year 10 geography

Environmental Worldview

How people think the world works, what they think their role in the world should be, and what they believe is right and wrong environmental behaviour (environmental ethics).

ecological services

any beneficial natural process from ecosystems, such as purification of water and air, pollination of plants and decomposition of waste

earth centred environment worldview

our dependency on and part of nature and that earth's support system exists for all species.

4 types of ecological services

Provisioning Services,Regulating Services,Supporting Services,Cultural Services

Provisioning Services

supply us with resources, such as food, water, and timber

Regulating Services

benefits of biodiversity that include climate regulation, flood control, and water pollution

Define biocapacity

the capacity of an area to generate renewable resources and absorb wastes

Define ecosystems

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Describe the coastal zone

area where land meets the ocean or sea, and it encompasses a variety of ecosystems such as estuaries, beaches, dunes, mangroves, coral reefs

Explain how waves are created

wind speed, fetch, wind duration

fetch

The distance that the wind has traveled across open water

wind speed

how fast the wind is blowing

wind duration

The length of time the wind blows over the ocean surface

labelled destructive wave

constructive wave

process of longshore drift

The winds caused the waves to approach the shore at an angle
The material carried by the sea is moved up the beach
backwash receded at a 90 degree angle due to gravity.

how headlands and bays are created

destructive waves erode soft rock to create bays remaining hard rock becomes headlands

how cliffs and rocky platforms are created

how caves, arches, blowholes and stacks are created

how beaches and sand dunes are formed

how deposition features such as tombolos, spits and sand bars are formed

Beach Nourishment

dumping new sand onto eroding beaches to restore them

Beach Nourishment: Disadvantages

1) Needs constant maintenance unless structures are built to retain beach, e.g. groynes.

Beach nourishment advantages

- relatively cheap and easy to maintain
- blends in with existing beach
- increases tourist potential by creating a bigger beach

Groynes

Wooden or concrete barriers at right angles to the beach

Groynes advantages

.Cheaper than sea walls - not too expensive *
.Build beach up locally = attract more tourists*
.Provides structures useful for fishing *
.Absorbs wave energy- reducing erosion

Groynes disadvantages

.Not very long-term
.Still quite expensive
.Reduce recreational value of the beach
.Cause high erosion rates downdrift- coastline further along because doesn't have any sediment deposited on it through LSD
.Unnatural

Offshore Breakwater

a partly submerged parrallel to beach rock barrier, designed to break up the waves before they reach the coast

Offshore Breakwater - advantages

.Slight protection from erosion
.Doesn't affect recreational value of the beach
.Doesn't affect any other beaches

Offshore Breakwater - disadvantages

.Doesn't defend against storms
.Stops recreation in the sea (surfing, boats etc.)

Sea Wall

A concrete wall which aims to prevent erosion of the coast by providing a barrier which reflects wave energy.

Sea Walls - advantages

.Highest level of protection in the short term
.Long lifespan of up to 50 years
.Effectively prevents erosion in the local area *
.Often provides a walkway /promenade for people to walk along
Eg Swansea Bay, S Wales

Sea Walls - disadvantages

.Beach level drops and could underline the wall
.More erosion further down the coast (greater downdrift)
.More erosion in areas that aren't protected
.Very high maintenance - the most expensive *
.Can be obtrusive and unnatural to look at *

managed retreat

Allowing low lying areas of low land value along the coast to be flooded in a controlled way.

Managed retreat advantages

.Cheaper than hard engineering - low value land *
.Creates a new habitat for wildlife *
.Develops a salt marsh- natural defence against storms

Managed Retreat - disadvantages

.Not suitable for highly developed areas
.Can ruin coastal farm land - land lost *
.Farmers/landowners need to be compensated*

Qualitative Indicators

A country's development in terms of factors that influence people's quality of life, instead of measuring development, it tries to describe it

quantitative indicators

easily measured and can be stated numerically, such as annual income or how many doctors there are in a country

· Define Standard of living

Quality of life based on ownership of necessities and luxuries that make life easier.

· Define wellbeing

The degree of satisfaction that an individual or group experiences when needs are met

human centred worldview

based on the belief that humans are the most important species and have several traits that set them apart from other species.

Supporting Services

Benefits of biodiversity that allow ecosystems to exist, such as primary production, soil formation, and nutrient cycling

Cultural Services

benefits of biodiversity that provide aesthetic, spiritual, or recreational value

· Define ecological footprint

the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

selection criteria 7 great barrier reef

Must contain exceptional natural beauty or superlative natural phenomena.

selection criteria 8 wet tropics of queens land

Must represent key stages of Earth's history, showcasing the record of life, significant geological processes, or notable geomorphic features.

selction criteria 9 macquire island

Outstanding examples of ongoing ecological and biological processes in the evolution of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems.

selection criteria 10 lord howe island

Must contain significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including threatened species of outstanding universal value.