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Geography Year 10 GCSE Edexcel A > Topic 2 - Weather hazards and climate change > Flashcards

Topic 2 - Weather hazards and climate change Flashcards

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1
Q

Where is there a surplus and deficit of heat energy from solar radiation on Earth?

A
  • There is a surplus of heat energy at the Equator.
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2
Q

Give the named example of a tropical cyclone that occurred in a developed country.

A

Hurricane Sandy in the U.S

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3
Q

What path did Hurricane Sandy take before reaching the USA?

A
  • It travelled across the Caribbean Sea affecting Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti before moving north to reach the USA.
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4
Q

When did Hurricane Sandy reach New Jersey?

A

-29 October 2012

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5
Q

What were the speeds of the Hurricane by the time is reached lands?

A

-129 km/h

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6
Q

What caused most of the damage to East Coast states?

A
  • Storm Surges
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7
Q

What was a social response that helped with damage assessment?

A
  • The use of social media such as Twitter and Flickr where photos were posted.
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8
Q

Give 4 social impacts of Hurricane Sandy.

A
  • There was a death toll of at least 150 people.
  • Many areas were left without electricity.
  • Homes and businesses were damaged and destroyed.
  • Schools were closed for days.
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9
Q

Give 3 economic impacts of Hurricane Sandy.

A
  • There was an estimated property damage of $65 billion US.
  • Government had to pay for petrol to be brought in as supplies of it ran out.
  • Income from tourism affected by cancellation of New York Marathon.
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10
Q

Give 2 environmental impacts of Hurricane Sandy.

A
  • Storm surge caused significant damage to coastal nature reserves like the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.
  • Raw sewage leaked into the waters around New York and New Jersey, this damaged habitats.
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11
Q

Give three responses to Hurricane Sandy, one for individuals, organisations and Government.

A

Individuals: The concert for Sandy Relief with artists such as Bon Jovi.

Organisations: The American Red Cross helped by providing relief to victims.

Government: Billions of dollars were voted through legislation to help with rebuilding and supporting victims.

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12
Q

Give impacts of floodwater from Hurricane Sandy

A

-In New York City several subway stations and road tunnels were flooded and were unusable and power lines were damaged.

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13
Q

Define weather

A
  • The day to day conditions of the atmosphere, e.g. temperature, precipitation, could covers and other events that take place in the atmosphere and troposphere.
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14
Q

Define climate

A
  • The average weather conditions of an area occurring over many years.
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15
Q

Define the troposphere

A
  • It is the lowest layer of the atmosphere ranging from 10-20 km where it is thicker at the equator (20 km) and thinner at the poles (10 km).
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16
Q

Explain the Hadley cells.

A
  • At the equator (0° north and south) , warmed air rises to 15 km causing low pressure. The air current divides, cools and moves north and south to form the 2 Hadley cells. The cooled air sinks at 30° north and south of the equator, leading to high pressure.
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17
Q

Explain the Ferrel cells.

A
  • Some of the cooled air from the Hadley cells moves back towards the Equator as trade winds. The rest travels towards the forming the lower part of the Ferrel cells.
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18
Q

Explain the polar cells.

A
  • At 60° north and south of the equator, the warmer air of the Ferrel cells meets the colder polar air. The warmer air rises to form polar cells.
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19
Q

Explain how ocean currents and oceanic circulation transfer heat energy across the earth.

A
  • Ocean currents transfer heat energy from areas of surplus (Equator) to areas of deficit (Poles). For example, colder and denser water at the Poles sinks and flows towards the Equator as cold ocean currents. Less dense and warmer water flows as warm surface currents to replace this cold water.
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20
Q

What are the 3 circulation cells in our atmosphere?

A
  • The Hadley, Ferrel and Polar cells.
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21
Q

What happens when air is heated by the ground?

A
  • It rises causing low pressure
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22
Q

What happens when air cools?

A
  • It sinks causing high pressure.
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23
Q

Explain how the Coriolis effects affects the way that water and air are moved across the world.

A
  • As air moves above the surface of the earth the planet continues to rotate. This means that if a mass of air moves north from the Equator over a large distance, it will appear to have been deflected to the right, similarly in the southern hemisphere winds are deflected to the left.
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24
Q

Define a carbon sink.

A
  • A carbon sink is an environmental reservoir that can absorb and store more carbon than it releases.
25
Q

Define what a carbon footprint is.

A
  • A carbon footprint is all the greenhouse gases a person, event, building, service or group of people produces expressed as tones of carbon dioxide.
26
Q

Define what frontal rainfall is.

A
  • Frontal rainfall is where two air masses meet resulting in rainfall.
27
Q

What is a Monsoon?

A
  • A monsoon is a seasonal wind in Southern Asia and the Indian Ocean.
28
Q

What is Thermal Expansion?

A
  • Thermal expansion is the increase in volume as a fluid expands e.g. sea water.
29
Q

Define the term prevailing wind.

A
  • Prevailing wind is the direction that the wind blows most frequently in e.g. this is South West in the UK.
30
Q

What is Climate Change?

A
  • Climate change is variations in temperature and rainfall affecting the whole planet.
31
Q

Define the term deforestation.

A
  • Deforestation is the permanent removal of forest sometimes to use the land for agricultural purposes.
32
Q

Define the term arid.

A
  • It is an area with very little to no precipitation.
33
Q

Define the term Ferrell Cell.

A
  • It is a circulation cell that brings warm air northwards towards the UK.
34
Q

Define the term evaporation as would be given in a geography exam.

A
  • Evaporation is the changing of liquid water to water vapour.
35
Q

Define the term drought

A
  • A period of low precipitation leading to water shortages.
36
Q

Define the term ‘eye of the storm’.

A
  • The eye of the storm is the center of a tropical cyclone.
37
Q

Define the term ‘eyewall’ in relation to tropical cyclones.

A
  • The eyewall is the thick layer of could around a cyclone of hurricanes wall with high winds an very heavy rain.
38
Q

Define the term greenhouse gas

A
  • A gas that absorbs and gives out radiation, a cause of global warming.
39
Q

Define the term precipitation

A
  • Precipitation is any form of water falling from the atmosphere to the ground as rain, hail, sleet or snow.
40
Q

Define the term global warming.

A
  • A rise in average global temperatures.
41
Q

Define the term Aquifer.

A
  • A groundwater source formed when permeable rocks trap water over impermeable rocks.
42
Q

Define the term seasons.

A
  • Periods of time that occur yearly e.g. spring, summer, autumn and winter in the UK.
43
Q

Define the term Jetstream

A

A moving current of air in the upper atmosphere.

44
Q

What weather accompanies a High pressure weather system where air is descending?

A
  • In a high pressure weather system the weather is cold, dry, bright and sunny.
45
Q

What weather accompanies a low pressure weather system where air is rising?

A
  • In a low pressure weather system the weather is warm, wet, cloudy and rainy.
46
Q

What are jet streams?

A

Jet streams are relatively narrow bands of strong winds in the troposphere that move weather systems across the planet. Jet streams are caused by pressure differences in the atmosphere.

47
Q

State 4 natural causes of climate change.

A
  • The Milankovitch cycles, differing levels of solar radiation or sun spots, orbital theory, volcanic activity.
48
Q

An example of a natural cause of climate change is the Milankovitch cycles.
Explain the Milankovitch cycles including reference to:
- Eccentricity cycle
- Axial tilt cycle
- Precession cycle.

A
  • The Milankovitch cycles are long-term changes to the Earth’s orbit and position, this changes how much solar radiation the Earth receives - resulting in climate change.
    Different cycles in the Milankovitch cycles include:
  • The Eccentricity cycle: the Earth’s orbit changes approximately every 100,000 years. A more circular orbit = cooler periods; a more elliptical orbit = warmer periods.
  • The Axial tilt cycle: roughly every 40000 years the tilt of the Earth’s axis varies. The greater the angle of tilt = the hotter summer and colder winter.
  • The Precessions cycle: the Earth ‘wobbles’ on its axis roughly every 24000 years, changing the direction the axis is facing. This can affect the differences in temperature and weather between seasons.
49
Q

What is the Quaternary period?

Describe the changes in climate that we have had during it.

A
  • The Quaternary period is the period of time that we have had on planet earth in the last 2.6 million years. It is also the current period of geological time that we live in.
  • In the Quaternary period there have been more that 60 cold periods with ice advances, lasting about 100000 years.
  • There have also been warmer interglacial periods that have lasted about 15000 years.
50
Q

State the 5 air masses that affect the UK’s climate and state which direction they come at the UK from.

A

1) Polar Maritime air mass comes from the NW
2) Tropical Maritime air Mass comes from the SW
3) Tropical Continental air mass comes from the SE
4) Polar Continental air mass comes from the NE
5) Arctic Maritime air mass comes from the N

51
Q

Which wind direction is the prevailing wind for the UK?
Which air mass comes from this direction?
Where does this air mass originate from and what weather does it bring?

A
  • The prevailing wind direction for the UK is SW.
  • The Tropical Maritime air mass comes from this direction and it originates in the Atlantic ocean.
  • This air mass brings warm moist air which brings clouds, rain and mild weather.
52
Q

Explain how solar variation specifically sun spot theory are a natural cause of climate change.

A
  • The amount of radiation the sun produces varies over time this is due to sun spots which form on the surface of the sun due to uneven temperatures on the suns surface. These spots block out sunlight which leads to varying temperatures on earth.
53
Q

Explain how volcanic activity is a natural cause of climate change.

A
  • Volcanic eruptions can eject large volumes of ash and dust into the atmosphere and this material can block out solar radiation which leads to varying temperatures on earth.
54
Q

Explain how surface impact theory is a natural cause of climate change. E.g. how the dinosaurs were made extinct 65 million years ago.

A
  • Large cosmic material such as asteroids and comets can impact the Earth’s surface and eject dust into the atmosphere which can block out solar radiation and lead to varying temperatures on earth.
55
Q

State 4 types of evidence of natural climate change.

A

1) Tree rings
2) Ice cores
3) Pollen records
4) Historical records.

56
Q

Explain how tree rings can be used as evidence of natural climate change.

A
  • Trees live for thousands of years and each year they produce rings that are wider in warmer and wetter climates and thinner in colder and drier climates, this can give us information about passed climates.
57
Q

Explain how we can use ice cores as evidences of natural climate change.

A
  • As snow falls in arctic areas it traps layers of volcanic ash, microbes, pollen and even bubbles of air that form in layers and can give us information about passed climates.
58
Q

Explain how we can use pollen records as evidence of natural climate change.

A
  • Pollen can become trapped in ice and sedimentary rocks for hundreds of years and distinct shape and structure of the pollen can tell us from which plant it came from and we know only certain plants can grow in certain conditions leading us to know the climate of the past.

Geography Year 10 GCSE Edexcel A (5 decks)

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