What caused the Soufrire Hills Volcano to erupt?

What caused the Soufrière Hills Volcano to erupt? The Caribbean island of Montserrat is situated on a destructive plate boundary. A plate boundary occurs when two of the plates that make up the surface of the earth meet. Underneath Montserrat the Atlantic plate is slowly being forced under the Caribbean plate. This happens because the oceanic plate is denser than continental plate. Convection currents pull the dense Atlantic plate into the mantle where intense heat and friction cause the rock to melt. This molten rock is lighter than the surrounding rock, forcing it to rise through cracks in the in the rock towards the earth's surface. Molten rock or magma gathers under the volcano until the pressure is so great that it is forced up through a vent towards the surface of the earth. The Soufrière Hills Volcano produces a thick sticky lava called andesite. The lava is so thick that it builds up at the top of the volcano in a dome until it becomes too heavy and the dome collapses. When the dome collapses hot rocks, gases and ash are released from the volcano causing the following hazards. Pyroclastic flows are extremely fast-moving flows of lava, hot rocks and gas that flow down the side of the volcano. Pyroclastic Surges are fast-moving clouds of hot ash that travel with the pyroclastic flow. Tiny pieces of volcanic ash are blasted into the air forming a plume of ash. As it

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Deforestation in Amozonia.

Deforestation in Amozonia The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is the world largest rainforest with over 30 million different species of plants, animals and insects. The rainforest used to cover of the earths surface but today only covers . This is mainly because some parts of the forest are being rapidly deforested because the forest is so useful to so many people. Deforestation provides benefits for many different companies which wish to make large amounts of money. Also Brazil owes large amount of Depts. and so the government believe that by developing the forest it will help to contribute towards the payment of these depts. Nevertheless it causes many problems for the ecosystems of the forest and the world. Deforestation in Amazonia has led to many conflicts between different groups of people. Some people argue that deforestation has its economic benefits and that developing the Amazon will have benefits for the people and economy of Brazil. However certain groups like world wildlife fund (wwf) are concerned because large amounts of animals and plant are becoming extinct. They argue that it is a global mistake and that in the long term this will only cause more problems for Brazil and the rest of the world. The best uses of the rainforest are those that help the people to improve their standard of life help the country to become more developed and wealthier and use

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Debden Brook Rivers Cousework Analysis and Conclusion

Analysis and Conclusions In this section I intend to analysis my results and state whether my hypothesis were verified (proved correct) or nullified (proved incorrect) I will provide reasons as to why by showing a detailed analysis of actual figures from my graphs. In the second part of this section I will evaluate the results by looking at factors that could have affected the accuracy of my results and conclusions i.e. limitations. I shall look at ways in which my methods might have been improved. I must also look at the Bradshaw model and see if the characteristics of this specific river follow the general trend of his model. Hypothesis 1 - The Width of the River Increases with Distance Downstream This hypothesis was proved correct because figure one shows that the width of the river steadily increases with distance downstream. The water width of the river increased from 0.83m at site 1 (Debden Brook) to 1.95m at site 2 (Debden Brook) and 8.53m at site 3 (The River Roding). This is because streams generally carry more water in their channel as distance from the source increases because water is added to them from tributaries, however there are some exceptions (e.g. The River Mersey due to human activity). This will also increase lateral erosion as the water will be moving faster and carrying more load. As a result, the width increases. This hypothesis corresponds

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Earthquakes in MEDC's and LEDC's

A well-known principle states that the impact of earthquakes in LEDC's or Less Economically Developed Countries is generally more severe when compared with MEDC's or More Economically Developed Countries. This shall be illustrated by comparing the Kobe Earthquake in Japan of 1995 with the Kashmir Earthquake of 2005. The Kobe Earthquake occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and lasted for 20 seconds. The duration of the tremors was around 20 seconds long. The focus of the earthquake was located 16km below the epicentre, on the northern edge of the Awaji Island, approximately 20km from Kobe. The proximity to the city was a major factor of its widespread devastation. The ground moved 18cm horizontally and 12 cm vertically. The Kashmir Earthquake was caused by the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plate boundaries colliding. Its epicentre was located in Azad Kashmir near the city of Muzaffarabad. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time (03:52:37 UTC) on 8 October 2005. According to the authorities, 79000 people died. A major factor in the severity of the earthquake was the poor construction - a salient feature of LEDC's. The Indian Plate which was moving 40 mm a year north collided with the Eurasian plate and was forced beneath it. It measured 7.6 on the Richter Scale. As is

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Geography Coursework

The Isle of Purbeck Introduction The Isle of Purbeck is a huge tourist attraction which is located in the county of Dorset, England and has landmass of approximately 60 sq miles. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east. Purbeck is not really an island; it is a peninsular on the South Coast of England near Bournemouth, Dorset. It is a place of natural beauty which is wonderful for family holidays or a quiet break away. Not far from London (2 1/2 hours by train), Purbeck is an area with many places of natural beauty which is why most tourists go to visit the Peninsular. Swanage and Wareham are the main towns. Swanage is on the coast and there you will find guest houses or campsites. Purbeck is great for walking especially along the coast with beautiful views and unspoilt countryside. The famous Old Harry rocks which is one the areas I will be focusing on later in my coursework, are just off the coast and the white cliffs are a dramatic backdrop for bird watching. The walks are quite gentle though fairly hilly but the towns are quite far apart so be prepared and bring a hat, good walking shoes and lots of water. These are some of the main reasons why Tourist's, visitors visit the isle of purbeck. Investigation Throughout my Coursework I concentrating on 3 Hypothesis's which all have purpose in this investigation. The 3 Hypothesis's are stated below,

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Why did so many people die in the Kobe Earthquake?

Why did so many people die in the Kobe Earthquake? Kobe is a major city in central Japan, its population is 1,528,948. It is situated on a minor fault, the Najima fault line. It lies above a destructive plate margin, hence why Japan has so many volcanoes. At 5.46pm, 17th January 1995 an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale and lasting for 30 seconds, struck Kobe. This colossus earthquake was caused by "The Philippines plate" and the "Pacific plate", (Oceanic Crust) getting forced downwards when pressure was applied to it by the Eurasian plate (continental crust). The seismic waves caused by the plates rippled through the earth's surface. As well as causing earthquakes these events can cause Volcanoes. The magma rises out of the earth and out of the cracks which have been formed. Although this earthquake may seem big, it is still relatively small compared to the ones that the American people have to endure in San Francisco and California. These one's reach 8-9 on the Richter scale! They are located on the "Ring of fire", which also lies above a destructive plate margin. As you may or may not know, Japan is basically an island made up of volcanoes sticking out of the ground. This means there is very little flat land other than at the base of the volcanoes. Due to this, it is very crowded and congested. Believe it or not the population Of Japan is 124

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Why do similar kinds of hazards have different impacts in different places?

Why do similar kinds of hazards have different impacts in different places? Similar kinds of hazards can cause a different scale of impact in different places due to many factors, the main influence being the countries economy. A hazard is an unexpected event or process which affects people, causing loss of life or injury, economic damage, disruption to people's lives or environmental degradation. A natural hazard could become a disaster when is has serious effects such as a large loss of life or property. The disaster risk has many factors which could increase or decrease the risk. This can be shown in an equation; Disaster Risk = Hazard X Vulnerability Capacity Hazard relates to the frequency of the hazard or the scale of the hazard, for example the magnitude of an earthquake, or the height of a wave. Vulnerability is the conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards. Capacity is the combination of strengths and resources available that reduce risk. Hurricane Katrina, 2005, New Orleans. Hazard: Hurricane Katrina passed east of New Orleans and winds downtown were in the Category 4 range with a minimum central pressure of 902 millibars and frequent intense gusts and tidal surge. 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded, with some parts under 15 feet of water.

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Earthquake in Kobe – A Natural Disaster Waiting to Happen

h/w Saturday, 05 October 2002 Earthquake in Kobe - A Natural Disaster Waiting to Happen Introduction It all happened on the morning of January the 17th 1995, the second most populated and industrialized city in one of the biggest economies of the world, was struck by a powerful earthquake causing thousands of injuries and hundreds of deaths. It was a disaster waiting to happen. Situated in the south-central region of Japan, Kobe was the second largest city in Japan people and industrial-wise, after Tokyo. It was the biggest earthquake to hit Japan, after the great Kanto earthquake of 1923, where around 140,000 people were killed, most after the impact. The strong shock occurred across the fault that runs through the city of Kobe, and the Awaji island. The earthquake lasted for around 20 seconds, with around 5,500 deaths resulting from it. The number of injuries reached about 35,000 in total, and nearly 180,000 buildings were said to have collapsed. The damage was recorded over a radius of 100 km from the epicentre. The earthquake also hit the cities of Osaka and Kyoto. The economic loss was worse than anything. It was the largest ever to be lost directly from a natural disaster. Directly from the shaking itself, around 13 trillion yen worth of damage was caused. This is around £100 billion and before, the loss of life, production, and business

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Decision Making how will we manage the Essex coastline?

Decision Making - how will we manage the Essex coastline? In February 1953 disaster struck Essex. The North Sea flood, a combination of high spring tide and a severe wind storm caused a storm surge. With the tidal surge of the North Sea the water level locally exceeded 5.6 meters. The flood and waves overwhelmed sea defences and caused extensive flooding. Essex, an area hit by subsidence and sea level rise relies highly upon sea defences. Most of the casualties occurred in the province of Jaywick, in Essex 307 people were killed and 22,000 made homeless. This flood also hit the Netherlands, which suffered 1,800 deaths. As subsidence and sea level rise grow worse due to global warming, there is a large chance that Essex if hit by a storm surge again will be very vulnerable. Essex is made especially defenceless as it has also been hit had by isostasy. And this is why I eager you to make a decision upon who we will defend our Essex coastline. There are several areas in Essex becoming increasingly susceptible to flooding. In order to protect these areas action must be taken. This plan provides a long term strategic view on how the balance between losses and gains to Essex can be maintained in the light of rising sea levels, and the flood defence response to it. The plan concludes that Essex cannot be maintained in its present form. Maintaining the present levels of flood

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Marine Pollution

Marine Pollution I am writing to convince the UK Government that it is time to take action to protect the seas around us. The harm being done to our oceans is damaging in many ways - not least because with increasing speed, we are severely depleting the world's stock of fish. For four centuries the seas have been considered on inexhaustible resource from which people could take as much as they wanted. Now we have to face up to the fact that our oceans are not limitless - more and more people competing for less and less fish are which is making the existing crisis worse. Many marine ecosystems are at the point of collapse and will be destroyed unless we act quickly to protect them from the most serious threats. Pollution from ships Ships can pollute waterways and oceans in many ways. Oil spills can have devastating effects. While being toxic to marine life, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the components in crude oil, are very difficult to clean up, and last for years in the sediment and marine environment. Discharge of cargo residues from bulk carriers can pollute ports, waterways and oceans. In many instances vessels intentionally discharge illegal wastes despite foreign and domestic regulation prohibiting such actions. Ships create noise pollution that disturbs natural wildlife, and water from ballast tanks can spread harmful algae and other invasive

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