Geography 20 mark essay plans - Paper 1

Evaluate the view that climate change is the most important factor in influencing coastal flood risk [20 marks]

P1 - Climate change most important factor
- thermal expansion
- predicted sea level rise between 8-16mm per year by 21st century
- increase threat to coastal communities due to sea level rise (40% coastal population)
- long term risk due to enhanced greenhouse effect amplifying these effects
P2 - Isostatic change
- land ice melts due to climate change
- decreased weight on glacial area leading to rise in land mass
- sinking in other areas = flood risk increased
- e.g., Scotland is rising and southern England is sinking
- can reduce flood risk in some areas
P3 - Balance - human influence
- destruction of coastal habitats
- e.g., mangroves
- increases flood risk due to the decrease in natural flood defences

Evaluate the contribution changes in sea level can make to the formation of coastal landscapes [20 marks]

P1 - rise in sea level means erosion on higher areas of the coast
- previously untouched unconsolidated material will be eroded
- coastal recession
- formation of new landscapes
- e.g., new caves
P2 - Formation of submergent coastlines
- e.g., a fjord
- created through the repetition of glaciers melting, creating a u shaped valley, and then flooding with temp increase, forming steep sides - Milford sound in New Zealand
- over large periods of time
P3 - Formation of emergent coastlines
- isostatic rebound
- transfer from marine processes to subaerial processes
- e.g., raised beaches
- different sediment type and composition

Evaluate the view that hard engineering approaches to coastal management produce more winners than losers [20 marks]

P1 - More winners
- local residents
- prevent property damage
- social benefits
- less housing damage
- long lasting
P2 - More winners
- protect coastal infrastructure such as roads
- e.g., sea walls prevent erosion
- less/ no coastal retreat
- allows tourism and coastal communities to continue with their lives
- e.g., Seaford's sea wall and rock groynes
P3 - More losers
- costly and can have negative effects on surrounding coastal; areas
- e.g., Newhaven breakwater disrupting longshore drift and depriving Seaford of sediment
- Seaford requires beach nourishment to counteract the effects
- = more expensive

Evaluate the view that rates of coastal recession are largely controlled by geological factors [20 marks]

P1 - Geological factors most significant
- concordant and discordant coasts
- large scale
- discordant coastlines are alternating soft and hard rock perpendicular to the coastline
- lead to headlands and bays
- bays are soft rock so will be subject to coastal recession
- however, headland acts as a negative feedback loop, reducing recession through refraction of waves
P2 - Dip of cliff
- differing angle of the bedding plane of a cliff will alter its susceptibility to erosion
- e.g., inland facing bedding plane increases stability
- reduces erosion
- can be affected by non-geological factors such as vegetation cover acting as weathering
- therefore increasing coastal recession
P3 - Human factors
- offshore dredging
- takes away sediment from the sediment cell
- reduces deposition
- deeper water allows waves to break closer to shore, causing more damage to coastlines

Evaluate the view that coastal management policies are mainly based on economic judgements [20 marks]

P1 - Economic judgements
- cost-benefit analysis is done
- property damage and economic implications are the easiest to quantify
- large interest for stakeholders such as the government

Evaluate the view that some approaches to managing water insecurity are more sustainable than others [20 marks]

P1 - Sustainable management schemes
- utilising already existing resources/ increasing efficiency
- e.g., Singapore's NEWater scheme, provides 30% of nations current water needs
- integrated into already existing infrastructure
- so long lasting and non-intrusive
- decrease in conflicts
- wont have to import water from Malaysia
P2 - Hard engineering not sustainable
- e.g., water transfer schemes such as China's South-North water transfer
- taking water from the south and giving it to the north (25bn per year)
- long term effects of water deficits in the south
- doesn't tackle the root cause being pollution of freshwater sources in the north
P3 - small scale holistic approach
- large social benefits without the burden of harming the other pillars of sustainability
- e.g., Ugandan harvesting jars, capacity of 1,500
- can be stored for drought times
- prevents water insecurity
- doesn't tackle root cause however

Evaluate the extent to which water insecurity is the result of a physical or human cause [20 marks]

P1 - Physical
- Meteorological causes
- climate variability due to climate change
- periods of extended surplus and deficits
- leads to poorer water quality and runoff
P2 - Physical
- sea level rise
- saltwater encroachment
- e.g., Samoa, water table lowering and getting contaminated by saltwater
- 35% of water supply from aquifers
- leads to insecurity
P3 - Human
- contamination and over-abstraction
- increased demand from agriculture
- more water extracted from aquifers (70% of water usage is for agriculture)
- less water available as well as eutrophication from increased use of fertiliser

Evaluate the extent to which todays increasing demand for energy is the most important factor modifying the carbon cycle [20 marks]

P1 - demand for production of fossil fuels
- around 85% of global energy comes from non-renewables
- releases nitrous oxide which leads to acid rain
- acid rain breaks down rocks containing carbon
- releases more carbon back into the carbon cycle
- alters long-term carbon cycle
P2 - carbon dioxide levels increase from demand for non-renewable energy
- greenhouse effects leads to global warming
- permafrost melting (2/3 of permafrost could be melted by 2100)
- allows the release of methane into the atmosphere
- causing positive feedback loop as it causes more global warming
- ocean absorbs more CO2, affecting thermohaline circulation
P3 - Land use change
- not demand for energy but for agriculture
- agriculture leads to deforestation
- less respiration and photosynthesis of carbon
- decrease in the transfer of carbon between stores

Evaluate the view that mitigation strategies are more important than adaptation strategies in addressing the risks posed by the degradation of the carbon cycle [20 marks]

P1 - Mitigation strategies more important
- changes to alternative energy sources
- e.g., renewables such as solar
- reduce emissions of CO2 whilst not altering demand
- not entirely reliable or as efficient as
P2 - Mitigation more important
- advancements in technology and innovation
- development of fusion power
- clean energy
- hugely reduces effects on carbon cycle
- doesn't rely on politics as much
P3 - Adaptation more important
- e.g., changes in diets in order to fit with the changes in availability
- root cause not handled
- problem will continue to get exponentially worse

Evaluate the extent to which mitigation is the most important strategy to tackling climate change [20 marks]

P1 - assess the root cause
- e.g., carbon taxation
- encourages countries and businesses to reduce their emissions
- forces innovation and increased efficiency
- more efficient infrastructure whilst still meeting global demand
- more applicable for developing countries - doesn't halt development
- benefits can be seen a lot faster than other strategies
P2 - prevent further damage
- e.g., renewable switching
- reduce carbon emissions and therefore the enhanced greenhouse effect
- long term savings as renewables are more efficient
P3 - Adaptation more important
- e.g., flood risk management
- reduce economic, social and environmental effects of climate change
- can reduce the number of climate refugees
- reduction in climate based conflicts

Evaluate the extent to which geological processes control the carbon cycle [20 marks]

P1 - weathering
- chemical weathering of carbon rich rocks
- releases carbon
- can be transported via rivers into the ocean where it is deposited and buried becoming part of the long term carbon cycle
- happens over large amounts of time
P2 - Volcanoes
- volcanic activity at subduction zones can lead to out-gassing
- Carbon is released from rocks back into the atmosphere
- approximately 300 million tones of CO2 released into the atmosphere by volcanic activity every year
P3 - Ocean
- short term carbon cycle
- thermohaline circulation
- cold water absorbs CO2, storing it and transferring it around via underwater currents
- warm water releases CO2 back into the atmosphere
- transports around the world