Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Mt. St. Helen's "Back from the dead"

Post a response to the following questions from parts 1-3 of the video:

    1.)  How was the environment affected by the blast of Mt. St. Helens?
    2.) Has life been able to survive at the volcanic site?
    3.) What characteristics do some of the plants have that help enable them to survive an area such as Mt. St. Helen's?

43 comments:

  1. 1) All the life int the area was covered in a pyroclastic flow therefore destroying "all" life.
    2) Yes, this is because the gophers were underground the entire time and were not affected.
    3) A characteristic that the plants have is that they create their own food so they do not need great soil quality.

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  2. 1. The ash and lava pouring down from the eruption of the volcano destroyed all life in the area.

    2. After the eruption, it became inhabitable once again and became suited for animal residence.

    3. The plants create their own food so they survived the disaster.

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  3. The environment was almost completely destroyed because of the pyroclastic flow and volcanic ash. The eruption caused many animals to die, or suffocate, due to the ash covering them in a burning coat. Life was able to survive due to a very good plant, the lupin. They survive in the barren ash of the volcano because they can make their own fertilizer. Tiny bacterium create the fertilizer in exchange for simple sugars. Because of this plant, the ash is becoming e asier to live in, and live can be brought back. Also, northern pocket gofers where burrowed underground, and they had survived the eruption. They can bring up rich soil, and recreate the ecosystem.

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  4. The environment was affected greatly by the blast. Everything, or so we thought, was destroyed. The lake was black and choked with debris. Lava flowed freely killing plants, animals, and even a few humans. Pyroclastic flow cover the land in noxious gas. It looked like the moon and they thought that no life would ever inhabit the area again. Yes, some life did survive the shock of Mt. St. Helens. They found rodents that had sensed danger and burrowed so deep into the ground, that they were unaffected. They also found some plants that had their own way of making fertilizer and survived that way after the eruption. Life has returned to the mountain.

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  5. The environment was effected by the blast of Mt. St. Helens by having the the pyroclastic flow and the dirt and dead trees go into the water and kill all the fish. Not only did the blast kill all the fish and all of the trees, it killed any living thing within 200 miles of the blast. That is bad because if there is no living things in the area, then the pioneer species will have not much to work with if it were to try and bring that area back to life.

    Yes life has been able to live on the site. Researchers had found small hedgehogs that had buried themselves underground during the explosion. Therefore they were not effected by the blast. They had also found some plant that were reviving in this barren land.

    One special characteristic that one of the plants had in the Mt. St. Helens area were a special root strrtucture that provided the plant its own fertilizer. Also the animals that survived there had the ability to burrow underground to find their own food that was underground and also survived the blast.

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  6. 1. The environment was affected by Mount St Helens in many ways. The mountain and all of the life inhabiting the mountain was seemingly destroyed and buried. Ash cover the sides of the mountains, burying plants and other vegetation. The lake just down from the base of the mountain was infested with debris. As they debris swirled around, bacteria invaded the lake, stealing oxygen and making life there impossible.

    2. Life has been bale to survive at the volcanic site. Gophers and other burrowing mammals were safe from the lava and ash deep below the surface. When thesurrace settled down, these little animals came up to the surface, On the volcanic plane, a pioneering species of plant started to spread across the area.

    3. Plants have made adaptions to their features to adapt to the life on the volcanic area. Some plants altered their roots to get the nutrients they needed. The plants that are currently surveying don't need a ton of nutrients or water, but they pave the way for more plants as they help improve the soil.

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  7. All life on the mountain was destroid. Years after the eruption, the mountain went into succession and came "back from the dead". All life that was previously on the mountain, has been virtually replaced. Plants produce their own food and were able to survive this for that reason.

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  8. 1. The Mount Saint Helens eruption almost destroyed the environment completely, and all the life living in that environment.

    2. Yes, the gophers never died because they lived underground, and other life began to come back about 3 years after the eruption.

    3. The plants create their own food, so they could live when other plants couldn't.

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  9. The entire area was covered by a pyroclastic flow from an earthquake that caused the volcano to erupt.
    Life was able to survive because of groundhogs and other animals living underneath the ground which were covered from the pyroclastic flow by there burrows.
    Sine of the characteristics were that they create there own food, and they were able to survive, if not thrive, in the soil laid by the volcano.

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  10. 1. The environment around the area was basically wiped out after the eruption. The lava and the proclastic flow devoured animals homes, killed plants, and demolished almost all living things. It was a barren desert of lava after the eruption.
    2. Only three months after the eruption, there were gofers spotted. They survived the eruption because they live underground, totally protected.Lupine eventually began to grow back, but no one knew if other plants would follow this example the loupine is giving. The lupine is a volunteer species, and it leads to more and more loupine to grow in the area. While the lupine was growing back, the ground continued to shake, and rock falls were still active.
    3. As I mentioned, the lupine is a volunteer plant and helps other plants to follow.

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  11. 1.) How was the environment affected by the blast of Mt. St. Helens?
    A pyroclastic flow was released over the countryside. Forests were
    flattened and the lake was covered with debris. The poisonous gas was
    released miles into the air. The northern slope of the mountain was
    buried in ash. Almost all life was gone. 57 people were dead. Air
    traffic was disrupted because of the plumes. Trees were incinerated.
    Thousands of birds disappeared. Insects were gone. Dear and elk were,
    also. The mountain looked like the moon after the explosion. The lake
    was covered with dead trees and dead animals. The eruption was so
    powerful it changed the shape of the mountain. It was the largest volcano
    eruption in nearly a century in North America.

    2.) Has life been able to survive at the volcanic site?
    There was no sign of life at all in the first three months. Then, there was
    nothing except for freshly disturbed earth. Northern pocket gophers
    eventually showed themselves. And a prairie lupin, a plant with purple flowers also had survived. It
    was flourishing only 4 miles from the volcano.

    Spirit lake was a different story. A bacteria began to grow that ate
    all the oxygen and no life was able to grow. Microscopic plants had
    survived though. Following this event, plankton began to grow in the
    area.

    3.) What characteristics do some of the plants have that help
    enable them to survive an area such as Mt. St. Helen's?
    The prairie lupin has a special root system that provides it's own
    nutrition. The plant is able survive in almost any terrain.

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  13. 1. Mount St. Helens destroyed the nearby environment. All the plants and animals died because of the blast. The animals stood no chance against the lava and the clouds of smoke. The plant vegetation was engulfed by the lava, as well. In the nearby lake, there was an explosion of bacteria. The bacteria removed all of the oxygen from the water, making it impossible for fish and or any other oxygen breathing, marine life. Mount St. Helens became a dead zone, free of any life.

    2. Yes, life has been able to survive. The land is once again flourishing. Plants are growing in the Pumice Plain. There are more and more animals coming back, like the gophers. In the lake, scientists thought that life would not come back, for a while. But it was proven wrong. Microscopic plants were found when the lake when scientists where collecting samples.

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  14. 1)Everything that was in the way of the lava flow was destroyed
    2)It took a long time for the environment to heal and for it to be able to sustain life.
    3)The moles brought up the good soil from under ground by digging their burrows and enabled the plants to live.

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  16. 1.) How was the environment affected by the blast of Mt. St. Helens?
    A pyroclastic flow was heading towards the countryside, forests were
    flattened,the ash is going into theair and clounds,and an enormous
    lake is filled with debris. The northern slope of the mountain is
    covered is debris and there is no life life because many of them were
    killed in the disaster. Thousands of birds disappeared. The lake that
    held aquatic life is wiped out and covered with dead trees. It is hard
    to imagine that life will ever return. The explosion was so powerful
    that it changed the shape of the volcano that it was a cone and now
    flat and bumpy.

    2.) Has life been able to survive at the volcanic site?
    Yes, because a northern pocket gopher had buried deep below the soil
    because they live down there and they had felt that something was
    going to happen and they were automatically down in the soil with the
    plants as their food.
    Once the pyroclastic flow had died down scientists had noticed areas
    of fresh moved soil and as they looked closer gophers were coming out
    and over time more and more gophers and fresh soil,were found with
    their food witch was the plants started having more plants which had
    brought back flowers and attracted back the wildlife, so in a way they
    had definitely survived this volcanic eruption!

    3.) What characteristics do some of the plants have that help
    enable them to survive an area such as Mt. St. Helen's?
    A special root structure that provides it's own fertilizer, so they
    don't need the excrement from the animals that eat the plant which
    would be its fertilizer. The bacterium works with the plant nitrogen
    from the bacterium trades bacteria for the nitrogen and so on.

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  17. 1.) The environment was effected because there was a pyroclastic flow and the gasses and rock covered the land around the mountain.

    2.) Life has been able to survive and the gophers and lupin plant proved that. They were the pioneer species that started the reconstruction of the land.

    3.) Some of the characteristics are that the roots have a soil that they make themselves so the ruined soil did not effect the plant. The plant also survived though photosynthesis.

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  18. 1.) Scientists believed that Mount St. Helens "destroyed" sly life because everything was covered in a pyroclastic flow.

    2.) Life has been able tosurvive there because those "hardy" little ground hog things had burrowed underground drugging the eruption and remerged when the coast was clear. They we ere then able to survive by eating a type of flower bush there and helped to spread the seeds all across the land.

    3.) The dcharacteristix that the flower plant theist I mentioned earlier had was that it had a unique reoot strutter that provided it its own fertilizer Sri it could survive in the poor soil from the pyroclastic flow.

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  19. 1. The pyroclastic flow essentially wasted all life because of its toxicity and extreme heat.

    2. Yes, there has. A species of gopher burrowed feet in the ground, allowing them to survive during the eruption because of the thick material between them and the pyroclastic flow. 135 phytoplankton species have returned to the lake, which are the building blocks for life in water because they create oxygen. Also, a flower brush sprouted up in the spring after the eruption.

    3. The gophers were able to survive the pyroclastic flows and rockslides because of their deep burrows, created by their superior digging capabilities. The brush was able to survive because of its mutualist benefits created with a bacteria that would phytosynthesize with the plant through nitrogen. In return, the bacteria are provided with simple sugars.

    3. The gophers were able to survive because of their superior digging capabilities which allowed them to remain unaffected from the heat. The brush has been able to flower and flourish be

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  20. Cause of a mutualist bacteria that photosynthesizes nitrogen, and the plant, in return creates a simple sugar as food.

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  21. 1. Nearly all life was obliterated from the immediate area.

    2. A type of gopher survived because it was burrowed deep into the ground and therefore unaffected by the various type of lethal gases and liquids spewing out of mt. St. Helens

    3. One plant had a symbiotic relationship that allowed it to create fertilizer and therefore grow in the barren crater.

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  22. Everything near the blast zone was covered in ash, rocks, and lava, hence all life was desrtoyed in the area and range of the blast.

    Some life did survive, gophers survived because they were buried underground, and age from all the activity.

    Plants have symbiotic relationships with bacteria, and provide for each other.

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  23. 1. It wiped out all life on the mountain except one species.
    2. There was a gopher and a certain type of plant that survived.
    3. Some of the plants didn't need all the nutrients that other plants need.

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  24. The environment was devastated due to the ash and magma flow from Mt. St. Helens. Almost all living organisms we killed and the whole are changed drastically.

    Yes life has been able to survive at the site. A species of gophers were able to survive because of their deep underground habitat. SInce they were so far below the surface, the heat and pyroclastic flow didn't affect them, and life flourished.

    There is a plant that is surviving at the bottom of the Spirit Lake which is able to produce oxygen. This ability is used to keep itself alive, and also is starting to produce microorganisms that will support life.

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  25. 1: When Mt. St. Helens erupted, there was a humongous pyroclastic flow. This covered 200 square miles in ash and debris, virtually destroying all life.

    2: Life was able to keep going on the wasteland that was Mt. St. Helens. A creature that was found, was the pocket gopher, which survived the pyroclastic flow by burrowing itself underground. Of course, not every creature can bury itself, but the gopher had an underground system that allowed it to survive. Not only that, but a plant was found, the lupin. This is a pioneer species to all life, causing a comeback.

    3: Plants that survived the pyroclastic flow had two characteristics. The lupin had supplied its own nutrients in order to keep on living. not only that, but it flourished in the Pumice Plain. Then, underneath Spirit Lake, phytoplankton was found. Ever since the explosion, bacteria flourished underneath the water. This caused a massive amount of phytoplankton to form, a great building block in an underwater ecosystem.

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  26. The environment was affected by the ash and pyroclastic flow which devastated the terra firma. Life has survived by the squirrels taking refuge underground, escaping the lava's wrath. Lupin, the main plant there, creates its own nutrients from bacteria, which makes it a common pioneer species.

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  27. 1. The pyroclastic flow destroyed nearly all forms of life due to heat and gasses.
    2. Yes, life has been able to survive there. Gophers survived because they were safely tucked away from the pyroclastic flow by a thick layer of soil.
    3. Some of the characteristics of the prarie lupin, which survived are: its unique root structure that provided its own fertilizer.

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  28. 1. Everything around, or remotely close to Mt. Saint Helens was killed and covered by the pyroclastic flow from the eruption.
    2. Yes, the gophers that lived underground survived the explosion because the eruption didn't affect anything under ground.
    3. The plants that survive can create their own food, so they don't rely on much else.

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  29. 1. The environment was effected by the blast of Mount Saint Helens by the pyroclastic flows. This and other parts of volcanic eruptions destroyed the plants and animals in the area. Much of the environment was just blasted away.

    2. Life been able to survive at the volcanic site. One example was how the pocket gophers survived, by burying deep beneath the surface of the volcano. Underneath all those layers, the gophers were protected and survived the blast.

    3. Some plants who reintroduced themselves into the area devastated by the eruption have abilities that enable them to survive. For instance, the lupines have abilities within their roots. They give sugars they produce to the bacterium, and the bacterium provide the lupines with nourishment. This process is called mutualism.

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  30. 1)The forest and the animals living in it, were destroyed by the volcanoes pyroclastic flow, incinerating life.

    2)Some life survived, fortunately. Gophers were far enough into the soil that the pyroclastic flow couldn't get to them.

    3)Plants have symbiotic relationships and photosynthesis to keep them alive. Photosynthesis converts sunlight into oxygen.

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  31. 1.) How was the environment affected by the blast of Mt. St. Helens?
    All life within 200 square miles of the volcano was wiped out, partly from the earthquake, partly from the landslide, partly from the actual eruption, and partly from the pyroclastic flow. The shape of the volcano has changed drastically- it used to be a stratovolcano, now it is bumpy volcano with a large crater. Trees have been completely incinerated, and thousands of birds, insects, deer, fish, amphibians, and elk have been killed. The area directly below the volcano now resembles the moon, being called the Pumice Plane. The lake is barely recognizable- the avalanche lifted its bed over 200 feet. The lake also suffered a lot of pollution from the gases, and millions of dead trees floated on its surface.

    2.) Has life been able to survive at the volcanic site?
    Yes, many gophers were able to burrow deep enough to avoid the explosion, since they were covered by a thick layer of soil. The prarie lupin were able to survive, as they had a special root structure. (Which I will go more in depth with in question three.) These two species are pioneer species.

    3.) What characteristics do some of the plants have that help enable them to survive an area such as Mt. St. Helen's?
    The Prarie Lupin had a unique root structure that acted as their own fertilizer. Bacterium provided nitrogen to the plant, and the plant returned the favor by feeding the Bacterium simple sugars. This is known as a mutual relationship.

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  32. 1. All life on and around the mountain vanished almost

    2. The gophers were able to survive by hiding under the ground.

    3. The pinoner plant was able to survive by forming a relationship with a bacteria that provided nutriance for the plant.

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  33. 1.) How was the environment affected by the blast of Mt. St. Helens?

    All living things in the area were obliterated. The volcano killed many different species of animals and plants. It destroyed the top layer of soil which plants depended on, and many animals depend on plants.

    2.) Has life been able to survive at the volcanic site?

    Yes, for example there were the gophers that buried under the ground far enough that the magma did not affect them. Also, a plant called Lupin began to thrive again after only three months.

    3.) What characteristics do some of the plants have that help enable them to survive an area such as Mt. St. Helen's?

    Lupin could create it's own fertilizer, so it did not depend on the layer of topsoil that would provide fertilizer for most other plants. These plants have the ability to self-sustaain themselves without being highly depended on other outside resources, so they could survive even in the most barren landscapes.

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  34. 1. Pretty much all the surrounding land was wiped clean of life. No plants or animals. It was described as looking like the surface of the moon. The environment could be described as dead. Everything was covered in ash by the pyroclastic flow, and everything that might have escaped that was killed by the toxic gasses the volcano released.
    2. Yes, some life actually survived the blast like pocket gophers. They survived because they burrowed under the ground and were protected from the blast by a think layer of soil.
    3. The plants that came back after the eruption (like the lupine) have a mutual relationship with bacteria that create a kind of fertilizer for the plant, therefore enabling the plant to survive in most desolate locations. In return the plant provides the bacteria with food from its roots.

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  35. 1). Everything including plants and animals were killed or destroyed by the rock and ash from the eruption of Mt. St. Helens.

    2). A gopher buried under the mountain and came up after the eruption was finished. When the gophers came up from their burrows, it brought up fresh soil.

    3) the plants were able to fertilize themselves so they were able to survive in almost any place including Mt. st. Helens.

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  36. 1) A pyroclastic flow covered everything in it's path for 200 square miles. Destroying everything it touched. Including a lake, all of the living creatures were killed.

    2) Yes, there is life at the volcanic site. Plants and animals are returning.

    3)One plant created it's own fertilizer by using bacteria and an animal lives underground so the pyroclastic flow can not reach it.

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  37. 1. The environment surrounding the volcano was completely devastated. Everything was covered in ash and debris, and all life was buried or choked out by the pyroclastic flow.
    2. Some life has survived the eruption. Cerain organisms had traits that allowed them to be unaffected by the disaster, such as the pocket gopher.
    3. Some palnts are able to produce their own nutrients, allowing them to thrive in the ash on the mountain. Others can produce their own oxygen, so they have taken up residence in Spirit Lake and our now beginning to make the environment there friendly for other organisms.

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  38. Oh, I forgot to add, that plants create their food through photosynthesis, which converts sunlight into oxygen.

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  39. 1. The environment was severely effected by the blast at mount st. helens. Only a minimal fraction of the species survived the initial explosion, because most of the resources were wiped out. The entire landscape was covered in thick ash.

    2. Life has survived the disaster at mt. St. Helens. A species of gopher was able to burrow underground, so it was unharmed. Many plants didn't need many nutrients, so they prospered as well.

    3. The plants growing on the mountain don't need many nutrients to survive, and the microorganisms in the lake make their own energy.

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  40. 1) Most life, including humans, trees and animals, were wiped out from the surrounding area.

    2) A type of gopher survived the eruption and its effects by burrowing deep underground. A pioneering flower known as the lupine has survived as well.

    3) The lupine has survived because of its unique roots. Bacteria provides the plant with nitrogen, and in exchange the plant supplies it with simple sugar gained through photosynthesis. An underwater plant that produces oxygen was also found in Spirit Lake. Scientists have concluded that these have arrived with wind or birds.

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  42. After the landslides in 1980 at Mt. St. Helens did its damage, two hundred square miles of land were destroyed. Forests were trampled, debris suffocated the lakes, and people thirteen miles away from the site were killed in areas that were said to be safe. The exterior of the mountain was reshaped, particularly the northern face, and created a mile wide crater out of a cone shaped summit. In the Spring of 1981, a dome was naturally formulating as a pattern of seismic records documented a series of earthquakes and lava flow over the course of six years. In these six years, not only did the dome reach a height of one thousand feet, but life also returned to the forsaken territory. Northern pocket gofers were discovered to be burrowed when no other forms of life were found. Because of their layer of mantle protection, they could survive the explosion. Prairie lupines were also located in full bloom just four miles from the crater. They have a distinctive root structure that comes equipped with its own fertilizer. The bacteria in the area provide the plants with nitrogen in return for sugars; a perfect form of mutualism. One of the scientist's most outstanding breakthrough was in Spirit Lake. Because the pyroclastic flow asphyxiated all animation in the bodies of water, no ecosystems were expected to be found. Instead, microscopic phytoplankton were identified; they are the primary building blocks of life. This provides hope that such terrible natural disasters can heal in such a short amount of time, less than ten years in this case.

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  43. 1. The environment was negatively affected by the blast of Mt St Helens. Populations and species of animals, insects, and plants were wiped out. Many people were killed as well. The shape of the mountain was altered by the eruption. The explosion left the mountain barren.

    2. Yes, northern gophers survived the volcano. They live entirely underground so they were protected by a thick layer of soil when disaster struck. The prairie plant was also able to survive.

    3. The prairie lupine was able to survive because it has a special root structure. Bacteria provides the plant with nitrogen, its food, as long as the plant photosynthesizes and provides sugar for the bacteria. The plant and bacterium have a mutualism.

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