Noah Ryan Geology

According to the textbook (Natural Hazards 4th edition by Keller/DeVecchio) Mass Wasting, otherwise known as Landslides is a comprehensive  term used for any type of down slope  movement of earth materials. In its more restricted  sense, mass wasting refers to a rapid down slope  movement of rock or soil as a more or less coherent mass.  Types of Landslides: Falling landslide involves rockfall, and is characterized by individual rocks fall through the face of a cliff or other large vertical surfaces.  Sliding landslide is more of the typical landslide, either a slump, soil slip, or rock slide, and is the down slope movement of a large surface area of rock, soil, sand, etc. Flowing landslide is defined as a down slope movement of unconsolidated material in which particles move about and mix within the mass.  Landslides in Australia: Preparation according to  https://www.qld.gov.au/emergency/dealing-disasters/disaster-types/landslides...

Volcanoes or volcanism as stated in our textbook, is closely related to plate tectonics with most volcanoes being located near active plate boundaries. There are 5 different types of volcanoes: Stratovolcano   Lava Dome Shield Volcano Cinder Cone Continental calderas All Volcano eruptions are measured by the Volcanic Explosion Index (VEI). Which is a relative scale that measures different eruptions and can be compared based on quantitative and qualitative observations of explosivity. The scale ranges from 0-8 zero being the lowest. The scale is logarithmic based, which means each interval is a 10x increase in volume of ejected materials.  Australia is home to t he world's longest chain of continental volcanoes which has been discovered stretching for more than 2,000 kilometers  along eastern Australia.  This volcanic chain was created over the past 33 million years, as Australia moved north-northeast over a mantle plume hotspot.  Volcan...

An Earthquake is defined as a sudden movement of a block of Earth's crust along a geologic fault; the movement releases accumulated strain in the rocks.   A Fault is where earthquakes occur along a plane of weakness in Earth's crust. This seismicity map of Australia shows quakes from 1836-2010 Earthquakes in Australia are caused by horizontal compression producing reverse faults. A reverse fault is a generally steep fracture or fracture system in which the hanging wall has moved up relative to the foot wall in a direction opposite to the direction of the fault dip.  Australia has large earthquakes, but the occur infrequently  Which means Australia has a low seismicity but does not mean weak ground motion. It means that strong earthquake motion happens less often.  The largest earthquake ever recorded in Australia occurred in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory in January 1988 a 6.6 on the richter scale.  Three qu...

Definitions from Natural Hazards 4th edition. Plate Tectonics: process associated with the creation, movement, and destruction of these plates.    Australia is surrounded on all sides by both convergent and divergent boundaries and plates.  Convergent: occur where plates move toward each other. Ocean-Continent where the oceanic plate sinks beneath continental plate Volcanic continental arc is formed (Earthquakes and Volcanic Activity) Great Earthquakes, explosive volcanoes, tsunamis, flooding, mass wasting Divergent: occurs where neighboring parts of plates are moving away from each other. Ocean-Ocean spreading of two plates and molten rock (lava) rises up to fill the gaps.   Divergent zone along the Antarctic Plate to the SW and E. Slight Convergent zone along the SE toward New Zealand.  Mid-Ocean ridge forms, new volcanic lithosphere is created.  Light to moderate earthquakes, nonexplosive volcanic ...

Definitions from "Natural Hazards 4th edition" Keller and DeVecchio Natural Hazard: A potential danger that poses a threat to people or property the exists or is caused by nature; generally one that is not made or caused by humans. Disasters: One possible effect of a hazard on society. Usually a sudden event that causes great damage or loss of life during a limited time in a limited geographic area. Catastrophes: An event or situation causing sufficient damage to people, property, or society that recovery or rehab is long and complex; natural processes most likely produce a catastrophe include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and large fires. Black Saturday Brushfires Newcastle Earthquake 1989