Lesson 1 : Earthquake, Faults, and Typhoon

Faults
- is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock.
- may range in length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers.

Seismic
- relating to earthquakes or other vibrations of the earth and its crust.

Earthquakes
- happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another.

Tsunami
- are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea.

Earthquakes and Faults

3 basic fault types

- Normal Fault
- Reverse Fault
- Strike-slip Fault

The Layers of the Earth

- Crust
- Mantle
- Outer core
- Inner core

Theory of Plate Tectonics

- Earth’s crust and its rigid upper mantle are broken into enormous slabs called
plates.
- These plates are all moving in different directions at different speeds.
- Adjacent plates can crash together, pull apart or sideswipe each other.

● The place where two plates meet is called a plate boundary

● Boundaries have different names, depending on how two plates are moving relative
to each other.
3 types of Plate Boundaries
1. Divergent Boundary - Feature that exists when two tectonic plates move away from
each other. The result of two diverging plates is a valley-like rift.
2. Convergent Boundary - Place where two tectonic plates move towards each other.
Earthquakes and volcanoes are commonly experienced and found near convergent
boundaries. In Convergent boundaries, one of the two plates is descending beneath
the other. This process is called subduction.
3. Transform Boundary - Formed when two plates slide past each other horizontally.

Relationships between Faults and Earthquakes

Why do Earthquakes occur?

- Plate boundaries are made up of many systems of fractures called faults. The rough
edges may cause the plates to rupture.

Types of Fault
1. Normal Fault - a fault in which a hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall as
a result of extension. These are the most common faults. Normal faults are two
blocks of crust layer pulling apart, extending the crust into a valley thus, creating a
space.
2. Reverse Fault - also called thrust fault. A fault in which the hanging wall moves up
relative to the footwall as a result of compression. Reverse faults are also known as
thrust faults, the slide of one block of crust on top of another. These faults are
normally found in collision zones where tectonic plates push up mountain ranges, for
example, the Himalayas and Rocky Mountains.
3. Strike-slip Fault - a fault in which two blocks of crust slide past each other on the
same plane. The motion experienced is right or left lateral instead of up and down.
Strike-slip faults are rocks sliding past one another on a horizontal plane, with little to
no vertical movement. Examples to these are the San Andreas Fault and the
Anatolian Fault

● There are more than a million earthquakes that occur on the planet each year.
However, most of these are not felt and cause little disturbance on the surface.

● The focus is the point inside the earth where the earthquake started, sometimes
called the hypocenter, and the point on the surface of the earth directly above the
focus is called the epicenter.
The study of earthquake waves is called Seismology.

- Earthquake waves can be detected at great distances by Seismometers or

Seismograph, an instrument that records seismic waves.
- A seismometer’s record is known as a seismogram.
Two measurements that describe the size of an earthquake are:
Intensity – a measure of the degree of earthquake shaking at a given locale based on the
amount of damage.
Magnitude – estimates the amount of energy released at the source of the earthquake.

Seismographs not only tell us when and where an earthquake occurred.

Other vibrations can also be recorded:
- Rockfalls (if close enough to recording station);
- Mine and Quarry Blasts; and Nuclear Explosions

Lesson 2 : Typhoons: Formation, Impact, and the Philippines

PAG ASA - Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration

What is a typhoon?
- Being in the tropics, the Philippines is visited by typhoons almost every year. These
typhoons are also referred to as tropical cyclones
- Classification: Tropical depression, tropical storm, and typhoon based on wind
speed.

- A tropical cyclone is a system of thunderstorms moving in a circular direction. As the

winds strengthen or weaken, the category is upgraded or downgraded accordingly.
Winds are also blown in a counterclockwise direction.
Listed below are the effects of tropical cyclones that can leave a significant mark on
the lives of people.

1. Strong winds (squalls). The surface wind increases in magnitude and is maintained over
a time interval of several minutes to half an hour. The increase in wind speed may occur
abruptly or slowly. These changes in near landfall can lead to loss of lives and large
damage to properties.
2. Tornadoes. These are produced by tropical cyclones characterized by a violent and
destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud. A weak tornado has a
wind speed of about 64-116 kph.
3. Rainfall and Flooding. Rainfall associated with tropical cyclones is both beneficial and
harmful. Rains contribute to the water needs of the areas traversed by the tropical cyclone.
The rains are harmful when the amount is way too large to cause flooding.
4. Storm surge. This is an abnormal rise of water due to tropical cyclones and it is an
oceanic event. These devastating surges occur along coasts with low-lying terrain.

Why the Philippines is Prone to Typhoons:

● Geographic Location: In the Pacific Typhoon Belt, near the equator with warm ocean
waters.
● Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR): The region where the Philippines tracks and
monitors typhoons.
● Number of Typhoons: Around 20 typhoons enter PAR annually, with 5-7 making
landfall.

How Landforms and Bodies of Water Affect Typhoons within the Philippine Area of
Responsibility (PAR)?

1. Landforms
- Landforms affect wind directions, and therefore disrupt the spin of a typhoon.
2. Bodies of water
- Warm bodies of water are the main factors in the formation of a typhoon. The
air in bodies of water is warm due to the evaporation of water. This warm air
builds up or increases the wind speed of a typhoon. Typhoons gain energy
from warm ocean water and lose it over cold water.
Lesson 3 : Asteroids, Meteoroids, Comets

ASTEROIDS, METEOROIDS, AND COMETS ARE FOUND IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,

EACH WITH ITS OWN UNIQUE COMPOSITION AND CHARACTERISTICS.

1. Comets
- Comets have an outer layer of ice surrounding their core material.
- The outer layer of comets turns to gas as it nears the sun, creating the coma
and tail.
- Comets have highly elliptical orbits, allowing them extended periods away
from the sun.

2. Asteroids
- Asteroids are mostly irregularly-shaped chunks of rock, with sizes ranging
from a few tens of meters to hundreds of kilometers.
- Most asteroids come from the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.
- Asteroids sometimes collide with each other, resulting in dents or breaking off
into smaller pieces.

3. Meteoroids
- Meteors are meteoroids that burn up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere,
producing a streak of light. We often call these “shooting stars.”
- Meteoroids are pieces that break off from asteroids or debris left behind by
comets.
- Most meteors burn up before landing on Earth. The fragments that land on
Earth are called meteorites.

How big are they?

1. Asteroid - 1-100+ km in diameter
2. Meteoroid - Wide size range, can be as small as dust, but generally smaller than an
asteroid
3. Comet - 1-10 km in diameter

Some facts
- Asteroids, meteoroids, and comets were formed around the same time as our solar
system.
- Meteorites have minimal to no impact on the Earth’s surface. Larger asteroids,
however, can potentially have significant and drastic effects on Earth.