Life on the Edge - Plate Tectonics and Society
(Discussion, Wednesday Jan 28)


To prepare for Wednesday's discussion of the effects of plate tectonics on society, please:
 
1) Read to the US Geological Survey's "Dynamic Earth" webpage on Plate Tectonics and People.  This is part of a more comprehensive USGS website on plate tectonics, which you may find informative (but latter is not assigned reading).

2) Look up and read one article on a natural disaster related to plate tectonics.  (This can be a newspaper article archived on the web).  Before 4:00 pm on Tuesday Jan 27, email the instructor (dwitter@kent.edu) the title and source of your article (and web link, if it is an electronic source), and a one-paragraph summary of the article. 

As you are reading the article think about the following:
 (a) What is the configuration of tectonic plates in the region of the disaster?  What type of motion and what geologic structures do you expect to see in this region?
(b) What was the sequence of events that led to the disaster?  What was the sequence of events during the disaster?
(c) How did this disaster affect society?  Were any measures taken in advance of the disaster to reduce the impact on society?  Did they work?  Why or why not?