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Geography > Thames Basin > Flashcards

Thames Basin Flashcards

1
Q

Where is the River Thames?

A

England

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2
Q

How long is the River Thames?

A

346km

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3
Q

What is the course of the river?

A
  • The Thames rises in Cotswold Hills (made out of Jurassic limestone)
  • Then it flows Eastwards through a gap between the Chilterns and Berkshire Downs (made out of permeable chalk)
  • For the rest it flows over impermeable London clay into the North sea
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4
Q

Where is the driest region in the country?

A
  • The South-East region
  • The Thames flows here
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5
Q

What is the effect of the driest region?

A
  • Puts pressure on water resources as the area already struggles to meet the demands
  • Growing population doesnt help
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6
Q

What is the average rainfall a year in the driest region?

A

690mm

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7
Q

Where does London get 40% of its water supply from?

A

Groundwater in the chalk that lies beneath the city

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8
Q

How does London get water from the groundwater?

A
  • Boreholes are drilled through the clay
  • To get groundwater from the chalk aquifer
  • Aquifer: underground layer of water bearing rock
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9
Q

What type of river is the Thames?

A

A lowland river

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10
Q

Why does the Thames not have waterfalls or gorges?

A
  • Its source in Cotswolds is 108 metres above sea level
  • It has less force from gravity
  • So it lacks in the energy of an upland river that has a source in the mountains
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11
Q

How was the Thames meander formed?

A
  • Thames has a gentle gradient and little downward erosion
  • The river does have energy for lateral erosion
  • Because it carries large volumes of water
  • It flows side to side across its valley
  • This forms a meander
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12
Q

What is the effect on the River Thames when sea levels rise?

A
  • The river gained energy
  • Because it had to drop further to seal level
  • It eroded downwards into its old floodplain
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13
Q

What is the effect on the River Thames when sea levels fall?

A
  • The river lost its energy
  • Began depositing more material on its floodplain
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14
Q

Rejuvenation

A

A river that has eroded down into its old floodplain due to a fall in sea level

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15
Q

What happened each time the river was rejuvenated?

A
  • Formed a new floodplain at a lower level
  • Leaving an old floodplain as a river terrace at a higher level
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16
Q

Where are river terraces found?

A
  • Along the Thames valley
  • West and East of London
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17
Q

River Terrace

A

An old floodplain of a rejuvenated river

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18
Q

When was the Thames flood?

A

February 2014

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19
Q

What places were affected by the flood?

A
  • Village of Wraysbury
  • Nearby town of Staines
20
Q

How many homes and businesses were flooded?

A

More than 5000

21
Q

How many people were evacuated?

A

Thousands

22
Q

What was the estimated cost of cleaning up the flood?

A

Over £500 million

23
Q

Reduced risks of flooding

A
  • Precipitation
  • Interception
  • Transpiration
  • Drip and stem flow
  • Water absorbed by roots
24
Q

Increased risk of flooding

A
  • Precipitation
  • Run off from roof
  • Impermeable surface
  • Water flows into underground drains
25
Q

Causes of flooding

A
  • The ground is impermeable rock
  • The ground is frozen
  • The soil is saturated with water after weeks/months of rain
  • Rainfall is so intense it cant soak into the ground
26
Q

Human activities that increase the risk of flooding

A
  • Deforestation: increases the rate at which water reaches the ground
  • Urbanisation: increases the rate at which water flows over the ground
  • River straightening: this speeds the flow of water in the river
27
Q

Winter 2013/14

A

The winter of 2013/14 was the wettest on record in Southern England

28
Q

How much rainfall was there between December 1st 2013 to 19th February 2014?

A

487mm

29
Q

What did the Winter of 2013/14 cause?

A

A series of Atlantic storms that lashed the UK with heavy rain throughout the winter

30
Q

What happened on the 9th February?

A
  • The ground was saturated
  • Water levels in Thames were very high
  • The environment agency issued 14 severe flood alerts across the Thames
31
Q

What made the flooding worse in Wraysbury?

A

A new artificial channel on the Thames called the Jubilee river

32
Q

Why did they make the Jubilee River?

A
  • Built for the Queens golden jubilee in 2002
  • Designed to take overflow from the River Thames to reduce flooding in Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton
33
Q

How much did the Jubilee river cost?

A

£110 million

34
Q

How did the Jubilee river contribute to the flood?

A
  • Takes a shorter route so water reaches its destination faster
  • In 2014 it carried water quickly downstream to Wraysbury and Staines increasing flooding
35
Q

What are they planning on doing to reduce floods?

A
  • Flood relief channel to Teddington
  • Part of a £500 million project
  • To reduce flood risk in Thames West London
36
Q

When was the last major flood that affected central London?

A

1928

37
Q

How many people died due to the 1928 flood?

A

14

38
Q

What happened in 1953?

A
  • A storm surge in the North Sea drove water up the river
39
Q

How many people became homeless due to the 1928 flood?

A

Thousands

40
Q

What prevented the flood in 1953?

A

The man made embankments along the river

41
Q

How many people drowned due to the 1953 flood?

A

Over 300

42
Q

When and why was the Thames barrier built?

A
  • Built in 1984 in East of London
  • In response to previous events to make sure it didnt happen again
43
Q

How does the Thames barrier work?

A
  • When there are high tides
  • The gates on the barrier are raised
  • To prevent water from reaching London
44
Q

During the stormy winter of 2013/14 how many times was the Thames barrier shut?

A

More than 50 times

45
Q

What is the problem with South East England?

A

Severe shortage of housing

46
Q

What is the solution to the housing shortage?

A

A major new residential development at Barking Riverside is being built to the East of London

47
Q

How are they going to transform the flood risk into a feature of the landscape?

A
  • Rather than barriers water will be allowed to spread naturally over the floodplain to fill creaks
  • Green corridors within the development with water as a feature
  • Trees/parkland will help to slow the rate of infiltration and increase water absorption
  • Residential areas within the site will be raised land to protect from flooding

Geography (20 decks)

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