Supervolcano

1. Why is the Yellowstone supervolcano so dangerous?

2. What is a caldera?

3. How large is the Yellowstone caldera?

4. Can the frequent earthquakes of Yellowstone disturb the caldera and cause super eruption?

5. Why didn’t the Yellowstone employees take the occurring earthquakes seriously then?

6. What was the FEMA (*the Federal Emergency & Management Agency) undersecretary in charge told about the impact of the possible super eruption?

7. What consequences will the ash eruption cause in:

a) zone 1 – 100 km radius;

b) zone 2-3 – another 100-200 km radius;

c) zone 4 - 400 km radius;

d) zone 5 – 5000 km radius;

e) zone 6 – 600 km radius?

8. Why is volcanic ash so dangerous?

   • Think over what you’ve seen and say if there will be any global effects.

9. Why was the scientist forced to make a false official statement on the potential danger of the Yellowstone magma rise?

10. Are there any means to prepare, train or exercise any preventive measures if the super eruption takes place in our lifetime?

Megatsunami – wave of destruction

1. 40 million people live and work on the east coast of the US. What threat of a sudden catastrophe do those people live under?

2. What is the force of mega-tsunami?

3. Can people do anything about it?

4. What is the nature of tsunami? (What is it caused by?)

5. What is the height of the largest tsunami caused by the earthquake?

6. What cataclysmic phenomenon did the scientist find in the Lituya Bay when studying the trees there?

7. What kind of wave caused such destruction? Was it a tidal wave?

8. Was it caused by an earthquake?

9. What explanation was provided by the events of July 9, 1958?

10. What was the real cause of this mega-tsunami?

11. So what can really cause the appearance of such a destructive wave instead of an earthquake?

12. What is dangerous about the impact of a mega-tsunami? (What have you learned about its wavelength and its force?)

13. What area is particularly vulnerable to landslides? (Where can the next landslide occur?)

14. Why are the volcanic islands prone to landslides?

15. What is the largest chain of volcanic islands on Earth?

16. Are these volcanic islands potentially dangerous? Why?

17. Of course volcanic landslides are very a rare thing, as they happen once in many thousand years. Give an example of a historical landslide and say what mega-tsunami it generated.

18. Where and when was the most recent land collapse? What was its force?

19. Where is the next volcanic collapse likely to occur?

20. What have you learned about La Palma?

21. What happened in 1949 when La Palma’s Cumbre Vieja erupted? What event happened shortly afterwards?

22. What’s unusual about the La Palma volcanoes, considering their structure?

23. Is the presence of water inside the rock enough to create a landslide?

24. Is it possible to say when the next eruption will occur

25. How long might it potentially take a mega-tsunami to reach the Americas if a large enough chunk of rock from Cumbre Vieja slides?

26. Is there enough time to take any precautions/preventive measures, etc? What can be done?

27. What areas are potentially at risk from a mega-tsunami?

28. What is the most disturbing thing about Cumbre Vieja eruption and slide?

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Pay attention to the use of articles with the following words and word-combinations: the atmosphere, global warming, the greenhouse effect, nature, ozone, the ozone layer, the environment, environmental problems, photosynthesis, carbon dioxide/oxygen/nitrogen etc., CFCs, ozone depletion, ozone hole, greenhouse gases, fossil fuels

Put in a/the where necessary. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1. In 1987 the Montréal Protocol, a treaty for the protection of (?) ozone layer, was signed and later ratified by 36 nations, including the United States. 2. (?) photosynthesis breaks up (?) carbon dioxide, releasing (?) oxygen into (?) atmosphere and incorporating the carbon into new plant tissue. 3. Environmental philosophy is concerned with issues that arise when human beings interact with (?) environment. For instance, is a transformation of society necessary for the survival of (?) living organisms and (?) environment? 4. (?) Ozone is one of three forms, called allotropes, of (?) oxygen. 5. An increased public awareness of (?) environmental problems has made (?) ecology a common but often misused word. 6. Chemically, (?) fossil fuels consist largely of hydrocarbons, which are compounds composed of (?) hydrogen and (?) carbon. 7. Though this is impossible to us as humans, (?) nature does it all the time. 8. (?) greenhouse effect was primarily the result of the buildup in (?) atmosphere of certain gases, primarily (?) carbon dioxide, produced by the burning of (?) fossil fuels (such as petroleum, coal, and wood). 9. During the 1970s, scientists linked (?) CFCs to the destruction of (?) ozone layer. The manufacture of (?) CFCs has since been banned in most countries. 10. The problems facing (?) environment are vast and diverse. (?) global warming, the depletion of (?) ozone layer in (?) atmosphere, and destruction of the world’s rain forests are just some of the problems that many scientists believe will reach critical proportions in the coming decades. 11. (?) atmospheric greenhouse effect is caused by certain gases in our atmosphere, called (?) greenhouse gases, selectively absorbing and emitting infrared radiation, or heat energy. 12. We grew up in the countryside, surrounded by the beauties of (?) nature. 13. Sierra Club is an organisation dedicated to protecting (?) natural environment and wildlife in the United States and throughout the world. 14. Scientists predict that during (?) global warming, the northern regions of the Northern Hemisphere will heat up more than other areas of the planet. 15. Following a late 1989 measurement of (?) ozone hole over Antarctica equivalent to the one whose discovery shocked scientists in 1987, significant (?) ozone depletion also was found over the Arctic. And late in 1990 (?) hole over Antarctica was found to have reopened, the first time (?) serious hole had occurred in Antarctica two years in a row. Moreover, researchers discovered that the ultraviolet light that flows through (?) ozone holes can alter the genes of some marine plankton.

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