Geography Case Studies Paper 1 (20/05/2022) Flashcards
LIC - Nepal and HIC - New Zealand Earthquake (Weather Hazards)
- magnitude of 7.8
LIC - Nepal Primary effects (caused by earthquake): 9,000 deaths; 23,000 injured; 800,000 buildings destroyed
Secondary effects (caused by primary effects): Avalanche on Mount Everest killing 19 people; loss of income from tourism
Immediate responses (happens straight after hazard): Nepal requested international help; UK raised $126 million; Red Cross - tents for 225,000 people; food and drink from charities
long term responses: Water supply being restored; Rebuilding
HIC - New Zealand
Primary effects: 2 deaths; 50 injured; tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed
Secondary effects - 100,000 landslides which blocked major road and rail routes; a major landslide blocked the Clarence River leading to floods; earthquake generated a Tsunami
Immediate responses: A tsunami warning was issued; hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated
Long term responses: Continue to monitor; continue to prepare; continue to have building regulations; most road and rail routes repaired and reopened within 2 years
Typhoon Haiyan - Tropical Strom (Weather Hazards)
Primary effects: 6,340 killed; 314 km/hr wind speeds; 5m storm surge
Secondary effects: $14 Billion of damage; Water supplies polluted; 130,000 houses destroyed, leaving 4.2 million homeless
Immediate responses: 1,069 emergency shelters set up in public buildings; Disaster Emergency Committee helped
Long Term responses: UN appeal raised $300 million; Typhoon warning systems have been improved
Somerset Levels (Flooding)
Effects:
Social Effects: more than 600 homes flooded and many people forced to evacuate: Villages cut off by road, had to get in and out of village by boat
Economic Effects: £80 million in damage; local companies lost £1.2 million in business
Environmental Effects: 11,500 hectares were flooded, including farmland which destroyed many crops; standing water made ground toxic and unproductive for over a year; loss of nutrients and damage to soil structure decreased long-term fertility of land
Management Strategies:
Before the flood, warning systems gave people time to prepare. Individuals and local authorities used sandbags and flood boards to reduce/prevent damage to homes. Since the flood £100 million pound scheme set up to reduce the risk of future flooding. Includes permanent pumping stations to get water off the levels, more regular dredging of the river Parrett and Tone, Tidal barrage at Bridgewater and widening the River Sowy’s channel and King’s Sedgemoor Drain
Epping Forest - UK small scale ecosystem (Ecosystems)
- Located east of London
- managed in variety of ways: as hunting grounds for royalty, a timber resource and nowadays, recreation
Characteristics
- High biodiversity thanks to careful management
- Studies found 700 species of fungi
How is the ecosystem interdependent
- Producers, consumers and decomposers and interdependent (need each other)
- deciduous trees loose leaves in winter; This is an adaptation to the UK’s seasonal climate. Winters are darker and cooler so trees grow broad green leaves in spring to maximise photosynthesis during summer. They shed leaves in autumn and conserve energy in winter
- By mid autumn, the forest floor is covered with a thick layer of leaves. By spring the leaves have been decomposed by the decomposers and soil is now nutrient rich to help plants growth. This will ultimately include fruits and berries that, in turn, support many primary consumers
- Nutrient cycling demonstrates the interdependence of plants, animals and soil
What explains the characteristics of Epping Forest nutrient cycle?
- Biomass store is large because of the great highest of the trees, and the dense undergrowth beneath them. The soil is large too because there is always plenty of nutrients. The high flow rates between the litter, soil and biomass stores reflect the vigorous cycle of new growth that takes place each year. the forest also loses a lot of nutrients each year via leaching, during heavy rainfall
