Geography - Dynamic Landscapes CASE STUDIES Flashcards
how many died in total as a result of the indian ocean tsunami?
290,000
what was the magnitude of the indian ocean earthquake which caused the tsunami?
9.0
by how many metres did the fault block rise in the indian ocean?
15 metres
how many were left homeless as a result of the indian ocean tsunami?
1.7 million
why was the indian ocean tsunami so destructive?
- epicentre close to densely populated communities.
- low-lying coastlines.
- mangrove forests deforested.
- no DART or early warning system
what were the main impacts of the indian ocean tsunami?
- 1500 coastal villages destroyed.
- 60% of the fishing fleet in Sri Lanka was destroyed.
- economic cost came to over $10 billion
- 290,000 died
what was the magnitude of the Haiti earthquake?
7.0
how many died as a result of the Haiti earthquake?
200,000
why was Haiti so vulnerable?
- poor country with limited infrastructure
- poor capacity to cope.
- hadn’t yet developed from the hurricane in 2008
- poorest country in the western hemisphere.
what were the immediate impacts of the Haiti earthquake
- 70% of the buildings in Port-au-Prince collapsed, including the presidential palace.
- nearly 100 UN personnel were killed which slowed rescue efforts.
how did the cholera outbreak slow the recovery from the Haiti earthquake?
- 6,900 deaths.
- it could’ve been prevented but efforts were pointed towards slowing the spread of cholera.
how many died as a result of the Sichuan earthquake?
87,000
what was the magnitude of the Sichuan earthquake?
7.9
how did poor governance lead to more losses due to the Sichuan earthquake?
- there’s a strict building code in china, all buildings must adhere to these rules.
- builders bribed corrupt councillors so that they didn’t have to add earthquake proofing to buildings.
- many schools etc. collapsed as they weren’t built well enough.
- this resulted in 5.36 million buildings collapsing.
how were rescue efforts in Sichuan hindered?
- mountainous region
- 5,300km of roads and bridges damaged/destroyed
what was the magnitude of the Japanese 2011 tsunami?
9.0
how many people died as a result of the Japanese 2011 tsunami?
18,000
what were the primary effects of the Japanese 2011 earthquake?
(+ explain)
- ground shaking: some parts of japan shifted 2.4m further east.
- ground subsidence: ground subsided by 1m, rendering 10m high sea walls useless.
- liquefaction: buildings in Tokyo damaged.
what were the secondary effects of the Japanese 2011 earthquake?
- tsunami: caused by 5-8m high upthrust along a 180km section of the sea floor.
- flooding: massive coastal flooding as a result of the tsunami.
what was the immediate response to the fukushima meltdown?
- 20km exclusion zone
- cool and stabilise reactors
- contamination of surrounding area contained
how many farm animals died as a result of the Sichuan earthquake?
32 million
how can volcanic activity be measured in order to predict an eruption?
- observing changes in ground temp. and composition of volcanic gases.
- monitoring seismic activity
- measuring ground deformation
- studying past patterns of volcanic activity
what were the impacts of the eyjafjallajokull eruption?
-flooding: jokulhaup caused flooding. 800 local people were evacuated.
-disruption to farming: drinking water poisoned due to ash. Ash falls damaged vegetation but made the soil more fertile in the long term
-airport closure: ash fall closed airports in Iceland for several days
-decline in air quality: schools in southern Iceland closed, people told to stay indoors. Those with asthma told to be vigilant, some experienced minor health problems such as eye irritations and sore throats.
-mudslides (lahars): ash mixed with meltwater caused lahars.
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what are the social impacts of the montserrat eruption?
- 8000 people left the island
- 19 people died when they returned to their homes in 1977
- 5000 people had to live in shelters
- 60% of the island uninhabitable
what were the economic impacts of the montserrat eruption
- decline in the tourist industry
- 2 major airports destroyed
- capital covered in ash
- unemployment up to 50%
- UK gave £75m to help develop infrastructure
how was the montserrat eruption managed?
- seismograph network around the volcano.
- GPS system checks for ground movements
- COSPEC measured emissions from the volcano
- rainwater pH measured
- volcano observatory built
COASTAL LANDSLIDE CASE STUDY
Oxwich bay, South Wales
- date
- type of mass movement
- geology
- cause
- 2009
- rock fall
- discordant coastline made mainly of resistant limestone and weaker mudstone. bedding planes dip seaward.
- freezing temperatures lead to frost shattering, causing joints in the limestone to increase by 9%. large boulders of limestone then fell under the influence of gravity.
what effect does geology have on the holderness coast?
- it mainly consists of bounder clay, which isn’t very resistant.
- boulder clay leads to shallow, sloping cliffs
- differential erosion results in landforms such as flamborough head where there are chalk cliffs.
what effect does fetch have the holderness coast?
- currents result in destructive waves along this coastline
- low pressure weather systems across the north sea are intense, producing locally strong winds and waves.
- the sea floor is deep along holderness so there’s not much friction between waves and the sea bed.
how so subaerial processes effect the holderness coast?
-slumping: the alternate wetting and drying of clay causes expansion and shrinkage. this makes the cliff more porous when it rains.
how has managed retreat been used in happisburgh?
- coastal defences along 600m of the coastline
- defences are expensive so a ‘roll back’ strategy has been used to create a buffer between the eroding cliff and the local villages.
- lobbying by the CCAG has caused this plan to be implemented
how is Australia at risk from flooding in the future
- 1m rise in sea level would cause $162b in business loss and $67b in infrastructure.
- would also cause 8% of workforce to be unemployed.
- 65,000 homes at risk in NSW.
- great barrier reef at risk.
how has Thailand used a sustainable method of coastal defence?
2014, over 2 million mangroves planed in 70 villages.
