Paper 1 Section A - The Challenge of Natural Hazards Flashcards
Adaptation
Responding to climate change by coming up with ways to live and cope with the
effects.
Atmospheric circulation
The general movements of air around the Earth due to pressure and
temperature.
Atmospheric hazard
Hazards caused by the weather and processes in the atmosphere.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
The process of capturing carbon dioxide that would
normally be emitted into the atmosphere and storing it underground in reservoirs.
Conservative plate margin
A plate margin where two plates are moving alongside each other.
Constructive plate margin
A plate margin where two plates are moving away from each other.
Continental crust
The thicker, less dense crust that makes up the continents.
Convection current
The movement of a fluid caused by a difference in temperature or density.
Coriolis Effect
The effect of the Earth’s rotation on wind movements.
Cyclone
A tropical storm that hits Oceania or Madagascar.
Destructive plate margin
A plate margin where two plates are moving towards each other.
Eccentricity
The changing of the orbit of the Earth around the Sun from a circular shape to an
ellipse.
Eye
An area of a tropical storm with extremely low pressure and calm conditions.
Eyewall
An area of a tropical storm with the most intense, powerful winds and torrential rain.
Ferrel Cell
At around 60° either side of the equator, moist air rises, and travels to lower latitudes
at around 30° where it sinks, along with air travelling from the equator.
Fossil fuels
Fuels made up of the remains of organic material, such as oil, coal and gas.
Geological hazard
A hazard caused by processes on the land.
Greenhouse Gases
Gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap energy in the Earth’s system and
contribute to the greenhouse effect (carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour and nitrous oxides).
Hadley Cell
At the equator, hot moist air rises, moves to higher latitudes (30°) and sinks.
Hazard risk
The probability that a natural hazard will negatively affect a population.
Hotspot
An area where unusually hot magma breaks through the middle of a plate and travels up
to the surface, creating a volcano.
Hydrological hazard
A hazard caused by the movement of water on the land.
Ice core
A cylinder of ice extracted from an ice sheet or glacier, which is used to analyse past
environmental conditions.
Immediate responses
Actions taken as soon as the hazard happens and in its immediate
aftermath (hours, days, and potentially a week or so after the event).
Long-term responses
Actions taken after the immediate responses when the effects of the
hazard have been minimised (weeks, months, and years after the event).
Magma
Molten rock found beneath the Earth’s surface.
Mantle
The area underneath the crust which contains magma.
Marine sediment core
A cylinder of ocean sediments removed from the ocean floor, which is
used to analyse past environmental conditions.
Mitigation
Reducing the causes of climate change, so that climate change slows or even stops.
Monitoring
Detecting and recording physical changes and warning signs of a hazard.
Natural hazard
A naturally occurring event that is a threat to a population.
Obliquity (or axial tilt)
The tilt of the Earth’s axis, which changes from 21.5° and 24.5°.
Oceanic crust
The thinner, denser crust that makes up the ocean floor.
Planning
Having systems in place, such as evacuation routes, so that if a hazardous event does
occur, the population is prepared in advance.
Plate margin
The point at which two plates meet.
Polar Cell
At 60° north or south of the equator, moist air rises, and travels to the poles (90°),
where it sinks.
Precession
The ‘wobble’ of the Earth’s axis.
Prediction
Using monitoring as well as historical trends and computer-based modelling to predict
when a hazardous event may occur.
Pressure belt
A region of the Earth which is generally under the same pressure.
Primary effects
The effects that are directly caused by the hazard itself.
Protection
Increasing the resistance of a population to natural hazards by physically designing
things that will withstand natural hazards.
Quaternary Period
The geological time period that started 2.6 million years ago and extends into
the present.
Secondary effects
The effects that are a result of the primary effects.
Storm surge
A rise in sea level caused when a tropical storm pushes a large amount of sea
water onto the shore.
Subduction
A process that occurs at a destructive plate margin when a plate is pushed below
another plate, forcing it to sink into the mantle.
Tectonic hazard
A natural hazard caused by the physical processes and movements of tectonic
plates.
Tectonic plates
Large slabs of the Earth’s crust that sit and move on top of the liquid mantle.
The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect
A process where the Earth’s surface is heated by the
greenhouse effect at a higher rate due to increased greenhouse gas emissions from human
activities.
The Greenhouse Effect
A natural process where greenhouse gases trap the energy from the
Sun inside the Earth’s atmosphere, warming the Earth’s surface.
Tropical storm
A very large, spinning storm with high winds and torrential rain that forms in the
tropics.
Tsunami
A large wave caused by a large amount of water being displaced when plates move.
Typhoon
A tropical storm that hits India, Japan or the Philippines.
