Different energies Part 1

   Nuclear energy is using uranium to generate energy.
Pros 
-lower CO2 released in the atmosphere in power generation
- lower operating costs
-developed technology ready for market
-large power generating capacity able to meet industrial and city needs unlike low power technology like solar that might only meet the needs of local, residential or office needs but can not generate power for heavy manufacturing.
-existing and future waste can be reduced through waste recycling and re processing like Japan and the EU.

CONS
-high construction costs due to complex radiation containment systems and procedures
-high subsidies needed for construction and operation as well as loan guarantees
-subsidies and investments could be spent on other solution such as renewable energy systems
-high unknown risks in an accident
-unknown risks
-long construction time
-waivers are required to limit liability of companies in the event of an accident this means either no one will be responsible for any of the damage or the government will just cover the cost of the damages
-uranium sources are just as finite as other fuel sources such as coal, natural gas etc and are expensive to mine, refine and transport with a lot of environmental waste including green house gases
- waste last 200-500 thousand years


  Wind Power, the wind turns the propellers to create electricity
Pros
- Clean energy, no fuel to drill, mine transport or burn
-renewable and sustainable
-costs are relatively low and continue to decrease 
- Abundant domestic supply
- the power is basically free once the infrastructure is paid for
-low life cycle carbon footprint 
-can be used almost everywhere

CONS
- wind is inconsistent, unsteady and very unpredictable
-wind power is not cheap and like many energy sources, rely on the government subsidies to remain competitive
-wind farms are generally located in rural areas and some people complain that the wind generators are an eyesore
-people complain about the noise of the turbines
- birds and bats have had fatalities



   Tidal energy works like an under water wind turbine
PROS
-renewable, requires no fuel
-emission free
-reliable, a plant can last 100 years
-high efficiency
-predictable output
- could provide a storm surge barrier 
-environmental impact local not global

CONS
-expensive to build
-very location specific only 20 sites identified with high potential
- non continuous, storage or grid backup required
-barrages may restrict access to open water
- can change tidal level of local area
- impact on fish, marine mammals and birds
- disrupts regular tidal cycles- decreases salinity in tidal basins


  

  Waikiki Beach Erosion

     The Waikiki is a man made beach and is quickly eroding away. Because this beach was not natural it does not go naturally with where it is. The rising waters are continuously eroding away the sand that is always replaced there.

   There have been many attempts to keep Waikiki beach but so far none have been efficient. Waikiki beach has had erosion problems since the late 1800s when buildings were built way to close the the shore, by 1950 more then 80 structures including seawalls, groins, piers and storm drains were counted. 10 sand replacement projects since 1939. 300,000 cubic yards of sand has been placed into Waikiki beach over the passed 77 years. In the present  there have been many projects to keep the beach stable like the recovery of up to 24,000 cubic yards of sand from deposits located 1,500 to 3,000 feet off shore of the project are in a water depth of about 10 to 20 feet. Also pumping sand to an on shore dewatering site within the eastern Kuhio beach crib walls and the transport of sand bags along the shore in the project area.

   The Waikiki beach is a very popular beach for tourists and if it were to go not maintained then that would be a 2 billion dollar loss in overall tourists money and a 150 million dollar loss in tax revenue and a job loss of 6,350 people. The beach is an economic necessity but there are some dangers. Erosion caused a cement slap to be exposed that is uneven with sharp edges with pieces of rusting re-bar which could be very dangerous to the people on the beach. There has been a 100 ft plastic chain to highlight the problem to keep people away but the chain is dangerous to surfers because they surf and they can not stop mid wave and sometimes crash into it. 

Desertification in Botswana

      Desertification is a certain type of land degeneration were dry land slowly becomes more arid and usually lose its bodies of water, vegetation and wild life. It is caused by climate change and human activities like pumping water and the overuse of soil.


    Botswana is a semi arid to arid country in the Kalahari region in South Africa. Botswana is drought prone and it is difficult to have a good idea of how the country looks like because there are only fifty data points. At one point it is dry and arid while the other will be in a thick forest. Botswana gets around a minimum of 250 mm of rain in the south west and a maximum of 650 mm of rain in the north east. Desertification is naturally very common in these countries like Botswana because of the already dry climate and climate change with accelerated soil erosion by wind is increasing its rate.


     Botswana, in terms of desertification is the most seriously effected countries in the Kalahari region of southern Africa. There are many human factors to deforestation. these include overstocking, sheet-washing and gullying and large scale vegetation depletion and changes. There is lots of pressure of commercial exploitation of a very fragile ecosystem owing to the increasing pressure on already crowded communal grazing areas in the east. Cattle plays an important role in the economy. 77% of the country is used for grazing and there is still not enough food for the cattle so the government imports cattle food. Since drought is very common and since the rain patterns are very predictable Botswana started to depend on ground water because of the increasing technology. Now 75% of the people and animals are dependent on ground water up to 100,000 million cubic meters of water with only 1% rechargeable by rain fall.



   There are quite a few challenges to stopping the spread of desertification.
- lack of community knowledge
- lack of space for infrastructure and people
- the need to increase agricultural land in the expense of forests
- climate change and frequent droughts
But there are some steps that people in Botswana are taking to help stop desertification 
-nurseries 20 producing 5 hectares of baby trees.
- 52 5 hectare woodlots and plantations
- sand dune stabilization
- reclaiming gullies and Dongas

     

Flooding in Queensland Australia

          On January 13th 2011 a major flood destroyed Queensland. The flood was caused by La Nina which is when an area gets an unusually large amount of rain. In Brisbane, the capital city, the water levels reached the highest at 4.46 meters when it started to recede. With houses being built trees are being uprooted so when high levels of water come flooding in there are no tree roots to stop erosion and to absorb water and with so much cement the water can not go under ground so it floods.

  Social impacts
        With a state the size of Germany and France combined completely flooded it was extremely difficult for first responders to give medical help to injured people. Across the state the flood related health challenges was trying to get access to clean drinking water, medicine and safe food. In Queensland wounds risked becoming infected and chronic illnesses escalated. But instead of physical trauma, the most coming symptom bringing people was stress related chest pain. Rockhampton suffered an out break of food poisoning due to food and water contamination, with sub tropical climate and power shortages speeding up the process of food rotting. For 24 hours people in Toowoomba had to boil there water to drink because of contamination. When the water reacted a certain level Queensland towns shut down utilities such as power, water and sewage services. The when people used different power sources like lanterns, generates and gas ranges inside homes they had the risk of dying from monoxide poisoning. So people who return to their homes they found them filled with toxic water, sewage, animal and human feces and petroleum products. Within 48 hours mold started to grow on carpets and on walls. Dampness indoors can last for weeks. The spores irritate allergies and asthma attacks especially in children. The mold also contaminated food. Many people also suffered from depression and anxiety from the disaster and the fear of losing someone close to them. 


  Economy impacts
       It is estimated that the cost of the flood is 6-9 billion dollars mostly because of the destruction of Queensland and also because of the sharp decline in tourism even when main attractions like the great Barrier Reef were undamaged. Queensland economy will suffer a lot because there tourism is a very big industry and tourism operators in Queensland say it will be at least a year before things get back to normal. The floods have closed roads and disrupted agriculture, coal and transport industries. The biggest short term impact in the terms of dollars is the disruption to coal exports and figures put that at 400 million dollars a week. Australia is the worlds largest coal exporter and the state of Queensland is the main export. Because of the economic damage and the disruption of agriculture food was to be expected to rise as much as 50%.

  Environmental impacts
        75% of Queensland had been declared a disaster zone. rivers flooded and when the levels went back down fish were stranded and then rotted in the sun and the floods swept away trees and dirt. When the houses and buildings were destroyed debris were washed everywhere littering the state. Because of the shut down of power and sewage the flood waters were filled with human and animal feces and chemicals contaminating the water and the soil. When the coal mines were flooded the government approve to pump out water from 44 different coal mines ignoring most environmental laws. The water that was pumped out in to rivers was highly contaminated with chemical and other deadly poisons. This destroyed many plants and animals and people were very upset when they learned what their government did. It will be a very long time if not never that the environment will recover from this disaster.

   Government Prevention

    Queensland is on a flood plain so it is impossible to prevent flooding but the council has developed a Brisbane's flood smart future strategy. The buildings in the future will be built with higher levels off the ground and to build in back flow devices to help curb the severity of future floods.

Pros and Cons of three types of water irrigation

Drip irrigation uses a system of tubes looped around each plant at soil level so that water can seep into the ground for instant moisture and can be controlled manually or timed with a timer.
Pros
-concentrating the irrigation to specific plants prevent weeds from growing nearby.
-retaining the moisture at the soil level also reduces water loss to wind and evaporation.
-the tubes supply an even amount of water to each plant.
-maintains a healthy soil environment with no muddy or drought areas.
- less runoff to local drains so soil keeps nutrients and reduces ground water pollution.
Cons
- bad installation often leads to poor root development and die back.
- very expensive
- the system needs periodic flushing to remove mineral build up and the farmers will have to check every single emitter for any blockage so water pressure does not build up within the tubing and damage the entire system.




Irrigation sprinkler system functions by dispensing water to the air to fall like natural rain.
Pros
- is ideal for most crops and so more adaptable to many irrigable soils.
- very efficient 
Cons
- can be impacted by wind
- some crops are affected by leaf scorch, fungal disease along with other damage which may be caused by salt being deposited on the leaves.
- costs a lot of money and requires lots of maintenance.


Surface irrigation
Pros
- less affected by climate and water quality factors .
- large areas can be irrigated
-floods can be controlled
Cons
- less efficient than other systems 
- difficult to engineer and very labor demanding
-drainage can also be a problem in some circumstances
-amount of available water varies from year to year.
-sediments in the irrigation water if not taken care of can lead to problems with crops and soil.


      farmers should use drip irrigation systems. It would be very expensive but what system is not? Also you would have to check every emitter to see if there is a blockage but it uses much less water. The water in the other system uses to much water and becomes polluted runoff or just makes weeds. Water is a very valuable resource and is starting to dry up so the country needs to think about that. 

Land Subsidence in the American South West

     Land subsidence is the lowering of the land surface elevation from changes that take place under ground. The increase in human activity underground have lead to land subsidence. Human activity is the cause because people are pumping water, oil and gas from under ground. Over drafting of aquifers is the major cause of land subsidence in the southern united states. As ground water pumping increases, so will the land subsidence. land subsidence is going to get worse in the next few years because the population is increasing and people us a lot more water then they need.

      When the underground water is pumped the rocks compact because the water is partly responsible for holding the ground up so when the water is taken away the rock falls in on itself. Land subsidence has a huge impact. Land subsidence leads to changes in elevation and slope of streams, canals and drains. It can also lead to damage to bridges, roads, railroads, storm drains, sanitary sewers and leeves. People homes and public buildings will be damaged. More then 80% of the identified subsidence in the nation has occurred because of exploitation of ground water.


Ways to prevent Land Subsidence
People should;
-take very short showers like 5-10 minute showers and no baths and only once a day.
- water flower pots but not grass and if you do water grass only for a small time and do not leave the hose running laying on the grass for a half hour.
-Put a brick or a milk jug filled with gravel in the back part of the toilet that holds water so your toilet does not flush as much water.
-when you need hot water from the tap, put a large container under the faucet while the water is running and you are waiting for it to go warm so the container catches the cold water and keep this water for when you are watering the flower pots.
-fix sinks so they do not leak.
- do not buy a massive pool for the yard unless you are going to actually use it.
-the mega hotels in Las Vegas should not use giant water fountains.
   

Zhouqu's landslide on August 8 2010

    On August 8, 2010 a giant mud slide hit the town of Zhouqu killing over 1700 people and 600 missing. There were many factors that led up to the land slide:

weather: the region had recently experienced heavy rains from the monsoon season. The heavy rain creates lots of mud.

Topography: This area in china borders the Himalayas and has many mountains which have thick forests and also has many rivers and valleys.

Forestry: the forests have been logged for trees as an industry for over fifty years, since the great leap forward in its communist history. The stripping of the mountains sides have exposed the underlying soils and sediments.

Rivers: The rivers have lots of dams and hydro electric plants to support china's growing need for electricity and energy.

Earthquakes: This region experiences frequent earthquakes with some that are very large and disastrous the most recent large earthquake was in 2008.

Dams:

  The mudslide left a thick layer of sludge around 5 km long and 500 meters wide on the center of town. Many bodies are believed to be buried in the mud but authorities banned their recovery on the following Sunday due to concerns over public health. 10,000 soldiers and rescuers arrived soon to go through the mountains of mud that buried several parts of the zhouqu county. Engineers also worked to blast the debris that has passed through the town to partially block the Bailong river, causing more flooding. Zhouqu gets earthquakes and landslides a lot but geological experts and residents blamed the sloppy construction of mud slide barriers, lack of good monitoring and warning systems and rapid urban development as causes and factors of the disaster. A 2003 study on Zhouqu by Gansu's Geo-environment monitoring center found that road building in the mountains had to an extent raised the chances of geological disaster. The government forested the area much faster then the forest could replenish and by the time the government realized the problem and started to plant trees to establish the soil, the vegetation was unable to take root on the steep, thinly soiled slopes.

The Rhine River

     The Rhine River was used since the roman times and was a very important navigable water way for carrying trade and goods deep inland. It also served as a defensive feature and the basis for regional and international borders. Castles along the river found the river very important because river traffic could be stopped for collecting tolls by the state controlling that portion of the river. The river supplied water to the surrounding soil so the land was very fertile and many farms were built on the river.
America's industrial heartland would be the Rust Belt. The Rust belt begins in south central new York and ends in north Illinois and ester Wisconsin. A while ago it was called the industrial heart of america. But industry has been declining in the region since the mid 20 the century due to many economic factors like the decline in coal and steel industries because of factors like industrialization and globalization.

     The Rhine River is the most polluted river in Europe. People have been dumping waste in it literally since the roman times. Factories that were later built on the river dumped chemicals into the river and that gases and smoke that the factories produced hurt the cultivation process and made the land less fertile. Researchers say the river is almost dead and a lot of the fish in the river has diseases and mutations and are unsafe to eat. 
     There are many ideas on how pollution could be stopped like making it illegal to dump into the river and maybe creating a volunteer team to clean up the area. But these would be difficult to implicate because the river has had so much damage to it it is almost unrecoverable because for so long people has been polluting it and most of the time they did not understand the damage they were doing because they just simply did not have knowledge of pollution and global warming.

AQUACULTURE

    Aquaculture; The rearing of aquatic animals or the cultivation of aquatic plants for food.

Pros and Cons for Aquaculture

Economic;Pros- Supplies almost half of the global demand for fish.
                        - Provides social-economic contribution to many coastal and rural communities where the fish farming takes place.
                        - Is a 78 billion dollar industry.
                 Cons- Pathogens can result in major fish disease outbreaks ( especially shrimp ) and consequently significant economic losses in producing countries.
                         - Jobs are really sensitive to the outbreaks and with fewer wild shrimp to harvest.
                        - It takes more fish to feed the farmed fish. It takes 26 pounds of "trash" fish to produce 1 pound blue fin tuna. The feed is made up of squid, blue mackerel and sand eel. 37%  of global seafood is ground up into feed for fish and poultry. This is called the "reverse protein effect" when the resources out weigh the product.


Social;-Pros- Provides a living for thousands of farmers whose crop value has dropped.
                  - Supplies a year round supply of protein.
                 - A living for fishermen who do not make enough from                       fishing.
Cons- People in the US have been encouraged to eat more fish for health but learned that the highly recommended farmed fish was found to be tainted with mercury and PCB's.
         - Pesticides and veterinary drugs have been used to treat pests and diseases that hurt fish.
         - Farmed fish are genetically modified and can cause health problems.




 Environmental Pros- Fish farming reduces fishing pressure on certain species and helps the life cycle of certain fish.
                              - Raises fish that have been depleted in the wide like Cod, Sea bass, and Red snapper.
                              - Lets endangered species in the wild rebound.
Cons- Crowded thousands of fish in their artificial environment, waste products like feces, uneaten food and dead fish are flushed often untreated into the surrounding waters add to the contamination.
          - The chemicals of the untreated waste affect the entire aquatic ecosystem. In many area, especially China, waters are already heavily polluted from sewage, industry and agricultural run off.
       - Farm fish sometimes escape into the wide and breed with the wide fish to produce unnatural hybrid species.
      
My Opinion on Fish Farming
   People believe that fish farming is a solution to catching wild fish but I believe it is creating more problems then before. It is true that wild fish could reproduce better but when the fishermen take the smaller "trash" fish and grind it up into feed they are taking away feed of the wild fish so they do not have enough food. Plus, people say that by fish farming we are feeding more people but it actually takes way more fish to feed the fish that are grown. This is the "reverse protein effect" because it takes a lot more resources to make the product so we are not feeding more people. People also believe that farmed fish are just as good for you as wild fish but farmed fish are genetically modified and are very unnatural and are dangerous to peoples health. Farming fish causes a lot of pollution from the chemicals from the waste, uneaten food and dead fish add to the pollution that harm the wild fish and wild ecosystems by poisoning them. In order to help the fish we should really cut back on how much we eat.

Vancouver Earthquake in the Future

   We know that Vancouver will have a large mega earthquake because researchers who have been able to use sediment samples taken off the coast of Vancouver island to reveal the pacific coasts seismic history. The region stretches from the north tip of Vancouver island to northern California has experienced 22 major earth quakes over the last 11000 years and is due for another. The span between major thrust earthquakes is 300 years. The last major earth quake was 313 years ago. Researchers extracted a sediment core from the sea floor of Effing ham inlet in Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver island, and used radio carbon dating to determine when mega thrust earthquakes occurred in what is known as the Cascadia subduction zone. The sediments preserved on the bottom of Effing ham inlet resemble rings of a tree each year a thin layer of sediment. These layers show what has happened in effing ham inlet year by year back all the way to the end of the last glaciations about 11 000 years ago. Japanese written records confirm a 8-9 magnitude earthquake along the north american coast at 9 pm January 26 1700.


      Metro Vancouver geological settings
  The metro Vancouver region of south western B.C lies at the fore front of the north american plate. on the western edge of the north american plate, The Juan de fuca plate is subducting beneath and slowly deforming the continent. The dynamic geological settings make the densely populated region susceptible to frequent seismic activity and increase the risk of dangerous mega thrust earthquakes. The metro Vancouver region is surrounded by the mountains and the pacific ocean making it very isolated and vulnerable in the event of a large earthquake.

 Liquefaction
      During an earthquake shaking can cause loosely packed water saturated sediments such as sand or silt turn into a fluid mass, this is known as liquefaction. When this happens the sediments loose their strength and can no longer fully support structures, which may lean, sink or settle. All new structures in Richmond are built on denser or improved ground and use foundation systems such as piles raft slabs that are specially designed to lower the risk of liquefaction. Richmond's soil is made of silt and sand. The energy caused by an earthquake could take longer to dissipate and the shaking more intense in these softer soils then it would be on firmer soil and bedrock. The good thing is that softer soils tend to absorb the damaging high frequency shaking better then areas located on rock. Richmond is an island. Richmond is connected to other communities through a network of bridges. Seismic upgrades to a number of older bridges have been under taken in recent years and continue to enhance their strength. This will help to alleviate transportation impacts in the event of an earthquake.

 Tsunami 
     Experts studying the second largest earthquake measured in Canadian history have zeroed in in on the pacific archipelago of Haida Gwaii as the likely source of a future large earthquake and tsunami. What this has done is raise the possibility of future thrust earthquakes and tsunamis along this part of the British Columbia margin. An earthquake off B.C's coast relived some of the regions tectonic strain, but new research shows the sifting also increased pressure immediately south of the islands along the Queen Charlotte fault. Vancouver island will be the most impacted by the tsunami because it will be the first land mass the tsunami will hit.


  Flooding and Landslides
    A earthquake scenario researchers have done is what would happen if the sea level were to rise by four meters. The inter web they used showed that Vancouver would survive just fine but the suburbs of Richmond, Delta and Lander would be completely submerged underwater. Stevenson, Richmond's touristy fishing village, would be completely wiped out and much of Delta and Lander's agriculture would be flooded. Surrey and Langley would also see flooding in certain areas. Metro Vancouver is at risk of a tsunami. Studies show that sea levels in Vancouver could rise by as much as one meter by 2100. Vancouver island is covered in mountains and seismic activity from the Juan De Fuca and explorer plates, over steep cliffs and high rain fall make Vancouver island susceptible to land slides. Land slides can block roads for days to weeks and could cut power and even kill people.



    Infrastructure 
       New research shows that Vancouver would rock harder and longer from an earthquake then any other areas given the shape and composition Vancouver is on. Studies show that seismic waves would intensify when they pass through the Georgia basin, the deposit of softer sedimentary rock that lies partly beneath metro Vancouver. These studies make the officials check the readiness of infrastructure in the region. The increase of intensity would make the ground shake three times harder then it would be in a different region. Damage to well designed buildings in the area would be inevitable in an earthquake of that intensity, while older structures like the brick buildings in Gas Town would be hit hard. Researchers say that the findings will help with seismologists determine where to place more instruments to record further earthquakes. These findings can also be used to upgrade codes for buildings, bridges and other infrastructure to make then more secure.

Preparation
       Metro Vancouver takes many steps to make sure that people are prepared. Children in school are taught to hid under heavy tables or desks or in hallways. People should also hide in corners of rooms and archways. There are courses that are offered to teach CPR and first aid. There is also earthquake insurance. Families are encouraged to practice earthquake evacuation and make or buy earthquake kits. The purpose of an earthquake kit and other preparations is to survive without help for at least 72 hours.

    Economics
      Some statistics say that Canada is not prepared for a possible 9 magnitude earthquake and would cost around 60 to 75 billion in damage. It will have a domino effect on the entire Canadian economy. It is estimated that 62 billion will be from direct damage and 12.7 billion in indirect impact caused by things like supply chain interuption and infrastructure damage.

Plate tectonics, Continental drift and Hot Spots

      The elastic rebound theory: Before the theory of continental drift there were many beliefs to why and how earthquakes occurred. Following the great San Francisco earthquake Henry Fielding Reid examined the displacement of the ground surface around San Andrea's fault. He concluded that the earthquake must have been the result of the elastic rebound of previously stored elastic strain energy in the rocks on ether side of the fault.

     On January 6 1912 Alfred Weger presented to the German geological society his hypotheses that all the continents were once together in a super continent called Pangaea. Pangaea came from the Greek word " all lands". He had a lot of evidence. Similar plant and animal fossils are found around the shores of different continents suggesting that they were once joined. The discovery of fossils of the land reptile Lystrosaurus in rocks of the same age at locations in Africa, India and Antarctica. Even living evidence of animals alive today and being found in two continents. Some earthworm families are found in South America and Africa. Wide spread distributions of permo-carboniferous glacial sediments in South America, Madagascar, Arabia, India, Antarctica, and Australia was one of the major pieces of evidence for the theory of continental drift. The puzzle-like arrangement of the facing sides of South America and Africa is clear. In millions of years of continental drift will further separate and rotate the two continents. It was this that got Weger to study what he defined as continental drift. The theory of continental drift was not accepted for many years. The first problem was that a driving force was missing. Also Weger was not a geologist but a meteorologist. One thing Weger was not able to figure out was what the nature of the forces moving the plates was.




       
      British geologist Arthur Holmes proposed in 1931 that the earths mantle contained convection cells that dissipated radio active heat and moved the crust at the surface. It is now known that there are two kinds of crust, continental crust and oceanic crust. Continental crust is inherently lighter and its composition is different from oceanic crust, but both kinds reside above a much deeper plastic mantle. Oceanic crust is created at spreading centers and this along with subduction drive the system of plates in a crazy manner resulting in continuous isostatic imbalance. In geological terms a plate is a large rigid slab of solid rock . The word 'tectonics' comes from the Greek word ' to build '.The theory of tectonics explains all this including the movements of the continents. The Himalayas, the worlds tallest mountain range, are assumed to have been formed by the collision of two major plates. Before uplift they were covered by the Tethys Ocean. New oceanic crust is formed when new magma rises and erupts along the spreading ridges to form new crust. In effect, the ocean basins are being 'recycled' with the creation of new crust and the destruction of old oceanic crust occurring simultaneously.  Therefore the new concepts neatly explain why the earth does not get bigger with sea floor spreading,    why there is so little sediment accumulation on the sea floor and why oceanic rocks are much younger then continental rocks.

Earthquakes, Volcanic activity, mountain building and oceanic trench formation occur along plate boundaries. Tectonic plates can create mountains, mid-oceanic ridges depending on which way the plates are moving:

plates moving together- earthquakes, mountains and volcanoes
plates moving apart- earthquakes and trenches
plates moving side to side- earthquakes



        A Geophysicist named J. Tuzo Wilson came up with an idea to explain why there was volcanic activity out in the middle of the pacific ocean, in the middle of the pacific plate. During this time scientists thought that volcanoes only happened at plate boundaries, but no one knew why there was volcanic activity in the middle of the pacific plate. Dr.Wilson said that there were hot spots under the earths crust. These are called hot spots because they are places where there is lots of heat concentrated in one area. The heat causes the rock to melt. Since magma is liquid and is lighter then the surrounding rock it floats to the surface and forces its way out to the surface. Once magma is through the surface it is called lava. After a long time the constant out pouring of lava can form a sea mound or island volcano if the hot spot is under the sea floor like the Hawaiian islands. The hot spot never moves but the plate does and as it moves over the hot spot new volcanoes form on the plate each time.
   If Dr Wilson theory was right it explained why a chain of sea mounds and volcanoes had formed as the plate moved. If this was true then the volcanoes should be different ages so Dr Wilson took rock samples from each Hawaiian island and tested to see how old they were. He found that the oldest rocks were in the more northern island and were the most weathered rocks. The youngest rocks were found in the biggest island of the chain Hawaii which is the most south of the islands. Even now there is a new volcano forming on the sea floor south of Hawaii called Loihi. It is just a sea mound but some day it will be a new island.