Make an Impact!

Make an Impact! :)

Guiding Question:

What are the factors that affect the appearance of impact craters?

Hypothesis:
If the speed of the falling object (meteor) is bigger, then it will create a bigger crater.

Materials:
Safety goggles, tray, flour, (soil and corn meal-optional), notebook, spoon, small and large marbles, ruler (cm), Excel and word.



Data Info:

The following data table contains data that we obtained during this experiment; using a marble as an impactor. In the table, data for different heights of drops in three trials are presented.






The graphs below the table are constructed using the average crater diameter and average depth of the crater.






Data Analysis:

My hypothesis about the appearance and size of the crater are supported by the data that we got through this experiment. My hypothesis was that If the speed of the falling object (meteor) is bigger, then it will create a bigger crater. In this case, the velocity of the falling object is certainly connected with distance in which that object travels, so the higher the distance of dropping, the bigger the speed of hitting the flower surface will be. That means that the bigger the velocity, the bigger the impact will be, and the bigger the crater will be created.
From the data presented in both the table and the two graphs, we can see that with the increase of drop height, both the diameter and the depth of the crater will increase too.


Conclusion:

We can conclude that if the marble is dropped from a higher distance, it will produce a much bigger (both wider and deeper) crater. We have proved that by the data shown in the data table- and that has approved my hypothesis that the velocity of hitting is one of the important impacts that affect the crater appearance.



Further Inquiry:

For the further inquiry, I believe that we should think about all the factors that affect the crater formation such as velocity of the impactor, its size, its weight (that means from which material the impactor is made) etc…. All of these are factors that we could test in some further research by, for example, using marbles made of glass and sponge, or using bigger and smaller marbles made out of the same material and dropped from the same distance.

Current Event 9

Super Storm on Saturn
Paul Walsh
http://www.astromart.com/news/news.asp?news_id=1184
5/19/2011 10:47 pm

This article talks about a super-duper huge storm which has unexpectedly occurred in Saturn’s northern hemisphere. This violent storm has started out like a simple disturbance that occurred as an early spring storm, but soon it exceeded the limits and appeared like a precursor for disaster of hot gas plumes that tend to destroy Saturn’s stratosphere. The storm has rapidly increased to about a 5,000 kilometers wide thunderstorm vortex. Scientists say that the storm like this is pretty rare-this is the sixth storm recorded since the first one found in 1876, and the last one happened in 1990. However, this is the first major storm observed by an orbiting spacecraft and studied with the thermal infrared wavelenghts, which means that the scientists have much more data to analyze and to prove the collosal force of this storm. The data from infrared observations are the key point for the researcers-they show them a lot of things like; what are the conditions inside the storm including temperature, winds and atmospheric composition of gasses. This data has showed that huge amounts of matter and energy had been transported around Saturn by this storm and that this has interrupted the planet’s weather pattern conditions.

The most surprising thing was that something that has started like an ordinary disturbance in the planet’s hemisphere has spread to unexpected limits threatening to seriously disturb Saturn’s higher layer of the atmosphere called stratosphere. A Stratosphere is part of the sky where commercial planes fly in order to avoid turbulences, so, I wouldn’t like to be in that Saturn plane . Another thing that has worried me while reading this article is that THIS SIMPLE DISTURBANCE HAS OVERGROWN IN AN INCONCEIVABLE STORM that tends to disturb wheather pattern on Saturn, and who knows which other doubt exists!!!

Reasons for the Seasons

In our science class we did a very interesting lab that has clarified me a few things about the season creation on Earth. In our lab, we used a styrofoam ball as a model of the Earth, and we used a flashlight to light our model Earth (who's axis was tilted about 20 degrees) and we have observed what is happening in many different cases. After the lab, we were supposed to answer these questions. So here they are:

1. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, which areas on Earth get the most concentrated light? Which areas get the most concentrated light when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere?
When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the most concentrated light is in the Southern Hemisphere, and when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, then it gets the most concentrated light (at that moment, it is winter in the southern hemisphere).

2. Compare your observations of how the light hits the area halfway between the equator and the North Pole during winter and during summer.
During the experiment, we observed that during winter, light doesn't hit that middle area very much. Light hits the areas closest to the equator-because of the shape of the Earth. When we did our experiment with the acetate grid, we saw that the squares from the acetate grid on the northern hemisphere looked like rectangles. while when they were closest to the equator they were perfect squares. This means that the light was less concentrated at the poles than the areas close to the equator.

3. If the squares projected on the ball from the acetate become larger, what can you infer about the amount of heat distributed in each square?
When the projected squares become larger, it means that less heat is found in each square because the light energy is spreading out through a bigger surface area.

4. According to your observations, which areas on Earth are consistently coolest? Which areas are consistently warmest? Why?
The consistently coolest areas are the North and the South Poles, because only small amounts of sunlight come in those areas, and we can say that they are never directly illuminated. The warmest area is in the equator because it is in the middle of the Earth and it is always directly exposed to the sun.

5. What time of year will the toothpick's shadow be longest? When will the shadow be shortest?
The toothpick’s shadow will be longest during summer, because it is closer to the sun and the light is directly shining on it. But, in the winter, the shadow is shortest because there is a bigger angle of the light that hits it.

6. How are the amounts of heat and light received in a square related to the angle of the sun's rays?
The amounts of heat and light received in a square are biggest when the light directly hits the surface, so this angle is almost zero while when this angle increases, (because of the tilt of the Earth and Earth’s round shape) the square becomes rectangular and this light energy is spread through these rectangles.

7. Use your observations of an Earth-sun model to write an explanation of what causes the seasons.
The seasons on Earth are caused by the Earth’s round shape and the tilt of Earth’s axis from the normal position, to the line connecting the sun and the Earth. This tilt influences the way that sunlight hits the Earth’s surface- the more direct the sunlight hits the Earth, the warmer it will be. While when there is a bigger angle of sunlight toward the surface, it will be cooler.

Phases of the Moon

What do you think about when you see the moon's 'shapes' changing? Do you think that there are many moons changing everyday, or do you think you are just seeing one moon change? What causes the moon to change, and what are these changes called? They are called the moon's phases. They appear because the moon is orbiting around the Earth, leading us to think that there is more than one moon. The shape of the moon varies from a full moon (which is when the Earth is between the sun and the moon) to a new moon (which is the moon being between the sun and the Earth).

When we look at the moon and we only see half of its surface, which is the side that is facing us. We can observe that as the moon orbits our Earth, the side of the moon, which is facing us is full of light (illuminated) by the sunlight. So when we look at the moon, sometimes we see some parts that are light (by the sun) and some parts that are shadowed. For example, if you have a look at the First Quarter moon, half of it is a shadow and the other half is light (which comes from the sun). We can see only part of it which is illuminated by the sun. This means that if the moon is between the Earth and the Sun, we won't see it because there is no illumination from its surface that can be seen the Earth's surface. As the angle between Earth sun axes changes, the appearance of the moon will change too. So, in a moment we will see it as a full moon, and that happens when the Earth is between the Moon and the Sun, so the whole "Half-Ball" of the moon is illuminated. When I was small, I used to ask myself- why would somebody cut moon energy weight?! :)

Phases of the moon Reflection

In science class, we explored a variety of things about the phases of the moon. We did a lab, we did an activity (creating a moon clock) we read a section in our textbook, and we looked at a simulation of the moon phases and how they work.

My favorite activity was creating a moon clock- because it helped me understand the moon better. Our teacher had us record when each phase rose at which time. I noticed that when the moon is at noon, we don't actually see it, so it becomes a new moon. At sunset, we see a First Quarter, and at midnight, we see a Full Moon. Finally, at sunrise we see a Third Quarter (Last Quarter). Also, when the sun is on one side, the moon has a lot of light from that side, however, we as people see it differently because it orbits around the Earth. A lunar month is the amount of time it takes for the moon to pass through each of its phases. A lunar month takes a;proximately 30 days to reach the next new moon from the starting new moon- and this is called a Synodic month.

Tuning Fork Lab

TUNING FORK LAB

Guiding Question: How does density of various solids affect the way the sound waves travel from the tuning fork?

Hypothesis: If the material is denser, then the sound from the tuning fork will travel faster (higher frequency) and it will be much louder.

Materials:
1. Tuning fork (the main resource)
2. White board (plastic)

3. Table (wood)
4. Locker (metal)

5. Piece of Paper (paper material)

6. Rock material
7. Watch stop

8. Computer (for putting and processing the data)

Procedure:
1. Take a pencil and a notebook before you get started with your experiment, because you wouldn’t want to miss something out!
2. Draw a table in your notebook with all necessary columns and rows (this table should contain the type of material, its density, time of vibrations and observations, and all that for different types of material)

3. Take a tuning fork of normal size and hit it on chosen material. You should feel the vibration of the tuning fork while you’re holding it.
4. Get a timer/watch stop and time how long the tuning fork vibrates.

5. Record your observations in the table in the notebook.
6. Repeat the steps 3-5 as many times as you have materials.

Record and Analysis:

The measurements with the observations are given in the table below.

Material	Density, kg/m3	Time, seconds	Observation
Metal (Locker)	7400-8000	About 25	Soft vibration, long lasting
Plastic (White Board)	900-1100	About 19	Loud but slow
Wood (Table)	700-850	16	Quiet and slow
Rock	2000	About 22	Vibrates slowly but is loud.
Paper	21450	12	Low pitched

Conclusion:
Jovana’s conclusion:
In conclusion, I can say that Ergi and my hypothesis was partially wrong because the vibrations for the denser materials were long lasting, but soft, so I can’t really say it was faster, as I suppose. The pitch was lower for denser materials, but the sound was much louder. This means that only part of our hypothesis was true.

Ergi’s Conclusion:
In conclusion, our hypothesize was right. If the material is denser the tuning fork will be slower. On the table above hard materials all ways lasts longer and has a heavier sound than the others.

Further Inquiry
Jovana’s Further Inquiry:

In the future, we can improve our experiment by doing at least three trials with each type of material and recording each time of vibrations as well as observations during these vibrations. We could also use different types of tuning forks and compare them. And, to conclude, I’m not sure if the densities for the materials are exact because I took them from the internet, but, there are different types of plastic or metal etc.

Ergi’s Further Inquiry:
An interesting thing I learned was that on wood it makes a very long vibration and it lasts for a long time. But, the song is not that high.

Waves Unit Reflection

How does the use and study of waves affect societal well-being?

As I learned throughout this unit, there are a lot of ways that waves and their use might affect societal well-being. Firstly, waves are all around us – so, how can’t they affect something? We can summarize and say that they help us a lot-how would we be able to help humans from death and diseases without UV rays (new born babies in hospitals), x-rays or gamma rays (used in hospitals to treat cancer). Doctors use magnetic resonance and radio waves to see a picture of human’s tissue…. Radio waves and the Doppler effect are used to find the speeds of moving vehicles and of moving balls at sport events such as tennis matches- we wouldn’t want anyone to cheat on a tennis match, would we?! It’s impossible to live without the electromagnetic spectrum. Waves help us to understand the noise from loud music, they describe how instruments work, and certainly how glass can break during loud music (resonance). If we put all of these things together, we’d realize that all of these small things happen to us in our everyday lives, and we don’t even realize it! It seems that there is no way in the modern society that people can survive without waves… But we need to be careful!!! Too much of everything can be harmful to everything and that the same with waves- I can remind on hearing loss from too loud music, brain cancer from too much talk on mobile skin cancer from too much UV exposure….

I have learned a lot throughout this unit about different types of waves starting from water waves, to many extraordinary light waves, radio waves, microwaves etc.
In the beginning of the unit I thought that waves were just a bunch of waves we see every day at the beach, and I thought that only water waves existed (which is sort of embarrassing to admit). But now I know a lot more about waves that I never really knew I’d learn. There is a big difference between all of them, starting from ‘simple’, visible water waves, to seismic and sound waves, and ending with the electromagnetic spectrum (radio, microwave, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays)
I mostly liked learning about the electromagnetic spectrum because it’s something I have never heard of before, and it really taught me a lesson. I learned a lot of facts, especially about microwaves because I had to make a Powerpoint about it with a group. I learned that you can get cancer from talking on the phone for a long time (especially little kids, because their brain is still developing). Listening to other classmates’ presentations, I learned a lot of valuable facts and included them in the debate discussion we had in science class. For example, I learned that visible light waves are the only electromagnetic waves we can see, and that we can see these waves as the colors of the rainbow. I have also learned that gamma waves have the smallest wavelengths and the most energy of any other wave in the electromagnetic spectrum. Pretty interesting, huh? I used to think that x-rays were only types of ‘machines’ used to make our eyes think that we’re seeing a skeleton body. But now I know that x-rays are a lot more than that. They have smaller wavelengths and therefore higher energy than ultraviolet waves. I would not go too deep into x-rays, because I could talk about them for hours. All of these things we learned in class are amazing, I would not never have learnt this if it weren’t for our fantastic teacher, Mrs.M! I would not really change much for next year’s grade 7 students- I loved the debate we had, it made me think deeper about the electromagnetic spectrum, and I think the presentations we did in groups were really useful too. However, I would make a little difference. In my opinion, next year you can have more students presentations of each part of the electromagnetic spectrum- so each of us would learn a whole bunch of the information they have researched about. This way, the grade sevens would learn a lot of if different interesting facts about waves but seen from the other students point of view!

Food Irradiation

FOOD IRRADIATION

Step One:
During science class, we were talking about food irradiation. We were each assigned to research about this topic. Since Riena and I sat next to each other, we decided to be partners and talk about the cons of food irradiation, while Maria and Emily who sat at the same table decided to research about the pros of food irradiation. Once that was done, all four of us gathered up and started doing a debate. We surely used our research notes to help us during the debate.

Step Two:
There are a variety of problems with food irradiation. It kills the microorganisms that make the food less healthy but, at the same time, food irradiation destroys nutrients such as vitamin A, B-1, E and K. It takes away approximately 10 percent of health away and leaves 90%. Even by putting your fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator can lead to small losses in nutrition-this also goes for cooking too (it can make it lose some vitamins). Irradiation of food may change the molecular structure of the food which can create bad chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde, and intaking a long term of these chemicals can lead to cancer or other disease-but also other ways for preserving foods, such as spraying with pesticides, are proven to be much more harmful for human health than irradiation!

Step Three:

Some pros of Food Irradiation that I heard from the other team were:

- Kills pesticides, bacteria and insects

- It doesn’t kill more nutrients than a conventional oven does

- Can allowed for food to be stored longer

- Radiation kills up to 90-99% of dangerous bacteria in the food.

- It is good for the environment

The cons Riena and I discussed:

- The levels that are allowed to be used do not kill the viruses

- Can only be used on a limited number of foods.

- Approve irradiation in food as flawed

- Accidents by people handling radioactive material is possible

- Does not kill all the bacteria and the bacteria that is not destroyed supposedly comes back stronger and even harder to kill

Step Four:

If I am seeing two containers in the super market (one is irradiated and the other is not) and I have to choose which one to pick, I would say that it depends on which type of food I would buy. If I’m buying strawberries from Serbia that are fully grown in the spring season in Serbia where there is no need for preserving, I would buy the non-irradiated strawberries. But if I’m buying bananas from South Africa, then I would surely choose the irradiated food because of the reasons I previously mentioned.

After our debate, we have concluded that irradiation of food is something that certainly doesn’t need to be forbidden but it is not necessary to be done with all types of foods. I believe that science did a good job by irradiating food because it’s a much healthier way for preserving food than by using other chemicals instead.

My thinking about food irradiation has changed quite a lot. Earlier I thought that the irradiation of food is a bad thing that can really harm both food and human health. While listening to Maria and Emily, I wanted to be on both sides because I couldn’t decide what’s better. Now I think that irradiation of food is really good when it is actually necessary and if it properly applied. I enjoyed the debate because I thought it was a really good idea to lead us to think further more about the irradiation of food. I really hope we discuss about the pros and cons of the future topics we will do in science class.

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Noise Pollution Essay

NOISE POLLUTION

Noise pollution is a type of energy pollution in which very displeasing sound occurs. Noise and sound are two different things. A sound is a kind of vibration which travels through mediums such as air or water- it’s basically something that can be heard. Whereas a noise is a type of sound which is mixed together with other sounds, and it cannot be heard clearly. Some people may think of it as a really irritating and annoying noise coming from any strong and disturbing sound sources. It can be caused by humans, animals, or machines. However, the really serious noise pollution mainly comes from engines, rail noises, automobiles, and car alarms which can affect the human ear- it can cause damage to it and can lead to hearing disabilities. Noise pollution occurs all over the world but it does not only happen in the air, it also happens in other mediums that the sound waves travel through (for example underwater). But to be sincere, noise pollution may occur in various ways: in huge shopping malls, in a classroom, in factories where people produce new items, at a party where there is loud music, lawn mowers may cause a lot of noise, slamming doors/car doors (only if a lot of people do it at the same time) barking dogs or any other animal making loud noises, voices yelling or loud conversations, construction, and most of all: beeping car horns, revving engines, cars, planes, trucks etc.
Noise pollution can affect people in many different ways, and not only to humans, but also to animals. Animals can hear noise 100 times better than humans, so there is a possibility that they can be more affected than humans! For example, it can cause people/animals to have hearing problems. Loudness or sound level is measured in Decibels (dB). The maximum amount of noise to not get hearing problems is 100dB. However, if a person/animal listens to a sound that is up to 100dB for a long period of time, then it will definitely cause hearing damage.
Next are cardiovascular issues. This causes damage to the blood pressure- and your heartbeats can increase- leading to a heart attack (if the noise is extremely loud). Sleep disturbances are also an issue. If a person screams or a loud car alarm occurs while someone’s sleep, it can cause the person to be uncomfortable and increase their intensity. When that happens, the person can no longer work or think on anything after. Mental health problems happens when a person is very anxious or mad and a whole crowd or loud noise occurs. My teacher was once very depressed, and when the class started yelling, screaming, and being crazy she got annoyed and could no longer think. Finally, interferences in verbal communication are when two people are talking, and loud noise is happening in the background- this can lead to confusion and misunderstandings.

Have you ever wondered how life would be wonderful without all the loud noise occurring in the city? In the older days, people had no transportation and machines to be able to get hearing loss, instead they could hear rusting leaves (10 dB) and birds ‘singing’ on the trees. I can imagine how wonderful and peaceful that could be! I’m sure we want to live like that! The only way we can is to eliminate noise pollution! Here are some examples:

· Turn off the TV, you don’t want noise to disturb you while you’re working on something important! (Although I love listening to music while I do my homework, and if I want my work to be well done, I’m going to have to turn the TV off. Well, this is sad. L )

· Avoid indoor noise- go outside if there a lot of noise going on inside, this can lead you to have a headache and faint!

· If the noise is really getting irritating, put some ear protection materials over your ears to protect those tiny hairs!

· Don’t build your living space in the surrounding of the railway, highway etc. Try to surround it with plants and bushes.

· Don’t use your car or motorcycle when there is no actual need for it!

· Listen to soothing music, it will calm you down- try listening to meditating songs.

· N-E-V-E-R watch those scary maze games, they can pop up and scare you to death. MY friend once sent me a link about scary mazes. In the first 5 minutes I watched beautiful trees with wonderful birds singing in the background, rusting leaves and everything was so peaceful. Until it lasted… A huge scary face popped up on the screen, I have to admit, it really freaked me out and I jumped like a cockroach out of my chair!

· People say planting trees is helpful to avoid disturbing noises- plant trees can absorb noise so we should have more of them to diminish noise!

· Increase healing sounds- birds, chimes, bells, music, streams, indoor or outdoor waterfalls or fountains to calm yourself!

· For people who work in the factories or in the noise pollution work places, it’s necessary to wear earphones to protect the ear. They should keep the factory hall opened (if this is possible) etc…

These are some things that we can do to diminish the noise pollution level, and it sounds really easy, doesn’t it? However, what can science do to solve this widely spread problem? Unfortunately, not a lot because, in contrast to air or water pollution in which we can locate the source, noise pollution comes from many different sources, so it might be hard to handle it. It also doesn’t have obvious and direct influences such as for example radioactive particles from the air, so there is no big need for prevention (except if the sound isn’t too loud at that moment).

Now I will talk about helping a person with hearing loss. Do you have a friend who has hearing problems? If you do, you can take him/her to a quiet room where there is no music at all- and where you can talk to in peace. Face the person and talk to him/her clearly without chewing gum, and you cannot mumble often otherwise he won’t be able to understand you. You should use facial expressions to make the person understand what you’re saying better. Also, if needed, you should reword your statement, you never know if the person understood you! You should be patient and stay relaxed! I also think that the person with hearing disabilities use visual signs much more than sound, so, for example, when a person rings a bell next to the door, there should be a light next to the deaf person so that he knows that someone wants to go in. There should also be a bigger number of channels on TV with titled programs so that the person with hearing problems can understand better and quicker- if he doesn’t know how to read, then there should be a person who will use the alphabet for impaired people.

Bibliography:

1. "Noise Pollution." iDea Connection- build on the genius others. N.p., 4 Sept.
2005. Web. 1 Apr. 2011. 4353-Noise-pollution.html>.

2. "Noise Pollution clearing house NPC." NPC webmaster. N.p., 7 Apr. 2001. Web. 1
Apr. 2011. http://www.nonoise.org/

3. "What is Noise Pollution?" What is what? N.p., 9 Dec. 2007. Web. 9 Dec. 2007.
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4. "Noise Pollution." Wikipedia. N.p., 24 Mar. 2011. Web. 1 Apr. 2011.

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5. "Noise Pollution." Answers.com. N.p., 5 June 2008. Web. 1 Apr. 2011.
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Bill Nye Video

SOUND!

1. What is sound?
Sound is an energy made by vibrations. When an object vibrates, it causes movement in the air particles, these particles bump into the particles close to each other, which makes them vibrate too causing them to bump into more air particles.

2. Does sound travel faster in a brick or in the air and why do you think that is?
Through a brick because it vibrates!

3. Do the individual particles in the air move to your ear to make sound?
They don't move very much.

4. Which creates longer wavelengths, high pitched or low pitched sounds?
Low pitched sound.

5. How many different notes are there in most music?
12.

6. How does the whisper dish work?
It funnels it.

7. What is it called when something vibrates at its' natural frequency?
Resonance.

8. How does the outer ear help you hear?
It's designed to catch sound.

"To the Master's honor all must turn, each in its' track, without a sound, forever tracing Newton's ground."
- Albert Einstein

Earthquake Safety

EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

Have you ever wondered what to do during an earthquake? If you haven't, you'll find a whole bunch of good tips for you and your family, whether you are at home or on a vacation.
I've researched about this topic, and found fantastic things; what you can do
during an earthquake, after an earthquake, and before an earthquake.
But firstly, you have to know some basic facts that will lead you to survive in an earthquake.

The first step is, you have to be prepared. Reduce/eliminate hazards throughout your home, neighborhood, workplace and school- You can reduce your risk of injury, and most likely it helps you stay alive.

Make a plan! Practice "Drop cover and hold" by sitting on the ground, showing your back towards the protective table above you and hold something, for example, a table leg. Also, learn how to protect yourself no matter where you are while the earthquake strikes!!!!!!
Make disaster kits! You should have disaster supplies anywhere in your home, your disaster supply kits should include food, water, flashlights, portable radios, batteries, a first aid kit, cash, extra medications, a whistle, fire extinguisher, etc.

Before an earthquake:
1. Learn how to survive during the ground motion.

2. Teach all members of your family about earthquake safety.

3. Learn where the main turn-offs are for your water, gas and electricity. Know how to turn them off and the location of any needed tools.

4. Arrange your home for safety: Store heavy objects on lower shelves and store breakable objects in cabnents with latched doors.

During an Earthquake:

1. If you are indoors, stay there. You don't want heavy stuff falling on you from the buildings!

2. If you are outdoors, move somewhere where falling objects are unlikely to strike you. Stay away from buildings, power lines, and trees.

4. If you are driving, slow down slowly and and stop on the side of the road. Stay in the car.

After the Earthquake:

1. Check for damage. If your building is badly damaged, leave it until it is inspected by a safety professional.

2. If you smell or hear a gas leak, get everyone outside and open windows and doors.

3. If the power is out, unplug major appliances to prevent damage when the power is turned back on!

Tsunami

Tsunami Essay

How peaceful and attracting does this beach look like, isn't it just wonderful? Can you imagine going swimming in that salty warm dreamy beach? But if you look at this HAZARD WARNING ZONE sign, and you know what might happen if you INTEND on going to this beach, it is scary to even pass the warning sign, and not go INTO the water, right?

Tsunami, which is also known as seismic waves- and mistakenly called tidal waves because they are not caused by tidal action- are one of the world’s most dangerous waves that begin growing in height from any small number like 10 cm, and continue growing in height up to about 100 feet or more. A tsunami is a lot of waves made in an ocean or other body of water by an earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, or meteorite impact. Tsunami waves are tremendous and can travel very quickly, about 700 km/hr, wow, that’s a fast wave! They usually start growing when they reach the coast, and that's where they start slowing down to be able to hit. A short time before the tsunami wave hits, the water near the shore moves away so the tsunami has space. The first wave isn't usually the largest, every 10-60 minutes additional waves come. When it hits the city, Uh-oh! Everyone's doomed!! :( When these HUGE waves splash into the city, a lot of damage happens. Tsunami waves will destroy the buildings, houses that people live in, cars, banks, streets, basically the whole city! The whole city is very important for people to be able to survive in their environment. For example, without buildings they wouldn’t have a healthy place to live in, and without banks they could be going through a crisis and run out of cash, there are so many reasons why the tsunami is extremely dangerous and why it is important for the city to be safe. More importantly, the people need to be safe! What’s a safe city with not people in it?
The environment is another important thing. Tsunamis cause damage to infrastructure, animals and plants due to the fast waves that destroy everything in their path. For example like trees, crops, bushes, plants, and everything living, also animals, species and fish and a lot more!
If you’re thinking that the only way of protecting yourself from a tsunami is by running, you’re wrong. Tsunamis travel a lot faster than humans do, that’s what makes them SO dangerous! There are several tips that I found on the internet on how you can save yourself before a tsunami happens, during the tsunami and after a tsunami. Firstly, you have to know where the closest high-ground is and how you will reach it. You have to get as far inland as you can! You should always plan how to go far away from a tsunami before it actually happens. On the other hand, during a tsunami you should never go to the shore to watch for a tsunami. Don’t get close to at-risk areas until everything is over. Lastly, after the tsunami listen to radios and see what the people say- if they mention any more possibilities that the tsunami will happen, stay away from the shore, and DO NOT go sightseeing. Also, if you are injured or if your stuff is damaged, take notes and take pictures for insurance purposes.

So as you can see, tsunamis are quite dangerous. One article that I read described where the biggest tsunami occurred- and I found out that in 1964, a gigantic, tremendous tsunami about 200,000 square mile area which took place along the source fault has hit the South East coast of Alaska, the Pacific coast of British Columbia, and west coast of the United States. About 119 people got killed in this huge tsunami along the coast of Alaska, and caused 300 to 400 million dollars in damage of Alaska alone.
We should be very aware of them because we know what will happen by even THINKING about all the damage they can cause; The people and the community, the place/country, and the environment and animals and species will all lose their lives.

Because of all the consequences previously mentioned, it is very important to have good integrated measure to predict tsunamis’ appearances and to avoid human disasters.
There are different types of tsunami warning systems. I will describe one type that uses the bottom pressure sensors.

The fact that the presence of a tsunami can be felt on the sea floor can be used to detect the tsunami. By placing a piece of equipment that can sense the seismic waves’ energy on the seabed, we can be able to accurately sense the presence of a tsunami. One example of the tsunami warning system is given on the picture below. It is NOAA Tsunami Warning System

If you look at the diagram, the sensor will rest at the bottom of the ocean. It will continue to measure the pressure. The spike in the pressure in the ocean floor most likely means that a tsunami has just passed over the sensor! Once the measured pressure spikes, the sensor will send a signal to a buoy with a hydrophone and a transmitter. The buoy would be resting on the surface of the water. Once the buoy has received the signal from the pressure sensor, it will transmit VIA satellite to the Early-warning station the information it has. The Early-warning station will be able to inform the endangered areas of coming danger.

- This is to examine how the tsunami decides whether to inform the public or not!
The tsunami warning system was made to help minimize loss of life and property. It has two sources- the distant source and the local source. Basically, a distant source is when an earthquake happens from one place to another, like from Australia to America, and a local source is when the tsunami happens in the place its’ happening in- for instance, in Alaska.

I've also read some kind of article that explains how elephants in India run to the hills before the tsunami appears in the year 2004. It's amazing how they are capable of hearing the sound waves with much smaller frequency than us people- from 0.001 Hz to 20 Hz. Of course, when they felt it they ran away- maybe people should look more for these natural warning systems, pay more attention to this natural sign and include them with scientific inquiry that they received with some modern kinds of devices.

The global environmental justice between rich and poor countries are known as the powerful and the powerless within the countries. Even though the earthquake and the tsunami are natural phenomena- any natural disaster like volcano eruptions, drouts etc-, there wasn’t anything "natural" about the tsunami disaster and the earthquake disaster. The tsunami before and after is a study of how "natural" disasters can have "unnatural" effects in much poorer regions, going from human made things like poor housing and vulnerable subsistence economies. For example, the Pacific Ocean warning system can warn the Pacific “Ring of fire” countries of an incoming tsunami, but the poorer countries of South and Southeast Asia were not able to afford an Indian Ocean warning system. Now scientists are trying to create a warning system in poorer countries so that they live the same way as rich countries!

After all the online articles and information that I've read, I can conclude that it is very important to have a good emergency infrastructure- which can reach EVERYONE: from fishermen in Indonesia to THE SWIMMER in Hawaii- because that can save a thousand of people's lives!

Bibliography:

1. Pendick, Daniel. "Catching a Tsunami in the Act." Savage Earth. Daniel Pendick,
15 July 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2011.
tsunami/html/sidebar1.html>.

2. NOAA. "What is a tsunami?" Windows to the Universe. /, 16 Sept. 2007. Web. 27
Feb. 2011. .

3. "The tsunami warning system- how does it work?" Yaquina Bay Communications.
N.p., 10 Aug. 2005. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
home.cfm?dir_cat=40785>.

4. Claire, Eau. "The waves of devastation." The waves of devastation. N.p., n.d.
Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
tsunami/>.

5. Doesn't, Mention. "Tsunamis." United States search of rescue and Task Force.
N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .

Tsunami in Alaska:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN6EgMMrhdI