You get full credit (10 points) for each review of another student Essay if your overall rating score was within 3 points of the average rating score by students for that Essay. No credit was given if your rating was >3 points from the average rating by students for that Essay.
You get full credit for your review of your own Essay, if your rating score was within 2 points of average rating by other students (half credit given if you were within 3 points of average rating by students).
For your information, an example of a specific review question with a requested text explanation = Was the title interesting, relatively short, and informative? If you answered "No", explain your answer.
As of Oct. 10, Prof. Altaner's office hours are Tuesday 11 am - noon + Friday 10 - 11 am. He no longer has office hours on Thursday.
To purchase access to The Good Earth Web site (on-line GEOL 118 text), go to <http://www.mhhe.com/earthsci/geology/mcconnell> and follow instructions. You will need a credit card. If you experience problems purchasing access to The Good Earth Web site, contact the technical support group at McGraw Hill publishing company: traci_andre@mcgraw-hill.com or 800-563-4920 ext. 1392.
Please do not contact Prof. Altaner or Emily Berna to inform us of your planned future absence from class with the idea that this will be your documentation of your absence if there is a pop quiz. Because there are so many students in the class, we cannot and will not keep track of this information.
Also, we will not answer whether or not there will be a quiz on a specific future class date. The occurrence of a pop quiz will always be announced on the Class Web site and in later classes. If you missed a quiz, you will be allowed one week to make it up, assuming you have an official University excuse.
At ~2 am on Nov. 6, an F3 tornado carved a destructive path (~61 miles long + ~one quarter mile wide) in southwestern Indiana, near Evansville, killing 22 people and injuring ~230. ~600 homes were either destroyed or severely damaged and there was estimated damage in tens of millions of dollars. Damage + deaths were particularly severe in a mobile home trailer park. Because of the early morning hour, many people were sleeping and didn't even hear the tornado warning sirens. ~21,000 people were without power. This was the deadliest USA tornado in more than 7 years.
On Nov. 12, three tornadoes struck central Iowa destroying or severely damaging dozens of homes and killing one person.
On Sat. (10/8) a M = 7.6 earthquake devastated northern Pakistan and (as of 10/21) killed >50,000 people. The very high magnitude value of the earthquake combined with the large population + weak building construction in Pakistan have contributed to the very high death toll. Rescue + recovery operations have been hindered in the hardest hit areas because access is limited due to the earthquake effects, e.g., roads blocked with debris, and the remote locations. Since the earthquake, as many as 5 million people are homeless and living in the open in freezing temperatures. Northern Pakistan is in the Himalaya Mountains, which have formed due to the collision of India with Eurasia beginning about 15 million years ago. The area is very seismically active due to the build up of stress (pressure) associated with this continent - continent collision zone.
Look for information about recent Hurricanes + Tropical Storms at the Weather Channel Web site + Major News Web sites such as CNN, and Global Security.org for satellite photos of New Orleans before + after Hurricane Katrina. On Thursday (8/25)Hurricane Katrina hit south Florida, killing 11 people and leaving ~1 million people without power. Over the weekend, it strengthened and on Monday (8/29) morning, Hurricane Katrina (Category 4 hurricane) smashed into the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, Louisiana + Alabama with possibly the highest storm surge in USA history. As of Sept. 28, there were over 1,100 confirmed deaths. Millions of people were without electricity and much of New Orleans was under water for 3 weeks due to catastrophic breaks in several levees. Clean up will take months + "full recovery" will take years. Congress has already approved over $60 billion in federal aid. As of Oct. 5, the insured losses of property damage from Katrina exceed $34 billion, officially making it the most costly natural disaster in USA history. This insured damage total, which is expected to rise, does not even include damage from flooding or losses to utilities, agriculture and oil drilling. The previous record was $21 billion (adjusted for inflation) of damage from Hurricane Andrew in 1991. On Sept. 8, a news story claimed that New Orleans had a well-designed evacuation plan (that probably would have greatly reduced the death toll there) but local officials did not follow it. On Sept. 15, another news story describes heart-breaking stories of bureaucratic red tape in FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and state officials that prevented some attempts to help.
On Sept. 14 + 15, Hurricane Ophelia (Category 1) pounded eastern North Carolina with strong winds, strong surf, and heavy rains, up to ~18 inches or more. There was millions of dollars of damage.
On Sept. 20, the edge of Hurricane Rita (Category 2) pounded southern Florida with 100 mph winds + heavy rain. On Sept. 21, Rita became a Category 5 Hurricane (+ the third most intense Atlantic hurricane) with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph and headed toward Galveston, TX, a city of 60,000 and built on a barrier island (a low relief sand island). In 1900, Galveston was the site of the deadliest natural disaster in USA history (6,000 deaths). There were widespread evacuations in Texas + Louisiana. On Sept. 24 it slammed into the area of the Texas/Louisiana border as a Category 3 Hurricane with winds of 120 mph. As of Sept. 28, there were 11 deaths and billions of dollars in damage. Sections of New Orleans flooded again because of overtopping of levees. Although some towns + rural areas directly in the path of Rita were devastated, the area of Galveston + Houston escaped with far less damage than feared because the full force of the hurricane hit east of those cities.
On Oct. 4 + 5, Hurricane Stan (Category 1) pummeled Mexico's Gulf Coast with strong winds and heavy rains, up to ~15 - 20 inches. It caused flash flooding + numerous landslides. As of Oct. 10, there were >700 deaths in Central America, mostly from landslides in Guatemala but also in El Salvador, Nicaragua,, Honduras, Costa Rica, + Mexico.
On Oct. 21 - 23 Hurricane Wilma unleashed its fury on the resort areas of Cancun + Cozumel in southeastern Mexico as a Category 4 hurricane, eventually weakening to a Category 2 hurricane. With Wilma sitting + spinning over land for nearly 30 hours, northeastern Yucatan Peninsula received rainfall totals of 10 to 65 inches, producing devastating flooding. After that it dumped heavy rain on Cuba, including Havana. Over the Gulf of Mexico Wilma strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane, reaching wind speeds 125 mph + hit southern Florida on Oct. 24, causing many billions of dollars of damage and ranking as perhaps the third most damaging hurricane in USA history. As of Oct. 26 ~6 million people were without power. Wilma is the eighth hurricane to hit Florida in 15 months. Wilma has caused a total of 17 deaths in Florida, Mexico + Haiti. Wilma is the 12th named hurricane + the 21st named tropical storm in this year's Atlantic hurricane season, tying records set in 1969 + 1933, respectively. Early in its formation, Wilma set a record for low barometric pressure, which is a measure of the hurricane intensity, but has weakened considerably since then.
On Oct. 22 Tropical Storm Alpha became the 22nd named storm, making 2005 the busiest hurricane season on record, which go back to 1851. On Oct. 22, it struck Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with winds of ~50 mph and heavy rain, which caused flooding + mudslides. As of Oct. 26, there were 8 confirmed deaths in Haiti, but ~26 people missing. It did not affect USA. Alpha represents the first time the list of storm names has been exhausted, requiring use of the Greek alphabet.
On Oct. 30 Hurricane Beta, the 23rd named storm, struck Nicaragua as a Category 2 hurricane with ~105 mph winds + then quickly weakened to a tropical storm. As of Oct. 31, there were no confirmed deaths but that will probably change because of the 10 - 25 inches of rain that is forecast. Hurricane season ends November 30.
On Nov. 13 Tropical Depression 27 formed in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. It is expected to strengthen to a tropical storm, named Gamma and become the 24th named storm, extending the record of named storms in 2005. It may also intensify to major hurricane status.
On Oct. 17 thunderstorms pounded Southern California (~65 miles north of Los Angeles), knocking out power to ~140,000 customers. The heavy rain caused mudslides that blocked Interstate 5, California's main north-south interstate.
An interesting story from CNN indicates that since 1995 there have been more and stronger hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. But, hurricane specialists think this is part of a natural cycle and not caused by global warming. In addition, they think this period of increased hurricane activity could last another decade or two.
Office = 244 NHB, mailbox in 245 NHB, 244-1244, altaner@uiuc.edu
Office hours = Tu 11 am - noon; Th 2 - 3, or by appointment
Teaching Assistant is Emily Berna
Office = 208 NHB, mailbox in 247 NHB, 244-6048, ecberna2@uiuc.edu