AQA GCSE Geography for Examination in 2018 Paper 1: Living with the Physical Environment – Case Studies/Examples
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AQA GCSE Geography for examination in 2018 Paper 1: Living with the physical environment – Case studies/examples Living World A case study of a tropical rainforest to illustrate: • causes of deforestation – subsistence and commercial farming, logging, road building, mineral extraction, energy development, settlement, population growth • impacts of deforestation – economic development, soil erosion, contribution to climate change. A case study of a hot desert to illustrate: development opportunities in hot desert environments: mineral extraction, energy, farming, tourism • challenges of developing hot desert environments: extreme temperatures, water supply, inaccessibility. An example of a small scale UK ecosystem to illustrate the concept of interrelationships within a natural system, an understanding of producers, consumers, decomposers, food chain, food web and nutrient cycling. Natural hazards Use named examples to show how the effects and responses to a tectonic hazard vary between two areas of contrasting levels of wealth. Use a named example of a tropical storm to show its effects and responses. An example of a recent extreme weather event in the UK to illustrate: causes - social, economic and environmental impacts - how management strategies can reduce risk. Physical landscapes An example of a river valley in the UK to identify its major landforms of erosion and deposition. An example of a flood management scheme in the UK to show: • why the scheme was required • the management strategy • the social, economic and environmental issues. An example of a section of coastline in the UK to identify its major landforms of erosion and deposition. An example of a coastal management scheme in the UK to show: • the reasons for management • the management strategy • the resulting effects and conflicts. PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU READ, LEARN AND INWARDLY DIGEST THE FOLLOWING CASE STUDIES IN ORDER TO MAXIMISE YOUR CHANCES OF ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN YOUR FINAL EXAMINATIONS The living world – Hot deserts Case study Title Hot desert case study – The Sahara desert Specific Timbuktu Locations Morocco Where is the Sahara Desert? Blanketing much of the northern third of the African Continent, (3.5 million km2), the Sahara Desert extends eastward from the Atlantic Ocean some 3,000 miles to the Nile River and the Red Sea, and southward from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and the Mediterranean shores more than 1,000 miles to the savannah called the Sahel. More than 16 times the size of France, the Sahara Desert blankets nearly all of Mauritania, Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya, Egypt and Niger; the southern half of Tunisia; and the northern parts of Mali, Chad and Sudan Opportunities for development Energy Tourism Mining Solar energy Algeria is a leader in oil Sandboarding, carting Algeria is now the 12 or more hours of bright sunshine and exploration and extraction, and cross-desert treks world’s largest cloudless skies everyday are ideal for 60% of its income comes are popular tourist exporter of phosphate generating solar power (renewable from the oil and gas activities in the Sahara (which is used in energy source). industry. e.g. camel trekking in fertilisers, cleaning A 200km2 area solar energy development Morocco boasting the products etc.) It has many oil fields, in Tunisia is planned to supply 2 million economy with income including Hassi Messaoud, homes in Western Europe by 2018. and employment and the industry employs opportunities over 40,000 people Challenges for development Extreme Temperatures Water supply Accessibility Working outside in the heat of the day There are a few rivers and streams can be very hard, especially for that run through the Sahara such as High temperatures can cause tarmac to farmers. the River Nile. The others are melt and strong winds often blow sand intermittent and only flow after Plants and animals have to adapt to across the roads. Most places are only rainfall. survive in the extreme heat. accessible by camel. Water in the Sahara Desert is a Growing crops and breeding livestock Due to the extreme weather and the scarce resource. The desert has very such as cattle and goats is difficult as presence of vast barren areas there is a low annual rainfall. they need shade to protect them from very limited road network across the the intense sun. High rates of evaporation lead to Sahara Desert water shortages which affect people as well as animals. Drinking water for people and animals is stored in ponds, some of which are natural and some are man made The living world – Tropical Rainforests Case study Title Deforestation in Malaysia Specific Locations Asia, Borneo, Equator,The Bakun Dam Where is Malaysia? Malaysia is a country in South-East Asia. It is made up of Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, which is part of the island of Borneo. Malaysia is located 300km north of the Equator Basic facts about Malaysia Deforestation in Malaysia (cutting down of timber ==> high value export + profit making enterprises eg. Cattle ranching, commercial The natural vegetation in Malaysia is tropical farming, rubber, palm oil) rainforest. The rate of deforestation is increasing faster than in any tropical 67% of Malaysia Malaysia’s land is covered by country in the world. Between 2000 and 2013, Malaysia’s total rainforest. forest loss was an area larger than Denmark. As natural rainforest in Malaysia is destroyed, many young orang- utans’ are killed or orphaned putting them at risk of extinction. What are the threats to Malaysia’s tropical rainforests? Logging Mineral extraction Population pressure Tropical wood is felled to export and sell – Malaysia Mining tin and smelting is Between 1956 and the 1980s, about was the largest exporter in the 1980s. Clear felling – common in peninsular 15,000 hectares of rainforest was where all the trees are chopped down in an area was Malaysia. Rainforest has felled for settlers moving from urban common. This led to the destruction of forest habitats. been cleared for mining areas to the countryside. Many then and construction. set up plantations. Commercial farming Subsistence faming Energy development (HEP) Malaysia is the largest exporter of palm oil. During the Tribal people in the 1970s, large areas of land were converted to palm oil rainforest practise In 2011 the Bakun Dam in Sarewak plantations subsistence farming. One started to generate electricity – the method used by the tribal dam supplies energy for industrialised people is ‘slash and burn’. Peninsular Malaysia. This involves the use of fire The dams reservoir flooded over to clear the land – these 700km2 of farmland and forests. fires can grow out of control, destroying large areas of forest. Impacts of deforestation in Malaysia Soil erosion Loss of biodiversity Economic development Contribution to climate change Roots of trees and plants Deforestation destroys Development of land for mining, bind the soil together. So ecosystems & many farming and energy will create By absorbing carbon dioxide, deforestation means that habitats that exist on jobs for local people trees store the carbon and help soil can easily become the ground & in the to reduce the rate of global Companies will pay taxes to the lose and erode away. Land trees. This reduces warming. Deforestation leads to government which can be used becomes unusable for biodiversity e.g. many more carbon dioxide in the to make improvements to public farming as vegetation undiscovered plants atmosphere, particularly due to services and transport cannot be grown have medicinal process of ‘slash and burn’. infrastructure. successfully. qualities. The living world – Ecosystems Example Title Small scale ecosystem in the UK – Specific Ferry Meadows, Overton Lake Locations Peterborough, East of England Where is Ferry Meadows? Ferry Meadows is located in the city of Peterborough, in the East of the UK. Overton lake is a freshwater lake ecosystem. What are the main components of this ecosystem? Producers Consumers Decomposers Marsh marigold Duck Rhizopus Reed mace Coot Alternaria Detritus Heron Fusarium Algae Perch Great diving beetle Food chain Food web Nutrient cycling Rainwater washes chemicals out of the atmosphere. Weathered rock releases nutrients into the soil. This is the nutrient cycle. When animals or plants die, the decomposers (see above) help to recycle the nutrients making them available once again for the growth of plants and animals. The challenge of natural hazards Example Title The Somerset level floods – extreme weather in Specific Burrowbridge, Bristol channel, the UK Locations Bridgwater Where are the Somerset levels? The Somerset levels are located in the south-west of England. The Somerset levels and the Somerset Moors form an extensive area of low-lying farmland and wetlands bordered by the Bristol Channel and the Mendip Hills to the north. What caused the floods in 2014? Wettest Jan since records began – succession of depressions (low pressure) driven across the Atlantic Ocean brought period of wet weather lasting several weeks. 350mm of rain fell in Jan and Feb (100mm above the average) High tides and storm surges swept water up the rivers from the Bristol channel. Rivers had not been dredged for at least 20 years, so high sediment levels reducing capacity of river. What were the impacts of the flood? Social Economic Environmental 600+ houses flooded Somerset County Council Floodwaters were heavily estimated the cost of flood damage contaminated with sewage 16 farms evacuated to be more than £10 million and other pollutants Residents evacuated to temporary including oil and chemicals. Over 14,000 ha of agricultural land accommodation under water for 3-4 weeks A huge amount of debris had Villages such as Moorland cut off. This to be cleared from flood Over 1000 livestock evacuated. affected people’s daily lives e.g. attending plains, roads + river school, shopping etc. Local roads cut off by floods. channels Many people had power supplies cut off. What were the responses to the floods? Immediate responses Longer- term responses Homeowners coped as best as they could.