Challenges of weather and
climate
• Case studies you need to know for this topic.
CASE STUDY:
Hurricane Katrina
• It formed over the Bahamas on August 23 2005
and crossed southern Florida as a moderate
Category 1 hurricane before strengthening rapidly
in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Flooded roughly 80% of the city.
• Katrina is estimated to be responsible for $75
billion in damages
• The storm killed at least 1,836 people.
• The storm rapidly got worse after entering the
Gulf, due in part to the storm’s movement over
the warm sea surface temperatures. It weakened
to a Category 4 storm before hitting New Orleans.
• By 28 August it reached its peak with maximum
sustained winds of 280km/h and a minimum
central pressure of 902 millibars
• 1.3 million acres of forest lands in Mississippi
were destroyed
• Hundreds of thousands of local residents were
left unemployed
• Katrina redistributed New Orleans’s population
across the southern United States. Houston,
Texas saw an increase of 35,000 people
• The storm surge caused substantial beach
erosion - Dauphin Island was pushed closer
towards land. The lands that were lost were
also breeding grounds for marine mammals,
turtles and fish as well as migratory species.
• There were early reports of fatalities amid
mayhem at the Superdome, only six deaths
were confirmed there, with four of these
originating from natural causes, one from a
drug overdose and one a suicide.
• Almost 900,000 people in Louisiana lost
power.
• Some estimates claimed that 80% of the 1.3
million residents of the greater New Orleans
metropolitan area were evacuated before the
storm.
• People who couldn’t leave went to the
massive Louisiana Superdome, which
sheltered approximately 26,000 people and
provided them with food and water for several
days.
• In Mississippi, 90% of the structures within
half a mile of the coastline were completely
destroyed.
• Approximately 58,000 National Guard
personnel were activated to deal with the
storm’s aftermath
CASE STUDY: Cyclone
Nargis
Location:
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Located in South East Asia, Borders China,
India, Thailand.
Background:
• 32nd poorest country in a list of the 50 poorest
countries.
• The Irrawaddy delta is where a large % of
people live and this is 0-5m above sea level
• 82% of the mangroves in the Irrawaddy delta
have been removed to make way for money
making areas such as shrimp farming and
agricultural land.
Cause:
• Formed 27th April 2008 in the Bay of Bengal
• Hit the Irrawaddy Delta, Burma at midday on
the 2nd May 2008.
• Downgraded from a cyclone on the 3rd Ma.
• Category 4 storm (wind speeds 220mph)
• Meant to hit Bangladesh but changed its path
and headed eastwards along the Bay of
Bengal
Effects:
• 2nd deadliest cyclone of all time
•125,000 people died
•$10 billion damage to southern Burma
•95% of buildings in the delta destroyed
•Sewage contaminated rice fields and caused
disease
•Dirty water encouraged mosquitoes to breed,
increasing malaria
•Electricity line were destroyed and roads
swept away
•Flooding caused homelessness and death
Responses:
• A week after it had hit 1-10 of those
affected had received some sort of aid.
• Leaflets were distributed to inform people
of aid however it didn’t reach the people
that need it most.
• The Burmese armies harassed volunteers.
• Aid was kept in cities, not reaching the
rural areas
• Aid was resisted and many experts believe
this was to try and preserve national pride
• Foreign aid workers were not allowed in
Burma or were restricted in their travels.
CASE STUDY: Boscastle Flood
Background
• Boscastle is situated on the northwest coast of Cornwall, near Bude
• It is situated at the confluence of the River Valency and its tributaries
• It happened on Monday 16th August 2004
What were the causes?
• The day had been very warm,
drawing in sea breezes along the
coast. When they joined forces with
a wet southerly air flow they shot
upwards with a dangerous mix of
warm, moist, highly unstable air.
• The thunderclouds grew so tall that
they created intense rain leading to
more than 5 inches falling around
Boscastle in just a few hours.
• With the ground already saturated
from recent rains, the storm waters
were funnelled down steep river
valleys and burst
What were the effects?
• 90% of Boscastle’s economy is dependent on
tourism.
• After the flood, more than 20 accommodation
providers were forced to shut
• Seven helicopters from the Coastguard, the
Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force hovered
overhead, winching people to safety
• Cars, boulders and uprooted trees were
strewn through the streets.
• Cars were swept out to sea, bridges were
washed away and people clung to rooftops and
trees
• Work has started on new £4.5m flood
defences to protect the Cornish village of
Boscastle from flooding.
- Included channelisation, flood walls, wider
bridges, raised car parks, signage.
EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING
· The map above shows which countries are
responsible for the most emissions. LEDCs want
to develop and to catch up with MEDCs and this
normally means using more energy and burning
more fuel. So global warming could threaten
development.
· Global warming could melt the world's ice caps
and glaciers, leading to an increase in sea levels.
Some scientists estimate that over the next
hundred years sea levels could rise by between
10 cm and 90 cm - making many coastal areas
around the world uninhabitable.
· Global warming could also affect the weather
patterns, leading to more droughts, flooding and
extreme weather, such as hurricanes.
· In the UK we are largely unaffected by the
dangerous weather of the tropics, such as
hurricanes or severe droughts. But some
climatologists argue that the UK climate is
changing as a result of global warming, with the
possibility of more frequent floods, water
shortages, and extreme weather conditions
Whatever the causes and
timescale, the implications of
global warming are very serious.
UK EFFECTS:
• Flash Flooding (e.g. Boscastle)
• Earlier Spring
• Health implications on the
changing weather (e.g. more
instances of flu’s in winter)
CASE STUDY: Solutions to global warming.
UK Government
In 2007, the British Government stated
its intention to become the first country
in the world to set legally binding targets
to reduce CO2 emissions.
Their aim is to cut the UK’s CO2
emissions by 60% by 2050.
Ideas included:
Bus lanes on motorways;
Cable cars across the river Thames;
Borris Bike scheme
Local initiatives:
Timers on electrical items
Use renewable energies e.g. Solar panels
Use public transport, bikes or walk.
International agreements:
Carbon Credits:
1 carbon credit = 1 tonne of CO2
Greenhouse gas emissions are capped and then
markets are used to allocate the emissions.
Kyoto Protocol:
1997.
Aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
agreeing on reduction targets of 5%
Puts an obligation to reduce current emissions
on developed countries on the bass that they
are historically responsible for the current
levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Ecosystems
• Case studies you need to know for this topic.
CASE STUDY: Wyre Forest, a deciduous woodland
Located in the midlands, east of Kidderminster.
Uses:
Recreational – 3 walking tracks, mountain biking, horse riding, Go Ape,
Timber- Owned by the forestry commission. Planted coniferous trees as grow faster.
Conservation- Adder, ½ of all butterfly species found here, dormice,
What are the effects?
• Soil erosion.
•New paths being made impacting species
diversity
•Noise pollution
•Mixed woodland- not natural
•Shrub layer being destroyed by timber
production.
Solutions:
• Felling reducing impact of timber
•Coppicing and pollarding
•Honey pot site-visitors centre
CASE STUDY: Tropical
rainforest biome
• They grow in places with an equatorial climate. Luxuriant vegetation but
its trees have to adapt to constant high temperatures, heavy rainfall and a
continuous growing season. Over a third of the world’s trees are grown
here.
• The continuous growing season allows trees to shed their leaves at any
time.
• Vegetation grows in layers (see diagram). Trees have to grow rapidly to
reach the sunlight
• Trees trunks are straight and in their lower parts branchless to help them
grow tall.
• Large buttress roots stand above the ground to give support to the trees
• Lianas, which are vine like plants, use the large trees as a support in
their efforts to reach the canopy and sunlight
• As only 1% of sunlight reaches the forest floor, there is little undergrowth.
Shrubs and other plants here have had to adapt to the lack of light
• During the wetter months, large areas of land near the rivers may flood
• Leaves have drip tips to shed the heavy rainfall
• Fallen leaves soon decay in the hot, wet climate
• There are over 1000 different species of tree, including mahogany
The rainforest is a fragile
environment that relies on the
rapid and unbroken recycling
of nutrients. Once the forest
is cleared (deforestation), the
cycle is broken. Humus is
not replaced and the
underlying soil soon becomes
unfertile.
CASE STUDY: Deforestation in
Malaysia
Cause 1: Deforestation
Increased by 85% in 200-2005
• Slash and Burn: traditional method of
forest clearance
• Logging- clear felling from 1980 was
common which led to large areas being
cleared. In 2003 a local penan
community was impacted that the
people that protested were imprisoned.
•Commerical plantations- major
producer of palm oil and rubber. Inn
early 20th century forest was cleared for
rubber plantations. Today it is known for
palm oil.
Cause 2: Energy
The $2b Bakum Dam project in
Sarawak resulted in the flooding of
hectares of forest.
230km2 of forest had to be cut down
Was completed in 2012
Cause 3: Resources
•Minerals tin and smelting was the
dominant form of mining. Drilling ofr
gas and oil has started in Borneo.
What are the effects?
• Of 30 million species on earth
28 million are found in the
rainforest. Habitats of these
species are being destroyed.
We get half our medicines from
rainforest
• Reduction in the number of
Amerindians (6 million in 1960
to 200 000 today) – traditional
culture and way of life
threatened
• No canopy to protect soil from
heavy afternoon rain or roots to
hold it together – leads to soil
erosion. Nutrients are washed
(leached) out of the soil
• Rivers have been polluted due
to mining operations
• Causing climate change – less
evapotranspiration
meaning
there’s less moisture in the
water cycle leading to droughts.
Burning of forest releases
carbon dioxide
• change the composition of the
atmosphere – over one-third of
the world’s oxygen supply
comes from the rainforest.
Solutions:
• Selective management
system.
•Ecotourism- stay in wooden
cabins built into the forest.
Provide jobs for local people.
Stage
2 years
Actions
Pre-felling study to identify
what is there.
Felling
Commercially viable trees
marked for felling. Arrows
painted on trees to indicate
direction of felling to avoid
damaging other valuable
trees.
Felling carried out by
licence holders.
3-6
months
after
felling
Survey to check what has
been felled. Prosecution
may result from illegal
felling.
2 years
after
Treatment plan drawn up to
restore forest.
5-10
years
after
Remedial and regeneration
work carried out by state
forestry officials.
Replacement trees planted.
1 year
before
felling
30-40
years
after
Cycle begins again.
Desert in an MEDC- Australia
Economic Opportunities:
Tourism:
BBC top 50 things to do is to watch the sunset at Uluru.
400,000 visitors in 2005
Can buy aboriginal arts and crafts
BUT
Can exploit the aboriginal culture
Learn little about the culture and history- just tick it
off the list.
Hunting and gathering:
Finding edible plants and animals.
They create conditions in which grubs can live and
breed.
Build dams along the river to catch fish.
Use fire to drive out animals for hunting.
The area has now grown a ‘native food’ industry based on
traditional aboriginal knowledge of what is edible.
Mining:
Most people are involved in this.
Some of the worlds largest reserves of iron ore, silver
and gems.
Coober Pedy in S. Australia is the opal capital of the
world. (70%)
Most iron ore sent to China
Huge ships are loaded up with 250,000 tonnes of iron
ore.
The demand meant prices rose by 70%
Managing the issues:
Farming:
Farmers have to use boreholes which may not last.
Recent drought is putting pressure on water stores.
Tourism:
The new Uluru Aboriginal culture centre educates
visitors about the history and culture.
Leads outback walks to inform visitors about bush
food as well as cultural sites.
30 Aboriginal people work there and the admission
fees go to the Anagu community.
Desert in an LEDC- Sahara
Economic Opportunities:
Energy:
Difficult to find oil and gas reserves.
In Algeria they have found oil and half of their income comes
from there.
Workers travel in and out via plane.
40,000 work at Hassi Messaoud.
Pipelines have to carry it hundreds of km to the north African
coast.
Farming and Irrigation:
Egypt has a soaring population which has increased from 20
million to 79 million in 25 years.
Most live on the heavily irrigated Nile Valley. This irrigated land
means that farmers can grow more food, both to feed the
growing population and for export.
13% Egypt's GDP comes from farming and employs 32% of its
labour force.
Desertification is the process where
fertile land becomes desert due to
drought, deforestation and overuse of the
soil. The soil becomes exhausted and can
no longer be used- in essence turning it
into a desert. Big issue here due to the
way it is used.
Managing the issues:
Overcoming Energy issues:
Within Algeria work has begun to create the first solar
power plant in the Sahara desert.
The aim is to export solar power to Europe through cables
under the Mediterranean sea.
Overcoming Farming and Irrigation issues:
Plan to irrigate more land away from the Nile Valley.
The Toshka Project will cost $70 billion.
Will use pumps and canals to transfer water from Lake
Nasser into the Western Desert.
Increase irrigated land area by 30%
Enable high value crops such as olives, citrus fruits and
vegetables.
Promote tourism
Provide food, electricity and jobs for 16 million
Egyptians in new owns in the desert.
Trying to stop desertification:
Restrict the number of farm animals
Growing crops as well as grazing animals
Planting more trees to protect the soil from wind and
rain
Building earth dams to collect and store water which
can be used to water plants.
Water on the land
• Case studies you need to know for this topic.
CASE STUDY: Boscastle Flood
Background
• Boscastle is situated on the northwest coast of Cornwall, near Bude
• It is situated at the confluence of the River Valency and its tributaries
• It happened on Monday 16th August 2004
What were the causes?
• The day had been very warm,
drawing in sea breezes along the
coast. When they joined forces with
a wet southerly air flow they shot
upwards with a dangerous mix of
warm, moist, highly unstable air.
• The thunderclouds grew so tall that
they created intense rain leading to
more than 5 inches falling around
Boscastle in just a few hours.
• With the ground already saturated
from recent rains, the storm waters
were funnelled down steep river
valleys and burst
What were the effects?
• 90% of Boscastle’s economy is dependent on
tourism.
• After the flood, more than 20 accommodation
providers were forced to shut
• Seven helicopters from the Coastguard, the
Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force hovered
overhead, winching people to safety
• Cars, boulders and uprooted trees were
strewn through the streets.
• Cars were swept out to sea, bridges were
washed away and people clung to rooftops and
trees
• Work has started on new £4.5m flood
defences to protect the Cornish village of
Boscastle from flooding.
- Included channelisation, flood walls, wider
bridges, raised car parks, signage.
CASE STUDY: Bangladesh 2004
Background
• Bangladesh lies in the North Eastern Part of South Asia. Bordered by India, Burma and the
Bay of Bengal.
•One of the worlds poorest and least developed countries in the world.
•% of people with access to safe water is 97%
•35.2% of population are unemployed.
What were the causes?
• 70% of land is less than 1 m above
sea level.
•10% of the land is made up of lakes
and rivers
•Snowmelt from the Himalayas takes
place in the spring and summer.
•Heavy Monsoon rains started earlier in
May which led to 3 rivers to have peak
flow at the same time.
•Deforestation in Nepal and the
Himalayas increases surface run off
and deposition.
•Urbanisation
•Poorly maintained embankments lead
and collapse at times of high
discharge.
What were the effects?
•Over 1300 people were killed
•57% of land destroyed
•25 million made homeless and 7 million homes
destroyed
•Dhaka was flooded
•Shortage of water and dry food as 1 million tonnes of
rice destroyed
•Diseases spread e.g. bronchitis and cholera.
What were the responses?
•Emergency aid was sent- food, drinking water,
medicines, plastic sheets, boats.
•Assistance was provided by the United nations,
governments and charities.
•Oxfam set up the preparedness programme
•Dhaka integrated flood protection protect build more
embankments, sluice gates and
CASE STUDY: Water feature – High Force Waterfall
Located on the River Tees, Teeside, County Durham. Is 22m tall
• Resistant, hard rock lies on top
of softer rock type in a river
channel. The hard rock is
Whinstone (an igneous rock)
• The underlying softer rock
(limestone) is eroded more
quickly than the harder rock and
so the resistant rock is undercut.
• This will cause the formation of
a plunge pool at the base of the
waterfall.
• This process will happen
continuously, causing the
waterfall to move backwards
(retreat).
• Over time the resistant rock will
become increasingly
unsupported.
Waterfall retreats upstream
Overhang collapses
• The harder rock will eventually
collapse under its own weight.
Hard Rock
• Once it has collapsed, the rocks
which have shattered will be
swirled around at the base of the
waterfall, due to the force of the
water.
Soft Rock
Plunge pool develops
undercutting
Where the 2 layers of rock are very thin, there will be
no obvious collapse, so the water will just swirl round,
causing rapids
CASE STUDY: Managing water supply- Kielder Water
• The UK is highly variable in terms of water supply and demand.
• Newcastle in demand – 750mm precipitation in total with 1000 person per kms
• Kilder water receives 1700mm of precipitation in total with 1 person per kms
Kielder Water reservoir was constructed by Northumbrian water.
The Derwent reservoir is built to the south of Kilder Reservoir. This is the main
source of water therefore the Kielder can be used to top up the cities water
levels when the Derwent reservoir is low.
Kielder is located in an excellent location as there are underground springs that
help top up the reservoir naturally. The area is constructed of impermeable rock
so not water is lost through infiltration. Hard industries in the north need a high
supply of water.
Positive
Negative
HEP station can generate 6mw
2,700 acres of farmland was lost.
Preserves conservation- 8 sites of special
scientific interest such as the red squirrel.
A dam holds sediments affecting processes and
the landscape down stream.
150million of trees are replanted and felled.
58 families displaced from their homes
£6 million generated in tourism.