keywords tectonics

Question 1

What is a disaster?

Answer 1

A major hazard event causing significant disruption to a community or environment, exceeding the community’s ability to cope.

Question 2

Define hazard.

Answer 2

A natural or human-made event that has the potential to cause damage, loss of life, or disruption.

Question 3

What characterizes a divergent plate boundary?

Answer 3

Where two tectonic plates move apart, creating new crust (e.g., mid-ocean ridges).

Question 4

What happens at a convergent plate boundary?

Answer 4

Two plates move towards each other, often causing subduction or mountain building.

Question 5

What is oceanic tectonic plate?

Answer 5

Denser, thinner tectonic plates beneath oceans, mainly composed of basalt.

Question 6

Define continental tectonic plate.

Answer 6

Thicker, less dense tectonic plates making up Earth’s landmasses, mainly composed of granite.

Question 7

What are intra-plate hazard events?

Answer 7

Hazard events that occur away from plate boundaries, within a tectonic plate.

Question 8

What is the lithosphere?

Answer 8

The rigid outer layer of the Earth, made up of the crust and the uppermost mantle.

Question 9

Define asthenosphere.

Answer 9

The semi-molten, flowing layer of the upper mantle beneath the lithosphere that allows plate movement.

Question 10

What is convection in the context of tectonic plates?

Answer 10

The transfer of heat within the mantle causing the movement of tectonic plates.

Question 11

What is palaeomagnetism?

Answer 11

The study of past magnetic fields recorded in rocks, used as evidence for plate movement.

Question 12

What is subduction?

Answer 12

The process where one tectonic plate sinks beneath another into the mantle at a convergent boundary.

Question 13

What does magnitude measure?

Answer 13

A measure of the energy released by an earthquake, often using the Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw).

Question 14

Define intensity in relation to earthquakes.

Answer 14

The effects of an earthquake at the surface, measured by the level of damage and human experience (e.g., Mercalli Scale).

Question 15

What is the focus of an earthquake?

Answer 15

The point within the Earth where an earthquake starts.

Question 16

What is an epicentre?

Answer 16

The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the earthquake’s focus.

Question 17

What does seismic refer to?

Answer 17

Relating to earthquakes or other vibrations of the Earth and its crust.

Question 18

Define liquefaction.

Answer 18

When saturated soil behaves like a liquid due to intense ground shaking.

Question 19

What does pyroclastic mean?

Answer 19

Relating to volcanic materials such as ash, pumice, and volcanic bombs ejected during an eruption.

Question 20

What does sub-marine mean?

Answer 20

Occurring under the sea, such as underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

Question 21

What is displacement in the context of disasters?

Answer 21

The forced movement of people from their homes, often due to natural hazards.

Question 22

Define vulnerability.

Answer 22

The degree to which a community or environment is susceptible to damage from a hazard.

Question 23

What does resilience refer to?

Answer 23

The ability of a community to withstand, adapt to, and recover from a hazard event.

Question 24

What is the threshold in hazard contexts?

Answer 24

The level at which a hazard becomes a disaster, depending on impacts and capacity to cope.

Question 25

What are differential impacts?

Answer 25

When the effects of a hazard vary between different groups, locations, or levels of development.

Question 26

What does trends refer to in hazard studies?

Answer 26

Patterns or changes in hazard occurrence, magnitude, or impact over time.

Question 27

What is governance in the context of hazards?

Answer 27

How decisions are made and policies are implemented, affecting a community’s ability to prepare for and respond to hazards.

Question 28

Define development.

Answer 28

The progress of a country or region in terms of economic growth, technology, and human wellbeing.

Question 29

What does inequality refer to in hazard vulnerability?

Answer 29

Differences in access to resources, wealth, and opportunities that can influence vulnerability to hazards.

Question 30

What is prediction in hazard management?

Answer 30

Using scientific data to give a specific warning of when and where a hazard will occur.

Question 31

What does management entail in disaster contexts?

Answer 31

Strategies and actions taken to prepare for, respond to, and recover from hazards.

Question 32

What is forecasting?

Answer 32

Providing a general estimate of when and where a hazard might happen based on data trends.

Question 33

What does accuracy refer to in hazard prediction?

Answer 33

The closeness of a forecast or prediction to the actual event.

Question 34

Define reliability in the context of forecasts.

Answer 34

The consistency and trustworthiness of a forecast or prediction over time.

Question 35

What is a mega-disaster?

Answer 35

A large-scale disaster with impacts across multiple countries or continents, often requiring international response.

Question 36

What does modify mean in hazard contexts?

Answer 36

To change the characteristics of a hazard or its impacts, often through engineering or planning.

Question 37

What is a multi-hazard zone?

Answer 37

An area exposed to two or more types of natural hazards, sometimes simultaneously or in quick succession.

Question 38

Define hydrometeorological hazards.

Answer 38

Hazards caused by atmospheric and hydrological processes, such as storms, floods, and droughts.