Paper 1 Flashcards
What happens in a Hadley cell?
Between 0 and 30 north and south of the equator
Warm moist air rises and travels whilst forming clouds because water vapour condenses
What happens in a Ferrell cell?
As air moves north and south of the equator towards 30
Here the warm air has cooled down with height and now cold, dry air is sinking and travelling east
What happens in a polar cell?
Cool air sinks back down to earth
The air is still moving west towards 60 north and south of the equator. Some air is transferred to Ferrell cell which will travel to the equator
How is cool air returned back to the equator or towards the poles?
Air completes the cycle and flows back towards the equator as the trade winds
What are ocean currents?
In the North Atlantic cold, salty water is heavy and sinks
This sets up a convection current which drags surface water down
The current draws warmer salty water over the ocean surface from area near the equator
This cools and sinks and flows south toward the equator where it is warmed again
Focus
The point of origin of an earthquake
ITCZ
A narrow zone of low pressure near the equator where northern and southern air masses converge
Safari Simpson scale
Hurricane scale
5 categories
Richter scale
Magnitude of earthquakes
How do orbital changes cause climate change?
The earths orbit is sometimes circular, and sometimes more oval
The earths axis tilts. Sometimes it is more upright and sometimes more on its side
The earths axis wobbles.
Changes called milankovitch cycles
Can be hotter or cooler
How can volcanic activity cause climate change?
Volcanic eruptions produce
Ash and sulphur dioxide gas
Stops some sunlight
Cools planet and lowers the average temperature
How can sunspots cause climate change?
Black areas on the suns surface
Lots of spots means more solar energy being fired out.
How can asteroid collisions cause climate change?
The impact releases ash and dust into the atmosphere
Cools the climate because it blocks the sunlight
How can climate change evidence come from tree rings?
Find out by the trees experiences.
Periods of growth can be seen from the number of rings in a tree
How can climate change evidence come from ice cores?
Trapped in ice layers are air bubbles. These preserve air from the time the snow fell.
Locked in the air bubbles is CO2
Climatologists can reconstruct past temperatures by drilling a core through ice and measuring the amount of trapped CO2 in ice layers
How can climate change evidence come from historical records?
Old photos, drawings and painting of the landscape.
Written records, such as diaries, books and newspapers
The recorded dates of regular events, such as harvests, the arrival of migrating birds and tree blossom
Enhanced greenhouse effect
The increased effectiveness of the greenhouse effect, believed to be the cause of recent global warming
What is the greenhouse effect?
A natural process where greenhouse gases trap the energy from the sun inside the earth’s atmosphere, warming the earths surface
How does declining sea ice provide climate change evidence?
The average sea temperature is increasing which is melting the ice
How do tropical cyclones develop?
Large, still warm ocean whose surface temperatures is greater than 26.5c
Strong winds
Coriolis force
How do tropical cyclones intensify?
Warm water
Warm moist air
How do tropical cyclones dissipate?
Lack of water (no energy)
Lack of warm moist air
What is the eye of a cyclone?
An area of a tropical cyclone with extremely low pressure and calm conditions.
What is the eyewall of a cyclone?
An area of a tropical cyclone with the most intense, powerful winds and torrential rain.
What happens at the edge of a cyclone?
Coriolis force causes rising currents of air to spiral around the centre of the tropical cyclone.
What physical hazards do tropical cyclones cause?
Strong winds
Storm surges
Intense rainfall
Landslides
Coastal flooding
What impacts do these physical hazards have on people?
Loss of homes
Deaths
Destruction of buildings
Loss of global communication
What impacts do these physical hazards have on the environment?
Destroys habitats
Ecosystems messed up
Deforestation
Why may a country have physical vulnerability to a cyclone?
Low lying
Coastal
Why may a country have economic vulnerability to a cyclone?
It’s expensive to repair
Why may a country have social vulnerability to a cyclone?
Kills people
How is forecasting used to respond to/ prepare for tropical cyclone?
Allows for evacuation
Educate people on cyclones
How is evacuation used to respond to/ prepare for TCS?
Less people will die because they are already gone
Lower death toll
Still buildings suffer
Helps emergency services control the situation
How is defences used to respond to/ prepare for TCS? (Provide examples)
Not very effective
Could absorb some of the energy of the storm
Examples
Beach nourishment
Creating reefs and wetlands
Artificial islands
What are the characteristics of the core?
Inner = solid
Under huge pressure
Outer = liquid
Under low pressure
Consists of iron and nickel
What are the characteristics of the mantle?
Upper part called asthenosphere
Beneath the earths crust lies the mantle
Convection currents occur within lower mantle
What are the characteristics of the crust?
Continental
Forms the land
Made of granite
Oceanic crust
Under the oceans
Denser than continental
How do convection currents cause tectonic plates to move?
Convection cells where heat moves towards surface called plumes
Some plumes rise and form divergent plate boundaries at the surface
What are convergent plate boundaries?
A plate boundary where two plates are moving towards each other
What are divergent plate boundaries.
A plate boundary where two plates are moving away from each other
What are conservative plate boundaries?
A plate boundary where two plates are moving alongside each other
Shield volcanoes?
Where form
What look like
Type of lava
Hazards
Form at constructive plate boundary
Low with gentle sloping sides
Basaltic lava
Takes longer to cool so flows over longer distances
Composite volcanoes?
Where form
What look like
Type of lava
Hazards
Found at destructive plate boundary
Steep slopes
Infrequent but violent eruptions. Andesite lava
Lava flows. Travels only short distance before cooling