Earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, ice ages, landslides, floods, life evolution, plate motions—all of these phenomena have interacted over the vast expanses of deep time to sculpt the dynamic planet that we live on today. Planet Earth presents an overview of several aspects of our home, from a geological perspective. We begin with earthquakes—what they are, what causes them, what effects they have, and what we can do about them. We will emphasize that plate tectonics—the grand unifying theory of geology—explains how the map of our planet's surface has changed radically over geologic time, and why present-day geologic activity—including a variety of devastating natural disasters such as earthquakes—occur where they do. We consider volcanoes, types of eruptions, and typical rocks found there. Finally, we will delve into the processes that produce the energy and mineral resources that modern society depends on, to help understand the context of the environment and sustainability challenges that we will face in the future.
从本节课中
Week 1: Earthquakes!
In the lectures for this week, we will consider what an earthquake is, how it occurs, how we can record and measure its size, and what we can do to mitigate damage. Our first weekly assignment consists of reporting your own experience with earthquakes (if any). The Week 1 Lab gives you a chance to work with seismograms, locate an earthquake epicenter, and determine magnitude. Finally, the Week 1 Discussion addresses the balance between risks from quakes and costs of preventive measures.
Dr. Stephen MarshakProfessor and Director of the School of Earth, Society, and Environment
Dr. Eileen HerrstromLecturer
