During and after every natural disaster, abiotic factors play a part. Haiti's geological structure played a big part on the damage that was done to the country, including the deforestation that was done there, the soil, and the fact that the country is surrounded by water.
Abiotic Factors
Haiti's different abiotic factors had a effect on the impact the 2010 Haiti Earthquake had on the people. Some of these factors can include the soil, water, and temperature that made the disaster more severe than it would have been without these things contributing to the earthquake.
Substrate - Haiti's deforestation had a big affect on their food source, minerals, and soil erosion. The soil erosion caused the dirt in Haiti to be loose and not dense of minerals needed for plants, so now they can not grow properly anymore. The degraded soil in Haiti had an affect on the earthquake because the amplitude was strengthened. The sediments in the soil allowed greater and stronger waves to pass through faster, therefore having a bigger impact on the surface. This can be compared to the rock granite, because if granite was present, then the amplitude would have been lessened since the compounds in that rock are more closely compacted than in the soil and rock that is found in Haiti. Because of the earthquake, soil was spread around on the surface and caused dust to be held up in the air, and the soil covered much of the debris that were on the ground, and this caused irregular breakdown.
Water - Since Haiti is part of an island shared with the Dominican Republic, it is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. When the earthquake happened in Haiti, it caused large waves and tsunami's to crash into the land. This caused additional erosion, water damage, and flooding. Flooding was further added to from the thunderstorms produced by the tsunami's. The groundwater levels raised, but since the soil in Haiti was spreading around it polluted the water so it couldn't be used. Even though there was rain, it quickly dried out because there was no plants or soil to absorb it in and the climate factors of the country dried the water out. Haiti was already having problems in their water distributing process, but the earthquake destroyed the few wells that were still in tact so they stopped producing clean water for the people. The water throughout the country is non-potable, and many people died additionally because of dehydration.
Temperature - As tectonic plates move against each other, friction is produced which causes earthquakes. Obviously, if two tectonic plates move against each other more, then more friction will be produced. Friction causes heat to be made, and if more friction stress is made then more heat will come out of the earth during an earthquake. During the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, the Caribbean and North American plates slid past each other at an unusual fast pace, known as a strike - slip boundary. As the name suggests, the magnitude of the earthquake was unusually great because of the slip, so an unusual amount of friction and heat was produced. Therefore, Haiti was slightly affected by the temperature of the earthquake because the heat would have caused other natural processes like homeostatic mechanisms to make the temperature rise on the surface, causing more trembling and ground shaking.
Substrate - Haiti's deforestation had a big affect on their food source, minerals, and soil erosion. The soil erosion caused the dirt in Haiti to be loose and not dense of minerals needed for plants, so now they can not grow properly anymore. The degraded soil in Haiti had an affect on the earthquake because the amplitude was strengthened. The sediments in the soil allowed greater and stronger waves to pass through faster, therefore having a bigger impact on the surface. This can be compared to the rock granite, because if granite was present, then the amplitude would have been lessened since the compounds in that rock are more closely compacted than in the soil and rock that is found in Haiti. Because of the earthquake, soil was spread around on the surface and caused dust to be held up in the air, and the soil covered much of the debris that were on the ground, and this caused irregular breakdown.
Water - Since Haiti is part of an island shared with the Dominican Republic, it is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. When the earthquake happened in Haiti, it caused large waves and tsunami's to crash into the land. This caused additional erosion, water damage, and flooding. Flooding was further added to from the thunderstorms produced by the tsunami's. The groundwater levels raised, but since the soil in Haiti was spreading around it polluted the water so it couldn't be used. Even though there was rain, it quickly dried out because there was no plants or soil to absorb it in and the climate factors of the country dried the water out. Haiti was already having problems in their water distributing process, but the earthquake destroyed the few wells that were still in tact so they stopped producing clean water for the people. The water throughout the country is non-potable, and many people died additionally because of dehydration.
Temperature - As tectonic plates move against each other, friction is produced which causes earthquakes. Obviously, if two tectonic plates move against each other more, then more friction will be produced. Friction causes heat to be made, and if more friction stress is made then more heat will come out of the earth during an earthquake. During the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, the Caribbean and North American plates slid past each other at an unusual fast pace, known as a strike - slip boundary. As the name suggests, the magnitude of the earthquake was unusually great because of the slip, so an unusual amount of friction and heat was produced. Therefore, Haiti was slightly affected by the temperature of the earthquake because the heat would have caused other natural processes like homeostatic mechanisms to make the temperature rise on the surface, causing more trembling and ground shaking.