Earthquake and Tsunami Japan

Where was the epicentre of the earthquake?

The epicentre of the earthquake was 130 kilometers off the east coast of Honshu, Japan. The earthquake could easily be felt back in Tokyo 400 kilometers away.

Size of the Earthquake

The size of the earthquake was 8.8 to 8.9 on the Richter scale which is a massive earthquake which caused a tsnumai alerts for most of the pacific but Japan was hit hard with 10 metre high waves being propelled towards their coastline.

With the diagram below you can see how serious a 8.9 earthquake can be.

8.0–8.9	Great	Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred miles across.	1 per year
9.0–9.9		Devastating in areas several thousand miles across.	1 per 20 years

Areas which are most effected and describe the devastation


Japan's northeastern Miyagi is the worst hit area with police estimating the death toll could rise to 10,000. Sendai city on the northern coast was engulfed by the strong and fast moving water which swept shipping containers, cars and debris away destroying anything in its path. Buildings, cars, ships have been swept away by the fierce and devastating tsunami. 1000 bodies had been recovered from the mud-streaked wreckage along the coast north of Tokyo, but the death toll from Friday's tsunami in the worst hit Miyagi prefecture would rise beyond 10,000, police said.

Impending man-made disaster

The impending man-made disaster casued by the earthquake and the tsunamis are the nuclear reactors which provide power to the northern region of Japan. The reactors which need a cooling system to stop itself from overheating failed due to the earthquake which cause the cooling system's to stop working. Quote from Sydney Morning Herald : " However, the emergency continues at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Radioactive material released during Saturday's explosion and containing potentially lethal iodine-131 and caesium-137 was detected, a signal that uranium fuel rods inside the plant's No.1 reactor had been damaged." 

Two out of 6 nuclear reactors affected by the earthquake are under serious concern, the other four have been cleared as safe but there is just the issue of the cooling systems working.

Predicting the Weather

Weather in Sydney?


The weather in Sydney compared to Uppsala in Sweden is very different in March. Here in the Sydney the average temperature is 22 degrees Celsius where as in Uppsala its about -2 degrees Celsius. Rainfall is very low in Uppsala were as in Sydney it can be unpredictable, we may have a dry March or have a wet March. 

Explain what the weather is like in Sydney and the average temperatures: 


The normal clothes worn in March in Sydney is usually wearing shorts and a t-shirt with thongs or in closed shoes. Some days there can be a wind chill factor so it would be best bring a pair of jeans and a warm top.
However back in Uppsala during March you would be wearing jeans, long shoes, thick socks, warm top, jacket, scarf and beanie as the weather can be -2 degrees Celsius but wind chill factors can make it feel like -11 degrees Celsius.


Weather in Thredbo:


When we go to Thredbo in May to ski you will need to bring along warm clothes with your suitable for skiing. You'll need a ski jacket, jeans, track pants, thick socks, ski pants, beanie, sunnies, gloves and your usual winter gear. The weather will be cooler there with the max average temp being 10 degrees Celsius, which is probably warm for you over in Sweden. It can get down to -10 degrees Celsius so it you will benefit if you bring along your Swedish winter clothes.


Clothing:


Here in Sydney when you come it will be hot. You'll need a lot of summer clothes and a few winter clothes. Pair of jeans and a warm top. I would usually wear a t-shirt and shorts around and on the odd occasion where it is cool at night I will wear a pair of tackies. When it's march in Sweden the weather will be fairly different. The temperature will be below 0 in uppsala and you will be wearing lots of winter clothes and wouldn't even think about wearing shorts or a t-shirt. 

Year 9A2 The earthquake in NZ + Work for Wed 2/3

1a: what caused the quake....geographical perspective


The earthquake in New Zealand was caused by the pressure built up by the tectonic plates. Christchurch is on the end of two tectonic plates and a fault line which wasn't known about caused pressure to build up. This led to another fault line appearing on the east coast and eventually the pressure couldn't be held and one of the plates gave way causing a devastating earthquake. This earthquake was bad as it was a shallow epicenter.

b: where - epicentre and effected areas

The epicenter of the quake was in the heart of Christchurch in a shallow area which caused mass destruction. The earlier quake which was 7.1 on the scale wasn't as bad as it wasn't a shallow earthquake. Most of the main attractions in Christchurch has been completely destroyed or need to be destroyed.

c: casualties

The current death toll is 98 people however another 200 people are still missing. Rescue experts have stated that after today anyone still missing is presumably dead.


d: major damage

The damage caused by this quake is devastating, the estimated damage bill so far is $12 billion. The main issue is that the private insures will be having a hard time as they are trying to figure out weather this quake was an aftershock of the September earthquake or it was a just another earthquake. This question will decided weather people will get insurance back or not.

e: current concerns

The current concerns associated with the earthquake is that there are still hundreds and hundreds of people missing. Most buildings which haven't been destroyed shall either collapse or have to be pulled down as the foundations of the buildings have been completely destroyed. Clean drinking water is another concern as the water treatment plants have been unable to supply water due to pipes cracking.

f: Give a paragraph about your reactions to the events.

My first reaction to this event was concern for the people of Christchurch. I have lived in New Zealand and experienced an earthquake and know how frighting it is. I have friends and cousins in Christchurch who have had their houses destroyed but luckily so far none of them have died. The mass destruction caused by the earthquake shall result in many historical buildings being torn down. The largest building in the city hasn't collapsed yet but structural engineers have said it will soon or experts shall have to demolish it. Experts are not sure if this earthquake was an aftershock of the September earthquake or whether it was just a new earthquake, the answer to this shall decided the battles between insurance company's and home-owners.

1.5 Australia's major landforms and drainage basins

1: Western Plateau, Central Lowlands and Eastern Highlands

2: Brindabella range north of Canberra to the Baw Baw Range east of Melbourne

3: Due to erosion the peaks of the mountain are rounded and they have been around longer then the Europe mountains

4: 335 K's south west of Alice Springs

5: Uluru formerly known as Ayers Rock is located 335 kilometers south west of Alice Springs in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. It is the second largest monolith in the world measuring 9.4 kilometers around the base and extending many kilometers underground

6:  Because of the way the sun's rays passes through the atmosphere

7: It is a area of land which has been drained by a river and its tributaries

8: Murray Darling Basin and Lake Eyre Basins are the biggest Basins in the world

9: Murray, Darling and Franklin

10: It is believed that it flows into the Simpson Desert

11: Only flows a few days each year

12: The Franklin River remains wild and free in Tasmania. The river became synonymous with conservation ever since the 'Battle to Save the Franklin' rescued it from damming for hydro-electric power in the 1980's

13:  The Commonwealth was given the power over states and territories on nationally important environmental decisions. 

1.4 Geographical perspective on the origins of Australia

1: Movement of the Earth's continents

2: Tectonic Plates

3: Rodinia

4: 750 million years ago

5: Africa, South America, Antarctica and Australia

6: Australia used to be in the North Pole area but then slowly migrated its way south

7: Less then one million years old

8: Aridity water

9: Study of Landforms

10: Studies landforms to determine the processes that form and transform them.

1.2 Australia Size & Shape

1: 7.6 million square k's
2: 16.1 million square k's
3: United States, Russia, Canada, China, Brazil
4: 25
5: 36,000 km
6: Canada 240,000 km
7: 7
8: Heard Island
9: It has a small population in a large area
10:  200km South of Sydney, 500 residents
11: Canada and Australia have large coastlines due to the fact they are separate from countries on the coastline. Canada's territory stretches up into the southern arctic and out to the easy and west and with Australia all the coastline is on the sea as we are an island
12:  Advantages:

- Able to search ocean waters freely
- Able to conduct projects or research without any involvement from a forgein body
- Able to take marine life away for testing or to be used for a breeding farm
- Able to fish in a larger area of water
- Able to search for ship wrecks without any international quarrels

Disadvantages:
- Quarrels with other countries over boundary limits
- Having to cover a larger area
- Watching out for human trafficking
- Making sure whaling ships aren't in Australian waters 
- Keep a look out for poachers is difficult

Year 9: Australia's Coastline

Advantages:

- Able to search ocean waters freely
- Able to conduct projects or research without any involvement from a forgein body
- Able to take marine life away for testing or to be used for a breeding farm
- Able to fish in a larger area of water
- Able to search for ship wrecks without any international quarrels

Disadvantages:
- Quarrels with other countries over boundary limits
- Having to cover a larger area
- Watching out for human trafficking
- Making sure whaling ships aren't in Australian waters
- Keep a look out for poachers is difficult