Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Geography - Natural Hazards
- El Nino and La Nina
- El Nino
- CASE STUDY:- EL NINO 1991/92
- Effected 100
million
people
- Led to Cholera epidemic in 1991 in Peru
- Brought worst drought in the 20th century for
Africa
- Heavy rains and severe flooding
in Peru and Chile, severe drought
in Africa
- Weak trade winds lead to eastward flow
- Cold Peru current is suppressed
thus fish don't migrate to the
Peruvian coast - Leads to economic
decline in fishing and tourism is
affected by the reduction on sea
birds as they have no food to eat
- High pressure in Africa -
Anti-cyclonic condition persist
- Low pressure in South America brings heavy persistent rains
- Usually 12-18 months long
- Warm water that lacks nutrients
moves off the east coast creating
the rainfall
- La Nina
- Low pressure in Africa
bringing storm clouds with
strong intensity
- Warm water pushed towards the Australian coast
- High pressure over South America bringing low temperatures and drought
- 1996 sardine and anchovy
catches were much higher
due to cold nutrient rich
waters off the east coast of
South America
- Very strong west trade winds
with a high altitude flow being
experienced in the upper
atmosphere
- Volcanoes
- Conservative Boundary
- These
create
high fold
mountains
- Two similar plates
are converging
with the plates
being forced
together thus
creating a huge
strain of the earths
crust
- Gentle eruptions
with runny lava
- Constructive Boundary
- Volcanoes
mainly at the
sea
- Two plates diverging
- Gentle
eruptions with
runny lava -
Shield Volcano
- Destructive Plate Boundary
- Heavy plate sinks beneath the
lighter plate. They plate is usually
the oceanic plates sinking under
the lighter continental plates
- This creates
violent
eruptions
- Strato Volcanoes
- CASE STUDY:- MOUNT PINATUBO1991
- Refer to casse
study mind map
- Drought
- EFFECTS OF PROLONGED DROUGHT:-
- Leads to rising food
prices
- More wildfires
- Rapid migration to urban areas
- Water
shortages
- Human and livestock death
through lack of water
- Definition: An extended period of below average precipitation that causes water shortages
- 4 MAIN CAUSES OF DROUGHT:-
- 1. High pressure know as anti-cyclones block low pressure
from moving in bringing weather fronts with them
- 2. Warm oceans cause moist air to rise forming clouds over the ocean. If winds
are too weak to blow clouds onto land then no rainfall occurs over land
- 3. Weather front may not bring rain in example with southern Europe once the
front has gone over the UK
- 4. If oceans are colder then
less moist air will rise, thus
less clouds from which
would subsequently bring
rain
- SOLUTIONS:-
- Reduce water usage
e.g. crop irrigation and
water wastage
- Compulsory water meters
- Construction of reservoirs
- Tax large corporations
for heavy water usage
- CASE STUDY:- EASTERN/SOUTHERN AFRICA 2002
- The main affect
was 90% loss in
the harvest in
ETHIOPIA AND
ERITREA
- Over 30 million people
affected (East)
- Severe droughts occured in Africa; both north and
south of the equator
- Over 20 million people
affected (South)
- Over 20% of people in
Southern Africa are
HIV positive so
escalated the problem
as they people
became vulnerable to
droughts and the lack
of nutrition that
comes along with it
- Oxfam has many
projects such to help
in the dorught such
as:-
- Helping people
in Malawi to
improve simple
irrigation
systems
- Helping people to
plant an emergency
winter crop
- DROUGHT MITIGATION:-
- Soil and water preservation. By protecting soil it is better at absorbing percipitation
- Water
desalinisation
and water
recycling reduces
dependency on
rain water
- Water conservation; In Las Vegas exerophytic plants are used
outside as they use less water
- Flooding
- CASE STUDY:- PAKISTAN 2010 AND 2011
- 2.74 MILLION PEOPLE
AFFECTED IN THE SINDH
REGION
- 483,000 Homes destroyed
in the PUNJAB region
- In 2010, Pakistan
suffered its worst
floods for 80
years
- Human factors:-
- Deforestation means steep slopes have
low infiltration rates thus water flows
straight into rivers
- Nearly 70% of pakistans
population work in agriculture
and live close to rovers to irrigate
their crops; this means they're
vulnerable when the rivers flood
their banks
- Why do monsoon rains vary:-
- Changing ITCZ
- Impact of a warming atmosphere
- Temperatures in central Pakistan
- Role of Enso