Theme 1: Landscapes and Physical Processes

Idea 1: Distinctive Landscapes in Wales

• Major Landscapes:

• Upland Regions: Areas with high elevations like mountains and hills

• Lowland Regions: Areas with lower elevations typically valleys and coastal areas

• Distinctiveness:

• Land use: The way land is used by humans, can be development, farming, or animal herding

• Culture: Different cultures use and change the environment in different ways, these visible differences create a significant cultural landscape

• Geology: Depending on what is in the environment in Wales creates a distinctiveness compared to other places

• Vegetation: A distinctiveness is formed when you look around Wales and see the specific types of vegetation that are found there

• Environmental Challenges:

• Tourism (Positive): Tourism can boost the economy and help spread awareness of specific problems going on in the environment

• Tourism (Negative): The effect of tourists can also be negative, tourists may disturb the wildlife or litter

• Honey Pot Sites: Another name for popular tourist destinations

• Carrying Capacity: The maximum amount of people that can live in an area without straining the environment

• Managing the Landscape: This can be done by putting aside time and money for the restoration of forests and an increase in sustainable agriculture

• Management of Visitors: By putting a limit on how many people can come to a specific place, and informing those people about the environmental impacts they could have

• Repair: Keeping things updated so that they don't end up in extreme conditions, will make it safer and more appealing to look at

Idea 2: Landform Process and Change in Two Different and Distinctive Landscapes of Wales or the Wider UK

• River landforms:

• Development of Landform (causes):

  • Erosion: The process of land slowly deteriorating naturally, causes include

• Abrasion: Rock-like objects scraping against the dirt

• Hydraulic Action: Water splashes on two rocks breaking them apart

• Solution: Rocks dissolving with seawater

  • Transportation: The movement of objects and people over land can slowly dig into the dirt

  • Deposition: Material lying down when water loses energy like the formation of a beach

• Landforms:

• V Shaped Valleys: Formed in the course of a river where erosion is found

• Waterfalls: The fall of water from a height on a rock

• Floodplains: Land next to a body of water that is of one level

• Meanders: The bending of a river

• Sediment Supply: The material that builds up as a result of erosion

• Longshore Drift: Sediment that moves in a zigzag pattern

• Geology: The study of Earth and how it's formed

• Concordant Coastlines: Folding of rocks parallel to the coastline

• Discordant Coastlines: The folding of rocks perpendicular to the coastline

• Seasonal Variation in Discharge: The change in the flow of river through the year

• Extreme Weather: Dangerous and abnormal weather such as flooding

• Human activity: Human activity has a large impact on our environment and everyday humans intentionally and unintentionally damage it

Idea 3: Drainage basins of Wales and the UK

• Drainage Baisan: An area that collects rainfall and transfers it to a body of water such as a river or lake

• Interception: When vegetation captures rainwater

• Infiltration: The process of water being absorbed into the soil

• Thorughflow: Water moving towards a body of water through the soil

• Overland Flow: Water flowing over land

• Change in Annual Regime Factors:

• Climate: The weather changes in a way that affects the fall of precipitation

• Vegetation: Plants getting in the way of water reaching the ground

• Geology: The types of rocks and dirt in the land can affect the pattern of how it is absorbed

• Hydrographs: Graphs that show a reverse pattern over time with the effect of rainfall

• Flooding:

• Causes: Large heavy rainfall, Dam breakage, etc

• Effects: Loss of life, destruction of plants, and infrastructure damage

• Land Use Zoning: Dividing pieces of land based on how they can be used according to the law

• ‘Hard’ Engineering: Building structures to control water patterns

• ‘Soft’ Engineering: Sustainable approaches to controlling the flow of water such as wetland restoration

Theme 2: Rural-Urban Links

Idea 1: The Urban-Rural Continuum in Wales

• Urban-Rural Continuum: The transition from densely populated, developed areas to sparse and underdeveloped areas

• Retailing/Urban Services: Expanding the reach of urban services to rural areas can improve the quality of life for rural residents, it can also create a more equitable future

• Counter-Urbanization: The pattern of people and businesses moving from the central Urban cities to Rural and Suburban areas

• Rural Settlements: Counter-urbanization causes rural settlements to deal with rapid population growth and increase in prices and homes

• Transport: Issues in commuting between Wales and England include lack of public transportation, crowded buses and trains, and this can also harm our environment

• Urban Spheres: The limit of an urban area

• Rural Poverty and Deprivation

• Cause: Lack of job diversity, limited education Healthcare, and dependency on agriculture

• Effects: Income inequality, low health, and food insecurity

• Depopulation: The pattern of a population decreasing over time, this can be because of social economic, or political reasons

• Rural Communities: Strategies for creating sustainable rural communities can include supporting small and local businesses, sustainable agriculture, and ecotourism

Idea 2: Population and Urban Change in the UK

• Population Change in the UK:

• Economic: Job opportunities, income

• Political: Government policies and goals

• Social: Birth rates, aging population, immigration, cultural practices

• Aging Population: The aging population in the UK has caused many economic health and social challenges such as a lack of healthcare, and a reduced workforce

• Egan's Wheel: Consists of three stages and outlines an approach to construction

• Brownfields: A brownfield is a term that describes a place that may be contaminated or underdeveloped

• Greenfields: A piece of land that has never been developed on before and is in its natural state, mostly used for agricultural production

• Retailing: There's been an increase in change in retailing because of economic cultural and technological factors such as income inequality, changes in fashion trends, and changes in demographics

• Internet Shopping

• Costs: Companies may use your personal information and you may be prone to Identity theft

• Benefits: Include more convenience and higher accessibility

Idea 3: Urban issues in contrasting global cities

• Global Cities: Major economic and social hubs that impact the culture and economy of the rest of the world they are also generally cities with a large population.

• Connection: Global cities are connected through types of Transportation including airports, shipping ports, the media, and tourism.

• Distribution: Global cities are more commonly found in the developed regions of the world such as the US, East Asia, and Europe, but can also be found in cities facing rapid urbanization and growth

• Globalization: The process when similar things can be found all around the world, such as a McDonald's store (an American company) in Russia.

• Overview: Here is an overview of two global cities one located in a high-income country (Tokyo in Japan) and one located in a low-income country (Mexico City in Mexico)

  • Tokyo

• In recent years the country of Japan has had a major population decline because there are very few babies being born while there is a large elderly population. The main cause of this phenomenon is that prices are so high in Japan that people don't want to spend money on kids and the long working hours.

• Push factors include economic struggles and lack of services found in the rural areas which cause people to move to the urban city. In the urban environments, there are push factors such as high employment opportunities, more facilities, and higher pay.

• International migration has sparked in recent years because of the large economic and employment opportunities found in Tokyo, people move from other countries with low opportunities to Tokyo for this reason. Tokyo is also known for being modern and has a policy for immigration which makes it easier for migrants to come to replace their declining workforce.

• Some social and cultural patterns in Tokyo include their long work hours, advanced technology, and cultural appeal.

• There is a high aging population, income inequality, and high housing costs which create a challenge to reduce poverty.

• Tokyo was connected to the rest of the world with its large economic hub, major transportation Networks, and high technological advancements.

  • Mexico City

• In recent years people have migrated from the rural areas of Mexico City to the urban area because of the large economic opportunities and better jobs that can be found there. with international migration, there has been a large amount of people coming from Central and South America to Mexico City.

• Historically the birthrates of Mexico City have been high but in recent years they've been declining because of urbanization, less people are also dying because of an increase in healthcare resources and overall Healthcare Improvement.

• Some push and pull factors include low job opportunities and low services in rural areas. while pull factors to the urban areas include high job opportunities and more amenities available to the public.

• Social and cultural patterns include diversity, tons of historic sites, and varying work cultures.

• Challenges and reducing property include inequality, housing costs, and a need for more social programs.

• Since a large part of workers are employed in the informal economy this results in a lack of Regulation and unfair treatment to the workers. meanwhile, these jobs are also necessary for these people to live as they may not be able to get a job anywhere else.

• Mexico City is connected to the rest of the world with its transportation, unique culture, and neighboring states.

Theme 3: Tectonic Landscapes and Hazards

Idea 1: Tectonic Processes and Landforms

• Tectonic Activity: The movement of the Earth's plates, a famous area with many tectonic plates would be the ring of fire around the Pacific Ocean

• Processes

• Convection: Heat transfer in a fluid

• Subduction: One tectonic plate slowly sliding under another tectonic plate

• Divergence: Two tectonic plates slowly move away from each other creating a gap

• Margins

• Constructive: When tectonic plates are spreading apart from each other, causing new crust to form

• Destructive: When one plate is pushed underneath another which destroys the crust

• Rift Valleys: Occurs at a divergent boundary, lowland

• Ocean Trenches: Deep trenches formed when subduction occurs

• Volcanic Hotspots: Places in the world where volcanic activity is very high

• Volcanic Landscape

• Large Scale: Features that are seen across a large area of land

  • Shield Volcanoes: Small sloppy sides, broad

  • Strato Volcanoes: Volcanoes with many layers, steep

  • Caldera: Volcanic crater

• Small Scale: Small features in an area

  • Cinder Cones: Hills formed with volcanic debris

  • Lava Tubes: Lava flows underneath the surface

  • Gazers: Hot Springs

Idea 2: Vulnerability and Hazard Reduction

• Tectonic Hazards Vulnerability:

• Physical Factors: Natural things like magnitude of eruption and earthquakes that affect the venerability of tectonic plates

• Human Factors: Actions that humans do that impact the venerability of tectonic plates such as population density and infrastructure

• Lava Flows: Molten rock of volcanic material flowing

• Lahars: Volcanic mud

• Ash Clouds: Volcanic ash that is swept into the air during a volcanic eruption

• Natural Distators Impact (Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanic Activity):

• Health: Natural disasters in nature can cause injuries and even death to humans

• Infrastructure: Extreme weather can damage or destroy infrastructure

• Economy: An event of natural disaster can cause people to move which results in an outflow of money and loss in economic activity

• Tectonic Zones (vulnerable communities):

• Social factors: Social stigma against nature's impact on human lifestyle can impact the likelihood of people preparing in case of a natural disaster

• Economic factors: Sometimes communities don't have enough money to put aside for protections against natural disasters

• Monitoring: helps people understand, plan, and prepare so that the outcome of extreme weather is minimum

Theme 4: Coastal Hazards And Their Management

Idea 1: Vulnerable Coastlines

• Causes: Both physical and human factors have an impact on our environments, sometimes nature causes negative effects while other times it's people

• Coastline Erosions: Water, wind, and human movements can all disturb coastlines which results in erosion

• Coastal Floodings: Sea levels rising and extreme rainfall can cause flooding near coastal areas

Idea 2: Managing Coastal Hazards

• Cost-Benefit: The idea of coming up with the most efficient way of using money to manage coasts

• Protection of Coastlines

• Economic Reasons: Cities may want to protect their coasts so that they can attract tourists and keep the city's infrastructure safe

• Social Reasons: Keeping coastlines tidy can contribute to the overall health and standard of living of people nearby

• Coastal Management: Coastal management needs to be implemented both at a regional and national scale so that it can be a national goal and can be implemented more effectively at a regional scale

• Monitoring: Monitoring the environment May reduce the risk of coastal floods because It helps people prepare and get educated

• Vulnerability of some coastal areas vs others: Some coastal areas are more vulnerable to environmental risks because of their elevation, location on the Earth, and the lifestyle of the people living nearby

• Small Island States: As sea levels rise small island States are facing challenges including coastline erosion (decreasing the amount of land), loss of biodiversity, and increase in flooding

• Environmental Refugees: People forced to leave their homes because of changes in the environment