theme 4 + 5 exam qs

• The coastal flood barrier in Kingston-upon-Hull is an example of hard engineering. Describe two other examples of hard engineering on the coast.

  Sea wall - A wall made of hard rock or reinforced concrete that reduces the energy of waves when they hit it. Groynes - Wood or rock barriers built 90 degrees to the beach to stop longshore drift and build up beaches. Rock armour - Large boulders or large piles of coral are piled up in front of eroding cliffs.
• Explain why the vulnerability of coastal communities to flooding varies in countries at different levels of economic development.

  People in HICs are better prepared through technology, including hard engineering. Conversely, in LICs a lack of resources often means that people live in substandard housing and overcrowded conditions which makes them more vulnerable, as well as less able to evacuate in the event of serious flooding.
• Suggest the social reasons why the council is prepared to spend money on maintaining the defences in Penzance. Use evidence from the photograph.

  Negative impact of tourism, on jobs and people’s way of life in a coastal town. Loss of businesses such as the hotel can be linked to unemployment, poverty, increased crime rates + anti-social behaviour. Also, the sea wall is visibly old therefore they'd want to maintain it for historical reasons.

  
• The carbon cycle is the movement of carbon between the atmosphere, land (including vegetation) and the oceans. An example of a natural carbon store is forest. One way that carbon moves from living things into the atmosphere is by respiration.
• Explain why ice cores are evidence of climate change

  Snowfall from each winter is compressed from the following year’s snowfall and eventually turns into ice. Within each layer, the gases that are present when the snow fell, are trapped and provide evidence of the chemical composition at the time. If these layers are analysed then a comparison of chemical composition and therefore temperature can be made across thousands of years.
• Suggest why this eruption could contribute to climate change

  This large eruption put ash into the atmosphere. Global circulation systems move the material around the globe. The material reflects sunlight into space. Less solar energy is reaching the earth. This can lead to average temperatures cooling.
• Give one reason why the intensity of storms may increase due to climate change.

  Increase in sea temperature heats the air above which means air rises quickly and there will be more water vapour in the storm leading to a greater intensity
• Where do tropical storms begin?

  Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn
• To what extent did Hurricane Matthew impact on people’s lives and the economy of Haiti? Use evidence from the photograph and fact box.

  People: loss of homes, loss of possessions, lack of food and water, lack of shelter, death of family members and friends, transport routes blocked, threat of disease etc. Economy: Businesses destroyed, stock damaged, cost of repair estimated at US$1.89 billion. Entire coffee and cocoa plantations destroyed.

  
• Describe the process of longshore drift.

  Waves transporting material driven along the coast in the direction of the prevailing wind. This is the swash. Waves retreat perpendicular to coastline under gravity. This is the backwash. In this way material is transported along the coastline in zig-zag motion.
• Analyse how longshore drift and other processes have affected the shape of the landforms along the coastline on this map

  Shape and width of the beach - wider at its western end due to the shelter provided by the sand spit creating the lower energy conditions needed for deposition to take place at this end of the bay. Also, as you move to the east along the beach, it narrows as longshore drift resumes and becomes the dominant process again.
• Severe weather events can pose a risk for people living in coastal environments. Physical factors that increase the risk can include the low-lying relief of many coastal areas which means they can be easily flooded. Another physical factor is the strength and frequency of events. Human factors include the number of people affected as coastal areas are often more densely populated and the wealth of a country which determines whether it can afford to protect its people.
• Explain why rising sea levels are likely to be a problem in the future for people who live in Small Island States

  Climate change is likely to raise sea levels in the future which will both inundate low-lying land on small islands and increase the severity of storms and potential surge events. Populations tend to concentrate near the coast as they often survive or make a living from fishing. The populations of many small island states are poor and thus lack the resilience to recover from the impacts of extreme weather events and the potential loss of homes from rising sea levels
• The opinions of residents who live at the coast are often different to those of local councils about how the coastline should be managed.

  Residents’ homes, culture and history, cost vs benefit, development
• Give one reason why the climate of Iquitos supports the growth of tropical rainforest

  Warm temperatures - longer growing season. High level of rainfall - plenty of water available for plant growth
• Describe two distinctive features of vegetation in a tropical rainforest.

  Large diversity of species - contains half of the earth’s plant species. Fast plant growth - any gaps in vegetation on the forest floor are quickly colonized. Distinctive layers - the emergent layer, the canopy, the understorey and the forest floor. Fast nutrient decomposition - leaves are broken down by decomposers very quickly.
• Explain why decomposition is an important part of the nutrient cycle.

  Decomposition is a key part of the nutrient cycle as it enables nutrients that are locked up in leaf litter to be released back into the soil so that they are available to be absorbed by plant roots. Without decomposition, the nutrients would remain locked up in dead leaf litter which would hinder growth of further generations of plants.
• Suggest reasons for the differences between the two nutrient cycles.

  Overall the tropical grassland ecosystem has larger stores and flows of nutrients than the tundra due to there being a larger input of rainfall and weathering which will lead to a faster cycle of decomposition and uptake. In the tropical grassland ecosystem, the largest store of nutrients is in the biomass. This may be due to the warm temperatures extending the growing season and therefore keeping the nutrients in living material for longer.
• Define biodiversity?

  The variety of living things
• Suggest why biodiversity is suffering in ecosystems such as coral reefs.

  Litter from boats may be swallowed by wildlife. Pollutants can travel from locations far away due to ocean currents. Tourists do not understand the fragility of the ecosystem. People remove coral/fish which affects the rest of the ecosystem. Climate change is killing coral so fauna affected.
• Explain why the strength of wind during tropical storms concerns some people who live in coastal communities.

  Increases wave energy and therefore risk of flooding from storm surge. Poorly constructed homes as they live in more deprived communities. Wind may blow down trees/debris which could damage homes.
• Describe one social and one economic factor that can increase the vulnerability of coastal communities to the impact of flooding.

  Social: high population density at coast, poorly constructed homes, lack of effective public health resources, lack of education. Economic: poverty, reduces resilience, reliance on primary activity, like fishing, poor infrastructure, poor defences
• Explain why climate change is increasing the risk of flooding in coastal areas.

  Climate change is causing warming of oceans which leads to melting glaciers and ice caps which is in turn, causing sea levels to rise. This makes coastal areas more vulnerable to floods when storms happen. Storms are becoming more frequent and powerful as there is greater heat energy in the oceans which fuel them and a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture which increases rainfall amounts. Coastal areas are also vulnerable from increased river flooding which results from higher rainfall inland.
• Local councils in the UK should protect all communities from coastal flooding to stop them from disappearing. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

  Councils have a moral obligation to maintain and sustain communities by investing in engineering solutions to increase flood risk to protect them. However, the cost of protection, in the face of climate change and increased storms and rising sea levels is unsustainable and a managed retreat strategy might be the only option.
• Define the term biome

  A large-scale ecosystem
• Describe the global distribution of tropical rainforests.

  Between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, clustered along the Equator, on all continents except Europe & Antarctica
• Explain why tropical rainforests are found in these areas.

  The Equatorial climate provides the optimum conditions for rapid plant growth. High temperatures and high amounts of rainfall provide the humid conditions plants can thrive in. With little seasonality these optimum conditions are present throughout the year resulting in constant growth of flora.
• Give two types of human activity that lead to deforestation in Tropical Rainforests.

  Mining, Farming, Logging, Reservoir Construction, Building of roads/railways
• Suggest why the rainforest in this photograph is being cleared.

  Small areas of rainforest are often cleared by farmers to grow food for their families. They are often on a low income and growing their own food is the only way they can feed their family. They may use the slash and burn technique as the rainforest is the only land they have access to that they can cultivate.

  
• Describe mono-culture.

  The growth of one crop for commercial purposes to sell for profit
• Give one reason why food production reduces biodiversity in tropical rainforests

  Destroys the natural ecosystem/habitat - negatively affects the balance within an ecosystem. Removes large areas of rainforest - rare species maybe killed and could lead to extinction. Clearing rainforests removes the biomass - nutrients removed from the ecosystem
• Food production at different scales result in a number of challenges to tropical rainforest ecosystems. Evaluate

  Large scale deforestation has a large impact on the ecosystem and biodiversity as they involved the removal of trees. The number of species found will decrease. As it is a smaller area that is cleared less impact is had on the biodiversity and this type of farming is generally better for maintaining the habitat. Farming will also impact on soil erosion. The removal of trees will result in soil being exposed and so the soil will be vulnerable to erosion from the heavy rain.