Global Environment (12-2003)
Assignment on Massachusetts Earthquakes
As you know from the MIT site and the text, earthquakes are
recorded in a variety of ways. In the modern age they have been
accurately determined by instruments that assess not only the
precise location but their magnitudes. In earlier times, such as
the colonial period, such instruments did not exist. We do have
records however, of their effects on the built environment-buildings, roads, fences and indeed even on people themselves.
Early accounts, such as newspapers and scientific papers, are the
sources of information about such early earthquake activity and
are subject to a margin of error about exactly what happened and
where.
The database shows selected parts of the earthquake record
here. We are, of course, not isolated from what has happened in
adjacent regions.
Look over the database drawn from the World Wide Web at the above
address, and familiarize yourself with the columns. Note how list
is sorted (according to
A. ______________________________________)
As used in a previous web map assignment, note the longitude and
latitude columns. These are the geographic coordinates (longitude
is negative for this part of the world).
Look at the Massachusetts map. It shows the city and town
borders in the state. Find another map and know where the
following places are:
Boston; Worcester; Springfield; Cape Ann (Gloucester & Rockport);
Cape Cod.
On the edge of the state map is a grid based on the decimal
latitude and longitude coordinates for Massachusetts. The even
degree coordinates are labeled and the two-tenth degree intervals
are indicated by a star.
Assignment:
1. Make a copy of the map BEFORE you mark on it should you need
to rework it; use it as a draft for the final map.
2. Lightly pencil in the latitude and longitude lines to the
tenth degree AVOIDING ruling over the legend-scale area.
3. There is no SCALE on this map. You need to create a ruler
SCALE and a verbal SCALE in the location provided to the right of
the legend. The actual distance between the -71 and -72W
longitude lines (at about the 41N latitude) is 51.5 miles. Label
the ruler scale; fill in the verbal scale (1" = ___ miles).
4. From the database determine how many different magnitudes
there are.
How many? ____ Make a bar graph of number of events versus
magnitude. Place this in the area marked "GRAPH". What does
this graph show?
5. Choose as many colors as there are different magnitudes. You
can use colored pencils or flair pens here but try to get as fine
a point as you can; magic markers won't work well (point too
fat).
6. For each magnitude event place a mark at the lat/long
coordinate. Do so for each event using a different color for each
magnitude.
7. Create a legend in the lower left area labeled "LEGEND". In
this box list the magnitudes and colors you use to indicate
each event. This will interpret your colors--otherwise the
reader will not know what each color means. Add in the
number of events for each magnitude category.
Once you have completed locating the recorded events, assess the
resulting pattern of activity.
WORD PROCESS THE FOLLOWING AND PASS IN WITH THE MAP
Answer these:
a) What is the nature of the pattern?
b) Are the larger events related in space? (are they together,
spaced apart, evenly scattered?)
c) What is the time interval that the data covers?
d) Have we had large events recently or a long time ago?
e) Is the activity near major population centers in the state?
f) What problems can you think of if a large quake occurred in
Boston? List some damage you might expect.
g) What steps would you recommend now to avoid some of this?
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Pass in the following:
1) Answers to the questions above: these sheets stapled together
2) The map with the answers to the questions noted in
‘assignment’ above
3) Your answers to the above.
Make sure to put your name on the map on the front bottom.
Do NOT pass in the database list