Geography Case Studies

• California, USA
• North American and Pacific plates slide past each other in the same direction but at different speeds
• Earthquakes of up to 8.5 in magnitude
• small tremors daily
• LA, San Diego and San Francisco affected
• Major earthquakes in 1857, 1906, 1989, 2004

• On the mid-Atlantic ridge
• Eurasian and North American plates pull apart
• Land created by cooled basalt lava 
• small earthquakes up to 6 on the richter scale
• caused by the friction created when the plates tear apart
• volcanoes are not very explosive/dangerous, occur in fissures, erupt basalt lava

• Located in Peru and Chile
• Nazca oceanic plate is subducted under the South American continental plate
• destructive earthquakes of up to 9.5 magnitude
• Tsunamis can form
• explosive and desturctive composite volcanoes, erupt andesite lava at 900-1000 degrees C

• formed as low-density granite plates (Indian and Eurasian continental plates) push into each other and are forced to rise up
• earthquakes of up to 9 magnitude on faults
• landslides can be triggered

• On a destructive plate boundary
• Pacific plate subducted under Eurasian plate, causing active volcanoes
• Sakurajima has erupted up to 200 time each year since the 1950's
• 7000 people live at the base, nearby Kagoshima has a population of 650,000 and could be decastated by a large eruption
• Volcanic bombs reach 3km from the crater
• pyroclastic flows travel 2km
• 30km2 of ash erupts each year
• 40% of surrounding land is highly fertile and used to grow tea and rice
• the area is a national park
• hot springs and lava flows are a tourist attraction
• the sheltered bay makes a good point and fishing is an important industry
• Ash and lava have buried buildings and farmlands
• poisonous gases cause acid rain, killing plants
• Sakurajima is monitored by aircraft measuring gas; by seismometers measuring tremors; by tiltmeters measuring magma levels; by boreholes measuring water temperature
• Citizens are protected by concrete shelters; by lahar channels that divert dangerous mudflows; by evacuation

• located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Jan 2002 - basalt lava flow and poisonous gas killed 100 people in the city of Goma
• 12,500 homes destroyed by lava flows and earthquakes
• the eruption was predicted so 400,000 people were evacuated
• Many moved to crowded refugee camps
• disruption to mains water supplies caused concern for disease spreading
• poisonous gases caused acid rain affecting crops and livestock
• most people could not afford to rebuild their homes
• 120,000 people made homeless
• UN and Oxfam began a relief effort
• UN sent 260 tonnes of food in the first week
• TV appeals for donations
• national governments donated a total of $35 billion
• emergency measles vaccinations carried out by the World Health Organisation
• volcano became active again in 2005 and could erupt at any time
• an earthquake could release carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide gases trapped in mud on river beds, causing people to suffocate

• 7.2 magnitude
• soft ground made tremors worse
• focus - 16km deep on fault
• epicentre - 20km from Kobe
• Kobe - population of 1.5 million

Primary effects:

• 5,000 dead
• 20,000 injured
• high population density & the early time (5:46am) it struck at meant many were endangered
• bridges and roads collapsed, train lines damaged
• £100 billion of damage to roads, houses, factories and infrastructure

Secondary effects:

• broken gas pipes caused fires to break out in the city
• transport disruption affected workers and businesses
• Homelessness, disrupted education, stress-related health problems

• 12th January 2010
• 7.0 magnitude
• focus - 13km deep on conservative plate boundary
• epicentre - 26km from Port-au-Prince
• Port-au-Prince - population of 2.5 million

Primary effects:

• 316,000 people dead, 300,000 injured
• poorly built homes collapsed - 1 million people made homeless
• rubble blocked roads and rail links
• The port, communication links and major roads were damaged beyond repair

Secondary effects:

• water supply system damaged - cholera outbreak killed 8,000 people
• the port was destroyed - it was difficult to get aid to the area
• clothing factories damaged - 60% of Haitis exports and 1 in 5 jobs lost
• 1 year later 1 million people were still displaced, many in refugee camps

• Japan is a developed country and can afford long-term planning
• 70% chance of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hitting Tokyo during the next 30 years
• it could kill 7,000 and injure 160,000
• there is no way of predicting exactly when it might happen

Precautions:

• every yearJapan has earthquake drills
• emergency services practice rescuing people
• people keep emergency kits at home, containing water, food, a torch and a radio

Building Structure:

• a dampner in the roof acts as a pendulum to reduce structure sway
• cross-bracing gives support and prevents collapsing
• shock absorbers built into cross bracing
• strong steel frame supports and is flexible - stops cracking
• strong double-glazed windows stop glass breaking
• deep foundations prevent sway and collapse

• Sichuan - province in central china
• 12th May 2008 earthquake of 8.0 magnitude
• the earthquake wasnt predicted - there was no warning
• 70,000 died
• 375,000 were injured
• 5 million homeless
• 700 schools collapsed
• workplaces destroyed - 1 million people lost their jobs
• rebuilding costs estimated at $75 billion
• landslides dammed rivers creating "quake lakes" which can burst and cause flooding
• 200 large aftershocks
• 27th May - large aftershock of magnitude 6.0 caused 420,000 buildings to collapse
• heavy rain, landslides and aftershocks made rescue efforts difficult

Sichuan Earthquake (12th May 2008)

Short-term planning

• the Prime Minister Wen Jiabao flew to the area
• 50,000 soldiers dug for survivors
• Helicopters used to reach isolated areas
• Chinese people donated $1.5 billion
• UK donated $2 billion
• Finaland sent 8000 tents, Indonesia sent 8 tonnes of medicine
• Russia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore sent rescue teams

Long-term planning - building features

• bamboo cross-bracing
• lightweight thatched roof
• concrete rings to hold the walls to the foundations
• steel rod fondations
• walls made of mud and straw packed between wooden slats

• on the Yangtze river
• completed in 2012
• cost $26 billion
• 175m long, created a reservoir 600km long
• designed to: reduce seasonal flooding, improve water supply by regulating river flow, generate electricity (hydropower), make the river easier for ships to navigate

Positives:

• has 34 hydroelectric generators which produce 80 billion kWh of electricity each year
• During China's 2011 drought the reservoir provided farms with water
• held back floodwaters in 2012

Negatives:

• 632km2 of land was inundated by the reservoir
• river wildlife has suffered
• 1.3 million people had to relocate from 1350 villages and 150 towns.
• reservoir water quality is low because of upstream industry, sewage and farm waste

• april 14th 2010
• constructive plate boundary
• 10:30pm eruptions began
• airport flights cancelled --> people stranded --> cost airports £2billion --> travel insurance companies
• Hot spot - 150 volcanoes (20 erupt per 100 years)
• jet stream spread ash cloud over europe --> airports close

Vikings in Greenland

• land became covered in ice
• farmers couldnt grow crops or keep livestock because grass was covered in snow and ice
• temperatures dropped below 0 degrees centigrede so crops wouldnt grow
• sea water froze so they couldnt trade with Iceland and Norway, hunting trips in the arctic circle stopped
• eventually viking settlers died out

Thames

• River Thames in London froze over
• 'Frost Fairs' held on it
• farms on high ground struggled (high altitude --> lower temps)
• peasant farmers died as they relied on the crops and livestock that died

Europe

• 1317 - famine strikes europe, crops fail, livestock die, more rain, lower temps and longer winters

• low lying (close to sea level)
• experience increse in droughts, floods, storms, tornadoes
• Danes lose homes, jobs
• have introduced bycycle plan to reduce congestion
• 80% of Danish energy comes from fossil fuels
• government hope to be independant from fossil fuels by 2050 --> Danes gas and electricity bills will reduce dramatically
• easier for Denmark to make changes as they are an HIC so can afford to make changes

• lots of people live in coastal areas and villages
• increase in flooding, tropical cyclones, storms, droughts
• flooding could kill people and livestock, destroy crops and homes
• Bangladesh is an LIC so is not educated in preventative measures and have less resources --> more people wil die and be made homeless
• Bangladesh people are not educated in working to reduce climate change

Desert

• Climate - Hot & dry
• Vegetation - Cacti
• Animals - camels, dung beetles, lizards, scorpions

Mountain

• Climate - cold & windy (snowy)
• Vegetation - sparse/very little
• Animals - few, e.g. eagles

Savannah (grasslands

• Climate - Dry season & wet season
• Vegetation - varied
• Animals - high biodiversity, e.g. lions, antelope

Tropical Rainforest

• Climate - hot & humid
• Vegetation - luscious & varied
• Animals - high biodiversity, e.g. leopards, tropical birds

• Located in South America
• covers 2.1 square miles
• mostly in Brazil, Peru, Colombia
• accounts for half the worlds remaining rainforest
• home to 10% of the worlds known species
• over 40,000 plant species, 25 million insect species, 3000 fruit species, 205 bird species
• if temperature changed by 3 degrees centigrade it would be destroyed
• known as "The lungs of the planet" or "Green Lungs" because its plant life produces 20% of the worlds oxygen through photosynthesis
• provides 70% of cancer medication

Indirect Threats

• droughts --> forest fire risk increases
• absorbing --> emitting CO2
• 3 degree change could destroy rainforest
• plants flowering earlier
• bird migration patterns changing
• arctic tundra is warming

Direct Threats

• cattle ranches
• hydroelectric power
• fires
• mining
• urbanisation
• dams
• logging

set up in 1971

protects wetlands: swamps, marshes, bogs, coral reefs etc

Convention of the International Trade of Endangered Species

protects endangered animals to prevent their extinction

Stops poaching, BM trading - fines, jail sentences

• Located mostly in Khazakstan
• previously the 4th largest fresh water lake
• source river was diverted to irrigate cotton farms
• over the past 30 years most of the Aral Sea has turned to desert
• 80% dried up
• shorter, hotter summers
• fishing industry collapsed --> people lose jobs

• conserves whales and the management of whaling
• set up in 1946
• has 88 country members
• sets catch limits
• promotes recovery of depleted whale population
• includes ship strikes, entanglement events, establishing protocols

• worlds largest coral reef system
• consists of 2500 reefs
• reaches 900 islands over 2600km
• huge tourist industry
• 30+ species of whales, dolphins & porpoises
• 6 species of sea turtle breed there
• 215 species of birds
• 17 species of snake
• 1500+ species of fish

• has mass wells in India
• takes water from local water sources --> locals have no waer
• uses 2 1/2 litres of water to make 1 litre of coke

MPA

• stands for Marine Protected Area
• 5,000 MPAs

UNCLOS

• stands for United Convention on the Law Of the Seas
• adresses main sources of ocean pollution: land based/coastal activities, continental shelf drilling for gas and oil, sea bed mining, ocean dumping, pollution from ships

MARPOL

• written in 1973
• designed to eliminate oil pollution in seas
• has six sections each adressing a different kind of pollution

Buckden Beck - V-shaped valley, interlocking spurs

---> River Wharfe - middle course: meanders, flood plains, U shapes valley, lower course: wide & deep river channel, levees, mudflats

Sheffield Floods

• June-July 2007
• heavy rainfall caused the flooding
• soil became saturated
• surrounded by high ground
• worst flooding occured at the confluence of River Rivelin, River Loxley and River Don
• drains and flood defences
• Hard engineering - drains and culverts
• Soft engineering - building design, flood plain zoning, prediction & warning