Natural disasters final - VOCAB

Hurricanes are the most _______________ and ________________ weather hazard

wide spread; destructive

Hurricanes occur in __________ ___________ and _____________ Oceans

eastern Atlantic; Pacific

Typhoons occur in the __________ _____________ Ocean

western Pacific

Cyclones occur in the _____________ Ocean

Indian

Tropical wave

the first storm stage in a hurricane, low pressure disturbance, winds less than 20 mph

Tropical depression or disturbance

the second storm stage in a hurricane, moving mass of thunderstorms, winds less than 39 mph

Tropical storm

the third storm stage in a hurricane, officially gets names, has a distinct cyclonic motion, minds 39-74 mph

Hurricane

the fourth and final stage in a hurricane, well defined circular structure with large rain bands, eye forms, winds above 74 mph

Many hurricanes start off of the coast of _____________

Africa

Hurricanes do not form near the _____________

equator

Hurricane season is from _____________ to _____________

June; November

Hurricanes need _______ wind patterns, __________ water surface, and ____________ disturbance

calm; warm; vertical

Hurricanes run until their immense power generation is dissipated over __________

land

Hurricanes work in a positive ____________ __________

feedback loop

The greatest winds in a hurricane are located in the ______ ________

eye wall

Warm air is drawn ________ in the eye wall and cool dry air is drawn ________ through the eye of the hurricane

up; down

Saffir-Simpson Scale

measures hurricanes based on wind speed, storm surge, and potential damage, works 1 though 5

Storm surge

large volume of rain prior to hurricane landfall, advancing winds prevent the water from flowing back seaward

Majority of the deaths in a hurricane are due to __________ _________

storm surge

3 main factors of storm surge are…

force of the waves, hydraulic lift or upward lift under structures, and reflected wave energy from man-made structures

Storm surge severity depends on…

wind speeds, tide stage, and how low the pressure is

Flood surge

the flood of the water brought onto land by a hurricane

ebb surge

the flood of water from land back to the sea after a hurricane

Hurricane wind velocity (HWV)

speed of the hurricane’s counter clockwise winds, the wind speed used to categories the storm

Storm center velocity (SCV)

speed that a hurricane moves over ocean or land

HWV and SCV winds can combine and the ____ has the most damaging winds and the ___ has the least damaging winds

NE; SW

Coast-parallel track

hurricane moves along the coast, weaker winds over the land, causes flood and ebb surge, less damage inland

Coast-normal track

hurricane moves perpendicular to the coast, moves from water to land, strongest winds on the right of the storm, causes a large flood surge

Hurricane intensity has _____________ in the last 20 years

risen

Satellite imaging

used to monitor hurricanes, images every 30 minutes, can be used days to weeks before landfall

Doppler radar

used to examine the final movements of a hurricane prior to landfall, can be used hours to days before landfall

Planes

fly through the hurricanes eye, measure vertical structure, wind speeds, pressure, and temperatures

Hurricane maps

made from satellites and planes, show a cone of uncertainty several days into the future of where the storm may hit

Hurricane Andrew

1992, hit bottom of Florida and then Louisiana, hits as a category 5, $27 billion in damages, 26 deaths, most deaths due to storm surge

Hurricane Katrina

2004, hit Florida, Cuba, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and most of North America, hit as a category 3, late reaction time from the government put many people in danger

Flood

when the volume of river/ stream flow exceeds natural barriers and or the level of preparedness

Natural causes of floods include…

heavy rain, dam failure, rapid snowmelt, deforestation, steep slopes, storm surges

Upstream flood effects

rapid rise and fall of water levels

Downstream flood effects

slower rise and fall of water but affects a larger area

Flooding is the most ___________ and __________ natural hazard in the United States

chronic; costly

Discharge (Q)

volume of water moved/ times, m/s or ft/s

Drainage basin

basic unit of surface water hydrology, all of the land sloping toward a discharge point

Divide

the highest point between stream basins

Stream flow

the relationship between infiltration rate and precipitation, results in how much water is left on the surface

Infiltration capacity

the capacity of a soil to absorb water, varies with soil type and condition

Hydrograph

the discharge rate (Q)/ time, measured by a stream gauge, how the amount of moved water changes over time

Flooding frequency

the statistical probability of a large flood on a given river, like a 100 year flood has a 1% yearly probability

1936 Pittsburgh flood

Ohio river flooded, $4.6 billion in damages, resulted in the Flood Control Act of 1936 and 1938

Wild fires are one of the _____________ and most _____________ hazards in the US and around the world

largest; expensive

Only ___% of fires are due to natural causes

5

Miramichi fire

strong winds spread settlers fires in 1852, burned about 4 million acres of land

Hinckley fire

1894 town of Hinkley completely destroyed, several small fires combined, burned 200,000 acres

Great fire of 1910

affected Idaho and Montana, burned about 3 million acres

Yellow stone national park fire

1988, burned about 800,000 acres of land, $120 million in costs

Fire

a rapid exothermic rapid combustion reaction, the opposite of photosynthesis

Preheating

first stage of a fire, water is expelled from wood or the fuel, dried by near flames or drought

Pyrolysis

the second stage of a fire, thermal degradation of wood cellulose, gives off flammable gas and water vapor as well as ash

Flaming combustion

the third step of a fire, pyrolyzed wood burns very fast, the most energy is released, wind accelerates the spread of fire

Glowing combustion

the fourth and final step of a fire, after the active flames die off, coals are left

Factors that control wildfire propagation include...

wind speed, fuel type, topography, climate

_____________ trees are the most flammable because of their high oil concentrations

Eucalyptus

_____________ _____ rely on fire to propagate their seeds

Ponderosa pine

_____________ _____________ promote convective heat transfer

steep slopes

_____________ climate is most at risk for fires, short wet season with long dry season

Mediterranean

Southern California fires

2003 and 2007, burned 13,000,000 acres, killed 36

Mediterranean Greece fires

2007, 670,000 acres destroyed, killed 84

Northern California fires

2018, 1,893,913 acres burned, 104 deaths

Increased risks for fires

increased forest density, growing population and tourism, increased education

Wildland fire management is more than __% of the US Forest Service budget

65

Satellite remote sensing

detects active fires with thermal camera, smoke plumes, and previously burned areas, make fire hazard maps

FireBugs

an older technology, GPS that detects temperature, pressure, humidity, and light, dropped throughout a forest

FireALERT MK I

a newer technology, scans 360 with an infrared camera, solar powered, strapped to trees

Building practices as fire mitigation

remove vegetation, avoid wood, no steep slopes, need wide roads for fire vehicles

Fire breaks

controlled fire burns to eliminate potential fire fuel

Selective removal of trees

remove potential fuel for fires, thins trees and reduce disease potential in plants

Early earth was more similar to present day _____________

Venus

Early earth had much higher amounts of ______

CO2

CO2 from the early atmosphere is now in _____________, other _____________ _____________, or in _____________

limestone; organic material; oceans

Lower levels of O18 means _____________ conditions

warmer

Plate tectonics cause cooler temperatures by…

more continental land mass that can collect more snow and icesheets resulting in cooler climates

North and South alignment of continents causes cooler temperature by…

blocking normal east to west flow of warm equatorial waters, causes more evaporation and more snow

Small changes in _____________ orbit and change in the _____________ _____________ output are a cause of cooler climate

Earths; sun’s energy

El Nino and La Nina

cycles of warming and cooling of the Pacific Ocean,

Volcanic eruptions

ash can cause a cooling of the climate

Human influence of rising temperatures

burning fossil fuels, land clearing, increase in greenhouses gases, large increase in CO2 output

Mitigation of climate change are…

changes in technology, cap and trade of CO2, air scrubbing, fertilizing oceans with FeSO4 to grow algae, weathering of rocks, and carbon sequestration

Taxonomy

the process of grouping of a species into higher and higher divisions based on similar characteristics

Taxonomy of the earth

kingdom → phylum → class → order → family → genus → species

Biodiversity

large geographic event that changed environments, causing explosion of diversity in marine phyla

Mass extinction events have removed ____ to ___% of the species that have existed on Earth

60 to 90

Hypotheses for mass extinction events are….

plate tectonic changes, changes in ecosystems - sea floor spread, drainage, volcanic causes

Flood basalt eruptions, Permian extinction and Cretaceous extinction

huge volcanic eruptions, killed of 85% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial species

Meteorite impacts

one of the largest near earth object risks, 50% of meteorites will hit earth

Modern extinctions are caused by…

human migration patterns, industry, hunting, etc.

In the future…

insured loss will increase and so will the number of disasters

In the future sea level will _____

rise

In the future there will be more

droughts, hurricanes, extreme tides, heat waves, and heavy rainfall