Investigating 3 Hazards of 2010

Investigating 3 Hazards of 2010:
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland, and the Haiti Earthquake
Submitted by Joseph Kerski

http://edcommunity.esri.com/arclessons/lesson.cfm?id=537

Investigating Three Hazards of 2010: The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, Iceland, and the Haiti Earthquake This 30-question lesson invites exploration of three 2010 hazards using GIS as the investigative tool. Each hazard uses progressively more robust GIS tools and invites deeper exploration. (1) What is the difference between natural hazards and human-caused hazards? What are three hazards that caused much devastation and destruction in 2010, and why? Which of the three were natural hazards, and which were human-caused? What are the “gray areas” between natural and human-caused hazards? (2) What are the geographic components of hazards? How can GIS help us understand the causes and impacts of hazards? (3) What were the chief causes, impacts, location, movement, and spatial pattern of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland, and the earthquake in Haiti?

Joseph Kerski is a Geographer and Education Industry Curriculum Development Manager at the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI).