1. Wild fire
hurricane

2. Hurricane Causes: Hurricane Features: Caused by weather patterns
Moist warm air condenses and rises while cool air rushes in to take its place which causes rotating winds
Hurricane Features:
Start out as tropical storms
When wind speeds reach a constant speed of 74 mph or more, then it is upgraded to hurricane status
Have a spiral formation around a calm center called the “eye” which can be up to 30 miles in diameter
Torrential rains, high winds, and storm surges (flooding of water)

3. Affects of Hurricanes on Ecosystems:
Coastal Erosion – hurricanes carve away sand from the beaches and deposit it in a new location
Flooding – water from the hurricane’s storm surge is one of the main causes of death; flooding can also trigger landslides
Damage to structures – buildings, houses, roads, bridges, and other structures can be damaged from high winds and flooding
Habitat loss- animals are displaced from their homes and habitats during hurricanes; beach erosion and deposition can disrupt oyster beds and coral reefs; salt water that is brought in by the storm surge can kill fresh water organisms when it enters lakes, rivers, and streams
Economic costs – rebuilding and clean up costs can costs millions and even billions of dollars

4. Hurricanes Are Caused By Weather Patterns

5. Results of a storm surge - Orange Beach, Alabama. Image by USGS

6. Storm Surge

7. Hurricane Katrina
Inland flooding due to heavy rains, the storm surge, and broken levees (small dams)

8. Coastal Erosion

9. Wild Fire Causes: Wild Fire Features:
Natural causes of wildfire ignitions are lightning, volcanic eruption, and sparks from rock falls
Human causes are arson (purposely setting fire to something), discarded cigarettes, sparks from equipment, and abandoned campfires
Wild Fire Features:
Take place outdoors in areas of grassland, woodlands, or forests that act as a source of fuel, or combustible material
Drought conditions can also contribute to the chances of wild fires starting
High winds can add oxygen to the fire and further dry out the “fuel” to make the fire move faster and more difficult to extinguish

10. Effects of Wild Fires on Ecosystems:
Negative Effects:
Loss of human lives – people are evacuated from dangerous areas to help keep them safe from the fire
Damage to structures – buildings, houses, roads, bridges, cars and other structures can be burned
Habitat and food loss- when trees and grasses are burned, animals lose their habitat and source of food
Economic costs – firefighters, helicopters, and other efforts to put out fires are very expensive; also rebuilding and the cleaning up of burned structures is very costly
Erosion – vegetation that has been burned off will leave the area susceptible to erosion

11. Effects of Wild Fires on Ecosystems:
Positive Effects:
New plant growth – the burned areas will return the nutrients to the soil; in a short time, new plant growth will flourish because of the enriched soil
Natural thinning of forests – forest fires naturally thin out overgrown, thick forests; if the trees are not thinned, then the new trees trying to grow will not be able to receive sunlight
Germination of seeds – wild fires create conditions for new seedlings to germinate; for example the giant sequoia tree needs wild fires to dry out and split the cones to release the seeds

12. Colorado Springs Wild Fire – June 2012

13. Wild Fires can have POSITIVE effects on the ecosystem!
Giant Sequoia Tree Cone
In the United States they used to have a policy of putting out all forest fires.  However, in the 1960s they realized that there were no new giant sequoia trees growing. It turns out that this giant tree benefits from wild fires.
Forest fires are a crucial part of the giant sequoia tree lifecycle.  Fires take warm air up into the tops of the trees, which dries the cones and makes them split apart. This allows the seeds to pop out and be free to germinate.

14. New Growth After a Forest Fire
Forest Fires naturally help to enrich the soil for new plant growth!

15. Drought
volcano

16. Drought Causes: Drought Features:
An interruption of the water cycle – lack of precipitation
Farmers using too much water for irrigation of their crops
Overgrazing of cattle and other livestock causes a decrease in plants that help to retain moisture
Drought Features:
A drought is an unusually long period of dry weather that lasts long enough to cause water supply shortages
Lakes and bodies of water dry up
Water restrictions are imposed by the city to reduce water usage
The severity of the drought depends on:
Degree of moisture deficiency (lack of moisture)
Duration (how long)
Size of affected area

17. Effects of Drought on Ecosystems:
Surface water and subsurface water supplies below normal can effect humans as well as plant growth, such as:
Fresh water shortage - for drinking and water for your homes
Crop failure – farmer’s crops die therefore we have no food/products and also farmer’s do not make any money
Livestock death – without water and food animals can not live
Increased forest/wild fires – due to lack of moisture in the environment
Increased soil erosion – dry soil is easily blown by wind

18. A pond affected by drought

19. Crop failure due to drought

20. Livestock death due to drought

22. Lubbock Haboob – Drought conditions can increase soil erosion

23. Volcano Causes: Volcano Features:
Volcanoes are caused by buildup of pressure between tectonic plates from gases within the magma.
When the pressure becomes too great, an eruption occurs to release that pressure and return to equilibrium.
Volcano Features:
Volcanoes are a vent in the Earth that allow magma to escape to the surface.
Eruptions can be slow and quiet or violently explosive.
Volcanoes mostly occur in the Ring of Fire, but not always.

24. Effects of Volcanoes on Ecosystems:
Negative Effects:
Human and animal habitats are destroyed - from ash and lava flow
Dust, hot ash and poisonous gases are thrown into the air - volcanic ash can affect breathing, contaminate water supplies, collapse roofs because of the weight of the ash, disrupt machinery, and cause jet engines to fail while flying because of the buildup of ash in the engines.
Destroys trees and vegetation - volcanoes create dangerously hot lava and pyroclastic flows that burn down any plant life in its path
Disruption of marine ecosystems - magma and lava flow into the ocean and can disrupt the ocean ecosystem causing fish and marine plants to die
Trigger landslides, mudflows, earthquakes, and explosions
Positive Effects:
Construction of new land - Lava flow can create new land like the Hawaiian Islands

25. Lava disrupting the marine ecosystem

26. Volcanic Ash

27. Lava Flow

28. Creation of New Land

29. Volcanoes of the World

30. tornado
earthquake

31. Tornado Causes: Tornado Features:
Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico clashes with cold air from the north and fuels storms that form there.
Tornadoes can form any time of year, but many occur in the stormy spring, when these warm and cold air masses collide. Storms often are triggered where two different kinds of air masses meet, such as dry and moist air masses, or cold and warm air masses.
Tornado Features:
Rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground.
Tornadoes may appear transparent until the dirt and debris it picks up gives it color.
High winds from a tornado and the hail from a thunderstorm cause the most damage.
It is generally believed that tornado wind speeds can be as high as 300 mph in the most violent tornadoes.
Fujita Scale as the official classification system for tornado damage. This ranges from F0 (least amount of damage) to F6 (most amount of damage).

32. Effects of Tornados on Ecosystems:
Demolish structures – homes, cars, buildings
Loss of human life – if appropriate cover is not taken
Erosion of soil – high winds scour the soil off the ground down to the rock
Destroy plants – uproot trees; destroy fields of crops
Destroy animal habitats – animals that live in trees and shrubs have to relocate
The Tri-State Tornado March 18,1925
This tornado is the deadliest in US history
killed 695 people and injured people

33. May 11, 1970 Lubbock, Texas
A total of 430 homes were destroyed. Death toll: 26 victims between the ages of 9 months to 88 years of age. This building is believed to be the tallest building to survive a direct hit from an F5 tornado.

34. The Birth of a Tornado

35. Cold dry air and moist warm air meet and can form tornados

36. Earthquake Causes: Earthquake Features:
An earthquake is caused by a release of energy usually from moving of tectonic plates or volcanic eruptions.
Earthquake Features:
Earthquakes are vibrations of the Earth’s surface along fault lines or tectonic plates.
The Earth’s tectonic plates move, and as stress builds between plates and exceeds the strength of the rock, the crust breaks and snaps into a new position. This process releases pressure in the crust and now the crust is back in equilibrium.
Earthquakes can open large cracks in the ground causing land and bodies of water to disappear.

37. Effects of Earthquakes on Ecosystems:
Humans and the environment can suffer extreme damage from earthquakes. Some damages include:
Loss of human life – due to collapsed buildings and falling objects
Collapsing of buildings – violent shaking weakens supports of structures
Causes Tsunamis – which will cause flooding
Causes landslides – the sliding of loose soil and earth material
Damages utility and power lines – cause fires from broken gas lines, cause power outages
Cracking and Faulting of the Earth’s crust – deep trenches can be created

38. Deep crack created by an earthquake

39. Earthquake
Damage
San Andreas Fault

40. Earthquake Damage

41. tsunami
flood

42. Tsunami Causes:
Ocean waves produced by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteorite impact, or underwater landslides.
Tsunami Features:
Tsunamis are a series of waves that can travel between mph in the open ocean.
As a tsunami approaches the coast, it becomes slower and taller.
The time between each wave varies from 5-90 minutes.
Tsunamis often come to shore as a rapidly rising turbulent surge of debris filled water.

43. Effects of Tsunamis on Ecosystems:
Humans and the environment can suffer extreme damage from tsunamis. Some damages include:
Loss of human life – drowning
Flooding
Contamination of drinking water – brings in salt water; causes sewers to overflow; carries debris and chemicals
Loss of habitat or human homes – rushing water sweeps away buildings, cars, homes, and trees
Fires from broken gas lines

44. Tsunami Diagram
Notice that the wavelength gets taller and shorter the closer it gets to the shoreline.

45. Japan
The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years, measured 9.0 on the Richter scale according to the U.S. Geological Service. The quake created a 10-meter Tsunami that washed away houses, cars and boats.
Evacuation Center

46. Flood Causes: Flood Features:
Intense long term precipitation from thunderstorms
Snow and ice melt can cause seasonal flooding
Storm surges from hurricanes
Man made pavement, roads, and parking lots are not porous so precipitation runs off of these surfaces and can make flooding conditions worse.
Flood Features:
An overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry
Mostly occurs in flood plains, or low elevation
Soggy, wet soil will flood worse than sandy porous soil

47. Effects of Floods on Ecosystems:
Loss of human life – rushing water is very dangerous and has claimed human life
Contamination/Pollution – drinking water can become contaminated by damaged sewer systems and chemicals; debris and trash can also be washed away and accumulate
Property loss and damage – flooding can knock down structures, damage roads and bridges, cause mold to grow in homes
Farm damages – can kill or displace livestock and damage crops
Spread of disease – stagnant or standing water can increase the likelihood of disease
Causes erosion - floods cause significant amounts of erosion to coasts, leading to more frequent flooding if not repaired.

48. Floods damage buildings

49. Animals are forced out of their habitat

50. Contamination caused by flooding