AQA A-Level Geography 7037
Water and Carbon Cycles
Hot Desert Systems and LandscapesLandscape
Coastal Systems and LandscapesLandscape
Glacial Systems and LandscapesLandscape
HazardsHazards or ecosystems
Ecosystems Under StressHazards or ecosystems
Global Systems and Global Governance
Changing Places
Contemporary Urban EnvironmentsHuman option
Population and the EnvironmentHuman option
Resource SecurityHuman option
Water and Carbon Cycles
The River Eden catchment case study
- 3 things to know
- Component 1
Overview
The River Eden in Cumbria as the local catchment case study: geology and land use, Storm Desmond and the 2015 Carlisle floods, Haweswater water supply, field data, and flood management evaluated.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
What happened in the Eden catchment during Storm Desmond in December 2015?
What does Storm Desmond show about the impact of precipitation on catchment stores and transfers?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Describe the River Eden catchment in Cumbria.
Model answer
The Eden drains about 2,400 km² from its source on Mallerstang Common in the Pennines, flowing north-west for about 145 km through Appleby and Carlisle to the Solway Firth.
- 2
How does geology affect stores and transfers in the Eden catchment?
Model answer
Permeable Carboniferous limestone and Permo-Triassic sandstone in the Pennines and the Vale of Eden allow infiltration and groundwater storage, while the impermeable volcanic rocks of the Lake District tributaries in the west give fast surface run-off.
- 3
How does land use affect the hydrology of the Eden catchment?
Model answer
Grazed uplands with thin soils and drained moorland speed run-off, improved pasture in the vale is compacted by livestock, and the urban area of Carlisle has impermeable surfaces that send water quickly to the river.
- 4
What happened in the Eden catchment during Storm Desmond in December 2015?
Model answer
A record 341 mm of rain fell in 24 hours at Honister on 5 December onto already saturated ground; the Eden reached a peak flow of about 1,700 m³/s at Carlisle, the highest recorded, and more than 2,000 properties in Carlisle were flooded.
- 5
Why did the flood defences in Carlisle fail in 2015?
Model answer
Defences built after the January 2005 flood were designed for an event of that size, but Desmond's flow was greater, so they were overtopped.
- 6
What does Storm Desmond show about the impact of precipitation on catchment stores and transfers?
Model answer
Prolonged rain had filled soil and groundwater stores, so infiltration fell and almost all further rain became overland flow, giving a short lag time and a very high peak.
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