1) What is demography?
The study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human populations.

2) In what year did the Australian population reach 20 million? How quickly is the population growing?
Australia's Population hit 20 million around the 4th of December 2003 and our population growth rate is 2.0% p.a.

3) How many Aboriginal people are estimated to have lived in Australia before Europeans arrived?
It is estimated that between 350,000 and 750,000 Aboriginals lived in Australia before the arrival of the first fleet.

4) What the two main ways the population can grow? What percentage of the population growth in 2010 can be attributed to each way?

Immigration is one big way that population can grow and also normal birth rates per year contribute to our overall population.

5) What is the total fertility rate for 2010?
The fertility rate in Australia in 2010 was 1.9% per woman.

6) What was the total fertility rate for Australia in 1935? How does this compare to other years? Why do you think that it compares this way?
The total fertility rate for Australia was just above 2%. Compared to previous years, the 1935fertility rate was quite low, however in the late 40's and 50's a population boom struck Australia. The reason why the fertility rate was lower when compared to other years was that the great depression was occurring around 1935.

7) What is the trend in the fertility rate for Australia since 1950?
Since 1950 the fertility rate is gradually climbing.

8) What is the average size of a family in Australia? How does that compare to the US?
Australia is 2.8% while USA is 2.59%

Maps for Project

View Prevailing Weather conditions of El Nino in a larger map


View La Nina in a larger map


View Queensland Floods (La Nina) in a larger map


View El Nino effect on Victoria Bushfires in a larger map

La Nina

La Nina
La Nina translates into “girl-child’”, which is the opposite to El Nino.La Nina is the cooling season of the tropical regions (Pacific Rim to East Africa and beyond). It occurs every 3-7 years, as well as El Nino. When La Nina strikes, it brings heavy rainfall that can often lead to floods.

The La Nina that appeared in the Pacific in 2010 probably helped last year's south-west monsoon end on the good note. But then again, it also caused one of that country's worst natural disasters with large parts of State of Queensland either under water from floods of unusual proportions or being destroyed by Tropical Cyclones, including that of category 5 Tropical Cyclone Yasi.

Cyclone Yasi and the Queensland Floods

Cyclone Yasi was a frightening storm that struck the east coast of Australia. It brought very violent winds and many storms that brought heavy rain and some flooding. The La Nina weather brought the Monsoonal effect which increased the intensity of the flood. The cyclone was a catagory 5. This is very violent but luckily the people of Queensland were prepared for the furious weather. No-one was killed although millions of dollars was lost when the storm hit banana crops. Millions of dollars was lost when the storm hit and it will take years for the crops to fully grow back.  

Months later, Queensland was struck with yet another storm. This one was also influenced by the La Nina season. It was monsoonal season and rain was expected, but nothing near as much as was was received. $30 Billion dollars was wasted away when Queensland was swept away due to the furious floods. 39 people were killed and 9 are missing. Much of central and southern Queensland including Brisbane, Rockhampton,Emerald, Bundaberg, Dalby,Toowoomba, and Ipswich was flooded. It is currently being re-built with more than 55, 000 volunteers keen to help out a cause than has affected Australian everywhere.

El Nino

El Nino is the heating of the pacific ocean. The sun heats up the pacific ocean (thaste largest ocean) and the warm water is pushed east by strong winds. The water heats up the East Cost  of Australia and West of South America. El Nino affects approximately 25% of the earths surface.

El Nino brings very moist weather. It also takes effect during the Monsoon season, a season with hot weather and heavy rain and storms.

How does it works

Trade winds blow from east (south-west America) to west (East Australia) causing a pile up of warm surface water in the west Pacific so that the sea surface is about 1/2 meter higher at Indonesia than at Ecuador. To replace the water that has been blown to the west, cold nutrient-rich water rises up from the depths along the coast of South America. This nutrient-rich water supports a diversity of marine life, and also supports the fisherman in South America.

    When an El Niño event takes place (every four years or so), these trade winds relax and the water that once "piled up" in the western Pacific, sloshes back towards the west, causing the end of the nutrient-rich upwelled coastal water (and thus a downturn in the fishing industry as well).

    Because of the close coupling of the ocean and the atmosphere, these changes in warm water also brings rainfall. This results in a wide variety of changes in global atmospheric changes, which forces weather changes in regions far removed from the tropical Pacific. For instance, the presence of El Niño reduces the number of hurricanes over in the Atlantic Ocean.

Black Saturday

29 of January, 2009, an arson suspected fire broke out in Delburn. The area is dense in dry forest which makes it a perfect place for a fire. Winds also contribute as to how devastating a bush fire is. If the winds are strong and the direction of the wind is towards a town it is likely the fire will travel in that direction and destroy the town. The winds propelled the fire onwards with some fire balls reaching 120 kmh.The fire took out hundreds of hectares worth of forest. The fire was accelerated by very hot weather and a monsoon season. The fire season was drier and hotter because of the El Nino season. The wind pushed the heated water west and made the air heated which acted at a fuel for fires. It also caused large stormy weather in the monsoon season which triggered lightning storms which also caused some of the Victorian fires. The final repair bill of the Black Saturday Fires was around $5 Billion Australian Dollars.

1.10

1)   1.   Resources are any material that can be used by humans.

2)     2. Renewable resources are resources that can be used more than once while non-renewable resources can only be used once.

3)    3.  If a tree is cut down then it can grow back because of its roots in the ground but if the roots are damaged then it cannot regrow.

4)     4. Soil is essential to Australia’s agricultural success, without good fertile soil nothing would grow in Australia.

5)     5. The branch of forestry dealing with the development and care of forests.

6)    6.  1.6 million Square Kilometres.

7)    7.  Australia’s fishing industry is worth more than $2 Billion dollars annually.

8)      8. Fishermen are only aloud to catch 5265 tonnes of the Southern Blue Fin Tuna in 2006.

9)     9. Minerals and metals like coal.

1,7 Questions

1.       1. Australia has been an isolated continent for around 50 million years and over this time the plants and animals have grown separately from other animals in different parts of the world.

2.     2.   It is because of the stability of the continent

3.    3.    Natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place; native

4.     4.   89%

5.      5.  Botanical provinces, Great barrier reef and Tropical rainforests

6.     6.   Tropical rainforest

7.     7.   They are pouched animals or animals that don’t lay eggs e.g. kangaroo

8.      8.  They are egg laying animals e.g. fish

9.     . 9  Wallabies are smaller than kangaroos and prefer more rugged and mountainous terrain.

1.11 Q's

Question 1.11

1)    1)\.  Coal, oil and gas

2)      2.Solar power, wind power, hydro electricity and geothermal energy

3)     3 Because Australia wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save our non-renewable energy to prevent pollution. It also saves a lot of money and make money.

4)   4.    Australia, India, United States and China

5)     5. 76 billion tonnes which will last approximately 200 years

6)     6. Over 4 billion dollars of natural gas annually 

7)     7.  1500 times more than household solar panels, 0.8 square km

8)    8.  When large turbines are turned by the wind, it generates electricity (wind turbines, windmills)

9)       

10 9. The resources are very clean compared to coal or gas resources. It also never runs out.

10. It also does not cost for the resource it self.