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.