Weather Flashcards
What is an advantage of a prolonged spell of tropical continental air mass on the uk?
Brings very warm and dry weather and so tourism increase, especially in coastal areas. This can increase profits for businesses in coastal areas.
What are disadvantages of a prolonged spell of tropical continental air mass on the uk?
Hose-pipe bans could be enforced due to lack of water/rainfall
• Drought conditions reduce the yield of farmers’ crops - this can have a negative impact on availability of food and affect farmers’ profits
• More people (particularly young and elderly) admitted to hospital with heatstroke putting a strain on medical resources
• Wild fires can quickly spread due to dry conditions endangering wildlife and buildings
What is an advantage to a prolonged spell of arctic maritime air mass on the uk
Increase in tourism in areas that can be used for skiing – increasing income for ski resorts in Northern Scotland
What are disadvantages of a prolonged spell of arctic maritime air mass on the uk?
• Causes very cold conditions and so gas and electric bills will increase as people try to keep their homes warm – people have less disposable income.
• The snow/ice it brings can cause dangerous traffic conditions - leading to an increase in
accidents.
• Pavements can become very slippery, making conditions dangerous for elderly
pedestrians. The increase in these accidents could put pressure on the NHS.
Describe all the stages of a depression
Before the Warm Front
Dry Cool temperature
High cirrus clouds
Little wind
Warm Front
Steady continuous rainfall
Temperature begins to increase
Nimbostratus clouds
Calm winds
Warm Sector
Intermittent showers
Temperatures at their mildest
Clear with some rain clouds
Calm
Cold Front
Really heavy rainfall
Temperature begins to decrease
Cumulonimbus Clouds
Very windy possibility of storms
Cold Front Passing
Dry
Cold
Clear Sky
Calm
Fully explain latitude
The further you travel from the equator, the colder the temperature – so the south of the UK is warmer than the North This is due to the curvature of the Earth
Fully explain distance from the sea
Compared to the rest of the UK, the west is warmer in winter.
A warm ocean current (the North Atlantic Drift) arrives and
makes temperatures milder.
Compared to the rest of the UK, the west is cooler in the summer. The Atlantic Ocean is now colder and so temperatures are colder.
Fully explain aspect
The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Places facing south (a southerly aspect) are therefore warmer as they receive sunshine throughout the entire day. Northerly facing locations will get no direct sunlight at all.
Fully explain relief
The height (altitude) and shape of the land influences temperature and precipitation. Temperature falls by around 1 degree Celsius for every 100m. This means that places with a higher altitude (e.g. mountainous areas) will have
lower temperatures.
Fully explain freeze thaw
• Water gets into cracks in the rock
• This water freezes and expands
• It will then melt and the process will repeat until the rock shatters.
Fully explain plucking
• As the glacier moves it sticks to the land beneath it.
• As the glacier continues to move downhill, the bedrock it had stuck to is pulled out of the land.
• This process leaves a jagged surface.
Fully explain abrasion
• Pieces of rock are embedded in the bottom of the glacier
• These rub against the surface of the ground like sandpaper
• Wearing it away to creating a smooth surface
Fully explain corrie formation
A glacier forms when:
• Abrasion* occurs at base due to material embedded in ice (moraine).
• Plucking* pulls rocks off the back wall, steepening it and can
add to abrasion
• The back wall is steepened by freeze
• The ice age is over and the corrie is now fully formed
• It is a steep armchair shaped hollow.
• Occasionally, the hollow may fill up with water, creating a
lake known as a tarn.
Fully explain arête formation
• An arête needs two glaciers to
form back to back corries in order to form. A glacier forms when:
• The back walls of the two corries are plucked* by the glaciers
• Freeze thaw* also attacks the
back wall increasing the headward erosion
• The material from the plucking
and freeze thaw aids abrasion*
which hollows out the base of
each corrie
• Overtime they cut back leaving a knife-edged ridge between them
Fully explain a pyramidal peak formation
• A pyramidal peak may form at the junction of three or more corries. A glacier forms when:
• The glaciers then begin to erode by using plucking* and freeze- thaw action* on the back walls and abrasion* at the base
• This causes the back walls of the corries to retreat towards each other, producing arêtes and a pyramidal peak in between.
• The pyramidal peak is an angular, sharply pointed mountain peak
Fully explain the formation of a U shaped valley
• Before glaciation existed there were V shaped valleys which were carved by rivers and had steep sides and narrow floors
• Glaciers filled these V shaped valleys
A glacier forms when:
• The glacier now begins to bulldoze its way through the rest of the valley eroding both laterally and vertically
• It does this through the processes of abrasion, plucking and freeze thaw*
• The valley has been greatly deepened, widened and
straightened
• It has a wide flat valley floor and steep sides
• Misfit streams which appear to be too small for the valley
often run through the valley floor
Fully explain a truncated spur formation
• Before glaciation, rivers flowed through V shaped valleys
• When the river met areas of harder rock that are difficult to erode it winds around them.
• A series of hills form on either side of the river called interlocking spurs
• A glacier filled the V-shape valley, A glacier forms when:
• The glacier now begins to bulldoze its way through the rest of the valley eroding both laterally and vertically
• It did this through abrasion, plucking and freeze thaw*
• The interlocking spurs were cut off to form truncated spurs
• They are found on the edge of U shaped valleys and look like rounded areas of land
Fully explain hill sheep farming as a land use
• Sheep are hardy and can survive in the cold, harsh environment on the upper slopes.
• The climate means the land can’t be used to grow crops, low temperatures and high rainfall mean that the soil quality is poor.
• The slopes are also too steep to use large farm machinery needed for other types of farming
Full explain tourism as a land use
• The Lake Districts breath-taking glacial scenery attracts sightseers (Corries, Ribbon Lakes, Pyramidal Peaks)
• The mountainous landscape is ideal for hill walkers and rock climbers.
• People can do water sports on ribbon lakes such as Lake Windermere.
What are tourist vs local conflicts in the Lake District?
- Increased litter makes towns and villages look untidy and can cause environmental damage
- The lake districts narrow roads are congested with slow moving cars and buses – increasing journey time for locals – particularly in honeypot towns This extra traffic also increases noise and air pollution.
- Tourists often stray off of the
track and cause footpath erosion on farmers land – this scars the landscape causing an eyesore in a scenic area - The rich buy holiday homes in the area - as a result services such as schools and libraries close down due to lack of users.
What are land use conflicts between tourists and farmers in the Lake District?
Tourists leave gates left open, leading to the loss of valuable livestock
Sheep worrying - Dogs off a leash can cause undue stress to sheep particularly at lambing time. This can even lead to miscarriages – reducing the farmers income.
Tourists may also climb over farmers stonewalls/dykes damaging them and causing costly repairs to be undertaken
Tourists may also park their cars on the side of small, rural roads. This means that farmers may struggle to get past in their tractors
