Tsunami Study Questions
Lecture Review
1. What is a tsunami?
2. Know wavelength, wave height, frequency and period, and velocity of a tsunami
compared to our everyday wind waves at the beach.
3. What happens to a tsunami’s wavelength, wave height, frequency, velocity, and
energy as
it approaches the shore? i.e. does the wavelength shorten or increase as depth
decreases, does the height increase or decrease as depth decreases? Etc.
4. Why are tsunami nearly imperceptible in the deep ocean?
5. What are some of the causes of tsunami? How is it caused? Give an example of
each.
6. Aside from drowning, what are some of the other tsunami dangers?
7. List 4 things that can be done for tsunami mitigation.
8. What is the difference between a “tsunami watch” and a “tsunami warning”?
9. How are tsunami predicted?
10. List 5 of the most important “Tsunami Safety Rules” you should consider if you
see a tsunami approaching the shoreline.
11. What determines whether the trough or the crest of a tsunami will hit the
coastline first?
Reading
Vocabulary
Tsunami
Drawdown
Period
Run up
Tsunami warning
Tsunami watch
Wavelength
Chapter 5 Reading
List the different ways that tsunami are generated
Read section on earthquake generate tsunami. Then explain figure 5-2 in detail.
Which factors determine the height of a tsunami. List them
How high can an earthquake generate tsunami get?
Which types of fault will generate tsunami?
Which type of fault will not generate tsunami?
Which are the most vulnerable parts of the United States and Canada to tsunami
Describe the anatomy of a tsunami
Wave height
Wave length
Wave period
What is the velocity of a tsunami in the open ocean?
What happens to this velocity as it hits the coast?
Explain figure 5-9A
What is run-up?
Which factors influence tsunami run-up.
Why should you stay away from the beach even after a tsunami wave has retreated? How
long should you stay away?
What are three ways to mitigate damages from tsunami?
Name three signs of an imminent tsunami.
What is the difference between a tsunami watch and warning?
If an earthquake occurs very close by would the tsunami warning system be effective?
What are the key points for surviving a tsunami?
Why were so many lives lost during the 2004 Sumatra Tsunami?
The Atlantic coast doesn’t experience much earthquakes. What other event could generate
tsunami along the Atlantic coast of North America.
Volcanoes
Lecture Review
1. What are the 3 types of magma discussed in lecture? Know their SiO2 compositions,
temperature, viscosity, gas content.
2. What is viscosity? What two factors affect a magma’s viscosity? In which way? i.e. if we
increase temperature, what happens to viscosity?
3. Which magma tends to be the most fluid (less viscous)? Is this magma likely to produce
an explosive or quiet eruption?
4. Briefly explain how volcanic eruptions occur.
5. What are primary effects of a volcanic eruption?
6. What are the main differences between “aa” and “pahoehoe” lavas?
7. Briefly explain the difference between “ash falls” and “ash flows”.
8. What is a “surge”? How are they formed?
9. “Blocks” and “bombs” are examples of pyroclastic material ejected from a volcano. How
big are they? What is the difference between the two?
10. Name 4 poisonous gas emitted from a volcano.
11. What is a “lahar”?
12. How do volcanic eruptions effect our atmosphere? i.e. What happens to the overall
global temperature? How does this happen?
13. How do volcanic eruptions cause famine and disease?
Reading
Chapter 6.
What is a volcano?
What is difference between magma and lava
What controls when a rock becomes magma?
What controls the viscosity of a magma?
See table 6-1. What are the differences between the volcanic rocks?
Why is water vapor content important in determining whether an eruption will be explosive?
How does volume of magma erupted influence explosivity of eruption?
What types of lavas form in spreading zones?
What types of lavas form in hotspots?
What types of lavas form in subduction zones?
What is the difference between a crater and caldera?
Look at figure 6-22 and explain how a caldera forms.
What is a pyroclastic flow?
How is a pyroclastic flow different from a lahar?
What is the difference between phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions.
Study table 6-4 and determine which volcano type forms in which tectonic environment.
Why do shield volcanos have different shapes than stratovolcanoes/composite volcanoes?
Explain what causes cinder cones to form (hint: water)
Volcano Mitigation Lecture
With regard to magma, know which type of magma has the highest viscosity,
lowest viscosity, etc., SiO2 content, and which is more likely to produce an
explosive eruption vs. an effusive eruption.
What are the two examples of basaltic volcanoes and describe the characteristics of
each.
Which volcano is usually associated with andesitic magma?
Know the characteristics of a composite cone.
What type of volcano is usually associated with rhyolitic lavas? What are its
characteristics?
What is the main difference between a caldera and a crater? How do each form?
Know the 6 types of eruption styles and be able to define each.
What is the difference between an active, extinct, and dormant volcano?
What is long-term forecasting? How is it used to assess hazards and risks for
future volcanoes?
With regard to short-term predictions, know the 7 methods to volcano monitoring.
Reading
Chapter 7
What is the difference between a lava flow and pyroclastic flow?
Which do you consider more dangerous, a pyroclastic flow or a lava flow? Why?
Why does ash and sulfur dioxide affect global temperatures?
How does snow and rain help cause mudflows on volcanoes?
What are the best ways to avoid mudflows?
Describe a example of where carbon dioxide proved to be deadly to people.
Explain figure 7-18
List at least 3 deadly gases that come from volcanoes
How does studying a volcano’s historical record help in determining whether an eruption will
occur?
Why is the historical record not always useful and therefore, we must rely on
paleovolcanology.
Explain how the following are used to predict an eruption
Earthquakes
Surface temperatures
Change in elevation and slope
Change in gases emitted
What are two ways to control the flow of lavas
How does the automatic detection system for mudflows work?
List two stratovolcanos in California.
Which stratovolcano is next to Seattle Washington?
Landslide Lecture
What is mass wasting?
What is the main factor responsible for mass wasting?
Force of gravity can be broken down into two parts. List and describe each.
What is shear strength? When does slope failure occur? (know the formula)
What are the 4 factors that control mass wasting? Describe each.
Mass wasting can be classified as “slow” and “rapid”. List and describe the types for each.
Describe the 5 triggering events discussed in class. Know the Case Studies associated with each.
List and describe 5 engineering techniques that could help avoid mass wasting events.
Landslide Text
Explain the difference between driving force and resisting force.
Explain how slope steepness and the load determine the driving force.
Frictional resistance depends on these two factors.
See figure 8-2. Be able to describe the forces acting on a mass resting on a slope.
Why does a wet sand have a higher angle of repose than a dry sand? See figure 8-3.
How does internal structure influence whether a rock will fail or not?
How does oversteepening and overloading cause landslides?
How does adding water cause landslides?
What is a rockfall?
What are debris avalanches?
What are rotational slides and slumps?
Make a drawing similar to figure 8-22 and alble the toe, head scarp, slide plane, & hummocky
topography.
How are translational slide different from rotational slides?
What is creep?
How can trees indicate that the slope is creeping?
Explain what causes liquefaction using Figure 8-35
What is the importance of identifying past landslides in the mitigation of landslides?
How are landslide hazard maps important in mitigation?
What are some of the engineering solutions for mitigating landslides?
Global Warming
Lecture
1. What is global warming? How much of an increase in the last century? How
much is expected in the next century?
2. What is the main cause that has accelerated climate change?
3. What is the Industrial Revolution? When did it begin?
4. Be able to name the greenhouse gases in order of abundance.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Describe the Greenhouse Effect.
What are some of the causes that increase greenhouse gases?
What are the natural causes that may explain Ice Age occurrences?
What is the Milankovich Theory? Describe Eccentricity, Obliquity, and
Precession.
9. Describe the Hydrologic Cycle.
10.What is Relative Humidity? Know that warm air holds more water vapor.
11.What is Adiabatic Cooling? Orographic Effect?
12.What is Atmospheric Pressure? What is the difference between Cyclone and
Anticyclone.
13.Know at what latitude air rises and air sinks.
14.What is the Coriolis Effect? In which direction are winds deflected in the
Northern Hemisphere? Southern Hemisphere?
15.Explain how increased temperatures affect flooding, coastal erosion,
hurricanes, and wildfires.