Physical Case Study Flashcards

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1
Q

River exe location

A

South west England
Rises in the moorland of exmoor and travels 82.7km to reach sea at ex mouth

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2
Q

River exe catchment

A

601km

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3
Q

Why has the river exe got a large drainage density

A

Largely underlain by impermeable rock (84%)

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4
Q

How much of the catchment is grassland

A

67%

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5
Q

Annual rainfall for river exe

A

1295mm of rainfall annually

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6
Q

Land use % for river exe

A

67% grassland - farmland
15% woodland
10% arable land - crops
3% moors and peat bogs

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7
Q

How far above sea level is the source of river exe

A

514 metres

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8
Q

Location of Amazon rainforest

A

Covers large areas in the north of South America
Lies between cancer and Capricorn
Aprox 15•n to 15•s of equator

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9
Q

Size of Amazon rainforest

A

4% of earths surface

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10
Q

Climate of Amazon rainforest

A

27•C and roughly 2000+mm of annual precipitation

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11
Q

Amazon impact on carbon cycle

A

Accounts for 30-50% of global photosynthesis

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12
Q

Biodiversity of Amazon rainforest

A

Home to almost 20% of species on earth

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13
Q

Amazons impact on earths water

A

15% of global ocean water comes from the Amazon

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14
Q

Water cycle in Amazon

A

50% is used by plants and returned to the atmosphere
80% of rainfall is intercepted

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15
Q

Cause of deforestation in Amazon

A

Agriculture - 80%
Logging - mahogany
Road building - trans Amazon highway
Mineral extraction
Energy development
Settlement and population growth

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16
Q

Change in the Amazon

A

The Amazon basin has lost 17% of its primary rainforest in the last 50 years

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17
Q

Overall impacts of deforestation on the water cycle

A

Reduced evapotranspirstion
means less precipitation
Increased rates of runoff due to less trees
Soil is at risk of erosion which limits re growth

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18
Q

Mitigation on Amazon

A

Deforestation slowed by 75% between 2000 and 2021
Cattle ranching ban
Threat of prosecution
Protected areas
2006 soy moratorium

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19
Q

Eyjafjallajokull background

A

Constructive plate margin
North American and Eurasian plate diverge at a rate of 10-50 mm/year

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20
Q

Eyjafjallajokull nature of vulcanicity

A

Type of lava - basaltic
Viscosity - low
Shape - gentle sides, wide base, shield
Magnitude of eruptions - explosive
Hazards - ash, tephra, little lava, flooding

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21
Q

Primary impacts of Eyjafjallajokull

A

270 million cubic meters of ash ejected
110 million cubic meters of tephra
Very little lava
No deaths or injured
700 people evacuated

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22
Q

Secondary impacts of Eyjafjallajokull

A

Ash contaminated water supplies
20 farms were destroyed
150m thick ice cap was melted causing floods
2 bridges burst

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23
Q

Nepal earthquake of 2015 (Gorkha)

A

Magnitude -7.8
Date - April, 2015
Depth / focus - 15km - very shallow
80km north-west of Kathmandu

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24
Q

Vulnerability of Nepal to gorkha earthquake

A

Nepal GNI is £2730 per capita- its an lic
Kathmandu lies in a valley
Kathmandu has high population density
Infrastructure is poor

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25
Q

Impacts of gorkha earthquake

A

9000 fatalities
23,000 injuries
700,000 homes destoyed
200 killed in langtang landlides
5.17bn damage

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26
Q

Responses to gorkha earthquake

A

90% of Nepal’s military were deployed
The UN immediately released £15m
NGOs such as unicef brought in supplies

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27
Q

Background of hurricane Katrina

A
  • New Orleans lies below sea level
  • The levee system was not constructed to modern standards
  • most of the population were not wealthy enough to leave
  • 29th august 2005
  • category 5 storm
28
Q

Background of haiyan

A
  • one of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded
  • tacloban had experienced rapid rural-urban migration leading to high population
29
Q

Primary impacts of hurricane Katrina

A

Over 1000 fatalities
More than 1 million became refugees
80% of New Orleans flooded

30
Q

Primary impacts of typhoon haiyan

A

Over 6000 fatalities
2 million people made homeless
6 million displaced
Over 130,000 tonnes of rice lost

31
Q

Responses of hurricane Katrina

A

Other countries responded, with Kuwait giving £500 million
Public donated 1.8 billion
1.2 million people evacuated the day before the storm

32
Q

Responses of typhoon haiyan

A

The UN released £25 million in emergency funds
The uk deployed two navy ships supplying over 200,000 tonnes of aid

33
Q

Background of Alberta wildfire

A

May 2016
Fire ignited in a remote forested area in fort mcmurray
The fire jumper a 1km river and was hard to control

34
Q

Impacts of the Alberta wildfire

A

90,000 residents of fort mcmurray were evacuated
No fatalities or injuries
2400 homes and businesses were destroyed
600,000 hectares of land was destroyed

35
Q

Response of Alberta wildfire

A

Was monitored using ground and satellite data
The complete evacuation was done on the 3rd of may
Red Cross and government both donated 50 million

36
Q

Vulnerability of Philippines (MHE)

A

High population - 11 million people live on the coast of Manila
Poverty - 75% live in poverty
Lack of investment in hazard protection

37
Q

Nature of hazards in Philippines

A

Tropical storms - 7-10 each year some very powerful e.g. haiyan
Earthquakes - 17 earthquakes above 5 magnitude between 2000 and 2013
20 active volcanoes

38
Q

Physical vulnerability of New Orleans

A

50% lies below sea level
Lies in the gulf coast
City is surrounded by levees which acts a a bowl

39
Q

How is the delta formed

A

Deposition from 3 rivers
Ganges
Meghna
Brahmaputra

40
Q

Geography of the sundarbans

A

Larger channels tend to be straight, flow north to south and up to 2km wide
Smaller channels (khals) connect these large river
Khals drain land at low tide

41
Q

Risks of sundarbans

A

Royal bengal tigers becoming an increasing threat due to deforestation and decreased habitat.
Coastal flooding due to eustatic sea level rise
Increased cyclones due to warmer seas and temperature
Increase coastal erosion due to eustratic sea level change
Over exploitation

42
Q

Location and background of sundarbans

A

Coastal zone occupying worlds largest delta
Extends over southern Bangladesh and NE India w a population of over 4 million
Are a series of many islands with mangrove forests and swamps

43
Q

Opportunities of sundarbans

A

Provide a wide range of goods and services for locals
Goods include
Wood, food, fishing materials
Services include
Protection
Value for tourism and education

44
Q

Safety provided by sundarbans

A

Reduce force of tsunamis and cyclones by 90%

45
Q

Value of sundarbans

A

Forests have a value of $12,000 per hectare

46
Q

Adaptions to the challenges of sundarbans

A

Cyclone shelters being built
Introduction of salt tolerant rice
NGOS building latrines ( toilets above sea level )

47
Q

Location of east Norfolk coast

A

Is located on the east coast on England
Includes the villages of happisburgh, bacton, sea palling and winterton

48
Q

Happisburgh

A

Population of 1400 in 600 houses
Surrounded by low value agriculture land

49
Q

Bacton

A

1200 people
Bacton gas terminal which processes North Sea gas

50
Q

Sea palling

A

Low lying and has 650 people
Norfolk B-roads is located behind the village

51
Q

Winterton on sea

A

1200 people

52
Q

Geology of east Norfolk coast

A

Composed of glacial till, silt and clay
Cliffs are between 6-10 metres high
Rising sea levels will increase erosion rates

53
Q

Coastal management of east Norfolk coast
TRADITIONAL APPROACH

A

Groynes, riprap and revetments introduced in the 50s after floods
Changes in government policy meant funding was no longer available for coastal management
In 1990 a storm destroyed 300 metres of wooden revetments

54
Q

Coastal management of east Norfolk coast
SUSTAINABLE APPROACH

A

In 1996 a shoreline management plan SMP6 was created for the area
This used integrated coastal management
SMP6 covers a sub cell of sediment cell 3 - an area of the coast in which longshore drift is self contained

55
Q

Stake holders in SMP6

A

Environment agency
North Norfolk district council
Local borough councils and regional coastal groups (locals):

56
Q

Traditional approach was unsustainable due to several factors

A

Geology of the coast
Sizeable fetch and storms of the North Sea
Tidal ranges of over 5 metres
Frequent storm surges

57
Q

Exmoor mores project

A

Restoration of peat bogs on Exmoor has resulted in a third less water leaving the moorland during heavy rainfall
By blocking up drainage ditches, the moorland can now hold more water and release it more slowly

58
Q

Average rate of erosion on the east Norfolk coast

A

2 metres a year

59
Q

Current strategy for bacton

A

Hold the line
Maintain the sea walls
New rip rap
Build fresh Groynes

60
Q

Current strategy for happisburgh

A

Managed retreat due to low population and low value land

61
Q

Impact of managed retreat on locals in Happisburgh

A

Population unhappy
Formed a group called coastal resident group
Local authority placed rock armour for a compromise

62
Q

Failures of smp6 in east Norfolk coast

A

Failed to consider inland areas that are affected by erosion

63
Q

Why are sundarbans island stable

A

Clay and silt are resistant to erosion

64
Q

What are chars

A

Deposited sand at mouth of the rivers

65
Q

How do mangroves develop

A

Vegetation succession on exposed sand

66
Q

Causes and effects of flooding on the Bay of Bengal

A

Causes - eustatic sea level rise
Effects - high salinity of water