Biological Effects of Natural Explosions

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Solar Explosion: What do you observe?

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Biological Effects of Natural Explosions on the Environment

As you watch this power-point answer the questions on the worksheet in your science notebook labeled:

Biological Effects of Natural Explosions on the environment Station 1

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The Biological Effects of Natural Explosions

In this power-point the following types of explosions will be discussed that cause effects on Biological Organism

• Explosion to create the Earth• Supernovas• Solar Explosions• Deep Space Gamma Rays• K/T Explosion (meteorites)• Volcanoes• Forest Fires

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How did our Universe Begin?Throughout time we have asked

ourselves these questions:

How did our universe begin? How old is our universe? How did matter come to exist?

Obviously, these are not simple questions and throughout our brief history on this planet much time and effort has been spent looking for some clue. Yet, after all this energy has been expended, much of what we know is still only speculation

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Big Bang Explosion Theory and the Creation of the Universe

• About 15 billion years ago a tremendous explosion started the expansion of the universe. This explosion is known as the Big Bang. At the point of this event all of the matter and energy of space was contained at one point. What existed prior to this event is completely unknown and is a matter of pure speculation.

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Explosion that Created the UniverseBig Bang Theory

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Largest Explosion created in HistoryFeb 18 2005

Cosmic Explosion Among the Brightest in Recorded History02.18.05 • Scientists have detected a flash of light

from across the Galaxy so powerful that it bounced off the Moon and lit up the Earth's upper atmosphere. The flash was brighter than anything ever detected from beyond our Solar System and lasted over a tenth of a second. NASA and European satellites and many radio telescopes detected the flash and its aftermath on December 27, 2004. Two science teams report about this event at a special press event today at NASA headquarters. A multitude of papers are planned for publication

Largest Cosmic Explosion in History

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HyperNova: Gamma Ray Bursts

• These are incredible explosions from deep space, though their exact nature is still in some dispute. They shine briefly with the intensity of a million trillion suns and are almost surely caused by the collapsing of massive stars.

• The theory holds as the Hypernova collapses a beam of energy shoots out along the axis of the star's rotation & if that beam is aimed at Earth a Gamma ray burst can be recorded.

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Nanoparticles are extremely small particles that make up matter. Gamma Rays are nanoparticles that are emitted from Hyper and super

novas that are found in Gamma Rays?

GammaRays• Gamma rays are high-

energy waves, similar to light, but have much higher energy, and can travel very long distances. However, matter such as concrete, lead or metal, or even water can stop them in their tracks, but human bodies can not.

Gamma Rays can be stopped by water

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Hypernova

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Biological Effects of Hyper-Novas emitting Gamma Rays

• Biological Effects of Gamma-Ray Bursts:

1. We find that the first three effects of gamma rays have the potential to cause global environmental changes and biospheric damages.

• Cornell University Libraryhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0512013

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Biological Effects of Super novas

• Large explosions occur in the universe called Supernova, these result from stars exploding

• There are not known effects of Super novas on the biology of the Earth. In the future there may be effects that are found because Super novas do add elements to space and this may eventually effect in some way life on Earth.

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SuperNova’s

Explosions on the SunWhat is a Solar Flare?

• What is a Solar Flare?

• A flare is defined as a sudden, rapid, and intense variation in brightness.

• A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released.

• Radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves at the long wavelength end, through optical emission to x-rays and gamma rays at the short wavelength end.

• The amount of energy released from a solar flare is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time!

• http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/sftheory/flare.htm

Solar Explosions

Biological Effects of Solar Explosions

• There are health issues for ailine pilots and astronauts.

• For those of us that spend most of our time on the ground, the magnetic field and the atmosphere block out almost all of the harmful radiation and charged particles.

• http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=308 October 2002, Amelie Saintonge (more by Amelie Saintonge)

Meteorite Collisions in space

Meteroites are large masses of matter that travel through space

What Killed the Dinosaurs?

What Is a Mass Extinction?

• An episode in evolutionary history where more than 50% of all known species living at that time went extinct in a short period of time (less than 2 million years or so).

K/T Extinction Boundary• 65 million years ago, earth

experienced a global mass extinction event: dinosaurs disappeared

• This extinction created a fossil boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary (abbreviated K and T) geological periods.

• The earth time period that created this earth layer is called the KT boundary

The cause of the K-T extinctions is one of the great mysteries in science, and scientists have proposed many kinds of theories to account for it. They range from asteroid or comet impacts, volcanism, sea level changes, supernova explosions, and on and on.

What really killed the dinosaurs?

Volcanic Explosions• A Volcano develops when magma rises near the Earths surface &

occupies an underground chamber. Magma in the chamber is forced upwards and flows out from a vent as lava. Explosive volcanic eruptions occur when the rising magma accumulates large amounts of dissolved gas. The reduction of pressure as the magma rises causes the gas to bubble out of the solution, this results in a rapid increase in volume. People imagine volcanoes blasting huge plumes of smoke and fire but in reality the smoke consists of vast volumes of fine dust, mingled with steam and sulphurous vapors. What appear to be flames is in fact the glare from the erupting materials glowing due to their high temperature. This glare reflects off the clouds of dust and steam resembling fire.

Biological Effects of Volcanic Explosions

• The sudden violence of volcanic eruptions causes catastrophe and devastation. Various notorious eruptions of volcanoes in the past, such as Mount Pelée, Tambora, Krakatau and Pinatubo have demonstrated the devastating impact of volcanic activity on nearby landscapes and communities. Many people got killed. A big number of people had to abandon their homes and land forever. Even the whole world's climate was changed for a while as a result of an eruption!

• These effects of volcanic eruptions are mostly the result of certain hazards. Volcanoes provide different hazards during an eruption. Each hazard poses different risks affecting different areas. The most threatening hazards include:

• Pyroclastic Flows • Nuées Ardentes • Volcanic Ashes • Lahars • Debris Avalanches, Landslides, Tsunamis • Blast • Lava • Types of Lava Flows • Gas

• http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/volcanoes/effects.php

• Volcanoes are renowned as one of nature’s most beautiful creations. But, they are more notable for the devastating hazards they have caused to civilizations—wiping out towns and even affecting global climates.

Read more: http://scienceray.com/earth-sciences/geology/the-5-most-powerful-volcanic-eruptions-in-modern-times/#ixzz1ST7uVZ4G

Mt St Helens

• After a volcanic explosion, the environment around the explosion is wiped out by fire, lava flows, and ash. The regrowth of life on the barren terrain that is created by the explosion is called Succession

Ecological Succession at a Volcanic sitePioneer Species

Pioneer Species:Pioneer species are the

first species to grow back after a volcanic eruption, this can be composed of algae, lichen and very small.

Next Stage of Succession

Next stage: smaller plants grow

3rd Stage

3rd Stage: A little larger plants are

growing

Climax Community

Climax Community:• A climax community is a

stable community of a diverse number of species. The repetitive replacements of several community's eventually leads to a establishment known as a climax community.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_climax_community#ixzz1TEEvfaiD

Reminder of Product that needs to be addressed

1. Write 3 effects of the following natural explosions and answer the worksheet

a. Big Bang that created the universeb. Hypernova’s c. Supernovasd. Meteoritese. Solar Explosionsf. Volcanoes