Case studies

Question 1

Reasons for erosion at Happisburgh

Answer 1

10m cliffs
Soft sands and clay
Ploughing
Groynes in Bacton

Question 2

Whats at stake in Happisburgh

Answer 2

Old lighthouse and church
Norfolk broads
Businesses - caravan park
Community

Question 3

Whats been done in Happisburgh

Answer 3

Failed defences in 1950s left as they are
£3m to 13 residents for home loss
‘Do nothing’

Question 4

East UK flooding 2013

Answer 4

-£1bn damage and multiple houses lost to sea
-A 1953 similar storm had 20,000 deaths
-Improvement in monitoring, forecasting and warning
-Thames barrier

Question 5

Isostatic change examples

Answer 5

-Glacial rebound in Scotland (1.5mm per year) and resulting submerging South England(rias)
-Ganges Delta, Bangladesh submergence due to accretion of sediment, settlements and sea level rise(rias)

Question 6

Sea level rise and responses in Maldives

Answer 6

-Increasing temp. and rainfall, 3mm rise per year, 85% islands coastal recession
-Japanese-built rock armour in Male
-ICZM to decide which islands protected
-Mangroves and limited coral mining

Question 7

Conflict in Maldives

Answer 7

-Some islands abandoned
-Coral miners lose income and might mine illegally

Question 8

Cyclone Sidr 2007 impacts

Answer 8

Economic - Road damage and $11bn housing damage
Social - Crop loss(income & food), 55000 injured
Severity - Population density, lack of defence (LIC), low lying

Question 9

Mount Nyiragongo

Answer 9

1977 Basaltic lava (very effusive) up to 60km/h, overwhelming villages

Question 10

Montserrat

Answer 10

1995 Pyro flow from collapsed lava dome, blanketing a nearby town, evacuation meant minimal death toll

Question 11

Armero tragedy

Answer 11

1985 Lahar killed 22,000

Question 12

Mount St Helens

Answer 12

1980 Destructive, largest landslide ever, killed all plant/animal life in 25km radius

Question 13

2015 Nepal EQ

Answer 13

-9000 killed
-$10bn damages
-180 buildings reduced to rubble in Kathmandu
-Landslides closed roads

Question 14

2011 Japan EQ

Answer 14

-9.0 EQ and tsunami
-15000 deaths
-Fukushima damaged, 20km zone evacuated
-46000 buildings destroyed

Question 15

Energy mix of USA vs France (2015)

Answer 15

USA:
-84% fossil fuels
-9% nuclear
France:
-41% nuclear
-50% fossil fuels

Question 16

Canadian tar sands in Alberta (physical)

Answer 16

-3x more polluting than conventional oil
-At least 50% reduction in caribou
-Asthma and cancer in Fort Chipewyan
-$52bn annually

Question 17

Russia/Europe gas crisis

Answer 17

-Russia stopped exports to many EU nations
-UK cost of living crisis
-EU govts spent £800bn to subsidise bills
-Germany LNG terminal, from Norway
-Example of a vulnerable pathway

Question 18

Deep sea oil off coast of Rio, Brazil

Answer 18

-Up to 8bn barrels
-Unconventional
-Members of fishing union killed in protest
-Potential for oil spill

Question 19

Ethanol production Brazil

Answer 19

-16% of energy mix
-10m cars that run on ethanol
-Less land for farming

Question 20

Glamorgan Heritage Coast

Answer 20

-Destructive, high energy, sedimentary
-Headlands/bays at Nash Point
-Notches, caves, arches, stacks

Question 21

Holderness Coastline

Answer 21

-Erosion at Flamborough Head (boulder clay)
-LSD to Spurn Point
-Hooked spit, salt marsh and sand dunes at Spurn Point

Question 22

Philippines as a multi-hazard zone

Answer 22

-Volcanoes, EQs, tsunamis, tropical storms
-Philippine plate subducted under Eurasian
-Vulnerability: low lying, high pop density (13th)

Question 23

Philippines 2013 EQ and Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 23

-EQ killed 220, typhoon killed 6500
-90% of Tacloban destroyed
-4m homeless

Question 24

Amazon Droughts

Answer 24

-2005 ‘megadrought’ and drought of 2010
Caused by: shifting climate belts, deforestation, warm temperatures
-Soil moisture stress and dieback
-Positive feedback loop

Question 25

China water transfer

Answer 25

-Channels water from Yangtze River in south to the arid, industrialised north -To improve water & food security (1/2 population live in north) -Doesn't address causes of water scarcity (pollution and land use)

Question 26

2010 Eyjafjallajokull

Answer 26

-No deaths, because of comprehensive monitoring and evacuation -20 countries closed airspace, from ash -10m travellers affected

Question 27

Pinatubo

Answer 27

1991, 20m tonnes of sulfur dioxide, causing global temp to drop, as it reflects heat away from earth

Question 28

Physical factors of Sedgemoor floods 2013/2014

Answer 28

-One of flattest and lowest areas -Steep surrounding uplands -Low pressure system in Dec -High tide stops rivers draining flood water

Question 29

Human factors of Sedgemoor floods 2013/2014

Answer 29

-Budget cuts meant rivers weren't dredged -Housing & industrial developments (Morrisons depot in Bridgewater) -Channel straightening

Question 30

Mexico City water insecurity

Answer 30

-Ageing infrastructure leaks 40% of water -21.7m people -Extraction of groundwater, causing the city to sink and damaging pipes -Families spend 20% of income on bottled water

Question 31

Lake Chad water insecurity

Answer 31

-Has dried by 90% in last 60 years -High, growing agriculture usage -Lifeline to 40m

Question 32

California water insecurity

Answer 32

-Saltwater intrusion -Lack of rain -Over extraction of groundwater -Wells created to try and create barrier against saltwater

Question 33

Nile Basin Initiative

Answer 33

-1999, 10 countries -Needed for rapidly growing population and conflict -Not a legal framework, just a guide for alignment of water policies

Question 34

Artificial Glaciers in Ladakh, Nepal

Answer 34

-Over 14% of glaciers lost in last 50 years -Meltwater is redirected via pipeline and sprinkled over bushes, so it freezes