Noah Austin

Geography CIE IGCSE

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Noah Austin
CIE IGCSE Geography: Population
Dynamics

The study of population is often referred to
as demography. Population is one of the
most important IGCSE topics because other
topics are based upon it and it always
appears as a question in paper 1 of your
examination.

Population Density: The number of people
living in a given area, usually per km2.
Singapore is a country with a very high
population density and Australia is a country
with a very low population density. El
Salvador has the highest population density
in Central America.

Population Distribution: This is how a
population is spread out around a country or an area. If a country's population is distributed in a regular pattern
then we say it has an even population distribution. However, if there are areas with many people and then areas
with few people, then we would say that it has an uneven population distribution.

Two other good words to describe population are dense and sparse.

Sparse population: When not many people live in an area e.g. the centre of Australia.

Dense population: When a lot of people live in an area e.g. the Melbourne area.

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Birth Rates Death Rates
High

Lack of contraception e.g. condoms

Religious beliefs e.g. belief against contraception

and abortion (Roman Catholicism)

Agricultural based society (need for people to

farm and collect water)

High infant mortality (if some babies may die,

couples will be tempted to have more children)

No care homes or pensions so old dependents

will need their children to care for them in old age.

Pro-natalist policies (governments encouraging

couples to have more children)

Natural disasters (often only causes short term

increases) e.g. Indian Ocean tsunami

Conicts and wars

Poor medical care

Poor hygiene and sanitation

Poor diet (might be a shortage of food or

unhealthy food)

Drinking alcohol, smoking or taking drugs

Lack of exercise (sedentary lifestyle)

Shortage of clean water

Diseases e.g. cancer and AIDS

Low

Availability and affordability of contraception e.g.

cheap or free condoms

Emancipation (freedom) of women (freedom to

get an education and work)

Improved levels of education (especially female)

Reduced infant mortality

Introduction of pensions and care homes

Development of economy into secondary and

tertiary sectors

Increasing cost of children

Delayed marriages and less children

Anti-natalist policies e.g. China's one child policy

High cost of raising children

Immunisation programs e.g. small pox

Availability of clean water

Improved diet and knowledge of diet e.g. ve

portions of fruit and diet

Improved levels of exercise

Improved medical care

Improved preventative testing e.g. for cancer so

people can be treated before it kills them
Noah Austin
If a question only asks you to describe distribution, then you just say what you see on the map, using words like
dense, sparse, even and uneven. If places are named on the map, you can refer to place names, if not you can
use compass points to help you describe.

If the question asks you to explain the population distribution, then you have to start giving reasons for the
distribution. To do that you could some of the reasons found in the table below. Population distribution can be
impacted by human and physical factors.

When describing a graph it is important look for trends, changes in trends e.g. quicker increase, slower increase
and also anomalies (things that don't t the general trend). It is also very important to support your ndings with
evidence (this means gures e.g. dates and population gures). Below is a good example describing the
population graph to the right.

From 1750 to the present day the world's population has been constantly increasing. In 1750 the population was
less than 1 billion. The population rose very slowly for the next two hundred years reaching 1.2 billion in 1850 and
2.7 billion in 1950. From 1950 to 2012 the population started to rise at a faster rate. By 1975 it reached about 4
billion and 2000 about 6 billion. In the last decade the population has increased at an even faster rate reaching 7
billion by 2012.

Population growth takes place when birth rates are higher than death rates (natural increase). In most continents
of the world this is what is happening. The fastest rates of growth are actually happening in the poorest continents
like Africa, Asia and South America. However, in Europe death rates are actually higher than birth rates so natural
decrease is taking place.

Below is a table listing some of the reasons why birth rates are high in poorer countries (LEDCs), but death rates
are decreasing and also why birth rates are low in richer countries (MEDCs).

Natural increase: When birth rates are higher than death rates.

Natural decrease: Where death rates are higher than birth rates.

Birth rates: The number of births per 1000 of population per year.

Fertility rate: The average number of children a female is expected to have in their lifetime.

Death rates: The number of deaths per 1000 of population per year.


Theories about population and resources:

Malthus: Malthus looked at population and resources and believed that population was growing at a much fast
rate than resources. He believed that this would cause a series of preventative and positive checks. Preventative
Causes of Sparse Population Causes of Dense Population

Mountainous area e.g. Himalayas that are hard to build

houses and transports links on.

Very hot or very cold area e.g. Sahara desert or Antarctica

A heavily forested area e.g. the Amazon Rainforest

Areas that ood a lot e.g. Mekong river delta

No jobs

Poor supply of electricity, gas and water

Poor communications

Shortage of natural resources

No schools or hospitals

Areas that regularly suffer from natural disasters e.g.

volcanoes or droughts

Coastal areas that are good for shing, trading etc.

A at area of land that is easy to build on

Areas that are close to a good supply of water e.g. River

Thames in London. Water is important for shing, drinking,
washing, etc.

Areas with good natural resources e.g. wood or good

Areas that are close to good fertile agricultural land

Areas with good developed transport links

Plenty of available jobs

Available electricity and water supply

Good communications e.g. internet and mobile phone

network

Good quality schools and hospitals

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checks would be people trying to reduce population growth themselves and positive checks would be famines and
conicts.

: Boserup was a more optimistic person who believed that humans always came up with solutions to problems. Her
famous saying was 'necessity is the mother of invention' which basically means that humans will also nd a
solution to resource shortages e.g. desalination, development of renewable energy.

Carrying Capacity: The amount of people that the resources of a country can support. The carrying capacity of a
country can change with improvements in technology e.g. desalination, discoveries of new resources, or the loss of
existing resources e.g. volcanic eruption destroying farm land.

Overpopulation: When there are more people that the resources available. Overpopulation might lead to
unemployment, famine and homelessness.

Underpopulation: When there are not enough people to fully maximise the potential of a country. For example
there might be vacant jobs or resources that can not be fully exploited.

Optimum Population: When population and resources are perfectly matched. In reality this is almost impossible
to achieve.


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Population Density: The average number of people per square kilometre in a country or region

Population Distribution: The way the population is spread out over a given area

Demographic means population and transition means change, so the DTM basically means the population change
model. The DTM looks at how a country's population may change as it develops. It looks at birth rates, death rates
and total population. The DTM is usually divided into ve stages. Stage 1 is the poorest stage and stage 5 is the
richest stage.

Stage 1: Has birth and death rates. Because birth rates and death rates are both high (no contraception,
agricultural based economy, poor medical care, etc.), total population remains low.
Stage 2: Birth rates remain high, but death rates begin to fall. This causes total population to increase (natural
increase). Death rates fall because of introduction of basic medical care.
Stage 3: Birth rates begin to fall, but still remain higher than death rates so total population continues to increase.
Birth rates begin to fall because of better education and availability of contraception.
Stage 4: Birth rates and death rates are both low so the total population becomes constant (stays the same).
Stage 5: Birth rates start to fall below death rates so the total population actually starts to decline (natural
decrease). This is because of delayed marriages, cost of children and emancipation of women.
Population Pyramid: A population pyramid shows the age and sex structure of the country. It is a type of graph that
is divided into males and females and then age groups.

Young Dependents: The number or the percentage of the population under the age of 16.

Old Dependents: The number or the percentage of the population over the age of 65.
Problems Of Overpopulation Problems Of Underpopulation

There could be unemployment because there are not

enough jobs for everyone

There could be a shortage of schools and hospitals

There could be a shortage of hoses and informal

settlements grow

Congestion may increase as there are more cars, buses,

etc. on the road

Prices may increase as demand for houses, resources, etc.

increase (ination)

There may be a shortage of clean drinking water,

electricity, etc.

There may be an increase in air, noise and water pollution

e.g. open sewers, res, etc.

The rural-urban fringe may be damaged as informal

settlements are built

There are a shortage of workers

There will be less people paying tax

Schools and hospitals may close because there are not

enough clients

Public transport links might close because of less

customers

There may be less innovation and development (lee brain

power)

Not possible to exploit all resources

Hard to defend country

Necessary to attract migrants

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Destination Origin
Live Here (Pull)

Better job

Better salary

Better schools and hospitals

Peaceful and safe

Friends and family already living there

Friends and family

House

Know the culture

Understand the language

Understand how country works

Live There (Push)

Cost of housing

Racial tension

Language barriers

Different culture

No friends and family

No job

Low salary

Pollution and congestion

Bad weather

Crime

Poor education and healthcare

Poor housing
Noah Austin

Economically Active: People between the ages of 16 and 65. This is basically the working group.

Obviously some people stay at school past the age of 16, some people retire before 65 and some people work
after 65. Also some people between 16 and 65 might unemployed. However, when we are look at entire
populations we have to look at averages (the norm).

Dependency Ratio: The ratio between the amount of dependents (old and young) and the economically active.

Population pyramids can be related to stages in the DTM. If a pyramid has a wide base it indicates high birth rates.
If the groups reduce in size quickly it indicates high deaths rates. If there are a lot of old dependents it indicates
high life expectancy. If the base curves in, it indicates falling birth rates.


Singapore is a developed country in SE Asia with a population of about 5 million people. For many years the
Singaporean government has believed that Singapore is underpopulated and has tried to increase its population.
Singapore has one of the lowest total fertility rates in the world, standing at 1.1, which is well below the
replacement rate of 2.1. Already 36% of the Singapore population is made up of foreign nationals and in some
sectors like industry, 80% of the workers are foreign.

To overcome worker shortages, the Singapore government has encouraged immigration, but it is also trying to
increase the population through raising birth rates. The government is doing this in a number of ways. It has
increased maternity leave by 50% to 12 weeks and it will cover the cost of maternity leave (the cost to the parents
employers) for the rst four babies. The Singapore government is also increasing child benets paid to families.
The government will pay money into a special bank account of up to nearly $1000 for six years. The Singapore
government has also sponsored dating organisations to encourage people to get married earlier and start having
children.

If Singapore's policies are not successful it will become increasingly dependent on foreign workers, gradually see
an increase in the dependency ratio and ultimately economic decline.

Migration: The movement from one location to another location.

Emigrant: A person who leaves a country to migrate to another.

Immigrant: A migrant arriving in a new country.

Forced Migration: When people have to move usually because their life might be in danger.
Voluntary Migration: When people chose to move, usually for economic benet.

Internal Migration: Migration within a country e.g. Santa Ana to San Salvador or Birmingham to London.

Push Factor: Things that are driving you from the location that you live e.g. crime and pollution

Pull Factor: Things that are attracting you to a new location e.g. better job and nice weather.

Forced Migration Reasons: -Natural disaster (volcano, earthquake, ood, famine etc.)
-War
-Political persecution
-Religious or ethnic persecution
-Redevelopment or resettlement e.g. Three Gorges Dam





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Noah Austin




Geography: Settlement

Settlement: A place where people live. A settlement can range from one an isolated building to a capital city of
over 20 million people (e.g. Mexico City).

Site: The actual location or place that a settlement is built.

Situation: The area surrounding the site of a settlement. For example you might talk about if the settlement is near
a river, or near the coast or in a valley surrounded by mountains.



Rural settlements can develop in many different ways giving them a unique shape (morphology). The ve main
settlement patterns that you need to be able to recognise:

Isolated: Singly buildings on their own. These will normally be found in mountainous areas and will normally be
the farmhouse of a large farm.

Dispersed: When individual buildings are separated by several hundred meetings. They are individual isolated
buildings and do not form a single settlement.

Loose knit: When houses are built near each other and are obviously in the same settlement, but there is
spaces between them.

Linear or Ribbon: This is a settlement that has grown in a line. The line doesn't have to be straight, but will
normally follow a road, a river, the coast or the valley oor.

Nucleated: When all the houses in a settlement are built very close together, often around a central village green
or church.


When the sites of settlement were rst chosen, settlers would mainly have looked for natural advantages. These
may have included:

Water supply: Water is essential when building a settlement. You need water to drink, to wash, to water crops
and to cook. Water also contains sh that can be eaten and it can be used as a transport route.

Fertile land: All settlements need food so it is important to build need fertile soil, where it is possible to grow
crops. If a settlement grows a surplus of food then they might be able to trade with neighbouring settlements.
Rural Settlements: Settlements that are found in the
countryside (rural areas) and contain less than 10,000
residents.
Urban Settlements: Settlements that contain more than
10,000 residents.

Isolated Building: A single building. An isolated building is

normally a farm.

Hamlet: A small group of houses, normally about 5 to 10.

There is often no services in a hamlet.

Village: A settlement of up to 10,000 people. Villages will

have some services in them like small shops, a primary
school, a doctors surgery, bus routes.

Town: A settlement of over 10,000 people that has not be

designated a city.

City: A large town, in the UK a town becomes a city when it

has a cathedral in it.

Capital City: The main administrative centre within a

country and the home of the national government.

Primate City: The largest and most important city within a

country. The primate city will often have double the
population of the next most important city. Most of the time
the primate city is also the capital city, but there are some
famous exceptions e.g. New York, Sydney and Sao Paolo.

Conurbation: Two or more towns or cities that have joined

to together e.g. Birmingham, Walsall, Dudley and
Wolverhampton in England.

Megaopolis: A conurbation or a clustering of cities with a

population of over 10 million people e.g. Tokyo.
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Flat land (relief): It is a lot easier to build a settlement on at land than in mountains.

Defensive position: When sites for settlements were rst chosen (hundreds or thousands of years ago), battles
between settlements would have been common, therefore a good defensive location (on a small hill or
surrounded by water) would have been very important.

Building materials: Most houses would have traditionally been made out of woods, reeds, etc. Therefore it
would have been very important to have been located near a source of building materials.

Transport links: There wouldn't have been roads and railways when the sites of settlements were initially
selected. However, access to rivers, the sea or valleys would have been very important. If the settlement was
built next to a river, a site that allowed easy access across the river would have been chosen.

Fuel: Settlements would not have had electricity or gas so a location next to a reliable source of fuel would be
essential. The fuel source would normally be wood, or possibly peat.

Weather: Sites with fairly stable weather will have been selected. You do not want some where too hot or too
cold, too wet, too dry or too windy. To grow crops sun and rain
would have been very important.

Trading Location: Settlements may have also been built for

their access to trading routes. It would be very hard for one
settlement to be totally self-sufcient so trade was essential.
Coastal areas often make good locations to trade from.

Resources: It is useful being near resources like wood, coal,

gold because you can use them to build things or trade with
nearby settlements.

Function: The job, purpose or use of a settlement. Large
settlements will have more than one function and these functions
may change over time. Functions may include:

Shopping (Retail)

Business (Commercial)

Farming (Agricultural)

Housing (Residential)

Educational

Healthcare

Administration (local or national government)

Fishing

Tourism

Entertainment

Sporting

Rural Areas: Rural areas tend to have a lot less functions than urban areas. The main purpose of settlements in
rural areas is normally agriculture (farming) and possibly tourism. This is because rural areas have less people,
poorer transport, poorer communication, less technology and the land is better used for other purposes i.e.
agriculture.

Urban Areas: Urban areas tend to have a lot more functions ranging from shopping functions, to educational
functions, to transport functions, to administrative functions and residential functions. The bigger the urban area,
the more functions that it normally has.

Changing Functions

Settlements will grow if their functions are being successful and in demand. Alternatively if a settlements functions
fall out of demand or if the resource their function relies on runs out, then the settlement may see economic and
population decline.

With the birth of package holidays to the Mediterranean many British holiday resorts saw a rapid decline in the
demand for their tourist functions (hotels, piers, etc.). Also many mining settlements in the UK saw a rapid decline
when coal ran out or overseas coal became cheaper. However, other settlements like Dubai in the UAE saw rapid
growth as it promoted itself as an all year holiday destination. Some settlements try and change their functions if
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one function declines. For example as Liverpool in the UK has seen a decline in its industry and port it has tried to
promote its cultural, sporting, leisure and shopping functions.

Hierarchy: Placing things in an order of importance.

Sphere of Inuence: The distance or area people travel from
to access a service.

Services: Facilities that are offered to people e.g. supermarket,
cinema, school or train station. Services have a threshold
population, which helps explain why bigger settlements have
more services.

Range: This usually refers to the number of different services
e.g. a school, a post ofce, etc.

Threshold Population: The minimum amount of people required for a service to be offered and remain open.

High Order Goods (Comparison): Goods that people buy less
frequently. They tend to be more expensive and people will
normally compare quality and price before purchasing e.g. a
TV, car or holiday.

Low Order Goods (Convenience): Goods that people buy
every day. They don't usually cost much money and people
would not normally travel far to buy them e.g. bread and milk.

The hierarchy of a settlement normally depends on three
variables:

The size of population
The range and number of services
The sphere of inuence

Obviously these three variables are very much interconnected. For services to
be offered there has to be a minimum threshold population. When services are
then offered more people are attracted. As more people are attracted more
services are offered and the sphere of inuence increases.

As you move down the settlement hierarchy the number of settlements increase.
For example you only get one capital city (near the top of the hierarchy) in each
country, but you get thousands of isolated buildings (farms - near the bottom of the hierarchy) in every country.

Land Use & Land Use Models

CBD: The Central Business District. This the area in the middle of urban areas where there tends to be a
concentration of retail and commercial land uses.

Transition zone: The area between the CBD and the largely residential suburbs. Traditionally this used to be an
area of industry, but as industry has relocated these areas are being regenerated into mixed land use areas
including houses, shops and entertainment.

Suburbs: The ares near the edge of the urban area that has a concentration of residential land use. There will
also be some recreational land use within the suburbs and possibly some retail and educational.

Rural-urban fringe: This is the boundary between the urban area and the rural area (countryside). This area is
demand by multiple land users e.g. agriculture, recreational, residential, retail, industrial. The large demand can
often lead to conict.
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1950 1990
World 30% 51%
MEDC 53% 74%
LEDC 17% 34%
Noah Austin

Commuter belt or Commuter villages (dormitory villages): Areas of residential land use where people travel
from to their work place. People might access services near their place of work so commuter villages are often
devoid of any other land uses or services.

Greeneld Site: Land that has never been built on before, greeneld sites will often be used for agriculture.
Many countries are trying to restrict the amount of building on greeneld sites and encouraging building on
browneld sites.

Browneld Site: This is land that has been built on previously but has been left abandoned and often become
derelict. Most commonly browneld sites are former factories found in the transition zone.

Derelict: Land that has been abandoned (no longer used) and often become run down or vandalised. Derelict
sites is a sign of disinvestment (companies and people leaving an area).

Greenbelt: Greenbelts are protected areas of land around large urban areas. They have been used by the UK
government to try and protect greeneld sites and promote building on browneld sites.

Housing Density: The number of houses per km2.

Urban Sprawl or Urban Growth: The spread or growth of an urban area into the rural-urban fringe


Burgess Model (concentric circle model)

The Burgess Model was developed in 1925 by the sociologist Ernest Burgess. He based it solely on the US city of
Chicago. He noticed a distinctive commercial area in the centre of the city and called this the CBD. He then noticed
an area of factories which he called the transition zone followed by steadily improving housing as you moved away
from the transition zone.

The model is very simplistic, only based on one city and now largely out of date as periods of deindustrialisation
and regeneration have changed many urban land use.

Hoyt Model

The Hoyt Model was developed in 1939 by the economist Homer Hoyt. Hoyt based his model on 142 North
American cities. Like Burgess he noticed a largely commercial area in the centre of the urban areas (the CBD).
However, unlike Burgess' circles he noticed the development of wedges. He noticed that industry often developed
along major transport routes e.g. railways, canals and roads.

He then noticed that the poorer residential areas were focused near the industry while richer residential areas
tended to grow further away from polluting industrial areas.

Again there are some limitations because Hoyt only looked at North American cities in a period before mass car
ownership. Also like with Burgess' model many changes have since taken place in MEDC cities.

Prior to 1950 the majority of urbanisation occurred in MEDCs (more
economically developed countries). Rapid urbanisation took place during
the period of industrialisation that took place in Europe and North America
in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Many people moved from
rural to urban areas to get jobs in the rapidly expanding industries in many
large towns and cities. Since 1950 urbanisation has slowed in most
MEDCs, and now some of the biggest cities are losing population as
people move away from the city to rural environments.

Since 1950 the most rapid growth in urbanisation has occurred in LEDCs
(Less Economically Developed Countries) in South America, Africa and
Asia. Between 1950 and 1990 the urban population living in LEDCs
doubled. In developed countries the increase was less than half.

The three main causes of urbanisation in LEDCs since 1950 are:

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1. Rural to urban migration is happening on a massive scale due to population pressure and lack of resources in
rural areas. This are 'push' factors.

2. People living in rural areas are 'pulled' to the city. Often they believe that the standard of living in urban areas will
be much better than in rural areas. They are usually wrong. People also hope for well paid jobs, the greater
opportunities to nd casual or 'informal' work, better health care and education.

3. Natural increase caused by a decrease in death rates while birth rates remain high.

The UN predicts that by 2030 60% of the world's population will live in urban environments

Types Of Housing And Socio-Economic Reasons:

Council Housing: This is government housing which is usually given to people that are unemployed and have a
low income. The rent on council houses are lower than the rent on private property.

Detached Housing: A single house that is not attached to any other house. A detached house will normally have
a garden and a drive. These types of houses are normally found in the suburbs.

Semi-Detached Housing: Two houses that are joined together. They will probably have individual gardens and
drives. These types of houses are normally found in the suburbs.

Terraced Housing: A long line of attached houses. These are typical in old industrial cities of the UK. They are
normally found in the transition zone area and they would have been housing for people working in the factories.
They were very basic houses, often with no electricity and an outside toilet. Many have now been knocked down
or improved.

Bungalow: This is a house with only one oor. They are very popular amongst old people who nd it hard to use
stairs. Bungalows can be detached or semi-detached. They are normally found in the suburbs.

Flats or Apartments: These are buildings with multiple levels. Normally a at or apartment will only be on one
oor within the block of ats or the apartment building.

Tenure: This means who owns the house. Houses can be owner occupied, which means the people living their
own it, council houses which means the government own its, privately rented, which means a private landlord
(owner) owns it, or owned by a private organisation (housing association) and rented privately.


Even though the UK population is fairly stable the demand for houses has increased. The reasons for this include:

Family sizes are now smaller, so the average number of people per house is lower

There are more divorces and single people so more houses are needed

People tend to leave home younger so need their own houses

Many migrants are single and need there own house

People are getting married later, so need there own house for longer.

A lot of old houses are considered to be uninhabitable (no bathroom, etc.)

Old people are choosing to live on their own instead of moving to their family or moving into a care home.
LEDC Land Use Model

The LEDC land use model has some similarities to Burgess and or Hoyt. The CBD is found in the centre of the
urban area, just like Burgess and Hoyt. Factories are also built along major transport routes like Hoyt.

However, when it comes to housing, there are signicant differences. The high quality housing tends to be located
near the CBD and will be either apartments or old colonial houses. The richer people want to live near the centre
because that is normally where the best entertainment is and the best jobs are. As well as the high quality
apartments near the centre, richer neighbourhoods will also develop that have good quality housing and good
entertainment.
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Slightly further out you get poor, but permanent housing. On the edge though where in Burgess and also Hoyt you
found a lot of nice housing you nd poor informal settlements built on marginal land. The informal housing has
been built by migrants moving from rural areas to urban areas.

Industry tends to be focused on the main transport routes (roads and railways). There will not be much high quality
housing near industry because richer residents don't want to live near polluting factories. However, there will be
more poorer housing and informal settlements because the people can't afford to live anywhere else and often
work in the nearby factories.

The Docklands is found in the East of London and used to be one of the world's most important docks (ports). It
exported products made in the UK around the world to its Empire. However, with the advent of containerisation
ships started to get a lot bigger and they became to big to sail up and down the River Thames. Also the UK lost its
Empire so became less important globally. Many of the UK's factories also closed (deindustrialisation) and moved
overseas (offshoring). The process of deindustrialisation and containerisation meant that the Docklands suffered a
spiral of decline and became very deprived.

During the 1980's the British government decided that it needed to regenerate these poor areas and launched
UDCs (organisations aimed at regenerating areas). London Docklands became one of the rst in 1981. Since the
UDC came into existence, physical, social and economic improvements have been made.

Physical (environmental): 200,000 trees planted, 760 hectares of derelict land reclaimed, 150 hectares of open
space created and 17 conservation areas made.

Social: 22,000 new homes built, 10,000 council houses refurbished, shopping centres and sports centres have
been built along with new colleges. About $160 million has also been spent on education, healthcare and job
retraining.

Economic: Docklands light railways was built, over 135km of roads built, the city airport was opened and the
underground extended. The number of businesses doubled and the number of jobs tripled. Major businesses like
HSBC and Citigroup moved into the area.

On a slightly wider scale the Greenwich Peninsula was cleaned and the O2 arena built and nearby in Stratford the
2012 Olympic Games took place.

Urbanisation: The increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas. Although this can be caused by
natural increase (higher birth rates in urban areas than rural areas), it is more likely to happen because of rural-
urban migration.

Urban growth or Sprawl: A growth in the size of the urban area. This normally happens because of building in the
rural-urban fringe, although it may also include things like land reclamation.

Rapid urbanisation and urban growth can cause many problems in urban areas including:
Social Economic Environmental

As car ownership increases so does

the amount of pollutants released by
cars. This can lead increased chest
problems e.g. asthma.

People travelling to work have to

leave home earlier and arrive back
later, therefore spending longer away
from their families.

More cars on the roads increases the

frequency of accidents

More trafc jams can increase the

frequency of road rage.

More vehicles on the roads increase

the amount of air pollution, but also
noise pollution.

Increased car ownership has

increased road building which often
leads to the destruction of greeneld
sites.

The air pollution can contribute to acid

rain and the greenhouse effect

Building new roads is very expensive,

especially when private property is
purchased, thus cost the government
money.

Late deliveries caused by trafc jams

costs companies and the economy
money.

Workers also arrive late to work

because they are stuck in trafc.

It creates a reliance on oil and more

oil is used at slow speed than normal
travelling speeds
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Congestion (an increase in the amount of trafc leading to trafc jams)

Destruction of greeneld sites

Pollutions (air, water, noise, visual)

Electricity blackouts

Water shortages

Unemployment

Homelessness

Growth of informal settlements

Crime

Counterurbanisation and Suburbanisation: The
movement of people away from the CBD towards rural
areas or towards the suburbs (the edge).

Reurbanisation: The movement of people back towards
the centre of urban areas.

Rural-urban fringe: This is the boundary between the urban area and the rural area (countryside). This area is
demand by multiple land users e.g. agriculture, recreational, residential, retail, industrial. The large demand can
often lead to conict.




































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Geography: Plate Tectonics

Structure of the Earth

The Earth is divided into four main layers, the crust, the
mantle, the outer core and the inner core.

Crust: The crust is solid and is the layer we live on. The crust
is usually between 10km and 60km thick. The crust thickness
is often referred to as the relative thickness of an apple skin
(when compared to the size of an apple).

Mantle: This the thickest section of the earth with a diameter of about 2900km. The
mantle is often described as being semi-molten, but in reality the top is hard rock and as you near the outer core it
is beginning to melt (magma). Convection currents are found in the mantle.

Outer Core: This layer is believed to be liquid and largely made of iron and nickel. It is extremely hot with
temperatures up to 5,500 degrees centigrade.

Inner Core: This layer is believed to be solid, because of the
immense pressure placed upon it. It contains the centre of the
earth which is about 6,378km from the surface. It is also
extremely hot at about 5,500 degrees centigrade.

Sometimes you will here the crust and the upper
layer of the mantle referred to as the lithosphere.
Below the lithosphere but also in the mantle you nd
the asthenosphere. This region lies between 100km
and 200km. You do not need to remember these two
terms in your exams.

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225 million years ago all the continents are believed to have been joined together in one supercontinent called
Pangaea. Over millions of years, convection currents started moving the continents apart until there were two
continents; Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Today the continents have moved even further apart, creating the land
masses that we know today. The continents have not stopped moving so in the future the world will look different
again, for example Europe and North America are actually moving apart at up to 10cm a year, but North America
and Asia are moving closer together.

The tectonic plates are being moved by convection currents found within the mantle of the earth. Below is a
summary of how convection currents work:
Magma (semi-molten rock) near the outer core is heated.
As the magma warms it expands and becomes less dense.
The less dense magma then starts to rise towards the crust
As the magma nears the crust it begins to cool.
The cooling magma becomes denser and begins to sink
The rising and falling magma creates circular currents with the mantle
It are these currents that create friction with the crust above and causes it to move.
The process is known as convection currents

Constructive Plate Boundary

At a constructive or divergent plate boundary two oceanic plates are moving apart. Constructive plate boundaries
are found under the ocean e.g. Atlantic Ocean and cause the process of sea oor spreading (basically the ocean
oor getting wider). The movement apart of the plates allows magma to escape from the mantle below. When the
magma touches the ocean it cools and forms new land creating an oceanic ridge. The world's best example of an
ocean ridge is the Mid-Atlantic ridge. Overtime ridges can break the surface of the water and form new islands e.g.
Iceland. Because the plates are moving apart, there is not a large build of friction so earthquakes tend to be fairly
gentle. Volcanoes tend to be less violent than at destructive plate boundaries but can be more constant. Volcanoes
can also cause the problems of lahars in Iceland. This is basically the lava melting the snow above and causing a
mudslide.


Oceanic Crust Continental Crust

Oceanic crust is younger

Oceanic crust is normally

thinner

Oceanic crust is denser

(heavier)

Oceanic crust can be

destroyed

Oceanic crust can be made

Continental crust is older

Continental crust is normally

thicker

Continental crust is less

dense (lighter)

Continental crust can't be

made

Continental crust can't be

destroyed.
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Destructive Plate Boundary

A destructive or convergent plate boundary is when
oceanic and continental crust collide. The denser
oceanic crust is forced (subducted) under the continental plate. Huge amounts of heat from the mantle and also
friction cause the oceanic plate to start melting in the subduction zone. The continental plate can not be destroyed
so is forced up to make fold mountains e.g. Andes in South America. As the oceanic plate melts, it expands,
becoming less dense. This causes some of the
magma to rise to the surface through the fold
mountains creating volcanoes. Where the oceanic
plate subducts under the continental plate a very
deep ocean trench is created. This is basically a
deep valley in the sea. Ocean trenches are the
deepest sections of the world's oceans. Big
earthquakes are found at destructive plate
boundaries because of the build up of pressure
between the two plates.

If a destructive plate boundary is found at sea, the
continental crust (or less dense oceanic crust) is
forced up to make an island arc instead of fold
mountains. There are many examples of island arcs
including the Caribbean, Indonesia, Japan and New
Zealand.

Conservative Plate Boundary

A conservative or transform boundary happens when two continental plates move alongside each other. Because
plates are not being forced up or down, there are no major landforms found at these boundaries. Also because
crust is not being destroyed, no magma is being created so there are no volcanoes. However, there can be a huge
build up of pressure between the two plates so massive earthquakes do occur. The most famous conservative
plate boundary is the 'San Andreas Fault' where the North American and Pacic plates are moving past each other.


Rift Valleys

A rift valley is a type of divergent plate boundary. It happens when a continental plate starts pulling itself apart. The
most famous rift valley is the Great African Rift Valley. Here the African plate is basically ripping in half along a fault
that runs from Syria in the north down to Mozambique in the south. The rift valley is over 6,000km in length. As the
plates pull apart the land in between the plates collapses creating a rift valley. Overtime this valley rsts lls up with
lakes e.g. Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika and then sea e.g Red Sea. Eventually the East of Africa will be
separated from mainland Africa by a new sea. As the plates pull apart magma is also able to escape from the
mantle below, creating volcanoes e.g. Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro. Sometimes the rift valleys are called
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Shield volcanoes are usually found at constructive

or tensional boundaries.

They are low, with gently sloping sides.

They are formed by eruptions of thin, runny lava.

Eruptions tend to be frequent but relatively gentle.

Noah Austin
grabens and the remaining higher land horsts or block mountains. When the African plate nally rips in half the two
plates will be known as the Somalian plate and the Nubian plate.


Earthquakes

Earthquake: Any movement in the earth's crust. Thousands of earthquakes happen everyday, but most are so
small they are not felt by humans.

Magnitude: This means how strong something is. Earthquakes are normally measured on the Richter scale.

Richter scale: This is the normal scale used to measure the magnitude (strength) of an earthquake. The Richter
scale goes up to 10 (although the scale effectively endless). The strongest ever recorded earthquake was a level
9.5 off the coast of Chile in 1960. The recent Japan (2011) earthquake was a 9.0.

Hypocentre (focus): This the actually location that an earthquake takes place. The focus is always underground in
the crust.

Epicentre: This is the location on the surface directly above the hypocentre (focus).

Aftershock: This is an earthquake that happen after the main earthquake. If the initial earthquake is strong, then
the aftershocks can be very strong. Japan has had several aftershocks of over 7.0 since the initial 9.0 earthquake.


The affect an earthquake has on humans can depend on numerous human and physical factors. These factors
include:

The depth of the earthquake

The magnitude of the earthquake

The duration of the earthquake

The local geology (soft or hard rock, solid or cracked rock)

The location of the epicentre (in a rural or urban area)

The population density around the epicentre.

The building design and hazard mapping near the epicentre.

The time of day (earthquakes at night might trap people in their houses, earthquakes during dinner time might
trigger more res).

The preparedness of the population (evacuation routes, emergency services, etc.)

Shield Volcanoes




Composite (Cone) Volcanoes

Composite volcanoes are made up of alternating layers of lava and ash (other volcanoes just consist of lava).

They are usually found at destructive or compressional boundaries.

The eruptions from these volcanoes may be a pyroclastic ow rather than a lava ow. A pyroclastic ow is a
mixture of hot steam, ash, rock and dust.

A pyroclastic ow can roll down the sides of a volcano at very high speeds and with temperatures of over 400C.

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Living Near Volcanoes

Even though volcanoes are extremely hazardous places, many people still choose to live on, or near them.
Some of the reasons why people do this include:

Their beauty, places like Mount St. Helen's are beautiful to look at and enjoy.

Minerals, it is possible to mine minerals like sulphur from volcanoes

Geothermal potential (cheap and clean renewable energy) e.g. Iceland.and El Salvador

Tourism - tourists like to view and walk up volcanoes e.g. Santa Ana volcano or Pacaya volcano

There is often hot springs near volcanoes which tourists and

locals can enjoy e.g. Mt. Arenal in Costa Rica or the hundreds
of onsens in Japan.

Land around volcanoes is very fertile because of all the

minerals, therefore many people choose to farm the land.

Poverty, people simply can't afford to live anywhere else apart

from the marginal land on volcanoes

Complacency or naivety because the volcano has not erupted

for a long time.

Condence that they will be given adequate warning to

evacuate

Family home. Family have always lived in the area and don't
want to leave

Shortage of space and high population density. San Salvador

is slowly growing up El Boqueron because of the shortage of
space.
Geography: Weathering
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Weathering: Is the break-up and decomposition of rocks in-situ (in their place of origin). Weathering does not
involve the movement of material and this makes it different to erosion.

Weathering can be broken into either two or three categories:

Chemical Weathering: The break down of rocks caused by a change in their chemical make-up.

Physical or Mechanical Weathering: The break down of rocks caused by physical processes with no change in
the rocks chemical make up.

Biological Weathering: Biological is sometimes included within physical weathering. Biological weathering is
when ora and fauna break down the rock e.g. growing roots systems or burrowing animals.

Chemical Weathering

Carbonation: This is caused by carbonic acid which occurs naturally in rainwater. Although only a very weak acid,
it chemically reacts with rocks such as limestone and slowly dissolves them. Areas that have standing rainwater
are going to experience higher rates of carbonation, therefore its is less likely to happen in dry countries and on
steep slopes. The dissolved rock then gets washed away.

Oxidation: This occurs when iron compounds within rock,
reacts with oxygen to produce a reddish-brown coating.

Physical
Weathering

Freeze Thaw: This
occurs in areas with
moisture and a high diurnal (daily)
temperature range that falls
below zero. As water freezes it expands placing pressure on the rock around it. When
it thaws more water is able to enter the crack and then it is able to freeze again. This
process continues, slowly breaking down the rock.

Exfoliation: Again this tends to happen is areas with a high diurnal temperature range (very hot in the day and
cold at night). During the day rock heats up and expands and during the night it cools down and contracts. These
changes in temperature and shape cause the rock to weaken and layers beginning to peel off, just like an onion.

Biological Weathering

Root Systems: As plants on rocks grow, their root systems borrow down, boring in to the rock, and cracking it
open.

Chelation: Rocks are broken down by organic acids released by decomposing organic matter.

Factors Affecting the Rate of Weathering

Geology: The type of rock, is extremely important in affecting rates of weathering. Rocks with cracks are more
likely to experience increased rates of physical and chemical weathering. Cracks allow water to get. Soft rocks are
much more vulnerable to weathering than strong rocks. Also the chemical composition of rocks is also important.
For example limestone's that have large amounts of calcium carbonate are more vulnerable to carbonation.

Vegetation: Areas of land that have vegetation are more likely to experience rapid biological weathering. However,
they are also likely to insulate the rock from large temperature ranges, reducing some physical weathering.
Vegetation will intercept rainwater, reducing rates of some chemical weathering. Vegetation can hold rain water in-
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Noah Austin
situ though increasing chemical weathering and some mosses contain chemicals that can increase chemical
weathering.

Climate: Climate is very important because hot temperatures increase the rates of chemical reaction, therefore
increasing chemical weathering. Areas with high diurnal temperature ranges will see an increase in some physical
weathering. Wet areas are going to see an increase in chemical weathering. Wet and warm areas are also likely to
see an increase in the amount of vegetation, increasing biological weathering.
external image 06s_weathering_climate.jpg

Relief: A steep relief can increase some forms of physical weathering, but can slow chemical weathering. Most
forms of chemical weathering need rain to be stationary, but steep slopes encourage fast surface run-off. However,
a steep slope will cause weathered rocks to fall away quicker exposing fresh rock beneath to be weathered.

Aspect: This is the direction a slope is facing. The direction it faces can affect the amount of sunshine it receives.
If a slope is facing the sun it might have more vegetation growing on it, increasing biological weathering. If it is not
facing the sun it might have less vegetation increasing the rates of chemical weathering and physical weathering.

Humans: Humans can inuence rates of weathering in many ways, they can add chemicals to water courses, they
can deforest or forest areas, they can introduce animals or remove animals.

Briey tropical areas tend to experience more weathering because of :

Large amounts of rainfall increasing chemical weathering

Large amounts of vegetation increasing biological weathering

They are nearer to the equator so there are high temperatures and faster rates of chemical reaction

Some areas (high areas and desert areas) have higher diurnal temperature range.






Geography: River Processes

Source: The start of the river, normally found in mountainous areas.

Mouth: The end of the river, this is normally where a river enters the sea, but it can be where it enters a lake.

Tributary: A small river that ows into a bigger river

Conuence: Where two rivers join/meet.

Estuary: The section of the river near the mouth that is tidal.

Drainage basin (catchment area):
The area of land that drains into one
river and its tributaries. A drainage
basin is known as an open system
because water can be added and
lost.

Watershed: The dividing line
between two drainage basins.

River Long Prole: The long prole
is the course the river takes from its
source to its mouth. The long prole is
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often split into upper course and lower course (and sometimes middle course as well). The upper course is near
the source and is normally found in mountainous areas. The lower course is near the mouth and on much atter
ground nearer sea level. Some rivers may have their mouth in lakes or wetland areas e.g. the Okovanga in
Botswana, but this is unusual.













Bed: the bottom of the river channel.

Bank: The sides of the river channel. A river has two banks.

Wetted Perimeter: The length of the bed and the banks in contact with the river.

Channel: The route course (between bed and banks) that a river ows. The ow of the river is often described as
channel ow.

Thalweg: The fastest part of the river. The thalweg is
always near the middle of the river channel, where there is
least friction.

Erosion: the process of wearing something away.
The river erodes in four main ways; attrition,
corrosion, corrasion and hydraulic
action.

Corrasion (abrasion): The process of a rivers'
load crashing and rubbing into a rivers' banks
and bed causing pieces to break off.

Corrosion (solution): The process
of water dissolving a rivers' load as
well as its bed and banks.

Hydraulic action: Water and air getting into cracks in a rivers banks and bed causing erosion through increased
pressure.

Attrition: Load crashing into each other in a river. This normally happens with suspended load.

Remember in the upper course near the source there is more vertical erosion and in the lower course near the
mouth, there is more horizontal (lateral) erosion.

This is because near the source a rivers' load is bigger and more angular and therefore less likely to be suspended
in a rivers ow. Instead it will bounce and crash into the bed, causing vertical erosion. However, nearer the mouth
load is smaller and smoother and therefore more likely to be suspended and therefore more likely to crash in the
banks, causing horizontal erosion.

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Because of erosion a rivers' load tends to get smaller and smoother as you move
from the source to the mouth.

Transportation: The river can transport material when it has excess energy. The
river transports in four main ways; traction, saltation, solution and suspension.
Material carried by a river is know as load.

Traction: The process of large pieces of load rolling along a river bed.

Saltation: The process of load bouncing a long a river bed.

Suspension: The process of smaller pieces of load being carried in a rivers ow.

Solution: The processed of dissolved pieces of material being transported in a
solution.

Sometimes a fth form of transportation is also mentioned; otation.

Flotation: When material is transported on the surface of the river.

Load: Material that is transported by a river. If the material is being
transported along the bed, it is known as bedload, load transported in a
rivers ow is often called suspended load.

Deposition: When a river does not have enough energy, it will start
depositing its loads. Deposit means to put something down.

The Bradshaw Model

The Bradshaw model attempts to show very simply how different
characteristics of a river change from source to mouth. The left of the
model represents the source and the right side the mouth.

Velocity: Is the measure of the speed and direction of an object (to be very
simple - the speed the river is travelling). Velocity is normally measured in
m/s (metres a second). It is commonly believed that the velocity of rivers
is faster in the upper course. However, this is not true, the velocity of the
river actually increases as you near the mouth, as shown in the Bradshaw
model to the right. This because the cross-section of the river is smaller
near the source so there is greater friction and also the discharge is smaller.
Nearer the mouth the discharge of the river increases as does the rivers
cross-section meaning less energy is lost to friction. We measure velocity with
the formula: speed = distance/time.

Discharge: Is the amount of water being carried by a river. Discharge is measured as cubic metres per
second (CUMECS). We calculate discharge by using the formula discharge = cross-section x velocity.

Cross-section: The cross-section of the river is the width of the river times the depth of the river. A river's cross-
section will get bigger as it moves from the source to the mouth. Because a river's depth can vary we normally take
several depth readings and calculate an average.

Gradient: Gradient means how steep something is. The gradient of the river will normally get less step as it travels
from the source to the mouth.

River Landforms

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Waterfalls: Waterfalls are where water descends vertically. Waterfalls are usually created by a change in rock
type. As the river moves from hard rock to soft rock, erosion increases creating a waterfall.

As the water falls over the waterfall it erodes the river bed and the bottom of the waterfall. This makes a plunge
pool and causes some undercutting. The undercutting creates an overhang which will eventually become too
heavy to be supported and collapse into the plunge pool. The whole process then starts again, which means the
waterfall is constantly retreating upstream towards the source. As the waterfall retreats it leaves behind a gorge.

Gorge: A gorge is a deep sided valley left behind when a waterfall retreats

Rapids: Rapids are sections of rough turbulent (white water) water. They are normally in a river's upper course
and are formed when you get layers of hard and soft rock. The layers of soft rock erode quicker than the layers of
hard rock. This makes the bed of the river uneven creating rough turbulent water.

Rapids can become popular with tourists who want to raft down them. Some of the most popular rafting rivers are
the Nile in Uganda and the Zambezi in Zimbabwe.

However, rapids can cause problems with transport, ships can not travel up and down rapids and it is very hard to
build bridges across them. They are also extremely dangerous if people fall into them.

Potholes: Potholes are holes found in the river bed.
Upper Course Middle Course Lower Course

Waterfalls

Gorges

Rapids

Potholes

V-shaped valleys

Interlocking spurs

Meanders

Oxbow lakes

Levees

Braided rivers

Deltas

Floodplains

Meanders

Oxbow lakes
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Load carried by the river is washed around in a circular
motion causing vertical erosion.

Delta: When a river meets the sea its velocity suddenly reduces. This reduction in velocity means that much of the
rivers load is deposited at the mouth of the river. If the river deposits quicker than the sea can erode then a delta
starts to develop. Deposition can mean that the main river channel gets blocked, forcing the water to nd
alternative routes to the sea by making distributaries. Deltas have very fertile soil and tend to be excellent for
farming. There are three types of delta; arcuate, cuspate and bird's foot.




Levees: Levees can be natural or manmade. They form on the edge of the river channel. When a river oods the
velocity of the river travelling over the ooded oodplain suddenly falls. Because of the fall in velocity (and
subsequent reduction in surplus energy) the river immediately deposits its largest load creating embankments that
line the river channel. Over time (and after many ood events) these embankments begin to grow in size and
become more stable. These are sometimes strengthened by humans or completely made by humans to try and
reduce ooding.


Meanders: A meander is simply a bend in the river. If a river is very bendy it is said to be sinuous. A meander
starts to form when the thalweg moves to one side of the river channel. This causes greater erosion on one side of
the channel and deposition on the other. Over time the erosion and deposition will cause the river to bend.
Meanders are constantly moving and over long periods of time widen the oodplain.

Slip-off slope (point bar): This is formed on the side of the river with greatest deposition (the inside of the
meander). It is simply deposited material that forms a small beach like area and gently sloping bank.

River cliff: This happens on the side of the river channel with greatest
erosion (the outside of the meander). It creates a steep sided bank which
often leads to undercutting of the bank.

Thalweg: The thalweg is simply where the channel ow is quickest.

Oxbow Lake: Oxbow lakes are created when two meanders connect (join).
The river will often nally connect the two meanders during a ood event
when the river is more powerful.The thalweg then shifts to the centre of the
river (and does not travel around the old meander) causing deposition on
the outside of the river channel cutting off the old meander and creating an
oxbow lake.

Floodplain: Floodplains are simply the areas of land that rivers ood onto
when they exceed bankfull discharge. Floodplains are created by the
constant movement of meanders. Because horizontal erosion is more
dominant in a rivers lower course, oodplains tend to be a lot wider in a
river's lower course. If you live on a oodplain you are at risk of being ooded. However, they also make great
farmland because of alluvial deposits.

Alluvium: Mineral rich load that is deposited on oodplains in times of ood. Alluvium is essential to keep farmland
fertile.

Bankfull discharge: This is when the river channel is full and can not hold any more water. If the river exceeds
bankfull discharge then it oods.

Bluff Line: The outer limits of the oodplain. The bluff line is found just before the gradient of the valley sides start
to increase.
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Strand line: This is the line of material left behind after a river
has ooded. The strand line is found on the outer limit of the
ood somewhere on the oodplain. A strand line
normally consists of pieces of wood and litter.

























Geography: Marine Processes

Waves are formed because of friction between the wind and the sea.
Although it appears that water particles in waves are moving forward, in
reality it is only the shape and the energy of the wave that is moving. Water
particles tend to move up and down in a circular motion. When waves near
the coast, the bottom of the wave is slowed by friction with the sea bed.
Because the top of the wave is experiencing less friction, it moves faster and
eventually topples over the bottom of the wave and breaks. The size of the
wave is effected by three factors:

Duration of wind

Strength of wind

Fetch (the distance that a wave travels)

Wave Terminology

Crest: The top of the wave.

Trough: The low area in between two waves.

Wavelength: The distance between two crests or two troughs.

Wave height: The distance between the crest and the trough.

Wave Frequency: The number of waves per minute.

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Velocity: The speed that a wave is traveling. It is inuenced by the wind, fetch and depth of water.

Swash: The movement of water and load up the beach.

Backwash: The movement of water and load back down the beach.

Destructive waves: Destructive waves have a fairly weak swash because the wave breaks almost vertically.
However, it does have a much stronger backwash. Because the backwash is stronger than the swash, destructive
waves erode and transport material away from beaches.




Constructive waves: Constructive waves have a strong swash and a much weaker backwash. Because the
swash is stronger than the backwash they tend to deposit material and build beaches up.





Coastal Erosion

Coasts being at the boundary of the land and the sea are
extremely vulnerable to erosion. They are attacked by the
immense power of the sea and the weather. Later you will
look at one of the fastest eroding coastlines in the world; the
Holderness coastline in NE England which is eroding at
over 2 metres a year. The main ways that the sea erodes
the coast are:

Hydraulic Action: This is when sea water and air get
trapped in cracks. The increasing pressure of the water and
air cause the rocks to crack.

Corrasion (abrasion): Rocks been thrown into the cliffs by
waves and breaking off bits of the cliff.

Corrosion (solution): The slight acidity of sea water causing bits of the cliff to dissolve.

Attrition: Rocks, sand and stones being thrown into each other by the sea current and waves.









Wave Cut Notch and Wave Cut Platform

Wave cut platforms are made in a similar ways to waterfalls and gorges (rivers topic). At high tide the power of the
sea attacks and erodes the bottom of the cliff. Over time this erosion creates a wave cut notch (basically an eroded
hole at the bottom of the cliff). As the wave cut notch gets bigger, the weight of rock above the notch gets greater.
Eventually the cliff can not support its own weight and it collapses. The process then starts again, with the erosion
of the sea making a new wave cut notch. As the process continues the cliff starts to move backwards (retreat).
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Because the cliff is moving backwards a wave cut platform (an expanse of bare rock) is created. Wave cut
platforms are only visible at low tide.


Caves, Arches, Stacks and Stumps

Caves, arches, stacks and stumps are usually found on headlands, where wave refraction is causing erosion on
three sides. The waves always look for weaknesses in the headland (cracks and joints). If they nd a crack or a
joint they will start attacking it. Hydraulic pressure will be the main type of erosion. Overtime the crack may turn
into a cave. Slowly the cave will get bigger and cut all the way through the headland, making an arch. As the arch
gets bigger the weight of the arch roof gets too great and it collapses, leaving a stack. The stack is then eroded by
the sea and weathered from the air leaving a stump.

Blowhole: Sometimes the sea may erode through to the top of the headland (following a large crack). If this
happens a blowhole is created.

Bays and Headlands

Bays and headlands are formed in a very similar way to rapids (rivers topic). They are formed when you get
alternate layers of hard and soft rock. The sea is able to erode the soft rock a lot quicker than the hard rock making
a bay. The harder rock forms a headland.

Bay: An indented area of land normally found between two headlands. Bays are usually more sheltered so there is
less erosive power, meaning you often nd beaches in bays.

Headland: A piece of land that sticks out into the sea. Waves refract around headlands so they experience a lot of
erosion forming features like arches and stacks.

Longshore Drift: This is the process of waves moving (transporting) material (load) along a coastline.

Swash: The waves breaking and traveling up the beach carrying load. Waves will break and the swash will travel
in the direction of the wind.

Backwash: The waves returning to the sea with load. Waves will take the shortest possible route back to the sea
(gravity).

Longshore drift only happens when the waves hit the beach at an angle. It is the process of the swash transporting
material up the beach at an angle and the backwash returning directly under the force of gravity that causes
material to be transported along the beach.

Prevailing (or dominant) Wind: This is the direction that the wind normally hits a coastline.

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Groynes: Groynes are wooden or concrete fences (walls) placed out into
the sea to stop longshore drift happening.

Sea currents: Currents are the movement of water caused by differences
in temperature, changes in wind or tides. Currents can be extremely
strong and can transport large amount of material.

Saltation: The wind can also transport sand and even small stones across
a beach. The process of the wind bouncing sand and small stones across
a beach is known as saltation.

Spits: A spit is a long thin stretch of sand connected to the mainland but
stretching out into the sea. Spits are formed in areas of calmer water
where the sea has less energy. They are normally found near the mouths
of rivers where the coastline changes direction creating some protection.
Longshore drift happens in the direction of the prevailing (dominant) wind.
When the direction of the coast changes, longshore drift does not stop, but
continues out into the sea. If the sea has less energy (because it is
protected), material is deposited instead of transported. If deposition is
greater than erosion, then overtime a spit will build up. The end of the spit
is usually hooked because of occasional winds and storms that blow in the
opposite direction of the prevailing wind.

Bar: A spit that connects two headlands or runs across the face of a small
cove (bay).

Sand Dunes are very dynamic, which means they are constantly
changing. Sand dunes are found behind berms and are basically an
extension of the beach. They are formed by dry sand being blown up the beach.

Embryo Dune: Embryo dunes are the starting dunes of sand dunes. They form in the sheltered area behind the
berm and strand line.

Foredunes: Small embryo dunes can join to make foredunes. Foredunes tend to be very yellow because they only
have limited vegetation so no real humus layer develops.

Yellow Dunes: Sea couch and marram grass begin to grow on the foredunes so they become more stable and
grow. As the dune grows and the vegetation develops a humus layer develops.

Grey Dunes: A developing humus layers starts changing the colour of the dune from yellow to grey.

Mature dunes: As the humus layers grows more, the dunes can sustain more plants, owers and even trees.

Dune slack: As the size of the dunes develop water can collect between the dunes. Marsh plants can grow in
these wet areas.

Blowout: A blowout is a depression or hole in the dune caused by the wind.

Humus: Is the layer of decaying plant and animal matter that adds nutrients to the ground.

Succession: The changing types of plants from basic sea couch to trees is known as succession.

Water table: The line between saturated and unsaturated ground.

Saltmarshes

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Saltmarshes are usually found behind spits, in estuaries or on low energy coastlines. Because there areas tend to
have low levels of energy, deposition exceeds erosion. The continued deposition means mudbanks are formed and
they are exposed at low tide. Salt and water resistant grass is able to grow on these mudbanks, forming
saltmarshes.

The salt resistant vegetation (halophytic) means more sediment (load) is trapped and water is restricted to
channels, rather than the whole saltmarsh. As the height of the saltmarsh increases more types of vegetation are
able to colonise (move in) and grow.

The area of land that is inundated (covered) by sea water only at high tides and sometimes only spring tides is
called the sward zone. Plants in the sward zone can only survive being under sea water for a maximum of four
hours a day.

Coral Reefs

A coral reef is a line of coral polyp found in warm shallow seas. Polyp are tiny carnivorous (meat eating) animals.
Polyps live in groups called colonies. A polyp has a mouth at one end. The mouth is surrounded by a number of
tentacles. These tentacles resemble feet, which is how they get their name ('polyp' is a Greek word meaning 'many
feet'). Polyps cannot move from their limestone homes. They mostly feed at night.

A polyp reproduces by dividing its own body to form two polyps, or by producing sperm and eggs. Each polyp
builds a case of limestone around itself, using calcium from the water. It is like a house, with a oor and walls. This
remains after it has died and forms a foundation for another polyp to build a house on, putting a oor on the roof of
the old one. When these limestone formations increase, they are called a coral reefs.





Coral reefs are very delicate and need the following conditions to form:

Tropical sea conditions (between the two tropics)

Warm waters (must be over 18 degrees centigrade year round)

Clear water ( no sediment)

No pollution

Sunlight

Water less than 60 metres deep

Fringing Reef: Fringing reefs circle or fringe the coastline or islands. They are often protected by barrier reefs
further out to sea, so the plants and animals that live in fringing reefs are suited to low wave energy environments.

Barrier Reef: These occur further from the sea and are commonly separated from the mainland or island by a
deep lagoon. Barrier reefs are normally older and wider than fringing reefs. The Great Barrier reef in Eastern
Australia is a barrier reef and stretches for 1600km.

Atoll: They rise from submerged volcanoes. They are similar to barrier reefs in terms of biodiversity and form.
However, they are conned to submerged oceanic islands, unlike barrier islands which can follow continental
coastlines e.g. Great Barrier Reef.








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Geography: Weather

Equipment Photo Description
Stevenson Screen A Stevenson screen is basically a white
louvered wooden box. The box is
designed to contain some weather
equipment like thermometers and
barometers. The Stevenson screen is
white to reect sunlight and has slats to
allow air to circulate easily. The
Stevenson should be placed above the
ground and away from the buildings.
The idea is for the weather instruments
to take accurate readings of the air,
rather than direct sunlight or heat from
the ground or from buildings.
Barometer Barometers are used to measure air
pressure. Air pressure is normally
measured in millibars. Barometers
are normally kept inside Stevenson
screens to keep them safe. A
barometer has a movable needle
(pointer). The pointer can be moved
to the current reading so that you
can then make a comparison with
the reading from the following day.
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Max/Min Thermometer
(Sixs Thermometer)
A maximum and minimum
thermometer records the maximum
temperature of the day and the
minimum temperature of the day
(diurnal range). A maximum/
minimum thermometer contains a
mixture of mercury and alcohol. The
mercury sits in the u-bend of the
thermometer. The bulb at the top of
the tube reading the minimum
temperature contains alcohol and
the bulb at the top of the tube
reading the maximum temperature
contains a vacuum. On the
minimum side the expansion of the
mercury is restricted by the
contracting alcohol, on the
maximum side the expanding
mercury can expand more freely
into the vacuum. At any given time
both thermometers should record
the same temperature. However,
during the day they would have
recorded the maximum and
minimum temperature - a steel
marker should indicate these
temperatures.
Wet/Dry Bulb Therm.
(Hygrometer)
A hygrometer measures the
humidity of the air. Humidity is the
amount of moisture (water vapour)
in the air. A hygrometer has two
thermometers, a dry one and a wet.
Humidity is measured by using a
table that looks at the difference
between the wet bulb and the dry
bulb. A hygrometer can also be used
to nd dew point. There is a
difference between the dry and wet
bulb thermometers because of
latent heat created during the
process of evaporation.
Rain Gauge Rain gauges are used to measure
rainfall. Rainfall is normally
measured in millimetres. Rain
gauges should be placed on grass,
because if they are placed on
concrete, extra water can splash
into them. Rain gauges should also
be checked regularly to avoid
evaporation.
Equipment Photo Description
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Stevenson Screen

The Stevenson Screen is a small weather station that is used to measure local weather conditions. A weather
centre will include a M/M them., a hygrometer, and a barometer. Outside the SS there will be a rain guage, an
anemometer, and a wind vane.

The SS should be above the ground (1.2m) so that it does not receive heat released from the ground

The SS has a roof to protect the instruments from precipitation (rain affects temperature/humidity)
Wind Vane Wind vanes are used to check the
direction of the wind. Compass
points are used to give wind
direction. Wind is measured in the
direction that the wind is coming
from. Wind vanes are often placed
on top of buildings so that they are
fully exposed to the wind. When
using a wind vane you need to use
a compass to make sure that it is
properly aligned.
Anenmometer Anemometers measure wind speed.
Wind speed is normally measured in
mph or kph, but can also be measured
in m/s (metres a second). Digital
anemometers are very accurate, but the
more basic plastic ones that many
schools have aren't very good or
accurate at recording light winds.
Anemometers are normally placed on
top of buildings so that they are not
protected from the wind and so they
don't experience channeling of wind
e.g. if an anemometer was placed in a
corridor where wind was forced through
the readings would be higher than
normal.
Cloud Cover It is also possible to count day light
hours, sunshine hours or cloud cover.
To Calculate day light hours you need to
record the time between sun rise and
sun set. To Calculate sun shine hours is
a lot harder, because you have to time
every time the sun comes out
(stopwatch). To calculate cloud cover a
mirror is often used. You divide the
mirror into squares and then place the
mirror on the ground. The mirror will
reect the clouds and you can count the
number of squares covered or partially
covered by cloud. You can do this as a
percentage or convert to oktas which is
the normal measurement of cloud
cover. You have to take several
readings to avoid anomalous results.
Equipment Photo Description
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SS should be away from buildings, to avoid heat radiated or shadows

SS is painted white to reect solar radiation. No solar absorption = accurate reading of air temperature

Door of SS should be facing away from sun (N. Hemisphere = facing N)

Screen has slats to allow air to circulate freely around instruments

SS should also be away from hills and trees, so that air can circulate (SS distance from object=2x height of
object)

SS should be located on grass to avoid reection from white surface and absorption from dark (grass has an
albedo of 23%)

Climate Graphs

Climate graphs show the average temperature and rainfall for a city or region over the year. Temperature is always
shown in the form of a line graph. Some climate graphs have the average maximum temperature and the average
minimum, others just have the overall average temperature. The line graph is normally coloured in red. Rainfall is
always shown in the form a bar graph and
normally coloured in blue.

Climate graphs are very good for showing
averages, but they don't show anomalous
years, because it is based on averages and it
doesn't show things like the number of days of
rain. A month may have 50mm of rain, but we
don't know if that comes in small rain showers
or one big thunderstorm.

When reading climate graphs you should look
for trends and anomalies. On the graph below
the temperature trend is fairly easy to read. It
increases from January to July and then
decreases until December. The rainfall data is not as straight forward because some of the early months uctuate
(go up and down). Whenever you are describing graphs, remember it is very important to use gures with the
correct unit. Occasionally you maybe asked to give the temperature or rainfall range - this is the difference
between the highest and lowest total.

Synoptic Charts

Symbol Precipiation Symbol Cloud Cover Symbol Wind Speed
Drizzle Clear sky Calm
Shower One Okta 1-2 Knots
Rain Two Oktas 5 Knots
Snow Three Oktas 10 Knots
Hail Four Oktas 15 Knots
Thunderstorm Five Oktas 20 Knots
Heavy Rain Six Oktas 50 Knots Or More
Sleet Seven Oktas
Snow Shower Eight Oktas
Mist Sky Obscured
Fog
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Clouds

Clouds are a collection of water droplets or ice crystals. The warmer the air temperature, the more water vapour
(gas) that the air can hold. However, when the air starts to cool, water vapour starts to condense as long as it has
condensation nuclei to condense around.

Cirrus
Found high in the atmosphere usually over
5,500 metres
Common throughout the world
Thin and wispy in appearance
Move fairly quickly

Stratus
Low level below 2000m and sometimes
reaching ground.
Usually grey and colour and move fast.
Can produce light rain and snow.

Cumulonimbus
Large clouds up to 10km high and across.
They resemble giant cauliower.
Produce rain, thunder and lightening
Usually found in spring and summer

Cumulus
Fairly low clouds with bottom between 600m and 1200m
Look like lumps of cotton wool
Can produce light rain
Individual clouds have a short life cycle

Clouds are usually measured on oktas (0 oktas = clear sky, 8 oktas = total coverage). Students can do basic
calculations by dividing a mirror into multiples of 8. They can then count the number of full or partial squares
convert to oktas e.g. if 6 out of 16 squares are lled then cloud cover is 3 oktas.

Weather: The current state of the atmosphere in regards to temperature, cloud cover, wind speed and direction,
precipitation, humidity, etc.

Climate: The average (general/normal) weather conditions that a region or country experiences. Climate is
averaged over a number of years

Air Pressure and Wind

Air pressure is simply the weight of air pressing down onto the surface of the earth. When air is warm it normally
rises and creates an area of low pressure. When it is cool it sinks and creates an area of high pressure. Pressure
is measured on a barometer. It is normally measured in millibars (mb). Areas of the same pressure are joined
together on a map using isobars (isolines). Isobars look very similar to contour lines.

Air rises through the process of convection, it moves horizontally through the process of advection and sinks
through the process of subsidence.

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Wind is created by air moving from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. This can happen on a local
scale or on a global scale, as shown in the
diagram to the right. Theses global winds create
cells, the three main cells are the Hadley, Ferrel
and Polar.

All the cells operate similarly so I will just talk
about the Hadley cell. Because of the hot
temperatures near the equator, the land warms
the air above which begins to rises. As it rises it
is pushed out towards the tropics where it
begins to cool slowly and sink. The sinking air
then return towards the equator where there is
low pressure. The rising air causes convectional
rain near the equator. However, because of the
rain over the equator the air reaching the tropics
is very dry creating arid desert like conditions.

ITCZ: This is the inter-tropical convergence
zone. Sailors give the ITCZ the nickname the
'doldrums'. It is an area near the equator where
winds from the northern and southern
hemisphere meet. Where they meet there is very little wind. However, even though there are limited winds the
ITCZ has violent thunderstorms.

Temperature

There are many factors that can impact temperature. The most common causes are below:

Latitude: Places in the tropics (between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn) are much warmer than
places furthest away near the poles. This is because the sun is more overhead in areas nearest the equator.

Distance from the sea: The sea takes longer to warm than land, so places near the sea are cooler in the summer
because the sea cools them. However, the sea retains the heat better than the land so places near the sea are
warmer in the winter because the sea warms them.

Prevailing winds: If the prevailing wind is from the poles then the temperature will be lower, but if the prevailing
wind is from the tropics then the temperature will be higher.

Ocean currents: Ocean currents are classied as hot or cold. Hot ocean currents tends to warm winters and cold
ones cool summers. The UK benets from a warm ocean current travelling from the Gulf of Mexico.

Altitude: Temperatures on average decrease 1 degree Celsius for every 100 metres gained. This means that
some places near the Equator e.g. the Andes in Ecuador can be covered in snow all year.

Aspect: This is the direction that something faces. For example in the northern hemisphere south facing slopes
face the sun and north facing face away from the sun. This means that in the northern hemisphere south facing
slopes are warmer and ideal for growing things like grapes and olives.

Precipitation
Precipitation is any moisture that falls from the atmosphere. The most common types of precipitation are rain,
snow, sleet, hail, fog and dew. Clouds basically form when water vapour (moisture) in the atmosphere starts to
condense into water droplets. Water vapour starts to condense when the atmosphere can hold no more water i.e. it
is saturated. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air, so when air starts to cool water vapour is more likely
to condense. Therefore, the formation of clouds and rain is most likely to happen when air cools. The three main
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types of rainfall are frontal, relief and convectional. However, it is important to note that water vapour must have
condensation nuclei to condense around.

Condensation nuclei: Basically a surface that water vapour can condense on. This might be a piece of dust or a
tiny grain of sand.


Frontal rainfall: This happens when an area of cold air and area of warm
air meet. The warm is less dense so is forced over the top of the cold air. As
the warm air rises it starts to cool, as it cools it can hold less moisture so the
water vapour starts to condense. The condensing water creates clouds and
rainfall.

Relief rainfall: This happens when air runs into a mountain or hill. As the air
meets the higher land it is obviously forced upwards. As it is forced up the
air begins to cool, reducing the amount of moisture the air can hold and
causing the water vapour to condense, creating clouds and rainfall.

Rain shadow: A dry area found on the lee side of mountains. A rain shadow
gets below average rainfall because all the rain is deposited on top of the
hills/mountains.

Convectional rainfall: This happens when the ground warms the air above
it. As the air above the surface warms it becomes light and starts to rise. As
it rises it starts to cool, as it cools it can hold less moisture and the water
vapour begins to condense, creating clouds and rain. Convectional rainfall is
very common in tropical countries and is more likely to happen in the
afternoon once the air has had chance to warm, rise and condense.





Distribution of Tropical Rainforests

Tropical rainforests are found on or near the Equator (roughly between 28 degrees north and south). The main
concentrations of tropical rainforests are:

The Congo Basin in central and west Africa

The Amazon in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador

SE Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines)

Madagascar

North east Australia

Southern India and Sri Lanka

Central America

Remember when you are describing maps, if you can't remember the names of individual countries, then use
compass points and continents. You can also use lines of latitude to help you describe as well as general locations
e.g. inland or coastal.

Deforestation rates vary massively, one reason is the inaccessibility of many of the forests and the way people
classify deforestation. However, it is claimed that now only about 5% of the earth's surface is covered in tropical
rainforests, compared to nearly 15% 50 years ago. Many people believe that tropical rainforests could disappear
this century.
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Tropical Rainforest Vegetation and Adaptation

Emergents: Emergents are tall trees that grow above
the canopy layer in order to reach sunlight. Emergents
can grow in excess of 50 metres.

Canopy: The canopy layer contains about 50% of the
rainforests wildlife. The canopy layer is extremely thick
and sits at between 25 and 35 metres.

Shrub Layer: The shrub layer is near the forest oor
and is also extremely dense. Because the canopy is
so thick the shrub layer has to adapt to survive in less
light.

Lianas: These are woody vines that climb up other
trees to try and get into the canopy and capture
sunlight.

Strangler Figs: Strangler gs grow around the outside
of other trees taking their light and nutrients and slowly
killing the host tree. However, when the host tree
collapses so does the strangler g.

Butress Roots: Very long roots that are designed to
support tall trees and to suck up the maximum amount
of nutrients in fairly nutrient poor soil.

Fan Palms: Huge wide leaved plants that aim to capture as much sunlight and rainfall as possible.

Humus Layer: Rainforest soils are fairly infertile and dependent on the humus layer (decaying biological matter). If
the source of humus is removed through deforestation then soils degrade very quickly.

Evergreen: Most vegetation in rainforests does shed its leaves once a year. However, because the climate of
rainforests is similar all year, they shed their leaves at different times providing a constant source of biological
matter and keeping the rainforest green.

Drip tip leaves: A lot of vegetation have leaves designed for rainfall to travel over them and drip to the ground.
This is because the vegetation does not wanted to be damaged by large quantities of water.





Importance Of Tropical Rainforests

Biodiversity: Although rainforests cover only about 5/6% of the world's land mass, it is estimated that they could
contain up to 50% of the world's biodiversity. This is potentially up to 15 million species.

Photosynthesis: Tropical rainforests are often referred to as the 'lungs of the earth' and convert large amounts
of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide back into oxygen. It is estimated that the Amazon rainforest alone
produces about 20% of the earth's oxygen.

Flood control (interception, transpiration): Rainforests are an excellent natural measure to reducing ooding.
There is leaf cover in rainforests all year so interception continually happens, extending rivers lag time. All
vegetation uptakes water and transpires it.
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Control of soil erosion: The root systems of trees and shrubs hold the very thin soil of rainforest in place. If
trees are removed then both erosion of topsoil and landslides are more likely

Source of nutrients to humus layer in soil: The topsoil in rainforests is very thin and relies on the nutrients
provided by rotting plants and animals. Because of the rainforests climate, there is a constant supply of leaf litter.

Medical remedies: Rainforests have been the source of many of today's drugs, including the basic ingredients
for the hormone contraceptive pill, quinine (a anti-malaria drug) and curare (a paralysing drug).

Cash crops and agricultural products: Yam, coffee, rubber, mango, banana, sugarcane, cocoa and avocado
were all rst discovered in rainforests.

Ecotourism: With people becoming ever more environmentally conscious and looking for increasing adventures,
ecotourism to rainforests is increasing. This not only helps protect rainforests, but creates income for locals.
Ecotourism is an important income to countries like Costa Rica and Belize.

Home to indigenous groups: Although the number of indigenous groups and people have declined rapidly
since colonisation in South America, it is estimated that there are still over 200,000 people that consider the
Amazon their home.

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Reasons For Deforestation Problems Caused By Deforestation

Cattle Ranching: As the world's population gets bigger

and richer, the demand for meat is increasing. To rear the
cattle increasing tracts of the rainforest are being cleared to
make pastures for grazing.

Subsistence Farming: Because of the large amounts of

poor people that still live in tropical areas, subsistence
farming is still widespread. Because rainforest soil loses its
fertility quickly after deforestation, the most common form
of subsistence farming is slash and burn. With growing
populations this method of farming can cause widespread
deforestation.

HEP: Many of the world's great rivers ow through

rainforests e.g. the Amazon. These great rivers often have
the most HEP potential. Unfortunately when a dam and
reservoir are built it causes damage during construction,
but also oods large areas.

Mining: With an ever increasing demand for the world's

natural resources, countries and companies are looking at
increasingly isolated locations, places like rainforests and
Antarctica. The rainforests are believed to have many
resources including metals and fossil fuels beneath their
soils. Gold mining can be particular damaging as mercury
is used in its extraction and often runs off into rivers.

Road building: Building new roads like Trans Amazon

highway from Brazil to Bolivia not only causes
deforestation itself, but its also opens up new areas to
urbanisation, mining and farming causing further
deforestation.

Urban growth: With the world population increasing as

well as rates of urbanisation increasing many cities like
Manaus in Brazil are growing rapidly causing deforestation.

Population growth: As populations grow, particularly in

countries like Brazil, Peru, India and Vietnam that contain
rainforests the demand for land increases, both to grow
food and to live).

Plantations: Primary products are often seen as an

income source for LEDCs, many of who have large areas
of rainforest. At the same time with fossil fuels running out,
alternative fuels sources are been searched for including
biofuels e.g. Palm oil. This has lead to widespread
deforestation in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia to
plant cops like palm oil.

Timber (hardwoods): Hardwoods like mahogany and teak

that take hundreds of years to grow are still in high demand
to make things like furniture. The extraction of these trees
can kills trees around them. Also many countries like China
are also demanding large amounts of normal timber that
are not always taken from sustainable sources.

Hunting: Hunting takes two forms, one form is for

bushmeat to feed families and enough the sale of animals
either alive e.g. parrots or dead for their skins e.g jaguars.

Flooding: Flash oods become more common after

deforestation because there is less interception and less
root uptake and transpiration. As such rainwater reaches
the ground quick, saturating it and causing surface run-off
and potential ooding.

Landslides: By removing trees and vegetation, you are

making the soil less stable. Combine this with saturated
ground and the likelihood of oods increases.

Biodiversity loss: Because all the species that live in the

rainforest are not known it is hard to calculate species loss.
However, scientists believe that 1 mammal or bird
extinction can be extrapolated to approximately 23,000
extinctions.

Reduced photosynthesis: As more and more trees are

removed the rate of photosynthesis reduces, releasing
more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contributing
to the greenhouse effect.

Silting of rivers: With increased ooding and surface run-

off moil soils and silt is washed into rivers, this can not only
change local ecosystems (water temperature and clarity)
but can also reduce the depth of rivers making navigation
harder.

Silting of seas and oceans: With the increased frequency

of ooding and landslides more silt gets washed into the
oceans. The increased amount of silts reduces the
transparency of the sea reducing the light reefs receive and
the temperature of the water. Increased silt can also block
important shipping lanes.

Breaking of nutrient cycle: The top soil of rainforests is

very thin an receives the majority of its nutrients from
rotting ora and fauna. Be removing trees you also remove
animals and therefore the source of the soils nutrients.
With increased erosion the top soil (humus) layer is quickly
washed away.

Sandication/desertication: Because rainforest soil

loses its fertility very quickly after deforestation it quickly
becomes hard to grow any vegetation on it, leading to
sandication and possibly desertication.

Loss of indigenous homes: By clearing rainforests you

are obviously destroying the homes of indigenous groups.
But also moving close to indigenous groups can spread
disease and alter local culture and traditions.

Reduced rainfall: Deforestation can lead to reduction in

local rainfall because less water is intercepted and
transpired from vegetation into the atmosphere reducing
the formation of clouds and rainfall.
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Distribution Of Tropical Deserts

Deserts are located near the tropics (Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn). Some of the world's most
famous deserts include:

Sahara in Northern Africa

Kalahari in Southern Africa

Atacama in South America

Gobi in Central Asia

Arabian in the Middle East

Great Victoria and Great Sandy in

Australia

Mojave and Chihuahuan of North America

Antarctica is sometimes classied as a
desert because it actually has very low
levels of precipitation. However, when we
talk about deserts in this section of the
desert we mean sandy deserts.

Desert Climates

Deserts are extremely dry (arid) places. True deserts normally have less than 250mm a year, although some
deserts like the Atacama to the right can go years without any water. Deserts are very dry because the air that
descends over them is very dry. The air is dry because most of the moisture has fallen as precipitation over the
Equator (tropical rainforests) before being pushed out and falling near the tropics. The air is also very dry because
the air travelling from the equator to the tropics travels over land and not
the sea. This means that no additional moisture is picked up. Because
there is no moisture in the air, there are very few clouds in deserts
which means desert areas are exposed to high levels of incoming
radiation from the sun. This means that daytime temperatures in the
desert are very high. However, the lack of cloud cover also means that
a lot of outgoing radiation is able to escape, making desert
temperatures very cold at night. So even though the annual
temperature range in deserts is very low, the daily temperature range is
very high. The daily temperature range is known as the diurnal
temperature range.


Desert Fauna and Flora

Because of the very arid conditions found in deserts, both plants and animals have had to adapt to survive.
Adaptations include:

Succulents e.g. cacti: Succulents tend to be fairly fat eshy plants that are able to store water in their leaves,
trunks and roots.

Ephemeral: These are plants with very short life cycles - typically 6-8 weeks. This means that they can take
advantage of very short wet seasons in order to pollinate.

Long and wide roots: Plants in deserts have very long roots so that they are able to absorb the maximum amount
of rainfall during periods of rainfall. It also makes them more stable in very lose soil.

Spiky and waxy surface: Many plants like cacti protect themselves with spikes and wax so that they are not eaten
or damaged by animals.

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Deserts don't have the same variety of animals as tropical rainforests, but many insects, reptiles and mammals
have adapted to survive.

Nocturnal: Many animals will hide in burrows or behind rocks and vegetation during the hot daylight hours and
only emerge at night.

Camels: Camels store fatty tissue in their humps which when metabolised actually releases water as well fat
enabling them to survive in deserts.
















































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Geography: Agricultural Systems

Agriculture (farming): The production of crops and or livestock.

Aquaculture: The farming of aquatic (water based) plants and animals e.g. mussels, sh and seaweed.

Pastoral Farming: The rearing of animals.

Livestock: Animals that are domesticated and reared on a farm.

Arable Farming: The growing of crops.

Crops: Types of plants that are grown on a farm e.g. wheat, corn, rice and barley.

Mixed Farming: Farming that rears animals and cultivates (grows) crops.

Subsistence Farming: Farming that involves only rearing enough animals and/or growing enough crops to
support immediate friends and family.

Sedentary Farming: Farming that takes places in a permanent location. The farm and the farmer stays in the
same place every year.

Shifting Cultivation: Farming that moves from one location to another every couple of years.

Commercial Farming: Farming for the purpose of making a prot.


Hectare: A hectare is an area of measurement equivalent to 10,000m2.

Yield: This is the amount of crops that are harvested i.e. the crop output.





Extensive Farming: Few inputs/hectare of land (& outputs) Intensive Farming: High inputs/hectare of land (& outputs)

Normally a larger farm

Relatively few inputs per hectare

Relatively few workers per hectare

Relatively low yields per hectare

Normally a smaller farm

Relatively high inputs per hectare

Relatively high number of workers per hectare

Relatively high yields per hectare

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Advantages Of Large-Scale Commercial Farms

Economies Of Scale: When big companies can produce goods cheaper than small companies by:

Buying in bulk, negotiating with suppliers to bring down per unit costs

More units sold = cheaper per unit xed costs, such as overheads

Specialisation

High Yields

Cheaper Products


Human Inputs Physical Inputs
Labour (workers)
Machinery (tractors, combine harvesters, etc.)
Buildings (barns, silos)
Seed to grow crops
Animal feed
Fertlisers and pesticides
Calves, Chicks, piglets, etc. (small animals
bought to rear and later sell)

Soil: If soil is fertile then arable farming is likely to take

place, if it is less fertile and can only support
grass then pastoral farming is likely to take
place.

Precipitation: Water that helps water the crops.

Sun: Energy to help plants and animals to grow.

Alluvium: This is mineral and nutrient rich sediment

(load) that is transported by rivers and
deposited on oodplains in times of ood.

Flood water: Floods not only bring alluvium but also

water to keep the ground moist.

Relief: If land is at then it is easier for arable farming

to take place. If land is hilly then pastoral
farming is more likely to take place.

Drainage: It is important that elds are well drained so

they are not permanently ooded. Apart from
rice most crops and animals can't survive being
permanently submerged.
Processes Outputs
Rearing: This is the caring for and support of
animals to maturity.
Shearing: The removing of wool from animals, normally
sheep.
Ploughing: Turning over the land and preparing it for
planting seeds.
Fertilising: Adding chemicals to the soil to try and make
it more fertile.
Weeding: Removing alien plants (plants other than the
crops your are growing) from crop elds.
Irrigating: Watering the land.
Cultivating: To care for and grow crops.
Harvesting: The collection of crops at the end of the
growing season.
Slaughtering: The killing of animals once they have
reached maturity and are ready to sell.
Planting: Putting seeds into the ground.

Prots

Meat products (lamb, beef, chicken, pork)

Wool (normally from sheep)

Milk (normally from cows)

Waste e.g. animal excrement

Methane (mainly from cows)

Crops (corn, wheat, carrots, potatoes, etc.)

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Disadvantages Of Large-Scale Commercial Farms

Use Of Chemicals

Damage To Ecosystems

Soil Erosion

Inuence Of Supermarkets

Use Of Contentious GM Crops

There is a need for farms and the Government to manage these issues to ensure sustainable use of this farmland.

Starvation: Suffering or death caused by a lack of food

Malnutrition: Lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things,
or being unable to use the food that one does eat


Food Aid: A short term measure, used in the Sahel



































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Noah Austin
Geography: Industry

Industry: Industry is any business activity or commercial enterprise. This can include anything from teaching to
shing and accounting to house building.

Because the denition of industry is so broad, industry is often divided into four smaller categories. The four main
types of industry are:

Primary Sector: The exploitation of raw materials from the land, sea or air e.g. farming and mining.

Secondary Sector: The manufacturing of primary materials into nished products e.g. car building, food
processing or construction.

Tertiary Sector: The providing of services to individuals and other businesses e.g. teaching and nursing.

Quaternary Sector: The generation and sharing of hi-tech knowledge e.g. medical research or computer design.
















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Noah Austin
Triangular Graphs

Triangular graphs are excellent for showing three connected pieces of data that add up to 100%. In Geography we
can use them to present any number of things including:
Population structure: old dependents, young dependents and economically active
Employment structure: primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector.


When presenting a country's employment structure, you should
include the quaternary sector in the tertiary sector. You will learn
how to read and plot triangular graphs in class, but when
reading or plotting there are a few things you should remember:

When reading check the axis labels carefully

Always check which way the scale is going 0 to 100 or 100 to

0.

Remember that each axis of the graph is read in a different

direction

When you have read the graph, check that you have done it
correctly by seeing if your three gures add up to 100%

The graph to the right has had three lines drawn on it (moving
away from the point) to help read it, but normally the graph will
not have these three lines to help you. However, you may draw
the three lines yourself to help you read the graph.
































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Noah Austin
Geography: Tourism


Leisure: Any freely chosen activity that takes place in non-work time (IB denition).

Tourism: The business or industry of providing information, accommodations, transportation, and other services to
tourists.

Domestic Tourist: Someone who goes on holiday in the country that they are resident in (live in).

International Tourist: Someone who goes on holiday to a country they are not resident in e.g. they live in El
Salvador but go to the US for holiday.

Resort: A type of large hotel that offers extra facilities like swimming pools, spas, restaurants, bars, activities, etc.

Package Holiday: This is when all aspects of a holiday e.g. ights, hotel, transfers, etc. are included in one overall
price.

All-inclusive: A hotel or resort that includes everything e.g. food, activities and drink in one overall price.

Low-cost or Budget Airline: Airlines that provide cheap ights by removing all add-ons as standard and charging
people if they want then. For example if you want to check in at the airport or check a bag into the hold, reserve a
seat or even eat food on the ight, you have to pay extra.



Reasons for Growth in Tourism

Leisure Time: Most workers now enjoy a two day weekend and in addition are entitled to several weeks holiday.
This holiday time can be spent going on holiday.

Paid Holiday: Not only do an increasing amount of workers receive holiday, they are also paid for it. This means
that people do not lose their weekly income by going on holiday.

Income: More and more people are working in the secondary and tertiary sectors, where pay is generally higher.
Also many more females are now working. This means that more people now have money to spend on holidays
(higher disposable income).

Transport: Air travel has become relatively cheaper and there are now more airports open for holiday ights. In
addition road and rail networks have opened up new tourist destinations.

Advertising: People are now bombarded by holiday adverts on the internet, television, radio, mobile phones,
billboards, etc. This makes people more aware of holiday destinations and possibly more tempted to book them.

Travel Programs: There are a huge amount of travel programs on television so people are able to view
destinations that they have not heard of, tempting them to go.

Tourist facilities: Tourist facilities have generally improved and increased in number. There are now many more
hotels of all sizes and most have fairly standard services.

Freedom: More people, especially women and the elderly are free to travel and go on holidays. In addition
formerly closed countries like China now allow most of their citizens to travel.

Range of holidays: There is now a much greater variety of holidays that can attract potential tourists e.g. golf
holidays, diving holidays, walking holidays, cooking holidays.
Human Attractions Physical Attrations

Routes of interest

Religious sites

Architecturally/historically signicant sites

Memorials

Hotels

Shops

Towns

Lakes

National Parks

Volcanoes

Beaches

The sea

Mountains

Forests
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Noah Austin

Ease of Booking: The internet has now made booking holidays much more straightforward. Also package
holidays allow people to pay one price but have all aspects of their holiday paid for e.g. ights, hotels, etc.

Credit Cards: More and more people now own credit cards which makes booking holidays and paying for things
in a foreign country much easier.

Passport Ownership and Visa Regulations: More people now own passports so are able to travel and the
process of obtaining visas is now much more straightforward.

Retirement and Life Expectancy: People are now living longer and remain healthier longer. An increasing
amount of people also retire with a pension. This means that more people are t enough and healthier enough to
go on holiday.

Reasons for Growth in LEDCs

New Destinations: People are getting increasingly bored of traditional locations and want to experience new
and exotic destinations.

Exchange Rates: LEDCs often have weaker currencies making going on holiday to them a lot cheaper.

Advertising/Ease of Booking: LEDCs now advertise themselves much better and it is easier to book these
destinations online.

Transport: Many countries have upgraded their transport infrastructure making travel to them easier.

Security: Many LEDCs are now much more stable with less security worries so more people are prepared to go
on holiday to them.


Advantages Disadvantages
Social

Local people can perform traditional dance and

music to tourists therefore protecting their local
culture.

Tourists may pay to visit museums protecting

local artifacts.

Historical ruins may be protected or rebuilt to

attract tourists.

May improve countries reputation and create

cross-cultural links.

Encourages education in order to work in tourist

sector and should improve linguistic skills

An increase in tourists may cause greater

congestion, leading to longer periods spent
away from families. Also increased transport
may increase problems of asthma and trafc
accidents.

Tourism can increase certain crimes, like

prostitution and theft

People may become more materialistic and

homogenised with the arrival of international
tourists.

May create racial tensions between tourists

and locals
Economic

Jobs are created for local workers in hotels,

restaurants, etc.

Secondary jobs are also created in shops,

maintenance rms, etc.

Workers and companies pay taxes to the

government. This money can then be invested.

People learn new skills that can then be

transferred to other parts of the economy.

New equipment or technology may be introduced

to the country which again can be used in other
sectors of the economy.

Local infrastructure like roads and electricity may

be improved.

Many of managerial jobs go to overseas

workers. Local workers often get low paid jobs

There is economic leakage (loss of money

overseas) because many of the tourist
companies are TNCs and the prot is sent
elsewhere

Many jobs are only seasonal so workers are

only paid half of the year e.g. the ski season is
less than 6 months long.

The increased demand for products and

services may cause ination

Countries or regions may become dependent

on just one industry.

May place pressure on infrastructure e.g.

electricity and water supply
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Noah Austin
However, growth in tourism is generally postive, and that careful management is needed if problems are to
be avoided

The Butlers Tourism Product Cycle

1. Exploration: A newly discovered tourist location that only receives a very small amount of tourists.
2. Involvement: An area that becomes better known. Tourism is supported by the local population and they start to
build basic tourist infrastructure.
3. Development: Tourism becomes an important sector of the economy. There is more investment from foreign
tour rms. Infrastructure becomes developed.
4. Consolidation: Growth continues with resources diverted to the tourism sector. Areas may change to the
exclusive use of tourists, possibly alienating locals.
5. Stagnation: There is increased opposition to tourism, tourist facilities may become tired and the number of
tourist arrival plateaus or even declines.
6. Rejuvenation: A tourist destination rebrands itself or improves tourist facilities, offers promotions or improves
transportation.
6. Decline: No improvements are made to the tourist destination and the number of tourists continues to declines.





























Environmental

National Parks may be created protecting areas

of natural beauty

Animals obtain an economic value if people are

willing to pay to see them. If the value of the
animal is greater alive than dead people will
protect them. One good example of this is
Mountain Gorillas which tourists will pay $500 to
see.

Sometimes tourist developments may cause

the destruction of forests, sand dunes, etc.

Noise and light pollution created by tourist

developments may also interfere with animals.
Advantages Disadvantages
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Noah Austin
Geography: Energy & Water Resources

Non-renewable energy: Energy that can not be reproduced in the time that it takes to consume it e.g. coal.

Renewable energy: Energy that is naturally occurring and potentially innite.

Fossil fuels: Any combustible organic matter that is made from the remains of former ora and fauna.

Raw material: Any unprocessed material.

Global Energy

As the world's population continues to grow and as peoples level of development continues to grow, so does the
demand for energy. In traditional less developed societies the main source of energy tends to be fuelwood.
Fuelwood can be used for heating, cooking and even scaring away wild animals.

As countries begin to develop they can begin to afford to buy raw
materials and to build power stations. Most commonly fossil fuels are
burned because the technology exists and at the moment they are
widely available.

However, as countries develop further their sources of energy may
change again. They will probably still be heavily dependent on fossil
fuels, but will begin to use more renewable energy and probably more
nuclear. The reasons for the change include:

Greater concern for the environment

Rising prices of fossil fuels

The knowledge that fossil fuels are nite

Aim to reduce reliance on fossil fuel exporting countries

Improvements in renewable technology

The hope of developing and selling renewable technology

Better technology and increased stability allowing nuclear

development

There are always some exceptions to the rule. For example Costa
Rica gets the majority of its power from renewable sources and
countries like Lithuania and France get nearly all
of theirs from nuclear.

Different energy sources are used in different
regions:















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Siting Factors For Power Stations:

How is water used?

Agriculture is by far the World's biggest user of water. Water is used for animals, but the majority is used for
irrigation. The amount being used by agriculture is also increasing as the World's population increases and the
demand for food increases. Household or domestic use in the next biggest user. The most water is usually used in
toilets, but also washing machines and shower/baths use signicant percentages. Industry and energy production
also uses large percentages in manufacturing and cooling processes. The fourth biggest user is actually water lost
through evaporation and leaks in reservoirs.























HEP Three Gorges Dam, China Nuclear Sizewell, UK Thermal Ratcliffe-on-Soar, UK

As the third largest river in the world

the river offered huge hydroelectric
potential

The river valley was wide and at

making building easier

The bedrock was rm with limited

cracks and ssures making it stronger

There was a small island in the river

channel which made it easy to create
a diversion channel during building

Despite large parts of China being

seismically active, the area around
the dam has not suffered any recent
major quakes

There were towns and cities that

needed to be relocated, but in
communist China it was easy to
purchase homes and relocate people
e.g. Fengdu

China has a huge population (over 1.3

billion) so it was easy to mobilise
workers

Close to the sea so seawater can be

used for cooling

Close to the coast so raw materials

(uranium) can be imported and waste
exported.

Away from major population centres

who may fear impacts of nuclear
power (NIMBY)

It has a nearby rail link and road links

- nuclear waste is actually transported
by train to Sellaeld (a different
nuclear site)

Flat ground with plenty of extra land

available for expansion

It is on a slight plateau so sited about

the level of coastal ooding

Connections to the national grid

It is close to the River Trent so waster

can be easily obtained for cooling

It is close the M1 motorway so raw

materials can be transported to the
power station easily.

When built it was close to the

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire coal
mines - although most have now
closed.

It was connected to the national grid

It was close to the major population

centres of Derby, Leicester and
Nottingham - supply of workers

It was located outside of any major

cities to reduce protests (NIMBY)

It has a railway nearby to help with

transportation of workers and
materials

It was built on at land (oodplain)

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The Aral Sea

The Aral sea is an inland lake on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The Aral Sea used to be the fourth
largest inland lake in the world, with a surface area of 68,000km2. The sea is fed by two rivers, the Amu Darya and
the Syr Darya. Since the 1960's the sea has been shrinking because the two rivers have been diverted to irrigate
the desert. The USSR decided to irrigate the desert because they wanted to increase their production of melons,
rice, wheat and cotton. Rice and cotton both need extremely high amounts of water to grow. Because the irrigation
canals were built quickly, it has been estimated that up to 75% got lost through evaporation or leakage. Even
today, only 12% of Uzbekistan's irrigation canals are lined to stop leakage.

Between 1960 and 1988 the surface of the Aral Sea shrank by nearly 60% and its volume by up to 80%. By 1998
its surface area was only 26, 687km2 making it the eighth largest lake. At the same time the salinity of the lake
changed from 10 g/L (grams per litre) to about 45 g/L. In 2004 the Aral Sea was only 17,160km2 or 25% of its
original size. By 2007 it was only 10% of its original size and its salinity had increased to 100 /L (normal seawater
is only about 35 g/L).

The rapidly increasing salinity has largely killed the sea's ecosystem. Huge salt plains have appeared as more
water is evaporated. The salt on the plains is often whipped up in storms, killing crops and also cooling winters and
warming summers. The shing industry has collapsed and residents health worsened due to inhalation of salt, a
lack of clean water and food shortages.
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