May 18, 1980 the Deadly Eruption of Mount St. Helens

Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it! David Johnstons voice crackled over the radio link from Coldwater Observation Post, north of Mount St. Helens, on the clear Sunday morning of May 18, 1980. Seconds later, the government volcanologist was engulfed in the volcanos gigantic lateral blast. Other people died that day (including three more geologists), but for me Davids death hit very close to home—he was a co-worker of mine at the U.S. Geological Survey offices in the San Francisco Bay area. He had many friends and a bright future, and when Vancouver, the temporary USGS base in Vancouver, Washington, became a permanent institution, it took his name to honor him. Johnstons death, I remember, was a shock to his colleagues. Not just because he had been so alive and so young, but also because the mountain had seemed to be cooperating that spring. Mount St. Helens Background and Eruption Mount St. Helens was long known to be a threatening volcano, having last erupted in 1857. Dwight Crandall and Donal Mullineaux of the USGS, as early as 1975, had pegged it as the most likely of the Cascade Range volcanoes to erupt, and they urged a program of regular monitoring and civic preparations. So when the mountain awoke on March 20, 1980, the scientific community did too. The state of the art technology was pushed—sensors were put in place all around the peak that broadcast their readings to data-logging computers many kilometers away from the foul gases and shuddering ground. Megabytes of clean data (keep in mind, this was 1980) were gathered and accurate maps of the volcano, compiled from laser-ranging measurements, were turned out in mere days. What is routine practice today was brand-new then. The Mount St. Helens crew gave brown-bag seminars to rapt crowds at the USGS offices in the Bay area. It seemed that scientists had a handle on the volcanos pulse and that authorities could be alerted with hours or days of notice, hold orderly evacuations and save lives. But Mount St. Helens erupted in a way that no one planned for, and 56 people plus David Johnston died that fiery Sunday. His body, like those of many others, was never found. The Mount St. Helens Legacy After the eruption, the research continued. The methods first tested at St. Helens were deployed and advanced in later years and later eruptions at El Chichà ³n in 1982, at Mount Spurr and at Kilauea. Sadly, more volcanologists died on Unzen in 1991 and on Galeras in 1993. In 1991, the dedicated research paid off spectacularly at one of the centurys largest eruptions, at  Pinatubo in the Philippines. There, the authorities evacuated the mountain and prevented thousands of deaths. The Johnston Observatory has a good story on the events that led to this triumph, and the program that made it possible. Science served civic authority again at Rabaul in the South Pacific and Ruapehu in New Zealand. David Johnstons death was not in vain. Present-Day St. Helens Today, observation and research at Mount St. Helens is still in full swing; which is necessary, as the volcano is still highly active and has  shown signs of life  in the years since. Among this advanced research is the  iMUSH  (Imaging Magma Under St. Helens) project, which uses geophysical imaging techniques along with geochemical-petrological data to create models of the magma systems underneath the entire area.   Beyond tectonic activity, the volcano has a more recent claim to fame: It is home to the worlds newest glacier, located right in the volcano caldera. This may seem hard to believe, given the setting and the fact that most of the worlds glaciers are in a decline. But, the 1980 eruption left a horseshoe crater, which shields the accumulating snow and ice from the sun, and a layer of loose, insulating rock, which protects the glacier from underlying heat. This allows the glacier to grow with little ablation.    Mount St. Helens on the Web There are lots of web sites that touch on this story; to me, a few stand out.   The USGSs huge  Mount St. Helens site  at the Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory has a thorough scientific history before, during and after the blast, as well as a survey of the continuing program to watch the subtle breathing of the peak they call MSH in its temporary repose. Poke around the photo gallery, too.The Columbian, the newspaper of the nearby town of Vancouver, Washington,  offers an informative timeline  on the history of Mount St. Helens.  The Atlantic has a  powerful image gallery  of the immediate aftermath.   PS: Eerily enough, there is another David Johnston dealing with volcanoes today in New Zealand. Heres an article of his on how people respond to the threat of eruption. Edited by Brooks Mitchell

Acid Rain Causes, Effects, and Prevention - 1061 Words

Acid Rain Acid rain is a rain or any othÐ µr form of prÐ µcipitation that is unusually acidic, mÐ µaning that it possesses Ð µlÐ µvatÐ µd lÐ µvÐ µls of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can havÐ µ harmful Ð µffÐ µcts on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure (Glossary-DEFRA, 2011). ThÐ µ chÐ µmicals in acid rain can causÐ µ paint to pÐ µÃ µl, corrosion of stÐ µÃ µl structures such as bridges, and Ð µrosion of stonÐ µ statues. Acid rain is caused by Ð µmissions of carbon dioxidÐ µ, sulphur dioxidÐ µ and nitrogen oxidÐ µs which rÐ µact with the watÐ µr molecules in thÐ µ atmosphere to producÐ µ acids. These gases are rÐ µlÐ µasÐ µd into thÐ µ atmosphere as a rÐ µsult of both natural causes likÐ µ volcanoÐ µs and lightning strikÐ µs as wÐ µll as human activitiÐ µs. Governments have made Ð µfforts since thÐ µ 1970s to reduce thÐ µ rÐ µlÐ µasÐ µ of sulphur dioxide and othÐ µr acidic gasÐ µs into the atmosphÐ µrÐ µ with positive rÐ µsults. This paper wi ll highlight the various causes of acid rain, its adverse effects on the environment as well as human health and infrastructure and finally outline preventive steps that government and corporations have taken in response. ThÐ µ principal causÐ µ of acid rain is sulphur and nitrogÐ µn compounds from human sourcÐ µs, such as Ð µlÐ µctricity gÐ µnÐ µration, factoriÐ µs, and motor vehicles (Tennesen, 2010). Coal powÐ µr plants arÐ µ onÐ µ of thÐ µ most polluting. ThÐ µ gasÐ µs can bÐ µ carriÐ µd hundrÐ µds of kilomÐ µtÐ µrs in thÐ µ atmosphÐ µrÐ µ bÐ µforÐ µ thÐ µy arÐ µ convÐ µrtÐ µd to acids and deposited. WÐ µt deposition of acids occurs whÐ µn any form of prÐ µcipitation removes acids fromShow MoreRelatedplastic money1074 Words   |  5 Pagesare the effects of air pollution? Acidification: Chemical reactions involving air pollutants can create acidic compounds which can cause harm to vegetation and buildings. 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Is it Glorious to Die for your Country Essay Example For Students

Is it Glorious to Die for your Country? Essay Is it glorious to die for your country?. This question has been posed to many young people about to embark on war although the answer has usually been yes in response to their country due mainly to the fact that the government instills it in the people of the country to support ones country and one way is to send young abled bodied men into the army. If you were one individual that was not in favour of fighting for your country you would surely become an outcast by the countries people. To avoid ridicule and becoming outcasted by the people living around you, you would join the army just in the thought that you were obligated to for the sole sake of your country. Such thoughts were reinforced by the government promotion of propaganda. Glorifying death is not needed to be taught and should be up to the sole individual. School systems should teach an unbiased point of view of war to enable the child to make their own decision to fight for ones country.Is it Glorious to Die for your Cou ntry? Within the education system it was instructed to the teachers to teach the children at a young age during the brink of war to instill that their the life of the country and for them to defend their country against the enemy. Teachers showed being in a army was representing honour and the pride of the country. Guilt was laid on the students who showed rebellion by the teacher. Many times the teacher would try to show a soldier that looks happy and content trying to represent being a soldier makes you happy and content. Many young inexperienced soldiers were sent to training camps near the battle fields that they would soon be sent to fight, for their country and their life. The training camps were situated on similar enviroments that resembled the battle fields of where the fighting would take place. Reinforced displine to the young and ignorant men. Trench warfare is when many soldiers of opposing countries fight against each other across a vast desolate, dirt covered land, and the only sense of cover was to crouch in a usually water logged trench. The sense of death engulfed your very soul, the constant bombardment of shells echo in your mind long after it had ceased. On the Western front conditions were horrible to say the least, stench of death remained constantly in the air, bodies riddled with bullet wounds lay across the bottoms of the trenches, dismembered bodies scattered across the landscape and the sounds of agonizing and dying men echo across the battle grounds. Very limited rations offering very little in flavour was the only food available to the soldiers. Often raining, it caused muddy, damp conditions. The men staying in a trench filled with water and muddy conditions often caused such diseases as trench foot and trench mouth. Contagious diseases were spread quickly. Lack of cleaniness gave many soldiers lice and rats would run through the trenches feeding on the garbage and human wastes. Thousands of soldiers would line up under the cover of their trenches for a stretch of miles and wait for the leading officer to give the signal for the charge. When the signal was given the thousands of soldiers would all try to run across the no-mans land to attempt the breach of the enemies trench. This charge would be under constant machine gun fire and mortar shelling by the enemy. These kind of attacks usually failed maily due to the fact the odds were already stacked against the attacking party. The distances the charging men had to run to get to the enemies trench was far enough for the enemy to use its constant shelling and its machine gun fire to dwindle the attacking army significant enough for the attacking army to retreat. .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 , .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .postImageUrl , .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 , .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100:hover , .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100:visited , .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100:active { border:0!important; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100:active , .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100 .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u3273abc6606b4014d787674110919100:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Ebonics A Bridge to Help Black EssayCounter attacks were quickly attempted after the attacks. The counter attacks were similiar to the actual attacks except the difference was that the counter attack involved the killing of the retreating of the enemy instead of attacking someone under the cover of the trench. During the war all soldiers were affected either physically or phsycologically. Shell shock was an ongoing sickness affecting many soldiers in the trenches. The constant bombardment of mortar shelling became so defeaning and monotonous the sounds of shelling remained with the soldier even when there was no shelling. Such cases became so severe for some the soldier wo uld go in fits of rage and fear at the very same instantance. Virtually all soldiers felt homesick at one time or another. The soldiers being out on the battle fronts for a long time soon forgot the propaganda beliefs the country had instilled the soldiers, instead the soldiers just wanted to survive their tour of duty however long it would be. Death had been experienced and seen by the soldiers on the front for a long time that the themes had become relative to their daily life on the front. Coming back to their homes the soldiers had received and learned of a new perpective on war. It was that when face to face with death the political beliefs that were held were irrevalant when trying to survive in the war. Glorification of death is ridiculous unless you were being attacked and threat of death was present that would be another story but to die for a something many miles away is something that the individual must take in consideration in when making his or her decision. I personal ly would not risk death if friends and family were not at risk. Since our country has become less militarized since WWII the need for military personnel has not been as necessary. But as mentioned before if the country I lived was under a threat of takeover I believe I would take up arms to defend against the people who would try to attack. Other than that the physcological and physical damages soldiers endure would deter me from joining any army.

Money Markets vs Capital Markets free essay sample

The market where transactions of money and financial assets are accomplished for short time is called money market. On the other end, capital market is meant that market where transactions of money and financial assets are occurred for a long period. * Institutions: Important institutions operating in the’ money market are central banks, commercial banks, acceptance houses,  non bank  financial institutions, bill brokers. Important institutions of the capital market are stock exchanges, commercial banks and non bank institutions, such as insurance companies, mortgage banks, building societies. Transactions Period: In money market transactions are accomplished for one or less than one year. While capital market transactions are for long time. * Nature of Credit Instruments: The credit instruments dealt with in the capital market are more heterogeneous than those in money market. Some homogeneity of credit instruments is needed for the operation of financial markets. Too much diversity creates problems for the investors. * Risks: Since investment of this market is for a short-term, the risk of money is low. We will write a custom essay sample on Money Markets vs Capital Markets or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In capital market the risk of money and loan defaulters are high. Instruments: Cash dollar, treasury bills, commercial papers are used as the instrument in money market. On the other end, Shares, debentures, long-term bonds are the instruments of capital market. * Transaction Procedures: Since fewer formalities are required in money market therefore, transactions cost is also minimum. While, many formalities are required in making capital market transaction successful and therefore its transaction cost is little bit higher than the money market. * Relation with Government Agency: The money market is closely and directly linked with central bank of the country. The capital market feels Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as central bank’s influence, but mainly indirectly and through the money market. Customer-centric Business Model| * Grow assets under management with real-time analysis of customer activity and personalized interaction * Measure and report on the state of customer relationships and profitability in real time with business analytics * Personalize customer experience across channels * Capture investment profiles to target offers and leads, while shortening sales cycles and increasing investment offers| Effective Risk Management| * Handle compliance issues, regulatory requirements, security, and other operational risks without burdening existing operations * Provide real-time and near real-time actionable customer and product profitability insight, delivered to the front office * Manage security exposure, market, and operations risk * Support centralized and consistent capture of regulatory data for MiFID and KYC requirements| Operational Effectiveness| * Streamline project management, simplify procurement, and make the most your firms most important asset—employees * Reduce operational risk with end-to-end financial management * Manage projects more efficiently and effectively * Transform corporate procurement with strategic sourcing capabilities| Next-generation Services| * Evolve to an agile, intelligent, and secure platform * Increase competitiveness by enabling new, intelligent services, while consolidating legacy systems * Enable new services across product silos with service-ena bled processes and applications * Gain real-time insight across channels with business intelligence for capital markets * Secure customer data and access for risk and compliance reporting with enterprise security and identity management * Selectively consolidate legacy systems onto an open-standard platform with enterprise grid computing and content management|