Earthquakes
Describe plate tectonics.
Tectonic plates are large sections of the Earth’s crust that float on the semi-molten rocks of the upper mantle, or asthenosphere. Over time the plates are moved around by convection currents in the mantle. These currents are created by heat from the radioactive decay of elements in the Earth’s core.
What does 'Tsunami' mean in Japanese.
Harbour wave.
What does ENSO stand for.
El Nino Southern Oscillation
List 3 examples of Geomorphic Hazards.
Flooding, landslides, mudslides and avalanches.
What is the scientist who studies the weather called.
A Meteorologists
Describe the 3 types of plate movement.
A diverging or normal fault creates a gap when two plates pull away from each other.
A converging or reverse fault, sometimes also called a thrust fault, occurs where two plates collide or are forced together at converging plate boundaries.
A transform or strike-slip fault occurs where two plates pass each other laterally and there is very little vertical movement.
Describe what happens to a Tsunami wave as it gets closer to shore.
Wave Shoaling: As the wave meets the continental slope, it slows down. Wave height increases as wavelength decrease. This means the waves get taller in height and closer together.
Identify the cause of ENSO becoming more severe and unpredictable.
Climate Change
Describe what flooding is.
Floods occur when water covers land that is normally dry. They can be caused by prolonged or very heavy rainfall, severe storms or tropical cyclones, the sea and the monsoonal (wet season) rains in the tropics.
List 3 different names for a storm system characterised by low pressure.
Hurricanes, Cyclones and Typhoons
Identify a common method of measuring the strength of an earthquake.
One common method of measuring the strength of an earthquake is the Richter Scale.
Explain the geographical process the results in a Tsunami
A tsunami is a large ocean wave that is caused by sudden motion on the ocean floor - an earthquake, a volcanic eruption or an underwater landslide.
List 4 impacts of the El Nino Phase.
- Water supply
- Loss of agriculture and livestock (Loss of biodeversity)
- Land degradation (soil quality)
List the 3 common types of floods.
Slow on-set floods
Rapid on-set floods
Flash floods
List factors that contribute to the vulnerability after natural hazards.
Physical: weather, seasons, terrain.
Economic: Money - Preparedness, mitigation, prevention and adaptation strategies can be expensive to implement, so a community's level of economic development can affect the impact of a natural hazard.
Explain the geographical process that results in an earthquake.
An earthquake – also called a quake or tremor is the shaking of the surface of Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves.
Explain why certain countries are more vulnerable to Tsunamis than others.
Countries that are located along the coast are more exposed to tsunami. Their location in relation to tectonic plate boundaries also increase the likelihood of tectonic movement. For example, Japan and New Zealand are at a higher risk than Australia because they sit about plate boundaries.
List 4 impacts of the La Nina Phase.
- loss of life/ injury
- Property damage
- Pollution
- Disruption to services (transport)
Compare the impacts of flooding in developing countries and developed countries.
Impacts are worse in developing countries because of GDP, quality of infrastructure, preparation, mitigation and response. Also, higher population density puts more people at risk of injury or death.
Explain the difference between a natural hazard and a natural disaster.
A natural hazard is any extreme geophysical event that has the potential to cause harm to people, other living things, property and the environment. A natural event becomes a hazard when its magnitude (size), speed of onset, duration or frequency create serious risk to people and places.
Explain the difference between a focus and epicentre.
The site where rock begins to break is called the focus. Most earthquake tremors occur directly on the surface at the epicentre (the location on the ground immediately above the focus).
Explain the relationship between the epicentre of an earthquake and the severity of a tsunami.
Closer = larger force/ more energy.
Explain the difference between the 3 phases of ENSO.
There are 3 phases of ENSO: the neutral phase, El Nino and La Nina. For Australia, El Nino usually means droughts, whereas La Nina leads to increased rainfall and flash flooding.
Explain how the ENSO impacts flooding.
When the ENSO is in the La Nina phase this can increase the intensity and frequences of flooding events. For example, Bangladesh during monsoon season.
What is a synoptic chart?
A synoptic chart is a chart or map on which data and analyses are presented that describe the state of the atmosphere over a large area at a given moment in time