Hazards and Risks of Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Geology 112

Fall, 2006

Section 2- TR, 0730-0845

Section 3-TR, 1030-1145

Class location: DH 208

Geology Department office: DH 321

Geology Department phone: 408 924-5050 Fax: 408-924-5053

                        Class website: http://geosun.sjsu.edu/   

Ø       Click: class web pages

Ø       Click: Geology 112, P. Jefferis-Nilsen

Office hours: Tuesday/Thursday 0930-1030; 1145-1215 or by appointment.

Prerequisites:  passage of WST, upper division standing, GE core completion

Required text: Natural Hazards, fifth edition, Patrick L. Abbott

Scope of Course:

How, where and why earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. Analysis of hazards posed by earthquakes and volcanoes. Risks incurred by humankind due to these hazards. Minimizing risk; economic, social and political problems associated with earthquakes.

Course Objectives:

            Geology 112 addresses the student learning objectives for GE Guidelines under Area R courses in the following ways:

1.       In order to demonstrate an understanding of the methods and limits of scientific investigation, you will:

q       examine and be able to explain the causes and distribution of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and the nature of and limitations of geoscientific study of these phenomena.

o        Plate tectonic presentations

o        Evidence used to support the theory of plate tectonics

q       critically assess the validity and effectiveness of various risk mitigation strategies such as prediction, paleoseismology, legislation and retrofitting.

2. In order to distinguish science from pseudo science, you will:

a)       investigate a variety of postulated methods for predicting earthquakes and eruptions, and critically discuss the scientific basis, if any, of each.

3. In order to apply a scientific approach to questions about the earth and environment, you will:

a)       recognize hazards posed by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

Course organization:

            The course is divided into four main sections. The first portion of the class covers plate tectonics and associated physical characteristics. Volcanic activity in terms of rock and landform classification, volcanic hazards, prediction of an eruption and recovery after a volcanic eruption are the topics covered during the second section. Earthquakes, seismology, earthquake hazards and earthquake prediction are covered in the third section. The last portion of the class includes mitigation methods used to reduce risk associated with earthquakes.

Evaluation:

Grades are based on cumulative percentages of all graded assignments. Letter grades are assigned to roughly correlate with the following percentages:

Exams cover the material covered by lecture, reading, movies and class activities. The format will be multiple choice (60-80%) and 2-3 essay questions @ 10-15% each. There are no make-up exams without contact with instructor prior to the exam hour and proof of absence (emergency room slip, police report etc.).

Plate tectonic project: oral report and group essay: Due, September 12^th

The purpose of the oral presentation is to apply the information from the first several weeks of class to a specific region in the world. Groups will be assigned on August 31^st. Each group will answer the assigned questions, present the information in the form of an oral report and submit one essay to the instructor. The 2-3 page essay must be submitted to turnitin.com.  Please be considerate of other students. If you drop the class, notify partner. Conversely, if partner is unavailable do not use this as an excuse to not complete the project.

Class exercises: Various exercises completed in class emphasize a particular topic. Most dates are included in the greensheet, others are not. There are no make-up exercises.

Field Trip:

One field trip is required for this class. The field trip includes some moderate trail walking. The bus with students will depart from Duncan Hall at 0800, travel to Pinnacles National Monument , eat lunch, continue to Hollister, examine how man-made structures respond when constructed on top of creeping section of an active fault, and return to San Jose State at 1530. The field trip dates are:

Section 2: October 15^th

Section 3: October 21^st

The field trip is 10% of the total grade. Contact instructor by September 14^th if there is a scheduling problem.

Term paper (directions):

The term paper is due on November 2^nd. The topic is of personal choice. Suggestions are listed below.

1.       Avoid re-producing information from the G112 class information or book. Feel free to use a fact or two here and there, but don't repeat paragraphs or pages of class information.

2.       Papers consisting of many long passages in quotation marks are very ineffective, and will

earn you a very low grade.

3.       Avoid "book-report" papers that simply summarize and restate the main points of reference materials, e.g., summarizing literature from Red Cross/FEMA on EQ preparation, rewriting a description of an event such as the 1906 earthquake.

4.       Pick a topic or ask a question and find information to answer the question.

Term paper requirements:

·         5-7 pages of text, double spaced, typed

·         place illustrations after text

·         at least two illustrations, graphs or charts, cited within in text (Put effort into choosing these figures either by importing directly from the website or neatly trimmed and pasted to another page-  subtract 10 points if added at the last minute)

·         at least three references

·         citation of  information using any standard format

·         electronic submission to turnitin.com for analysis of plagiarized portion (see directions below)

Formatting:

Research paper should be printed on a computer printer or a typewriter using the following standard format:

            Do use a cover sheet with topic, your name, date and section number (no plastic folders).

            Double space entire manuscript, and leave a 1 inch margin on all sides of the page.

            Use a 12 point, preferably Helvetica or Times.

Number pages at bottom and staple the paper in the upper left corner.

Unstapled papers will not be accepted.

Originality:

This paper must be an original for this course, e.g., it cannot have been previously submitted in another course.

Citations

All sources (including interviews) should be fully referenced, either footnotes or a reference list keyed to internal citations (Smith, 1995, p 34). Consult a style manual for the appropriate format, procedures. You must use internal citations, footnotes for: 1) direct quotes (shown in quotation marks), 2) ideas, sentences or paragraphs from other sources, even if rewritten. Material covered in lecture can be considered common knowledge, so you do not need a citation.

When citing a Web source, try to include all of the following:

            Specific author or source (e.g. Mary Smith, USGS or NASA)

Date information was posted on the Web (look for this site was last updated on, title of text, image, etc.)

Complete URL (e.g. http//marysmith, usgs.gov)

Date accessed by you.

The paper must be an original for this class and assignment, i.e., it cannot have been previously submitted in another course or submitted in another course this semester.  

Suggested term paper topics:

Ø       Is my local municipality or county prepared for the results of a large earthquake?

Ø       How is my local municipality or county preparing for a large earthquake in the Bay Area?

Ø       The earthquake hazards expected in my neighborhood: why, what types and where?

Ø       Are the structures in my neighborhood expected to be earthquake resistant in case of an earthquake? Why or why not?

Ø       What are the expected earthquake hazards and mitigation measures planned at your workplace?

Ø       Structural design of recent or ongoing construction in your municipality or county

Ø       Structural design of major construction in downtown areas (office buildings, banks, etc)

Ø       Structural design, emergency plan, etc. of a hospital or school in your area

Ø       Seismic safety of the following features in/near the Bay Area: power plants major dams port and rail facilities storage tanks and pipelines telephone, electricity, etc facilities storage facilities for hazardous chemicals

Ø       Seismic safety and Caltrans: highways, overpasses, interchanges, etc- Are our freeway systems retrofitted for the next earthquake

Ø       What is the history and current plans with regard to the eastern span of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge

Ø       What was the original and current Parkfield experiment: any new information after the fall earthquake

Ø       What are Social impacts of an earthquake prediction?

Ø       Building codes in use in California (state, county, municipality)

Ø       What is the current status of the 500 unreinforced masonry buildings in San Francisco that were tagged for retrofitting after the 1989 earthquake?

Ø       Retrofitting techniques: several examples of how they are expected to work?

Ø       How do developing countries recover from a large earthquake in terms of rebuilding structures and infrastructure of a damaged area?

Ø       How has your local municipality implementation seismic legislation at?

Ø       Disclosure of home or commercial seismic defects to buyers?

Ø       What is the state, county, municipality legal responsibility for damage and injury: public buildings commercial buildings private residences?

Ø       Emergency services/agencies for Bay Area EQ (OES, FEMA, Red Cross, county, city, etc)

Ø       Volunteer EQ preparedness programs in your neighborhood or municipality

Ø       Projected economic effects of a major Bay Area earthquake

Ø       Emergency response preparations for lifelines, emergency services, transportation facilities

Ø       The insurance industry's approach to earthquake risk

Ø       How do governments respond to large volcanic or earthquake disasters: Indonesia , 2004; Pakistan , 2005; Taiwan , 1999, Turkey , 1999, Iran , 2002.

The plate tectonic group essay and term paper must be submitted into turnitin.com by the beginning of class time on the due date. No late copies will be accepted. In addition a hard copy of each writing assignment must be submitted within the first 10 minutes of class time on the due date.

To submit a paper to turnit.com:

Go to the home page:

www.turnitin.com

Follow the directions:

Click: create an new user profile on the homepage.

Ø       Follow the on-screen instructions. The system suggests using the wizard to enroll in your class. If you choose this, the next steps can be bypassed and you can skip to the “submitting a paper” section.

Ø       Instructions are found on the home page of turnitin.com is an icon below the Log In location.

o        Click: training materials

o        Click: student user guide for detailed instructions

o        Submit text only: omit references and illustrations

Section 2:

Class ID:           1538567

Password:          hazards (case sensitive)

Section 3:

Class ID:           1538568

Password:         volcanoes (case sensitive)

Please submit work into the correct section!

Policy on academic dishonesty: cheating is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work through the use of any dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means. Cheating at SJSU includes but is not limited to; copying, in part or in whole, from another’s test; submitting work previously graded in another course or submitting work simultaneously presented in two courses. Plagiarism is the act of representing the work of another as one’s own (without giving appropriate credit). The policy on academic integrity can be found at: http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/S04-12.pdf

Using 5 words in a row or more is considered plagiarism. Any submitted papers that contain this many words copied without quotations and the proper citation will cause the author to fail the class (graduating or not graduating this semester). This will be treated as a very serious ethical matter and the student’s name will be submitted to the office of Judicial Affairs.

Drop policy:  It is the policy of the University and this Department that dropping a course is permissible only for serious and compelling reasons. Unsatisfactory performance in course work is not a serious and compelling reason in itself for requesting permission to drop.

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drops, academic renewal, withdrawal: http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMPLIANCE. “If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with The Disability Resource Center (924-600, located in ADM 110) as soon as possible. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities register with DRC to establish a record of their disability.”

Contact me if you plan to use Disabled Student Services, or have a particular testing need.

Note: According to University policy F69-24, “Students should attend all meetings of their classes, not only because they are responsible for material discussed therein, but because active participation is frequently essential to insure maximum benefit for all members of the class. Attendance per se shall not be used as a criterion for grading.” After 16 years of teaching as San Jose State University, experience indicates that those students who attend class, keep-up with the reading and have enough understanding of the material to ask questions and/or participate during class earn the best grades.

San Jose State University policy states that classroom behavior and expectations are based on personal integrity and respect. Disruption due to late arrivals, early departures, talking with another student during class time or regular interruptions of the class flow will not be tolerated. Questions, participation with discussions and constructive comments are encouraged.

http://www2.sjsu.edu/senate/s90-5.htm

No extra credit

Grading Rubric for all Written Work

All written assignments will be graded according to the rubric described below.

Content Criteria- 50% of assignment

Grade

A, A-                 Student objectives are stated. Answers the objectives with superior examples or evidence; unusual insights, creative and original analysis, reasoning and explanation: superior mastery of content, including logical flow of ideas.

B+, B                Student objectives are stated. Good solid response that uses excellent supporting evidence or examples; excellent reasoning and explanations with a mastery of content with a logical flow of ideas.

C, C-                 Student objective is not clear. Good, solid response that meets minimum requirement of the assignment. Reasoning and explanations are adequate. Not enough depth.

D                      No student objective. Response is unclear and does not address the question; response fails to support assertions with data or examples; major flaws in reasoning; explanations are unclear; displays inadequate understanding of content.

F                      Response is missing or not submitted, or does not address the question.

Writing Criteria- 50% of assignment

Grade

A, A-                 Demonstrates superior correctness and sense of personal style. Logical flow of information is evident throughout writing. Interesting. Grammar and spelling are perfect.

B+, B                Very effective organization of paragraphs and paper: interesting, varied sentences; good grammar (usage, punctuation, spelling); does not read like a first draft or book report.

B-, C+               Reasonably effective organization of paragraphs, numerous errors in grammar or spelling, reads like a first draft or book report.

C, C-                 Structurally disorganized; paragraphs lack topic sentences or are not developed effectively; awkward sentence structure; poor grammar or spelling.

D                      Similar to above, but even more difficult to read.

F                      Even more difficult to read, is missing or not submitted.

Assignments

Geology 112

Sections 2 and 3

Tuesday and Thursday

Assignments

Geology 112

Sections 2 and 3

Tuesday and Thursday

This page was last modified by P. Jefferis on 08/25/06 . She is a lecturer in the Department of Geology at San Jose State University