Geology and Technology Essay

The field of geology helps us understand our surroundings on earth. The benefits of geology include how to protect our environment and supplies us with natural resources. Geology helps assist us in avoiding geologic hazards and is based on the scientific method. One of the great contributions to human understanding made by geology is the concept of the vastness of geologic time. None of these benefits could have ever been discovered or even thought of if science did not collide with technology. Science and technology are closely related to each other, and it seems like they are two major factors influencing the progress of our society. Since the industrial revolution in the 18th century science has been in progress. Some sectors that have been boosted by science and technology are energy, physical sciences, information and communication. The society has greatly gained with the invention of technology. A recently increasing challenge to the population of the world has been natural disasters. Natural disasters are consequences of the combination of a natural hazards and human populations. Natural hazards include earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, epidemic, and countless other natural processes that threaten population. Human vulnerability is caused by the lack of appropriate emergency management, and leads to financial, structural, and human losses. The losses from disasters depend on the capacity of the population to resist the disaster. We directed our research toward an early warning system that could recognize natural disasters as soon as scientifically possible and spread that knowledge as quickly as possible in order to minimize loss to humans. Upon researching natural disaster alert systems, we came across an intriguing and promising global system of integrated observational systems of the Earth from regions all around the world. This system of the future has numerous capabilities. In the article, â€Å"New radar technology to boost accuracy, save lives,† the National Weather Service created a new radar technology after a record high of one thousand seven hundred and six tornadoes were confirmed in 2011. The new technology was created in a desperate attempt to save those who could be at risk for a natural disaster, after five hundred and fifty lives were taken due to natural disasters in 2011. The new radar equipment sends out horizontal and vertical sweeps, allowing forecasters to have a two dimensional look at severe weather. Dave Nadler, a warning coordination meteorologist from northern Alabama, says that the new technology allows weather service officials to get tornado warnings out much more accurately and much faster. (Blanton). Another technological advance that may save many lives is the LiDar, which is an instrument that can determine how an earthquake changes a landscape down to a few inches. The LiDar gives geologists insight into how earthquake faults behave, and may lead to geologists being able to predict an earthquake (Elliot). The remarkable development in space technology and its application during the last three decades have firmly established its immense potential for the development of the human society as a whole. Robert Jedicke did a study on asteroids in orbit around the sun. Jedicke knew that the asteroids orbiting around the sun mostly pass Earth very quickly. But, he discovered that there are some asteroids that move slowly, and often are captured by Earths gravity causing them to go into orbit around Earth. Jedicke used a computer program that calculated how many asteroids would be pulled into Earths orbit. He found that once every 100,000 years there is an asteroid the size of a football field that joins the other moons in Earths orbit. Another discovery that has been made in space because of technology is the possibility of life on Mars (Palca). The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showed photographs of dried up flood plains and riverbeds on the planet, meaning that the water could have supported ancient life (Hadhazy). In London in 2012, the Natural History Museum received a meteorite that fell from Mars to Earth. Because of the space rock being so new, scientists have a much better chance of learning about the planet. Technology is so advanced today that we can determine what rock is most common to least common in the small portion of Mars (Chang). Since the art of making fire and creating handcrafted tools, our civilization has come a long way. Science and Technology are making advances at an amazing rate. From telephones to the Internet, calculators to computers, cars to rockets and satellites, we are submerged in a sea of discoveries and inventions made possible by Science. Fields like Medicine and communications have made inroads into our cultures and thus our lifestyles.