Case Studies

Question 1

Name an example of a flood in California

Answer 1

Sacramento
December 2006-January 2007
4,000 displaced, $245 million in damages

Question 2

Why do floods occur in California?

Answer 2

Due to mountain and plain topography around sacramento

Coincide with El Nino

Question 3

Name an example of a wildfire in California

Answer 3

2007 in South California
22 killed
1,300 homes destroyed

Question 4

What plate boundary is California on?

Answer 4

Conservative plate boundary
North American plate and Pacific plate are both sliding past each other but at different speeds (N.American is faster) causing friction

Question 5

Why do droughts occur in California?

Answer 5

Wind blown from Arizona desert which is dry with no moisture

La Nina years

Question 6

What is the San Andreas Fault and where does it run along?

Answer 6

Fracture between the two plactes

Along the California coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco

Question 7

Why do earthquakes occur in California?

Answer 7

Friction is eventually overcome and the plates slip past in a sudden movement. The shockwaves created produce an earthquake

Question 8

Name an example of an earthquake in California

Answer 8

San Francisco 1989

60 killed

Question 9

Why do landslides occur in California?

Answer 9

Coastal erosion
Steep land
Extreme weather
Earthquakes

Question 10

Why is California vulnerable?

Answer 10

Population density of LA: 3000km2

20% live below poverty line in LA

Question 11

Why do tsunamis occur in California?

Answer 11

Undersea
Seismic sea waves created from movements on the fault
On the north coast, the plates turn around and create a destructive plate margin (Cascadia subduction zone)

Question 12

Name an example of a tsunami in California

Answer 12

Alaska 1964
Earthquake generate tsunami (9.3)
12 killed in california

Question 13

What plate margin is the Philippines on?

Answer 13

Destructive plate margin

Question 14

Why does the Philippines experience earthquakes?

Answer 14

Philippine plate (oceanic) subducts below Eurasian (continental)
Oceanic plate gets stuck below continental
Pressure builds
When the pressure gets too much, they jerk and cause shallow and deep focus earthquakes

Question 15

Name an example of an earthquake in the Philippines

Answer 15

Manilla 1990

Killed 6,000

Question 16

Why does the Philippines experience volcanoes?

Answer 16

Philippines plate subducts below Eurasian
Oceanic crust is heated by friction
Sea water is dragged into the subduction zone causing wet partial melting
Magma is less dense than the continental
Crust is silica rich = explosive
Rises to the surface and forms volcanoes

Question 17

Name an example of a volcano in the Philippines

Answer 17

Mt. Pinatubo July 1991

Killed 700

Question 18

Why do landslides occur in the Philippines?

Answer 18

Demand for food/farmland has led to deforestation - heavy precipitation causes land slides
Earthquakes - Leyte island 2006, killed 1100

Question 19

Why is the Philippines vulnerable?

Answer 19

Rapid urbanisation - slums
Fast growing economy but majority live on $3 a day
Poor preparedness - few emergency services/hospital beds, poor disaster management - susceptible to secondary impacts
Many live on inaccessible locations - small islands (7000+) or on slopes of volcanoes

Question 20

Name an example of a typhoon in the Philippines

Answer 20

Typhoon Xangsone
250 deaths
$800 million in damages

Question 21

What are the physical impacts of sea level rise on Africa?

Answer 21

Movements of environmental refugees from the countryside puts pressure on the coastal zones, especially North and West Africa
60% live in coastal zones

Question 22

What are the physical impacts of changes in rainfall patterns on Africa?

Answer 22

More variable = competition between countries particularly along large rivers (Nile)
Scarcity increases - dependent on poor quality sources (increase in waterborne diseases - pressure on healthcare system)
Reduced period in which crops can grow

Question 23

What are the human impacts of climate change on Africa?

Answer 23

Food scarcity - desertification due to pressure/ overgrazing on existing farm land
Health - famine and malnutrition will increase, placing Africa’s food security under threat
Debt - Africa is vulnerable due to debt crisis, most countries have debt written off and this affects majority of African countries - reduced through cash crops

Question 24

Why is Africa vulnerable?

Answer 24

The countries tend to be among the least developed in the world and have weaker economies
Absolute poverty
Many are subsidence farmers - vulnerable due to rain fed agriculture
Low level of preparedness

Question 25

What is climate change doing to Africa?

Answer 25

Dry areas are getting drier (Sahel) - rainfall is more erratic and unpredictable
Wetter areas in the subtropics are receiving more precipitation (disease, flooding)
The continent as a whole has warmed by 0.5 degrees on the last century

Question 26

What are the impacts to Southern Africa?

Answer 26

West - rising risk of sea level rise/coastal floods/erosion to coastlines (economic damages)
Central - 4 South African parks could lost more than 40% of their animals
East - wide spread bleaching of up to 90% of coral reefs on Indian ocean coasts

Question 27

What are the impacts to Northern Africa?

Answer 27

W - changes in ecosystem services (forestry)
Central - reduced agricultural yields, rising irrigation costs, economic loses
East - reduced water availability, increase health effects of heatwaves

Question 28

Describe the Albedo changes in the Arctic

Answer 28

Surface reflects different amounts of heat energy
Most is absorbed by dark forests that are expected to replace Tundra in the future
If sea ice is replaced by ocean water, heat balance will also change
Causes Northwood shift in vegetation zone

Question 29

Describe the thawing of permafrost in the Arctic

Answer 29

40% of total permafrost is expected to thaw
Release large quantities of methane, especially in Siberia
Lakes and rivers will drain some areas and lake trout and arctic chad may decline
Arctic places capture the GHG CO2 faster than soil releases it
Arctic soils have accumulated 11% of the worlds soil carbon
CO2 uptake in slow photosynthesis - permafrost - CO2 release in very slow decompostion

Question 30

Explain how species are at risk in the Arctic

Answer 30

Land - altered access to food/breeding ground/migratory routes (frozen lakes melting)
Migratory - routes moving north (arctic foxes are not adapted to greenery)
Marine - warmer water due to meting sea ice means marine plants (algae) are decreasing, small fish/animals up the food chain can’t feed due to the knock on effect

Question 31

What countries are in the A8?

Answer 31

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary