uk environmental challenges (NOT FINISHED

state the 5 factors that influence climate

• latitude

• altitude

• prevailing wind

• ocean currents

• continentality

describe how continentality affects climate

• LAND

  • sea takes more time to heat up and cool down than land does

  • in summer, land heats up really quickly

    • this causes air temperatures nearby to heat up quickly

  • in winter, the land cools down quickly

    • this causes air temperatures nearby to cool down quickly

• SEA

  • the sea has a much higher thermal capacity

  • temperatures on land close to the sea are moderated by oceans

  • so in summer, this means land here doesn’t heat up as much

  • and in winter, the sea retains its heat for longer, meaning the land doesn’t cool as much

describe how the North Atlantic Drift (ocean current) affects climate in the UK

• North Atlantic Drift is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico (as the Gulf Stream)

• ocean currents redistribute energy in the sea

• the North Atlantic Drift is a warm current which raises coastal land temperatures higher than they would otherwise at these latitudes

• the additional energy the NAD brings is ~27,000 times that of UK power stations combined

• the NAD raises UK temperatures by ~5 degrees C on average throughout the year

• the warmer temperatures caused by the NAD causes more evaporation to occur

• this increases evaporation creates more moisture and rainfall

describe the tropical continental air mass

• brings hot, dry weather in summer

• originates from North Africa

describe the polar continental air mass

• brings hot, dry weather in summer

• originates from central Europe

describe the polar maritime air mass

• brings cold, wet weather

• originates from Arctic Sea

describe the tropical maritime air mass

• brings warm, wet weather

• originates from Atlantic Ocean

state the prevailing wind direction in the UK

south-west

state the date of the ‘Beast from the East’ (2018)

• 28th February - 1st March

• 2018

state the weather during the ‘Beast from the East’ (2018)

• freezing temperatures

  • temperature reached -9.7 degrees C in the North

• strong easterly winds

  • wind at Cairngorm Summit was blowing at ~50 Kt, made temperatures feel like -30 degrees C

• persistent heavy snow

  • over 40cm

state 4 key impacts of the ‘Beast from the East’

• thousands of schools across England, Wales and Scotland were closed and many areas suffered power cuts

• severe travel disruption with roads closed, numerous road traffic collisions and cars were stranded overnight on many English and Scottish roads

• rail series were cancelled and air transport was severely disrupted

  • Glasgow airport closed on 28th February, 2018

describe climate change and its impacts in the UK during the ‘Beast of the East’

• gale-force winds of 116mph

  • `caused damage to properties from trees falling on buildings and cards

• wind chill (< -10 degrees C) made life unpleasant and traffic difficult

• heavy snowfall (10-20cm in some places)

• 16 deaths - caused by the cold temperatures and wind chill

  • 75 year old lady was found dead in the street in Leeds due to hypothermia

• set a new record (14GW) for wind power generation in the UK

state what air mass caused the ‘Beast of the East’

polar continental

state the dates of the heatwave in the UK (2022)

• 16th June - 20th July

• 2022

state the weather during the ‘heatwave (2022)

• extremely high temperatures

  • record temperature of 40.3 degrees C in July

• extremely low precipitation

  • average of 5mm rainfall

state 2 impacts of the UK’s heatwave (2022)

• nearly 3000 people died due to heat-related causes, most of whom were 65+ years

• there were nearly 25,000 wildfires across the UK

state what air mass caused the UK heatwave (2022)

tropical continental

explain how the heavy snowfall during the ‘Beast of the East’ was caused

• it was due to the polar continental air mass

• which picked up moisture on its journey over the North Sea

• the polar continental air mass collided with a tropical maritime air mass over the UK (during Storm Emma)

• this provided plenty of moisture for snow fall to occur

explain how the extreme wind speeds during the ‘Beast of the East’ was caused

• extreme winds were caused by a significant pressure gradient in the UK

• causing air to travel at high speeds

• from areas of high pressure to low pressure

state the negative impacts of the mechanisation of farming

• during 20th century, 50% of all hedgerows were lost from the countryside

• 130 species are known to be associated with hedgerows

  • e.g. hedgehog population has seen a 50% decline in the last 25 years

• 2008 - 80% of areas with sensitive habitats exceeded the recommended nitrogen levels

• UK has lost 84% of its fertile topsoil since 1850

  • erosion of fertile topsoil is continuing at a rate of 1-3cm annually

state the 3 key issues with the mechanisation and intensification of farming

• eutrophication

• soil degradation

• hedgerows

describe how excess fertiliser usage in agriculture leads to eutrophication

1. fertiliser spread on the agricultural land by a tractor

2. the fertiliser is washed into local water sources by surface runoff, increasing the nutrient concentration in the water

3. the nutrients catalyse rapid algal blooms on the surface of the water

4. the algae layer will absorb all the sunlight, meaning the aquatic plants in the water can’t photosynthesise

5. this causes all plants in the water to die, leading to the algae dying once all nutrients are used up

6. decomposing microorganisms will begin to break down the dead plants and algae, releasing more nutrients back into the water, continuing the algal bloom cycle

7. the microorganisms will continue to rapidly reproduce as they have a consistent source of nutrients

8. the decomposers break down dead biological matter using energy released from aerobic respiration, causing the water to become anoxic

9. this means all non-bacterial growth in the water source will die

explain how consumers wanting produce out of seasons leads to soil degradation

• consumers wanting produce out of season means that fertiliser has to be artificially-added to the fields to grow out of season crops

• due to the demand, the ground will constantly be being harvested and re-planted

• this causes the soil to lose all its nutrients

explain how use of machinery leads to soil degradation

• constant use of machinery leads to the soil getting compacted and losing its nutrients

• this means fertilisers have be used to grow crops in the ground

• this can lead to eutrophication of local water sources

state how much carbon dioxide 1km of hedgerow can store

• 600-800kg

• for up to 20 years

how many tonnes of fish does the UK land annually

400,000

state the value of the UK’s net fish imports

£2 billion

state the definition of bottom trawling

• Practice of dragging heavily weighed nets

• across the seafloor

• to sweep up fish

state the impacts of bottom trawling in the UK

• fishers land 6% of what they did 120 years ago

• 20 years ago, fishermen used to catch 600-700 fish a day - now its under 20

• fishers had to work 17x harder to get the same catch people did in the 19th century

state the definition of bycatch

animals that aren’t intended to be caught when fishing

state the problems of bycatch

• even when fishermen throw bycatch back into the water, the fish are either dead or dying

• bycatch can upset the predator-prey balance by discriminately picking up juvenile fish

• endangered species can be caught as bycatch

state the definition of a ghost net

• a fishing net that has been

• lost, abandoned or discarded in the ocean

• that now drifts in the water column

• posing hazards to marine life and ecosystems

describe how ghost nets end up in the ocean

• poor weather conditions dislodge gear

• poor access to disposal facilities means discarding broken gear is easier

• high cost of retrieval means some fishermen would rather leave the gear to avoid the expense

• illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities might mean its quicker to discard gear to escape police quicker

state how much carbon dioxide is created annually if you eat farmed fish 1-2 times per week

146kg