Natural Science 2, reminded me once again just how vast the world is. It also reminded me that even within my own body there’s a lot that I’ve yet to fully understand. I enjoyed the activities that came with the lessons, it makes the learning process much more interesting. I also loved putting together my portfolio, it’s not perfect, but seeing it gives me a bit of satisfaction. Overall, I think that there’s so much more to learn that I wish the course duration ran for a bit more longer. However, despite the course ending, I think I’ll try to keep on gaining more knowledge about our massive world at my own pace. Honestly, it’s very interesting.
Things to take note of:
Activity - Relative Dating
Diagram 1: B- Dike, Intrusion (Youngest) C- Gneiss A-Basalt (Oldest) The oldest is the one at the bottom, the intrusive, igneous rock, Basalt (A), followed by the formation of the metamorphic rock, Gneiss (C), possibly from the same igneous rock or other kinds of rock due to heat and pressure. Finally, an eruption must have occurred, that caused an intrusion, forming a dike(B) across layers A and C.
Diagram 2:
A- Siltstone (Youngest) D- Sandstone C- Limestone B- Intrusion E- Schist (Oldest) The oldest is the metamorphic rock, Schist (E), then an eruption occurred, causing an intrusion (B). After that the layers of limestone (C), Sandstone (D), and Siltstone (A) were deposited above it, respectively.
Diagram 3:
E- Fault (Youngest) I- Shale D- Shale H- Sandstone F- Limestone B- Fault A- Limestone C- Siltstone G- Conglomerate (Oldest) The oldest is the rock at the bottom, Conglomerate (G). After which, a layer of Siltstone (C) followed by a layer of Limestone (A) were deposited. Then a tensional stress, across layers G to A, caused a fault (B) to cut through them. The space this created was filled by another layer of a different limestone (F). Above it the layers of Sandstone (H), Shale (D) and another kind of Shale (I) were deposited respectively. Lastly, a compressional stress across all layers caused a reverse fault (E)to cut through.
Things to take note of:
Philippine West Valley Fault: Reaction Paper
I’ve known about the West Valley Fault since it was heavily featured in the media back in 2012 after the Bohol earthquake. Ever since then, I’ve always had this feeling of dread because as mentioned in the video, earthquakes are “natural hazards”, they’re not something we can possibly stop, its effects will certainly be felt and it could happen any moment now. I even checked the Fault Finder on the Phivolcs site, and found out that my apartment building is only 2.1km away from the West Valley fault and about 5km away from the nearest evacuation area which did nothing to ease my worry. In the video, it was mentioned that older buildings that are 3-4 for storeys are more susceptible to damage, which made me groan because I live in that kind of building. The thought of “the big one” happening scares the living daylights out of me. At one point I actually thought of just packing up and returning to my hometown. Not that my hometown, Baguio, is safe from earthquakes. I was only a few months old when the 1990 earthquake happened. My mom told me that when it happened, I was in bed and that the shaking from the earthquake caused me to fall to the floor. That’s where my mom found me, picked me up and rushed me to the open field beside our house where they waited for the quake to subside. That field is now full of houses. I think that’s what scares me the most about the West Valley Fault, that it’s lying near the vicinity of a great deal of houses and buildings which makes it certain that people will get hurt and die. It also means that millions of people will be in a panic, which almost certainly means it’ll be, as the video mentioned, “every man for himself.” Look at what happened after Yolanda struck Tacloban, chaos ensued, looting was prevalent, and we can’t hardly blame them, they all wanted the same thing, to live through the storm and survive. In the end, like the video states, all we can really do is to prepare. Preparation mitigates the estimated damage “the big one” will surely cause. The Phivolcs has been doing a great job in reminding the government and the public of the impending quake. The government, particularly the MMDA as shown in the video, has already prepared some preemptive measures (Oplan Metro Yakal), which I hope would be reliable when the time comes. Meanwhile, the rest of the public, should take heed of the Phivolcs warning and suggestions. On a personal level, the most that I’ve done is to slowly put together an emergency pack, just in case. Like the video states, lack of preparation leads "natural hazards" into "disasters", so again, all we can do is to prepare. |