Water on the land

Question 1

How many people died in the Pakistan floodings of 2010? How many were affected?

Answer 1

1,600 people died. 14 million were affected.

Question 2

Which area in Pakistan was affected the worst during the 2010 floodings?

Answer 2

Swat Valley.

Question 3

Why was there a slow response to the Pakistan floodings of 2010? (2 reasons)

Answer 3

• The global community was suffering from donor fatigue due to the recent Haiti earthquake
• The government of Pakistan had an uncoordinated response.

Question 4

What are the four methods of transportation in a river?

Answer 4

Traction, saltation, suspension and solution.

Question 5

What shape is the cross profile of the upper course?

Answer 5

A ‘V’ shape.

Question 6

What is a drainage basin?

Answer 6

An area which ,if water is precipitated into, drains into a specific river.

Question 7

What is a tributary?

Answer 7

A smaller river that joins a larger one within the same drainage basin.

Question 8

What is a confluence?

Answer 8

The point at which two rivers join.

Question 9

What is a watershed?

Answer 9

The boundary between two drainage basins, usually marked by highlands.

Question 10

What is the source of a river?

Answer 10

Where a a river begins.

Question 11

What is the mouth of a river?

Answer 11

Where a river meets with the ocean.

Question 12

What is the catchment area?

Answer 12

The area within a drainage basin.

Question 13

How do types of erosion differ in different courses?

Answer 13

Higher courses have more vertical erosion. Lower courses have more lateral erosion.

Question 14

What is alluvium?

Answer 14

The sediment deposited by rivers.

Question 15

What is a levee?

Answer 15

A bank formed by alluvium deposited through periodic flooding.

Question 16

What is a delta?

Answer 16

When the mouth of a river deposits alluvium faster than the sea can remove it, forming a landmass.

Question 17

What are the three types of delta?

Answer 17

• Fan-shaped: when the land around the river mouth arches and the river splits many times, creating a fan effect.
• Cuspate: the land around the mouth forms an arrow-head shape.
• Bird’s foot: The river splits on the way to the sea, each part of the river juts out into the sea, rather like a bird’s foot.

Question 18

What is infiltration?

Answer 18

Water entering the ground.

Question 19

What is surface runoff?

Answer 19

Water on the surface of the land.

Question 20

What is afforestation?

Answer 20

Deliberately planting trees to decrease surface runoff.

Question 21

What is a meander?

Answer 21

A bend in a river.

Question 22

How do oxbow lakes form?

Answer 22

• In a meander, the river flows the fastest on the outer bend and slowest on the inner bend.
• This causes erosion in the outer bend and deposition in the inner bend.
• This exaggerates the shape of the meander until the meander connects in the middle, isolating a horseshoe shape from the current.
• This creates a straight river and a stagnant horseshoe shape, which is the oxbow lake.

Question 23

What unit measures river discharge in a hydrograph?

Answer 23

Cumecs, or cubic metres per second.

Question 24

What is lag time and how does it influence river discharge?

Answer 24

Lag time is how long it takes from water to end up in the rivers after being precipitated. The shorter the lag time the greater the river discharge.

Question 25

What factors effect river discharge? (4 physical 2 human)

Answer 25

Physical:
-Rainfall
-Temperature
-Relief (Speed of surface runoff, influenced by gradient of land and rock type)
-Rock type (impermeable/non-porous or permeable/porous)
Human:
-Urbanisation (tarmac and concrete are impermeable)
-Drains and sewers (they go into the river)

Question 26

What are examples of permeable and impermeable rock?

Answer 26

Chalk is permeable; granite is impermeable.

Question 27

How much damage and deaths did the Boscastle floods cause?

Answer 27

£15 million in damage and no deaths.

Question 28

What are 6 reasons that the Boscastle floods happened?

Answer 28

• The local area was saturated by weeks of rainfall
• There was a confluence of 3 rivers (Jordan, Valency and Paradise)
• Steep V shaped valleys increased runoff
• 15mm of rain fell in 15 minutes at Lesnewth (near Boscastle)
• The underlying rock was impermeable
• Car parks either side of the Valency river increased surface runoff

Question 29

What were some of the effects of the Boscastle floodings? (4 effects)

Answer 29

• Alluvium and debris were left even after the flood.
• The visitor centre collapsed
• Tourism reduced
• Destroyed infrastucture

Question 30

What were some of the responses to the Boscastle floodings?

Answer 30

• RAF helicopters from Chivenor saved 150 people
• Falmouth coast guard mobilised
• Temporary accomodation was set up in the Boscastle football pitch
• Within 6 months utilities were fixed and everyone could go home.

Question 31

What hard and soft engineering strategies were used in Boscastle after the floods?

Answer 31

• Dams and Reservoirs (can regulate the volume of a river)
• Straightening (can make water in a river move away quicker)
• Afforestation (can reduce surface runoff)
• Flood plain zoning (allows some parts to be flooded and manages where buildings are built)

Question 32

What is 1 reason that water consumption in the UK has increased?

Answer 32

Washing machine and dishwasher use has increased from 66% in 1972 to 94% today.

Question 33

What is water stress?

Answer 33

When the demand for water outweighs supply.

Question 34

What is the name of a reservoir involved in a water transfer scheme in England? How much did it cost?

Answer 34

The Kielder water reservoir in Northumberland, £167 million.

Question 35

What are three issues with the Kielder water reservoir?

Answer 35

• Habitats and farmland was lost in the making
• People had to be relocated
• Construction cost was £167 million

Question 36

What are three benefits of the Kielder water reservoir in Northumberland?

Answer 36

• It generates hydro-electric power
• Water is transferred from low water stress areas to high water stress areas.
• It manages the flow of the River Tyne