Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2010-07-12 09:07 am
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2010-07-12 09:07 am
Entry tags:
Keeping Your Advantage: Terrain and You, Week II [Monday, Period 1]
Class met in the Danger Shop today, and when students arrived, they'd find themselves in a landscape that looked like something from a science fiction film. "Good morning, class," Ghanima said. "And welcome to Mount St. Helens."
"Mount St. Helens is is an active stratovolcano, most famous for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am PDT which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States," she stated. "Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche caused an eruption, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft to 8,365 ft and replacing it with a 1 mile wide horseshoe-shaped crater."
This little planet may look like a single solid mass, but it’s really made up of several massive plates of earth and rock. These crustal plates are constantly moving and colliding with one another, creating earthquakes and the pressure zones that lead to volcanic eruptions. Underneath those sliding and colliding plates is hot, melted rock known as magma; it sometimes collects in areas of high pressure called, naturally enough, magma chambers. When this pressure builds up and becomes too great, the magma sometimes explodes upward in a great cataclysmic event. This is a volcano."
"Unfortunately, there is not much an individual can do to prepare for a volcanic eruption, but it is always good to have a good knowledge of this phenomenon. Be aware of the hazards that can come with an eruption: the flying debris, hot gases, lava flows, potential for explosion, mudslides, avalanches, and geothermal areas. Prepare provisions, water, food, blankets, and medical supplies if you live around a volcano before anything happens. Also be ready to get up and outrun flowing lava . . . and yes, I'm quite serious. Above all, use caution when near an active volcanoes. Do not venture toward any activity, and consult local experts on the area. Follow all recommendations, regulations, or requests of officials."
"If you do become trapped near an active volcano, there are things you can watch out for. Stay away from lava flows. Not all of them will be red-hot and obvious; some move very slowly and appear as dark and solid, but are liquid beneath the surface. Also, do not try to cross an active flow; you might get trapped by multiple lava streams. Keep an eye on the Colcanic domes - Volcanic domes and plugs in craters may seem harmless, but they can explode without warning. Footing and glassy rocks can also be very dangerous. Some cooled lava of this sort can resemble jagged pieces of glass. Wear good, solid hiking boots on the mountain - never go barefoot. Be sure of your step."
"Be careful when crossing lahar - debris - flows, for they can gush in large and small floods. And above all, avoid areas where volcanic gas is released. Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide can kill quickly and silently. You may not be able to hold your breath long enough. If you see a location around an active volcano with dead vegetation, carcasses, or bones, do not enter it."
"How can you prepare? If you live in an active volcanic zone, always assume that you may have to deal with the effects of an eruption. If you are in an area that could experience a lava flow during a volcanic eruption, know a quick route to safe ground. Once the eruption begins, if you're in a safe place, save water in your bath, basin, containers or cylinders at an early stage - supplies may become polluted. Stay indoors with as much as possible and wear mask and goggles if you go outside, to keep volcanic ash out of your eyes and lungs, and keep below ridge lines in hilly terrain - the hills will offer some protection from flying volcanic debris."
Today you have two options. You may explore the crater here for Mount St. Helens and ponder the destructive forces that destroyed half a mountain, or you can create your own miniature volcano to study the unpredictability of these geological giants."
[OOC: The OCD has exploded all over this post. Go to it.]
"Mount St. Helens is is an active stratovolcano, most famous for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am PDT which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States," she stated. "Fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche caused an eruption, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 ft to 8,365 ft and replacing it with a 1 mile wide horseshoe-shaped crater."
This little planet may look like a single solid mass, but it’s really made up of several massive plates of earth and rock. These crustal plates are constantly moving and colliding with one another, creating earthquakes and the pressure zones that lead to volcanic eruptions. Underneath those sliding and colliding plates is hot, melted rock known as magma; it sometimes collects in areas of high pressure called, naturally enough, magma chambers. When this pressure builds up and becomes too great, the magma sometimes explodes upward in a great cataclysmic event. This is a volcano."
"Unfortunately, there is not much an individual can do to prepare for a volcanic eruption, but it is always good to have a good knowledge of this phenomenon. Be aware of the hazards that can come with an eruption: the flying debris, hot gases, lava flows, potential for explosion, mudslides, avalanches, and geothermal areas. Prepare provisions, water, food, blankets, and medical supplies if you live around a volcano before anything happens. Also be ready to get up and outrun flowing lava . . . and yes, I'm quite serious. Above all, use caution when near an active volcanoes. Do not venture toward any activity, and consult local experts on the area. Follow all recommendations, regulations, or requests of officials."
"If you do become trapped near an active volcano, there are things you can watch out for. Stay away from lava flows. Not all of them will be red-hot and obvious; some move very slowly and appear as dark and solid, but are liquid beneath the surface. Also, do not try to cross an active flow; you might get trapped by multiple lava streams. Keep an eye on the Colcanic domes - Volcanic domes and plugs in craters may seem harmless, but they can explode without warning. Footing and glassy rocks can also be very dangerous. Some cooled lava of this sort can resemble jagged pieces of glass. Wear good, solid hiking boots on the mountain - never go barefoot. Be sure of your step."
"Be careful when crossing lahar - debris - flows, for they can gush in large and small floods. And above all, avoid areas where volcanic gas is released. Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide can kill quickly and silently. You may not be able to hold your breath long enough. If you see a location around an active volcano with dead vegetation, carcasses, or bones, do not enter it."
"How can you prepare? If you live in an active volcanic zone, always assume that you may have to deal with the effects of an eruption. If you are in an area that could experience a lava flow during a volcanic eruption, know a quick route to safe ground. Once the eruption begins, if you're in a safe place, save water in your bath, basin, containers or cylinders at an early stage - supplies may become polluted. Stay indoors with as much as possible and wear mask and goggles if you go outside, to keep volcanic ash out of your eyes and lungs, and keep below ridge lines in hilly terrain - the hills will offer some protection from flying volcanic debris."
Today you have two options. You may explore the crater here for Mount St. Helens and ponder the destructive forces that destroyed half a mountain, or you can create your own miniature volcano to study the unpredictability of these geological giants."
[OOC: The OCD has exploded all over this post. Go to it.]
Sign-In II
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During the Lecture
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Activities!
Activitiy: Explore
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Ben was using the class as an excuse to stretch muscles that had been kittified for a little too long.
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Activity: Build a Volcano
Talk to Ghanima
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OOC