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Geography Paper 2 ;) > Weather, Climate and Ecosystems 🌦️ > Flashcards

Weather, Climate and Ecosystems 🌦️ Flashcards

1
Q

What is climate change?

A

A large-scale long-term shift in the earths weather patterns, especially in average temperatures.

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2
Q

What evidence is there for climate change? 🏕️

A

• fossils of animals and plants found in places they couldn’t survive today
• extreme weather patterns, including drought and monsoon
• ice cores shows how amount of CO2 in atmosphere has changed
• glaciation GONE
• dendrochronology= growing. Seasons varied in length
• historical sources
• inc levels of greenhouse gases in atmosphere
• inc in average global temperatures

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3
Q

Give an example of an effect of climate change

A

Pasterze Glaciwr Austria retreated 8km inland in past 160 yes

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4
Q

Define
- weather
- climate
- glaciation
- evidence

A
  • The atmospheric conditions are particular place in time, including temperature, precipitation, wind and sunshine
  • The average weather in for a long period of time (at least 30 years )
  • The process by which the land is covered by glaciers
  • The body of factor information, which indicates whether a belief or theory is true
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5
Q

Describe the carbon cycle

A
  • in atmosphere, carbon is stored as CO2
  • photosynthesis rel O2
  • O2 used in respiration, CO2 back into atmosphere
  • when plants and animals die, decomposers return it to the atmosphere
  • fossil fuels burned released locked up CO2
    -30% more in atmosphere today than 30 yes ago
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6
Q

Give store and transfers of carbon

A

STORES: atmosphere, vegetation, fossil fuels, sediment, oceans, animals
TRANSFERS: photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, decomposition

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7
Q

Describe the ‘greenhouse effect’

A

1) SW solar energy enters atmosphere
2) SW small amounts scattered or reflected
3) SW IR radiation absorbed by earths surface
4) re-emitted as long wavelength IR radiation
5) easily absorbed by fossil fuels
6) very little escapes back

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8
Q

Discuss some natural causes of climate change. (3)

A
  • volcanic activity
  • changes in output of solar radiation
  • changes in Earths tilt and orbit
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9
Q

Give an example of a natural cause of climate change.

A

Milankovitch cycles:
- The Serbian astronomer Milutin Milankovitch explained long-term climate change through changes in the Earth’s orbit and rotation, known as Milankovitch cycles
Warmer and cooler periods are caused by:
+ The orbit of the Earth: it is sometimes closer and sometimes further away from the Sun.
+ The tilt of the Earth: affects the amount of energy it
receives from the Sun..

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10
Q

Give an example of a natural cause of climate change.

A

Milankovitch cycles:
- explains long term climate change regarding earths orbit and cycles. Warmer and cooler periods are caused by:
+ The orbit of the Earth: it is sometimes closer and sometimes further away from the Sun.
+ The tilt of the Earth: affects the amount of energy it receives from the Sun.

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11
Q

How does volcanic affect lead to climate change?

A

WARMING
- release large amounts of CO2: high amounts of carbon dioxide in the early atmosphere hypothesised to be as a result of volcanic activity
COOLING
- large eruptions release SO2 into stratosphere
- forms aerosol which blocks IR radiation and scatters light back to space

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12
Q

Give an example of global cooling

A

Mount Pinatubo
- 1991, erupted Philippines
- 10 km3 ash erupted, blocked solar radiation
- 15,000,000 tons sulphur dioxide wanted to stratosphere > sulphuric acid, droplets, absorbed and scattered solar radiation
- mean world temperature decreased 0.5•c

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13
Q

Name different layers of the atmosphere

A

Troposphere. …
Stratosphere. …
Mesosphere. …
Thermosphere. …
Exosphere. …
The Edge of Outer Space. ….

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14
Q

Describe the global circulation of the atmosphere.

A
  • worldwide system of winds, which are driven by heat at the equator

1) ionsulation heats the Earth which heats air above
2) hot air rises= band of low pressure, circles equator
3) reacher tropopause, cannot go further so splits North and South
4) air becomes colder and heavier, at 30•c north and south, it falls creating high-pressure earths surface
5) return to the equator and meets at ITCZ
6) arises again, 60° north and south Anderson. Is it going around 90° north and south creating a further two less distinct circulations of air.

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15
Q

Define the following terms:
- drought
- Tropical storm
- High/Lowpressure

A
  • Lack of precipitation in an area for a long period of time, leading to shortage of water
  • a severe low-pressure weather system which develops over maritime areas
  • Descending/ rising air which leads to a high/ low pressure at the Earth surface
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16
Q

Define the following terms:
- insolation
- Tropopause
- Intertropical convergence zone

A
  • Solar radiation that reaches the Earth surface (energy received cm3 per minute)
  • the boundary separating the troposphere (where all-weather takes place) from the stratosphere
  • Again of governance at the equator, where tradewinds meet
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17
Q

What is a Low pressure hazard

A
  • Extreme weather event that threatens people in property
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18
Q

Explain the dangers of tropical storms? What has increased the frequency of tropical storms?

A
  • most destructive low pressure weather systems of earth
  • hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones
  • forms over tropical seas, as sea temperature above 27•c
  • warm water heats air above, which rises rapidly creating low pressure area
  • Sealevel, moist air, sucked and spiralling upwards to the atmosphere because of rotation of earth known as the Coriolis effect
  • storms move, westward
  • can travel up to 600 km a day
  • effects include heavy rainfall, severe, flooding and storm surges
  • Globally, 80 to 100 happen each year
  • N HEMISPHERE- June to November
  • S HEMISPHERE- November to April
    Climate change and amount could be correlated. Others argue that there is no true link, and that weather patterns are variable.
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19
Q

Give an example of a destructive event caused by a tropical storm

A

Hurricane Katrina, 2005, CATEGORY 5
• formed over the Atlantic Ocean but travelled to the Gulf of Mexico where the water is hotter meaning more contribution
• short-term it caused need for food, water, emergency medical help and evacuation
• long-term, couldn’t grow crops. The water supply is contaminated there was homelessness, (poor too, so no insurance on houses) and no education for kids
• in the US for criticised for a slow response, and when they did the US army, came to get young people to join
$50 billion of age was eventually donated , although overall there was $125 billion worth of damage

• significant loss of income= oil factories were damaged, which also lead to a global rise for oil prices
• 400,000 residents left in fear of another hurricane

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20
Q

Give an example of a monsoon

A

The South Asia Monsoon
- monsoon climate = A seasonal change in the direction of the prevailing winds, which leads to distinct wet and dry seasons
- Low pressure develops over Asia which brings air from Indian Ocean down= heavy rain
- N hemispheres winter, large amount of high pressure builds over Asia, pushing cool, dry air south. Tmt dry season

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21
Q

What is a heatwave? How does it occur? Are droughts more or less likely to occur than in the past? What issues can a heatwave bring about?

A
  • heatwave= prolonged period of hot weather due to a stationary high pressure zone
  • in Europe, heatwaves 10x more likely than in year 2000 (Met Office)

Can cause DROUGHT
= lack of precipitation
- severe droughts happen in Australia, Brazil, Africa, Asia (mostly China and India) and the Mediterranean.

  • Droughts develop slowly, and are often as a result of low rainfall, poor retaining of water in soil and climate, hot weather which increases the rate of transpiration and evaporation

CLIMATE CHANGE has and will lead to more frequent and severe drought

22
Q

Give a case study of a drought.

A

Drought in European summer, 2003
• the cyclone caused record temperatures across the mainland, being 39•C on average
• mostly affected Germany and Poland
• 40,000 deaths

ECO
• tourism and supermarkets made a profit
• Higher food prices as animals died, 13.1 billion euros
• time off work

SOCIAL
• water supplies reduced
• death
• rods melted= disrupted transport

ENVIRONMENTAL
• nuclear power lost in Germany
• massive wildfires, release CO2 into the atmosphere

23
Q

What factors affect the weather in the UK?

A
  • UK has a temperate maritime climate heavily influenced by latitude and the sea
  • prevailing wind direction is SW= moisture from Atlantic Ocean and increased rainfall

FACTORS THAT AFFECT CLIMATE AND WEATHER:
- Latitude- north cooler than South
- altitude- mountain areas colder. Every 100 m elevation, decrease by 1•c
- aspect- south facing slopes are warmer
- ocean currents- North Atlantic Drift brings warmer water to the UKs shores and keeps the climate mild and cool in the summer
- position of jet stream

24
Q

How do martime and continental climates affect the UK?

A

Wind direction brings different air masses-
- NW= polar maritime- cool and showery
- SW= tropical maritime- mild and wet
- SE= tropical continental- hot and dry
- E= polar continental- hot in summer and cold in winter
- N= arctic air- cold with snow

WEST EXPERIENCES A MORE MARITIME CLIMATE THAN IN EAST

25
Q

Define-
- precipitation
- temperature martime climate
- North Atlantic drift
- jet stream
- air masses

A
  • any form of water falling from the sky
  • characterised by the absence of extreme climatic conditions with mild winter temperatures and warm, summers rainfall is frequent, but not extreme. Found between 23.5• and 66.5• latitude
    -an ocean current which stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to north Western Europe
  • An hour zone of high-speed winds, typically around 30,000 feet high and atmosphere, which drives global weather patterns
  • Large volumes of air with the same temperature and humidity throughout
26
Q

What weather is associated with different pressures?

A

LOW- depressions, areas of precipitation and clouds
HIGH- dry and hot weather.
- convectional rainfall can occur
= land heats the air above it, causing the air to expand and rise, as it rises it condenses and causes cumulonimbus clouds

27
Q

What is a microclimate? Give an example.

A
  • climate of a small scale area, ie uplands, coasts, forests, and urban areas

Ie URBAN MICROCLIMATE
- heat islands: as a result of the abs of heat from buildings, concrete etc and release at night
- urban precipitation: hot air may rise= precipitation
- urban winds: less windy than surrounding urban areas

28
Q

What is a large scale ecosystem? What factors effect the kind of ecosystem that develops?

A

• known as Large scale ecosystems or biomes
• CLIMATE most important factor in determining distribution:
- rainfall patterns are key, areas with less than 25 cm per year known as a desert.
- temperature: when rainfall is reliable and distributed evenly throughout, temp becomes most important factor as it determines what can live there, etc
Ie mountains fall by 1•c for every 100m of altitude= cold
- relief, geology and soils are also important
ABIOTIC FACTORS ARE IMPORTANT as provides nutrients, warmth, water and shelter for biotic factors

29
Q

Give examples of biomes (4)
(Not a case study)

A

• TROPICAL RAINFOREST= directly either side of equator
• DESERTS= other sides of cells
• DECIDUOUS FOREST= hot and cold seasons mean loose leaves in autumn to conserve energy
• CONIFEROUS FOREST= needle like to reduce water loss

30
Q

Define
- Water cycle
- Nutrient cycle
- Food web
- Leaching
- Food chain

A
  • The movement of water between the stores of water in the hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere
  • The movement of nutrients in the ecosystem between the stores in the hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere
  • The system of interlocking, and independent food chains
  • The process of washing out from soils of soluble nutrients
  • The interconnections between different organisms, plants and animals (that rely on one another) as their source of food
31
Q

How do ecosystems develop over time?

A

SUCCESSION
• Hardy pioneer species colonisé a bare area of ground
• decay of plants and weathered rocks supply nutrient or support animal and insect life
• soils become deeper= more hairiest of plants
• given enough time, a dominant species ie oak trees will invade and create a balanced ecosystem

32
Q

What’s the water cycle?

A

Evaporation > condensation > precipitation
• absorbed by plants and animals on its journey

33
Q

Describe the movements of nutrients through the nutrient cycle

A

• weathered rock releases nutrients into the soil
• water added via rain
• plants absorb nutrients via roots and leaves
• herbivores gain nutrients by eating plants
• plants and animals die and are decomposed
• nutrients return to soil

34
Q

Describe the food web.

A

• sun source of all energy
• plants absorb for photosynthesis
• primary consumers consume
• secondary consumers consume
• etc
• number of living organisms at each stage decreases as during each stage, energy is lost via transpiration, movement and breathing

35
Q

Give an example of a biome:

A

RAINFOREST ECOSYSTEM
• tropical rainforests found in equatorial regions
• rainfall totals often exceed 2000 mm a year
• vegetation divided into emergents, canopy, under-canopy, shrubs, ground

NUTRIENT= very delicate, 80% in vegetation and 20% in soil
• Rapid decomposition due to heat means nutrients quickly re absorbed
• nutrients in high demand for fast growing plants
• nutrients recycled when animals die

WATER
• although rainfall high, much intercepted
• evaporates
• transpiration
= CONVECTIONAL RAINFALL
• feed great rivers

CARBON
• photosynthesis
• die/ respires= return
• critical. When cleared and burned, 30-60% lost. Rfs store THE MOST CARBON out of all the ecosystems

36
Q

Now give an actual case study if a biome

A

SAVANNAH GRASSLAND
• wet and dry season. Wet is in summer, convectional rain
• scattered trees, drought resistant bushes
• die to drought and fire, plants are xerophyric and pyrophytic

NUTRIENT
• stored near surface of soils
• org matter decays rapidly bc high temp
• fire kills weeds so good
• termites father up vegetation and process it in one spot= nutrient hotspot

WATER
• recurrent episodes of drought, 4-8 months lasting
• drought, life cycle slows
• diversion of water causes the main issue tbh
• resistance more important than to fire

CARBON
• 20% of land surface
• fire decomposed= lots CO2 released

37
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

• measure of variety of plants that live and survive in an ecosystem
• rainforests rich biodiversity whilst deserts low biodiversity
ENDEMIC SPECIES- species that are unique to a given region or area= imp to conserve

38
Q

What key services do ecosystems provide?

A

• provisioning- resources
• regulating- reducing rust of flood and prov medicine
• cultural- relax and leisure
• supporting- cycles ie carbon

39
Q

Give specific examples of key services provided by different ecosystems

A
  • coniferous forests provide timber
  • savannah grasslands provide food and materials for nomadic people and CREATES A TOURIST ATTRACTION
  • peat bogs= store of CO2 to regulate the greenhouse effect
  • sand dunes= natural coastal defences
40
Q

Give a more in depth key service

A

SERVICES PROVIDED BY RAINFORESTS
- nutrient cycling= recycles nutrients, and without tree cover it would be lost
- rain making Amazon rainforest makes 50% of its total rainfall
- regulating air quality= reduce amounts of CO2 in atmosphere
- provision of goods= water, food, medication (75% of world rely on plant extracts for medication)
- culture= ecotourism and recreation

41
Q

How does human activity affect the sand dune ecosystem?

A
  • during recreation, marram grasses etc are trampled and easily killed. Bare sand then has no roots holding it in place so blows away= REDUCES BIODIVERSITY
  • farmers use sand dunes for grazing cattle. Faeces enrich the soil with nutrients= plant and animal diversity reduced through compaction and enrichment
  • afforestation= affects biodiversity and natural succession
  • introduction of small animals ie rabbits= plagioclimax
  • signs and broadwalks= minimises effect of trampling etc
42
Q

Give an example of a small scale ecosystem

A
  • SAND DUNES
  • sand held in place by vegetation
  • needs source of sand and onshore prevailing wind
  • formed when sand grains are stopped
    By an object ie driftwood
  • EMBRYO DUNES formed
  • dunes become stabilised by root systems and start to grow vie succession
  • FORE DUNES develop. These are dominated by marram grass
  • stop growing due to lack of blown sand
  • become FIXED DUNES= wide variety of plants etc cover the dune
  • eventually, community established when vegetation at equilibrium with environment
  • dominated with woodland

PURPOSE
• tourism
• sand for building
• increasing biodiversity

43
Q

How does human activity affect ecosystems? :(

A

• in USA, grassland moved to grow cereals
• deforestation to create urbanisation
• Sahel region in Africa, Lake Chad shrunk dramatically due to over abstraction of water
• Mediterranean under pressure from tourism
• arctic tundra at risk from drilling for oil

44
Q

Give an example of an environmental sustainability programme ( red burning of fossil fuels)

A

• Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farms
• second largest wind farm in the world
• 160 turbines
• opened in North Wales, 2015
• cost 2 bill
• enough power to fuel 30% households in wales

OPS=
• high quality employment
• prevent the release of 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere each year
• 2050 NET ZERO PROJECT
• “save our scenery”= ruining the tourism market of beautiful scenery
• ruin views from snowsdonia

45
Q

How do human activities modify processes and interaction within ecosystems? Case study? GIVE IMPACTS

A

• AMAZON RAINFOREST 20% destroyed in last 50 yrs
Because of
• commercial farming (cattle, monoculture= massively reduces biodiversity)
• mining= Amazon has largest iron ore mine at Carajàs. It contains 7.2 billion tonnes of ore
• transport- new roads and railways to transport this ore
• energy= HUGE DAMS which exploit hydroelectric power have been built. Ie
Tucurí

IMPACTS
• nutrient removal= rain washed it away. SOIL EROSION and infertile land
• removal of canopy causes soil to dry out in the sun and water to saturate soil (mudslides)
• trees store water and CO2. Interception and transpiration reduced= air becomes drier. RAINFALL DECREASE, sci predicts temp inc by 2-3•c in next fifty years
• inc risk flooding
• ALMOST 50% of animals risk extinction
• indigenous people threatened. One 10 million, now under 200,000
• loss of hope for medicine, ie cancer treatment

46
Q

Give problems in the savannah grassland

A

The savannah grassland ecosystem:
• due to indigenous people working on agriculture etc, desertification is a massive issue
• due to overgrazing and overcultivation, soil is loosing fertility
• it is being blown away due to slash and burn agriculture for farming
• reduces transpiration and releases masses of CO2 into atmosphere
• nutrient cycle broken as nutrients from leaf litter no longer fall into soil, causing loss of fertility
• gully erosion= channel is formed on a poorly vegetated hillside by soil erosion
•prevents restoration of goodness in fallow period
• BIODIVERSITY LOSS

47
Q

How do humans changes to the world impact biodiversity?

A

• habitat destruction, ie deforestation for land or damming rivers
• monoculture
• habitat fragmentation, ie by urban development. Habitats divided causing ecological islands. Affects it by reducing migration and suitable habitat
• reduces gene pool in an area
• habitat degradation, ie pollution, introduction of new species, disruption of nutrient cycles etc

48
Q

How can ecosystems be managed sustainably? Give an example of a rainforest

A
  • conservationist would argue that maintaining key services to earth is more important than long/ short term profit gains from unsustainable exploitation of ecosystems

• ecotourism, common in Amazon. People pay to stay there and live lives if locals
• wildlife corridors to solve fragmented ecosystems
• dept for nature- Japan to Brazil

49
Q

Give an example of things which helps the savannah grassland

A

• savanna, grassland
• crop rotation= different crops grow in at different times so can re gain fertility. Combats monoculture.
• plant shelterbelts to protect forests from water and wind erosion
• irrigation= water diversion of lakes to hydrate dry land
• limiting, what animals can graze on land= reduce destruction
• GM crops that are drought resistant

50
Q

Give an agreement between countries
to improve biodiversity 💚

A

• the great green wall
• 2010 11 countries signed an agreement to plant a great green wall, 15 km wide and 8000 km long across the width of Africa
• it encourages local communities to plant native trees, increasing biodiversity (agroforestry)
• prevent desertification, and soil erosion
• protect series of value like Lake Chad
• habitats
• lead to increased crop fields better for livestock and medicines

LIMITATIONS- whilst Niger, Ethiopia have made good progress, others haven’t = money is limiting

Geography Paper 2 ;) (6 decks)

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