanization
• Know the types of floods
• Know the societal responses to floods
• Be able to discuss why we in Los Angeles need a flood control program
• Understand what our flood control program is, how it functions, and the pros and cons of having one.

Coastal Erosion

• Know what a beach is and how it changes with time
• Know what the primary source(s) of beach sand is/are
• Understand that beaches are comprised of eroded matterials that originate from the region surrounding them
• Understand longshore current and longshore drift
• Be able to discuss what some of the threats of sand supply are, and what society has done to try to stop beach erosion
• Know what beach erosion is and the steps that have been taken to try to reduce it
• Understand the differences between active and passive coastlines, where they occur, some of the features and some of the problems each faces
• know what the three primary management strategies of the California Coastal Erosion Planning And Response Plan are

Fire

• Know what the "The Fire Triangle" is
• Know the stages of fire
• Know what Foehn Winds are, how they form, and which one we have in Southern California
• Fires to know: The Great Peshtigo Fire, The Great Chicago Fire, the Oakland and Berkeley Hills Fire, The 2003 Southern California Firestorm, and the Yellowstone 1988 Fire