Biome case studies

Unit 4 requires one forest case study and one grassland case study. We are going to use Tropical Rainforest and Temperate Grasslands (steppes).

Complete the notes sheets on each biome using the resources I have already given you and the following links which may be useful:

Tropical Rainforest
A nice site with video
Blue Planet biomes
Radford University
Rainforest Action Network

Temperate Grasslands
A nice site with video
Blue Planet biomes
Radford University
University of California

Coping with climate change

How can we make a difference to climate change? What are some of the major TNCs in the world doing about the issue?

“Think global, act local”- what do you think this statement means?

Take 10 minutes to work out your own ecological footprint - make a note of your own personal action plan points

Go to the following website and see how other organisations are trying to reduce emissions in the UK. Include these on your worksheet

Have a look at some of the following TNCs and note down some of the measures they are taking to tackle GW
BP
Shell

Mobile

Impacts of global warming on the Arctic

There is a large amount of information on the internet which can help you with this compulsary case study. The Natural Resources Defence Council answers some key questions, as does the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change. More information is given by the Centre for International Environment Law. A search in some of the newspaper sites can be productive. For example, the Guardian which has articles such as this and this. Finally, the BBC is always a good source of information. There are a number of good articles - for example: here and here.

Multiple hazard hotspots

you need to know about both the Philippines and California as examples of multiple hazard hotspots. Use the template provided to create case study sheets for these two areas.

There is a lot of information on the web to help you. A sample to start with is here:

• Disaster information from the Philippines
• An excellent PowerPoint on the Philippines
• An excellent map of the Philippines
• Specifics on the natural hazards faced by California
• A good summary of the issues facing California
• Another good starting point for California
• More from USGS on California


• Search here for the region you have chosen and you will get a list of hazards
• Go here for excellent maps for ALL countries and the hazards which affect them

That should be plenty to start with!

Some good general interest sites

Some good new websites have come to our attention in the last few days:

• BBC Scotland has a good 'Bitesize' site with information and case studies on flooding, migration and hazards.


• Another BBC Scotland site has information on coastal pressures which is good for the AS course.


• SEPA has a good animation which shows areas of Scotland at risk from flooding. Type in your postcode to see if you are likely to get wet!
• A fantastic simulator which allows you to control the flood policies of the UK

Sand dune succession AS investigation

A few links to help with the investigation into the human impact on the sand dune ecosystem at Blackwaterfoot, Arran.

A presentation on the sand dune system at Studland, Dorset. Another based on a Scottish example. This best site from the Field-Studies Council with details of sand dune ecosystems.

Glacial movement - examples!

In the recent pieces of work on 'glacial movement' and 'glacial mass balance' many of you did not include any examples to illustrate your points. Use the following links to find examples to illustrate you answers. Look for examples of advancing glaciers, retreating glaciers, data on accumulation and ablation. Start here with an animation illustrating glacial mass balance. Then check out the links on glacier mass balance and glacial retreat and this interesting note on glacial advance. Finally view the video of glacial advance made by PBS in America.

Vulnerability quadrat

To help answer the question on the vulnerability quadrat. On this website there are lots of images which may be of use. You may need to save the images to 'My Documents' before viewing them. I have copied some of the images into a PowerPoint presentation on X:\Geography AS\Read Only for you to view easily.

You will find some more maps here from Colombia University and some here of the USA.

Glacial systems

Use this link to complete the worksheet on Glacial Systems. See also here for more information.

Ice ages

Make notes using this PowerPoint presentation on the causes of Ice Ages. There are also some notes to go with the presentation here.

Is it fair for MEDCs to expect LEDCs to limit their greenhouse gas emissions?

A good place to start for this is the BBC Weather Climate Change mini-site. From here you should navigate to the 'Policies' section and read about the Kyoto Protocol and the mini-section 'Rich v Poor'.



The other main BBC portal is here. In particular you could look at this Q&A section on the Carbon Trade and how it might work for LEDCs and MEDCs. If you have a hunt around from the main BBC portal you will find a number of relevant articles including this one about Japan and one about China.

Also check out a previous BLOG entry.

The main ideas you should be including might be:

Can we, as developed countries, dictate the GHG emissions of countries desperate to develop themselves?

Should developing countries have the same limits on their emissions as developed countries? Surely they need less energy than us?

How do we persuade developing nations to use less polluting energy sources?

Millenium Development Goals in Africa - C set

The Millenium Development Goals were set out by the UN in 2000. The aim of the development goals is to improve the lives of the poorest people in the world. Answer the following questions in the form of a small MS Powerpoint project:

Who are the UN?

Use the Wikipedia link to summarise who the UN is and what its main aims are.

What are the Millenium Goals?

Use the Wikipedia link to make a slide for each of the 8 Millenium Development Goals and briefly describe what their aims were.

Use the BBC website link to find out more about each Development Goal and include some of the graphs from the site.

Millennium Development Goals in Africa

The Millenium Development Goals were set out by the UN in 2000. The aim of the development goals is to improve the lives of the poorest people in the world.

Answer the following questions in the form of a small project (MS Word or MS PowerPoint):

1. Who are the UN?


2. What are the Millenium Goals?


3. Is Africa going to reach the targets set by the Millenium Development Goals? Use p102 and p129 in your textbook and other sources to present some of the figures as graphs in your project to illustrate the progress being made in Africa

Pringle online revision

There are some online revision tests for II and III form to help prepare for the forthcoming exams. They can be accessed (within school) by clicking here. Logon with your surname as both the username and password (unless your teacher has given you a different logon - if your surname is too short!)

Salt Marsh Ecosystems & Succession

LVI Geographers have to study salt marsh succession (haloseres) for the last part of Unit 1. Here is a useful link to the Field Studies Council website on salt marshes. Follow it through, and make notes, making sure you can identify a couple of typical plants at each of the development stages, and explain their adaptations to that environment.

AS Geography Unit 1 revision

I stumbled across this great website, created by St Ivo School in Cambridgeshire. It has a lot of super material on it, which should help you with your revision over the Easter holiday.

Shanty towns in LEDCs

We have been studying the growth of urban areas in LEDCs. You are to complete a short project on the shanty settlements in Rio de Janeiro (known in Brazil as favelas). You need to include the following information:

• Intoduction and map of Rio
• Details of the problems, including:

1. Housing - growth of favelas and periferia
2. Crime
3. Traffic
4. Pollution

• Attempts to address these problems, including:

1. Self-help schemes - Rocinha, Bairro Project
2. New towns

Use your textbook as your primary source and then use the web. Other sources of information include: a photo essay from the Washington Post, an article from BBC.

This is an image of Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro


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AIDS in Africa

HIV / AIDS is the biggest challenge facing the African continent. Create a colourful and informative poster explaing the issue. Include information such as:

• What is HIV / AIDS?


• How does it spread?


• Africa facts and figures


• A case study of an African country particularly affected


• Possible solutions to the problem

The BBC web site is a good place to start. Also try the Guardian newspaper site.

Mount St Helens

'...the worst volcanic disaster in the recorded history of the United States.'

Use the USGS site publication to complete the worksheet on the eruption of Mount St Helens in 1980.

If it keeps on raining...

The Geographical Association have created a fantastic new resource on flood management. It has a number of excellent case studies with considrabel detail including hydrographs for specific events.

Scotland's changing population

Both the Shell and the LVI study changing populations - in particular elderly populations and the effect of them on a country. In the Scotsman today was a leader on the changing population in Scotland, with a much higher percentage of elderly people predicted in the future. The article included a great graphic which can be downloaded here.

Lynford House Farm

GCSE requires a case study of an EU farm. We will use Lynford House Farm in Cambridgeshire. Complete the case study sheet using the web site.


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This is a GoogleMap image of the farm

Water, water everywhere...

The IV form are studying water as a resource. The BBC has an excellent mini-site with lots of information on the 'water debate'.

Only yesterday new problems in China were reported with the daming of the Yangtze river leading to drought conditions.

Will the taps ever actually run dry?