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Geography A-level > 5.4 Water Deficit > Flashcards

5.4 Water Deficit Flashcards

(59 cards)

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1
Q

drought

A

a period of drier than normal conditions that results in water-related problems

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2
Q

desertification

A

overgrazing and destroying fertile land, often by holding more livestock than they should. using up all the vegetation and resources etc

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3
Q

4 types of drought

A

meteorological
hydrological
agricultural
socio-economic/ famine

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4
Q

meteorological drought

A

shortfalls in precipitation form short-term variability or long-term trends, increasing duration of dry period
-leads to rainfall deficit
-loss of soil moisture
-high temps and strong winds
-supply of irrigation water declines

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5
Q

hydrological drought

A

deficiencies in surface and subsurface water supplies as measured in rivers, reservoirs, lakes and groundwater
-river drought
-little percolation and groundwater recharge
-stream flow deficit

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6
Q

agricultural drought

A

soil deficiency of moisture and low soil water availability, has a knock on effect on plant growth and reduces biomass
-soil moisture deficit
-poor yields and livestock

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7
Q

socio-economic/ famine drought

A

a humanitarian crisis in which the widespread failure of agricultural systems leads to food shortages and famines with severe social, economic and environmental impacts
-food deficit
-malnutrition and deaths
-desertification
-risk of wildfires and wind blown soil erosion

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8
Q

why are deserts not droughts?

A

they are arid
-naturally low precipitation climate

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9
Q

what % of the world’s land area experiences some level of drought exposure

A

38%
-implications are arising from growing populations and pressures

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10
Q

what is El Nino?

A

a warm body of water that moves across the Pacific Ocean
-occurs every few years
-concentrated in the central-east and equatorial Pacific, effects often peak during december
-leads to unusual weather conditions

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11
Q

how does El Nino lead to unusual weather?

A

normally cool water is found on the coast near Ecuador and Chile, and warm found around Australia
-ENSO causes this to switch, Peru gets warm waters and Australia gets cool waters
-they can also trigger extremely dry conditions in areas south and southeast Asia, eastern Australia and north east Brazil
-in south Asia, ENSO can weaken the annual monsoon

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12
Q

what can cause meteorological drought?

A
  1. persistent high pressure jet streams, blocking anticyclones so there is no rainfall
  2. long term precipitation changes caused by global warming
  3. ENSO cycles changing the distributions of pressure belts, due to teleconnections e.g. El Nino or the NAO
  4. Seasonal rain or monsoon failure e.g. rainfall in Brazil is becoming less predictable
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13
Q

La NIna

A

the opposite side of the fluctuation to El Nino, episodes of cooler than average sea surface temperature in the equatorial Pacific occur
-cooler, drier than average weather is experienced in the tropical eastern Pacific

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14
Q

what can drought lead to?

A

-Carbon store in Amazon declines
-changes in regional water cycles and soil temps increase
-amazon rainforest declines, becomes more like a savannah grassland
-more wildfires
-less rainfall, reducing Brazil’s ability to rely on HEP

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15
Q

what country experienced a drought in 2006

A

Australia- the Big Dry

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16
Q

physical reasons for Australia being drought-prone

A
  1. low, highly variable rainfall totals- high pressure belts on the southern hemisphere
  2. droughts can vary considerable
  3. El Nino events
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17
Q

the ‘Big Dry’ in 2006

A

associated with longer-term climate change, leading to a trend of more warm and dry climatic conditions, for south east Australia

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18
Q

environmental impacts of the Big Dry in 2019

A

major bushfires in and around Sydney
plague of flies

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19
Q

socio-economic impacts of the Big Dry in 2006

A

-water supply difficulty
-falling ground levels affecting the cattle industry in Queensland
-poor quality harvest of wheat
-best ever tourist season along the Victorian coastline (positive)

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20
Q

NAO

A

north atlantic oscillation

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21
Q

what is the North Atlantic Oscillation?

A

Changes in the intensity of a low pressure system over Iceland and a high pressure system in the subtropical Atlantic
-a teleconnection pattern with roots in the Atlantic causing unusual -weather in the Northern Hemisphere

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22
Q

Evidence that California is becoming an area of water deficit?

A

recent and more frequent wildfires

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23
Q

Evidence that India is experiencing water deficits?

A

they are experiencing seasonal climatic change, with varying monsoon periods, if it starts late or lasts a shorter amount of time than normal for example- causes water decifit

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24
Q

Why may Australia experience levels of excessive flooding?

Study These Flashcards
A

due to El Nino oscillations

25
The Jet Stream
a core of strong winds around 5 to 7 miles above the Earth's surface, blowing from west to east- very fast moving -it flows high overhead and causes changes in the wind and pressure at that level -fast flowing currents of air
26
what does the Jet Stream affect?
impacts Europe more than the tropics -it affects things nearer the surface, such as areas of high and low pressure, helping to shape the weather
27
where are the Jet Streams positioned?
Polar Jet- 50 to 60 degrees latitude on both hemispheres Sub-Tropical Jet- 30 degrees latitude line
28
The polar front jet
a type of thermal wind that arises due to the strong temperature contrast between cold polar air and warm tropical air
29
what happens if the jet stream remains south of the UK (trough)?
wet weather is pulled into the UK from north, in the summer rainfall is highly likely if this occurs -often unstable, turbulent weather occurs with cloud and rain
30
what happens if the jet stream sits above us?
this allows for warm air from the south to bring warmer temperatures
31
what are the circular bars and what do they show on synoptic weather charts?
isobars -they are lines of equal air pressure, the closer they are the lower the pressure (stronger winds) vs the further away they are the calmer the conditions
32
case study of water deficit
Brazil
33
physical causes of Brazil's water deficit
geography -the Andes mountain range acts as a barrier, causiing east to west air to rise, pushing it south the high pressure systems forces air to bear north, causing heavy rain over Paraguay, Caribbean etc -Brazil experiences dry air
34
what year did Brazil experience a high pressure system blocking air away from the Amazon?
2014-15
35
what happened in 2014-2015 Brazil?
a high pressure system blocked air movement, diverting rain winds further north, away from the amazon, causing the west to experience lots of rain -deficit in the south and southeast -Paraguay and Bolivia were wet whilst, Brazil dry
36
what type of energy is used in Brazil?
HEP hydroelectric power -powers machinery -stations are located near industries and demand to minimise output lost during transportation
37
why are droughts so impactful in Brazil? (amazon)
tropical rainforests are a large carbon sink and store if less rainfall is experienced, this reduces their ability to hold carbon, impacting us on a global scale -more wildfires are occurring worringly
38
cause of Brazil drought 2015
-national and local governments responded slowly, falling behind in upgrading pipes, dams and transmission lines -rainfall in Jan fell to less than 1/4 of the average for that period in one reservoir system -deforestation, the logging and burning of the Amazon rainforest has disrupted weather patterns
39
economic impacts of Brazil's drought 2015
-coffee bean growers in brazil reported half of usual rainfall levels- impacting next years crop production, having to lay off workers and cease production -businesses forced to close -utilities burning more fossil duels, rising energy costs and GG emissions -light and internet cut for days, impacting businesses
40
social impacts of Brazil's drought 2015
-4 million affected by rationing and repeated powercuts -neighbourhood protests, affecting the poorest people the most- less suppliers for drinking, cooking and washing -6 cities suffered blackouts -a subway train on one line halted for over an hour -over 93 cities imposed rationing, affecting 4 million people -old pipelines to be improved means homes will suffer water cuts for days with more reductions
41
management and responses to Brazil's drought 2015
-utilities have had to resort to burning fossil fuels, increasing costs to price and environment -government imported power from Argentina to cover the shortfall -a large coffee bean producer layed off 250 workers and ceased production at one mill for 2 years - cane shortages caused by drought -NE city of Olinda, authorities cut supplies for 3 days a week -Sao Paulo's water company began upgrading 64,000km of old pipes
42
how has the SE England dealt with water stress in the past?
regional hosepipe bans have been implemented -leading to water supplies being completely shut off -hospitals and certain economic industries are prioritised with water supply
43
humans exacerbate droughts meaning.....
they increase drought risk -by reducing renewable water available per person
44
how has the Sahel region experienced increasing demand for water?
increasing population and quality of life -access to healthcare and higher life expectancy
45
why are droughts becoming increasingly common in the UK?
rising global temperatures -unusually dry weather in 2022 led to water shortages and hosepipe bans
46
what is east-Africa facing?
bad droughts, affecting over 40 million people, reaching near famine and extreme malnutrition (food supplies are impacted)
47
desertification
turning fertile, productive and into non-fertile areas, no longer able to support crops etc
48
current most affected countries in east Africa
Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia
49
human causes of droughts (summary)
-climate change -deforestation -agriculture -increasing water demand (reducing renewable water available per person)
50
how has climate change impacted droughts
as places become more dry, evaportation increases with higher temperatures in some regions -the land is so dry, crusts form on the surface, forming an impermeable layer, preventing rain from infiltrating
51
how has deforestation impacted droughts
less trees, reduce the volume of water in the atmosphere captured by plants and trees, which create clouds, forming rain -overgrazing also increases plant death
52
how has agriculture impacted droughts
cattle grazing and intensive farming contributes to deforestation, but also affects the absorbency of the soil, drying out much more quickl
53
how has increasing water demand impacted droughts
high demand upstream in rivers can cause drought in lower, downstream areas- usualyy for dams or irrigation e.g. Ethiopia- blue nile -water demand outweighs supply as the population spikes
54
explain how humans exacerbate drought risk by reducing renewable water available per person
as population levels rise, agricultural, domestic and industrial demand for water rises. -society becomes wealthier, buying greater quantities of food and waste -clothes are bought more, using water in production depletion of water stores (groundwater, fossil water and lakes) increased losses (soil moisture loss - evaporatation, and deforestation, intensive grazing of livestock and heavy machinery compacts the soil)
55
what are food shortages often caused by?
they are caused by conflict, poor governance, poverty etc, as much as they are by lack of rainfall
56
name socio-economic conditions associated with environmental degradation
-overgrazing -deforestation -rural poverty -desertification -increasing rural population densitities -agriculture
57
name a drought in Australia
The Big Dry 2006
58
causes of the Big Dry 2006
-most droughts are associated with El Nino events -climate change -low, highly variable rainfall, in a subtropical, high pressure weather system
59
impacts of the Big Dry 2006
nationwide effects which commenced in the Murray-Darling basin (Australia's agricultural heartland in the southeast) -food supply reduced as farmers relied on water to irrigate crops and feed livestock -only harvested 10m tonnes of wheat in 2006, compared to 25m tonnes normally -reservoir levels fell to 40% of capacity, despite advanced water supply schemes which were designed to withstand hydrological drought -main urban centres experienced significant shortages in water

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