Geography Snapshot Notes (DynPl)

Dynamic Planet
Restless Earth
Tectonic Plates
The Earths Structure and tectonic movement
 The earth’s core is 5000°c – these high temperatures are caused by
radioactive decay
 The heat given off by the earth’s core causes convection currents in the
mantle and these convection currents drive plate motion
 Inner and Outer core made up of iron and nickel
 Mantle is semi-molten rock – more solid near the top
 Crust is made up of tectonic plates – oceanic and continental

Magnetic Field
 Protects us from harmful radiation and particles in the solar winds – they would destroy all living things and
burn us
 It also helps us navigate
 The solar winds get destroyed by the magnetic field around the earth – it blocks the solar winds from
reaching the earth
 A reason for the magnetic field is because of the convection currents in the outer core – which is made by
iron and nickel – these convection currents create electrical and magnetic fields

Plate Boundaries

Constructive plate boundary

 Plates get pulled away from each other – caused by convection
currents moving in the opposite direction
 When the plates move apart the magma spills out from underneath
(lava is runny and not explosive)
 When the lava cools it creates new land e.g. the Atlantic mid-ocean
ridge
 Causes shield volcanos

Destructive plate boundary

 Collision Margin
o Continental and continental drive into each other
o The crusts causes the land to buckle upwards causing fold
mountains (the Himalayas)
o One of the plates gets forced underneath
o Causes earthquakes
 Destructive margin
o Ocean and ocean or Ocean and continental
o One of the plates gets forced under – and the carbon in
the crust gets heated and CO2 gets formed
o The pressure, because the CO2 gas needs to escape builds
up and causes an earthquake and composite volcano
 o The subduction zone is the area where the one plate gets forced underneath the other plate
o Where the oceanic plate goes under there are ocean trenches

Conservative Plate Margin

 Two plates moving in different directions or the same direction but
at different speeds passed each other
 The plates get jammed as they move pass each other building up
extreme tension
 When they move pass each other it causes big earthquakes (San
Andreas fault line)

Major tectonic plates

Volcanos and Earthquakes

Volcanos
 Mainly situated around the pacific ocean and the ‘Ring of Fire’

Shield Volcano
 Caused by constructive plate boundaries
 Basalt magma which is sticky and runny
 The runny lava can travel long distances before cooling producing large gentle slopes
 Low gas content in lava – meaning little or no explosions
 Low in silica allowing easy flow

Composite/Dome Volcano
 Caused at destructive plate boundary
 High silica content means it flows less easily – leading to steep sided volcanos
 Gasses trapped in the magma leads to lots of explosions
 Molten lava a pyroclastic material thrown out of the volcano in the explosion

Why are volcanos important?

 They create new land when the lava melts
 The ash from the ash clouds put nutrients into soil – making it very fertile

Reducing impacts of Volcanos

 Prediction Technology
o Monitor tell-tale signs like escaping gas and the shape of a volcano
o Gives time to evacuate
 Building Techniques
o Designed to withstand pyroclastic and lava flows – strengthened so withstand hot ash
 o Barriers divert lava away
o All this reduces unemployment after the volcano
 Placement planning
o Avoiding risk areas and using fire breaks
o Emergency service planning and prep
o Evacuation routes
 Education
o Training on reaction and evacuation
o Survival kits
 Sending aid to help out

CASE STUDIES:
MONTSERRAT (LEDC)
 WHAT: Composite volcano
 WHERE: Montserrat, 25.06.1997
 SOCIAL IMPACT:
o 19 people died (P)
o schools and buildings destroyed (P)
o 8 – 12,000 left – population decline by 66% (S)
o 20 villages destroyed by pyroclasic flow (P)
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
o 4km2 covered in lava
o Many villages covered in ash (P)
o Crops destroyed (P) – however soil fertility improved in long run (S)
 ECONOMIC IMPACT:
o Tourists stayed away and economy declined (S)
o UK £41 million to rebuild and mitigate short term impacts
 Response:
o People evacuated and shelters were built
o £17 million sent in initial aid by UK - £41 mill in total
o Local emergency services
o Montserrat volcano observatory set up to predict future eruptions

St Helen Volcano (MEDC)

 WHAT: Composite volcano
 WHERE: USA Washington State , 07.2005
 SOCIAL IMPACT:
o 63 people died (P)
o People lost jobs (S)
o Flooding destroyed communications such as roads and railway bridges (S)
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
o Hot ash destroyed forests (P) – soil fertility improved (S)
o Ash blocked rivers (P) – destroying fishing and causing flooding which destroyed crops and livestock
(S)
 ECONOMIC IMPACT:
o Re- Housing for homeless
o Re-building bridges
o Increased tourism
 Response:
o People evacuated and shelters were built
 o £17 million sent in initial aid by UK - £41 mill in total
o Local emergency services
o Montserrat volcano observatory set up to predict future eruptions

Earthquakes

Weak Shallow Earthquakes

 Produced with constructive boundaries

Strong shallow Earthquakes

 Destructive plate boundaries

Strong Deep Earthquakes

 Destructive plate boundaries
 Conservative plate boundaries

Reducing impacts of Earthquakes

 Prediction – no technology or sure way of knowing
o Clues: like animal behaviour and small tremors
 Building Techniques
o Reinforced concrete
o Special foundations (rubber shock absorbers)
o Pendulum on very large buildings to move with earthquake
o Cross bracing for more flexibility
 Placement planning
o Previous earthquakes can help predict future ones
o Fire breaks can be put in to reduce the spread of fire
o Planned evacuation routes and procedures
 Education
o Training for emergency services and people
o Survival kits
 Sending aid to help out

CASE STUDIES
SICHUAN (LEDC)
 WHAT: Collision Margin, 7.9 on Richter scale – Indian and Eurasian plate
 WHERE: Himalayas, 12.05.2008
 SOCIAL IMPACT:
o 70,000 people died (P)
o 375,000 injured (P)
o 7,000 schools destroyed (P)
o 4.8 million Homeless (S) (80% of homes destroyed (P))
o 169 hospitals collapse (P)
o Communication destroyed (S)
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
o 2 chemical factories collapsed (P)
o Dams burst (P)
o Landslides blocked rivers (S)
 ECONOMIC IMPACT:
o $150 billion to rebuild (S)
o 1.4 million lose jobs (S)
 Response:
 o Emergency couldn’t reach for 30 hours
o 3.3 million tents
o International aid needed
o Troops brought in
o Government aid needed
o Aimed to rebuild in 3 years

ITALY (MEDC)
 WHAT: Collision Margin, 6.3 on Richter scale
 WHERE: Italy, 6.04.2009
 SOCIAL IMPACT:
o 290 people died (P)
o 1,000s buildings destroyed (P)
o Bridge collapsed (P)
o Water pipe broke (P)
o Many homeless (S)
o Fires caused by broken electrics (S)
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
o Broken water pipe caused landslide (S)
 ECONOMIC IMPACT:
o $15 billion to rebuild (S)
o Whole town had to be rebuilt
 Response:
o After shocks made rescue difficult (S)
o Camps set up for homeless
o Rescue services and diggers to clear rubble and save people
o Government aid needed
o Investigated why buildings weren’t built to withstand earthquakes

Climate Change
How has climate changed in the past?
 Climate Change: Any long term trend or shift in climate
 Short term climate change: Last few decades
 Medium term/Historical climate change: Last few thousand years
 Long term/geological climate change: Hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago

Climatologists
 Confident about past climate change by looking at evidence like:
o Ice cores
o Fossilised plants and animals
o Pollen
o Landforms e.g. U-shaped valleys

Medieval Warm Period (Historical Climate Change) 900-1400

 Before little ice age
 Peak in 1150 – around 0.25 degree rise in temperature
 Very good for crops
 Increased life expectancy
Little Ice Age (Historical Climate Change) 1500-1850
 Peak around 1630 with a 0.25 degree temperature drop
 Precipitation increased and Winters were longer and harsher
 Rivers and seas froze – Iceland lost half its population
 Crops destroyed because of cold conditions and livestock died
o Farmers abandoned farms and falls in harvest
o Led to starvation
 People died of cold
o Wet and cold weather caused more disease e.g. Black Death
 Tree growth stunted
 Evidence from drawings, newspapers, diaries and records
 Ships and trading overseas increased and became more advanced
 People enjoyed ice skating on the Thames

Changes of Climate in the Past

 Pleistocene (Last major cold period)
o 1.8 million years ago
 Halocene (Warmer period since)
 Both these periods part of the quaternary period of the earth’s history

Why did the Megafauna go extinct?

 Most recent major climate change was the extinction of the megafauna at the end of the last ice age
 At the end animals began to migrate North, fighting for food and space – Food chains disrupted and food
shortage
 Caused the megafauna to die out

Causes of Climate Change

Natural causes
 Volcanos – Eruption Theory
o Ash and Sulphur dioxide blanket the Stratosphere
o This stops sunlight reaching the earth and causes cooling on earth
 Changes in solar activity – The Sunspot Theory
o More sunspots – means higher amount of solar activity
o Warms the earth
 Orbital Changes – The Orbital Theory
o Over a very long time orbit of earth can slightly change
o This effects our distance from the sun

Human Causes
 CO2 emissions and other greenhouse
emissions/ pollution
 Ozone layer damage
 Deforestation

Greenhouse Effect

 Earth emits greenhouse gases through…

o CO2 (89% of GHG): factory and cars -
 o Methane (7% of GHG but 21% more powerful than CO2): Landfill sites, gas pipeline leaks, cattle
and rice farming
o Water vapour/ dust particles: Cars, planes and factories etc.
o Nitrous oxide (3% of GHG but 250 times more powerful than CO2): Aircraft, cars and lorries,
fertilisers and incinerators etc.
o Halocarbons: Solvents and cooking equipment
 They rise and as it gets thicker it traps more and more heat
 China USA and Russia all produce lots of CO2
 Deforestation reduces the absorption of CO2

Evidence for the Greenhouse effect

 Before the 18th century there was barely any CO2 emissions
 Populations were smaller
 Industrial revolution led to its rise
 20th and 21st century has seen a dramatic increase because of cars, technology and oil
 In MEDCs have caused the most problems as they use a lot of fuels
 Strong reliance of fossil fuels – doesn’t seem possible to go back

Amounts of Rising Greenhouse Gases

 CO2 rising
o From 1800-1900 – 8% rise (300 parts/million)
o 1900-1950 – 8% rise
o 1950 – 2010 – 15% rise
 Nitrous Oxide rising
o From 1800-1900 – 6% rise (290 parts/million)
o 1900-1940 – 3% rise
o 1940 – 1980 – 10% rise – wood burning fires and smoke/ soot etc.
o 1980 – 2010 – levelling off

Predictions of the future

 Scientists create models based on a range of scenarios
 The majority have a bleak output
 Estimate that temperatures will rise between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees by 2100
 Sea levels will rise by 30cm – 1m by 2100 (due to melting glaciers)

Impacts and Causes of Climate Change

 Social:
o Richer countries who are responsible - less affected than the poorer countries
o Richer countries need to be more responsible and reverse global warming
o Won’t be able to grow as much food in some areas – lead to malnutrition and starvation
o Migration to less extreme climates – overcrowding in some areas
 Economics:
o Fossil fuels are finite – cheaper than renewables – source of income for richer countries
o Richer countries will be effected most by move to renewables
o Serious flood defences would have to be put in place to survive – e.g. in low lying cities like London
and NYC
o In LEDCs because of heavy reliance on farming etc. – flooding will destroy income and jobs
 Environmental:
o Sea levels rise as arctic melts
o Ecosystems affected and animals become extinct
o Distribution of species will change
  Political impacts:
o Competition for water could lead to war etc.
o Increased immigration and emigration
o Pressure on Governments to change

CASE STUDIES:

UK – impacts of Climate change

 ECONOMIC
o Farmers grow new crops in the warmer climate e.g. Olives
o More money spent on dealing with extreme weather conditions – households are estimated to have
to pay 4% more
o Estimated 1% rise for householders to reduce emissions
o Tourism would increase (especially in coastal areas)
o New businesses increasing like air conditional
 SOCIAL
o Diseases that didn’t exist in UK would become more common – e.g. Malaria
o Fewer cold related deaths – but could have heat related issues
 ENVIRONMENTAL
o Sea level rising would cause more flooding
o Threaten coastal habitats
o Some species may not adapt to temperature rise and rainfall
o New species – distribution of species change
 POLITICAL
o Govt. set up new department to deal with environment etc. Department for energy and climate
change
o External unrest from other countries – less land as flooding increases – conflict for land
o Migration from other countries because countries being lost underwater
 Change so far…
o Coastal waters warmed by 0.7°C in 70 years
o Sea levels in 10cm higher since 1900
o Rainfall increased – increase flooding – damage £1bn so far
o Holden already experiencing serious flooding

Bangladesh – Impacts of climate change

 ECONOMIC
o Economically a very poor country – can’t afford flood protection
o 80% of country relies on agriculture – loss of many jobs and income – lead to even poorer country
 SOCIAL
o 9% of population will be affected by flooding
o Destruction of homes, livestock and buildings by flooding
o Starvation due to destroyed crops and farms
o Strained water supply because of less fresh water
o More disease as there will be less clean water
o High population density means impact of extreme conditions would be higher
 ENVIRONMENTAL
o Sea level rise by 1m – flood 18% of the country – as 90% of country is less than 10m above sea level
o More extreme weather – cyclones etc. and loss of life
 Change so far…
o Already have serious problems with flooding – people being washed away etc.
Battle for the Biosphere
Key Terms
Biome A community of plants and animals that exist in a similar
climate e.g. Rainforest, Tundra or coral reef
Biosphere Part of the earth and its atmosphere – where living
systems exist – capable of supporting life
Permafrost Permanently frosty, semi frozen ground
Relief Shape of the land
Altitude Height of land
Sustainable management Act environmentally towards an ecosystem by
conserving it for future generation – ensuring it is not
being used up faster than it is being renewed – however
ensuring locals have enough resources and jobs

World Biomes

 Tundra – cold and dry Northern permafrost

 Boreal Forests/Northern conifer forests – cold forests,
pine trees (like Christmas trees!)
 Temperate Deciduous and temperate rainforest – Clear
seasons and plants drop their leaves (deciduous) cool,
medium wet (rainforest is very wet)
 Temperate Grasslands – Huge grassland e.g. Prairies of
North America (Mid Northern) cooler
 Mediterranean Scrub Forest – Harsher forest/dry and
sparse (e.g. Spain)
 Deserts– Dry, arid and hot in the day and cold at
 night(Mid e.g. North Africa)
 Mountains – mountainous areas, e.g. Himalayas
 Tropical Scrub Forest – Harsher forest/sparse, hot and slightly wet
 Tropical Grassland and Savanna – Highly fertile land (e.g. Most of Africa) cool and slightly wet
 Tropical Deciduous Forest – near coasts in the south, hot and wet
 Tropical Rainforest – lies along the equator, rainy and highly fertile – lots of plants, very hot and very wet
 Snow, ice and glaciers – southern ice deserts

Local Factors on Biome Distribution

 Altitude
o Height of land has impact of climate – the higher the land the lower the temperature – stunts plant
growth – temperature decreases by 1°C for every 100m in height
 Relief
o Slopes that face the sun will be warmer – Aspect Relief
o E.g. Warm wet air rises from the ocean, up a slope – will rain on one side of the slope but not on the
other (Cause a rain shadow)
 Ocean Currents
o Current of warm water creates a relatively warmer climate than other areas on the same latitude –
Thermohaline Circulation
o Colder currents of water will lead to colder climates on the same latitude
 Continentally
o Sea heats up slowly and cools down slowly – land in the middle of sea then the climate will be
cold/hot with more rain
o Land heats up quickly and cools down quickly - landlocked countries will have warmer/cold climates
with less rain
 Prevailing winds
o Northern winds are cold
o Southern winds warm
o Wind travelling over water will be wet and rainy
o Wind travelling over land will bring dust and dirt
o Where your area gets wind from will affect climate

Unusual Biomes
 Alpine – mainly in Northern India
o Where it should be very hot as it is near the equator
o Because of Mountains and high altitude it is very cold

Value of Ecosystems

Natural Values of plants and vegetation

 Plants and vegetation remove CO2 from the atmosphere and give out oxygen
 Help us get over the negative impacts of global warming- remove greenhouse gases
 Trees, forests and vegetation protect soil erosion from water
o 1. Reduce flooding by taking in water
o 2. They trap soil and keep it in place
 Regulate the Hydrological Cycle
 Plants and Vegetation put nutrients back into the soil – help new plants grow
Hydrological Cycle

Carbon Stores

 We release the carbon stores by:

o Global warming heating the ocean
o Burning oil and gases
o Cutting down trees
o Mining for stone

Goods and Services of Ecosystems

Goods
 Fish, meat, food and fibre crops (clothing)
 Timber and rubber
 Fuel mass and biomass for energy
 Fruits, nuts and medicines
 Water for drinking and irrigation
 Gene pool

Services
 Food web and ecosystems
 Water regulation
 Atmospheric gas balance and climatic regulation (carbon cycle)
 Employment and recreation
 Nutrient recycling
  Genetic resources for future generation (genetic cycle)

CASE STUDY: Kombai People of Papua New Guinea (Using the TRF)
 Food
o Pigs, bats and cannibalism (not often)
o Sagho starch that is dried by fire and the maggots that feed on rotted sagho (Sahgo is a big tree with
soft wood)
 Shelter
o They live in isolated tree houses
o Never stray from own territory
 Heating
o Fire
 Cooking
o Wrap in leaves and cook in hot stones
 Money
o They use pigs for trade
 Utensils
o Bamboo as knives
o Stones and twigs for fire
o Dogs to help them look for pigs

CASE STUDY: Tropical Rainforest - Goods and Services

 Social/ Medicinal
o Provides many of Western foods e.g. Pineapple, coffee
o 25% of all cancer drugs are plants from the rainforests
o Plants used in contraceptive pill
o Drugs to help diabetes
o Periwinkle drug – improves survival chance of child Leukaemia (moved from 10 to 90%)
o Illegal Drugs created in the rainforest
 Economical
o Raw materials – provide many commodities like rubber and timber
o Tourism is popular in the Rainforest
 Environmental
o Home to 25% of worlds biodiversity in rainforest
o Many indigenous people with traditions
 Systems
o Regulates Hydrological cycle
o Huge carbon store
o Nutrients for the soil
 Impacts we are having on TRF (Deforestation)
o Fish
 Because of deforestation there have been droughts and water levels have been low
 Fish are being washed into shore dead because of low oxygen levels
o Dolphins
 Effects of fish dying on food chain – Dolphins then dying because they have no food
o Increase in Vultures
 Because of dead fish
o Fishermen
 Loss of income – low water cannot get to sea and hard for them to find fresh water
How are we ruining Ecosystems?

Deforestation
 Big companies buy large areas of land for cattle, timber, crop growing and rubber (TRF)
 Locals also use land for similar reasons
 No Interception of water –
o leads to soil erosion and flooding
o Nutrients get washed out of soil Happening
o Little filtration of water – more surface runoff in the
o Landslides can occur as roots don’t hold soil together Rainforest
 No transpiration from leaves – not releasing water back into atmosphere
o Little evaporation and cloud formation
o Can lead to creating deserts as no rain or clouds
 Loss of habitat for animals
 Loss of drinking water as water becomes muddy and unusable

Mining and Drilling

 Mining and drilling for oil causes surface damage
 Oil produces pollution
 Mining disrupts ecosystems and tourism

Over harvesting and over fishing

 Causes changes in the food chain

Conserving the Biosphere

Decisions around conserving the biosphere

 Balancing:
o Cost
o Difficulty
o Importance
o Rarity

Conservation Organisations (CASE STUDIES)

Scale
 Global (CITES)
 National (UK National Parks)
 Local (BAPs in the UK)

Aims
 Protection and conservation (e.g. National parks)
 Preventing exploitation (CITES)

CITES (Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species) Global Scale

 Signed in 1973
 Lists endangered species
 AIM: To prevent trade of endangered species e.g. crocodile skin and ivory etc.
 However: Global measures are difficult to manage as lots of convicting interests

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Global Scale
 World heritage site that lists buildings
 Aim: Prevent exploitation of important and historical landmarks
Ramsar Convention – Global Scale
 Habitat conservation and protection of wildlife
 Aim: Protection of habitats globally

UK National Park (ANPA) National Scale

 Conserves the UKs 14 national parks
 AIM: High protection on a national level of habitats

BAPs (Biodiversity Action Plans) Local scale

 Aim: Local plans to protect and replace vegetation e.g. tree planting

Sustainable Conservation of Biospheres (CASE STUDIES)

 1. Selective Logging
o Only some trees are felled – mainly oldest
o They do it in different areas selectively – only a few trees are taken from each area so that alrge ares
aren’t cleared
o Remove logs by using helicopters of horses – so big trucks don’t have to come through and ruin
 2. Afforestation
o Replant same varieties of trees after they cut them down
o In Costa Rica this is now a law
 3. Reduce demand for hard wood
o Heavy taxing on hard woods as it takes long to grow and is running out
o Discouraging the use of some hard woods – some countries banned it
 4. Education
o Trying to educate the local people as some don’t understand how to be sustainable
o Showing them alternative ways to make money – like ecotourism
o International education to reduce demand on TRF
 3 additional ways of reducing deforestation of rainforest
o 1. Eco tourism
o 2. Reducing debt – so they don’t have to make money on the rainforest
o 3. Protection – passing laws to ban logging. Setting up national parks

Water World
Describe the distribution of water on the earth
 97% of water in oceans
 2% in glaciers
 0.7% groundwater
 0.1% in lakes
 0.0005% in soil
 0.0001% in rivers
 0.0004% in organisms
Hydrological Cycle

 Closed cycle – amount of water is always the same

 Process:
o 1. Evaporation/Transpiration: Water evaporated from sea or land when heated by the sun, or
transpires from plants
o 2. Movement: Wind moves water vapour inland
o 3. Condensation: Water vapour condenses to form clouds
o 4. Precipitation: Falls over land through precipitation
o 5. Movement of water: Transfer stages below
o 6. Storage: Storage stages below
o 7. Return: Return to the ocean through rivers etc.

Key Terms
 Areas
o Biosphere – areas above ground e.g. clouds
o Lithosphere – ground and underground
o Ocean
 Inputs
o Precipitation – snow, rain etc.
 Transfer
o Infiltration – Movement of water from surface to soil
 Saturation – When the soil can’t hold any more soil
 Water table – the level at which saturation occurs in the water or the ground
o Percolation – Movement of the water from the soil to the rocks
o Stem Flow – transfer of water through plants
o Surface Runoff – Surface water runs into the river
o Through Flow – Transfer of water through the soil to the river
o Groundwater flow – water travelling through aquifers (permeable rock) to the river
 Storage
o Surface Storage – Puddles, lakes, rivers etc.
o Groundwater – storage underground in rocks and soil
o Interception – storage in plants from capture on leaves etc.
 Outputs
o Evaporation – Water loss from surface storage, sea or groundwater
o Transpiration – water loss through plants

How humans effect the supply of water

 Deforestation – increases flood risk and reduces rainfall
 Over abstraction – takes too much water out and leads to dry rivers
  Build too many reservoirs which increases evaporation (through higher surface area to volume ratio)

CASE STUDY: Murray Darling Basin in Australia

Murray Darling Basin

 39% of national agriculture production
 2 million people living in basin

Demands on water
 Agriculture – irrigation for farming
 Increasing population in Australia
 Rising living standards – water needs to be used for:
o Washing
o Drinking
o Gardens etc.

Causes of water shortage

 Over abstraction of water
 Climate change is making droughts worse
 Freshwater is being polluted
 North using too much – not enough getting to the south

Impacts of water shortage

 Farmers and agriculture is suffering
 River has not met the see for many years
 River is accumulating pollutants making it unusable
 Wetlands full of salt – freshwater not reaching them
 Dryness of the area is causing forest fires

Management plans
 Using water wisely
 Support healthy rivers
 Investing in water infrastructure to make water use more efficient

Human effect on water quality

 Salt – comes from factories etc. – makes water unusable e.g. water cannot be used for farming and kills fish
and plants
 Fertilisers – can lead to eutrophication and water becomes deprived of nutrients and oxygen
 Toxic waste (like chemicals, pesticides, cyanide, radiation) in rivers – kills fish
 Domestic waste – sewage, toxic chemicals from washing etc.
 Solids/dirt – colour the water and kill fish
 Thermal Pollution – hot water comes out of power stations and reduces oxygen in water – killing life

CASE STUDY: River Rhine

 Companies along the river emptied waste, salt and toxic substances into river
 Households put sewage and household chemicals in the river
 Agriculture dumped fertilisers and chemicals in water

Impacts
 Public health affect with impure water
 Polluted water was useless
 Fish were dying
1986 chemical fire
 Fire in a chemical plant
 Thousands of tons of waste went into the river
 Millions of fish and wildlife were killed

Action: Rhine Action programme

 They improved water quality
 Salmon returned to the Rhine
 50% reduction in pollution

Water Management Schemes

Large Management schemes: DAMS

 Pros:
o Increased water supply
o Money generated from selling water – good for economy
o HEP created
o Recreation – fishing, sailing and swimming
 Cons:
o Land and habitat loss
o Relocation

CASE STUDY: Lesotho Dam

 Social:
o PROS:
 Built new clinics and schools with the income from the dam
 Short term jobs were created to build the dam
o CONS:
 300 homes lost through flooding
 Farmland was lost – hard for uneducated farmers to get new jobs
 Economical:
o PROS
 35,000-40,000 short term jobs created
 $40 million a year from selling the water
o Cons
 Project cost $18bn
 4,000 hectares of grazing land lost
 Environmental:
o Pros:
 Environmental education and soil erosion control plans have been paid for by the scheme
o Cons:
 Dam induced seismic activity – causing cracks in the earth’s surface
 Loss of wood as a source of fuel
 Soil becomes saturated underneath the dam – will never be able to be used again

Small scale water management

 Generally set up by no-governmental organisations in LEDCs
 Bottom up approaches
 Low cost using intermediate technology
 Appropriate for locals and environment
 Self-sustaining – people trained and educated to use the small methods
CASE STUDY: Water Aid charity

Rain water Harvesting

 Falling water (rain) is the cleanest
 Generally collected from pre-cleaned roofs
 Runs from roofs into a storage tank

Hand Dug wells

 Ground water safe to drink as fine layers of the earth act as filters for bacteria and other impurities
 Digs deeper wells so they get to the water table – even in dry season
 Porous walls made out of concrete to allow water to get in
 They are lined semi-permeable lining to stop pollutants getting through
 The top is raised and covered to stop surface water polluting it

Tube Wells and bore holes

 Small diameter hole drilled with hand powered methods (Tube Wells)
 Quick and cheaper to build and require less maintenance than hand dug wells
 Can reach greater depths
 However: you need equipment and where there are rock it is hard
 In areas where there is lots of rocks or little water (need more depth) – machinery is needed (Bore holes)
 Hand pump or electric pump to bring up the water
 Storage in lined tanks

Coastal Change and Conflict

Key Terms
Coastal Zone system Area where land meets the sea – constantly changing
Crest Top of wave
Trough Bottom of wave
Wavelength Distance between two crests
Wave height Distance between crest and trough
Constructive waves Build up beaches
Destructive waves Take from beaches
Swash The wave as it goes onto the beach – goes in the
direction of the wind
Backwash As the wave comes back again away from the beach –
always at right angles
Fetch Distance over the which the wind has blown on a wave –
bigger fetch means a more energetic wave
Long shore drift The movement of waves as it transports material along
the beach
Concordant A cliff that runs parallel with the coast
Discordant A cliff that runs away from the coast of perpendicular to
the coast
Weathering Disintegration of the earth’s surface in situations

Mass movement Landslides and landslips – large scale movement

Erosion The process of being worn down by wind, water or other
natural agents
Wave cut notch The undercut at the bottom of a cliff where it has been
eroded away by wave action

Wave cut platform Top bit of the cliff that has collapsed and leaves debris at
the bottom of the cliff
Wave Refraction As the waves reach the coast, the waves tend to bend
and mirror the coastline – like at headlands and bays

Coastal System
 Inputs
o Wind
o Waves
o Tides
 Processes
o Weathering
o Erosion
o Transportation
o Deposition
 Output
o Landforms
 Erosional landforms (bays and headlands, cliffs and arches etc.)
 Depositional Landforms (beaches, dunes and spits etc.)

Waves
 Constructive waves
o More swash than backwash
o Deposit things on the beach – more than they take from the beach
o Long wavelength and shallow gradient
o Steep beaches
 Destructive waves
o More backwash than swash
o Tall waves with a short wavelength
o Smooth beaches
 Wave Refraction
o As the waves reach the coast, the waves tend to bend and mirror the coastline – like at headlands
and bays

Wave action – how does it work?

 Breaking waves:
o Bottom of wave slows as it touches the sand due to friction on sea bed
o Wavelength decreases but the top keeps toppling – so wave height increases
o The top topples over and breaks – wave breaks
  Wave energy depends on the fetch –the longer the wind has worked over the wave, the more energy it has
– the fetch is the distance over which the wind has blown a wave

Swash The wave as it goes onto the beach – goes in the

direction of the wind
Backwash As the wave comes back again away from the beach –
always at right angles
Fetch Distance over the which the wind has blown on a wave –
bigger fetch means a more energetic wave
Long shore drift The movement of waves as it transports material along
the beach

Rocks and Landforms on a coast

Hard Rock
 Leads to high, steep and rugged cliffs
 The cliff face is often bear with no vegetation or loose rock
 At the cliff foot there are a few boulders or rocks that have fallen from cliff
 An example is Land’s End (Cornwall)

Soft Rocks
 Could be high cliffs – but not as steep or rugged
 You may see piles of mud and clay that has
slipped down the face of the cliff – meaning
vegetation on cliff face
 At the cliff foot there will be little or no rocks
and boulders but clay deposits and some mud
 An example of the is Holderness

CASE STUDY: Dorset Coast line

 The Dorset coast line has many different types Discordant
of rocks
 Area at the top with clay and sand where
Poole harbour and Studland Bay are – soft clay
and sand is more eroded and created bays and
harbours
 Then it has hard chalk rock which isn’t as easily eroded – has created Ballard Point (a headland)
 More clay and sand which makes Swanage Bay
 Around the South coast is Limestone which is hard and has created Durlston Head Concordant
Headlands and Bays

Weathering, Erosion and Mass Movement

 The processes of weathering and mass movement are called Sub-Ariel because they can happed away from
the sea

Weathering
 Disintegration of the earth’s surface in situations

Types of Weathering
 Physical
o Like freeze thaw – when water get into cracks it freezes and expands – causing cracks
o When it thaws again it leaves it
o The cracks get bigger as this happens over and over
 Biological
o Plant roots get into rocks and can slowly pull them apart as they grow – causing cracks
o Animals can also wear away the rocks by burrowing into the ground
 Chemical Weathering
o Chemicals like Nitrous oxide mix to form acid with water (acid rain)
o These acids pollute and wear away limestone

Erosion
 The process of being worn down by wind, water or other natural agents
 Harder rocks don’t get eroded as quickly e.g. granite at Cornwall – forms headlands
 Softer rocks like boulder clay get eroded quickly and form bays e.g. Holderness

Mass Movement
 Landslides and landslips – large scale movement

Cliff foot Processes

 Waves attack the base of a cliff
1. Hydraulic Action
a. As waves crash into the rocks they force air into them
b. This air is drawn out again when the waves recede
c. This action of air being forced in and out causes cracks
2. Solution and Corrosion
a. Weak acids in the water slowly erode some of the rocks
3. Attrition
 a. Waves force little rocks in the sea to smash into each other leaving them smooth
4. Abrasion
a. Small bits of rock and sand rub against the cliff
b. Over time this wears away the cliff
 Over time all of these processes cause a wave cut notch to be formed
o This means that the under part of the cliff where the water is gets worn away – creating a notch
 Eventually the cliff top becomes unstable as it isn’t being held up by anything and collapses
 The cliff then retreats and moves back
 The debris of the top of the cliff creates a wave cut platform

Formations

Cove
 Happens when there is a layer of hard rock on a coast – and a layer of soft rock behind it
 The sea get through a weakness in hard rock and causes a small opening
 When it gets to the soft rock it erodes it quickly forming a large cove

Headland erosion – stacks and stumps

1. Headland
2. Cracks form in the headland because of wave action
3. Over time the crack expands with further wave action and a cave forms
4. As the cave get bigger and deeps, the wave erodes through
the back and forms and archway
5. As the wave act on the archway it widens e.g. Durdle Door
6. Eventually the arch gets so wide that the top cannot support
itself and collapses – leaving a stack that is no longer joined to
the headland e.g. Old Harry Rocks
7. Waves eventually wear away the stack leaving a stump
8. The stump gradually get eroded away and the process starts
again

Beaches
 Beaches form in sheltered environments such as bays
 Has to be constructive ways that deposit beach sediment
 Sometimes strong winds can blow sand from offshore bars onto the beach and dunes get created

Spits
1. Steady prevailing winds which causes longshore drift
2. This collects sand and sediment from a bay, around a
headland
3. Spits form when, around the headland, there is a river
outlet travelling in the opposite direction
4. This pushes out the sediment from following the
headland round – making the spit curve out
 5. Between the headland and spit salt marshes get formed

Tombolo
 Longshore drift moves sand around a headland
 The sand connects with an island near the headland
 This forms a beach between the headland and the island creating a
tombolo

Bar
 Longshore drift moves sand around a headland
 The sand connects with another headland near
 This forms a beach between the two headlands creating a bar
 A lagoon forms behind it and gradually will be fill up and both bar
and lagoon will become one beach

Threats of rising sea levels of rapid coastal erosion

CASE STUDY: Easington on Holderness coastline

 Rise is sea level is causing rapid erosion

 Many holiday homes at Bridlington – but no coastal defence so houses can fall in
 At Easington there is the British Gas terminal – 25% of all North Sea gas – needs defending as the Gas
terminal is vital
 Easington have slowed erosion with rip rap
 Withernsea has protection with re-curved sea wall and rip rap boulders
 There is a farm near Mappleton which is in fear of being lost because there is no sand – because of the stone
groynes at Mappleton, no sediment is being deposited further down the coast – erosion has gone up by a lot
 The spit as the end of Humber Estuary has roads that erode away in storms – lifeboat operates from there
 Many people along the coast need protection- but how do you pick who gets it, when protection would
harm other areas further down the coast?
o Conservationists: don’t want anything – nature should be left alone
o British Gas: wants protection at Easington as gas is vital for the whole country
o Farmers and caravan site owners: wants protection at their coasts as they need to conserve it for
their homes and jobs – however putting protection at one coast will have a bad effect on coasts
further down the coasts
Coastal Protection

Hard Rock Engineering

 Schemes designed to put physical barriers in the way of erosion or flooding
 Often they interfere with natural processes

Re-curved Sea Walls

 Reflect the energy of the wave back to the sea – stopping erosion and flooding
 ADV:
o Very good at dissipating wave energy and reflecting back to see – stopping erosion and flooding
o Better than flat sea walls that tend to break when waves crash and causes cracks
 DisADV:
o Can stop access to beach
o Looks quite ugly sometimes
o Quite expensive

Groynes
 Slow long shore drift and allow beach material to build up – forming a natural defence along the coast
 ADV:
o People are used to them – so look natural
o They work in building up the beach
 DisADV:
o Wood groynes can rot and be dangerous
o Stone ones can wash away
o Can be quite expensive

Rip Rap
 Absorbs energy of the waves from the rocks – granite rocks that lie on beach
 ADV:
o They work well and look natural
 DisADV:
o Can be washed away and get eroded
o Have to be imported and are quite expensive
o Importing them increases carbon footprint

Gabions
 Cages of stones placed together in the beach or under the water
 ADV:
o They are cheap
o Work quite well
o Don’t stop access to the beach
o Last quite a long time
 DisADV:
o Quite ugly
o Can be dangerous

Revetments
 Sloping features than dissipate the wave energy, can be made from wood or stone
 ADV:
o They work well in dissipating energy and stopping erosion
o Long lasting
 DisADV:
 o Can stop access to the beach
o Look VERY ugly
o Quite expensive

Soft Rock Engineering

 Schemes that work with natural processes to build up beaches

Beach Replenishment
 Beach material is dragged onto the beach to absorb more wave energy and slow down erosion
 ADV:
o They work in stopping erosion and flooding
o Its looks natural
o Quite cheap
 DisADV:
o Doesn’t last very long as long shore drift moves the beach material
o Has to be repeated

Managed Retreat
 Allow the land to be flooded that you once were protecting
 ADV:
o It creates new habitats and salt marshes for animals and plants
o It is controlled
 DisADV:
o You lose the land

Oceans on the Edge

Key terms
Coral Reef Flow of water which might contain nitrated and
phosphates picked up from the land and takes them to
the sea
Surface Runoff Deposition of sediment which can choke coral reefs
Siltation Plants and animals in an ecosystem showing the sources
of food for each organism
Food web Structure made up of the external skeletons of polyps
Eutrophication Loss of oxygen in water after too much nutrient
enrichment chemicals, like crop fertiliser, has been put in
the water
Coral Bleaching The loss of zooxanthellae due to changes in conditions
such as temperature. The coral will expel the
zooxanthellae causing the coral to go white
Producers Produce food through photosynthesis
Herbivores Eat plant material
Carnivores Eat animals
Omnivores Eat both animals and plant matter
Decomposers Bacteria which cycle organic matter back to nutrients

Locating Coral Ecosystems

 Coral occupies 0.2% of the oceans area – but it is home to 33% of
the earth’s marine life
 Mostly found around the equator
 World Reefs:
 o Caribbean Reefs: 15% of the world’s reefs
o Pacific Reefs: 25% - including the Great Barrier Reef
o Indian Ocean: 60% of the world’s reefs

Suffering Reefs: Mini CASE STUDIES

 Kenya
o Issue: Damage of corals due to tourism and overfishing
o Management: They introduced a national park and have seen a 30% increase in coral cover
 Thailand
o Issue: Tsunami damaged most of the coral
 Florida Keys
o Issue: Damaged by tourism – they trample and take it. Also damaged by boats that drop heavy
anchors on the coral which breaks it.
 Jamaican Reefs
o Issue: Damaged by sewage disposal, agriculture runoff – eutrophication, tourism and natural
disasters
 Great Barrier Reef
o Management: Managed very well without much damage caused to coral
 Israel, Jordan and Egypt Reefs
o Issue: Suffering from coral bleaching as the crown of thorn starfish is eating them – however still lots
of coral in that area
 Seychelles
o Issue: Has lost 90% of coral because of temperature of water going down and overfishing
o Management: Taking measures to mitigate effects and coral is coming back slowly

Structure of Coral Reef

 Tentacles  Soft tissue polyp mouth Rock like external skeleton made from calcium carbonate which
forms the coral  Coral reef is the hard ridge made up of millions of polyp skeletons
 Inside the coral lives the zooxanthellae which photosynthesise to produce food for the coral polyp to ear
 The coral and zooxanthellae have a symbiotic relationship – meaning they rely on each other for food and
shelter

Conditions Coral need to survive

 Temperature of water between: 20 - 30°C
 Shallow seas up to 40m in depth
 Clear and unpolluted water
  Water with a steady salt content

Coral Food web

 Producers – Produce food through photosynthesis
 Herbivores - Eat plant material
 Carnivores – Eat animals
 Omnivores – Eat both animals and plant matter
 Decomposers – Bacteria which cycle organic matter back to nutrients

Coral Food Web

 If the Reef Shark is hunted then the long nosed butterfly fish won’t be in as much threat
 If the Long Nosed Butterfly fish isn’t in as much threat than there population will grow
 If their population grow their will be more long nosed butterfly fish eating coral polyps
 In the end this will lead to a shortage of coral and the long nosed butterfly fish will slowly die out
 Then the reef shark that are left will have to eat more of its other prey – like the Caribbean reef squid
 The population of the other prey will decrease and have a knock on effect on their food chain
 There is a problem with the crown of thorns starfish that eat coral – there are too many of them because
their predator is overfished
 This means the coral reef is being eaten too much and dying out

Why corals are threatened with distinction

Conditions Coral need to survive

 Temperature of water between: 20 - 30°C
 Shallow seas up to 40m in depth
 Clear and unpolluted water
 Water with a steady salt content
 If any of these conditions are changed then the coral will be seriously threatened and will die

Natural Causes of Coral damage

 Natural disasters like Tsunamis
o Tsunamis come in and drag house and building debris back to sea which smashes against the coral
and kill it

Human Causes of Coral damage

 Global Warming
 o The water will become hotter
o The water depth will go up because of glaciers melting
o Glaciers melting will also cause the salt content of the water to go down – because glaciers are fresh
water stores
 Overfishing
o An example of the is the crown of thorns starfish that eat coral – there are too many of them
because their predator is overfished
o This means the coral reef is being eaten too much and dying out
 Trawling and Methods of fishing
o Trawling means that nets full of fish get dragged over the coral and damaging it
o Cyanide, another method of fishing, is used to catch large amounts of fish for aquariums – the
cyanide is used to stun the fish so that they can be caught alive
 The cyanide also poisons the coral
 Boats
o Boats from fishing and tourists can damage and break coral – especially when big heavy anchors are
dropped on them
 Fertilisers, sewage and Eutrophication
o Farmers use fertilisers and sewage on their farms – this gets washed off into the sea
o The algae in the sea then grows as more nutrients are loaded into the water
o Algae competes with the coral for space and light
o It reduces the light so that the zooxanthellae cannot photosynthesise and provide food for the coral
o This causes coral bleaching – where the zooxanthellae leave due to the change in conditions and
causes the coral to go white
o When the algae die they use up oxygen in the water – this means there is less for the fish to respire
and they die
o This process of ruining biodiversity with fertilisers and sewage from farms etc. is called
eutrophication
 Tourism
o Tourists pick up and step on coral which damages it
o Sun- cream chemicals can lead to coral bleaching
 Increased sediment from deforestation
o Blocks sunlight – coral can’t photosynthesise – causes coral bleaching
o Also can crush and damage coral

Goods and Services of Coral Reefs

 The coral reef ecosystems are worth up to $200bn a year in terms of the goods and services it provides
 They are important for tourism and divers, fishing and are a natural form of coastal defence
 Coral is home to 33% of all marine life and has the same level of biodiversity as he rainforest

Provisioning Services Regulating Services Economical Services

-food – fish and shellfish - carbon storage / climate -recreation and ecotourism
-genetic resources regulation
- natural medicines and pharmaceuticals -erosion control
-ornamental resources -storm protection
- building materials
CASE STUDY: St Lucia

Value of the Coral Reefs to St Lucia

 Coral reef tourism and recreation (like diving)
brings in $160 – 194mil a year (almost 20% of St
Lucia’s GDP) and it is considered that 25% of
visitors to St Lucia come for factors related to the
Coral Reefs
 Coral reef associated fisheries brings in $0.5-
0.8mil a year
 The coral also is a natural method of shoreline
protection and saves St Lucia around $28-50mill
a year and 44% of St Lucia’s coastline is
protected by coral reefs

How are the coral reefs threatened?

 Coastal development- causing pollution and corals cannot survive in polluted water
 Sewage, sedimentation and deforestation blocking the sunlight – coral bleacing
 Tourism is increasing meaning increasing damage of corals
o Sun-cream use causing coral bleaching
 Overfishing
o The black spine sea urchin died out - The sea urchin ate the algae and seaweed – but as they
weren’t getting eaten they grew more and blocked out the sunlight – causing coral bleaching
and coral damage
 Warming Seas (global warming)

Management – Soufriere Marine Management Area (SMMA)

 Marine Reserves/ no go areas
o These reserves have been set aside – only scientific research, divers and snorkelers with a special
purchased permit can go in the areas
o Has allowed marine life to flourish and fish stocks to
regenerate
 Fishing priority areas
o Only fishing is really allowed to go on in these areas –
other uses can happen if it doesn’t interfere with the
fishermen
 Recreational areas
o Beaches where tourism and locals can enjoy
recreational activities
 Multiple use areas
o Can be used by all – as long as they are abiding by the
SMMA rules
 Yacht Mooring areas
o As anchoring is not permitted in the SMMA mooring
areas are provided for yachts

Conflicts
 Conservationist vs. Local Fishermen
o Conservationist: Want to see reefs protected and bans
on catching important species and a quota for numbers of fish caught
  Problems with this: If too many restriction it could drive up illegal fishing if locals have not
alternative
o Fishermen: Only catch enough fish to feed families and sell a little for surplus income
 Problems with this: Pots and nets used to catch fish damage coral and reduce breeding stock
of fish
 Local People vs. Govt.
o Locals: 20% of population living below poverty line and 15% are unemployed – have to do what they
can to support their families
 Problems with this: They do what they can to make an income – this including deforestation
and damaging fishing methods, like using cyanide which poisons coral
o Govt.: Population is growing by 2% a year – need to support them but also need to manage
resources sustainably
 Problems with this: Due to the mountainous interior of the island, most live in coastal areas
– putting pressure on coastal ecosystems and resources

CASE STUDY: Firth of Clyde

Pressures on the Firth of Clyde

 Fishing
o Very important for local income
o However over-fishing has caused some fish (e.g. cod) to die out
 Tourism and leisure
o Falling Incomes from fishing have made them turn to tourism
o The tourist activities have caused wild life to be disturbed
 Sewage disposal
o In the past sewage would be flushed straight into the sea and damage wildlife
o Now there are new laws to stop this
 Military testing
o Testing ground for Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines – a serious accident would devastate the
ecosystem

Scallop Fishing in Lamlash Bay

 Much of the Firth of Clyde has been overfished
 Scallops have been heavily affected – they used to thrive in the past
 The machinery used to scallop has damaged the Maerl, their coral – like habitat, which was a home to fish
like cod and haddock
 With the Maerl almost gone – the fish have gone too.

Management in Lamlash Bay

 Lamlash Bay has become a No Take Zone
o No fishing from shore or boat
o No taking of shellfish
o Recreational activity allowed (even boating)
 In the No Take Zone they are trying to encourage tourist activity as they can’t get any money from fishing
 There is a £5000 penalty fare if rules are broken – good deterrent

Conflict at Lamlash Bay

 Conservationist vs. Local Fishermen
o Conservationist: Want to see the Maerl protected and the fish thrive
 Problems with this: If too many restriction it could drive up illegal fishing if locals have not
alternative – and could lead to a suffer on the economy
 o Fishermen: Need to fish for a source of income
 Problems with this: If they overfish there won’t be any fish left – so a loss of income in the
long term. Also it will affect the biodiversity of the marine life

Management schemes of maintaining and protecting the health of the oceans

 Dolphin friendly labelling – sets standards for tuna fishing (regional scale)
o PROS: protects dolphins –
o CONS: can lose money for tuna industry and makes tuna more expensive
 MSC tick certification – Charity set up to find solution to overfishing –(regional scale)
o PRO: rewards well managed fisheries – recognisable label – helps solve problems of overfishing –
o CONS: lost money for fishermen
 UNCLOS – they control the activity that goes on in the ocean and makes sure its sustainable and 40% of sea
is under their law – (International scale)
o PROS: prevents certain nations from getting unfair share of ocean wealth (protects against whaling
and sharking) –
o CONS: It is hard to control in some areas and global warming is creating new problems that would be
hard to stop
 International Whaling Commission (IWC) – Provides proper conservation of whale stock –
o PROS: Provides complete protection of some species of whales – provides whale sanctuary – makes
sure female and child whales are not caught – controls number of whales caught –
o CONS: bad for whaling industry