geography case studies (copy)

global warming causes

• pollution from burning fossil fuels

• These gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide

global warming impacts

●increased heatwaves in certain parts of the world *eg USA

● Rising sea levels : thermal expansion. Sea levels are currently rising by up to 3mm a year, flood low lying island such as Kiribati in the Pacific leading to forced migration of the population

● Increased acidity of the oceans: CO2 levels rise in the atmosphere→ more of the gas is absorbed by the oceans → water more acidic. This can bleach coral reefs effecting tourism industry in places such as Jamaica.

● Melting of the icecaps and glaciers – ice in the Arctic Ocean decreased by 15% since 1960, but thickness of the ice has decreased 40% decrease the salt content (salinity) of the oceans affecting ocean currents *eg The North Atlantic Drift

• Thawing peat bogs – permafrost is starting to melt in the tundra regions (Siberia) release millions of tonnes of methane into the atmosphere

Lesotho - water supply

• Lesotho is a developing country (LIC) completely surrounded by South Africa

• It has frequent dry spells

• Lesotho faces issues with clean water and sanitation → cholera , water-borne diseases

Lesotho choice of location

• Highlands of Lesotho have over 1000mm of rainfall a year

• steepsided valleys which can hold water in the reservoirs.

• Does not have earthquakes so there’s no danger of dams being destroyed and flooding issues.

• Water in this area has good chemical content and low sediment content= good for drinking and irrigation

• There was ample dolerite and basalt rocks which is good for producing concrete to help in the construction of the dams.

Lesotho details

• Project has 6 dams *eg Mohale Dam and the Matsoku Dam

• damming some of Lesotho’s main rivers to create reservoirs to provide water.

• Water is mainly used to provide water for irrigation and domestic usage for the people of Lesotho but for neighbouring South Africa especially in the city of Johannesburg.

• South Africa pays Lesotho for this water which provides money to help in the development of the country.

• The Muela Hydroelectric Power Station provides electricity for Lesotho

Lesotho positives

• Provides water and electricity- Water from the reservoirs provides for the people of Lesotho *eg capital MASERU.

• Income for Lesotho - South Africa pays for the water provided by the project to help invest in development projects.

• Infrastructure - developed In building the dams, roads were built to gain access to the sites.

• jobs - 4000 people were involved in the construction of the Katse Dam.

Lesotho negatives

• Dams threatened plant species - Alpine fauna of the Lesotho Highlands → Katse Botanical Gardens in the Highlands for conservation

• Conflicts in land use →27,000 people were either rehoused/lost their herding grounds, compensation packages and resettlement plans were unsatisfactory

• Endangering animals → Flooding of the areas and reduction of the river flow due to the construction affected many animals. Wetlands were also destroyed

Lesotho solutions

• NGO’s work in providing clean drinking water to the rural communities of Lesotho

• 2017 the Global Environment Facility and African Development Bank (AfDB) financed the Climate Change Adaptation for Sustainable Rural Water Supply in the Lesotho Lowlands.

• This project is to improve clean water and sanitation for the rural communities of the Lesotho Lowlands in response to recent climate change and managing resources more efficiently

Energy Supply- Iceland’s Energy Mix

• 85% of all energy comes from renewable sources, the largest of any country in the world

• 65% - Geothermal energy

• 20% Hydropower

• 15% - Fossil Fuels

• Other in development – Solar, wind and hydrogen as a fuel

Geothermal Power

• Geothermal power is important to Iceland→ tectonically active area and renewable.

• It is mainly used to create heating and hot water in Iceland, Only 24% of the country’s electricity is generated from geothermal power.

• There are 9 geothermal power stations in Iceland.*eg Krafia and Reykjanes Power Stations

Hydropower

• HEP (Hydroelectric Power) is generating electricity from water.

• 72% of all electricity is generated by HEP in Iceland

• Important as it is renewable and only 19% of the potential areas for harnessing HEP have been used in Iceland

• Big environmental concerns over creating more HEP stations

• There are 15 hydropower stations in Iceland *eg Karahnjukar Hydropower Plant

Fossil fuels*eg oil

• It is used to make up Iceland’s energy mix

• 15% comes from imported oil

• bad to rely on imported fuel as you can become reliant on other countries

• oil is non renewable and is a fossil fuel

Wind Power

• There is a project currently looking into the feasibility of a wind farm in Iceland.

• Two wind turbines were installed in South Iceland in 2015.

Solar Power

• Reykjavik City Council installed solar powered parking meters in busy parts of the city

• country is near Arctic Circle → harnessing of solar energy is limited.

Hydrogen as a fuel

• 1999 company called Icelandic New Energy was established into looking at the feasibility of using hydrogen as a fuel in Iceland.

• The country’s first hydrogen station opened in 2003

Jamaica - Tourism - Location

• Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean Sea within the Tropics

• located close to Cuba

Factors encouraging tourism

• 1.9 million stopover tourists in 2011

• Climate is good with an average of 7 hours sunshine every day

• People visit for the beaches such as Montego Bay, caves at Cockpit County,

• More cultural activities (historic plantation houses) : Port Maria

• environmental tourist attractions: bird sanctuaries (Montego Bay) and Botanic Gardens

Why tourism is important

• Tourism is one of Jamaica’s top sources of revenue.

• 50% of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings

• Employs the second largest number of Jamaicans : 200,000

• Investments in infrastructure to accommodate tourists

• Many people in tourist areas (Montego Bay) have benefited from an improved quality of life as the result of tourism

Problems for tourism

• Environment problems= building large resorts uses huge amounts of concrete which releases CO2 contributing to climate change

• seasonal jobs= unemployed

• Large TNC’s organize the holidays so leakage happens

• Local employees are paid low wages

• sex tourism and drugs.

Solutions for tourism

• ecotourism → companies offer guest houses as accommodation/tourist experiences= minimal damage to the environment

• The gov try develop sustainable tourism

• Responsible Tourism → local guides taking visitors up the Rio Grande River.

• Tourists and encouraged to buy local food and crafts from local traders

• Smaller hotels employ local staff

• Education to tourist about negative effects of tourism.

Definition of Special economic zone (SEZ)

• area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country

• SEZ aims : increased trade balance, employment, increased investment, job creation

• introduced 1978 as part of its ‘Open Door Policy’ to encourage Foreign Direct Investment

• Their site of location aimed at attracting FDI and technology, provide employment, utilize Chinese and imported resources

SEZ incentives

• low cost labor

• Land use → Infrastructure : roads, water, electricity and access to a container port complex so that parts and raw material could be brought in and shipped to foreign markets.

• Tax incentives. SEZs offered reduced corporate income tax rate, including income tax exemptions for foreign nationals working in SEZs.

Jinan industrial zone facts

• Capital of Shandong Province

• Began being built in 1991

Jinan industrial zone site

• Covers 83km2

• A flat area of land for building on

• Is in a very pleasant area with green mountains to the south of the area with many trees (good area for FOOTLOOSE Industries)

Jinan industrial zone situation

• Near good communications like expressways, close to the Beijing-Shanghai super highway and 15 minutes from an international airport → Important for import or raw materials and export of finished goods.

• Three hours drive from the port of Quingdao, one of the world’s largest container ports

• Good education and housing built by the Chinese govt. as part of the incentive to bring in FDI into SEZ

• Near to 500 software factories on the Qilu Software Park - good for networking and sharing of ideas

FOOTLOOSE industries

those not tied to a specific industrial location by raw material and products.

FDI - Foriegn Direct Investment

Inward investment into a country from TNCs (Transnational Corporations)

ECONOMIC CLUSTERING

When business, usually selling or providing similar products/services cluster together to benefit from networking and/or the sharing of ideas.

Food shortages - Eswatini Causes

• Drought

  → El Nino causes global temperature increase

  → 2016 rainfall was the lowest in the past 35 years

  → no crops grown = yields decreased by 60% from 2015

• Poverty

  → 60% of the Eswatini rural population is below the poverty line

  → GDP per capita is US$4500

  → Lubombo where cereal production fell to 88% of 2014/2015 output

• HIV

  → 2009, 26% of 15-49 year olds infected

  → 96,000 orphans = not enough ppl to work on farms

• Poor infrastructure

  → inability to access water → not enough irrigation methods = dying crops

Food shortages Impacts

• Undernutrition

  → 2019, 22.5% of children in Lubombo region suffered malnutrition

• Reliance on Food Aid

  → food shortages made people reliant on food aid

• Subsistence farmers turning to the production of cash crops

  → farmers decided to work in commercial farms (only grow cotton and sugar) (sensitive to global demand change)

Food shortages solutions

• Food Aid

  → The UN used to distribute food like SORGHUM and MAIZE during times of food shortages

• Investment in Irrigation

  → investment in dams and canals

  → Micro–irrigation schemes like drip irrigation is being encouraged in the Middle and Lower Velds

• Change of crops

  → New crops that require less water are being encouraged to be grown such as SWEET POTATOES

• Subsidised seeds and fertilisers →Subsidies are being given to farmers to help them pay for farming inputs

• improving livestock production

  → A fence built along the border with Mozambique to prevent ‘foot and mouth’ disease which affected cattle

  → Farmers now practicing ROTATIONAL GRAZING

• education and training for farmers

Subsistence Farming in eSwatini- Inputs

• RELIEF → In High Veld, the land is terraced to allow flat land for subsistence farming

• farming is done by women as most men work in the mines in South Africa

• work is done using hand tools as many farmers can’t afford machinery

Subsistence Farming in eSwatini- Processes

PREPERATION OF LAND

• Ploughing and harvesting is manual labor

• Cattle grazed on the Swazi National Land is guarded and controlled on unfenced land by herd boys.

• Little use of fertiliser → Burning of dry grass is added into the soil

• Simple irrigation in the Middle and Low Velds → diverting water from streams.

Subsistence Farming in eSwatini- Output

Crops

• Maize to make flour, millet, vegetables and meat and milk from the cattle

Subsistence Farming in eSwatini- Problems

• Unreliable rainfall is a problem and irrigation water is only available to a few

• Farmers have little money and high production costs

• Poor infrastructure → harder to transport goods

• overstocking due to shortage of land

• animal diseases weakened herds (foot and mouth diseases

• HIV/AIDS mean that many framers can’t work their land

Subsistence Farming in eSwatini- solution

• Greater investment in dams and canals for irrigation In the Middle and Low Velds.

• Gov scheme to encourage farmers to grow other crops → received free seeds to grow

• Government provide subsidized seed and fertilizer to farmers

• Fencing off field so that foot and mouth disease can not spread and vaccination of cattle

• Education of famers on how to prevent soil erosion

Large Scale Commercial Farming in eSwatini - Inputs

• Climate

  → Sugar needs heat , ‘Low veld’ region avg temp is 29*c and high hours of sunshine = ideal for growing sugar

• Soils and land

  → Sugar needs fertile soil

  → Low Veld area of Swaziland are the main growing areas of sugar.

  → eSwatini has flat land for large scale machinery

• CAPITAL

  → CAPITAL INTENSIVE

  → Money is required to build irrigation canals

  → Lots a workers are needed so sugar companies offer their employees benefits *eg free schooling.

Large Scale Commercial Farming in eSwatini - Processes

• Irrigation

  → Water from canals taken to the fields

  → Land is irrigated using sprinklers, furrow irrigation and drip irrigation

Large Scale Commercial Farming in eSwatini - Outputs

• Raw sugar and brown sugar

  → produced in eSwatini’s three sugar mills - Mhlume, Simunye and Ubombo

  → These products account for 18% of eSwatini’s GDP

• Molassess

  → used in the production of alcohol

TNC - Nike - Facts

• headquarters are in Oregon, USA.

• The headquarters employ over 6,000 people who create new designs

• Nike is the world’s largest seller of sports clothing and footwear.

TNC - Reasons for locating in China

• China is the cheapest place in the world and the materials are cheap

• high population= more labor/workers

• Nike has been working in China for over 30 years when they started to subcontract production to overseas factories.

• At present there are around 146 factories in China employing 189,000 workers, 77% of which are female workers.

TNC - Advantages

• Nike offers jobs with higher wages

• Setting up factories acted in a POSITIVE MULTIPLIER EFFECT for the setting up of other industries and businesses

• improved infrastructure around the area

TNC - Disadvantages

• accused of paying low wages and long hours and poor working conditions.

• Low skilled job = dont develop skills to benefit the economy

• ‘leakage’

• causing river pollution from waste products from their dying and printing processes.

Hot area - Namib Desert - info

• The Namib is a coastal desert in southern Africa

• stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres along the Atlantic coasts of Angola and South Africa

Namib Desert climate type and reasons

● Hot Desert Climate

→ Found between 15° and 30° on the WESTERN SIDE of continents

→ Hottest months in deserts tend to be a month after the sun is directly overhead bc temperature lag as the ground retains the heat built up over time

→ Daily temperatures tend to be high with temps up to 38°C in the day and as low as 5°C at night bc few clouds to prevent heat escaping

→Low rainfall – less than 250mm bc air is descending so convection currents are not strong enough to rise through the descending air

→ ALTITUDE – Places higher will be cooler and have more rainfall due to RELIEF RAINFALL

How the Namib Desert is being exploited

• Mining

  →Diamonds (SW Coast) and Uranium (Rossing Uranium Mine)

  → Opencast mines destroy environments and uses huge amounts of water

  → leakage , only a bit of money goes back into Namibia

• Agriculture

  → Irrigated Farming – So dry in the Namib Desert so irrigation of rivers is needed

• Tourism

  → Water holes dry up in popular tourist areas due to excessive use of water (Etosha National Park)

Solutions to the problems – Sustainable Development

● Ecotourism

→ Rest camps with hotels, chalets and camping sites in the Etosha National Park

→gravel roads also protects the environment

Economic development that’s risking the environment OR tropical rainforest - Borneo - Facts

• Three countries – Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), Indonesia (Kalimanta n) and Brunei

• 3rd biggest island in the world

Borneo- climate type and reasons

• Equatorial Climate

  → Found within 10° of the Equator in lowland areas

  → Anomalies : east coast of Central America = onshore winds bring heavy rain all year

  → High average temp 26-28°C. bc Sun’s rays hitting Borneo are never more than an angle of 66½°

  → Convectional rainfall (258mm rain per month) = low pressure means more rain as water vapour condenses at the dew point

  → light winds = rising air

Reasons why the rainforest is being removed in Borneo

• Logging → removal of trees caused soil erosion

• Population Pressure – TRANSMIGRAT ION policies of Indonesia moved many people to Borneo from Java (1979-84)

• Plantations – Mainly oil palm plantations since 1980s

• HEP – Hydroelectric Power → Removal of forest for the Bakun HEP Scheme

• Road Building – To access mines, HEP and plantations

Deforestation consequences

• Atmospheric Pollution from the clearing of trees through burning

• Increased CO2 emissions – increasing climate change and also as forest are removed, carbon sinks are removed

• Loss of biodiversity – especially for plants that can be used as medicines and foods

• loss of habitats for animals like the orang-u-tan

• Loss of soil fertility – removal of primary forest causes soil erosion

Deforestation solution

● Creation of National Parks (NPs) – protect wildlife and habitats (Kutai NP)

● Debt for nature swaps - Richer countries like USA reduce the debt owed by countries like Indonesia if Indonesia can prove conservation is taking place

● Selective Logging – Only taking down the trees needed. Hard to actually do

● The Forest Stewardship Council – NGO that promotes responsible management of the worlds forest

● Ecotourism – Sustainable tourism employing local people, protecting the environment and putting profit back into the community – Tabin Wildlife Park

Hurricane Katrina Info

●August 2005

●Category 5 storm

●280km/h winds

Opportunities created by the coastline

● important port set up during the slave trade in the 18th century

● Oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico

● One of the US’s largest fishing industries in the area

● Tourism - Mardi Gras Festival during Easter time

Why the tropical storm caused so much damaged

● Levees and floodwalls protecting New Orleans (NO) were breached. – only built to withstand a Category 3 storm

● Many people ignored the instructions to evacuate NO

● NO is built on low lying marshlands.

Impacts of Hurricane Katrina

●1836 people killed

●1 million homeless

●Looting and social disorder

●$US150 billion in damage

●Huge unemployment

Walton on the naze info

●Coastal town in Essex in SE England ●Population of 12,000

●coastal erosion is removing up to 1.5 metres of land a year.

Opportunities created by the coastline

• Residential Town

  → connected to other places so that people can commute to work in other major towns

  ● Tourism

  → town has many bars and restaurants, sea thats safe to swim in, wildlife

• attractions

  → Walton Pier and beach huts

Hazards associated with this coastline

• Coastal Erosion

  → soft rock found on the coastline( London Clay and Red Crag)

  → Red crag is permeable -cliff prone to slumping.

  → The cliff face becomes heavier and eventually it separates from the material behind at a rain-lubricated slip plane.

  → cliff is being eroded back.

• Longshore Drift – removes the beach protecting the cliffs.

• As the cliff is being eroded, land and buildings will be lost -→ land has high economic value

Management of the coast

• northen part of the coastline protected by crag walk

  → grade 2 listed houses

  → crag walk will slow erosion to 20m in the next 100 years

• groynes

  → prevent LSD

• Break waters

  → on either side of southern banks

  → waters break on it so beach isnt lost

• recurved sea wall

  → bottom of london cray

  → reflect energy of waves

• rip rap

  → beneath cliffs of Grade 2 listing buildings , the tower

  → absorbs power of waves

  → 300 tonnes of leicester granite

River nile info

• 6600 km long

• 95% of egyptians live near the river

• nile delta population dindensity of 16,000 per kilometre squared

oppurtunities created by river

• soil of delta between Cairo and medditerrian sea has lots of nutrients from delta silt deposition

• fishing industry is good

• transportation route (egyptians using speed boats and cruises to avoid traffic)

• flat land

• DAMS → HEP source

hazards by the river

• Animals

  → crocadiles eat 200 people anually

  → Mosquios

• retreat of delta

  → sediment building on side of dam instead

  → shrinking due to erosion from medditeranian sea

• Flooding due to excessive irrigation

  → waterlogging

• pollution

  →industrial and domestic waste

• flooding due to climate change

  → mediterranean sea rise 30 cm

Management of river

• Levees

  → 900km of leeves bewteen cairo and aswan

• Dam - Aswan dam

  → controls flow of water

  →Lake nasser is the resevoir behind it

  → water lost to evaporation

• Irrigation canals

  → water from lake nasser to desert areas

  → new valley prject and toshka project

Queensland floods 2010

• Dec 2010 and Jan 2011

• flooded Fitzroy river, Brisbane river and Burnett

Oppurtunities created by river (floods)

• Fitzroy river has Theresa Creak dam storing and diverting water = potable water

• Emerald town agriculture use of river for domestic consumption

• Fertile land so irrigation is used

Flood physical causes

• Heaviest rainfall since 1850

• Rain caused by cyclone tasha (800mm in december)

• LA NINA

Human causes

• impermable roads on floodplains (rockhampton) = surface run off

• deforestation on the upper courses of the great dividing range = surface run off

Impacts

• 26 people killed

• ¾ of queensland was danger zone

• $30 billion damage caused

• flood waters brought snakes and crocadiles

• sugar and wheat production affected

Management of river

• Brisbane city council website has map of evacuation routes

• Temporary levees in Fitzroy river (rockhampton)

• concrete wall surrounding airport terminal in emerald town

• wivenhoe has 5 flood gates → flood prevention

Monserrat - Soufrerie hills

• 25th June 1997

• gross domestic product per capita is 2800 pounds

Monserrat Causes

• 1995 souferie erupted for the first time

• 50% evacuated to north of the island

• Monserrat on destructive plate boundary

  → north and south american plate subducting under carribean plate (subduction zone)

  →Rising magma causes series of volcanoes → volcanic arc

Monserrat short-term Effects

• 23 died and 100 injured

• plymouth covered in ash

• homes, infastructure and businesses destroyed

• 75% island covered in ash

• main aiport and port closed

Monserrat long-term effects

• long time taken to rebuild infastructure and homes

• respitory disease

• environmental damage - beaches

• population from 12,000 to 1200

• dependent on uk handouts

Responses

• 5000 evacuated to salem and plymouth

• links to uk provided relief and recovery

• NGO in international red cross make evacuation camps

• uk sent 40 mil for releif camps and 70mil for further development

• islanders offered 2500 pounds to move to UK

Haiti

• transform margin plate

• north american plate and carribean plate

• jan 2010

• focus 13km deep

• energy release was 7 MMS

• epicentre 25km from port-au-prince

Impacts

• 220,000 died

• 33% buildings in port-au-prince destroyed

• hospitals and schools destroyed

• port and airport destroyed

• 600,000 cholera cases

Short-term responses

• engineers from USA rebuilt airport

• healthcare supplies and teams sent

• 23 major cities raised 1.1 billion usd for relief

• 1.6mil housed in relief camps

Long-term responses

• dominican republic accepted refugees

• 330 mil given by soviet and 100mil given by usa

• temporary schools after 6 months

• 1.7mil people eventually supplied with sanitization and water