Tectonic Hazards: Natural Phenomena, Risks and Challenges - Essay Sample

Introduction

Tectonic hazards include natural phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mass movement, and tsunamis, among others. These activities display significance risks in some parts of the world. Tectonic hazards tend to occur in regions that have active tectonic processes with a high rate of the population as well as low levels of development. It is difficult to assess the related tectonic hazards due to adequate information about the past event. The records cover a limited time and hence do not include the frequency of occurrence but the severity (Murray & Cormier 2018). Also, it is challenging to assess the tectonic hazards as observed events do not reflect the possible future situations. The resilience of such named regions tends to be lower, and the physical systems holding a large population can cause massive tragedies. Having a deep understanding of the causes of tectonic hazards is the only first and essential step to manage and successfully respond to the dangers as well as mitigate the social and economic effects and permit people to adapt to the occurrence of the tragedy.

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Tectonic hazards tend to impact on social and economic sectors negatively. For instance, some of the social effects are that risks such as landslide and volcanic eruption lead to the death of people, animals, and plants. Also, it sharpens the poverty within societies. A chance, such as landslide leads to power shortages. Many economic activities tend to be paralyzed at the occurrence of tectonic hazards such as tsunamis (Dalezios 2017). Factories and businesses tend to get destroyed. Thus there is a loss of finances. The appearance of those hazards also forced the government to spend more money on rescuing the victims and providing basic needs such as food and medication. Thus leads the country into an economic crisis.

Slope Stability and the Role of Water and Gravity

Slope stability is whereby inclined rock or soils withstand the movement processes such as erosion and material transportation. The gravity and gravity of water influence the balance of the slope. Gravity is a force that pulls everything towards the center of the earth. Gravity acts on the hill based on two angles; perpendicular and tangential. The vertical gravity supports the mass in place on the slope, while the tangential gravity causes the occurrence of shear parallel to the hill. That is, unrelated gravity pulls mass downwards direction side to the mountain. In a steeper slope, perpendicular gravity decreases while tangential force increases (Nelson 2013). If the shear stress is greater than the cohesion or resistance force, the masses flow downwards. Therefore, the steepness of the gradient will determine the strength of the shear and cohesion forces.

Consequently, even though water is not the user agent used to transport medium, it is essential in mitigating the stability of the slope due to various reasons. First, water from melting snow or rainfall increases the weight of the soil. When the ground becomes more cumbersome, the stability of the gradient reduces. Also, water can alter the angle of the slope. For instance, in dry places or very wet areas, it is rare to find a vertical gradient while in the somehow wet areas, vertical slopes dominate the regions. Also, the water lessens the stability of water when the water table level keeps changing. During the rainy season, a lot of water infiltrates. Thus, underground water saturates more soil particles (Nelson, 2013). During the dry season, less water infiltrates; hence, a lot of soil and sand particle is dry. That is, water can bond materials together. Therefore, water is a significant gradient that is influencing the stability of the slope as far as soil/clay particles are involved.

There are several ways in which one can mitigate the effects of water on slope stability. These activities include covering the slopes with mesh wire or sparing concrete to prevent rockfalls and soil movements. Also, the building of walls around the hill can enhance the stability of the slope. Besides, if the slope consists of fractured rocks, rocks bolts can be used to hold the materials together (Wellington 2017). It is also advisable to lower the level of water reservoirs to trap the mudflows. Also, not all slopes can be stabilized; others can lead to massive disasters, and hence, it is wise to stay away from slopes or carry out the activities that cannot trigger the hill.

Predictions

The prediction of the mass movement hazards requires an understanding of the slope stability and triggering events. Short term prediction of the mass movement hazards is challenging. Slope destabilization and the undercutting events call for more attention and a deep understanding of the slopes. Mass movement disasters such as volcanic eruption can be predicted with a similar degree of certainty, but then risks have been recognized, and warnings need to be heeded (Nelson 2013). Also, hydrological hazards such as torrential downpour can be predicted or forecast, but then it is difficult to predict which slope among the millions in the world will be affected by the triggered event.

References

Nelson, S. A. (2013). Slope stability, triggering events, mass movement hazards. Nat. Disasters.

Wellington, M., Dennis, A., Colley, T., Weston, T., & Dhami, J. (2017). Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Design and Technology Student Book. Pearson Education Limited.

Dalezios, N. R. (Ed.). (2017). Environmental hazards methodologies for risk assessment and management. IWA Publishing.

Murray, A. N., & Cormier, M. H. (2018). Sedimentary Signatures of Climate Variability and Tectonic Activity in Lake Azuei, Haiti: Possible Implications for Natural Hazards. SURFO Technical Report No. 18-01, 91.