climate change and weather hazards Flashcards
1
Q
what are the 4 types of differential heating
A
- Radiation at equator
- Aerial tilt
- Atmospheric particles
- Albedo effect
2
Q
What is radiation at equator
A
sun’s heat is more intensive at equator than poles and elsewhere
3
Q
what is albedo effect
A
darker areas absorb light, lighter areas reflect light
4
Q
what happens as air cools
A
pressure is higher, sinking air and clear skies
5
Q
what happens as air is heated
A
pressure is lower, rising air and rain
6
Q
what is an ocean current
A
continuous and directed movement of sea water, created by a number of forces acting on water such as wind
7
Q
how do oceans distribute heat
A
oceans receive most of suns energy, the ocean currents then move the heat around
8
Q
what is inter tropical convergence zone
A
band of low pressure near equator
9
Q
what are jet streams
A
fast flowing, narrow meandering air currents
10
Q
how do jet streams play a key role in determining weather
A
they separate cold and warm air
11
Q
what is climate change
A
large scale, long term shift in planets weather patterns or average temperatures
12
Q
what is global warming
A
ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earth’s surface.
13
Q
what is the main cause of global warming
A
increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
14
Q
what is another word for the quaternary period
A
glacial period
15
Q
what is the quaternary period
A
when ice sheets and other types of glaciers expanded to cover large areas of land
16
Q
what period are we in
A
warmer interglacial periods
17
Q
what are sun spots
A
dark spots on sun mean sun in more active than usual. Lots of spots mean that more solar energy is being fired towards earth
18
Q
when do sun spots come
A
they come and go in 11 year cycles
19
Q
Do sun spots cool or warm the Earth
A
It warms it
20
Q
How do volcanic eruptions affect climate
A
Volcanic eruptions produce ash and sulphur dioxide gas and if they rise high enough they will spread around Earth and stop sunlight from reaching surface
21
Q
How long does the blanket of ash and sulphur dioxide gas last
A
1-2 years
22
Q
Do volcanic eruptions cool or warm the climate
A
cool
23
Q
What is eccentricity
A
every 100,000 years the orbit of the earth changes. When the orbit is more elliptical, the earth is cooler but when the orbit is more circular it is hotter
24
Q
how does eccentricity cause climate change
A
when orbit is more circular, the Earth is warmer but when orbit is more elliptical, Earth is cooler
25
What is obliquity
over 41,000 years earths axis moves from 22.1 degrees to 24.5 degrees and back again.
26
How does obliquity cause climate change
Greater the tilt angle (obliquity), the hotter the summers and the cooler the winters
27
what is precession
The earth's axis wobbles.
28
How does precession cause climate change
In some part of world, this results in very long days or nights and place with longer days(light) means it will be warmer.
29
evidence for natural climate change
ice cores, pollen, tree rings, historical records, geological fossil evidence
30
what are ice cores
cylinders of ice drilled out of an ice sheet or glacier
31
how do you find evidence for climate change from ice cores
they have small bubbles of air that have a sample of atmosphere and from this you can measure past conc of gases
32
Are ice cores reliable
Yes, they are scientifically proven and were preserved
33
What are historical sources
Photographs, drawings, paintings, books, diaries, newspapers etc..
34
are historical sources reliable
No, people might have made fake things or altered things
35
What is dendrochronology
study of the growth of tree rings
36
How is dendrochronology evidence for climate change
Thinner rings mean lower precipitation that year.
37
Are tree rings reliable
No, as trees can be watered, fertilised etc.. to alter the growth
38
How is pollen evidence for climate change
Pollen grains are found in many sediments and can be used to infer which plants existed at what time and plant types vary under different climate conditions.
39
Is pollen reliable
No as it can be carried by wind and plants which usually don't grow in places can be planted
40
what are fossils
preserved remains of an organism
41
consequences of climate change
decrease in crop yields
less fresh water
drought and therefore water shortages
more intense hurricanes
more mosquitoes and disease
42
factors affecting climate change
maritime influence
prevailing wind
altitude
ocean currents
circulation cells
latitude
air masses
43
saffir simpson scale
hurricane wind scale to determine how powerful it is
44
how tropical cyclones form ( simple)
warm ocean heats air above
rising warm air evaporates and starts to spin
air cools and condenses to form towering cumulonibus clouds
intense low pressure sucks in air causing strong winds
45
hazards caused by tropical cyclones
intense rainfall
coastal flooding
landslides
storm surges
strong winds
46
typical immediate responses
emergency food
emergency shelter
evacuation
47
typical long term responses
rebuilding buildings
hazard management plans
48
gdp of USA
20.94 trillion dollars
49
when did Hurricane Sandy take place
late October 2012
50
what category was Hurricane Sandy
Category 3
51
social impacts of Hurricane Sandy
72 deaths in USA
power failure in hospital
Stresses and anxious people
8.5 millions homes and buildings with no power
supermarkets out if essentials
600,000 homes destroyed
52
economic impacts of Hurricane Sandy
71 billion in damages
flights cancelled
crops destroyed
possessions lost
53
environmental impacts of hurricane Sandy
800,000 homes destroyed
untreated sewage in public drinking water
no transport
animal habitats destroyed
54
immediate responses to hurricane Sandy
police evacuated people in danger
schools shut
transportation shut
evacuation centres
people put sand bags out
removing debris from streets
55
long term responses to Hurricane Sandy
Plan rebuilding
charity fundraisers
investments in coastal protection
training people what to do in hurricane
56
where is the Philippines located
Southeast Asia and the capital is Manila
57
how often is Philippines affected by typhoons
more than 20 typhoons a year
58
gdp of the Philippines
361.5 billions dollars
59
population density of Philippines
368km^2
60
life expectancy of Philippines
66 years - men
73 years - female
61
category on saffir simpson scale
category 5 ( highest)
62
when did Typhoon Haiyan take place
November 2013
63
social impacts of Typhoon Haiyan
more than 7,000 people killed
1.9 million people homeless
outbreak of disease
Lack of food, water, medication etc..
population doubled in less effected areas
looting
64
economic impacts of Typhoon Haiyan
5.8 billion dollars in damage
6 million people lost source of income
rice, corn, sugar areas destroyed
airport severely damaged
fishing communities destroyed
rise in proces
65
environmental impacts of Typhoon Haiyan
floods damaged homes and businesses
71,000 hectare farmland affected
loss of habitat
thousands of trees destroyed
roads blocked by trees
66
immediate responses to Typhoon Haiyan
750,000 residents evacuated
asked for national help
charities provided emergency food, water and shelter
government provided emergency food, shelter, medicine
67
long term responses to Typhoon Haiyan
Charities
International aid appeal for 480 million dollars
no build zones
rebuilding 205,000 homes for 1 million people
tourism encouraged to raise money
68
what is meteorological drought
drought caused by weather. It is caused by lack of precipitation and lack of moisture in atmosphere
69
what is hydrological drought
when there is a deficiency of surface water often as a result of less precipitation or excessive reliance on surface water
70
3 human causes of drought
Dams
Agriculture
Deforestation
71
how do dams lead to drought
they restrict the flow of water in the river which leads to a drop in water levels further downstream, leaving an area of drought
72
how does agriculture lead to drought
when water is taken from wetter areas to irrigate agriculture or pumped from rivers or groundwater, leaving water supplies lower
73
how does deforestation lead to drought
if there are no trees there will be nothing to intercept and absorb rainwater and reduced amount of water in soil as rain tends to fall and wash off the land as surface run off.
74
social impacts of drought
ill health caused by low supply or low quality of water
depression and anxiety
migration as people move away from affected areas
75
economic impacts of drought
industries like farming unable to support jobs = unemployment
higher bills
food prices increase as farm production decreases
related industries see drop in income
76
environmental impacts of drought
wild animals suffer from loss of water
habitats damaged or lost
soil dry and cracked, no longer supporting plants
endangered species can go extinct
wildlife may migrate from area
wildfires increased
77
why are some areas more vulnerable to drought
less water vapour in atmosphere so less precipitation
time when precipitation is received
drought is more likely at coast - location
age of people in the area
78
population of California
38.8 million
79
when did the California drought happen
January 2014
80
How long did the California drought last
3 years
81
social and economic impacts of the Cali drought
around 1 billion dollars lost
cost 454 million dollars to pump groundwater
price of fruit and veg increased by 6%
17,100 part time jobs lost
82
environmental impacts of Cali drought
increase in wildfires, over 7000 in 2014
146 wildfire injuries
dried up rivers
428,000 acres of crops out of production
102 million trees died since 2010
83
individuals responses to Cali drought
planting smaller crops
reduce water consumption by 20%
shorten showers
replace lawns with drought resistant plants
84
Government responses to Cali drought
Obama gave 183 million dollars
Governor signed relief legislation for 687 million dollars
fish rescue
500 dollar fines for watering lawn more than x1 a week
85
organisations responses to Cali drought
restaurants only put water on table if asked
hotels ask if towels need to be washed
forecasting models developed by NASA
86
climate of Namibia
subtropical desert climate, great differences in night and day
87
why does Namibia suffer from drought
poor rainfall, low soil moisture, lots of water needed to extract raw materials
88
when was the Namibia drought
2013
89
how long has the Namibia drought lasted
30 years
90
social and economic impacts of Namibia drought
778,000 Namibians severely food insecure
malnutritions is 2nd main cause of death
1/4 pop live in poverty
1/3 people dependant on farming
people forced to sell livestock
91
environmental impacts of Namibia drought
harvest yield 42% less than in 2012
large areas changing from grassland to dessert
92
individual responses to Namibia drought
sell livestock for cheaper
move to cities
abandon villages
93
Government responses to Namibia
pledged for 20 million dollars for relief
food for work program
emergency water supply
free food for vulnerable people
option to sell livestock
94
organisations responses to Namibia
Algerian government donated 1 million in food aid
Unicef appealed for 7.4 million dollars
lutherian chuch provided basic food assistance
95
how does deforestation lead to drought (3)
Widespread deforestation for farming (1) can reduce the amount of
transpiration (1) which reduces the amount of moisture in the
atmosphere (1) which leads to less rainfall (1).
96
how construction of dams leads to drought (3)
The construction of dams for water storage (1) can lead to the
storage of water behind the dam (1) which reduces the amount of
water flowing downstream (1) which leads to a shortage of water (1).
97
how burning of fossil fuels leads to drought
The burning of fossil fuels (1) is leading to rising temperatures (1)
which can lead to lower rainfall in some places (1) reducing the
amount of water available (1).
98
ways government can respond to drought
education programmes
emergency supplies
water restrictions
water metres
99
why more heat energy is received at Equator (3)
Heat/radiation from the sun is more concentrated at the Equator
(1) because the sun’s rays are more direct here (1) due to the
curved shapes of the Earth (1).
100
why temperature varies seasonally in UK (3)
This is due to axial tilt (1) which means that less sunlight is received in the
winter (1) which means that it is colder (1)
OR
There is more sunlight in summer (1) which means that there is more
energy (1) which leads to warmer temperatures (1).
101
why tropical cyclones do not travel far inland (3)
When the tropical cyclone reaches land it is cut off from the water (1) which
provides its energy source (1) causing the storm to die (1).
