Paper 3: fieldwork

Title question for human geography fieldwork enquiry

How successful was the regeneration of Cardiff Bay?

Title question for physical geography fieldwork enquiry

Do characteristics of River Ogmore change with distance downstream?

Hypotheses - physical enquiry (5)

As we move downstream:

- river depth ↑

- river width ↑

- river velocity ↑

- bedload size ↓

- bedload will become more rounded

Why was river Ogmore a suitable location for our fieldwork (data collection)?

- data can be collected in time provided

- data is not too difficult to collect, present or interpret

- data can be collected from source to mouth

Why was river Ogmore a suitable location for our fieldwork (access to site)?

- we can access river from source to mouth

- we can drive to each site location

- we can access and egress at each sample location

Why was river Ogmore a suitable location for our fieldwork (geographical relevance)?

- the entire long profile can be investigated

Sampling strategies

- Random: there is no pattern to data sampling; every sample has the same probability of being chosen. Selected using random coordinates.

- Systematic: there is a pattern to data over distance or time.

- Stratified: area divided into different sections and proportionally sampled.

What sampling strategy did we use?

Stratified, as it was representative of the whole river, not as time consuming as systematic and is easily accessible.

Risk assessment (river Ogmore)

- sharp stones → getting bruised/cuts → avoid going near them and touching them

- slippery river bed → slipping & falling → do not run, wear suitable footwear

- waterborne diseases → getting sick → washing hands, staying clean

How did we measure width of the river?

- we used a tape measure to measure the width of the river; we placed the tape measure just above the water line on the side of the bank.

How did we measure sediment size & angularity?

- we used a caliper to measure the longest length of a sediment piece → consistency

- we used a qualitative scale → power scale → to measure the angularity of 5 different sediment pieces

- LIMITATION: not a huge sample size → not representative of all rocks

- IMPROVEMENT: measure the mass of rocks and only have one person measuring angularity to reduce subjectivity

How did we measure flowrate?

- we used a hydroprop (which has a spinning structure) to measure the velocity of the river → we took measurements at 1/4, 1/2 & 3/4 of the width of the channel

- we tested the flowrate 3 times to calculate a mean and gain an accurate result

- LIMITATIONS: lots of people were in the river, which affected the flowrate. human reaction time is not perfect. conversion chart did not have every possible time. lots of rain → not representative of usual river

- IMPROVEMENTS: using a conversion chart with more values; repeat at different depths (1/5, 2/5 etc.)

How did we present and analyse the average width of the river?

- when collecting our width data, we geolocated our recordings with GPS to accurately identify distance from the source

- in the classroom we used excel to present our data on a scatter graph

- it allowed us to easily demonstrate a relationship between the two variables (distance from source, width of river channel)

How did we present and analyse the average depth of the river?

- we constructed a bar graph to show the relationship between depth and distance from the source clearly

- this enabled us to clearly identify differences in the rate of increase between different sites

How did we present and analyse the average velocity of the river?

- after measuring our velocity data, we converted the flow rate into velocity using the equation: 0.0277 + (3.281/time)

- we typed up the data into excel to enable us to carry out advanced data presentation using ArcGIS

What factors were considered when selecting a suitable aim/hypothesis?

- an estimated 70% of the world's population will live in cities by 2050

- the UN sustainable development goals highlight the need for safe, sustainable cities

- Cardiff bay because the area was previously engulfed in 1100 hectares of derelict docklands and has since received £2.4bn in investment

- this has created 16,750 new jobs, 4,800 new homes and 695,000m2 of new non-residential developments

Hypotheses - human enquiry (3)

- there will be no drop in environmental quality along a south-north transect through Cardiff bay to Butetown

- people's opinions about Cardiff Bay will be largely positive

- there will be high levels of pedestrian movements all around the bay

- there is a wide range of land use and employment opportunities for local residents

Why was Cardiff Bay a suitable location for our fieldwork (data collection)?

- data can be collected and provided in the time provided

- optimal for systematic data collection

- variety of data can be collected

Why was Cardiff Bay a suitable location for our fieldwork (access to site)?

- designed for pedestrians

- low crime rates

- large scale project second only to London Dockland

Why was Cardiff Bay a suitable location for our fieldwork (geographical relevance)?

- effect on residents

- capital of Wales

- epicentre of politics, art and sports for Wales

Risk assessment (human enquiry)

- roads/vehicles → getting struck by vehicles → walk on designated paths, only cross roads at designated crossing points

- falling into the sea → drowning → wear suitable footwear and stay over 10m away from the coastline

- sun → sunburn → wear suncream, sunshades and a sun hat

Does Cardiff Bay have a range of land uses? How was this data collected?

- land-use mapping

- we sampled systematically; the area was divided into six sub-areas of roughly equal size

- each group went to a different area to ensure the entire bay was sampled

- we observed and recorded the types of buildings that existed and noted the land use on an OS map and in a tally

- systematic sampling allowed us to sample the entire area to get a complete understanding

- working in groups helped reduce bias

- we only had 8 land use categories, which meant some areas were unclear

- judgements for land use were subjective

Does Cardiff Bay have high quality land for work and play? How was this data collected?

- environmental quality assessment

- we sampled systematically along a transect from Tacoma Square by the bay heading north along Bute Street

- we stopped after 8 sample sites as we didn't have the time to sample for longer

- we used Survey123 to submit our geolocated EQA score to ensure precision

- EQA score was based on 12 different factors which we ranked on a scale of 1-5

- sampling along a transect allowed us to make comparisons between the areas that have been regenerated and those which have not

- we may have missed some changes in EQ because we sampled every 100m

How was the public's opinion about the Cardiff Bay regeneration project gathered?

- Questionnaire

- undertook stratified sampling by gender and age all around Cardiff Bay

- we sampled members of the public and asked them whether they thought the regeneration was successful

- representative of that area, gained different perspectives

- people may not have shared their true thoughts

- answers may lack geographical knowledge

- could ask more people and ask different age groups to get different trends

How did we present data for the EQA

- proportionate circles

- having it on a map allows each circle to correspond to a certain location

- it is difficult to see the exact score due to the size of the circle

How did we present data for the land-use survey

- chloropleth map

- having it on a map allows easy visualisation

- harder to compare different categories

- larger areas visually overwhelm smaller areas