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Geography > Hazardous Environments > Flashcards

Hazardous Environments Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a hazard

A

An extreme event that threatens people, their property and settlements

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2
Q

When does a hazard become a disaster

A

When the hazard causes widespread destruction to property and human lives(death)

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3
Q

Risk

A

The probability of an event happening and the scale of its possible damage

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4
Q

Features of oceanic crust

A

-newer(less than 200 million years old
-denser(heavier)
-thinner(5km)
-can subduct

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5
Q

Features of continental crust

A

-older(1500million years old)
-less dense
-thick(30 km)
-cannot subduct

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6
Q

Ways tectonic plates move

A

-slab pull
-ridge push
-convection currents

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7
Q

Lithosphere

A

Top 100 km of the earth that makes up the earths tectonic plates

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8
Q

Asthenosphere

A

The rest of the upper part of the mantle that acts as a lubricant for the tectonic plates to move on

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9
Q

Trends in the distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes

A

-mostly correlate with plate boundaries
-volcanoes are three quarters around the pacific ring of fire which is a ring around the pacific
Volcanoes that aren’t on plate boundaries are called hotspot volcanoes

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10
Q

Features of constructive plate boundaries

A

-2 plates move apart, creating new crust in the middle as magma pushes its way up and solidifies
-creates effusive volcanoes and small earthquakes

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11
Q

Features of destructive plate boundaries

A

-two plates move towards each othee
-oceanic plate subducts underneath continental plate
-subducting plate melts because of high temps in the earth. Magma rises and is extruded at the surface, forming volcanoes
-creates powerful earthquakes and explosive volcanoes

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12
Q

Collision plate boundaries

A

-2 continental plates collide
–forced to buckle upwards
-causes powerful earthquakes and fold mountains. No volcanoes

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13
Q

Conservative plate boundaires

A

-2 plates slide past each other
-creates powerful earthquakes as pressure builds up between the plates then is suddenly released

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14
Q

How does a volcano form at a constructive boundary

A

-two plates move apart from each other
-magma rises to the surface at this weak spot and is extruded in eruptions
-this forms volcanoes when it solidifies to lava
-forms shield volcanoes

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15
Q

Characteristics of shield volcanoes

A

Short
Gently sloping
Composed of basaltic lava
Low viscosity
Effusive eruptions

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16
Q

destructive boundary volcano formation

A

-two tectonic plates converge together
-oceanic plate subducts underneath continental plate
-oceanic plate melts
-newly formed magma rises to the surface and is erupted
-forms a volcano over time as more material is erupted, cools and solidifies to lava
-forms strato volcanoes

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17
Q

characteristics of strato volcanoes

A

-tall, steep-sided
-alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic flow/ash deposits due to sticky, high viscosity rhyolitic lava which have explosive eruptions

18
Q

benefits of living near volcanoes

A

-jobs created(tour guides, mining
-fertile soil for farming
-geothermal energy can be used to heat homes
-valuable minerals
-tourist visit to see features like geysers, bringing money to the economy
-can create new land

19
Q

negative of living near volcanoes

A

-risk of eruption
-risk of contaminated water
-mining can cause noise, air and dust pollution
-ash can have negative impacts on infrastructure
-destroy land during eruptions
-poisonous gases and ash erupted that are harmful and contaminate the air

20
Q

why do people live in areas at risk of earthquakes

A

-ignorance of the risk-may not have a large earthquake in living memory
-no social memory of an earthquake having occurred
-wish to stay near relatives/where they grew up/god location etc
-people do nothing and accept the hazard
-people adjust to living in a hazardous environment (strengthening the home and preparedness)

21
Q

causes of earthquakes

A

-plates get stuck due to friction, often caused by protrusions on the opposite plate
-pressure builds up
-pressure gets too great and plates slip. Slipping motion causes energy to be released in the form of seismic waves, which is an earthquake

22
Q

precursor events of earthquakes

A

small tremors in preceding months
increase in radon emissions
-indicators of previous earthquakes(fault lines and seismic gaps)

23
Q

Factors affecting number of deaths

A

-age of building/if they have been made EQ proof
-infrastructure damage
-potential for ground liquefaction
-population density
-poverty
-poor governance
-depth of focus
-strength of earthquakes
-number of aftershocks
-level of development
-time of day
-distance from epicentre
-proximity to secondary hazards(tsunamis, landslides etc)

24
Q

locations of tropical cyclones

A

-tropical oceans 5-30 degrees N/S o the equator
-hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans
-cyclones in the Indian Ocean
-Typhoons in the western Pacific

25
Q

causes of the formation of tropical cyclones

A

-Warm, moist air rapidly rises forming an area of low pressure
-Air from high-pressure areas rushes in to take the place of the rising air
-This air then rises forming a continuous flow of rising air
-As the air rises it cools and condenses. This releases heat energy which helps to power the tropical cyclone
-Air at the top of the storm goes outwards away from the centre of the storm
-The Coriolis force causes the rising air to spiral around the centre.
-Some of the air sinks in the middle of the storm forming the cloudless, calm eye.
-The tropical cyclone moves westwards from its source
-When a tropical cyclone makes landfall or moves over an area of cold water it no longer has a supply of warm, moist air and it loses speed and temperature. Rainfall and winds decrease

26
Q

vulnearability

A

how susceptible a population is to a hazard

27
Q

hotspot volcanoes

A

-location on the Earth’s surface where there are active volcanoes not on or near a plate boundary
-form due to mantle plumes
-columns of hot, molten rock that rises from deep within the Earth’s mantle, and reaches the surface in the form of an eruption
-eg hawaii

28
Q

ridge push

A

-occurs at mid ocean ridges
-rigid lithosphere sliding down the hot raised asthenosphere under the force of gravity

29
Q

slab pull

A

-subducting plate sinks into hot mantle beneath it
-Slab pull occurs where older, denser tectonic plates sink into the mantle at subduction zones. As these older sections of plates sink, newer and less dense sections of plate are pulled along behind. Sinking in one place leads to plates moving apart in other places.

30
Q

convection currents

A

-magma near outer core is heated
-magma warms up and expands and becomes less dense
-less dense magma starts to rise towards the crust
-as magma nears the crust it begins to cool
-cooling magma becomes denser and begins to sink
-rising and falling magma creates circular currents with the mantle
-these currents that create friction with curst above and causes it to move

31
Q

volcanic hazards

A

-lava flows
-pyroclastic flow
-lahars

32
Q

lava flows

A

-extremely hot so can cause severe burns and often burn down vegetation and structure

33
Q

pyroclastic flow

A

-people can be killed by pyroclastic flows
-try travel fast so people cannot outrun them
-they are burnt to death or chocked to death

34
Q

lahars

A

-specific kind of mudflow made up of volcanic debris
-formed from rapid melting of snow and ice during an eruption
-heavy rainfall on loose volcanic debris
-flow like liquids

35
Q

predict

A

prediction is knowing an event is shortly about to take place

36
Q

prepare

A

finding about ways to reduce possible impacts of earthquakes and tsunamis

37
Q

recovery

A

-involves deciding what needs to be done to restore disaster area back to normal

38
Q

appraise

A

-looking at disaster and assessing how well or otherwise the emergency operations worked

39
Q

how can developed countries prepare for earthquakes

A

-training/educating people
-emergency drills
-availability of emergency kits
-earthquake proof building design
-roads and bridges specially strengthened

40
Q

how can short term relief help reduce impacts in a developing country

A

-management of local water supplies so sanitation conditions are improved
-use of emergency aid to help people with injuries so treatment of people can save lives
-donating food and shelter to affected people so they are protected from exposure and weather conditions
-burying any dead who suffered from the collapse of buildings to stop spread of disease

Geography (4 decks)

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