Land of the Midnight Sun

         This week, I will be focusing on the extreme coastal erosion and how it is a major concern and a problem for Norway and its rising sea levels.  Coastal erosion is a global issue but deeply effects the Arctic, as the soil is frozen and results in erosion that is three to four times more rapid than in warmer regions.  Norway’s coastline is classified as emergent and is caused from a fall of sea levels and with the association of high cliffs in the case of Norway. The rates in which erosion occurs range from 0.5mm to 12.5 mm annually. This might not be so impactful as in other locations in the world, but many small towns in Norway reside on cliffs that are eroding and are at risk of losing these historical places.        Norway has a way to adapt themselves to their vulnerabilities when experiencing coastal erosion. The first strategy that has been proposed is to strengthen the coastline by returning a balance to the sediment and creating a space that can aid natural erosion. A s

     Extreme weather is no stranger in the country of Norway.  Floods, hurricanes, and avalanches, to name a few are some of the worst climate-related extremes in this nation. In recent times, some major events that have been recorded are the 1992 hurricane in northwest Norway and the 1995 major flood in eastern Norway.                                                                                                                                          The New Year's Day Storm was a hurricane that not only took over western Norway but northern Scotland as well on January 1, 1992. Being the most cataclysmic storm in Norwegian history, tens of thousands of buildings were damaged as well as large areas of forests. Over 230 million dollars of damage was reported to have been done by this hurricane.      1995 was an intensive year for Norway of major flooding, causing incredible damage and being the largest flood within the last 200 years! The heating of the country had an effect on t

     For this week's blog entry, I will be focusing on mass wasting hazards in Norway. These consist of landslides, rockslides, and mudslides. Mass wasting in geology can also be referred to as the mass movement of rock or soil that travels downward because of the power of gravity! The way Norway's geological composition lies is the perfect construction for consistent movements of landmass moving down a slope. These can range from singular rocks to full-blown landslides. The image below shows a map of the vulnerable locations that are susceptible to landslides in Norway.      To the earliest recordings of landslides in Norway, more than 33,000 landslides have occurred, damaging structures, farmland, and most importantly affecting the lives of Norway's inhabitants. 1100 people have been estimated to be casualties or deceased during the span of Norway's landslides. The photo below is a landslide, but can also be considered a debris avalanche. This one here took over some

     My first thought when thinking about volcanoes and their relationships to Norway was that there were none. I figured that Iceland's volcanoes were the closest to having any sort of effect on Norway but after a bit of research, I learned that Norway has a major volcano very close to it!       As a volcanic nation, the Norwegian sea holds hundreds of active volcanoes nearly two miles below the surface. For this blog, we won't be focusing on those, but it is fascinating to learn that so many volcanoes exist under the ocean! For this week, we will be diving into the understanding of the Jan Mayen Volcano!                                                Named after the Jan Mayen Island, located in the Norwegian Sea, this basaltic stratovolcano exists along the island, surrounded by high cliffs. A stratovolcano's type of eruption can usually begin with explosions of ash and end with the release of thick flowing lava.                  With the dangers that come from a volcano

     Norway's mainland is a location that is very fortunate to not have a high concentration of earthquake activity. Active volcanoes and fault lines aren't located close enough, so the dangers of earthquakes are minimal, but not completely absent. A factor that is the cause of the seismicity within and around Norway is a post-glacial rebound. A post-glacial rebound is the rise of landmasses that have sunken from the enormous weight of ice sheets. When a post-glacial rebound occurs, the Earth's crust sinks into the asthenosphere. This is known as isostatic depression. These two photos below show the seismic activity and magnitude of Norway. I find it very interesting that the edges of the country have a higher impact rate, but while looking at the photo on the bottom right, we can see that most of the intensive earthquakes take place within the middle of the country.      In Norway, seismic activity is monitored by the Norwegian Seismic Array NORSAR. They communicate, shar

     The study of tectonics and the location of their plates are very important to understand because it helps geologists understand the effects they have on the countries around the globe. Our main focus in this blog is the natural hazards in Norway and their causes and effects from nature itself. Tectonics, which are large-scale geological activities that create landforms such as continents and ocean basins shape this beautiful world we live in. With that said, there is also a duality that comes from tectonic plates, that being natural hazards! Norway once originally belonged to the Baltic Plate, an ancient tectonic plate that later fused from the colliding of Siberia, creating the Ural Mountains and becoming the Eurasian Plate we have today.      The Eurasian Plate is both an oceanic plate, as well as a continental plate, being the third-largest plate on Earth! It contains nearly all of Europe, Russia, and some areas of Asia. The west side of the Eurasian Plate currently shares a di