BAZOOKA VOLCANOES


   Volcanoes, across the globe are the object of  both natural fascination and fear.  They are believed to give and take life simultaneously.  They give life in the sense that they generate fertile soil; yet they do destroy any land in their way too.  For that reason, "some say volcanoes are the cradle of life on earth" (AFK Insider, Africa news).  However what are exactly volcanoes and how do they evolve?   According to WeatherWizKids, (as simple it is in the eyes of a child) " A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below the surface of the earth. When pressure builds up, eruptions occur. Gases and rock shoot up through the opening and spill over or fill the air with lava fragments. Eruptions can cause lateral blasts, lava flows, hot ash flows, mudslides, avalanches, falling ash and floods. Volcano eruptions have been known to knock down entire forests. An erupting volcano can trigger tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes, mudflows and rockfalls." 

  There are three types of volcanoes: active, dormant and extinct.  In that saying, there are hundreds of volcanoes on the continent of Africa; yet most of them have been dormant.  The very few which have erupted in the past centuries have solely consisted of lava and ash.  In this instance, there has not been any solid evidence of one in Ghana or its vicinity.  Nevertheless, there has been one eruption in Cape Verde in 2014; another country on the West Coast of Africa.  It was referred to as "Pico de Fogo." and it even destroyed houses (one in particular you must watch in the video).  I find the video quite interesting and informative, although sad to watch a complete house destroyed in minutes.  Exactly on November 23 of 2014, according to the source of Earth Scope, Pico de fogo volcano "erupted on the Cape Verde island of Fogo." (Earth Scope).  

                                  

The government reacted quickly by evacuating residents from the area.  Local businesses and airports have been shut down indefinitely.  Thanks to the rapid intervention of the agencies in place, except for shattered or lost buildings, loss of lives was not mentioned.  Neat, right; well that is exactly what I say.  Even though money is lost and people's memories vanished in the blink of an eye, lives that can never be replaced were spared and that too me is Good News.  It is quite commendable that there was readiness to inform and measures set aside to evacuate as soon as possible.  Still more digital infrastructures are being discussed in the hope to understand more of these events and implement solutions consequently.

                                  

                                    People must be well taught to save themselves instead of their belongings.  As my beloved dad will always say: " as long as you have breath, you have hope to start over."  
Ps: Please make sure to watch the short videos to have an idea of what I am talking about.  

Works Cited

http://afkinsider.com/81492/12-recently-active-volcanoes-africa/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPfm4u0Tofo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAURcQr6LA4

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-volcano.htm

                                                               Earthquakes in GHANA

Showing the subveritical sinistral strike-slip Accra Coastal Boundary fault at Kokrobite.

Showing Google Earth satellite image of the Study Area in southern Ghana (West Africa), the mid-Atlantic Ridge and its transform faults and fracture systems, including St. Paul’s (P), Romanche (R) and Chain (C) transform faults and fracture zones (Modified after Source

    "Earthquakes occur along a plane of weakness in Earth's crust known as a fault, which is common along plate boundaries.  When a fault ruptures, rocks break apart suddenly and violently, releasing stored elastic strain energy in the form of seismic waves.  It is the strong motion from seismic waves as they pass through the ground beneath our feet that we perceive as an earthquake"(Keller/DeVecchio 59). Yet according to Geological Survey Department of Accra, Ghana being  located on the southeastern margin of the West Africa craton  is far away from the major earthquake zones that mark the present day lithospheric plate boundaries.  But does that mean that the country has been earthquake free?  Not according to geologists.  History records that Ghana has experienced some minor and major earthquakes.  Among them was the one that was intensively felt in 1939, which cause a tremendous amount of destruction: seventeen people were dead, 133 were injured and close to million pounds (currency in Ghana are called Cedi) in damages of infrastructures. Such an earthquake of a magnitude of 6.5 that was felt even in the surrounding countries like Benin and Togo.      From that time on many tremors have been felt in the country especially in Accra, the capital and its vicinity.  Recently in 2014, particularly in the month of July, citizens acknowledged an earth tremor with a high magnitude lasting 6 seconds that occurred in the capital city around the evening.  Although there was no such damage left behind, the Minister of Environment cautioned the population by saying:" that even though the situation may not be frightening currently, the magnitude could increase and cause major destruction to life and properties in earthquake prone zones.".  If for centuries now Ghana has been known to be seismically active, what measures have been taken in order to minimize its impact on the population?

    It is known for a fact that "Instrumental recording of earthquakes in Ghana began in 1914 when the colonial government installed a Milne’s single-boom seismograph in the country. It operated until 1933 when it ceased recording (Banson, 1970) due to financial constraints" (Anal of Geophysics).  With that in place several tremors were detected before they even turn into a catastrophe for the nation.  According to the author of the article in Anals of Geophysics,  In March 1973, a seismograph observatory equipped with a WorldWide Standard Seismograph Network (WWSSN) system was established at Kukurantumi in Eastern Ghana. It operated continuously until October 1974 and then intermittently until continuous recording began again in 1977 (Quaah, 1980).   Great news for the country came in 2015 when the government of Ghana announced that he has established a National Digital Seismic Network Observatory in Ghana with the purpose of detecting and monitoring earthquakes before they turn into a catastrophe since the country has been subjected to quite a many tremors on and off in the last decade.  In doing so, the citizens can be alerted efficiently prior to the shaking of the ground.  As we learn in the previous chapter, when the population is kept informed in the proper way, there is minimum loss of life.   In addition, an awareness program on earthquakes was begun four years ago to sensitize the public about the dangers of earthquakes and what they have to do before, during, and after the disaster.  Not only that, old buildings must be reevaluated and the construction of new infrastructures must adhere to building regulations of the country.

     Knowledge is power and I believe with much information, preparedness, Ghanaains may not be exempted from an earthquake; yet at least there will be less damage if there happens to be one.  Personally, I pray that day never comes by the grace of God because I love this country!!!

Works Cited

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10950-015-9486-z

http://file.scirp.org/Html/2-2800611_41164.htm

http://citifmonline.com/2014/07/25/earth-tremor-hits-parts-of-accra/

Keller, DeVecchio, Natural Hazards. Pearson 2015.

                                                           PLATE TECTONICS


   The term "plate tectonics" sounds too sophisticated and new for someone like me until I took this class.  Oh yeah, I know about earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding and all the other natural disasters around the globe.  Yet in order to thoroughly comprehend why some of these events happen in one area than the other, one must take into consideration plate tectonics.  Such importance is accentuated by the textbook when it states that "Everything living on Earth is affected by plate tectonics. As the plates slowly move a few centimeters each year, so do the continents and ocean basins, producing zones of resources (oil, gas, and minerals), as well as earthquakes and volcanoes"  (Keller/DeVecchio, p.48).
  Now there are three distinct plate boundaries that the textbook mentions of:

• divergent (move away from each other)
• convergent (move towards each other)
• transform (plates slide past each other)

  What category does lovely Ghana fall into then?  Well, the country belongs to the African plate, which according to the WikipediA, "is a major tectonic plate straddling the equator as well as the prime meridian. It includes much of the continent Africa, as well as oceanic crust which lies between the continent and various surrounding ocean ridges."  It further adds that "The western edge of the African Plate is a divergent boundary with the North American Plate to the north and the South American Plate to the south which forms the central and southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge." From that perspective we now understand that Ghana is on a divergent boundary and at "divergent plate boundaries, such as along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the dominant hazards are earthquakes and volcanic eruption." (Keller/DeVecchio p.48)  See that the picture above depicts all the earthquake risk zones in the southern part of Ghana.  Now, that is quite a lot and something new I just discovered.  

    That is it for today.  Off to my next adventure in the Earth realm.  Until then, do not be alarmed of anything; but be more aware of your surrounding.  Aurevoir!

Works Cited

Keller, Edward A. & DeVecchio, Duane E.. Natural Hazards: Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes, Third Edition. New Jersey: Pearson, 2012.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Plate

Beautiful GHANA
    Ghana, formerly called "Gold Coast" is a country located on the West coast of the continent Africa.  The country which shares its borders with Ivory Coast in the West, Burkina Faso in the North, Togo in the East and the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean in the South has a population of approximately of 27 million.  The name Ghana means "warrior king", I am guessing king because of all the different kingdoms throughout the ethnicity that makes the country a unique one.  Its capital city is Accra which I happened to visit once and totally loved it.  If you are into safari and crazy about animals, this is not the place you want to visit; however, if you want to learn about an exotic, intriguing place (oh yeah, beautiful sandy beach that attracts many tourists all year long) famous of all sorts of attractions and its popular dish "FUFU" ( I enjoy it); then please pack up your bag and let's go!!!  Of course you will never be "lost" for words for the main language is English!



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana

Natural disaster versus Catastrophe

   A disaster and a catastrophe both are processes classified as natural hazards according to our textbook.  In my very humble opinion, the difference between them is the very fact one has significant drawbacks than the other.  With that in mind, we can define a disaster as a "hazardous event that occurs over a limited time span within a defined area" (Keller/DeVecchio, page 5).  Yet in order for it to be a disaster, four criteria must fall into place which are (not in a a particular order) the death of 10 or more people, 100 or more people are affected, a calling for state of emergency and lastly the request of international assistance.
  A catastrophe on the other hand is a "massive disaster that requires significant expenditure of money and a long time  for recovery to take place.  Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe that took place in New Orleans.
 Now can you guess which one is the worst?  Bravo!