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.
