Flooding in Brisbane Case Study

1) 2 storms causing heavy rains led to flooding in Queensland. The trade winds were also a cause, because the prevailing pattern of easterly winds in the tropics, forcing warm water to build up in the western Pacific which leads to heavier rainfall. One of the dams built had an impact as the waterfalls created provided even more water for the floods.

2)
Social - The floods have made people homeless. They have put a dent in the resources of Queensland's health services. There is not much access to safe drinking water, medicine and hygienic food. There are lots of diarrhoeal diseases, which can lead to severe food poisoning for example.

Environmental - The agriculture industry took a huge hit. Lots of crops were ruined and the water supplies got contaminated and made it unsafe to drink in some areas and use on crops. Some Queensland construction and contract mining operations were affected and rendering some of them useless.

Economic - Tourism had been impacted as well since there was no access in and out of the area and tourists were stranded. This impact was big as it is a $4 billion industry. There was also tons of damage done to homes, infrastructures and many buildings. Many people lost their homes and possessions they due to either the water damage or simply being swept away. Queensland suffered about hundreds of millions of dollars in total damages.

3)
They have been committed to the idea of flood risk management. This involves many strategies including flood mitigation infrastructure helps in preventing some floods. There is land use planning and development control measures can help prevent floods, and also the recovery from them. Flood awareness and information can help across all four phases of prevention, preparation, response and recovery. Flood emergency management can help prepare for, respond to and recover from future floods.

Earthquake in Madagascar

1. The earthquake occured on January 25th, 2013. The magnitude of the earthquake was 5.3. It hit approximately 9 km west of the city of Anakao.

2. The focus of the earthquake was located at 23.654°S, 43.553°E. It was a shallow focus earthquake with a depth of 14 km.

3. The earthquake occured as a result of fault zones in the Indian Ocean.

4. The Richter Scale magnitude was 5.3.

5. a. The Biosphere wasn't really affected as the only impact could be the roads being damaged making it difficult for the people to travel.

b. The roads were damaged somewhat as a result of the earthquake.

c. The economic impact wasn't serious. However they did need to pay for cleanup and fixing of roads and buildings.

d. Infrastructure such as roads and buildings were damaged due to some intense shaking.

Desertification Case Study

1) Desertification occurs when fertile ground becomes a desert and dries out. It is usually caused by deforestation and droughts.

2) Botswana lies right across the Tropic of Capricorn and the majority of the land surface in Botswana is made up of a desert. This doesn't hold surface water for long periods of time which led to an over reliance on underground water. The Kalahari Desert occupies just over two thirds of the country's land mass. With the affect of droughts in the country, it is really hard for the water to stay on the land. Also, because its really flat it can't flow very well through the country, it absorbs into the ground really fast.

3) The desertification problems in Botswana mostly come from the severe times of drought. The drought caused 75% of the country’s human and animal populations to be dependent on groundwater which has eased the effects of the drought, but has left a greater impact on the land. Groundwater is obtained by drilling deep holes, which causes erosion of the land. Surface water is very rare in Botswana and a miniscule amount of the agriculture in the country is sustained by rainfall. Due to this, about 95% of the country raises cattle and livestock as a means for an income. Therefore only 71% of the country’s land is used for communal grazing, which has been a major cause for the desertification of the country. Factors such as deforestation, overgrazing, poor cropping methods and improper soil conservation techniques also made a big mark on the country's desertification.

4) The government has made new policies to the land use in Botswana. There are several programmes such as the, the Tribal Grazing Lands Policy, the Arable Lands Development Programme and the Remote Area Resettlement Scheme. They have also adopted the principle of bottom up approach in tackling desertification that is emphasized by the UNCCD, because people at grassroots level deal directly with impacts ofland degradation on daily basis. Botswana developed National Action Programme to Combat Desertification as required by the UNCCD. These are some of the many projects on going to help the desertification in Botswana, they are aimed to achieve and help soil conservation, livestock production, rangelands and wildlife management, water and land management. Some of their goals are to keep it as cheap as possible and introduce ecologically sound to make it ethical.

Mass Wasting - China

The devastating landslide in Zhouqu, China that killed many and made many homeless has a lot of causes and ways that could have some what prevented it. China is one of the worlds hot spots for landslides, the ground is very shaky. The main issue is that the region has gone through about 50 years of unrestrained logging. Many mountain tops have been stripped bare by the logging. Each year, forests have declined and the environment has been damaged beyond its capacity to recover. By the time local governments started to plant trees to stabilize the soil, the vegetation was unable to form on the steep, thinly soiled slopes. There have been efforts to help restore the way of life in the western part of China. The restoration of a permanent water supply started in Zhouqu county in northwest China's Gansu Province as the rebuilding of the mudslide-battered area picked up and has mostly been completed now. Safe drinking water will be available within five months of being completed. Zhouqu's main water supplies were cut after the mudslides and emergency water containers had been used to provide safe water for a while after the disaster.

Agricultural Water Use

Drip Irrigation:
Pros - Concentrating the irrigation to specific plants can prevent weeds from germinating nearby. Also, when you spread your tubing around the plants, the subsequent irrigation provides an even distribution of moisture. As a result, you will sustain a healthy soil environment for optimal growth.

Cons - If your drip irrigation installation is done poorly, it could result in poor root development and die back. For example, looping your tubing too wide or installing a small quantity of water emitters creates drought conditions where the roots grow.

Sprinkler Irrigation:
Pros - An irrigation sprinkler system is a competent and fast system designed to meet the water needs for your plants. It is a form of simulated actual rainfall to water your plants. You can place them on pretty much every surface which gives you a lot of options.

Cons - The efficiency of sprinkler irrigation can be affected by wind. Also, with regards to crop sensitivity, some crops are affected from leaf scorch, fungal disease, along with other damage which may be caused by salt being deposited about the leaves. They also cost a ton of money to install.

Surface Irrigation:
Pros - Minimal capital investment or energy costs, and less affected by climatic and water quality factors. Easy to see the effectiveness of the system and how much it helps. They help a lot with floods and help keep the plants healthy for the most part.

Cons - They tend to be less efficient than other systems, and are very labor intensive and sometimes could be difficult to engineer. There can be high possibilities of disease pressure in the case of flooding. Drainage can also be a problem in some circumstances, if doesn't drain properly it will start to flood which can cause some diseases to get into the plants.

Land Subsidence Case Study

a) Overdrafting of aquifers is the major cause of subsidence in the southwestern United States, and as ground-water pumping increases, land subsidence also will increase. In many aquifers, ground water is pumped from pore spaces between grains of sand and gravel. Land subsidence is the lowering of the land-surface elevation from changes that take place underground. Common causes of land subsidence from human activity are pumping water, oil, and gas from the underground. It happens in nearly every state in the United States of America.

b) Land subsidence causes many problems including changes in elevation and slope of streams, canals, and drains. Also, there is damage to bridges, roads, railroads, storm drains, sewers, and canals. It can cause damage to private and public buildings. In some coastal areas, subsidence has resulted in tides moving into low-lying areas that were previously above high-tide levels.

c) In an effort to prevent further land subsidence, we could establish alternate ways to deal with water underground which will help cut down the risk of subsidence becoming an issue. If we cut back on projects like digging holes and uprooting tress it would hopefully help prevent the possibility of subsidence. There's no real way to stop subsidence that we know of, all we can really do is try new things to avoid being enveloped by the Earth in a sad ending to humanity.

Earthquake in Vancouver

1. There hasn't been a major earthquake since 1700, known as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake, there could be another major earthquake soon especially with a bunch of more recent earthquakes in other subduction zones.

2. Our area is very close to sea level making it vulnerable to a tsunami and feeling major affects of a monstrous earthquake. There are tons of trees and loose rocks on mountain sides and lots of tall sky scrapers in the major cities.

3. a) Liquefaction would be a major issue in the South Delta, Richmond and Tsawassen area because they are at sea level and the ground can easily become liquefied.

Landslides would be a major area in the North Vancouver and Vancouver Island and Gulf Island areas because of all the forests and hill sides and mountains with loose rocks all over them.

A tsunami would be a major concern for Victoria and other cities along the coast of B.C. because they aren't a major land mass and can easily be swept under water and many peoples lives would be destroyed.

Flooding would occur along Vancouver Island and all the cities and towns along the Pacific Ocean like Vancouver and Richmond. The sea level would rise causing these areas at sea level to flood.

b) The social impact would be major as lots of lives would be in danger and the people who do survive would have a really long tough time of going back to a normal life.

Economic impact would be huge as many buildings would be damaged and destroyed and lots of roads and bridges and many other man made structures would get obliterated causing a huge price tag for our province and country.

Impact on our provinces infrastructures would be huge as it would take tons of time to repair and rebuild especially since the most expensive things are right at sea level. Also, it would take almost a whole generation to rebuild the affected areas to what they are today.

4. Metro Vancouver is preparing for this major earthquake by putting in earthquake proof pipes in downtown Vancouver and other sea level cities and some skyscrapers mainly in downtown Vancouver are getting earthquake proof structures causing them to be able to sway slightly without getting major damage.