Understanding Floodplains and Levees

Look at the above diagrams, and also this site , to help your understand 

- how to describe and explain how and why FLOODPLAINS and LEVEES form.

Decline of seaside resorts - tourism

A BBC story about the decline of seaside resorts

Studland Beach - sand dunes

Presentation on dune succession

Mass tourism in Jamaica

Tourist board video

Dubai tourism

Dubai tourism video
Piers Morgan on Dubai
Human planet - Dubai
Supersized earth - Dubai

L'Aquila earthquake

Click on the following links from the BBC reporting of the earthquake and write some notes on the following:

• Site and and characteristics of L'Aquila


• The impacts of the earthquake on the city and the people living there


• The rescue efforts


• The aftershocks


• Building construction

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5
Interactive map
Full CNN report

GCSE controlled assessment (CAT)

Some useful mapping web-sites:

10 ways to Google-up your coursework - some excellent ideas using Google Earth and mapping

A great site to compare OS map data and Google Earth

Add data to Google Earth with this site

OS Open-Data site - free mapping

Fold mountains

Use these links to help you research into the importance of fold mountains and the Andes case study.

Detail about ocean trenches

Studland Beach sand dune management notes

Problems and solutions at Studland Beach Problems:

• Dune erosion caused by walkers - threatens plants and animals


• Traffic congestion in the car parks leads to parking on the dunes and damage
Visitors leave over 12 tonnes of litter per week. Unless it is put in the bins provided, it is dangerous to small birds and animals

• At least once a year, heath fires destroy plants and animals. The most common cause is a discarded cigarette end. Lizards and snakes can escape by burrowing, but may not escape predators once the vegetation cover has gone

The National Trust has:

• Enlarged the four main car parks to increase capacity by 800


• Built a visitor centre with shop, café and information point


• Closed some paths and fenced off parts of the sand dunes


• Planted marram grass


• Placed litter bins on paths and at the back of the beach


• Placed fire beaters and water hydrants on the heather and gorse heath, and made fire breaks


• Erected information boards and provided leaflets to educate people about the area

Fair Trade

Who are Fair Trade?

Choose an exaple of a producer from this page.

Lynford House Farm

You need to have knowledge of a case study of farming in the UK. We will use Lynford House farm in Cambridgeshire. Use the web site to complete the worksheet.

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

Global Warming Quiz

So, you think you know all about 'Global Warming' then? Try this short and informative quiz to see if you have got things right...

http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/GlobWarmTest/start.html

Global Climate Change

This week sees the launch of the 13th UN Climate Change Conference in Bali. Politicians and activists are meeting to discuss the next steps in the battle against global warming. Clearly there is lots of information on the web relating to this event.

An excellent animated guide to the science is here and there are many other animations of the science of climate change.


The impact of climate change on temperatures and on sea ice is well documented. The Met Office has the clearest models.


We can see how we can reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by looking at the information from the Energy Saving Trust and reading the information provided by the government advisory centre.

Everest in Europe?

A worrying article in the Guardian today has said that 1 in 3 people questioned thought Mount Everst was in Europe... I am sure none the the geographers at MCS think this... Could you answer these other questions correctly though? Many people couldn't...

What is the longest river in the world? Nile / Amazon / Mississippi / Yangtze

How many countries are there in the world? 237 / 184 / 114 / 65

What is the capital of the USA? New York / Washington / Los Angles

Answers on a postcard...

Rowing across the Atlantic

A Merchistonian (and a university friend of RDH) is rowing across the Atlantic. His progress can be followed here. the team will have to deal with huge waves, storm winds and man-eating sharks - not forgetting the blisters and living with 3 other smelly blokes in a boat this size!

Animation of river meanders and oxbow lakes

Try this link to see how river meanders develop through time, forming oxbow lakes in meander cutoffs. (If you have trouble forwarding the animation from one screen to the other, right-click and select 'play' from the menu).

Sustainable forestry in Malaysia

Here is a good link to a website giving detailed information about forestry in Malaysia

Nature's fury

The Sunday Times had a free DVD at the weekend entitled 'Nature's Fury'. See if your parents have a copy - it has footage of hurricanes, floods and other impacts of global warming. There was also a poster which covered the impacts of climate change which you will see in the Department soon!

See RDH if you want to borrow the DVD.