Monday, April 28, 2014

What Happens at Plate Boundaries BP14

  When divergent plates pull apart, it makes mountains, earthquakes, and volcanoes
  When transform boundaries rub up against eachother, it causes earthquakes.
  When convergent plates collide, it creates new land.
1. Plates interact by colliding, pulling apart, and rubbing up against eachother.
2. Well older land is recycled at convergent plate boundaries
3. At a convergent boundary between oceanic and continental crusts a tsunami occurs
4. The most powerful earthquakes occur in the San Andreas Fault
5. Land is not produced nor destroyed.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

The Mesopalagic Zone BP 13

In reading the article, "Man and the Last Great Wilderness: Human Impact on the Deep Sea", my eyes were completely opened to the truth about the impacts humans have on the deep sea. Personally, I didn't think we could ever harm the deep sea by the choices that we were making. I thought it was too far away too
"deep" to suffer the consequences of our selfish needs. I was completely wrong. In the article, by Ramirez - Llodra, Llodra brings up the main impacts humans have. Including: littering, fishing, mining, oil and gas exploration, ocean acidification, climate change, and deoxygenation.

Through my research I found that the main ways that the deep seas are being impacted by humans are through

 Littering: Plastics, fishing gear, and sewage that are being thrown into the ocean illegally purposely and not purposely.

Mining: Creates a lot of pollution, harms sensitive deep sea environment

Fishing: Effects of this are overharvesting which could lead to extinction.

Llodra left out a very important part, and that is a solution. I found to stop the amount of oil and gas that leaks into the ocean. We can do this by creating a hybrid boat that uses half energy and half gas. Another solution is instead of dumping the waste from mining we can use this waste in a more efficient way or we can make a tool that does not catch any of the waste. Either way something needs to be done.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Pacific Garbage Patch BP 11

Today in my Earth Science class we learned about the Research done from the SEAPLEX Expedition at Scripps. It was all about the Pacific Patch.

Gyres accumulate plastic debris because the center of a gyre, the convergent zone, calms down and has a slower pace which causes the trapping of debris and then more accumulate.

Plastics found in the oceans are so small because they detiorate from the sun, time, and salt water.

Impacts that plastics have on animals living in the open ocean include the killings of animals. Their stomachs become filled with plastic making them fill full. This causes them to not eat and then die from starvation.

To reduce the problem we can change policy, do beach cleanups, use our technology to make better and healthier plastics, and Bioeremediation

Between the years 1972-1987, the highest concentration of plastics in the North Pacific Garbage Patch was 0.1.

Between the years 1999-2010, the highest concentration of plastics in the North Pacific Garbage Patch was 10.

Between the years 1999-2010, the highest concentration of plastics in the North Pacific Garbage Patch was 9900%

In Fish, the biological impact on fish included 9.22

I think the impact of fish and I digesting plastic would ruine our digestive system and would cause both to not eat properly or digest our food properly thus leading to death.

The percent of barnacles that plastics in their guts was 33.50%

I think that the presence of a lot of plastic debris is good for them. It give them a place to live where otherwise they would have lived on a log now they have a better place to latch on to

The range from 1972-93 was 0-05.

The relationship might change the balance in a bad way.

The range from 2009-2010 is 0-4.5

I think there is a small postive relationship between the two.

Monday, April 7, 2014

BP 10 Climate Change & People

In Bangladesh near India sea levels are rising. They are going higher from Global Warming caused by European Countries. This article brought my attention to the matter: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/29/world/asia/facing-rising-seas-bangladesh-confronts-the-consequences-of-climate-change.html


The Bangladeshians are being affected. Through severe storms many homes have been flooded.Many Bangladeshians lived on the coast so when these natural disasters hit they devastate many and leave families homeless and grieving for their lossed ones.


The Bangladeshian people are located in Bangladesh near India and the Indian ocean.Sea levels are rising because of the widespread of burning fossil fuels. The Bangladeshians are facing problems from the European Industrialized Nations.


 This is significant because its a warning to what might happen all around the world and the effects that are caused because of our selfish ways. This should be a "wake up call" to the European Nations to stop what they are doing and make our planet take a U-turn instead of leading it on the highway of Death.

 One solution is to stop burning fossil fuels. Give them other ways to make money and get food. Teach them another way. We can give money and give money but when we teach them how to make money we can stop giving.