A presentation on the Four Spheres of the Earth and how the Earth systems interact. The Earth system pertains to how we utilize models to look at different sections of the planet in order to characterize what has occurred previously, what is occurring now, and what could occur in the future. The 2011 Japan tsunami and earthquake, also known as the 2011 Tohoku tsunami and earthquake or the Great Tohoku earthquake, which is also analyzed herein, occurred on March 11, 2011 in northeastern Japan. The calamity began in the early afternoon when a magnitude-9 earthquake struck the region, unleashing a massive wave.

1. Earth’s Four Spheres
Earth’s Four Spheres
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2. Earth’s Four Spheres
The Earth is made up of four primary
interconnected components (spheres):
• the atmosphere
• the biosphere
• the hydrosphere
• the geosphere

3. The Atmosphere
• The atmosphere is a thin layer of air that surrounds the
Earth.
• The atmosphere is made up of four distinct levels (the
thermosphere, the mesosphere, the stratosphere and
the troposphere).
• The atmosphere rises nearly five hundred and
sixty kilometers (three hundred and forty eight miles)
above the Earth's surface.
• Nitrogen (approximately seventy-eight percent), oxygen
(about twenty one percent), argon (.9%), and co2 (about
two perecent) make up the majority of the atmosphere
(0.04 percent ). Other components are only present in
trace amounts.

4. The Biosphere
• The biosphere is the Earth's "life zone," and it
comprises all living species (including human
beings) as well as all organic materials that
hasn't degraded yet.
• The biosphere is organized as a food chain (all
life is dependent on the first tier, which consists
primarily of photosynthesis-capable primary
producers).
• The food chain transfers mass and energy from
one level to the next.

5. The Hydrosphere
All of the water on our continent is contained in the hydrosphere.
• The ocean, and also water from rivers and lakes, creeks
and streams, are all found on the surface of our globe.
• Groundwater and water trapped in the soil are further examples
of water found beneath the surface of our world.
• Water vapor is also a type of water that can be found in our
atmosphere.
• Glaciers and ice caps are also examples of frozen water on our
planet.
• Only around 3percent of the water on Earth is "fresh," and
roughly seventy percent of that fresh water is frozen in the form
of glacier ice.

6. The Geosphere
The geosphere refers to the solid Earth, which
comprises the oceanic and continental crust,
as well as the many layers of the planet's
interior.
• The elements magnesium, silicon and oxygen,
make up ninety-four percent of the Earth's mass.
• The geosphere isn't a static entity (unchanging).
• The crust's surface (crust) is constantly moving.
• The geosphere is mined for mineral resources.

7. Earth System Interactions
The multiple spheres or "subsystems" that make up the earth combine
to form an ever-changing and complex whole referred to as the Earth
system.
• Volcanic mountains (geosphere) erupt, spewing gases and ash
into the atmosphere (air), as well as ash and lava onto nearby
woods (biosphere) and human settlements (biosphere).
• Hurricanes (atmosphere) rush across the sea (hydrosphere) on
to the land (geosphere), destroying the homes of
individuals who live across the coast (biosphere).
• Earthquakes (geosphere) can cause structural damage to land
structures, which can lead to deaths (biosphere), and also fires
that discharge gases into the atmosphere (air). Ocean
earthquakes can result in a tsunamis (hydrosphere), which can
impact land and kill both people and animals (biosphere).

8. Japan Tsunami and Earthquake
• A natural disaster or extreme weather event has
influenced each of us, either indirectly or directly.
• The devastating Sendai earthquake is a personal, actual
experience that I have had in my lifetime concerning the
force of one of the Earth's four spheres, and it will be
presented herein.
• In a similar spirit, the purpose of this presentation is to
demonstrate the connection of the Earth's four spheres
to human safety and health, the current status of our
climate, and future crisis avoidance as the effects of
climate change intensify.

9. Contextualizing the Tohoku
Earthquake
The term "tsunami" refers to a sequence of sea surges caused by
earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. As they go inland, the height of
these waves tends to rise (Tsunami facts,2020).
• An earthquake of a magnitude of 8.9 released the worst
Tsunami Japan has ever seen in March of 2011.
• The Great Sendai Earthquake, also known as the Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011, struck Japan on March 11,
2011.
• It was the fifth most destructive earthquake in recorded history,
killing thousands of individuals and displacing hundreds of
thousands more. It also resulted in property devastation and
economic loss.
• The earthquake caused not only Tsunamis and losses, but also
long-term risks such as radioactive leakage, the effects of
which will be felt in Japan for many coming years.

10. The Tsunami's Geological
Aspect
• Because of its location where multiple continental and oceanic
plates collide, Japan is vulnerable to hot springs, volcanoes
and earthquakes (Chaw,2016).
• The rupture of a length of the region of subduction that has a
connection with Japan's Trench was the primary cause of the
earthquake and Tsunami. The trench connects the Pacific and
Eurasian plates.
• A segment of the abduction zone, which measured ninety-five miles
broad and 190 miles in length, relocated 164 feet east of the
Southeast and 33 feet upwards. Taiwan, Russia, China
and Beijing, were all affected by the tremor. (Sample,2011).
• Following the main earthquake, some aftershocks continued for
extended periods of time. A 7.3 magnitude temblor struck the same
tectonic boundary a year later, causing minimal damage.

11. • A satellite traversing the earth's rim had caught shallow
amplitude acoustic signals from the earthquake, according to
some report.
• The pacific subduction zone, which was steadily advancing
towards the Eurasian Plate in Japan, displaced a massive
volume of water above it, resulting in multiple high destructive
waves.
• A 33-foot wave swamped the coast, the airport, several portions
of Sendai, and the surrounding area.
• According to some sources, a wave that smashed onto the
ground 6 miles away caused the Natori river to flood.
• Tidal wave warnings were issued throughout the Pacific basin
as a result of the huge earthquake.
• The Tsunami traveled at such a fast speed that it created waves
as high as eleven to twelve feet high along the Pacific coast
(Pletcher&Rafferty,2020).

12. Effects of the Tsunami
• The Tsunami killed roughly 15000 individuals and left
another 2500 persons missing. Owing to the frigid
temperature, the rescue teams had a difficult time.
• A total of 121000 structures were destroyed, costing
an estimated 210 billion dollars in losses.
• Many toxic substance-processing companies, such
as petrochemicals, distilleries, and other chemical
plants, were destroyed (Krausman&Cruz,2013).
• Living organisms (animals and plants) were
exposed, putting their health at risk. The Fukushima
Nuclear Power Plant, for example, is a shining
example.

13. • The Tsunami wreaked havoc on the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant, resulting in huge
radioactive leakage.
• It was the second-worst nuclear disaster in history,
with immediate and long-term consequences.
• It took only a short time for the radioactive cloud from
the power plant to get to 1.6 miles beyond sea level in
the Fuji mountains once it was released. It indicated
that the plume was large enough to transport the
radioactive particles to many locations.
• Levels of radiation in an 18-mile radius around the
Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Diani nuclear
power reactors reduced.
• Because the radiation dispersed faster into the
atmosphere and ocean, it appeared to decline quickly
within days after emission (Sarkisian, 2017).

14. Response to the event
Tsunami Warning
• In 1999, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which is in
charge of providing tsunami advisories and warnings as well as
predicting tsunami height, implemented a new method, which
was modified in 2006 utilizing Earthquake Early Warnings.
• Japan claimed that the seismic monitoring system developed
by JMA was the most advanced worldwide.
• In reality, numerous foreign nations in need of assistance, such
as Peru, Mexico, Thailand and Indonesia, have benefited from
its tsunami predicting methods and numerical models.
• JMA built a library of pre-conducted tsunami dispersion
simulations for approximately 100 000 earthquake events in
Japan.

15. Witnessed tsunami inundation flow
and height
• The worldwide post-tsunami surveying team was
founded after the 2011 Tohoku tsunami assault
and performed a nationwide survey to document
tsunami inundation extents, flow depths, run-up
heights, and damages.
• Tsunami height readings are the most dense
from past post-tsunami surveying teams, and
they are now extensively used for analyzing
features of local tsunami intensification and for
tsunami modeling standards.

16. Structural Tsunami Vulnerability
• Numerous field surveys were done to determine the
damage mechanisms and their influence on
infrastructures.
• Tsunami structural susceptibility is a key concern in
tsunami-resilient community planning.
• When infrastructural damage data is combined with
environmental survey data, like flow depths, a new
measure of infrastructural vulnerability to tsunamis,
known as a tsunami fragility function or tsunami fragility
curve, is created. In general, a tsunami deformation curve
is referred to as the probability of infrastructural damage
or fatality rate, with special attention to the hydrodynamic
characteristics of tsunami inundation flow, like flow
depth measured in the field, prevailing velocity, and
hydrodynamic force projected using tsunami numerical
modeling.

17. Tsunami impact on educational
facilities
• The 2011 Tohoku tsunami and earthquake impacted
many teachers and students. The Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology, Sports and Culture, released a
report on student injuries and fatalities on October 6,
2011, stating that the tsunami claimed the lives of 635
teachers, students and children, and injured 221 others.
• The incident sparked debate about whether safer school
infrastructure should be required to withstand both
intense ground shaking and a disastrous tsunami. How
tall school buildings should be in order for residents to
survive. How to prepare students for the future. How
instructors should be prepared to provide proper counsel
in order to preserve the lives of children and themselves.

18. Measures for Mitigating future
Tsunamis
• Tsunamis are natural disasters that have wreaked havoc and
killed thousands of people in coastal areas around the world
for ages. Major tsunami-prevention programs, on the other
hand, date as from the early twentieth century and have
garnered far more attention in the first decade of the twenty-
first century, following 2 significant events: the 26th
December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and the Great East
Japan Tsunami and Earthquake of March 11, 2011.
• Following these devastating disasters, tsunami warning
and monitoring systems and the technologies that go with
them have spread across the Pacific Ocean to other areas
where tsunamis are a serious threat. Previously the preserve
of wealthier nations, hazard mitigation and
preparedness measures are now being adopted
by underdeveloped countries.

19. • While tsunami modeling and mapping
and warning systems are vital instruments in
promoting tsunami protection, there are a variety
of other methods that must be implemented in
order to safeguard property and lives during
severe tsunami occurrences.
• Tsunami education and awareness, as well as
efforts that increase reaction readiness, are all
part of the preparedness strategy. These plans
should include information on how tsunamis
happen, where they happen, how to respond to
natural signals or warnings that a tsunami is on
the way, and which areas are safe to evacuate.

20. Mitigation Strategies
• Hazard mitigation measures aim to lessen the
probability of coastal populations being affected
by a tsunami, either through the use of structural
systems or the relocation of towns out of
recognized tsunami inundation zones. Man-
made or natural high ground for evacuation,
vertical escape structures (either solitary
structures designed expressly for tsunami
evacuation or existing structures designed to
withstand tsunami effects), tsunami river gates,
forest barriers, breakwaters and seawalls, are
among them.

21. • Land-use planning regulations or coastal
spatial planning may also be used by
coastal authorities to limit growth in areas
at high danger of tsunami flooding. The
relative effectiveness of these techniques
and the regions where they're being
implemented, as well as the challenges
and concerns associated with their
deployment, have to be considered.

22. References
Chow, D. (2016). Why Do So Many Earthquakes Strike Japan? Retrieved
21 April 2020, from https://www.livescience.com/54434-why-so-many-
earthquakes-strike-japan.html
Krausmann, E., & Cruz, A. (2013). Impact of the 11 March 2011, Great
East Japan earthquake and Tsunami on the chemical industry. Natural
Hazards, 67(2), 811-828. doi:10.1007/s11069-013-0607-0
Pletcher, K., & Rafferty, J. (2020). Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 |
Facts & Death Toll. Retrieved 21 April 2020, from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Japan-earthquake-andtsunami-of-2011
Sarkisian, D. (2017). Effect of Fukushima Nuclear Disaster on Japanese
Ecosystems. Retrieved 21 April 2020, from
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/sarkisian1/
Tsunami Facts and Information. (2020). Retrieved 21 April 2020, from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural
disasters/tsunamis/