Geography Fieldwork Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering geographical fieldwork methods, locations, and results for physical and human geography studies at Bexhill-on-Sea and Greenwich Millennium Village.

Inquiry question (Physical)

How has hard engineering affected the coast at Bexhill-on-Sea?

Sites ( human )

Greenwich Millenium village

Historic Greenwich

Sites ( physical )

Bexhill angling

Galley hill

Glyne gap beach

Bexhill-on-Sea selection factors

Selected for being safe (low crime rate and calm weather), accessible ($1$-hour drive from school), and having high data availability regarding sediment, erosion, and hard engineering.

Sediment size measurement

The use of a ruler to collect quantitative data and compare pebble sizes at different locations along the beach.

Sediment shape measurement

The use of a roundness chart to identify how erosion and transport affected the variety of pebbles.

Beach profile measurement

The use of two ranging poles, a tape measure, and a clinometer to accurately identify the slope and shape of the beach.

Physical fieldwork errors and precautions

Human error such as misreading the clinometer and sampling bias from selecting nicer or smoother pebbles instead of random selection.

Inquiry question (Human)

To what extent is Greenwich Millennium Village an effective example of sustainable urban living?

Greenwich Millennium Village selection factors

Selected for being safe (lower crime rate than other areas of London), proximity to school (about a $1$-hour journey), and the presence of sustainable urban living characteristics.

Sustainability features (Greenwich Millennium Village)

Bike lanes to reduce private vehicle emissions and vegetation/parks to provide habitats and store $CO_2$.

Environmental Quality Survey (EQS)

A method using a survey sheet to score environmental quality based on different features to compare locations.

Traffic count

A method using a tally sheet and stopwatch to assess congestion levels, public vs private transport, and environmental impacts.

Land-use survey

A method using a recording sheet and map to identify land usage and its support for sustainable urban living.

Human fieldwork errors and precautions

Challenges in counting multi-directional traffic, the fact that counts only represent a specific time/place, and unobservable impacts like high electricity use.

Human fieldwork results

Recorded $45$ public vehicles and $22$ private vehicles; observations included solar panels, mini wind turbines, and well-maintained vegetation with low litter.

Updrift

The side of a groyne with a much higher beach profile and smaller, well-sorted sediment.

Downdrift

The side of a groyne starved of sediment, resulting in a lower beach profile with larger, coarser sediment.

Top of beach sediment characteristics

Sediment size increases and becomes more angular.

Bottom of beach sediment characteristics

Sediment size decreases and becomes smoother.