EDEXCEL A LEVEL GEOGRAPHY - paper 1 case studies

Nile Delta: issues

95% of population in the area

retreating coastline

increased coastal flooding

3.3% of the land expected to be lost

32.4% highly vulnerable

Nile Delta: sea level rise

1m will destroy 2 million hectares of fertile land + displace 1 million people

Nile Delta: management

Aswan Dam constructed 1964

UN development programme to implement an integrated coastal zone management plan

North Sea storm surge:

December 2013

Reached 6.3m at highest

18,000 evacuated

£1.7 billion in damages

800,0000 homes saved

Australia: risk

Half of the coast at risk - but 10cm rise would triple that

Australia: sea level rise

1m sea level rise would expose $162 billion of infrastructure to coastal flooding

loss of barrier reef, saltwater intrusion, fisheries & tourism ($30 billion)

Phillipines:

5.8mm rise p.a.

$6.5 billion lost p.a.

1m sea level rise would affect 2.3 million people and cost $23.7 million in damage.

Bangladesh: meteorological cause

Very flood prone

deltas + floodplains

swollen twice a year due to snowmelt from Himalayas + Monsoon

Pakistan: environmental impacts

2010

floods destroyed 7 million hectares of fertile land and destroyed habitats

Australia: drought event

2002-2009

Murray-Darling river basin

Caused by: ENSO cycles, irregular rainfall, over abstraction

Australia: drought impacts

Suicide rates soared

Water bills rose 20%

Food prices rose

10,000 cotton workers out of jobs

40% reliant on agriculture

Wildfires

Creeks and rivers dried up

Australia: drought management

- Recycle water

$400-600 p.f. - financial assistance -$1.7 million per day

- Subsidised rainwater storage tanks

- Ban on car washing

- built a desalination plant

- made more efficient irrigation systems

Sahel: drought event

2011-12

Just below Sahara

Cause:

Desertification

Air pollution caused ICTZ rains to not arrive

Temp 2 degrees higher due to el nino

Sahel: drought impact

subsistence farmers Crops failed

Reduced soil fertility

No clean water

Food prices up

Govt could not afford to subsidise farmers

Vegetation died

Animals die

Sahel: drought Management

Individuals sold livestock and valuables

Conserved food

Seed drilling

Grew drought resistant crops

provision of solar cookers

Amazon: Impact of climate change

Increased fire risk, decreased floods could impact plant and animal species

Haiti: Setting

Enriquillo fault

7.0 magnitude

epicentre 15km from capital

Two 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude aftershocks

Haiti: primary impacts

222,500 dead

3.5 million affected

293,000 houses damaged

$7.8 billion in damages

Port destroyed

Haiti: secondary impacts

Phone lines failed

1.5 million left homeless

Bottleneck at the airport

Haiti: Primary response

450 improvised camps set up (3 had potable water)

Search party

5,500 US troops

UN appeal for $562 million

tents provided for 25% of homeless

Haiti: Long term response

$11 billion committed to reconstruction

5% of rubble cleared in a year

reconstruction: Delmas 32 received $30 million for redevelopment

Only 53% of promised aid released

Christchurch: setting

February 2011

6.3 on richter scale

Subduction plate

Epicentre in SE christchurch

focus 5km deep

Christchurch: primary impacts

185 dead, 3129 injured

Canterbury television building collapsed

liquefaction

$28 billion in damage

Christchurch: secondary impacts

70,000 fled

2,200 in temporary housing

Schools closed for 2 weeks

Two large aftershocks

Christchurch: primary response

$7 million provided in international aid

Red Cross supplied aid

30,000 given chemical toilets

Christchurch: Secondary response

$13 billion reconstruction plan

Govt bought 5000 houses in the red zone

10,000 rebuilt in the green zone

Water and sewage restored in 6 months

Bangladesh flood: characteristics

30% of land 10m above sea level

Coastline mostly delta sediment

Mangrove deforestation

Bangladesh: flood cause

Tropical cyclone in Indian ocean

Bay of Bengal funnel shaped

Bangladesh: flood impacts

6m high storm surge

3500 deaths

Drinking water contaminated

$1.1 billion in damages

3 million homes flooded

Indian Ocean tsunami: Event

Magnitude 9 - Boxing Day 2004

Subduction boundary

Went west to Sri Lanka and Africa

Went East to Sumatran and Thai coast

Indian Ocean tsunami: primary Impacts

228,000 deaths

$9.4 billion in damage

Eroded coastal sediment

Kandolhudhoo had residents evacuated

Corals destroyed - suffocated by sediment

Indian ocean tsunami: secondary impacts

Maldive islands washed over

Decline in tourism

1.7 million homeless

Drinking water polluted

Indian Ocean tsunami: primary response

Search and rescue

$7 billion in aid promised

Temporary shelter

Indian Ocean tsunami: long term response & Recovery

WORLD VISION - $350 million raised, training and employment opportunities to 40,000

Built 12,000 homes 84 schools and 27 health clinics

Hyogo framework for action

NOW: individuals back in homes, improved infrastructure.

Japan tsunami: event

March 2011

Magnitude 9

Eurasian - pacific plate margin

took 10 mins to reach the coast of Japan

Japan tsunami: primary impact

16,000 dead, 5,000 missing

65% of victims dead over 60

$360 billion in costs

1.5 million households without water

4.4 million without electricity

300 hospitals damaged

Japan tsunami: secondary impacts

Many suffered pneumonia, hypothermia, colitis, bronchitis

Nuclear power station crisis

50 workers exposed to 12x the legal limit of radiation

Key safety systems failed, causing serial explosions and radiation emitted

Japan Tsunami: primary response

452,000 in evacuation facilities

Japan tsunami appeal

59 s&r experts on a charter plane

Japan tsunami: long term response

Upgraded tsunami warning system

Increased investment in tsunami proofing

91 countries offered aid

Eyjafjallajokull: event

April/May 2010

mid-atlantic ridge (constructive boundary)

on a hotspot

1660m high

Eyjafjallajokull: primary impact

2-4 VEI

Ash plume blown 10km into atmosphere

Europe lost $2.6 billion of GDP

Obama could not attend Lech Kaczynski's funeral

2.8 million tonnes less CO2 emitted

Eyjafjallajokull: Secondary impacts

Fresh fish imports badly affected

small travel companies went bust

Kenya laid off 5,000 agricultural workers

Eyjafjallajokull: short term response

700 evacuated

Livestock taken inside

Flights cancelled

Goggles and face masks worn 'down wind'

Entirely domestic

Eyjafjallajokull: long term response

Creation of 9 Functional Airspace Blocks

Monitoring & repairs

Pinatubo: event

April 1991

Western Phillipines

Destructive plate

7.8 magnitude

Pinatubo: primary effects

125,000km2 ash cloud

150km2 of reforestation projects destroyed 1.5 billion pesos worth of agriculture

847 killed - 300 from collapsing roofs

$700 million in damages

Pinatubo: Secondary effects

Lahars caused severe river erosion which lasted 6 years

temperature drop by 0. 5degrees

£10 billion recovery cost

Pinatubo: short term response

Manilla airport closed

200,000 relocated

intervention in camps by Red Cross, action aid and Oxfam

23 USGS advised govt officials for 8 weeks

Pinatubo: Long term response

10 billion pesos via 'Mount Pinatubo commission

New houses built on stilts

Lahar detectors put in place (cost 5 billion pesos)

Prediction and forecasting:

75,000 evacuated before Pinatubo erupted

Pacific Tsunami warning centre - issues bulletins in 10-20 minutes

Mount St Helens 1980 - monitoring reduced deaths to 57

Modifying event:

Offshore Bars

Mangrove

Redirect lava flows

Spraying seawater to solidify lava flow s

Modifying vulnerability:

Torre Mayor - earthquake proof building

11 regional centres connected to sirens - Pacific tsunami warning system

The Prompt assessment of global earthquakes for response 2007

No provision of building reinforcement on NZ South Island

Modifying Loss:

Aid

Infrastructure

clean water

emergency housing

Rescue

Coal India Ltd

World's largest coal producer

Nationalised in 1972

Production doubled to 494.24 million tonnes (2002-2014)

$12.9 billion revenue in 2013/14

OPEC:

IGO, set up to coordinate countries oil policies to create stable income

Controls 40% of world supply

Invested $209 billion 2000-2020

UK energy mix:

Decline in coal usage

Oil use consistent

Offshore wind increased by 46% between 2011 and 2012

dependency for 48%

2014 -

6% decline in total energy consumption with 2.8% growth in economy

CO2 emissions down 10%

7% energy from renewables (especially wind)

USA: energy use

Consumes 2nd most

6084kg oil equivalent per capita

11th for oil reserves

37% oil

32% NG

Nuclear 8%

USA: energy security

imports 4% of energy demand

fairly secure ST + LT as they have plentiful resources

France: energy security

47.6% imported

Aim to remove coal plants by 2030

Short term reliance on Nuclear

long term reliant on imports so some vulnerability exists

Alternative to fossil fuels:

Wind:

Has become cheaper than coal - 18 cents/kwh

Solar: cheapest energy - 4.3 cents/kwh

Denmark: government role

Diverse energy mix

40% wind turbines

energy security via agreements with Norway, Sweden and Germany

No coal by 2030

All renewable for electricity and heat by 2035

Ecosystem impact: UK

Environment Agency assessment

During drought, loss of habitat occurs as a result of open areas of water shrinking.

Ecosystem impact: South West USA

Pinon Pines

between 2000-2003, significant die off due to hot and dry conditions. Pine Bark Beetle attacks.

In certain areas 90% of the Pinons died

River floods: Pakistan

August 2010

5 day period of exceptional precipitation

Exceeded usual total of monsoon rainfall by 30%

River Indus

Effects extended by Deforestation, construction of Levees, higher monsoon

Flood impact: Pakistan

1/5 of Pakistan submerged

11,000 villages inundated 1.2 million homes destroyed

7 Million hectares of arable land was obliterated

Food prices doubled/tripled

Cost to agriculture put at £1.5 billion

$1.7 billion would be needed to cover costs