Japan Earthquakes' Effect on Japan's Environemnt Research Paper

Japan Earthquakes' Effect on Japan's Environemnt - Research Paper Example In 2011, Japan recorded the strongest earthquake in the recent past, which later triggered a devastating tsunami along the northern pacific coast. This earthquake, named the Great East Japan earthquake, caused massive losses in Japan. The 9.0 earthquake caused a 124 foot tsunami wave, deaths of close to 20’000 people, and massive destruction of homes. Apart from these losses, the earthquake caused the nuclear accident that occurred in Fukushima Prefecture (LÃ ¼sted 4). The fact that Japan is an earthquake prone country makes it prepare for such happenings. In 2011 earthquake, tsunami early warning signs enabled Japan to take the necessary precautionary measures that helped in saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Unfortunately, the 2011 earthquake struck with massive waves that were of bigger magnitude than it was previously predicted. This was the reason why many people lost their lives, massive property destruction, and severe damage on the environment. The massive losses of lives that are evident in different earthquakes that have struck Japan are mainly due to subsequent effects that follow an earthquake. Majority of these effects are environmental in nature, and their impacts may last for a prolonged period of time (LÃ ¼sted 11).usted 11). What is an earthquake? An earthquake refers to a sudden movement of the earth due to an abrupt release of energy that has piled up over a prolonged period. Numerous studies support that a majority of earth quakes occur along boundaries where plates making the earth’s outer layer meet. Scientists use the knowledge of locations where earthquakes take place and the nature of ruptures they produce to describe the plates boundaries. It is worth noting that a majority of destructive earthquakes are as a result of dislocation of the earth’s crust. In such situations, the crust exacts its effects by bending and then breaks and snaps to a new position when the prevailing stress exceeds the pressure exerted by rocks (Alexander 47). The earth has three types of plate boundaries. The first boundaries are the spreading zones. In these zones, molten rock material rises up; this leads to the separation of two plates and addition of material along their edges. Spreading zones are most common in oceans. The second types of boundaries are the transform faults, which occur where plates move past each other. Earthquakes that occur along these plates happen at shallow depths, leading to visi ble straight linear patterns. The third types of plates are the subduction zones, which occur in earth’s regions where one plate subducts another plate. This phenomenon pushes the subducted plate downwards into the mantle causing it to melt. Subduction zones form shallow or deep earthquakes, deep ocean trenches, and mountain ranges that have volcanic activities (Alexander 55). Geologists have evidence that supports the idea that earthquakes occur frequently along faults. These regions of the earth show areas of weakness along the earth’s crust. Once an earthquake has occurred along a fault zone, it is unlikely that all stress is relieved from the earth crust. This situation creates a chance for another earthquake to occur in the future. In some cases, earthquakes are likely to strike before, during or after a volcanic activity. In this case, earthquakes are not linked to the occurrence of the volcanic eruptions, but the force associated with the volcanic eruption cause s the earthquakes to happen (Oxlade 35). Seismographs are the