As recent events in Haiti and Chile have shown, Earth is an incredibly dynamic and mobile planet. Solar heating of the Earth's surface leads to severe weather events such as hurricanes; How the Earth absorbs and reflects this heat causes long-term climate changes. Likewise, cooling from deep within the Earth toward space causes geological movements, which lead to catastrophic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Destructive earthquakes and volcanoes are closely linked through plate tectonics, and particularly as the seafloor sinks into the Earth's rocky mantle at ocean trenches over hundreds of millions of years. The science behind these phenomena is rich and complex, but understanding it is a crucial part of risk assessment and mitigation.

Professor David Bercovici, professor of geology and geophysics and professor of mechanical engineering, presents this lecture at the Association of Yale Alumni Reunion Weekend, May 29, 2010.

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