Geography Paper 1 (Case studies) Flashcards
Nepal (Links with New Zealand) (Tectonic Hazards, Earthquake)
Gorkha, Nepal
- magnitude, 7.8 (same as New Zealand)
- plate boundary, Destructive
Primary Effects
- 9,000 people died
- roads and bridges destroyed
- water tanks and pipes destroyed (no access to clean water or sanitation)
- $5 Billion in damage
Secondary Effects
- avalanches killed further people
- roads blocked by land slides (preventing emergency aid)
- lack of clean water (outbreaks of typhus)
Immediate Responses
- India and China sent teams to help residents rescue people trapped by debris but lack of tools slowed down efforts
- Charities such as Oxfam provided medicine, food and temporary water supplies
- emergency shelters
Long-Term Responses
- Heritage sites reopened to encourage tourists back to the area
- Water supply is being restored
- Organisation working with residents to increase resilience to disasters, for example by providing alternative energy resources
New Zealand (Links with Nepal) (Tectonic Hazards, Earthquake)
Kaikoura, New Zealand
- magnitude, 7.8 (same as Nepal)
- plate boundary, Destructive and Conservative
Primary Effects
- Communication, water, sewerage and power supplies were cut off
- 2 people died
- $8.5 Billion in damage
Secondary Effects
- Landslide blocked the Clarence River leading to flooding and evacuation of 10 farms
- earthquake generated a tsunami
- 100,000 landslides
Immediate Responses
- tsunami warning
- emergency shelters
- Temporary water supplies
- Power supplies restored within few hours
Long-Term Responses
- Most road and rail routes were repaired and reopened within 2 years
- permanent water main, the new pipe was designed to move with any future earthquakes so it won’t break
- $5.3 million funding by Kaikoura District Council to help with rebuilding the towns water systems and harbour
Tectonic Hazards New Zealand and Nepal
- both had the same magnitude of 7.8 but New Zealand had less deaths (2) where as Nepal had more (9,000) because it was less prepared and slower to responded and had a less effective response
- Nepal had bigger population density and less money so more damage and deaths
New Zealand responded quickly to the Earthquake where as Nepal’s response was slower and less effective
Typhoon Haiyan (Weather Hazards, Tropical Storms)
- Philippines
- winds of up to 314km/hr
- storm surge with waves of up to 2.3m
Primary Effects
- 8,000 people killed
- 1 million homes damaged or destroyed
- 1.9 million made homeless
- damaged electricity lines and water supplies were contaminated by salt from storm surge
- flooded 600,000 hectares of farmland
- $13 million in damage
Secondary Effects
- flooding triggered land slides, which blocked roads and delayed arrival of aid
- 5.6 million lost their jobs
- lack of clean water caused outbreaks of diseases
Immediate Responses
- PAGASA (Philippines metrological agency) broadcast warnings two days before, this lead to evacuation of 800,000 people.
- Fishermen warned not to go to sea
- declared state of emergency, which lead to many charities offering aid (food, shelter and clean water)
Long Term Responses
- UN appealed for $300 million to fund rebuilding and relief
- Charities built new storm-resistant houses for those who lost their homes
- encouraged tourism, by emphasising that most areas were unaffected and that money would help rebuilding
Somerset Levels flooding (Weather Hazards)
- UK, Somerset Levels
- received three times average rainfall
- on already saturated ground and coincided with high tides and storm surges. This caused extensive flooding of the Levels, an area of low-lying ground
- rivers hadn’t been dredged
Social Impacts
- 600 homes flooded
- Villages cut off by road
- transport links were closed
- Insurance prices soared
Environmental Impacts
- 11,500 hectares were flooded, including farmland (this destroyed many crops)
- Standing water made the ground toxic and unproductive for over a year. Loss of nutrients and damage to soil structure decreased the long-term fertility of the land
- Tonnes of mud and debris were left by the floods, damaging vegetation
Economic Impacts
- £80 million in damage
- £1.2 million lost in business
- £200 million lost in tourism
Before flood, actions were taken to limit impact:
- warning systems to help prepare
- sandbags and flood boards to try limit flood damage to homes
Since flood, actions taken to limit future risk, £100 million will be spent on:
- turning temporary pumping stations into permanent ones, pumping stations to carry water and waste away
- regular dredging of rivers
- Tidal barrage
- widening River Sowy’s channel and King’s Sedgemoor Drain
Amazon (Tropical Rainforests), Reasons for deforestation
- largest forest on Earth
- between 2001 and 2012 1.4 million has been lost each year, estimated around 30% will be deforested by 2030 at current rate
Commercial Farming
- forest cleared to make space for cattle grazing
- cattle ranching is the main reason for deforestation
- Soy is another commercially farmed crop. Rice, corn and sugar cane are also grown
Subsistence Farming
- Forest is cleared small scale for farmers who need land to grow food for themselves and families
- Many native people are subsistence farmers
Commercial Logging
- valuable hardwood makes logging extremely tempting to both legal and illegal businesses
Mineral Extraction
- explosives are sometimes used to clear the earth, and deep pits have to be dug to reach the mineral deposits
Energy Development
- building hydroelectric dams floods large areas of forest
Population Growth
- Population growth and migration is putting pressure on Amazon rainforest, government offers land in rainforest to poor people form overcrowded cities
Road building
- Highway connects Brazilian cost to Peru through amazon
- New roads built for logging have opened up areas that were previously too hard to get to
Amazon (Tropical Rainforests), Impacts of deforestation
Climate Change
- Trees remove CO2, Deforestation releases this CO2
Soil Erosion
- less trees to intercept rainfall and fewer roots to absorb it, more water reaches soil, reduces fertility as nutrients are washed away
- farmers are then forced to find new land which leads to further deforestation
- losing 100 tonnes of top soil per year leads to flooding and landslides
Economic
- Economic development, farming in particular such as Brazil being the second largest exporter of soy beans
- mining industry creates jobs for lots
- Logging contributes to huge amounts of the economy of Brazil but reduces attractiveness to tourists and reduce resources that countries depend on
- rubber tappers who extract natural rubber from trees have lost their livelihoods as trees have been cut down
Alaska (Cold Environments)
Development Opportunities in Alaska:
- Energy, over half of income comes from oil and gas industry
- Mineral resources, materials such as gold, silver, iron ore and copper are mined in Alaska
- Fishing, In 2016 fishing industry had value of $1.7 billion and employed dover 30,000 fishermen
- Tourism, 2 million tourists each year bringing in almost $2.5 billion and generating employment for 39,000 people
Challenges to Development:
- Extreme Temperature, Exposure to extreme cold makes working outside dangerous
- Inaccessibility, remote and mountainous terrain makes access difficult and expensive, limiting development. In winter the only way to get to some towns is via air travel or dangerous ice roads. In summer there are no roads to some towns because ground is too soft
- Buildings and Infrastructure, soft or frozen ground and extreme weather so building is expensive. Construction can only take place in summer, the value of some resources means people find ways to overcome challenges (oil pipe line raised on stilts to prevent melting permafrost)
Lyme Regis Coastal Management (Costal Landscapes)
Cliff Of Lyme Regis Needs Protecting From Erosion
- Powerful waves from south west erode the sea cliffs
- Much of the town’s eastern side is built along the edge of the cliffs and many properties have been damaged by landslides, slumps and waves breaching the sea walls
Around 1 km of coastline at Lyme Regis is managed using hard engineering strategies because:
- population of 3600 people and 500,000 tourists visit each year
- around 900m of the A3052 road, which links Lyme Regis to other towns along the coast, would have been lost within 50 years
- local economy depends on tourism, but erosion could threaten the historic town centre and tourism industry
Protected by Sea Walls and Rock Armour:
Phase I involved building new rock armour on the eastern end of the sea front
Phase II protected the front of the main town, sand and shingle beaches were replenished, existing rock armour was extended, drainage systems were improved to reduce water build up and prevent landslides
Phase III was meant to prevent landslides but wasn’t carried out as wasn’t worth high costs
Phase IV 390m of sea walls and rock armour and protects roads into town
Positive Effects
- improved beaches increased trade up to 20%
- rock armour absorbs energy of powerful waves, protecting harbour and boats inside
- people feel more secure buying property, easier to insure houses against costal erosion and landslides
Conflicts
- Greater number of tourists means that there is more traffic, litter and noise pollution
- Important fossils have been found, but defences stop new fossils from being exposed
- residents think it was very expensive for short-term solution as defences could need rebuilding around 60 years time
Dorset Coastline (Coastal Landscape)
Durdle Door
- example of an arch formed from a headland
Lulworth Cove
- small bay
Chesil Beach
- tombolo (a type of bar) formed from longshore drift, behind beach is a shallow lagoon called The Fleet lagoon
Swanage Bay, The Foreland and Studland Bay
- two bays formed in areas of soft rock, between them is The Foreland is a headland made from harder rock
- end of the headland has eroded to become a stack called Old Harry and a stump (collapsed stack) called Old Harry’s Wife
Oxford Flood Management (River Landscapes)
- Oxford is located in the middle of the River Thames and the River Cherwell. The two rivers join just south of the city, its in proximity to these rivers so city is at risk of flooding during periods of heavy rain
- floods in 2007 meant 250 homes had to be evacuated and 1420 was flooded for 100 meters
- restricted peoples access to work and services as well as damaging the local economy by preventing tourists
Flood Management Scheme
divert water away from more densely populated areas and protect the city centre by:
- increasing water storage in the floodplain and in existing bypass channel
- planting 20,000 trees and shrubs to slow down runoff and decrease peak discharge
- Reusing excavated materials to build new flood walls and embankments
Social Issues
- Compulsory Land Orders were sent to landowners. Some did not want to sell their land
- Contraction may disrupt residents because of noise pollution and large vehicles blocking roads
- improve public footpaths, more opportunities for recreation
- residents will feel more confident that their homes won’t flood
Economic Issues
- cost over £120 million
- over 1,000 homes and businesses will be better protected, less risk of expensive damage and loss of stock and rising insurance cost
Environmental
- 2,000 trees and 2 hectares of rare grassland will be removed. They will be replanted but it will take a while for them to grow back
- create over 20 hectares of new riverside habitats, improving areas biodiversity
River Clyde (River Landscape)
Look at page 55 of CGP book
- River’s estuary is about 34km west of Glasgow. It is about 3km wide, areas next to the river channel are mudflats
- Glasgow is built on the flood plain of River Clyde it is about 5m above sea level
- The Falls of Clyde are four waterfalls near Lanark, there is also a gorge
- meander in the New Lanark area that may form an ox-bow lake over time
- interlocking spurs at Crawford, between 300 and 500m high
- river meanders between Motherwell and Glasgow
