Topic 1: Hazardous Earth Flashcards
If there is less air at the surface, what would the air pressure be like?
There would be ‘low pressure’.
If there is more air at the surface, what is the air pressure like?
There would be ‘high pressure’.
What happens when air is heated? Why?
The heated air rises because it is less dense.
When air cools, does the density increase or decrease?
The density increases.
Name the three circulatory cells.
Hadley cells
Ferrel cells
Polar cells
The Hadley Cells and the Ferrel Cells meet ___ north and south of the Equator.
30°
What is Eccentricity?
The orbit of the Earth changing shape over long periods of time, approximately every 100,000 years.
What is an Axial tilt?
The Earth not sitting with the North and South Poles exactly at the top and bottom of the planet.
Where do the Hadley cells and the Ferrel cells meet?
Around 30° north and south of the equator. Both cells are returning air back towards the surface of the Earth so there is a zone of high pressure.
What is Climate Change?
Climate change refers to how the average climactic conditions of the planet vary over time. The planet history is divided into periods and the climate during the Quarternary period has changed many times.
What is Precession?
The earth rotating on an axis.
What do volanic eruptions produce?
Ash
Sulphur Dioxide gas
If the ash and gas rise high enough, they will be spread around the Earth in the ____________ by high level winds.
Stratosphere
Tropical cyclones develop when Sea temperatures exceed ___
26°
Winds rotate _______ at the top of a cyclone
Outwards
____ moist air rises and pulls towards the centre
Warm
Cyclones develop in ____ summer in the northern hemisphere
Late
Cloud tops can reach up to _____km high
12-15
A dense canopy of _____ cloud forms at the top
Cirrus
Winds increase in strength at the ___ ____
Eye wall
____________ clouds form
Cumulonimbus
Each rings shows a ____ of growth
Year
Changes in shape and size of tree rings can show __________ during that year
Conditions
______ and ______ weather can show greater growth as the tree ring is bigger, ______ and _____ weather can mean rings are thinner
a. Warmer
b. Wetter
c. Cooler
d. Drier
What gases that make up the atmosphere are the most important?
Nitrogen (78.1%) - plant growth
Carbon Dioxide (0.03%) - taken in by plants, which breathe out oxygen
Oxygen (20.9%) - breathed in by animals, which breathe out carbon dioxide
Water Vapour (1%) - forms cloids, essential to the water cycle
What is the percentage of Methane produced?
7%
Where does Methane come from?
Gas pipeline leaks, farming rice in paddy fields, cattle farming.
Warming power of Methane is __ times more powerful than CO2
21
Percentage increase of Methane since 1850
+250%
Percentage of Carbon Dioxide produced.
89%
Where does Carbon Dioxide come from?
Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), deforestation with releases carbon dioxide
Percentage increase of Methane since 1850.
+30%
Percentage of Nitrous oxide produced?
3%
Where does Nitrous oxide come from?
Jet aircrafts, cars and lorries, fertilisers and sewage farms
Warming power of Nitrous oxide compared to CO2
250 times more powerful
Percentage increase of nitrous oxide since 1850
+16%
Sea levels rose by ___mm from 1870 to 2010
210mm
Why does sea level rise?
Thermal expansion, glaciers and ice sheets melting
Possible consequences of climate change
Rising sea levels cause coastal flooding, destruction of infrastructure, crops being destroyed.
Rainfall
Heat waves
Cyclone develop mid _______ to _____ in the Southern Hemisphere
January to March
Tropical cyclones only affect areas with the tropics?
T or F
F
What is the Saffron Simpson Scale used for?
A 1-5 rating wind scale based on a hurricane’s maximum sustained wind speed
A tropical cyclone (TC) is less intense than a tropical depression (TD)
T or F
F
What are Cyclones known as in the Indian Ocean.
Cyclone
The Coriolls effect adds to the rotation of a tropical cyclone.
T or F
F
What does ITCZ stand for?
Inter Tropical Convergence Zone
Which areas are tropical cyclones most likely to occur in? Why?
Low pressure, hurricanes need heat to form, which low pressure areas produce warmer air.
The UK experience an average of 6 tropcal cyclones a year
T or F
F
Where is most solar radiation received?
At the equator
When air is heated, why does it rise?
Because of low density
The earth’s rotation causes the wind in the North to deflect to the _____ and ____ in the South
a. Right
b. Left
The cool, dry air moves out to ___ north and south of the equator.
30°
At ___ north and south, warm surface air reaches cold air from the poles
60°
Some air returns to the _______, and the rest to the _____
a. Equator
b. Poles
What are the 5 areas of the global circulation system?
Arctic Circle
Tropic Of Cancer
Equator
Tropic of Capricorn
Antartic Circle
What evidence is there to suggest human activity is causing climate change?
Sea level rise - Warmer temperatures causes glaciers to shrink and ice to melt (Melting of ice on land stores water on land - Sea levels risen 0.2m since 1901)
Sea Ice Decline - Sea ice is formed at poles when ocean temp is -1.8°C - Melts during the summer - Extent of sea ice has decreased by 3% over last 35 years
Extreme Weather - More heat waves since 1950 - More rainfall records broken (2013 - wettest year, 2015 Dec - Wettest month)
What human activities cause the enhanced greenhouse effect?
Cattle farming
Burning fossil fuels
Industries using energy - demands for consumer goods
Examples of Hazards
High winds
Intense Rainfall
Storm Surges
Coastal Flooding
Landslide
Flat areas more vulnerable to Tropical chclones than places high up
T or F
T
Coastal areas are more vulnerable than inland locations
T or F
T
Middle age people are most vulnerable to the impacts of tropical cyclones
T or F
T
Rich people in societies are most vulnerable to the impacts of hazards
F
What is the preparation?
What can be done before the event to minimise the disruption to people/environment
What is the response?
The events afterwards that are put n place to help the recovery and get life back to normal.
Why was Myanmar in Cyclone Nargis more impacted than USA in Hurricane Katrina?
Myanmar was more impacted than USA. This is because USA had better preparation, they had monitoring systems to warn everyone of an incoming Hurricane. They had a flood wall as defence, good wuality buildings to stop houses being destroyed. Myanmar didn’t have that. They didn’t have monitoring systems, so they weren’t warned. They had poor quality shelter, so debris was everywhere. Their only defence were mangrove forests, but many had been cut, so they had no defence.
What wa the magnitude for Katrina?
Category 3 at landfall
What was the magnitude for Nargis?
Category 4 at landfall
How many houses destroyed and people killed in Katrina?
More than 1800 killed
300,000 houses destroyed
How many houses destroyed and how many people killed In Nargis?
140,000 people killed
450,000 houses destroyed
Examples of convergent (oceanic and continental) plates
Nazca oceanic plate
Examples of convergent (continental and continental) plates
South American continental plate
Examples of Divergent plates
Eurasian Plate
North American oceanic plate
Examples of Conservative plates?
North American and Pacific Plates
Features produced from Convergent (ocean and continental) plates
Volcanoes and ocean trenches and pool of magma
Feature produced from Convergent (continental and continental) plates
Ground is folded and forced upwards to form mountain ranges
Features produced from Divergent plates
Earthquakes up to 5.0 to 6.0 on the Richter scale
Features produced from Conservative plates
Earthquakes up to 8.5 magnitude small Earth tremors almost daily
Causes of composite volcanoes
Lava flows
Andesitic lava
Convergent plate boundary
Causes of Shield volcanoes
Gentle sloping sodes
Formed by eruptions of basaltic lava
Frequent but gentle
Divergent plate
Causes of hotspot volanoes
Small long lasting regions exist within the mantle of the Earth
Plume rises from the hot spot through the mantle
