geography paper 1

• Primary impacts of Typhoon Haiyan:

  strong winds damaged power lines, buildings and crops

  6,300 killed

  90% of Tacloban city destroyed

  40,000 homes destroyed

  14 million affected

  30,000 fishing boats destroyed

  Tacloban airport destroyed.
• Secondly impacts of Typhoon Haiyan:

  looting and violence broke out

  cholera and other diseases outbreak

  shortages of water and food

  flooding caused landslides

  6 million lost their source of income
• what are the three cells:

  Hadley Cell

  Polar Cell

  Ferrel Cell
• Explain the Hadley cell:

  0-30 latitudes

  warm air above

  air rises and expands creating low pressure

  at 30 cool air sinks to earth creating high pressure
• Explain the Ferrel Cell:

  between the Polar and Hadley cells

  cool air sinks near 30 and rises near 60.

  when they meet the warm air is forced up over the cool air
• Explain the Polar Cell:

  60-90 latitudes

  air above is cold

  cold air sinks to create high pressure

  at 60 warm air rises creating a zone of low pressure
• Adaptations to climate change

  drought resistant seeds- increases yield, more income as more food is grown.

  educating farmers- so they can prepare before hand- reduces crop loss.

  building sea walls- to prevent impact of rising sea levels.

  Build houses on stilts- to prevent impacts from flooding.
• Natural causes of climate change:

  Volcanoes- ash produced can block sunlight which would reduce temperatures on earth. Also gases such as sulphur dioxide can cause a global cooling.

  Sun Spots- lots of sun spots mean more solar energy is released causing temperatures to rise on earth
• What is the Coriolis Effect?

  The effect of the Earth's rotation on the movement of air masses.

  In the Souther Hemisphere is it clockwise.

  In the Northern Hemisphere it it anti-clockwise.
• What are surface winds? The winds that blow across the surface of the Earth.
• When does High pressure form:

  when cold air falls but warms whilst it falls creating clear skies.
• When does Low Pressure form:

  when warm air rises then cools and condenses in the atmosphere, creating clouds
• What is the global atmospheric circulation:

  The worldwide system of winds, which transports heat from tropical to polar latitudes.
• Explain solar isolation and latitudes:

  solar isolation hits the earth at a right angle, a smaller surface area means that the area is hotter.

  Higher latitudes have a larger surface area and therefore are colder.
• What are plate tectonics:

  explains how major landforms are created due to the movements of the earths crust
• Give examples of plate tectonics:

  Constructive- two plates moving away from each other

  Conservative- two plates sliding past each other

  Destructive- two plates moving towards each other
• What's a plate margin:

  A region where two or more tectonic plates meet, it is a zone of intense seismic activity
• What is an immediate response: responding straight away to a natural hazard.

  What is a long term response: responding months or years after a natural hazrad
• What is a Natural Hazard:

  physical events such as volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, that have the potential to do damage to humans and properties
• what are earthquakes:

  a sudden or violent movements within the earths crust, which is followed by a series of seismic shocks
• Where do tropical storms form:

  where ocean temps are above 27

  where the Coriolis effect is

  in summer or autumn as that's when ocean temps are at their highest.

  mostly in low latitudes 5-30
• What do tropical storms require to form:

  Prevailing Winds- moves the storm

  Thunderstorm Clouds- to form 1 giant spinning storm

  Evaporations- draws vapour up and cools to create thunderstorm clouds.

  Condensation- when air condenses it releases heat to power the storm.

  high ocean temps- provide latent heat energy
• What are hotspots:

  areas where the crust is thinner which allows magma to rise up and form a volcano
• what are immediate responses for `Haiti Earthquake:

  $100 million in aid by the USA

  4.3 million people given food rations

  115,000 tents provided as temporary shelters

  bottled water and purification tablets provided
• What are the long-term responses for Haiti Earthquake:

  new homes built to a higher standard

  support for people without jobs through cash/food

  aid camps set up
• immediate response for New Zealand earthquake:

  27,000 chemical toilets provided

  aid sent within two hours

  temporary housing provided

  areas zoned off

  300 Australian police officers flown in
• Long-term responses to the New Zealand earthquake:

  $898 million in building insurance claims

  water and sewage pipes restored by 2011

  improvements on education and buildings
• Theories for why plates move

  • Convection currents
  • Ridge push
  • Slab pull
• Convection currents


  1. Mantle is heated by the core and rises

  2. As it rises it cools

  3. Friction between mantle and plate causes it to move

  4. Magma returns back down to reheat

  5. Continuous cycle
• Ridge push


  1. Plates move apart

  2. Magma rises to fill the gap

  3. Magma solidifies to form new plate material

  4. As it cools it becomes denser

  5. Slides down due to gravity

  6. Causes the plate to also move due to friction
• Slab pull


  1. Heavier, denser plates sink into the mantle

  2. Due to gravity

  3. This pulls other less dense sections along with it
• What was the cause of the New Zealand earthquake and what was the magnitude:

  occurred at a conservative plate margin where the pacific plate slid past the Australian plate and the friction caused a build up of pressure that was suddenly released.

  It had a magnitude of 6.3
• Why do people live in a hazardous area:

  Poverty- don't prioritise threats as they have to focus on jobs, food etc.

  Lack of education- unaware about the potential risks

  Earthquake/volcanos don't occur very often.

  Building designs improving- less damages occur

  Monitoring has improved- can evacuate before

  Plate margins often concede with areas on coasts- gain money through trade/fishing.
• How can you protect and plan from a natural hazard:

  Protect: adapt building- reinforce walls with steel to reduce movement and add shock absorbers. Add explosives to divert lava flow. Have an open area for easy evacuation. Make a clear evacuation plan and route with signs etc. Educate more on natural hazards.

  Plan: Maps produced to show the effects of a natural hazard and identify possible areas at risk. Restrict certain land use or identify ares that need to be evacuated immediately.
• How can we monitor and predict for natural hazards:

  Monitor-

  check for ground deformations: changes to shape of volcano.

  gas: instruments detect gases released as magma roses

  satellites: detect heat and changes to volcano shape

  seismicity: seismographs records earthquakes.

  Predict-

  Volcanoes: based on scientific monitoring, e.g increased earth activities beneath volcano pre warns scientists.

  Earthquake: impossible to make accurate predictions. Scientists can study previous earthquakes and may predict areas that are possibly due for an earthquake.
• Impacts of beast of the east

  60 year old man fell in frozen lake

  schools closed

  flights cancelled

  supermarkets ran out of food

  people on M80 stranded in vehicles

  gas deficit
• Responses to beast of the east:

  Met office issued red weather warning

  armed forced deployed to rescue people

  NHS canceled non urgent operations
• Why was the Beast of the East created:

  by sudden stratospheric warming, which changed the direction of the jet stream. The polar continental air mass from Russia travelled to the UK
• What is Mitigation:

   to reduce or prevent the effects of something from happening. 
• Examples of mitigation:

  alternate energy sources- won't emit much CO2.

  Afforestation- removes CO2 through photosynthesis which is then stored in the trunks and branches.

  International agreements- countries signing legal agreements to reduce CO2 emissions.

  Carbon Capture- gas is comprised and transported along pipeline and injected in the ground as a liquid for many years.