Physical Case studies Flashcards
Case Study for Deforestation
Tropical South America.
Worlds largest continuous tropical forest and Savannah ecosystems.
Environmentally important because of traditional ecological measures like biodiversity and its generation of more than a quarter of the worlds river discharge.
Undergone explosive development and deforestation in the last 50 years as national and international demand for cattle feed (soy), beef and sugar cane for ethanol have increased.
Already 10% of the rainforest had been converted to cattle pasture and agriculture.
3 Case Studies for salt water intrusion
Greek Argloid plain where it is common to find boreholes 400m deep and contaminated by sea water intrusion.
In Italy, over exploitation of the Po River of the Milan Aquifer has led to a 25-40m decrease in groundwater levels over the last 80 years.
In Spain, more than half of the abstracted groundwater volume is obtained from areas facing over-exploitation problems.
Case Study for Carbon Capture and Sequestration
110-megawatt coal power and CCS plant in Saskatchewan called Boundary Dam, built by the provincial utility SaskPower.
Coal-fired power station complex that had been retrofitted to capture 90% of its Co2 output (approx 1 million tonnes per year)
Co2 will eventually be piped 66km to the Weyburn Oil Unit and injected into an oil-bearing formation at 1,500m depth. This adds pressure to the oil bearing rock and so helps push more oil out of the ground.
Until that is ready it will be injected into local salt formations.
This capture process was started in 2014 and CO2 injections started in 2015.
Costs $800 million to build and consumes 21% of the coals power output in order to scrub out the carbon dioxide and compress it into a liquid for burial.
Hoped that this extra cost will be offset by the extra oil recovered from the Weyburn oil field.
Case Study of Integrated Risk Managment
New Zealand.
Establish the context - strategic, organisational, risk.
What is the structure, the criteria?
Identify the risks - how and what?
Analyse the risks - determine likelihood, consequences and establish level of risk.
Assess risk a compare against criteria, set risk priorities.
Treat risk - identity treatment options, evaluation technique treatment options, prepare treatment plans, implement plans.
Risk acceptance - instigate public awareness, evaluation treatment options against risk communication strategy
Case study of prediction being a bad management strategy of a volcanic hazards
Colombian volcano, Nevado del Ruiz came to life in the late 1984 with small-scale activity.
Volcanologists, although they knew the danger a major eruption would have on the area, couldn’t predict when the event would take place.
Volcano continued with small scale activity for a couple months and people stayed and worked in the area.
When the final violent event took place, almost all the population had remained and devastating Lahars killed over 20,000 people
Case Studies of protection as a management of volcanic hazards
Mt Etna in Sicily: digging trenches, dropping blocks into the lava steam and using explosives have slowed down lava flow.
In 1973, the inhabitants of Iceland were able to divert a lava flow by pouring sea water on the front so it would solidify.
Hawaiian islands: barriers have been built across valleys to protect settlements form lava flows and Lahars
Case Study of earthquake away from plate boundaries
2002, and earthquake at 4.8 richter occurred in the UK Midlands. Epicentre was at Dudley, west of Birmingham, and was believed to have been caused by movements of an old fault line called the Malvern Linement
Case Study of fracking causing earthquakes
In Oklahoma some of the areas of the state have experienced a tremendous increase in minor earthquakes since fracking began in 2009
Case Study of tsunami generated by a volcano
Explosion of the volcano Krakatoa in 1883 have been estimated to have drowned over 35,000 people and produced waves that travelled around the world, the highest being over 40m
Case Study of Tsunami events on the western side of the pacific and bordering eastern side of the Indian Ocean
2007, Solomon Islands: generated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the tsunami swept across the island killing 15 people.
2004, the Boxing Day Tsunami: generated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, 25km below the Indian Ocean floor. Killed an estimated 300,000 people in bordering communities and devastated hundred of communities. Extensive damage to coastal communications, particularly bridges and railway lines and damage to local economies meant people were unable to feed themselves. Positive result: warning system set up among the countries that border the Indian Ocean. Disaster could cost less than $5 billion
Case Study of prediction of seismic events
The Loma Prieta area suffered an earthquake in 1979 that measured 6.9 MMS and was the worst to hit the San Francisco region since 1906. 63 people died as a result of the event with over 3,700 seriously injured. Because of the seismic survey, the event was not entirely unexpected, but like all earthquakes, it was not possible to predict it precisely.
Case Study for education being a management strategy in seismic hazards
Government offices and many companies in Japan observe Disaster Prevention Day (1st September) which marks the anniversary of the Tokyo (Kwanto Plain) earthquake in 1923.
Following the Loma Prieta event (1989), the American Red Cross issued a list of supplies that people should keep at hand in case of an earthquake. This includes water, a whole range of foodstuffs (high energy and canned), clothing and bedding, first aid kit, tools and supplies like radio, torch batteries, can openers, matched, toilet paper, small fire extinguisher.
Case Study of fire prevention as a management strategy for seismic hazards
In Tokyo, the gas company has a network that transmits seismic information to a computer which then informs employees where to switch off major pipelines, so reducing the number of fires
Case Study for tsunami protection as a management strategy for seismic hazards
The Pacific warning system is based on Hawaii. It monitors earthquake activity and issues warnings to countries around the Pacific edge if tsunamis are likely. Some countries have built prevention walls up to 12m in height. These have not proved very effective, as large tsunamis are likely to overwhelm them
Case Study of wildfires being a continuing problem
Los Angeles Basin in California.
The wildfires here get a great deal of media coverage (in some cases globally) as it is likely that a wildfire event could threaten the homes of famous film and TV personalities.
Wildfires pose a serious threat in Los Angeles because:
Much of the area is covered by drought-resistant chaparral as the area is too dry for tree growth. This vegetation after summer drought can be tinder dry.
Dry wind called Santa Ana, that descends from local mountains, increases the dryness of the vegetation to the point where a spark, lightning or a carelessly discarded cigarette can cause a major fire. This wind also allows for the easy spread of fire, which makes it very difficult to control.
Much of the area, outside the centre of Los Angeles, consists of low density building where the natural vegetation has been allowed to remains between properties, which exposes a large number of them to the fire.
Case Study of warning system predicting tropical storms
In 1997, a tropical cyclone warning in the Cox’s Bazaar area of Bangladesh allowed for the evacuation of over 300,000 people. As a result the death toll in the disaster was kept below 100.
Case Study of protection against a storm surge from a tropical storm
Sea walls built to protect Galveston (Texas) from further flooding, after the storm surge of 1990 that killed over 6,000 people, was so expensive that it is unlikely to repeat elsewhere
Case study of retrofitting as a management of tropical storms
In Dominica (West Indies) in 1994, some homes were retrofitted as part of a joint exercise carried out by the Organisation of American States and the government of Dominica. The value of the project was shown in the following year when all the retrofitted buildings withstood the impact of hurricane Marilyn
2 Case Studies in poor and rich places of tropical storms having different impacts at the same magnitude
Cyclone that hit Bangladesh in 1991 was responsible for 131,000 deaths and a monetary cost $1.7 billion.
Hurricane in 1992 in Florida (Hurricane Andrew) killed 60 people but caused an estimated $20 billion.
Case Study of the release of toxic gases and particulates being an effect of wildfires
The Southeast Asia ‘haze’ is fire-related large-scale air pollution that occurs regularly and is still present in parts of the region. It is largely caused by illegal agricultural fires due to slash-and-burn practices in Indonesia. The resulting pollution covers a number of countries in the region including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
This introduces a political dimension, as the government of these countries have demanded that the Indonesian government take action against companies responsible for illegal forest fires.
The size of the haze produced by the Indonesian fires of 1997-98 covered most of Indonesia, Singapore (in Malaysia) and most of the Long Island next to it (Sumatra etc).
These fires were described by one commentator as ‘probably amongst the two or three, if not the largest forest fires, in the last two centuries of recorded history’
Case Study of loss of wildlife due to wildfires
In Indonesia, the fires of 1997 destroyed the Wein River orangutan sanctuary on Kalimantan
Case study of community action in dealing with a fire hazard
In Victoria (Australia) in 1983, there were a series of disastrous fires that claimed 47 lives, destroyed 2000 homes and cost around AU $200 million. As a result, a community education programme was established as 'Community Fireguard', whose purpose was to assist people in developing their own fire survival strategies. To relay the message, the authorities avoided the 'top down' method they had been using, instead focusing on identifying the most vulnerable areas in fire-prone communities and then generating local interest to make residents aware of how they could be responsible for their own safety. From this, the residents developed their own fire survival techniques such as local warning systems, ensuring that buffer zones were maintained, conducting brush and street clean ups, running equipment training sessions and preparing emergency plans.
Case Study of Trade Bloc
North America Free Trade Agreement. (NAFTA)
Signed by Mexico, USA, Canada.
Main driver was the challenge presented by trade blocs from other parts of the world, particularly Europe.
Mexico got into debt in 1970s and 1980s and hoped that economic growth and higher employment would result from joining NAFTA.
MAIN AIMS:
gradual elimination of all trade barriers.
Promotion of economic competition between members.
Increased investment opportunities.
Generally improved co-operation between the three member states.
Supporters of NAFTA have pointed out:
Trade between member countries tripled between 1993 and 2007.
Manufacturing grew in USA, increased employment.
Mexico receives increased FDI (as fording
