geography component 1 hazardous earth Flashcards
what is high pressure air?
heavy, cold and dry
what is low pressure air?
light, warm and wet
where is there high pressure air?
the poles
where is there low pressure air?
the equator
why are sun rays strongest at the equator?
the sun directly hits it constantly due to the earths tilt
why is temperature cooler at the poles?
they sun rays are more spread out at the poles as they hit the earth at an angle
how are trade winds caused?
by high pressure air rushing to meet the low pressure air
where do trade winds happen?
the Inter tropical convergence zone and the equator
what does the gulf stream do ?
heated up then moves north , away from the equator towards Europe where it warms the coasts
what keeps heat better, land or water?
water
in the orbital theory, what sometimes happens to the earths orbit?
its sometimes circular and sometimes more of an ellipse
in the orbital theory, what happens to the earths axis?
sometimes its more upright, more on its side or wobble like a spinning top about to fault
what do changes in the earths orbit and axis do?
they affect how much sunlight the earth receives and where it falls on the earth
what are the changes in the orbital alarm referred to as ?
milankovitch cycles
what happens when an asteroid hits the earth?
it blasts millions of tonnes of ash into the atmosphere
what happens to the temperature when an asteroid hits earth?
the ash blocks the sun from reaching earth and the temperature cools.
what do dark spots tell us in the sunspot theory?
they tell us that the suns more active than usual and more solar energy is being fired from the sun
in the eruption theory what do eruptions produce?
ash and sulphur dioxide gas
in the eruption theory where do the eruption gases spread across due to high winds?
the stratosphere
in the eruption theory what does the ash across the stratosphere do?
stop sunlight reaching the earths surface, cooling the planet
whats an example of an eruption that cooled the planet?
mount Pinatubo in the phillipines , 1991
how much ash did mount Pinatubo release?
17 million tonnes
how much did the planet cool by in mount Pinatubo?
0.5 c
whats the enhanced greenhouse effect?
Short uv rays warm up the earth . Long ir rays only escape rarely. When they don’t they warm up the earth
how do you use ice cores to measure climate change?
ice cores are large cylinders that contain air bubbles of co2. the more bubbles there is tells us the hotter the earth was in this period
how can you use tree rings to measure climate change?
when its warm, tree rings grow wider and when its cold tree rings grow narrow
how can you use historical sources to measure climate change?
diaries and books can contain vital info about climate at a certain period
what percent of total gases are carbon dioxide?
89%
what percent of total gases are methane ?
7%
what percent of total gases are nitrous oxide?
3%
what percent of total gases are CFC’s?
1%
what human action produces carbon dioxide?
burning fossil fuels
what human action produces methane?
cows waste
what human action produces nitrous oxide?
fertiliser
what human action produces cfc’s?
aerosols and fridges
how do crop yields effect people?
people closest to the equator will experience drought and decreased crop yields
how do retreating glaciers affect people?
affects water movement in the gulf stream which could be diverted further south, leading to colder temperatures in West Europe
how does rising sea level affect people ?
low lying lands will eventually become fully inundated giving lots of environmental refugees?
in what decade was there an extreme increase in extreme weather events?
1970’s
why is there uncertainty about future temperature change?
we don’t know how many people or what they will do on earth
why is there uncertainty about future sea level rise?
the more climate change the more the sea will rise and we don’t know what changes there will be
where do tropical storms form?
around the equator imbetween the tropics
what temp does a tropical storm need to start?
25-26 c
`how does Bangladesh and the USA use warning about tropical cyclones ?
tv and radio can provide warning
in Bangladesh in 2014, how many warnings reached per 100 phones?
50
in Bangladesh and the USA how do they use satellite technology to prepare for tropical cyclones ?
they allow cyclone formation to be tracked and updated and live weather updates or transmitted
how are awareness campaigns used to prepare people for tropical cyclones ?
allow easy evacuation for coastal areas ( awareness campaigns
how many cyclone warning volunteers are there in coastal areas of Bangladesh?
45,000
how does the USA and Bangladesh use storm surge defences in response to a tropical cyclone?
embankments
what order does the earths crust go in from middle to surface?
inner core, outer core, lower mantle, upper mantle (asthenosphere), (lithosphere) then crust
what is continental crust mostly formed from and what’s its density?
granite and its got a low density
what is oceanic crust mostly formed from and what is its density?
igneous rock and its got a high density
how is a divergent plate boundary formed?
two, usually oceanic plates, move apart and magma rises
in a divergent plate boundary how is a shield volcano caused?
when magma gets caught up in fissures between the plates
how is a conservative platwe boundary fomred?
two plates slide past each other and cqusew friction and seismic waves when they pass each other .
how is a convergent ( continental-oceanic) plate boundary fromed ?
oceanic and contiental crust slide toward each other but because the oceanic is heavier it subducts beneath the continental.
what land form is made via an oceanic contiental plate boundary?
an ocean trench
how is a convergent (continental continental ) boundary formed?
two continental plates slide towards each other and are the same density therefore they crush together to form fold mountains
give an example of a continental continental boundary?
himalayas
what are hotspots ?
volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle
how are hotspots formed ?
the plate moves and the magma rises up it to cause an active shield volcano.
give an example of a primary impact on haiti earthquake?
316,000 people died
give an example of a secondary impact of the Haiti earthquake?
looting and crime increased as the government and police force collapsed
give a secondary impact of the japanese earthquake ?
the world bank estimates the damage to be in excess of $300 billion
in haiti how many more people died than in japan?
20 times more
in japan and Haiti they both suffered from pipe damage, where did cholera occur?
haiti
where was there more homeless people after the earthquake in japan or haiti?
haiti
how much did japan cost to repair ?
$300 billion
how much did Haiti cost to repair?
$14 billion
why did haiti suffer more in deaths regarding where the epicentre was located ?
the epicentre was closer (25km south west of Port au Prince ) than in Japan ( 130km east of Sendai)
what was the difference of the focus in Japan and Haiti?
in Haiti it was close to the surface and in Japan it was 30km below tyhe sea bed.
why was there less deaths in japan?
japan is rich and can earthquake resistancnce buildings
why did Haiti get cholera?
they cant afford much energy relief
what did japans earthquake cause that haitis didnt ?
tsunami
why was there more damage cost in japan?
japan has expensive infrastructure which costs more to fix
