Case Study Answers Flashcards
River Parrett and River Tone - Somerset Levels.
The Sommerset Levels is a low-lying region in south west England. During winter of 2013-14, River Tone and River Parrett saw prolonged flooding which was its worst in over a century.
A physical cause for this was series of severe winter storms in December and January in southern England during 2013-14. December 2013 was one of stormiest Decembers on record and one of windiest months since 1993. Figures released on 30 Jan showed that southern England and parts of midlands experienced highest January rainfall since records began in 1910.
A human cause is that River Tone and River Parrett had not been dredged properly in 20 years, leaving far,land and homes without proper defence from flooding. Resulted in hectares of land being left flooded from storms which began in December. Locals believe if river’s had been dredged, would have cleared them if silt, making them wider, deeper and easier to maintain. It would have helped river’s to carry away floodwater through surface runoff, draining floodplains quicker.
River management scheme - River Mississippi, USA.
The Mississippi River in USA has been managed using many different methods to help flow and prevent flooding.
Levees built 15m high over 3000km distance along river to help protect farmland and populated areas to reduce damage caused by flooding.however the pushed problem further downstream, and after flood, silt was deposited on channel bed so water level rises higher than floodplain, putting places like New Orleans which is 4.3m below river level at risk of flooding.
Over 100 dams built in tributaries to hold back floodwater, but trapped silt, preventing reaching delta, endangering birds like herons, or enriching farmland so more fertiliser used instead.
Safe flooding zones also used where houses near river bought and demolished such as Rock Island, Illinois and areas of floodplain turned into green spaces. Cheaper in long term by preventing property damage from flooding and wetland habitats close to river preserved.
Overall soft engineering methods more sustainable in long term than hard engineering.
Coastal management in Newcastle, Co. Down.
In Newcastle, Co. Down, there have been number of management strategies used to try and sustain coastline.
One strategy used were concrete groynes built on beach in 1980’s helped sustain beach at first as trapped sand moving north-east, resulting in more tourist enjoyment. However, they unsustainable as only lasted about 20 years before becoming useless and cost around £5,000 per metre to build and had to often be replaced.
The sea wall, built in Victorian era was sustainable as enabled more buildings to be built closer to beach and not worry about risk of flooding. However, large storm in 2002, damaged parts of wall which proved they were not invincible and could be eroded. New, curved sea wall built and project cost around £4 million to build. While protected town and directed energy back out to sea instead of attacking base, increased erosion of beach which caused fewer tourists to visit town and beach due to poor quality, decreasing town’s income of money. Unsustainable as inadvertently caused more erosion of beach and complicated natural processes like Longshore drift.
Gabions, placed near moth of river shimna in 2006, protected recreational ground and maintained many tourist attractions. However, also decayed after time and very expensive to build and replace.
In conclusion, many strategies proved unsustainable due to high costs and short lifespan, but did provide temporary protection from flooding and erosion, sometimes sustainable.
Typhoon Haiyan impacts on people.
Typhoon Haiyan was a category 5 hurricane which winds of 147mph, hit the Philippines on 8 November 2013.
As result of storm, over 6,190 people died with further 1,785 people reported missing, city of Tacloban suffering highest casualties. Many people evacuated from their homes while 371,000 people ended up in refugee camps that couldn’t withstand strong winds. Severe damage to crops and many seed stocks destroyed causing food shortages for 2.5 million people. Further loss of life caused by diseases such as cholera and dysentery from decaying corpses and sewage spread by floodwaters form massive 25m storm surge, contaminated drinking water supplies. Finally there was widespread disruption from electricity cut-outs across the Philippines. City of Bogo blacked out and took several weeks to restore power.
Typhoon Haiyan impacts on property.
Typhoon Haiyan was a category 5 hurricane with winds of 147mph that hit the Philippines on 8th November 2013.
Impacts this event had on property were that 5 million people saw their homes destroyed over an 800km radius, leaving many people homeless. 10,390 schools were destroyed so many children missed out on their education despite attempts to build temporary school buildings. The new town hall in Bogo lost its roof, had windows broken and saw some of its walls collapse due to the 25m storm surge. In the city of Tacloban, many people took refuge in an indoor stadium which withstood the strong winds, but they died when it was flooded. Finally, the main airport in Tacloban was severely damaged and its main terminal was destroyed by a 2.5m storm surge, causing disruption to transport in the city.
Yellowstone National Park impacts on people.
Yellowstone National Park is one of the largest supervolcanoes in the world and around 4 million people each year visit it to see the amazing wildlife and geothermal wonders.
Impacts this supervolcano has on people if it erupted would see everyone killed within 1,000km due to inhaling ash, creating a concrete-like substance in their lungs which could kill approximately 90,000 people. Many building s would be destroyed by only 30cm of dry ash. This would could occur as far away as Los Angeles and Chicago. Also vehicle filters would become clogged up, causing air and road travel to be severely disrupted. Water supplies would become undrinkable due to ash contaminating water storage and natural sources. Finally global rainfall and temperature patterns would be upset, which could cause harvests to fail and famines around the world.
Yellowstone National Part impacts on the environment.
Yellowstone National Park is one of the largest supervolcanoes in the world and around 4 million people each year visit it to see the amazing wildlife and geothermal wonders.
Impacts this supervolcano would have on the environment if it erupted would firstly be global climate change for at least 6 to 10 years, reducing the average temperature of the Earth by 10oC due to sulfuric gas aerosols in the atmosphere. In addition, all mammals in Yellowstone Park would likely die, including bison and wolves, disrupting local ecosystems for many years. Finally, monsoon rains in Asia May fail, creating drought conditions and possibly causing famines due to crop failures.
Indian Ocean Tsunami earthquake impacts on people.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami was a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the 2nd highest ever, that occurred on Boxing Day 26th December 2004. It was caused by a sudden slip of 15m along 1600km when the Indo Australian plate was subducted under the Sunda plate along their fault line.
Short term impacts this had on people were 6h% of Sri Lanka’s fishing boats were destroyed. At least 125,000 people were injured and 1.1 million people were left homeless when the tsunami devastated coastal towns and villages.
Long term impacts this had in people were 187,000 people confirmed dead, with a further 43,000 missing. 17 low-lying Maldive islands had their freshwater supplies contaminated by seawater, making them uninhabitable for decades. There was also emotional distress of losing relatives for many people, especially when no body 2as found for burial. Finally, the rebel group GAM delcared a ceasefire with the Indonesian government to allow for relief and reconstruction and they later signed a peace agreement in 2005.
Indian Ocean Tsunami earthquake impacts on the environment.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami was a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the 2nd highest ever, that occurred on Boxing Day 26th December 2004. It was caused by a sudden slip of 15m along 1600km when the Indo Australian plate was subducted under the Sunda plate along their fault line.
Short term impacts this had on the environment was a 30m high tsunami travelled from its epicentre to countries all around the Indian Ocean.
Long term impacts this had on the environment were damage to coral and mangrove ecosystems on the coasts. Also the were worldwide rises in sea level of 0.1mm as water spilled out from the Indian Ocean after its seafloor was raised.
Indian Ocean Tsumami earthquake management responses.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami was a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the 2nd highest ever, that occurred on Boxing Day 26th December 2004. It was caused by a sudden slip of 15m along 1600km when the Indo Australian plate was subducted under the Sunda plate along their fault line.
Preparations for this event were that there was no official warning system in place and only one island was evacuated to higher ground. A 1p year old British girl on holiday in Phuket, Thailand saw the water receding and warned her parents, so the beach was evacuated, saving about 100 lives.
Immediate and long-term responses to this event were that international aid and expertise was sent from around the world to help aid people, over US $7 billion was sent. State of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Maldives to allow for orderly distribution of aid. The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warming System was set up by UNESCO with 25 new seismograph stations built to detect future tsunami’s and provide warning for countries in the region via national tsunami information centres. Finally community-based disaster preparedness centres have been set up in some places, which have evacuation areas, food and water supplies, and search and rescue plans.
