H uman Health and the Environment
O cean and Natural Resource Sustainability
M itigating Hazards and Community Resilience
E ffects of Climate Change

Earth Sciences for our H O M E

Mitigating Hazards and Community Resilience

Hazards

While our "blue planet" is a beautiful HOME that sustains life, some of its natural processes threaten life. Natural hazards include volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, landslides, flooding, wildfire, and more. Geoscientists study these hazards in order to better estimate the probability of their occurrence, help communities prepare for them, and prevent them from turning into major disasters to the greatest extent possible.

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Megacities

Increased urbanization all over the world has accelerated over the past 30 years. Scientists now estimate that by 2015 Earth will have 60 megacities containing more than 600 million people. Cities such as Tokyo, New York, Seoul, Mexico City, and Mumbai are large and complex. They offer significant challenges for geoscientists, social scientists, economists, engineers, and others committed to improving the safety and quality of life of their inhabitants. Issues involve land, buildings, transportation, air quality, availability of fresh water, and more.

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Solid Earth

Understanding what goes on beneath Earth's surface is one of the most fascinating aspects of geoscience. While deep Earth processes may not be visible to the naked eye, they affect virtually everything about our way of life: availability of water and other resources; natural hazards that can threaten life; and landscape evolution and environmental sustainability. Earth's interior also contains clues to the age of our planet and how it has changed throughout geologic time. Exciting computer and satellite-based technologies are giving geoscientists new tools for looking deep inside the planet and unlocking its mysteries.

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