What is Medical Geography?

Medical geography uses the concepts and techniques of the discipline of geography to investigate health-related topics.

What does pandemic mean?

What does epidemic mean?

Disease occurs at elevated levels beyond which you expect, larger than endemic

What does endemic mean?

Local

This is the most famous map ever produced. He had the idea that polluted water caused disease. He mapped out locations to show people his thought process: where people died from disease. The longer the bar, the more people contracted.

Significance of John Snow - Made Cholera Map- Father of epidemiology, study of the pattern of diseases

How does war affect disease?

- More stress, compromises immune system

- lack of fresh water and food

- pathogens in water

- homes may have been destroyed

- people may have been evacuated

- there may be a high density of people displaced

1. Why would two earthquakes of the same strength have different mortalities?

Earthquake magnitude, Distance from hypocenter (focus), Duration of shaking, Type of rock or sediment making up ground surface and subsurface and Building style –design, type of building materials, height, etc.

It depends on the social and place vulnerability of the affected area.

Why don’t earthquake surface waves radiate equally in all directions?

-The orientation of the fault pattern affects where the energy produced by a quake focuses.  the direction of the fault movement give waves directionality

-Mountains, landmarks can trap waves

What is an aftershock and what are the conditions thereof?

A smaller earthquake following the main shock of a large earthquake

What is the relationship between subsequent earthquakes and the first earthquake? Foreshock?

If an aftershock is bigger than the “main shock”, it is no longer considered an aftershock. It is then the “main shock” and everything before it becomes a “foreshock”.

What are some secondary risks of earthquakes?

shaking/breaking/structural damage, liquefaction, landslides, fire, tsunami, disease, katrina- esque and flood

How we measure Earthquake Intensity

-Earthquake Magnitude (Richter Scale)

- Distance from hypocenter/focus (they are synonymous)

- Duration of shaking

- Type of rock or sediment

- Structural material

What is the relationship of main shock to fore and after shocks

-aftershocks decrease exponentially as time goes on

- foreshocks signal larger earthquake to come

What does a 100 year flood mean?

It suggests how frequently an area will flood. So it’s calculated by level of flood water expected at least once in a one hundred year period.

What are some flood types?

Flash floods and regional floods are the two key floods, but there’s also storm surges, winter ice, natural dam, and human caused flooding.

Why do floods happen?

When the rate of rainfall or snowmelt exceeds the rate of infiltration to the ground, the excess water, called runoff, moves across the ground surface toward the lowest section of the watershed -The type of land that is prone to flooding are broad and flat usually situated on the banks of a river or main waterway.

Rivers that flood are regarded in three different stages. They are:

1. Water comes off the mountains, eroding the beds and banks of the river as it flows.

2. This type river travels through broad valleys which slows the current of the river down. If the current is slow it will transport less material down the river.

3. Flood-plain stage. Little if not any erosion takes place most of the material tha tis carried in the current is suspended and deposited to the form a flood plain.

What is the floodplain?

An area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject to flooding.

What is a levee?

An embankment built to prevent the overflow of a river.

What is the “scale effect” of stream channel networks?

The scale effect means rain that falls in a certain area will fall in a certain stream until it merges into bigger and bigger streams until it ends up in a river. (2/3 of which is drained by the Mississippi River)

What happened during Lake Nyos?

There was volcanic activity below the lake. Carbon was released into the water. Because of weight above, it was kept in solution below. Lake turned over, and all that carbon dioxide came to surface and was released as gas. It is heavier than carbon dioxide by nature, and thus was kept low, suffocating a large amount of people.

How a regional flood works

- The faster the water flows, the more debris it carries

- When the water slows down, it deposits sediment

- Sediment is layered on bottom and levee wall, so river rises above flood plain

- when levee breaks, there is flooding

Urban Heat Island

urban areas are often hotter than rural areas

Why?

-Lack of vegetations means little evapotranspiration

-Low albedo, which means that the energy is soaked up by its surroundings (concrete, streets, etc)

-High human activity creates more heat

-Mini green house, the pollution traps the heat

What problems (diseases and health issues) arise with increased heat?

-exacerbate inequities between rich and poor

-more elderly people will die because of heat waves

-disease will increase in range and death tole

-reduce water and food security

-increase in extreme climate events

What pollution aspect changes with heat?

Smog (probability of smog increases by 3% with every degree F temperature increase)

Why is there so much earthquake research in Southern California?

- There is tectonic diversity

- there is a complex fault network

- there is seismic activity

- there is excellent geologic exposure

- there are rich data sources

- outstanding scientific community

What is the risk equation?

Risk= Probable Loss (lives and dollars)= hazard x exposure x fragility

What is the difference between a P and S wave?

P waves (primary waves) are longitudinal or compressional waves. S waves (secondary waves) are transverse or shear waves, which means that the ground is displaced perpendicularly

What is the difference between Oceanic crust and continental crust?

Oceanic crust is balsaltic and located under the ocean. Continental crust is grantic and makes up sea shelves. Continental crust is lighter than oceanic crust.

What happen when oceanic and continental crust meet?

-The oceanic crust goes under the continental crust and volcanic and melts into molten rock. There are massive earthquakes and volcanoes. This is called a convergent boundary

- oceanic plate is thrust underneath due to buoyancy of continental plate - volcanoes rise up on upper plate side

What is the evidence of plate tectonics?

Magnetism patterns on sea floors, Earthquake epicenters mark plate boundaries, Deep earthquakes and hot spots, Systematic increases in seafloor depth and age and Pangaea super continent (it all fits together)

What are the characteristics of a Spreading Center in Plate Tectonics

- Smaller Earthquakes

- Pull Apart Motion

- Oceanic Ridges

- Rift Valleys

What are the characteristics of a Subduction Zone

- Big Earthquakes

- Volcanic Activity

- One plate goes under the other

- Colliding motions

- Mountain ranges

is where one plate bumps into another, causing one to buckle upwards (subduction zone). These have the potential to cause the most disastrous earthquakes as rock is being melted under increased pressure.

ex. Himalayas

known as the seafloor spreading (and most commonly the Mid-Atlantic ridge), is where two plates move apart. These tend to be the weakest earthquakes because the separation creates a weakness along the surface, and most often volcanic activity is no longer possible. 

two plates moving side by side. If it builds up, it could cause a large rupture. These would be better off if they could continually release pressure.

ex. San Andreas Fault line

What is the difference between Tsunami’s and Wind waves?

Tsunami’s are often to taller than wind waves, but they are much more dangerous. Wind waves come and go without flooding. Tsunami’s run quickly over the land as a wall of water.

Characteristics of Wind Waves:

- flow in a circular pattern

- come and go without flooding higher areas

Characteristics of Tsunamis:

- flow in a straight pattern

- run quickly over land as a wall of water

How are tsunamis generated?

Earthquakes, landslides, meteorites, and volcanic explosions/caldera collapse

What is the difference between Tsunamis and hurricanes?

Similar to earthquakes and tornadoes, hurricanes can be categorized according to intensity, which depends on wind speed. Tsunamis are difficult to categorize, because their impact depends on many factors.

And tons of other factors?

Damage and destruction from tsunamis is the direct result what factors?

Inundation, Wave impact on structures and Erosion.

What is the definition of tsunami damage?

Loss or harm caused by a destructive tsunami. The damage caused by tsunamis can be deaths and injuries, housed destroyed, inundated or flooded, and other property damage or loss.

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How do we deal with tsunamis?

monitoring (warning centers), preparedness, modeling (field surveying), and education

How do we know if a Tsunami has occurred in the past?

Paleotsunami research is based primarily on the identification,mapping and dating of tsunami deposits found locally or regionally on coastal areas and their correlation with similar sediments found elsewhere

What are the types of damage caused by tsunami?

- Deaths/Injuries

- Houses Destroyed, or flooded

- Other property damages

- boats washed away

- damage to oil tanks and gas stations

- environmental pollution

- outbreak of disease of epidemic proportions

What are all the different types of risks in volcanoes?

Ash fall, lahars, land slides, lava flows, super-heated gas cloud

How is a volcanic hotspot formed?

A rising mantle plume

There are fundamental weaknesses in the earth. As plates move, they line up with narrow stream of lava coming up from earth's core

What is the best strategy to manage the fire hazard?

Management strategies in developed areas: creation of firebreaks, use of fire-resistant building materials and landscaping materials, construction of fire shelters and escape routes and provision of adequate supplies for firefighters.

What are the Santa Ana winds?

Santa Ana winds are dry, sometimes hot winds in Southern California that blow westward through canyons towards coastal regions. They typically occur from October through March, tending to peak in December, but often spread wildfires in the fall across areas that have gone for months without rain.

What is the fire triangle?

Fuel, oxygen, and heat. Must have all three components or fire can’t exist.

Why can we map fire risk?

- We know what fuels fire (vegetation, debris, materials that burn)

- we know past fire history

- we know where people live

- we know when/where it gets hot

- we know wind patterns

- we know topography

What are factors of the spread of wildfires?

Fuel (the type and distribution of plants or other material burned), weather (especially the strength of winds), topography (configuration of the land; steep slopes often lead to rapid uphill fire growth), and behavior within the fire itself

What are some sources of ignition?

Debris burning, miscellaneous, lightning strikes, campfire/recreation, children, smokers, etc

types of wildfire:

Ground fire (just grass/brush burns)

combustion front (everything burns)

canopy/crown fire (just the tops of the trees were burned and nothing else).