Paper 1 - Hazardous Earth (Climate)

Question 1

ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone)

Answer 1

a band of low pressure around the Earth which generally lies near to the equator

Question 2

global circulation model

Answer 2

a theory that explains the movement of air around the planet

Question 3

what are the 3 global circulation cells in the atmosphere

Answer 3

• polar
• ferrell
• hadley (equator)

Question 4

natural causes of climate change

Answer 4

• the eruption theory
• the asteroid collision
• the sunspot theory
• the orbital theory

Question 5

climate

Answer 5

the pattern of weather over a longer period of time

Question 6

name 3 pieces of evidence for past climates

Answer 6

• ice cores
• tree rings
• historical sources

Question 7

greenhouse effect

Answer 7

the way in which heat is trapped close to Earth’s surface by ‘greenhouse gases’

Question 8

Where on earth are hurricanes formed

Answer 8

North Atlantic and on the Pacific coast of the USA

Question 9

where on earth are cyclones formed

Answer 9

Indian and South Pacific Ocean

Question 10

where on earth are typhoons formed

Answer 10

Western North Pacific

Question 11

tropical cyclone

Answer 11

a general term used to describe a rotating system of clouds and storms that form and develop over tropical or subtropical waters

Question 12

what temperature does the sea have to be for cyclones to form

Answer 12

26.5°C

Question 13

what are the 2 case-studies

Answer 13

• hurricane Katrina
• cyclone Alia

Question 14

global warming

Answer 14

the rise in the average temperature of our planet

Question 15

what is the first pressure belt

Answer 15

equatorial low pressure belt

Question 16

what is the second pressure belt

Answer 16

sub-tropical high pressure belt

Question 17

what is the third pressure belt

Answer 17

sub-polar low pressure belt

Question 18

fourth pressure belt

Answer 18

polar high pressure belt

Question 19

where does the second pressure belt sit

Answer 19

30° - 35° N and S of the equator

Question 20

What happens in ares of low pressure?

Answer 20

warm air rises and cools

Question 21

What happens in ares of high pressure?

Answer 21

cool air descends from low pressure

Question 22

how do the air pressure belts work - going from low - high

Answer 22

for example:
the air at the equatorial low pressure belt is warm, as air is heated, it expands, becomes lighter which causes the warm air to rise and it begins to expand at around 30° latitude(sub-tropical high pressure belt), once the air has cools, now causing it to descend, after it descends and gets closer to the land, it warms up, this is high pressure

Question 23

what is the eruption theory

Answer 23

• the eruption needs to be very large and explosive - they will produce ash and sulphur dioxide gas
• if ash and gases rise high enough they’ll be spread around the Earth in the stratosphere by high-level winds
• the blanket of ash and gas will stop some sunlight reaching the earth’s surface
• instead the sunlight is reflected of the ash and gas back into space - this caused the planet and lowers the average temperature

Question 24

asteroid collision

Answer 24

• 1 km sized astroids strike earth every 500,000 years
• an impact this size would blast millions of tons of ash and dust into the atmosphere
• this would cool the climate as the dust and ash would block incoming sunlight
• this would be similar in impact to a large volcano eruption and its effect could last 5-10 years

Question 25

what is the sunspot theory

Answer 25

- sometimes the sun has many sunspots, at other times they disappear - they tell us that the sun is more active than usual - lots of spots = more energy being fired out from the Sun towards the Earth

Question 26

what is the sunspot theory

Answer 26

- sometimes the sun has many sunspots, at other times they disappear - they tell us that the sun is more active than usual - lots of spots = more energy being fired out from the Sun towards the Earth

Question 27

what is the orbital theory?

Answer 27

- the earths orbit is sometimes circular and sometimes more of an ellipse (oval); the Earth access tilts; sometimes it is more upright and sometimes it’s on its side; the Earth’s axis wobbles like a spinning top - these three changes alters the amount of sunlight the Earth receives; they also affect where sunlight falls on the Earth surface - on timescales of thousands of years, the changes would be enough to ice age or end one

Question 28

what are tree rings

Answer 28

- period of growth can be seen from the number of rings in a tree - each ring is a years growth - some years are warmer and wetter = tree growth at its greatest - scientists examine tree rings to learn about past conditions - we can learn about climate conditions at the true experience during its lifetime

Question 29

what are ice cores?

Answer 29

- they contain layers of ice (the oldest at the bottom, youngest at the top) - each layer is one year of snowfall - trapped in the ice layers are air bubbles - locked in the air bubbles is carbon dioxide; these preserve air from the time the snow fell - climatologists can reconstruct past temperatures by drilling a core through the ice and measuring the amount of trapped carbon dioxide in the ice layers

Question 30

what are historical sources?

Answer 30

- old photos, drawings and paintings of the landscape - written records such as diaries, books and newspapers - the recorded dates of regular events such as; harvests, the arrival of migrating birds and tree blossom - these sources are often not very accurate because they were not intended to record climate; however can give us some ideas of trends

Question 31

what is evidence that climate change is happening?

Answer 31

- warmer years - highest level of methane and carbon dioxide in 420,000 years - Arctic sea ice has dropped 10% in the last 30 years - over 90% of the world valley glaciers are shrinking

Question 32

What is a landslide and how is it caused?

Answer 32

movement of rock debris or earth down a slope they are caused when the ground is saturated by rain causing it to slump

Question 33

How are storm surges caused?

Answer 33

by unusually high tides; high tides are higher than normal during a cyclone because air pressure is so low

Question 34

What do storm surges cause?

Answer 34

It causes coastal flooding due to high tides because sea levels rise because air pressure is solo and there is less weight of air holding it down

Question 35

What are the conditions for a cyclone to occur?

Answer 35

- ocean temperature exceeds 26.5°C - strong wind and the troposphere - needed to draw warm air up rapidly from ocean surface - strong force caused by the earths rotation called Coriolis

Question 36

Formation if a cylclone

Answer 36

- warm ocean current rises - up draw of air contains huge volumes of water vapour which condense to produce large cumulonimbus clouds (big fluffy clouds) - Coriolis force (spin of the Earth) causes rising currents of air to spiral around the centre of the tropical cyclone) - as tropical cyclone moves from source it is fed new heat and moisture from the oceans - once it reaches land, it loses and its energy source from the ocean; it decays and becomes a mere storm

Question 37

Formation if a cylclone

Answer 37

- warm ocean current rises - up draw of air contains huge volumes of water vapour which condense to produce large cumulonimbus clouds (big fluffy clouds) - Coriolis force (spin of the Earth) causes rising currents of air to spiral around the centre of the tropical cyclone) - as tropical cyclone moves from source it is fed new heat and moisture from the oceans - once it reaches land, it loses and its energy source from the ocean; it decays and becomes a mere storm

Question 38

primary effects

Answer 38

Things that happen immediately as a result of a hazard

Question 39

Secondary effects

Answer 39

Things that happen in an hour, days and weeks after the initial hazard

Question 40

vulnerability

Answer 40

A measure of the extent to which community or area is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a hazard

Question 41

risk

Answer 41

The probability of a hazard event causing harmful consequences

Question 42

What are the factors that affect vulnerability?

Answer 42

Preparation, education, population density, building design, time of day, economy, sediment type

Question 43

What are the factors that affect vulnerability?

Answer 43

Preparation, education, population density, building design, time of day, economy, sediment type