Geological vs. Biological Energy

Geological Energy vs. Biological Energy

There are various differences as well as possible similarities between the geological and the biological energy. It is worth noting that energy is the ability to do work, and in many aspects causes movement.

The differences in the two types of energy have to do with the sources. The geological energy is noted to be predominantly from surface process like weather patterns, Hydrologic cycle, erosion and even the sun. The other significant process is the tectonic process that produces geological energy like earthquake and volcanoes that originate from the interior of the earth. The geological surface process that produces the geological energy is gravitational causing acts like evaporation and erosion. The interior process also has tectonic stress or pressure. The surface process is characterized by motion for instance the flowing of water, chipping of rocks and movement of air. The interior process is also characterized by the volcanic movement and the earthquake. It produces massive amount of energy. This process helps hydrologic process.

On the other hand, biological energy is the energy that the consumers retrieve it from the storage sources having gotten it from the sun. The consumers like man and other animals can only get the energy from the producers if they can break it down into the energy that is need. It is worth noting that almost all the source of biological energy comes from the sun. The only exception is the energy generated by the plants deep in the sea bed through chemosynthesis where no sun rays reach. The biological plants different from the gravitational and tectonic stress, it is stored and used by the consumer. The biological process of extraction of the energy involves metabolism. It is essential for life.

Earthquake distribution in the U.S.A.

The earthquakes are seen to be rampant in the U.S.A. And most of them seen to have the actions on the Western side of the U.S.A. along the ocean front as well as the southern side towards South America. These are the regions where the plate boundaries are located. The range of the magnitude of the earthquakes is majorly between M2.5 to M5.1.

Earthquake distribution globally

The pattern of the earthquake in a global view gives a picture of areas that are more prone to earthquake than others. Most of the activities take place to the east of Asia and the northern part of Australia. There are several other earthquake activities that can be detected on the south eastern part of the Australian continent. There are several activities on the western sea line of South America. There are very few earthquake activities on the Western side of Europe and absolutely no earthquake activity in Africa as a continent in the past week (USGA, 2012).

It is worth noting that the earthquakes that are found on the eastern side of Asia and those around Australian coast are quite strong, some going to magnitudes of M6.3 unlike those around America that are not high in numeracy of the strong earthquakes.

Earthquake and the magnitude

The earthquake selected is the M5.2 earthquake that hit Northern Italy (44.507°N, 10.027°E). The depth was 34.6 miles. The time of the earthquake was Friday, January 27, 2012 at 03:53:12 PM at epicenter.

I would not be willing to live in the red areas since these are the plate boundaries, meaning there are likelihood of an earthquake happening in such areas more than the areas far off the red area. The dangers of the earthquake are real and eminent since it comes with destruction of property and may lead to loss of life hence living away from such areas would be the most recommended thing. Living close to the epicenter can also be dangerous since it is a region that can suffer massive destruction since it will suffer the foreshocks, the quake itself and even the aftershocks. This could be different from areas far away from the epicenter as the foreshocks and the aftershocks could be too weak to reach such areas hence reducing the extent of the damage.

Preparing for an earthquake

Since it is an event that may catch us unaware, it is essential to prepare for such events. There is need to have with you a fire extinguisher just incase fire breaks out, sufficient mediation that one may be taking, flashlights with extra batteries, portable radio, water that can be sufficient for each family member for at least one week, canned and packed foods that can carry the family for a few days, first aid kit, camp stove as well as waterproof heavy duty plastics for waste disposal and other necessities.

It is not enough to have these supplies alone but each family member should be trained on what to do incase of an earthquake, know how to shut off the gas, water and electricity main supply sources. Each member should also know where the fire and police stations are located. Each member should take a course in the Red Cross First Aid and CPR training (USGA, 2009).

Most destructive earthquakes

The two most recent earthquakes according to the list are the 2008 china earthquake that hit eastern Sichuan with a magnitude of 7.9 where an estimated 87,587 people lost their lives. This was followed by the 2010 Haiti earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 killing 316,000 people majority being in port-au-price (USG, 2011).

The list indicates that science still has massive limitation in the prediction and control of the earthquake. This is due to the fact that they cannot be able to predict where it is bound to happen and warn people to move away and avert such death tolls. The inability of science to foretell such events leads to the erratic death tools without a given pattern of number of deaths to claim that it reduced to science involvement.

Tools used in earthquake study

One of the most important tools used in the recent science to study the movement of the earth surface is the seismograph machine also known as the Seismic Tool Kit (ATK). This tool is able to collect, record and even graph on paper the vibrations that take place within the earth surface (Ostatic, 2011). Computers are also used to carry out experiments about the effect of earthquakes.

References

Ostatic, (2011). Seismic Tool-Kit Helps Scientists Research Earthquakes. Retrieved January 29,

2012 http://ostatic.com/blog/seismic-tool-kit-helps-scientists-research-earthquakes

USGA, (2012). Latest Earthquakes in the World – Past 7 days. Retrieved January 29,

2012 http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/

USGA, (2009). Earthquake Preparedness. Retrieved January 29, 2012

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=79

USG, (2011). Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/most_destructive.php