CLIL

Humanities and Social Science 1

Disaster movies – the geologist’s cut

A Popular films and newspapers often make horrific predictions about natural
disasters like volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts which, they say, could happen
some time soon. To make these dramas more frightening, their makers tell us that
they are ‘based on scientific evidence’. An example of this kind of story involves the
classic ingredients of a Hollywood drama: a catastrophic 1seismic event and the
destruction of an American city. In this case, the action starts with an eruption on
the Canary island of La Palma, causing a huge tidal wave that brings chaos to the
streets of New York. But what is the scientific evidence for this kind of prediction?

B It is true that the Canaries are in a very volcanically active area. Situated on the
African tectonic plate, the archipelago was formed by magma rising from the
seabed millions of years ago. You don’t have to be a geologist to see evidence of
this today. The typical lava-cone shaped mountains, formed by magma emerging
from faults or cracks in the islands’ basalt surface, can be seen all over the
islands. In fact, the last major eruptions there took place in 1949 and 1971. The
1949 explosion caused a two-kilometre 2rift, or crack, to appear on the island. It is
this crack which is the unlikely protagonist in this story.

C According to a small group of scientists, the next eruption on La Palma could

increase the size of this crack which, in turn, could produce a massive landslide of
rock into the sea. They calculate that a piece of rock weighing 500 billion tonnes
could fall into the ocean, generating a 40–50 metre high 3tidal wave on the other
side of the Atlantic. While the scenario for this disaster would be different to the
massive submarine earthquake that caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the
results could be similar. In fact, there are previously recorded cases of volcanic
activity causing tsunamis, the most famous one being the 1883 eruption on the
Indonesian island of Krakatoa, where 36,000 people died.

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2010

 D Luckily, most experts think the scientific ‘evidence’ for the La Palma scenario is
open to interpretation. The island, they say, has experienced massive landslides
in the past which didn’t cause tsunamis, and if part of the island did fall towards
the ocean, this process would probably be gradual. Furthermore, the 4fault line in
the island is now thought to be much smaller than originally stated.

E Despite this, seismic activity in the area is still closely monitored by

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oceanographers. However, don’t expect a disaster movie about La Palma to
come to a cinema near you soon as experts don’t feel they will need to sound the
alarm in New York for at least another 10,000 years.

1 Answer the questions in your own words.

1 What evidence do scientists give for the La Palma tsunami occurring in the
future?

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2 How probable is it that the La Palma tsunami will occur?

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2 Are the statements true or false? Quote words from the text to support your
answers.

1 The volcanoes on La Palma are still active.

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2 The cause of the La Palma tsunami would be the same as the cause of the
Indonesian tsunami.

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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2010

3 There have never been landslides on La Palma.

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4 There is a Hollywood film about the La Palma tsunami.

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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2010

3 Match words 1–5 in the text to definitions a–e.

___ a tsunami

___ b people who study the geology and geography of the seas

___ c relating to an earthquake or vibration of the earth

___ d a narrow fissure in a rock or tectonic plate

___ e break or split in the Earth’s surface

4 Find words or phrases in the text that mean the same as …

1 explosions of lava from the Earth’s surface. _________________

2 rock from outer space falling to the Earth. _________________

3 a large group of small islands. _________________

4 a type of volcano formed by slowly-rising lava. _________________

5 a large amount of rock or earth falling from a hill or mountain.

_________________

© Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2010