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A-level Geography > Paper 3 - Physical and Human > Flashcards

Paper 3 - Physical and Human Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a hazard?

A

A perceived natural/geophysical event that has the potential to threaten both life and property

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2
Q

What is a disaster?

A

The realisation of a hazard, when it causes significant impact on vulnerable people

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3
Q

When does a hazard become a disaster?

A

When 10 or more people are killed and/or 100 or more are affected

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4
Q

What is resilience?

A

The ability to protect lives, livelihoods and infrastructure from destruction, and to restore areas after a natural hazard has occurred

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5
Q

Why do less developed countries tend to be more vulnerable to hazard events?

A

They tend to have other, more pressing problems, such as poverty and disease, which means that they’ll spend less money on disaster preparation

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6
Q

Why is age a significant factor in people’s resilience?

A

Children and the elderly are much more likely to suffer from a range of hazards

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7
Q

What percentage of the world’s population over the age of 60 live in less-developed regions, and how much is this expected to rise by 2050?

A

Around 66% of the world’s population aged over 60 live in less-developed regions. By 2050, this is expected to rise to 79%

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8
Q

What is meant by the term ‘failure of development’?

A

When less developed countries, who have a less developed economy, aren’t capable of educating people on widespread hazards - this is because there are more pressing issues such as poverty and disease that the government would rather spend money on

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9
Q

What is the PAR model?

A

The PAR models includes the root causes of why a country/region would by considered vulnerable. These root causes can create dynamic pressures, which can lead to unsafe conditions

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10
Q

What is a multiple-hazard zone/disaster hotspot?

A

Places where a number of physical hazards combine to create an increased level of risk for the country and its population

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11
Q

Location of the Philippines

A
  • South-East Asia
  • In the Pacific Ring of Fire
  • Its location makes it particularly vulnerable to hazards as it is on a fault line, meaning its susceptible to earthquakes, etc…
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12
Q

What makes the Philippines so vulnerable?

A
  • Poverty - 25% of the population
  • Very isolated
  • Coastal settlements (sea surges, tsunamis, flooding) - 60% of the population
  • Rivers prevent communication
  • Frequent storms, in recent years has been affected by 15 typhoons
  • Number of active volcanoes (22), over 30% of the population live within 30km of a volcano
  • Poor education
  • Poor infrastructure
  • ‘Power is in the hands of the few’ - government control a lot of land
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13
Q

How many islands make up the Philippines?

A

7107

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14
Q

ENSO cycles (El Niño)

A
  1. This is a natural occurring large mass of very warm seawater in the equatorial Pacific Ocean
  2. This warm water is normally located in the Western Pacific, where it is pushed by ocean currents, trade winds and the Walker circulation cell in the atmosphere
  3. On average, every 7 years there pushing forces weaken which allows the mass pf war water to move eastwards towards the west coasts of Central and South America
  4. The mass of warm water causes higher evaporation and precipitation rates, while areas of cool water bring drier weather
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15
Q

Human causes of drought

A
  • Landuse - unreliable farming practices, overfarming leads to desertification
  • Use of fossil fuels leads to global warming
  • Over-abstraction of available water sources
  • Deforestation reduces evapotranspiration rates
  • Overgrazing
  • Population growth
  • Mining requires lots of water
  • Building reservoirs stops water from moving downstream
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16
Q

Mangroves (threats to ocean health)

A
  • Found along tropical and sub-tropical coasts of Africa, Australia, Asia and the Americas
  • They sequester almost 1.5 metric tonnes of carbon per hectare, per year
  • Their soils consist of thick organic layers of litter, humus and peat, which contain high levels of carbon dioxide (over 10%)
  • These soils are anaerobic as they are submerged by high tides twice a day, meaning that bacteria and microbes cannot survive, so decomposition of plant matter is slow - little carbon is released back into the atmosphere
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17
Q

Benefits of mangroves

A
  • They stabilise the coastline against erosion
  • They provide protection and shelter against extreme weather (e.g. storms, winds and floods) and tsunamis, by absorbing and dispersing surges
  • They provide nurseries for coastal fish away from predators
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18
Q

Human activities on mangroves

A
  • We’re draining and clearing them for tourism, shrimp farming and aquaculture - this has accounted for over 25% of the loss of the mangroves
  • Globally, half of all mangrove forests have been lost since 1950
  • According to Malaysian researchers, if just 2% of the world’s mangroves are lost, the amount of carbon released will be 50x the natural sequestration rate
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19
Q

Research indicates that what percentage of the world’s mangrove forests may have been lost between 1980 and 2000?

A

At least 35%

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20
Q

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimated that fishing supports how many people? What percentage of these people live in developing countries? (threats to ocean health)

A

It supports 500 million people, of which 90% live in developing countries

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21
Q

Fish provide what percentage of the annual protein consumption for 3 billion people?

A

16%

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22
Q

Coral reefs shelter what percentage of marine species?

A

25%

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23
Q

Example of a marine ecosystem for tourism?

A

Great Barrier Reef

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24
Q

Human activity on coral reefs and marine species

A
  • Coral bleaching - affects food sources and incomes for those living in coastal communities
  • Tourism - reduces if the reef is damaged (damages local economies), tourism can lead to the damage (breaking off coral as a souvenir)
  • Climate change - research suggests that marine organisms may be responding faster to climate change than terrestrial plants and animals
  • Warming waters - killing cold-water plankton in the North Atlantic that North Atlantic cod are eating, Arctic krill stocks are declining by up to 75% in some parts of the Southern ocean
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25
Q

Ocean acidification

A
  • Carbonic acid reacts with carbonate ions in the water to form bicarbonate
  • The higher the acidity, the more it dissolves carbonate shells
  • Ocean acidification has lowered the pH of the ocean by about 0.1. This means than it’s 30% more acidic than it was in 1750
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26
Q

Which temperatures can coral survive in?

A

23-29°C

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27
Q

Cora bleaching

A

It occurs when coral polyps expel the algae that live inside their tissue, causing the coral to turn white, due to a number of stresses such as light, temperature, or nutrients

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28
Q

Climate scientists predict that surface temperatures will continue to rise, with increases in the range of ___°C between the years 2000-2100

A

2-6°C

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29
Q

Uncertain future - economic growth (human)

A
  • After economic crashes (e.g. 2008 financial crisis), there is expectation that there’ll be a rise in emissions during recovery of global GDP
  • Fortunately, after 2008, emissions fell to 1% by 2012-13 down from 4%, then fell to 0.5% in 2014
30
Q

Uncertain future - energy source (human)

A

Energy consumption grew by 2% between 2008-2014, however renewables made up 2/3 of the increase in electricity production in 2015

31
Q

Uncertain future - population change (human)

A

Increasing affluence means a potential extra billion consumers by 2050, changing diets and an increase of mobility means more emissions

32
Q

Uncertain future - physical factors

A
  • Oceans and forests act as carbon sinks
  • Their response to increased GHG emissions and higher temperatures will continue to affect the global climate for possible hundreds of years
  • Deforestation - overall the amount of forested land is on a global decline
33
Q

Feedback mechanisms

A
  • These can either dampen or amplify responses to a changing climate
  • Peatlands - warming causes peat to dry out as water tables fall, increasing decomposition rates and releasing methane. A warming of 4°C causes a 40% loss of soil organic carbon from shallow peat, and 86% from deep peat
  • Permafrost - the melting of permafrost releases trapped carbon dioxide and methane
34
Q

Tipping points

A
  • A climate tipping point is a critical threshold whereby a carbon sink could become a carbon source
  • Two particular phenomena are capable of creating tipping points: forest dieback and changes to the thermohaline circulation
35
Q

Forest dieback

A
  • Rainfall in the Amazon basin is largely recycled from moisture within the forest
  • If the forest is subject to drought, the trees dieback
  • A tipping point can be reached when the level of dieback actually stops the recycling of moisture - resulting in further dieback
36
Q

Thermohaline circulation

A
  • Cold, deep water in the North Atlantic forms part of the thermohaline circulation
  • To keep the ‘conveyor belt’ or warm water heading from the Tropics towards Britain, heavy, salty water must sink in the North
  • However, melting of ice sheets releases large amounts of freshwater (less salty, meaning it’s lighter) into the ocean, blocking and slowing the conveyor down
  • As ice sheets melt, the ocean circulation is susceptible to a critical tipping point
37
Q

UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) policies - carbon taxation

A
  • The carbon price floor tax sets a minimum price companies have to pay to emit carbon dioxide
  • This policy was ‘frozen’ in 2015, most likely due to its unpopularity with both industry and environmental groups
  • Lower road taxes for low-carbon-emitting cars were scrapped in 2015
  • In 2015, oil and gas exploration tax relief was expanded to support fossil fuels
38
Q

UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) policies - renewable switching

A
  • The relationship between the big energy providers and the government dictates the amount of switching rom fossil fuels to renewables and nuclear power
  • Renewables provide intermittent electricity, while fossil fuels provide the continuous power essential for our current infrastructure
  • The Climate Change Levy, designed in 2001 to encourage renewable energy investment and use, was cut in 2015
39
Q

UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) policies - energy efficiency

A
  • The Green Deal scheme encouraged energy-saving improvements to homes, such as efficient boilers and lighting, and improved insultation. It was scrapped in 2015
  • Energy suppliers must comply with the Energy Company Obligation scheme to deliver energy-efficient measures to households
40
Q

UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) policies - afforestation

A

Tree planting in the UK is increasing, helping carbon sequestration. It involves the Forestry Commission, charities such as the National Trust and Woodland Trust, landowners and local authorities. The Big Tree Plant campaign encourages communities to plant 1 million trees, mostly in urban area

41
Q

UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) policies - CSS

A
  • Few actual geologic CSS projects exist globally, despite its potential. Canada’s Boundary Dam is the only large-scale working scheme
  • In 2015, the UK government cancelled its investment into full-scale projects at gas- and coal-powered plants in Peterhead in Scotland and Drax in Yorkshire
42
Q

Uncertain future - adaption strategies

A
  • Water conservation and management - smart irrigation, recycling sewage water, reducing agricultural consumption, conservation techniques, ‘real value’ prices for water
  • Land-use planning and flood-risk management - land-use zoning
  • Resilient agricultural systems - conservation cropping (growing crops using a no-tilling approach)
  • Solar radiation management - climate engineering
43
Q

Afforestation

A

Planting trees on land that hasn’t had forest, or has been without forest, for a long time

44
Q

Reforestation

A

Planting trees in places with recent tree cover, replacing lost primary forests

45
Q

Afforestation - impacts on carbon cycle

A
  • Monocultures of commercial trees such as in palm oil plantations often store less carbon
  • Biodiversity may be impacted as a result of habitat changes
  • Monocultures tend to be more disease prone - has a negative effect on biodiversity
46
Q

Afforestation - impacts on water cycle

A
  • Monocultures tend to use more water leading to less infiltration and groundwater rates
  • Decreased raindrop erosion
  • Evapotranspiration rates may alter surrounding downwind ecosystems
47
Q

Example of afforestation

A

China’s Three-North Shelterbelt project - a 4500km green wall of trees designed to reduce desertification

48
Q

What does ‘switched on’ mean?

A

Switched on places are those nations, regions or cities that are strongly connected to other places through the production and consumption of goods and services

49
Q

What does ‘switched off’ mean?

A

Places that are poorly connected politically, economically, physically or environmentally

50
Q

Examples of a switched off country/region and why its switched off

A
  • North Korea - ruled by an autocratic leader, citizens don’t have access to social media or the internet, there are no undersea data cables connecting N. Korea with anywhere else
  • The Sahel - physical barriers make communication, and transport and trade of goods difficult
51
Q

China - how much productive land has been lost in recent years?

A

16mn acres lost to urbanisation in the last 20 years

52
Q

China - environmental and resource pressure (fact)

A

100 cities suffer with extreme water shortages and 360mn students don’t have access to safe drinking water

53
Q

China - waged work (fact)

A

Employees work an average of 40 hours a week

54
Q

China - infrastructure investment (fact)

A

2016 longest high-speed rail system was complete

55
Q

China - poverty reduction fact

A

Reduced by 680mn between 1981-2010

56
Q

China - education and training (fact)

A

In 2014, 7.2mn students graduated from university

57
Q

China - disadvantages to the environment - globalisation

A
  • Air and water pollution - 70% of China’s rivers and lakes are polluted
  • Land degradation - 40% of China’s farmland is suffering from degradation
  • Over-exploitation of resources - Oil, coal and iron
  • Loss of biodiversity - habitats lost as they are destroyed to make room for infrastructure
58
Q

What is high waged economic migration?

A

When nations, regions and cities are strongly connected to similar places globally through production and consumption of goods/services, they experience flows of elite migrants

59
Q

What are the names of some Russian Obligarchs and what are their net worths?

A
  • Roman Abramovich, net worth of $8.3 billion (in 2015)
  • Len Blavatnik, net worth of £17.1 billion (in 2015)
  • Alexander Knaster, net worth of £2.2 billion
60
Q

How many Russians live in London?

A

100,000

61
Q

For every flat bought by Russians for £10mn, how much is spent per year?

A

£4.5 million

62
Q

What’s a disadvantage of Russian high wage economic migration?

A

It squeezes out residents from Knightsbridge and Mayfair, and 20% of all properties above £5mn are brought by Russian clients/speakers

63
Q

Why has Russian high wage economic migration occured?

A

Economic recession in Moscow

64
Q

How many different cultural groups live in Papa New Guinea?

A

7000

65
Q

When did a British colony arrive in Papa New Guinea?

A

1884

66
Q

When was copper found in Papa New Guinea and what did this cause?

A

1964, resulted in devaluing larger and local ecosystems

67
Q

What is meant by culture?

A

Tradition, accepted norms, religion and beliefs, language, art and symbols, values

68
Q

World Bank

A
  • Its role is to provide loans in order to help rebuild economies, as well as alleviate poverty
  • Its aim is to reduce the percentage of people living on less than $1.25 a day to no more than 3% of the world’s population by 2030, as well as reduce inequalities by encouraging income growth for the bottom 40% of every country
69
Q

WTO

A

The role of the WTO is to reduce tariffs in order to allow the standardisation of products, reduction of trade barriers and the elimination of preferences. It was established in 1995

70
Q

IMF

A
  • Its role was to help governments balance their payments when they’re suffering from economic difficulties
  • It gives loans to member countries if they are unable to pay their debts, as well as financial rating which reflect their economic power and they pay a ‘subscription’ dependent of their rating
71
Q

Coal burning power stations decrease air quality in which emerging power cities (that exceed WHO safe limits)?

A

Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi and Mumbai

A-level Geography (15 decks)

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