Global Hazards

Description

Geography AS (World at Risk) Mind Map on Global Hazards, created by YasmineG on 04/05/2013.
YasmineG
Mind Map by YasmineG, updated more than 1 year ago
YasmineG
Created by YasmineG over 11 years ago
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Resource summary

Global Hazards
  1. Key Terms
    1. Context Hazard - Widespread threat due to environmental factors.
      1. Geophysical Hazard - Hazard formed by tectonic/ geological processes
        1. Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tsunamis
        2. Hydro-meteorological Hazard - Hazard formed by hydrological or atmospheric processes
          1. Droughts, Floods
          2. Albedo - How much solar radiation a surface reflects.
            1. Arctic Ice - Has a high albedo and as it melts more heat from the sun is absorbed, which will raise the temperature further and make the remaining ice melt quicker.
            2. Tipping Point - the point at which a system switches from one state to another.
              1. Feedback Mechanism - The output of a system acts to amplify (positive) or reduce (negative) further output.
                1. Positive feedback mechanism - Melting of Arctic permafrost leads to the release of trapped methane which leads to further global warming.
              2. Risk (R) = Hazard (H) x Vulnerability (V) / Capacity to Cope (C)
                1. A hazard is a natural event which has the potential to threaten or damage people and property
                2. The Greenhouse Effect
                  1. The process by which greenhouse gases - water vapour, CO2, methane, CFCs, nitrous oxide and ozone - absorb outgoing long wave radiation which is then sent back to the Earth's surface, which is warmed.
                    1. Enhanced Greenhouse Effect - Levels of greenhouse gases increase due to human activity.
                  2. Global Hazard Trends
                    1. Human factors in disasters
                      1. Rapid population growth
                        1. Pressure on land which leads people to live in high risk areas e.g. flood prone land in Bangladesh. Growing proportion of elderly (Japan) and very young (developing countries) who are particularly vulnerable in the event of a disaster.
                        2. Deforestation and land degradation
                          1. Deforestation and destruction of mangroves can lead to soil erosion, coastal erosion, flooding and desertification.
                          2. Urbanisation
                            1. Development of squatter settlements in areas at risk of landslides or flooding. E.g. Phillipines
                            2. Poverty and Politics
                              1. Disasters have a greater impact on poorer countries who have higher population densities and less resources to reduce the impact on vulnerable people. Corrupt governments can also lead to misuse of available aid and resources.
                            3. Trends in human costs of disasters
                              1. Number of people affected
                                1. Reported deaths
                                  1. Economic losses
                                    1. Some losses due to poverty and the lack of funding necessary for prevention of secondary hazards, for example, Dominican Republic (Hurricane Jeanne, 2004)
                                      1. Some losses due to poor infrastructure as a result of political instability for example, Haiti (Hurricane Jeanne, 2004)
                                        1. Minimal losses in countries who have invested in hazard warning systems and related technologies to encourage awareness and therefore minimise damage to property or humans. For example, only 4 people died during Hurricane Charley and Ivan in Cuba, 2004.
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