Paper 1 Physical Flashcards
Submergent coastline? (3)
formation of rias, fjords and Dalmation coasts
Emergent coastline features ?
formation of raised beaches and fossil cliffs by isostatic rebound
Characteristics of high energy coasts? (4)
10-15 waves per minute, destructive waves, long fetches and high rates of erosion.
Land formation on high energy coasts? (2)
Cliffs, wave cut platforms
Singapore water management explanation?
5 desalination plants accounting for 25% of water demand, recycle dirty water (NEWater) and rainwater harvesting
Concordant coastlines?
alternating hard and soft rock aligned parallel to the coast
discordant coastline?
alternating hard and soft rock perpendicular to the coast
What does climate change do to ocean water?
Thermal expansion of existing ocean water meaning space of water increases
What is over abstraction?
More water taken then replenished by precipitation
Isostatic change?
Change in level of land when melting of ice causes land to rebound
Eustatic change?
Rising and falling of sea level water
What are physical factors which cause erosion on the Holderness coast?
Lithology (soft boulder clay, porous rocks), destructive waves, long fetch, strong lsd that removes sediment
Negative feedback?
Change produced creates effects that operate to reduce or work against original change.
Definition of Carbon fluxes?
Transfer of carbon from one store to another measured in petagrams
Stores?
Adding and removing carbon from the atmosphere.
Major fluxes? (2)
Oceans and atmosphere and land and atmosphere via photosynthesis and respiration.
Ways carbon is release? (2)
Volcanic outgassing, chemical weathering of rocks
Explain formation of sedimentary carbonate rocks?
phytoplankton and coral absorb carbon dioxide which is dissolved in the sea water and their remains collect on the seabed and get compressed by the layers above them and cemented
Deposition definition?
When waves loose energy and let go of material
what is phytoplankton?
microscopic plants which float on the ocean surface and consume carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis.
Definition of energy security?
ensuring energy supply meets current and future demand
Examples of energy pathways? (5)
pipelines,roads, rails, transmission lines, shipping routes
Why does the Uk have an energy defecit?
Because it imports more energy than it domestically produces
What is the effect of more co2 in the atmosphere? (4)
A rise in mean global temperatures, more extreme weather patterns, sudden shifts in weather patterns, more precipitation and evaporation
Carbon sources?
Adding carbon to the atmosphere
Carbon sinks?
Removing carbon from the atmosphere
What happens to carbon when plants and animals die?
Carbon is released back into the atmosphere
Atmosphere?
contains carbon dioxide and compounds such as methane
Hydrosphere?
As dissolved carbon dioxide
Biosphere?
Carbon In living and dead organisms
Lithosphere?
As carbonates in limestone and fossil fuels e.g (coal,oil and gas)
What is Volcanic outgassing?
When volcanic activity causes carbon trapped in pockets of the earth’s crust to be released into the atmosphere.
Where does outgassing take place?
Volcanic zones, fractures in the Earth’s crust
Definition of carbon sequestration?
Transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to any other store
Example of carbon sequestration?
When plants photosynthesise and stores carbon in its mass
What is the largest carbon store on the Earth?
Oceans, 93% of carbon is stored underwater in algae, corals, plants and in dissolved form
Definition of thermohaline circulation?
The system of surface and deep ocean water currents driven by temperature and salinity differences
3 carbon cycle pumps?
Carbonate pump, biological pump and physical pump
Definition of carbon cycle pumps?
Processes at work to circulate and store carbon.
How does the biological carbon pump work?
Phytoplankton sequesters carbon from the surface of the ocean and converts co2 into organic matter. As the organisms die they sink into the deeper ocean and decay releasing co2 into the deeper ocean.
What is the carbon cycle?
Regulates global temperature and climate by controlling the amount of co2 in the atmosphere
Why is consumption of energy increasing?(2)
Population is growing and countries are becoming more developed and have better standards of living
Renewable energy examples?(4)
solar, hydroelectricity, wind and geothermal
Non renewable energy examples? (3)
fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal)
What is the energy mix for developing countries mostly made up of?
Recyclables such as biomass and general waste as it is cheap
Factors affecting access and consumption of energy?(6)
cost, technology, physical availability, climate, level of economic development and environmental priorities
Definition of secondary energy?
Energy that has been converted from primary energy (electricity)
Definition of primary energy?
Energy found in nature which has not been converted (wind)
5 energy players?
TNC’s, OPEC, government, consumers and energy companies
2 largest consumers of coal?
China and USA
Energy pathway for gas and oil?(2)
Pipelines and tanker ships
Constructive waves characteristics?(4)
Stronger swash than backwash, more deposition then erosion, frequency of 6-8 waves per minute, lower energy waves
Explain one depositional processes?
Constructive waves loose energy and release sediment and have stronger swash than backwash which creates beaches.
2 physical reasons why places are more at risk to flooding?
removal of vegetation and low lying countries
2 economic reasons coastal recession is significant?
houses at risk creating homelessness and tourism can be affected
What coastal landforms does erosion create?(4)
cliffs, wave cut notches and platforms and caves
What does isostatic rebound do?
When ice sheets melt causing less weight on the land therefore a rise in land level locally and a fall in sea level locally.
Sediment cell?
A linked system of sources, transfers and sinks
Low energy coastlines? (3)
Deposition exceeds erosion, low energy waves, beaches, spits and coastal plains
Inputs of coastal system?(4)
People , rock type/structure, weather/ climate change, waves/ tides
Coastal system processes?
Weathering, mass movement, erosion, deposition and transport
3 things the ICZM considers the implications of?
social, economic and environmental causes
4 types of drought?
meterological, agricultural, socio-economic and hydrological
Human factors affecting water insecurity?
Population growth leading to a mismatch in demand for the water and supply
What can water scarcity lead to?
environmental damage, reduce economic development and threaten water supplies
Impacts of drought on forest ecosystems?
less canopy cover as younger trees die, leading to less interception and infiltration, leading to less evaporation
meteorological causes of flooding? (4)
Flash floods, monsoon rainfall, snowmelt, la nina (brings warm water and cool air masses creating more precipitation in Australia.
Effects of flooding on soil?(2)
erodes fertile soil (Amazon), sediment can block sections of the river
Effects of flooding on ecosystems? (4)
destroys agricultural land leading to ruined harvest, different animal species migrate, habitat loss, uproots and breaks plants
Hydrological cycle inputs? (6)
interception, vegetation storage, surface storage, soil moisture, groundwater storage and channel storage
Flows in a hydrological cycle?(6)
infiltration, throughflow, stem flow, percolation, channel flow and surface run off
Outputs of a hydrological cycle? (4)
evaporation, evapotranspiration, transpiration and river discharge
What is the effect of El Nino?
occurs every 2-7 years, Peru sea temperature rises to 6-8 degrees causing thermal expansion and sea level rise. Water near Indonesia and Australia temperature cools, causing less precipitation leading to droughts in Australia.
Difference between economic and physical water scarcity?
Economic- water is readily available but lack the infrastructure
physical- mismatch between demand and supply
Physical causes of water insecurity?
Salt water encroachment- sea level rising
climate variation- drought
Human causes of water insecurity?
over abstraction, industrial pollution and water contamination from agriculture
Water stress and scarcity difference?
Scarcity- below 1000m^3 stress- below 1700m^3 per person
Transboundary conflict example?
River Nile- Ethiopia constructing a DAM which will affect downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan) - Egypt 90% reliant on nile for water
Hazard definition?
natural/geophysical event that threatens people and property
Slab pull definition?
At convergent plate boundaries the high density ocean floor is being dragged down by a gravitational force
Features of divergent plate margin?(4)
Basaltic eruptions, low magnitude and viscosity lava and shallow focus earthquakes
Collision plate margin?(3)
creates fold mountain, high magnitude shallow earthquakes, no volcanoes
Conservative plate margin?(3)
Plates slide past each other, no volcanoes infrequent high/low magnitude earthquakes
Convergent plate margin?
fold mountains, high magnitude earthquakes and volcanoes
S waves causes?
Causes the ground to shake after the earthquake
L waves?
large amplitude and cause crustal fracturing
Primary hazards of earthquakes?
ground shaking, crustal fracturing
Secondary hazards of earthquakes?
liquefaction, landslides and tsunami
Primary hazards of volcanoes?(4)
tephra, lava flows, volcanic gases and pyroclastic flows
Factors affecting capacity to cope?(3)
emergency evacuation, education, land use planning
Ways to measure intensity of an Earthquake?
MMS, mercalli scale
Vulnerability definition?
How susceptible a population is to damage caused by a hazard
Factors that affect communities vunerability?(3)
economic development, population density, physical location
Hazard risk equation?
Risk= Hazard* vulnerability/capacity to cope
Developing vs emerging country earthquake social impacts?
Haiti-300k deaths, Christchurch-181 deaths Less technology in Haiti (aseismic buildings)
Stores of water?
soil water, groundwater, interception, surface storage and the oceans.
Factors affecting the shape of storm hydrographs?
rock type, soil, relief and vegetation, land use zoning and urbanisation
Human activities affecting drought risk?
Over abstraction of ground and surface water, deforestation and climate change
Where are highest magnitude earthquakes found?
Near subduction zones and convergent plate margins
Major stores of carbon?
oceans, atmosphere, biosphere and lithosphere
Terrestrial sequestation?
Uses plants to capture co2 from the atmosphere and store it in its leaves (short scale)
What factors increase pressure on water resources?
population growth, improving living standards (economic growth)
Thermohaline circulation?
Pumps dissolved carbon and sediment around the ocean. (Holds 50 more times the amount of CO2 as atmosphere)
Global hydrological system definition?
The continuous movement of water on, below and above the Earths surface
Give 3 examples of how water is recycled throughout the system?
Evaporation, condensation and flows (water running off into groundwater flows)
Physical factors affecting the drainage basin?(5)
relief, geology, vegetation, soils and climate
What is agricultural drought?
When there is water deficiency in the soil leading to crop failure and reduced biomass.
What is hydrological drought?
Lack of water stored on the surface and underground
Causes of water scarcity?(5)
Physical (salt water encroachment, variation in climate), human- (over abstraction, industrial pollution and water contamination)
3 reasons for importance of water supply?
Domestic use, agriculture and industry and energy
Examples of hard engineering water management schemes?(3)
Desalination plants, mega dams and water transfer schemes
cons of desalination plants?(2)
cons- Expensive and uses vast amounts of energy
Cons of dams?(3)
Expensive to implement, affects ecosystems downstream as it reduces water flow, relocation of people for it to be built
Examples of sustainable water schemes?(3)
smart irrigation, rainwater harvesting, filtration
Example of a place with desalination plant?
Singapore has 5 accounting for 25% of its demand
Factors which affect prices of water?(5)
government policies, privatisation, investment in infrastructure, demand, cost of obtaining water supply
3 types of carbon cycle pumps?
biological, carbonate and physical pump
Physical pump explanation?
Downwelling currents bring carbon to deep ocean floor
How does vegetation help to stabilise coastlines?(3)
Plant roots bind soil and sand together reducing erosion, wind erosion reduced increasing deposition and dead plant material adds matter forming soil
When does energy security increase for a country?
When dependence on imported energy decreases
Factors affecting access to and consumption of energy?(5)
Physical availability, cost, technology, level of economic development and environmental priorities
Costs of unconventional fossil fuels?(3)
Requires lots of energy and water (very expensive), can cause contamination of water, oil spills and land subsidence
Pros of conventional fossil fuels?
Provides jobs and boosts the local economy, greater energy security, provides a source of fuel whilst renewable energy is developed
Difference between magnitude and intensity earthquakes?
Magnitude is the amount of energy released whereas intensity is the severity of ground shaking at a different place
Factors which influence vulnerability and resilience
Isolation/accessability, inequality to education, housing, healthcare and degree of urbanisation
