Joc's Weekly Blogs

RIP CURRENTS IN SPAIN Under specific conditions along a seacoast or lakeshore, powerful currents form that carry large amounts of water away from the shore: rip currents. Rip currents develop when a series of large waves piles up water between the longshore bar and the swash zone.  On average, around 500 people die each year in Spanish coastal waters alone, in many cases, they succumb to deadly rip currents. Antonio de la Cruz, a geologist who helped prepare a report by the Camilo José Cela University, blames powerful rip currents. “These are not the typical currents found between the waves, instead, they are like rivers that pull swimmers out to sea,” he says. These types of currents are produced by gusts of wind that whip up the waves. The problem, particularly on beaches in Valencia, is that a huge amount of water reaches the shoreline, but the lack of depth means there isn’t enough space, and it is pushed out powerfully to sea. Spain waters have lot of rip currents and t...

Since we are allowed to do this week's blog on any country, I chose  VENEZUELA! According to a study by NASA, Venezuela has been revealed as the lightning capital of the world, with storms lighting up the skies almost 300 nights each year. Venezuela experiences what they call Catatumbo lightning frequently. This refers to continuous/high frequency lightning from a near-daily thunderstorm complex that forms in the Catatumbo River in northern part of Venezuela. These storms occur in the same place night after night.Scientists believe the storm, which occurs approximately 3 miles above the surface of the water, is caused by a perfect storm of cold and warm air currents that occurs exactly where the lightning forms. The heat and moisture collected across the plains create electrical charges and as the air masses are destabilized by the mountain ridges, it results in thunderstorm activity. Many scientists have proposed that this disruption was caused b...

Mass wasting, better known as landslides, are not so popular in the country of Malta. A landslide hazard analysis suggested future mud-flows constitute a small hazard, the risk of harm arising from them is even smaller. Therefore, there are not something to deeply worry about in this country although they can occur.  The different mechanical behavior of the Blue Clayand the Upper Coral-line Limestone formations favor the development of a series of landslides of different type and size which widely affect the north-western coastline of Malta. Landslides usually happen by coastal erosion, which induces hazardous situations that urge to be investigated in order to prevent risk for population, buildings and infrastructures.  Sources: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269764240_Landslides_Along_the_North-West_Coast_of_the_Island_of_Malta https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479702905773

Malta does not have any volcanoes in the area but there is one that is only 200 km away! It is Mount Etna which is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.  Mount Etna erupts on average once a year.  There are two types of eruptions that Mount Etna experiences: explosive eruptions from its summit craters and flank vent explosions. The most common of these are from the three summit craters: the northeast, the central and the southeast, however when the flank vents erupt, it is highly likely that it will cause an explosion from the summit craters. On March 8th, 1669, Mount Etna began to rumble, producing gas from the top of the towering landmark. M olten lava began to spill out of Mount Etna, being pushed out with such force that ash was reportedly seen over 100 miles away. On the south side of the mountain, the lava began to head towards the city of Catania. It was Mount Edna's biggest eruption that killed 17,000 residents and their homes.  To make sure ...

The small island, Malta, is said to be prone to mostly tsunamis and earthquakes as of natural hazards. Seismic waves have a strong motion that happens underground causing disasters in all directions. Luckily, seismic risk in Malta is considered to be low with its little historic damage.   This image above shares much about Malta along with its main faults. Malta has recently been having many droughts and is becoming a very frequent hazard. The last big earthquake to happen in Malta was in 1923 that caused some damage.

Malta is a country that is located right in between the Eurasian and African plate as showed in the picture below. It is said to rest on an underwater plateau which is a part of the African plate. It is important to know that plate tectonics are known to cause massive natural hazards on earth. Malta is in a location that is considered a convergent plate boundary, where plated move towards one another. When this occurs, it causes a process known as subduction. The collision of tectonic plates can result in earthquakes, volcanoes, the formation of mountains, etc.  https://www.thoughtco.com/convergent-plate-boundaries-3866818