Introduction Earthquakes and volcanoes are two of the main natural disasters that occur because of the movement of tectonic plates. 350 million, or 1 in 20 people are living at risk of an active volcano or feeling the effects of an earthquake (NG, 2017). Marotta.
inc is a group of researchers that help companies locate buildings in the safest possible place. Their most recent contact is to locate the safest place for G Enterprise to build their secret warehouse. Over the past couple of weeks, Marotta.inc has come to a conclusion; the most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build their warehouse is in Japan and the place that Marotta.inc recommends to build the warehouse is Iceland. The above argument will be proven by looking at the following locations; Japan, Hawaii, San Francisco and Iceland.
Japan Marotta.inc has decided that the most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build their warehouse is Japan. Volcanoes and earthquakes are a very common occurrence in Japan due to the fact that Japan falls in the middle of 4 converging plates, the Pacific, Philippine, Eurasian and North American. Currently, Japan has over 100 active volcanoes which can be accountable for 10% of the world’s volcanic activity (VD, 2016). Japan is 71% mountainous terrain, so it doesn’t surprise Marotta.inc that Japan has so many active volcanoes (Jones, 2006). Japan is part of the Pacific ring of fire, caused by subduction zones of the Pacific Plate. Mount Fiji, one of the world’s most famous mountains is located in Japan.
Fuji is a stratovolcano located on Japan’s largest island, Honshu that last erupted in 1707 (VD, 2016). Today, Tokyo residents are wondering about Mt. Fuji as it has been awfully quiet for the past couple of centuries. If Mt. Fuji were to erupt it would directly impact Tokyo and other areas with ash, pumice, pyroclastic flows and lahars.
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Some other threats also include lava flows and tephra. These hazards could easily wipe out G Enterprises warehouse. Mt. Sakurajima, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes is due for a major eruption in the next 30 years (BBC, 2016). This volcano is a growing threat according to researchers at the University of Bristol. Some other mountains that could affect G Enterprises warehouse include Mt. Bandi, which erupted in 1888 and killed around 500.
Mt. Ontake which killed 57 in 2014 and finally, the famous Mt. Unzen which erupted in 1996 and killed 44 and injured 12 from the pyroclastic flow. Previously in 1792 Mt. Uzen killed around 15,000 people and greatly devastated the area (Britannica, 2017). In the geological area of Kanto (Japan’s largest island) a volcano is expected to erupt every 70 years (WalkJapan, 2017). All of these volcanoes potentially produce volcanic hazards such as pyroclastic flows, lahars, and ash that could have serious effects on G Enterprises warehouse and their staff.
Another reason Marotta.inc decided that Japan is the most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build is because of earthquakes. The geological formation of Japan and it’s plate boundaries make it a country prone to earthquakes. Minor earthquakes happen on a monthly basis and the threat of a large quake is present. Japan is located near the ocean which allows for tsunamis to build up and damage the land. For example, the 2011 magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the area. More than 120,000 buildings were destroyed and the economic cost reached $235 billion (Oskin, 2017).
Just like California, another big earthquake is expected in Japan very soon, as the last major earthquake came in 1923 (WalkJapan, 2017). Japan has a disaster warning system in place called J-alert. This system is an early warning system that will transmit emergency information on threats of natural disasters. Even though this technology is in place, Marotta.inc still believes that Japan is the most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build because of how frequently they occur and how devastating these natural disasters can be.
In conclusion, Marotta.inc decided that for all of these reasons Japan is the most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build their warehouse. HawaiiMarotta.inc has decided that Hawaii is the second most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build their warehouse. Unlike Japan, Hawaii is situated on a hotspot. Each of the Hawaiian islands were formed from the eruption of at least one volcano caused by a hotspot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The Hawaiian islands are at the end of a volcanic chain that began long ago and formed each and every one of Hawaii’s islands. Today there are three active volcanoes in Hawaii, much less than Japan’s 100.
Hawaii’s active volcanoes include Mauna Loa which erupted in 1984 and Kilauea which has been erupting since 1983 (HVO,2017). The third active volcano is Loihi and it is located underwater and has been erupting since 1996 (HVO, 2017). Hawaiian volcanoes produce eruptions from small lava fountains to large explosions. Some of the hazards produced are pyroclastic flow, lava flow, gas, and ash. During the larger explosions, the wind is capable of carrying the ash and gases thousands of kilometers away. The heavy ash can collapse buildings and is very harmful to humans. During the smaller eruptions, small rock bits are launched into the air. These bits end up drying and falling back to the surface as tephra.
This is a problem because it causes damage to buildings and properties. For example, in 1790 a large number of the Hawaiian army were killed from the surges of pyroclastic flow that swept over a summit area near the erupting Kilauea (Britannica, 2017). One of the most damaging hazards in Hawaii is lava flows.
They move slowly so people are able to avoid them, but they will destroy everything in their path. For example, the Kilauea volcano lava flow has spent months traveling along the shoreline destroying forests and anything in its way. If the flow makes its way through communities they will be destroyed. Mauna Loa is Hawaii’s most active volcano and is expected to be the next volcano to erupt. The volcano hasn’t erupted in many years, and the next eruption is said to come soon. When it erupts it can produce pretty large lava flows that could devastate the land. Hawaii doesn’t only have volcanoes, they also have earthquakes that pose a threat to G Enterprise’s warehouse. Thousands of earthquakes occur annually.
They occur because of ruptures along geological fault boundaries. All earthquakes in Hawaii are connected to volcanic activity so if a volcano erupts it is most likely followed by an earthquake. Records show that since the early 1800’s Hawaii encounters around 100 magnitude-3 or greater, 10 or more magnitude-4 and 1 or more magnitude-5 earthquakes per year. On average Hawaii sees one magnitude-6 or greater earthquake every 10 years and two magnitude-7 or greater earthquakes every century (HVO, 2017). Hawaii is safer than Japan because even though Hawaii has thousands of earthquakes, the majority of them cannot be felt. Hawaii also has a system called EEW (earthquake early warning system) that warns people of an earthquake before the shaking begins so they can quickly find shelter and evacuate buildings before it’s too late. In conclusion, for the above reasons Marotta.
inc believes that Hawaii is a safer place to build their warehouse than Japan, but it still isn’t as safe as Iceland where Marotta Inc. recommends G Enterprise build their warehouse. San Francisco Marotta.inc has decided that San Francisco is the third most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build their warehouse. The Bay Area is familiar with earthquakes and volcanoes due to the transforming fault boundaries.
Earthquakes are a more common occurrence in San Francisco than volcanoes because of the famous San Andreas Fault boundary. Geologists say that the Bay Area is long overdue for an earthquake and when it hits it will be at least a 7.1 magnitude and lots of damage will occur (Caperton, 2014). The last major earthquake San Francisco encountered was in 1906, when an earthquake and fires devastated San Francisco. 70% of the damage was due to fires (Mr. G, 2017).
3,000 people were killed and the earthquake destroyed more than 28,000 buildings. Damages were estimated to be around the 500 million dollar mark (History, 2017). The rupture could be felt all the way in LA and Oregon. California is well known for its earthquakes but not so much for their volcanoes. Despite the fact that San Francisco doesn’t see too many volcanoes they could still be a threat to G Enterprises warehouse. Although San Francisco isn’t too familiar with volcanoes, traces of lava flows and ashfall have been found in the rocks which tells us that the area was once active. San Francisco’s main cause of volcanoes is from subduction.
There are currently 5 active volcanoes in California and they have the potential of harming G Enterprises building if they choose to build In San Francisco. California is part of the Cascade range of volcanoes (a number of volcanoes in a volcanic arc in western North America). Some of those include Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. The nearest active volcanoes are near the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which may seem far away, but people are still keeping an eye on them because San Francisco could be directly affected by some of the hazards. Some of the hazards associated with an eruption in San Francisco may be; volcanic ash, lava flows and volcanic gases. For example, in 1915, Lassen Peak, the southernmost volcano in the Cascade range erupted and caused rocks and pumice to shoot into the air and the flow of hot ash and gases traveled up to 200 miles to the east harming nearby areas (Johnston, 2005).
Towns were damaged and people’s health was a concern. California is also releasing a brand new early warning system in 2018 that will help notify people when an earthquake is about to strike. Some early prototypes have shown success alerting people of the earthquake up to 30 seconds in advance. In conclusion, for the reasons provided San Francisco is the third most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build their warehouse. Iceland After much research and consideration, Marotta.
inc has decided that Iceland is the safest place for G Enterprise to build their warehouse. This will be proven in the arguments below. Iceland is in middle of the mid-Atlantic ridge, which is part of the oceanic ridge system. The ridges are caused by the diverging plate boundaries of Europe and North American plates. Not only is Iceland situated on diverging plate boundaries Iceland is also considered a hotspot because magma rises through the cracks of the diverging plates to create land. One of the reasons why Marotta.inc decided that Iceland is the place G Enterprise should build is because diverging plate boundaries are proven to be less dangerous than converging, hotspots and transform fault boundaries because they don’t produce as many large disasters. Another reason why Marotta.
inc encourages G Enterprise to build in Iceland is because even though they experience volcanoes, no-one has ever died because of direct contact with a volcano. Now if you compare that to all the other locations, in 1996 Mt. Uzen erupted in Japan killing 44 (Britannica, 2017), in 1790 part of the Hawaiian army was killed in from pyroclastic flow (Britannica, 2017) and in San Francisco no deaths have been recorded from volcanoes but there have been many deaths from earthquakes for example in 1906, 3,000 people were killed (History, 2017). Iceland has 30 active volcanoes on the island (Gunnarsdóttir, 2017). Some of these active volcanoes may have an impact on G Enterprise’s warehouse. For example, Mt. Katla which erupted in 1918 which caused glacial flooding, Mt. Askja which erupted in 1961 and Mt Eyjafjallajokull which erupted in 2010 and caused significant delays and over 100,000 canceled European flights due to the volcanic ash emitted into the atmosphere (WorldNomads, 2015).
Some of the main volcanic hazards in Iceland are geysers, volcanic mud, lahars, and tephra. For example in 2014 Mt. Bardarbunga erupted and produced consistent lava flow for 6 months (VD, 2016). The next big eruption in Iceland is said to occur in the next few years, but since Iceland has such a low population and such a large area the chances of the eruption causing major damage is slim. In Iceland, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes follow each other, but volcanic earthquakes in Iceland are smaller than earthquakes at fault lines such as the San Andreas Fault in San Francisco. Most of the earthquakes in Iceland hit without people knowing.
They are there, but there is no interruption to daily life. The largest earthquake recorded in Iceland happened in 1912 and it was detected as a 7.0 magnitude, earthquakes of this magnitude are only expected every 100-150 years (Icelandmagazine, 2017). Another reason why Marotta.inc chose Iceland for the preferred place to build their warehouse is, Iceland has an automatic monitoring network that will alert before an earthquake strikes and they have one of the world’s most advanced volcano alert systems called Volcanic Activity Notice (VAN).
In conclusion, for the reasons provided above Marotta.inc suggests that G Enterprise builds their warehouse in Iceland. ConclusionMarotta.
inc researched about 4 locations, Japan, Hawaii, San Francisco and Iceland, each consisting of different plate boundaries and different hazards. The sheer number of earthquakes and volcanoes in Japan make it the most dangerous place and the technology and past history of earthquakes and volcanoes make Iceland the recommended place to build. In conclusion, according to Marotta.inc the most dangerous place for G Enterprise to build their warehouse is Japan and the safest place for them to build their warehouse is in Iceland.
