AQA A-Level Geography Paper One Case Studies

Flashcards providing key vocabulary and definitions based on case studies for coastal management, carbon and water cycles, and natural hazards.

Sunderbans

The world's largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO world heritage site located in the delta region of south Bangladesh, covering an area of $10,000\,\text{km}^2$.

Halophytic

Salt-tolerant plant species, such as the specific rice varieties introduced in the Sunderbans to reduce coastal vulnerability to salinated agricultural land.

ICZMP

The Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan introduced for Bangladesh to sustainably reduce vulnerability to cyclones through actions like mangrove afforestation and cyclone shelter construction.

Glacial till

The soft rock composition found along the Holderness coast (alternating with chalk) that contributes to a high erosion rate of $2\,\text{m}$ per year.

Terminal groyne syndrome

A management side-effect occurring at the Holderness and Dorset coasts where defenses like groynes interrupt longshore drift, causing increased erosion down-shore.

Spurns head

A coastal feature on the Holderness coast created by southern longshore drift, curved by wave refraction and estuarine currents.

Discordant coastline

A coastline where alternating bands of hard and soft rock run perpendicular to the shore, such as the Holderness coast (chalk and till) or Old Harry in Dorset.

Concordant coastline

A coastline where rock types run parallel to the shoreline, such as at Lulworth cove where waves broke through limestone into boulder clay.

Tombolo

A depositional feature that connects an island to the mainland, exemplified by Chesil beach in Dorset which connects the Isle of Portland to the mainline.

Kiribati

A nation in the Pacific Ocean consisting of $33$ low-lying atolls where $100\%$ of the population lives within $1\,\text{km}$ of the coast and faces sea level rise of $3.9\,\text{mm}$ a year.

Migrate with dignity scheme

A mitigation attempt by the president of Kiribati in 2014 involving the purchase of $20\,\text{km}^2$ of land from Fiji to allow residents to relocate as environmental refugees.

Atmospheric river

A hot Caribbean weather phenomenon that caused prolonged heavy rainfall and flooding during Storm Desmond in the River Eden catchment in 2015.

Intertropical convergence point

The equatorial region where two Hadley cells meet, creating very low air pressure and a high volume of rain in the Amazon rainforest.

Condensation nuclei

Organic fibers and salts emitted by trees in the Amazon during transpiration that aid in cloud formation and precipitation.

REDD

A regional management programme in the Amazon that pays farmers for sustainable land use, focusing on afforestation and reforestation.

Base isolation

A seismic building code technique used in high-risk zones like California (e.g., Salesforce Tower) to protect infrastructure from earthquake damage.

PHIVOLCS

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, which monitors volcanoes with thermal cameras and drones to issue alerts on a $0$-$5$ danger level.

Lahar

A destructive volcanic mudflow or sediment flood; in the 2010 Mount Merapi eruption, $20,000$ people were evacuated due to the risk of these during the monsoon season.

Mega thrust earthquake

A high-magnitude earthquake at a subduction zone, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake where the North American plate was subducted $5$-$15\,\text{m}$ under the Eurasian plate.

Stratovolcano

A composite volcano characterized by explosive episodes, such as Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy.

Saffir Simpson scale

The classification system used to measure the intensity of cyclones; Cyclone Winston was a Category $5$ while Cyclone Sandy reached Category $3$.

Prescribed burns

A management strategy used in Australia to reduce 'fuel load' by intentionally burning specific areas of vegetation to prevent larger wildfires.

El-niño

A climate phenomenon that brought hot and dry conditions with low air pressure to Australia, contributing to the 'Black Summer' wildfires of 2019-2020.