Paper 1 case studies

• Chile earthquake 


  8.8 magnitude

  12000 injured

  Tsunami

  Fire at chemical plant- evacuation

  International help

  Power and water restored to 90% homes within 10 days

  Reconstruction plan

  Strong economy so quick rebuild
• Nepal Earthquake

  7.9 magnitude

  20000 injured

  8 million affected

  Mt Everest avalanches- killed 19 people

  Landslides- blocking chance of evacuation

  Search and rescue teams

  Foreign medical support and financial AID

  Rehousing and repairs

  Stricter building codes

  Toursim boosted economy
• Iceland (living with risk from tectonic hazards)


  Common chance of earthquakes

  Low risk: monitoring and awareness

  Geothermal energy used to power 25% Iceland’s electricity

  Tourism- job opportunities

  Volcanic rocks used in construction
• Somerset Level floods 2014


  South-West England

  Low lying farmland

  Wettest January

  Rivers not dredged for 20 years- clogged with sediment

  600 houses flooded

  Cut off power supplies

  £10 million in damage

  1000 livestock evacuated

  Water contamination

  Stangnant waters needed reoxygenating

  £20 million Flood Action Plan- flood defences top vulnerable communities, raised river banks, river dredged
• Himalayas- Managing water supply 


  Asia depends on rivers fed by snow and glacial melt fo domestic/ agricultural water supply

  Climate change is rapidly decreasin the glaciers

  threatening long-term security of water supply
• Maldives- Rising sea levels 


  Sea levels rising threatens island (such as the Maldives)

  Contamination of water supplies

  Storm surges

  Construction of sea walls

  Houses build on raised stilts

  Relocation of inhabitants

  Restoration of forests- protection
• Deforestation in Malaysia

  South East Asia

  70% land covered in rainforests

  Deforestation is the mass cutting down of trees

  Timber used for exporting

  Land clearing: cattle farming, palm oil production (economic)

  Burning land uncontrollably
• Threats to Malaysias rainforests

  Logging

  clear felling- all trees in a specific area chopped down

  Selective logging- only cutting down fully grown trees

  Mineral Extraction

  Drilling for oil and road construction

  Popualtion Growth

  Transmigration- encouraged by government to move to countryside if poor

  Commercial farming

  Largest palm oil exporter in world

  Subsistent farming

  Tribes- hunt and gather food, or grow themselves
• Impacts of Deforestation in Malaysia

  Soil erosion

  Removal of trees means soil can easily become loose as there are no roots binding soil together

  Loss of biodiversity

  Measure of variety of plants and animals in a particular ecosystem

  Contribution to climate change

  Reduced photosynthesis so reduced absorption of CO2

  Transpiration gives of water to atmosphere- drier climate
• Economic development of rainforests in Malaysia 


  GAINS: Minning, farming, energy leads to jobs (directly and indirectly)

  Company pay taxes- improving services, infrastructure, tourism

  LOSES: Pollution- water shortages by drier climate

  Extinct medical plants

  Adaptation to new climate
• Svalbard opportunities 


  Tundra and Polar climate

  3000 population (most live in Longyearbyen)

  Mineral extraction

  Rich coal reserves (envirnmental concerns- pollution)

  Employment opportunities

  Energy developments

  Longyearbyen power station- coal burning

  Geothermal energy opportunity

  Carbon capture and storage to generate electricity

  Fishing

  Richest fishing and breeding grounds

  Controlled and monitred by Norway and Russia

  Tourism

  Natural environments- northern lights, wildlife, glaciers

  Job opportunities in tourism
• Svalbard Challenges 


  Extreme Temperatures

  Winter tempos can fall to -30*c

  Dangerous working conditions

  Construction of buildings

  Deep piles of wood sunk/metal poles into permafrost

  Roads built on top of gravel layer above ground

  Permafrost melts causing unstablitiy and collapsing of buildings

  Infrastructure

  Services (water, electricity, sanitation) provided to individual buildings

  Overground heated water and sewage pipes- stop from thawing

  Inaccessibility

  Snowmobiles used to access places

  No roads to outlying communities
• Trans-Alaskan Pipeline (use of technoloyg to reduce risks of cold environments)


  Enabled oil to be transported since eas unable to be transported by tanker due to winter arctic sea ice

  Pumping stations keep oil moving up mountains

  Raised and insulated pipeline to prevent heat of oil melting permafrost

  Raised to allow migration

  Flow of oil stops if leaks and able to slide if earthquake happens
• Reducing risks to cold environments

  Antarctic Treaty

  Territorial claim of Antarctica

  Protect the natural environment

  Recognisation of scientific importance

  Conservation Groups (WWF)

  Protect Arctic environments

  Supports scientific research- protect species

  Sustainable future through working with oil companies