Y10 Geography - Hazards Flashcards
What is a hazard?
Something that causes harm and danger to others
Example: Hurricane, earthquake
What does latitude describe?
How far north or south a place is from the equator
What is the ITCZ?
A shifting band where solar radiation is most concentrated
What does ITCZ create?
A belt of low pressure where two Hadley cells are, creating rainy conditions, meaning patterns of rainfall more north during summer months and south during winter months
How do Ocean currents affect temperature?
Ocean currents affect temperature by transporting warm waters from the equator to the poles and cold water from the poles to the equator
Example: Gulf stream brings warm waters from the Caribbean to Western Europe, resulting in warmer surface temperatures
What are sunspots?
Areas that appear dark on the surface of the sun
How do sunspots affect temperature?
The more sunspots there are, the cooler the earth is
What are solar flares?
Sudden explosions of energy
How do solar flares affect temperature?
The more solar flares there are, the higher the temperature is
What are the after effects of volcanic eruptions?
Ash and gas formed that can spread around
How do volcanic eruptions affect temperature?
They affect the Earth’s temperature by reflecting sunlight, cooling down the earth
What are Asteroid collisions?
Space rock collisions with atmosphere
How do Asteroid collisions affect temperature?
It affects temperature as Dust and particles have the effect of blocking out sun rays, cooling down the Earth
What are Ice cores?
Huge cubes of ice which scientists use to measure past climate change
What are the bubbles in the ice core?
Pockets of air, containing greenhouse gases (CO2)
What do ice cores tell us?
They tell us that the more gases within the ice core, the hotter it was in the past
What are tree rings?
Rings on a tree that show the growth and age of a tree
What do tree rings tell us?
If the tree rings are thicker, the warmer and wetter the years were
If the tree rings are thinner, the colder and dryer the years were
What are historical sources?
Old sketches and artifacts that indicate evidence of past climate change
What does the enhanced greenhouse effect lead to?
Enhanced greenhouse effect = when human activity is producing more CO2, contributing to the greenhouse effect
Human activities, such as cattle ranching and burning fossil fuels
This causes the greenhouse gas layer to become thicker, trapping more solar radiation in the atmosphere, causing the Earth to become hotter
What are shear winds?
Upper atmospheric winds
What are the ingredients of a tropical storm?
Over Oceans of 26.5 degrees and 50m+ deep
Light shear wind
Cycles of warm air rising and cold air sinking
Coriolis force causing the storm to spin
Latitude of 5 to 30
How are tropical storms formed?
Tropical storms form over tropical oceans of 26.5 degrees
The warm of the ocean causes hot to rise
As it rises, it cools and condenses to form cumulonimbus clouds, leading to heavy precipitation
The Coriolis effect causes the cyclone to spin and travel over land
What were the social impacts of Typhoon Haiyan?
There was an outbreak of disease due to lack of sanitation, food, water, shelter and medication
95% of boats were destroyed
7000 people were killed
71,000 hectares of farmland was affected - Rice, corn and sugar producing areas were affected
Major roads were blocked by trees
6 million workers were displaced
What are the economic impacts of Typhoon Haiyan?
95% of boats destroyed
71,000 hectares of farmland was affected
Economic cost of Typhoon Haiyan was $5.8 billion (£3.83 billion)
Major roads were blocked
6 million workers lost their jobs
What were the environmental impacts of Typhoon Haiyan?
71,000 hectares of farmland was affected
Flooding caused an oil spill affecting mangrove plants
What did the Philippines prepare for Typhoon Haiyan?
Philippines was helped by Japan in tracking the cyclone using their satellite
People in areas at risk were evacuated before the typhoon hit. However, some shelters weren’t on high enough ground for the storm surge
The military sent planes and helicopters to provide aid but there were 7000 islands so it was difficult to help all
How did the Philippines respond to Typhoon Haiyan?
Relief aid was sent, but roads were blocked and local airport was damaged
Evacuation was done slowly by military and places were isolated for days
Evacuations could only be done during the day due to the lack of electricity - some areas weren’t helped
800,000 people were evacuated beforehand
Over $1.5 billion of foreign aid pledged