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Unit 1 - World At Risk Definitions
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- 1HazardA natural event that has the potential to threaten both life and property
- 2EventA natural occurrence that does not affect people
- 3DisasterMost powerful event with significant damage to property and life i.e. high deaths
- 4Hydro-meteorological HazardA hazard resulting from atmospheric or hydrological processes e.g. Cyclone
- 5Geophysical HazardA hazard resulting from geological (rock) or geomorphological (land) processes e..g. Volcanic Eruption
- 6Disaster Risk EquationFrequency or magnitude of a hazard x Level of vulnerability / Capacity to cope
- 7RiskThe probability of a hazard event occurring and creating loss of lives and livelihoods
- 8VulnerabilityHow at risk or exposed you are to a bad situation i.e. living on a flood plain
- 9Capacity to CopeThe ability or inability to be able to deal with a bad situation
- 10MagnitudeThe size of the event e.g. An Earthquake on the Richter Scale
- 11FrequencyHow often an event of a certain magnitude occurs and it's recurrence interval
- 12El NiñoA continually oscillating climatic pattern. It is a natural event that occurs irregularly every 5-7 years
- 13La NiñaAn extreme normal year that is the reverse of El Niño
- 14ENSOEl Niño Southern Oscillation
- 15PopulationThe amount of people living in a set area/region
- 16UrbanisationThe social process whereby cities grow and societies become more urban
- 17Land degradation/deforestationWhere the value of the biophysical environment is affected by human activities e.g. Removal of trees
- 18VolcanoA mountain or hill, typically conical, that has a crater through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapour, and gas are erupted from the earth's crust.
- 19Active VolcanoA Volcano that has had at least one eruption in the last 10,000 years
- 20Dormant VolcanoA dormant volcano is an active volcano that is not erupting, but supposed to erupt again in the future
- 21Extinct VolcanoA volcano that has not had an eruption for at least 10,000 years and is not expected to erupt again in the future.
- 22EarthquakeA sudden violent shaking of the ground, as a result of movements within the earth's crust
- 23EpicentreThe point on the earth's surface vertically above the focus of an earthquake.
- 24FocusThe point of origin of an earthquake
- 25Plate TectonicsA theory explaining the structure of the earth's lithosphere and the motion of the different plates
- 26Constructive BoundaryWhere the plates move apart due to convection currents inside the earth. Volcanoes are formed as magma wells up to fill the gap, and eventually erupts e.g. Mid Atlantic Ridge
- 27Destructive MarginWhere the plates are moving towards each other, usually involving a continental plate and an oceanic plate
- 28Subduction ZoneThe point at which subduction happens: where the oceanic plate is denser than the continental plate and so as they move together, it becomes sunducted under the continental plate
- 29Conservative marginWhere the plates slide past each other in opposite directions, building up pressure which is eventually released as shock waves, producing an Earthquake e.g. San Andreas Fault
- 30Oceanic PlateA tectonic plate which lies underneath the ocean and consists mainly of Basalt rock
- 31Continental PlateA plate which lies underneath surface land made up of granite rock
- 32Continental DriftThe theory of the gradual movement of the continents across the earth's surface through geological time.
- 33TsunamiA long, high sea wave triggered by an earthquake out at sea
- 34LandslideA collapse of a mass of earth or rock from a mountain or cliff
- 35AvalancheBoth a hydrometeorological and geophysical hazard where a mass of snow, ice, and rocks descend rapidly down a mountainside
- 36FloodA hydro-meteorological hazard where there is an overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal limits, over what is normally dry land, e.g. extensive rainfall, tsunami, hurricane
- 37MonsoonA seasonal prevailing wind in the region of Southern Asia and the Indian Ocean, bringing rain from the south-west in the summer (May-Sep) and from the north-east in the winter (Oct-April)
- 38Hurricane/CycloneA large tropical storm with wind strengths exceeding 74 mph according to the Beaufort Scale
- 39DroughtA prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water
- 40Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)A narrow zone near the equator where northern and southern air masses converge, typically producing low atmospheric pressure
- 41Disaster HotspotAn area/region which is exposed to two or more hazards, they are likely to be where plate boundaries intersect
- 42Context HazardHazards that have widespread effects with the potential to affect the entire planet e.g. Climate Change
- 43Chronic HazardA hazard that is ongoing and may increase the likelihood of other hazard events occurring i.e. Global Warming, El Niño/La Niña
- 44Climate ChangeVariations in the earth's average atmospheric temperature (both up and down)
- 45Greenhouse EffectThe warming of the Earth's atmosphere due to the trapping of heat that would otherwise be radiated back into space, enabling the survival of life on Earth
- 46Enhanced Greenhouse effectWhen the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase due to human activity i.e. Burning fossil fuels, using CFCs
- 47Global WarmingA recently measured rise in the average surface temperature of the planet
- 48Greenhouse gasA gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infra-red radiation i.e. Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Water Vapour
- 49Fossil FuelEnergy sources that are rich in carbon and which release carbon dioxide when burnt e.g. Coal
- 50Little Ice AgeA cool period in Europe (possibly Globally) where the climate peaked -0.5 below average temp and in which many Alpine glaciers advanced, from around 1400-1850
- 51Medieval Warm PeriodA period of unusually warm North Atlantic Climate, where temperatures peaked at +0.3 above average temperature, from around 800-1400
- 52Thermal ExpansionThe increased volume of the oceans as a result of their higher water temperature, leading to sea-level rise (it accounted for about 60% of sea-level rise in the late 20th century)
- 53Milankovitch cyclesA diagram which suggests the theory of Astronomical forcing, referring to long term variations in the orbit of the Earth, which result in changes in climate over 100,000 years
- 54Interglacial PeriodA period of warmer global average temperatures, between consecutive glacial periods, lasting thousands of years within an ice age.
- 55Glacial PeriodA period of cooler temperatures and glacier advances, over thousands of years within an ice age, where polar and mountain ice sheets were unusually extensive across the earth's surface
- 56SunspotDark spots that appear on the surface of the sun caused by intense magnetic storms, they determine the amount of solar radiation emitted to the earth
- 57AlbedoThe amount of solar radiation reflected by a surface, light surfaces have a high albedo (reflect the most) i.e. ice, dark surfaces have a low albedo (absorb the light) i.e. sea
- 58Climate ForcingAny mechanism that alters the global energy balance and forces the climate to change in response
- 59Feedback MechanismWhere the output of a system acts to amplify (positive) or reduce (negative) further output i.e. melting of Arctic permafrost leads to the release of trapped methane, causing further Global Warming
- 60Global DimmingA decrease in the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the earth, believed to be caused by pollution in the atmosphere from human activities
- 61Anthropogenic causeThe proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is produced directly by human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels
- 62Ice CoreAn ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet, to test long term climate change, i.e. from the polar ice caps of Antarctica, Greenland
- 63Tree RingsVisible when a tree is cross-sectioned and used to investigate medium term Climate Change - many trees are sensitive to changes in temperature, the thickness of the annual growth ring records climatic conditions
- 64Proxy RecordsData that helps us reconstruct the climate before the start of instrumental records i.e. paintings, diaries, poems
- 65Eustatic ChangeChange in sea level due to the change in the amount of water in the oceans
- 66Isostatic ChangeMovement of land in response to loss or gain of mass e.g. melting ice sheets leads to uplift
- 67Tipping PointThe point at which a system switches from one state to another, reached when climate change occurs irreversibly and at an increasing rate - certain level of GH emissions (450ppm C02), temp rise of 2°C
- 68Thermohaline Circulation System/Ocean Conveyor BeltA global system of surface and deep-water ocean currents, driven by differences in temperature and salinity, between areas of the oceans
- 69Carbon Sinksa natural or artificial reservoir that accumulates and stores carbon. Public awareness of the significance of CO2 sinks has grown since passage of the Kyoto Protocol, which promotes their use as a form of carbon offset
- 70Environmental RefugeesPeople who have been forced to leave their habitat temporarily or permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption (natural or triggered by people) that jeopardizes their existence and/or the quality of their life
- 71EcosystemA biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
- 72HabitatThe natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism
- 73PermafrostPermanently frozen ground i.e. Arctic permafrost
- 74TundraA vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen.
- 75Tree lineThe line or altitude on a mountain above which no trees grow
- 76Boreal ForestA subarctic area of northern Eurasia and North America located just south of the tundra and covered largely with coniferous forests
- 77Indigenous PeopleNative groups especially protected in international or national legislation as having a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory, and their cultural or historical distinctiveness from other populations
- 78Carbon CycleThe series of processes by which carbon compounds are inter-converted in the environment i.e. Burning of Fossil Fuels
- 79DesertificationThe process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture
- 80Vector-borne DiseaseInfectious diseases transmitted into the human body by insects i.e. Ticks, Mosquitos
- 81Water-borne DiseaseDiseases transmitted into the human body from drinking contaminated water which contains pathogenic microorganisms
- 82Food SecurityThe state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food
- 83Cash CropA crop produced for its commercial value rather than for use by the grower
- 84Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC)Apart of the UN and discusses scientific issues related to human induced climate change and its impacts, and the options of Mitigation/Adaptation
- 85AdaptationA strategy to cope with climate change by changing our lifestyles to cope with a new environment rather than trying to stop it e.g. managed retreat policy, drought-resistant crops
- 86MitigationA strategy to cope with climate change that means reducing the output of greenhouse gases and increasing the size of greenhouse gas sinks e.g. Carbon 'capturing', using renewable energy sources - wind power
- 87Carbon FootprintThe amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization, or community
- 88International treaty - Kyoto ProtocolAn agreement under national law to set targets to reduce each countries output of greenhouse gas emissions
- 89Sustainable DevelopmentDevelopment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
- 90Renewable EnergyEnergy from a source that is not depleted when used and instead replaced naturally, e.g. wind or solar power
- 91ConservatismA general preference for the existing order of society, and an opposition to efforts to bring about sharp change
- 92BiofuelsFuels that are extracted from plants and do not pollute as much to the environment e.g. Ethanol
- 93Adaptive CapacityThe extent to which a system can cope with climate change, in human systems it depends on available human, physical and financial resources
- 94Climate VulnerabilityThe degree to which a natural or human system is unable to cope with climate change. Vulnerability is a result of the magnitude of the change, its speed of onset, the sensitivity of the system and its adaptive capacity
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- Unit 1 - World At Risk Definitions
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