h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Kick 'em Jenny - The underwater terror of the Caribbean - A1168472
Author: 2of3 - U233398

Hi!

This may not be finished but I'm looking for some feedback. What else should I add to this article?

I would incorporate the info about the CD into the body of the entry - it's important enough.

I'd also link to the entry on plate tectonics A884469.

You might also like to link to this: http://www.geophys.washington.edu/tsunami/intro.html or to use some of the information.

This one's also quite neat on earthquakes: http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/

These are quite neat too:

http://www.ability.org.uk/volcanos.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/17457/english.html

Good article!

A few links, as suggested, and this will be a good addition to the guide.

sprout

Very good

I think I've managed to work most of the suggested links into the article now.

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I don't think Kick 'em Jenny would need to be at or just below sea level to trigger a tsunami. There have been seafloor events at similar or deeper depths which have triggered tsunamis in the past.

This is an interesting entry and worthy of inclusion in the EG.

Cheers!

Gordon, I'll look into that one!

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I've made a modification to the tsunami statement

Fine entry indeed Still needs some work though.

"Kick 'Em Jenny is part of a volcanic arc known as the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc. This arc..."
Lots of arcs there. You could say something like 'Kick 'Em Jenny is part of a chain of volcanoes known as...'

"associated with a subduction zone where an oceanic plate being created where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is being pushed under the Caribbean Plate"
That doesn't make grammatical sense Do you mean 'associated with a subduction zone where the western Atlantic oceanic plate (created at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) is being pushed under the Caribbean Plate'?

" In relation to the Lesser Antilles chain, the volcano is located near the southern extent of this chain2 - Grenada being the southern-most island in the chain"
Lots of chains this time. How about ' In relation to the Lesser Antilles chain, the volcano is located near its southern extent - Grenada being the southern-most island in the chain'

"1960's and 70's"
You don't need the apostrophes there - h2g2 house style is to write dates without them - 1960s and 70s. Also 1970s and 1980s.

And what about the mention of tsunamis earlier in this thread? Did you manage to find out if a volcanic/seismic event needs to be near the surface to trigger a tsunami? I too was under the impression that it doesn't.

Good entry


Scout
Back in the saddle again

Okay I've taken care of the chains and the arcs.

I've tried to make that sentence a bit clearer as well.

As for the tsunamis, I did mention that any tsunamis created while the volcano is as submerged would dissipate without causing too much trouble . . .

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Ah, so you did It's looking very good now

This bit "There, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is being pushed under the Caribbean Plate" still isn't right though. The mid-Atlantic ridge is way out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, halfway between Europe and America. It's where the east and west Atlantic plates (don't know for sure if those are the correct names for the plates) are being created and pushing the two continents apart. The far western edge of the west plate is what's being subducted at the boundary where the volcanic chain is found.

Hi 2of3

I ggogled tectonics and got this site with a useful map of the major plates - http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eastern/plates.html
which shows the plate you need to mention being subducted is the North American Plate
You could also link to A884469 Plate Tectonics for Beginners

Great entry

Pimms

You've already linked to Plate Tectonics for Beginners I looked straight past it (several times) when scanning the page - I even went so far as to review the GML - incidentally you don't need to include a TITLE tag in H2G2 links, the title will automatically be picked up from the A number

Pimms

Thanks for the link.
I've simplified the sentence now. No more contention there, I hope.

I like the title tag because I can choose what shoes up in the reference. Without it the reference can be something as silly and meaningless as "here".

I hadn't read this entry in a couple of weeks, but I noticed it at the top of my list this morning so I figured I'd pop in.

You say "This arc is associated with a subduction zone at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge", however the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is not a subduction zone. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a divergent boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian and African Plates. (It's also caused by the separation of the South American and African Plates in the southern hemispehere.) It's been a while since I took geology, but I would hazard a guess that the Caribbean Plate is being subducted by the North and/or South American Plate(s). In fact, this is suggested in the diagram at http://bowie.gsfc.nasa.gov/926/slrtecto.html. It's confirmed at http://www.geophysics.rice.edu/department/research/alan1/SECAR/Plate_Tectonic_Evolution_.htm that the western boundary of the Caribbean plate is a subduction zone.

There's also still a problem with the tsunami statement. Your statement implies that the trigger of a tsunami needs to be near the surface of the ocean and this is not necessarily correct. Tsunamis can be caused by deep-water events or shallow-water events. They only become dangerous when they enter relatively shallow water and the energy has nowhere to go but up, causing a huge wave.

Seismic (and volcanic) events happen in the Caribbean quite often. Montserrat, for instance, has been quite active in the last century, yet I don't recall hearing about tsunamis.

I would think that the real threat from Kick 'Em Jenny wouldn't be tsunamis but rather volcanic ash and other pyroclastic debris.

Anyways, I still think this entry would be an excellent addition to the EG with some modifications.

Cheers!

Ok. I've changed so it says the wesern edge of the Caribbean plate.

"statement implies that the trigger of a tsunami needs to be near the surface of the ocean and this is not necessarily correct."

No. I do acknowledge tsunamis can occur at that depth (very deep). I've said that "any tsunamis generated under these conditions would dissipate quickly" which suggests that they can occur but will not be a threat.



"Seismic (and volcanic) events happen in the Caribbean quite often. Montserrat, for instance, has been quite active in the last century, yet I don't recall hearing about tsunamis."

I don't get your point here. Sounds like you're contradicting yourself.


"I would think that the real threat from Kick 'Em Jenny wouldn't be tsunamis but rather volcanic ash and other pyroclastic debris."

She's 180m (600ft) deep. These are even less of a threat (to humans)than tsunamis at this time.

2/3

Ok, let's get this plate boundary thing sorted out once and for all shall we

Looking at the map already linked to above http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eastern/plates.html the western boundary of the Caribbean plate is in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Central America, so that can't be where Kick 'Em Jenny is. The Lesser Antilles are at the *eastern* edge of the Caribbean plate where it meets the South American plate.

Gordon - is the Caribbean a continental plate or an oceanic one? Somewhere in one of those links I'm sure I saw a reference to oceanic plates being subducted when they meet a continental plate... but now I can't find it If the Caribbean plate is considered an oceanic plate as I'm sure the South American plate must be, which of the two is diving under the other?

Eastern it is indeed . . . I've changed that!



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