Introduction: Topography, especially mountains, affects the weather in many diff

Question

Introduction: Topography, especially mountains, affects the weather in many different ways. In this activity, you will play the role of a consultant to an airport planning commission. The new airport is to be located at one of three locations in a mountainous region. Discuss the pros and cons of locating a General Aviation airport at each of the three locations: A, B and C. Which location would you then select as the safest place to locate the airport?

A. Water and a narrow coastal region

B. Broad Valley with Prevailing strong winds

A. Water and a narrow coastal region

B. Broad Valley with Prevailing strong winds

Explanation / Answer

The selection of Airport site depends om various factors such as regional plan, airport use, ground accessibility, topography, visibility and many others. Topography certainly plays a major role in this decision as the location of the airport depends a lot on the geography surrounding it. This includes natural features like ground contours, trees, streams etc. A raised ground such as a hill top is usually considered to be an ideal site for an airport.

Let us nopw discuss the various pros and cons of the sites given in the question and decide which one is best possible option for our site.

A. Water and a narrow coastal region : Well, water is always an essential commodity for any construction and livelihood. A lot of major airports have been made near water bodies as we have seen along the history. The main reason behind this would be the fact that most of the major cities and civilizations tend to be growing near water. As airports are meant to serve the cities and the people living in it, so it would be a good option for the airport site. More over, the wind patterns are more predictable in the coastal regions, so that would be one problem less for the flight maintenance crews. One more important thing is that it can serve as a good emergency landing site as pilots generally prefer water bodies over land masses for emergency landings in case of any malfunctions. Talking about the cons, the water will be polluted of course and the nearby site may not be as easily accessible for the public as it would be on an inland site. In case of High Tides or Tsunamis, there can be massive damages casued to the aiport. As the coastal regio is narrow, any chances of further expansion of the aiport facilities wopuld be difficult and expensive.

B. Broad valley with prevailing strong winds : Valle sites are more prone to floods. Hence, it is generally not considered as an ideal airport site. Morover, given that the valley has prevailing strong winds, it would be extremely difficult for the flights to take off or land due to the possible turbulence and strong winds affecting the flight of the plane.

C. Behind the tallest mountain: Land at a greater elevation surrounding an airport such as mountains also have a profound effect on winds. Colder, denser air in the area settles downward due to its weight and forces the warmer, lighter air near the ground to move up the mountain slope. This wind is called a "valley wind" because the air is flowing up and out of the valley. At night, the air near the mountain slope is cooled by terrestrial radiation and becomes heavier than the surrounding air. It sinks along the slope producing the "mountain wind" which flows like water down the mountain slope. Mountain winds are usually stronger than valley winds, especially in winter. The wind pattern on the leeward side of a mountain contains dangerous downdrafts or "rotor waves". An aircraft flying through such wind would encounter hazardous turbulence that would push the airplane towards the ground. These are all considered when orienting runways in an area near mountains. Hence, considering these facts, a region behind the tallest mountain won't be a good option for airport site. One more drawback would be frequent rains and low ground accessibility and communication acess. Mountain regions are generally less accessible and the tarvellers might tend avoid such areas.

Thus, after dicsussing the various pros and cons of the listed sites above, I think option A. Water and a narrow coastal reagion would be the safest among all the other given sites here beacause of all the reasons stated above.

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