Module III

How do stories of cataclysmic events help inform students about geosciences and cultures?

Exterme tsunami damage occurred in Seward

Explain:

What defines a cataclysmic event? Is it the number of lives lost? Is it the amount of money needed to reinstate the community to its original state? Or is it a natural event that causes damage on a massive scale? Webster’s Dictionary simply defines it as “a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition; broadly: an event that brings great changes”. Although this definition seems simple, the magnitude of “great changes” really had no context for me until I watched the TD videos and researched some of the different cataclysmic events in Alaska. Here in Alaska we have many examples of cataclysmic events such as the 1964 Earthquake, the 1958 Lituya Bay Tsunami, and the (Katmai National Park) eruption.

Although I spent most of my adolescent life in Southeast Alaska I had never heard much about cataclysmic events in our region - with the exception of the 1964 Anchorage earthquake. As I worked through this module I was oddly enlightened and saddened by the impacts that some of the cataclysmic events that have occurred in Alaska have had on the people, land and cultures surrounding these areas. In particular, the 1964 Earthquake was an event that I did not know much about but was awed by the devastating and on-going effects on not only Anchorage, but the destruction that the resulting tsunamis had on the surrounding coastal communities. I was amazed to learn that the effects of the earthquake were felt in communities such as Kodiak, Seward and Whittier. These communities were overwhelmed by a fast-moving surge of water – or, a tsunami. The implication of such a large-scale earthquake near coastal communities was not understood until this event took place.





An even more impressive find was the cataclysmic event in Lituya Bay. This can only be described as something from an end-of-the-world blockbuster film: A tsunami with a wave 500 meters high. This event is best described by survivors in the BBC Nature Video, Mega Tsunami - Alaskan Super Wave - Amazing Survival.



Through this simulation we can get an idea of how this event took place.

One of the last events I want to discuss is that of the Novarupta eruption that occurred on the Alaska Peninsula. The power of the eruption was heard all the way in Juneau and the negative implications of the ash fall impacted communities such as Kodiak and its surrounding villages. The weight of the ash destroyed many structures as it fell a foot thick. Any living things caught in its path was likely blinded and died from starvation, dehydration, or suffocation. The people of Kodiak were forced to take shelter inside because of the high concentration of ash in the air.

Diagram of Amount of Ash from Novarupta

Extend:

As a new teacher I am always looking for ways to introduce Earth Science topics and the use of cataclysmic events as “lead-ins” to geosciences lessons. These events will grab the students’ attention and provide some context to some geosciences topics. By understanding geosciences at a regional or local level (accessing individual schema and prior knowledge) students will have an appreciation for cataclysmic events that occur in other regions of the world by using comparison. I was astounded at how students could not grasp the magnitude of what happened in regard to the most recent cataclysmic event with the earthquakes in Haiti. With a better understanding of how these geosciences affect the people, landscape and cultures at a local level we can understand the extent of the effects in other parts of the world.