Dr Salmon explained about the array
and what it was designed to do. We saw a photo of one of the shafts that the
equipment is placed in.
Dr Salmon explained about where
earthquakes occur and tectonic plates. She showed us where they
occur, and the frequency that they occur. The pattern of the quakes shows where
the boundaries of the plates are, and students were able to explain the
different types when quizzed.
Dr Salmon also explained how the
Richter scale works and how the magnitudes of the earthquakes is measured.
With questions from students, she
also talked about the scientific data that came from the 1988 earthquake that
rocked Tennant Creek as well as the recent one this year. The students found it
all fascinating. They asked many questions and were impressed with the answers.
Dr Salmon showed the class the
seismic wave charts from both earthquakes as well, and the students could see
the patterns that were registered. She explained and showed us examples of P,
S, Love and Raleigh waves, and how they move through the earth. At
this point the class were asked to stand, and on the count of three, we were
all asked to jump. We set off the seismograph, and could see on the screen how
the machine showed our impact, our own mini quake. We did this a couple times
more to see if we could beat our previous one.
Finally we talked about movies and
how they aren’t always scientifically accurate, but some do have good science
information in them. We also talked about types of buildings that are safer to
build, and structural tricks to keep buildings safer as well as safety
procedures should we find ourselves in a severe earthquake.
Dr Salmon showed us what happened in
some famous earthquakes from around the world and even some in Australia and
New Zealand.
Guest Blogger: KSQ
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