Year 11 Physical case studies
Transcript of Year 11 Physical case studies
Year11Physicalcasestudies:ThefactsCoasts:
• CoastalLandformso Arch–DurdleDooro Stacksandstumps–OldHarryandhiswife/NeedlesontheIsleofWighto Spit–HurstCastle
• CoastalManagement• LymeRegis
o Impactsofcoastalmanagement:§ Newdefenceshavestooduptorecentstormevents§ Newbeacheshaveincreasedvisitornumbersandseafrontbusinesses
arethriving.§ Spoiltthenaturallookofthecoast–Angeredlocals
o Conflicts§ Fossilhuntersandlocals.Localswanttheclifftobestabilisedto
protecttheirhomes,thefossilhunterswanttheclifftofallsothattheycancollectfossils.
§ Localsandtourists.Theextranoise,trafficandlitterfromtouristshaveangeredthelocalpeople.
o Bournemouthcasestudy§ Groynes:Positive–Stopslongshoredrifttomakeabiggerbeach
whichdecreaseserosionasittakesthesealongertoerode.Negative–Woodrotsanditcanstopthebeachgrowingdownriverincreasingerosion
§ SeaWall• Negative:Expensiveandit’safixedheight,thereforeitcan
flood.Positive:Reflectwaveenergysoitreduceserosion.Lastalongtimesoitdoesn’trequiremaintenance.
§ BeachNourishment:AddingsandtothebeachPositive–BiggerbeachwhichmeanslesserosionNegative–Hastobeconstantlyreplaced
Rivers
• SomersetFloodso Impacts
§ Peoplecutoff§ Farmerslost11,500hectaresofland§ Cattlehadtoberoundedup§ Roadclosuresandtravelchaos§ Villagesisolatedandhomesevacuated§ Poweroutages
o Responses§ Thefloodingonthelevelsactiongroup(FLAG)supportedpeopleby
offeringhomeownerssandbagsandboatsfortransportation§ Riverbanksarebeingraisedandstrengthened.§ InMarch2014,8kmofRiverParrattwasdredged(Toincrease
capacityoftheriverchannel)§ InstalledgiantpumpsfromtheNetherlandstolowerwaterlevels.
Ecosystems
• Rainforestso Animaladaptations:Jaguar(Sharpteethtoeatprey,sharpclawstocatch
prey,spottedforcamouflage)Sloth(Slowtoavoiddetectionfrompredators,brownforcamouflage,sharpclawstogripontotrees)
o Plantadaptations§ ButtressRoots–BigtosupporttreesliketheKapoktree(50mtall),
shallowrootstoabsorbnutrientsduetoleaching§ Driptips–Waterfallsofftheleaftopreventmouldandtheleaf
breaking.Allowstherootstoaccesswateraswell.§ Lianas–Vinesthatgrowaroundtreesandgettothetoptoaccess
sunlighto Causesofdeforestation
§ Loggers:Cutdownthetimberandpulp.1980sMalaysianrainforestswerethemainsourceof‘tropicalwoods’suchasmahogany.
§ Miners:Digformaterialssuchasoilandgas.§ Roadbuilding:Improveaccess(Savesmoneyandpetrolemissions).
Alsoallowsbigtruckstocomethrough§ Energydevelopment:BakunDam(2011)inMalaysia.Asia’shighest
damoutsideChina.230kmsquaredofrainforestclearedand9000indigenouspeoplerelocated.
o Effectsofdeforestation§ Lossofbiodiversity§ Climatechange–Treesareacarbonsink(Takeincarbondioxide)§ Economicgainsandlosses
o Sustainablemanagement§ Selectivelogging
• Ifanareafallsbelowacertainpricethenitisnotlogged(Cutdown)
• Onlytreesthatareacertainheightarecutdownallowingyoungtreestogrowandmature
§ Debtreduction• USgovernmentreducedPeru’sdebtinexchangefor
conservationmeasuresinareasofrainforest• Somecountrieshavebuiltupinternationaldebtsoverthe
yearsandselloffrainforestlandforminingandloggingtocoverthedebt.
§ Conservationprojects• UNESCOworldheritagesitesareworldwideprotectedareas• Itisillegaltodeforestinthesesareasorbuildonthem.
§ Ecotourism• Smallscaleandaimstointroducepeopletothenaturalworld• Useslocalpeopleforworkandusesmaterialsfoundlocallyto
reducefoodmiles§ Internationalagreements
• Monitoringanduseofsatellitetechnologytocheckallactivitiesarelegal.
• Finesandprosecutionifnot.• NewYorkdeclarationonForest(2014)signedbyKelloggsto
halfforestlossby2020andhaltitin2030.
Deserts
• Developmentopportunitieso Energy
§ SolarradiationintheMojaveDesertisamongthebestavailableintheUnitedStatesasitreceivestwiceasmuchsunlightastherestoftheUS.Aretropicallatitudes,theblue,cloudlessskiesareidealforSolarenergy.Theseplantscangenerallybebuiltinafewyearsbecausesolarplantsarebuiltalmostentirelyreadilyavailablematerials.SolarEnergyGeneratingSystems(SEGS)isthenamegiventoninesolarpowerplantstheMojaveDesertwerebuiltinthe1980s,thefirstcommercialsolarplant.Theseplantshaveacombinedcapacityof354megawatts(MW)whichmadethemthelargestsolarpowerintheworld.Aspartofsolartechnology,wateriscirculatedincoolingtowerstomaintaintheuseofsolarpanelswhichputspressureonpreciouswatersupplies.
§ AltaWindEnergyCentre(AWEC)isthesecondlargestonshorewindenergyprojectintheworld.Itconsistsof600windturbinesintotalandaimsto"reducecarbondioxideemissionsbymorethan5.2millionmetrictons,whichisequivalenttotaking446,000carsofftheroad".
§ Thebuildingofthewindfarmsisintrusiveandcandestroythenaturallandscape.Furthermorethewindturbinescanblowthelightinfertilesoilawayandencouragesoilerosion.MojaveCaliforniaFrackingisausestheMojaveDeserttoaccessnaturalgasandoilfromtheearthusingaprocesscalledhydraulicfracturing.TheuseofMojaveCaliforniaFrackinghasbeenembracedbytheoilandnaturalgasindustryinordertobeabletohelpexpandsuppliesofthismaterialtocustomerswhoneeditTheoildrillingprovidesanumberofjobsandemploymentopportunitiesforeconomies.Anoffshoreoildrillingsitetakesaconsiderablenumberofpeopletooperate,thusprovidingjobstohundredsofpeople.Furthermore,industrieslikeshippingandtransportationbenefitfromoildrilling,andthusoildrillingresultsinjobsinotherindustriesaswell.Hydraulicfracturingrequireslargedepositsofwatertoperform.Inordertoaccesstheoilrigs,accessibilityhastobecreated.Duetoextremetemperatures,tarmacroadsmeltandstrongwindsblowsandontotheroadswhichincreasehumanrisk.
§ AGRICULTURE: Farmersusethelandindesertsduetothehightemperaturesbutdofacethechallengeofwatershortagessoheavilyrelyonirrigationtechnologytobettermanagethelimitedfreshwaterresourcesandfeedinggrowingpopulationsaroundtheworld.
§ Althoughthesoilsmaybeinfertile,aroundoases,watercanbefoundinundergroundaquifersanddistributedthroughirrigationsystems.
§ Commonlygrownproduceinclude:figs,dates,fruits,wheat,barleyandvegetables.Thevastareaofspaceavailableisidealtoprovidefoodforagrowingglobalpopulation.
§ InWesternUSA,theColaradoRiverisusedforirrigationbutassomuchwateristakenfromtheriver,thedeltawhereitenterstheSeaofCortez(nearMexico)hascompletelydriedup.
§ InCalifornia,thedroughthaslimitedwaterallocationsfromsurfacesources,forcingfarmerstorelyevenmoreongroundwatersupplies.Thesevaluable“waterbanks”riskdepletion.
§ Thereisalsoaproblemofsalinisationwhichoccursduetohighratesofevapotranspirationrateswhichleavesahighsaltcontentinthesoilandreducesfertility.
§ MINERALEXTRACTION:MolycorpistheonlyUScompanythatproducestherareearthmetalsusedindevicesrangingfromwindturbinestocompactfluorescentlightbulbs.
§ Rareearthsareusedinawidevarietyofelectronicsandcleanenergytechnology.Theytendtobedispersedintinyquantitiesthroughoutthecrust,whichmakesthemdifficultandexpensivetomine.Byminingthematerials,ithelpsUSmanufacturerstostoprelyingonChineseimports.
§ ItisestimatedthatonlyaboutonepercentoftheMojave'sgoldhasbeenextracted;there'stonsandtonsofitstilloutthere.That'sthegoodnews.
§ Therareearthmetalsarequarriedandtransportedvialargetrucksandlorriesoutofthedesert.
§ Thequarryingprovidesmanydirect(withinthequarrymining)andindirect(driver)jobswhichhasapositiveimpactontheeconomy.
§ Theproblemsariseasthesequarryminescanleadtohugeholesinthelandscapewhichcanleadtosoilerosion.Thetracksfromthetyrescanalsoleadtoasimilarproblem.
§ Duetotheextremeweatherandpresenceofvastbarrenareas,thereisverylimitedroadnetworks.Furthermoretarmacmeltsandstrongwindsblowovertheroads.Itiscommonforvehiclestobreakdownintheheatanddriverstobeleftstranded.
§ TOURISM: SouthernNevadaisthemosttourism-dependenteconomyintheUnitedStates.LasVegasrankedfourthinannualvisitorsbehindOrlando,NewYork(47million)andChicago(45.6million),butaheadofAtlanta(37million)andAtlanticCity(33.3million).
§ Peoplearedrawntothehightemperatures,humanattractions,casinos,waterfountains,waterparksandgolfcoursesthatVegasoffers.
§ Thetourismindustryprovidesmanywithdirectandindirectjobsandbenefitspositivelytotheeconomy.
§ Howeverasthedestinationislocatedinthedesert,itdoesputextremepressureonwaterresources.Thereisahighdemandofwaterfortheupkeepofhotels,catering,drinkingwater,irrigationandwaterparksandfountains,allofwhichareirrigatedfromtheColoradoriverwhichhasdriedupthedeltainMexicowhichcouldleadtosocialconflicts.
Managingdesertification
• Efficientstoveso TheToyolastoveinGhanaortheUpesistoveinKenyaareboth
examplesthatarebeingdistributedbycharitiessuchasPracticalActionandtheGlobalAllianceforCleanTheyaremadelocallyusingmoreavailablematerialslikeclay,andmuchsmalleramountsofwoodandcharcoal.
o Somealsohaveathermacouple,generatingsufficientelectricityfromtheheattochargeamobilephone-whichgrowingnumbersofSahelfarmersowntogainaccesstoweatherforecasts.
o cookstoves.• Terracing
o Preventrainfallfromwashingawaytopsoil&nutrientso Ensuresrainfallinfiltratessoilinsteadofrunningoffdowntheslope.o Cheaptobuild,onlymanpowerneeded
• Plantingtreeso Treerootshelptostabilisethesoil,whiletheirdecomposinglead
litteraddsvaluablenutrientso TheAfricanUnion’sproposedGreenWallisaplantoplantawallof
treesacrosstheentireSahelregion,runningfromtheAtlanticOceantotheIndianOcean.Itoffershopeforsustainabledevelopmentamongcommunities,andwillbringworktopoorcommunities.
NaturalHazards
• Whylivenearavolcano(Iceland)o Geothermalenergyo Mineralso Tourismo Nochoice
• Preparingforearthquakes/volcanoeso EarthquakeDrillso Appropriatetechnology
§ Bamboohousesproventowithstandearthquakeshaking§ 20%cheaperandemployslocalpeople
o Disasterpreventiondayonthe1stSeptembereveryyear
o Plateboundaries:§ Conservative–SanAndreas§ Collision–Himalaya§ Destructive–SendaiinJapan,MtStHelens(Pacificringoffire)§ Constructive-Iceland
Weatherandclimate
• Tropicalstorms(Katrina)o Effects:1700dead,$81.2bnindamage,80%ofthelandwasflooded.o Responses:80%ofthetownwasevacuated,£1bnoftheaidwaslost
tofraud(Footballtickets,diamondjewellery)7000activetroopmemberscomeintosupport
• WeatherhazardsintheUKo Somerset(seeabove)o BeastfromtheEast
Climatechange
Naturalcauses:
• MilankovitchCycles:o Eccentricity:Earthsorbitchangefromelliptical(Circular)tomoreovalshapedevery100,000years.
Placesgetfurtherawayfromthesun(Colder).Thisiswhyiceagesoccurevery100,000years.o Tilt:Every41,000yearstheearthsaxischangesfrom21.5to24.5degrees.Iftitledclosertothesun
(Warmer)andviceversao Wobble:Every23,000yearstheearth;’saxiswobblesonitsaxisandgetsclosertothesun/furtheraway
fromthesun.