Nepal Earthquake

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32460972


A powerful earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale has struck Nepal in an area between the capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara.  Sadly, loss of life and damage to the built environment is severe.

Tornado in the UK

For those of you in year 9 and for anyone else who is interested here is proof that we do get tornadoes in the UK.

Click this link to the BBC.

Cyclone Movies by Year 9

The Year 9 work on hurricanes gives plenty of scope for independent study and extended work. Presentations such as this by Daniel Turner Gallastegui inform and entertain the whole group. See what you think.

Link to the Project

A rocking start to the Easter week

Over 50 people have been killed by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in central Italy.

For more details click this link.

For more factual details click on the US Geological Survey site

Explain this?

An earthquake has shaken a coastal town in Kent - in nearly the same spot as a tremor two years ago. The British Geological Survey (BGS) said it recorded the earthquake at 1435 GMT in Folkestone.

So Year 9 why did an Earthquake occur here despite the fact that we are not near any plate boundary?

You may get your answer if you follow these links: BBC or The British Geological Society

Structure of the Earth

Welcome back after the holiday.

Tonights homework is easy to research but you can get carried away with the amount of information - so to make it easier follow these steps:

• You need a digram showing you the cross-section of the earth (a bit like this one but more detailed).

• Tell me in no more than five lines (for each) about the four layers: Crust, Mantle, Outer Core and Inner Core.

I could put a link on but that would be far too easy!

Hot Stuff

Okay year 9 here is your mission:

Produce a project (booklet, power point presentation, video clip or slide show) that informs people about the adaptions animals have made to survive in the Hot Deserts.

You must choose one mammal, one amphibian/reptile and one insect/spider.

Your project must include:

• A photograph of your animal
• An explanation of how they survive the heat
• An explanation of how they get water
• An outline of what they eat to survive.

A starting point for this work would be the Desert USA site

Shakeout Day

On the 13th November over 5 million people in California will take part in the largest earthquake drill ever held.

Click this video link to show you the scenerio:



For more details follow this link to The Great Southern California Shakeout site.

How do you think you would cope in a 7.8 Earthquake? Why not have a go at the Beat the Earthquake Game.

Quake hits southern Pakistan

At least 135 people have been killed after an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude hit Balochistan province in south-western Pakistan, officials say.
Officials in Balochistan say they expect the toll to rise.
The tremor struck 70km (45 miles) north of Quetta at 0409 (2309GMT Tuesday) at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles), the US Geological Survey said.
Many houses collapsed during the quake and some were destroyed in landslides that followed it, officials said.

Britain goes deep.

Scientists are set to explore the world's deepest undersea volcanoes, which lie 6km down in the Caribbean.
Delving into uncharted waters to hunt for volcanic vents will be Autosub6000, Britain's new autonomously controlled, robot submarine.
Once found, the life, gas and sediment around the vents - the world's hottest - will be sampled and catalogued.
The research will be carried out by a British team aboard the UK's latest research ship, the James Cook.

For more information link to the National Oceanography Centre in Southhampton.

Big chunk of ice!

A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say.

Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.

It is thought to be the biggest piece of ice shed in the region since 60 sq km of the nearby Ayles Ice Shelf broke away in 2005.

Scientists say further splitting could occur during the Arctic summer melt.

No Ice in the North Pole?!

For those of you who read the Independent this story will not come as a shock, but for those of you who don't - click the link and read more.

The Independent Newspaper online