Geography 1000 – Physical GeographyAJ Allred, Adjunct

Introduction – Part II

A recent Geography student did an ePortfolio by visiting the Utah Museum of Natural History and the Utah Seismology Station at the University of Utah.

She learned at least two important things:

1. Recent research suggests that the Wasatch Front may someday have an earthquake of magnitude 7.5. That is much bigger than we previously thought.

2. Humans are having a real effect on “Mother Earth”. In fact, our current geological period could be renamed the “Anthropocene” -- the “Human Age” because of the massive effect on earth forms produced by human activity: highways, dams, mines, reservoirs, etc.

More people living in hazardous places.

Example of a flood-water retention or detention basin.Kids are mobile – houses are not.

What else can we do?

Here’s the drain for the retention basin. The orifice is sized for delivering only the measured amount of flow that downstream pipes can handle - - - maybe!

Detention basins at Murray Park

Dry places like Utah - - - flood sometimes!

One-time academic fair use: http://fox13now.com/2013/04/26/20-foot-sinkhole-closes-taylorsville-intersection/

Sinkhole in Taylorsville at corner of 5400 South and 3200 West.

A three-foot wide at the surface led to a 20-foot wide cavern underneath.

https://www.google.com/search?q=taylorsville+sinkhole&client=firefox-a&hs=ViF&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=lAjXUrbsM4ivrgGC1ICoCA&ved=0CD8QsAQ&biw=1280&bih=960

I will ask SLCC how to cite mass public media references like these.

Well, guess what? Straight downhill from my house . . . a sinkhole appeared in 2013

Location unknown

What is the message here?

1. We are building better urban systems, but more people and heavier land use pressure often overwhelm our infrastructure investment and make natural hazards worse.

2. Equally important, natural landforms are changing also: erosion, deposition, rainfall, freeze and thaw - - all contribute to things wearing down and breaking eventually.

3. We don’t have enough natural history in Utah to really know what nature can do. What really is a 100-year flood?

Some theories hold that humans tend to develop in areas that are temporarily in a quiet period. What happens when that quiet period ends?

What are normal climate and weather anyway?

What caused this ‘box’ hole in the sky over SLCC Miller campus?

This cloud pattern in 2012 was caused by airplane contrails – jet exhaust condenses into vapor – “sun-screen”.

Back in 2001, when the ‘911’ attacks occurred, commercial aviation was shut down. The entire Earth atmosphere suddenly warmed-up by more than 1.0°F. Humans are powerful.

What about air quality and radon gas in the Salt Lake area?

Slow disasters get little respect

Radon gas is 2nd leading killer by lung cancer in Utah

Bad air quality is a significant factor in more Salt Lake area deaths than any other natural hazard.

Ok, its ugly . . . but it’s paid for. I get 45 mpg.

I contribute as little as possible to Salt Lake air pollution.Allred’s Geography Car

But what about the fact that we now have 7.1 billion people on Earth?

Is it getting harder to find land that is free of hazards?

Do we also cause some hazards by the way we do things?

As of 2013, 40 percent of all Americans now live in coastal counties where Earth systems are powerful and change rapidly.

Be careful.

Very heavy sandstone building constructed in 1894 without any steel reinforcing skeleton inside . . . . . . sort of like a stack of cookies.

Steel reinforcement was added in 1980s.

Most Utah buildings are new than those built “back east”.

What does that mean for us?

Salt Lake City & County Building – 450 South State Street

Cover over shock buffer space to allow earth to shake while buildings holds still

Notice that soft sandstone continues to erode even after restoration in 1982.

The 1894 City & County building is now suspended on 350 rubber blocks that are shock-absorbers.

Notice the ghostly image of the student doing his ePort.

Photo of one of my students – killed in a Utah avalanche just

after final exams.

Did he really learn his lessons?

What would he tell us if he were still here?

1. Read Chapters 1 and 2 for Tuesday, January 21.

2. Check up on the syllabus now and then.

3. Quiz #1 is also posted at www.smartmap.us:

No need print the quiz or turn in answers.Just test yourself as you like.

4. Answers and commentary will replace the quiz by Wednesday evening or Thursday (Jan 22-23) for self-check.

5. When you are confident about your knowledge on Quiz #1, sign-off on the roll that you ‘fixed’ your thinking.

6. Be prepared to argue for/against my choice of answers.