as level geography water and carbon cycles 3 days level geography aqa water and carbon cycles 3 days...

AS Level GeographyAQA

Water and Carbon Cycles

3 days

• Delivertwodaysoffieldworkwithinaninspiringphysicalenvironment.• PrepareASlevelstudentsforSectionBofPaper2:Geographyfieldworkinvestigationand

geographicalskills,worth12.5%oftheirtotalmarks.• CoverspecificationcontentforASfieldworkin3.1Physicalgeography;3.1.1Waterand

carboncycles.• ForthosegoingontoAlevel,thiscoursewillcontribute

twoofthefourdaysoffieldworkrequirementsandprovidecontextualisedlearningininspiringrealworldenvironmentstodeveloptheirgeographicalunderstandingfortheAlevelexaminations.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysExample Course Timetable

Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/

For alternative courses

DAY MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING

1 ArriveMiddayStudents will be greeted by FSC staff, with a welcome talk followed by a brief tour of the Centre and the local area.

OutlineoftheCourseAllocation of wellies/waterproofs.

Choose one part of the specification to focus on from:. 3.1.1.2 The Water Cycle3.1.1.3 The Carbon Cycle

Choose one from:TheCarbonCycleasaNaturalSystemGetting outside into the local environment to explore carbon through a systems approach; providing a context for the fieldwork and the learners place in the geography of carbon through setting a geological timeframe of carbon within the planetary system. Trialling techniques used to investigate carbon flux and storage. DevelopingaSystemsApproachtoWaterA hands on outdoor exploration of the importance of water to life on Earth, and how it is cycled in the planetary system on different spatial and temporal scales. This will be given personal and local relevance through investigating inputs, stores and transfers in our own and the landscape system.

Choose one from:CarbonCalculatorDataCollectionandCollationDeveloping understanding of our place within the carbon cycle through investigating human activity, our own, in transferring carbon from the land into the atmosphere through our daily actions. DataAnalysisandEvaluation(1)-WaterData collected from the afternoon’s fieldwork will be collated, analysed and evaluated. The findings will be set into the context of understanding ‘water balance’ in a systems context, thus forming the foundation of the second day.

2 Choose one from:ChangeintheCarbonCycle–InvestigatingCarboninthePresentLandscapeA full fieldwork day investigating carbon in some of the most inspiring landscapes of the UK. Developing thinking around and experience of the carbon system through investigating transfers, flows and storage of carbon at a plant and sere scale. Carrying out fieldwork to explore the role of processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion and sequestration in the carbon cycle. WaterandCatchmentEquilibriumA local river catchment will be investigated to explore the patterns of water movement within the system, the catchment water balance or imbalance, and the resulting impacts of these on the physical and social landscape. This will build on understanding developed from work on the first afternoon, and will include opportunities to explore drought/water stress, sustainable water supply or flooding.

DataAnalysisandEvaluation(2)-CarbonorWaterUsing GIS and statistical tools to give meaning to the fieldwork data on both a global, local and personal scale. Contextualising the data into the global picture of change, both natural and anthropogenic. They will: • Process and present their data, using

graphical and cartographical techniques• Analyse data using statistical techniques• Draw conclusions relating back to the original

aims and objectives of the investigation• Review all the stages of the enquiry and how it

might be developed further

3 Choose one from:Carbon,ClimateandtheFutureThe systems approach to investigating carbon will be taken into a local settlement to contextualise the role of human activity on carbon and climate. Through employing a range of fieldwork learners will set out a post carbon vision for the settlement including suggestions for climate change mitigation strategies. HumanImpactsandMitigation-WaterA local case study of land use change, storm event, seasonal change, farming practice or water abstraction with relation to flooding or water supply will be used to investigate the role of human impacts in the water system. This case study will link the previous fieldwork with systems concepts of feedback and causality and will develop thinking around climate change impacts and mitigation.

DepartatMiddayA final farewell from FSC staff as the students depart at midday.

Pleasenote: to ensure safe and quality learning experiences for students, the timetable may alter depending on weather conditions and local factors at Centres.

’Carbon is the backbone of life on Earth. We are made of carbon, we eat carbon, and our civilizations—our economies, our homes, our means of transport—are built on carbon. We need carbon, but that need is also entwined with one of the most serious problems facing us today: global climate change.....’ NASA Earth ObservatoryThe current geographical study of carbon is fundamental to the age in which we live, and to future generations. Equipping learners with the understanding of this fundamental system will play its part in allowing them to make informed decisions in a rapidly changing world. This highly topical fieldwork will explore carbon in the planetary system, developing understanding of the system on a local scale that can be applied to greater scales in both space and time.

The water cycle is one of ‘Earth’s life support systems’, it is fundamental to all living systems and plays a key role in shaping the ever changing landscapes in which we live. Understanding the interconnections, feedbacks and processes occurring on spatial scales from individual plants to vast ecosystems and temporal scales of seconds to millions of years is the starting point for placing ourselves in this watery web of life on Earth. This hands on field course based in some of the UK’s finest fluvial landscapes develops geographical skills and deeper thinking around this keystone topic.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysThe Carbon Cycle as a Natural System



Learning Opportunities“The cycle of carbon is the key to life on Earth’ – This statement highlights the importance of understanding, valuing and living our lives with respect for this aspect of the planetary system.

Carbon in its many forms is found in different amounts in terrestrial, atmospheric and oceanic stores. The balance in flux between these stores plays a key role in determining climatic changes over varying time periods – changes that affect all life on Earth.

Learners will start to explore carbon through the idea that we share this moment in time with both the past and the future. They will explore the geological timeframe of carbon in the planetary system, what that system includes, and how they are a part of the system. They will develop their thinking around carbon in terms of its temporal and spatial scales; using secondary data to understand the global scale, and collecting primary data to examine small scale local aspects of the carbon cycle. Learners will also connect the bigger concepts of the carbon cycle with themselves through considering carbon in their bodily system and through auditing their collective carbon footprint throughout the residential course.

Learners will be introduced to a number of experiments and fieldwork methods including:• Soilcoringandanalysis(moistureandorganiccontent)• Measuringcarboninbiomass(charcoalandfurnace)• Personalcarbonandwaterfluxes• Carbonfootprinting

Specification Links

3.1Physicalgeography

3.1.1Waterandcarboncycles

3.1.1.1 Water and carbon cycles as natural systemsSystems in physical geography: Systems concepts and their application to the water and carbon cycles - inputs, outputs, energy, stores/components, flows/transfers, positive/negative feedback, dynamic equilibrium.

3.1.1.3 The carbon cycleGlobal distribution, and size of major stores of carbon – lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere.

Factors driving change in the magnitude of these stores including flows and transfers at plant, sere and continental scales. Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion, burial, compaction, carbon sequestration, weathering.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysDeveloping a Systems Approach to Water



Learning Opportunities“We don’t always think very consciously about water, but it is part of our bodies, communities, daily lives and habits. It is also integral to our ecosystems, economy, local landscapes and our experience of them.” – HydroCitizens Project

Water is cycled in both the natural and built environment, through and within our bodies and all living systems on Earth. Exploring this fundamental life system in a geographical context connects us to the local and global importance of water, its careful management and the future challenges we face.

Students will start to actively explore this thinking around the water cycle system at a personal and local scale using field data from their own experiments and secondary long term data sets. They will collect and analyse data relating to the inputs, movements, storage and outputs of water that relate to themselves and the local landscape. Combining this with data from secondary sources they will build up a picture of how their own and catchment systems operate in relation to water. To help contextualise and transfer learning into subsequent fieldwork and other areas of life this exploration of a river landscape as a complex system will be guided by the idea that ‘Water flows through all life, bringing change and balance’.

Students will be introduced to a range of experiments, fieldwork methods and data analysis which may include:• Studyinginputstothedrainagebasinthroughprecipitationmeasurementsusingraingaugesandsecondarydatasets,anddrawingThiessen polygons to estimate an average figure for the area.• Estimatingtheinterceptionratebycomparisonbetweenareasofdifferingvegetation.• Measuringandcalculatingwaterfluxesthroughbreathingandperspiration.• Calculatingpersonaldailywaterusage.• Measuringinfiltrationratesindifferentgeology,soiltypesorareasofthedrainagebasin.• Investigatingstorageandinfiltrationbymeasuringsoilfieldcapacity,moistureandtexture.• Observingvegetationtodeducesoilmoistureinthelandscape.• Usingexamplesofevaporationpansandtreetranspirationdemonstrationstoillustratethesystemoutputs.

Specification Links



3.1.1.1 Water and carbon cycles as natural systemsSystems in physical geography: Systems concepts and their application to the water and carbon cycles - inputs, outputs, energy, stores/components, flows/transfers, positive/negative feedback, dynamic equilibrium.

3.1.1.6 Case studiesCasestudyofarivercatchment(s)atalocalscaletoillustrateandanalysekeythemessetoutabove,engagewithfielddataandconsidertheimpact of precipitation upon drainage basin stores and transfers and implications for sustainable water supply and/or flooding.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysCarbon Calculator Data Collection and Collation



Learning OpportunitiesDuring this session students will process their data within a background context of the changes in the carbon cycle over time. They will consider the natural variation as well as the human impacts on the carbon budget. They will start to develop their qualitative and quantitative data skills and begin to understand how the geographical enquiry process fits together in as a coherent structure.

Students may:• Usegeo-spatialtechnologiessuchasGIStoanalyseandpresentdata.• Begintousedescriptivestatisticsandmeasuresofdifference.• Useelectronicdatabases.• Developtheirgeographicalliteracycoreskills.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysData Analysis and Evaluation (1) - Water



Learning OpportunitiesData collected from the afternoon’s fieldwork will be collated, analysed and evaluated. The findings will be set into the context of understanding ‘water balance’ in a systems context, thus forming the foundation of the second day.

Students may: • Critiquetheirobservationskillstoformtargetsensuringprogression.• Usegeospatialmappingskillsanddatamanipulationtocontextualisetheirresults.• Begintousestatisticalskillsonquantitativedata.• Starttobuildinformationintoacasestudytoillustratetheimpactofprecipitationuponthedrainagebasin.• Considertheimplicationsofthedrainagebasinmanagementforasustainablewatersupply.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysChange in the Carbon Cycle - Investigating Carbon in the Present Landscape



Learning Opportunities“Carbon is life and food, and moves from atmosphere to plants and soils and back in a grand cycle that is sometimes called the circle of life; a circle that encompasses the living and the dead. Soil Carbon Coalition 2013

Since the Industrial Revolution human activity has been dramatically upsetting this balance through the release of terrestrial carbon into the atmosphere, predominantly through the burning of fossil fuels, cement production, land use change and agriculture. These changes in the balance of carbon storage between land, atmosphere and oceans is having and will continue to have major impacts in the form of climate change and its many manifestations.

Learners will extend their thinking around sharing the present with the past and the future by exploring how maintaining balance requires taking and giving back – a truism in all systems at every temporal and spatial scale. They will do this through engaging in landscape scale carbon experiments that will explore the land-atmosphere fluxes and sequestration of carbon resulting from past and present land use change, conservation land management and the part of biomass in the terrestrial/atmospheric aspects of the carbon cycle. This work will connect the learners thinking with the roll of anthropogenic induced carbon imbalance as a key component of current and future climate change, and carbon sequestration as a form of climate change mitigation.

Fieldwork, measurements, calculation and analysis may include:• Soilmoistureandcarbon(organicmatter)experimentsondifferentlanduseareas.• Treebiomassmeasurementsandcalculationsofsequesteredcarbon.• Sitevisittofarm/peatland/forestryincludinginterview/discussionwithlandmanager.• Carryingoutpracticallandmanagementforcarbonsequestration(forexamplesoilcarbon,biomass,peatre-wetting).• UseofGIStomaplanduseandcarbonflux/sequestrationandpositivecarbonfutures.

Specification Links



3.1.1.3 The carbon cycleFactors driving change in the magnitude of these stores including flows and transfers at plant, sere and continental scales. Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion, burial, compaction, carbon sequestration, weathering.

Changesinthecarboncycleovertimetoincludenaturalvariation(includingwildfires,volcanicactivity)andhumanimpact(includinghydrocarbonfuelextractionandburning,farmingpractices,deforestation,landusechanges).

The carbon budget and the impact of the carbon cycle upon land, ocean and atmosphere including global climate.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysWater and Catchment Equilibrium



Learning Opportunities“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” Jacques Cousteau

River landscapes are an inspiring manifestation of the complex interactions of water, geology and life on vast scales in space and time. Water moves through and is stored in these landscapes, developing complex channel patterns mirrored on different scales within the planetary system.

Understanding these landscapes and our part in them with respect to this interconnectivity between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere is key to a future of sustainable water usage.

Buildingonthepreviousday’sfieldworklearnerswillexploretheconceptofwaterbalanceatthescaleofalocalrivercatchmentusingarangeof fieldwork techniques, leading to consideration of its usefulness in managing drought, water supply and flooding. A series of storm simulation experiments will be used to investigate the storm hydrograph and consider how this relates to the river regime graphs, flood recurrence intervals and the drainage morphology such as drainage density, stream ordering and drainage basin size and shape. Learners will also collect field data to calculate the discharge of the river and start to relate this to the precipitation-discharge relationship using secondary rainfall data.

Measurements,calculationsandanalysismightinclude:• FielddatacollectiontocalculateriverdischargeandpeakflowusingManning’sn.• Sizeandshapeofdrainagebasin–usingcircularityandelongationratios.• Drainagedensity(kmofchannelperkm2).• Floodrecurrenceintervals.• Stormsimulationexperiments.• DrawingstormhydrographsusingExcel.• SpatialanalysisusingGISoffloodrisk.

Specification Links



3.1.1.2 The water cycleDrainage basins as open systems – inputs, outputs to include precipitation, evapo-transpiration and run off; stores and flows to include: interception, surface, soil water, groundwater and channel storage; stemflow, infiltration overland flow, and channel flow. Concept of water balance.

Runoff variation and the flood hydrograph.

Changesinthewatercycleovertimetoincludenaturalvariation(forexamplestormevents,seasonalchanges)andhumanimpact(forexamplefarmingpractices,landusechangeandwaterabstraction). 3.1.1.6 Case studiesCasestudyofarivercatchment(s)atalocalscaletoillustrateandanalysekeythemessetoutabove,engagewithfielddataandconsidertheimpact of precipitation upon drainage basin stores and transfers and implications for sustainable water supply and/or flooding.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysData Analysis and Evaluation (2) - Carbon



Learning OpportunitiesIn this session students will focus on developing their geographical fieldwork investigative skills using the days fieldwork as a context. They will start to draw conclusions relating back to the original aims of the day and link these conclusions to the place that they have studied, as well as the ideas surrounding changes within the carbon cycle.

Students may:• Usemeasuresofcentraltendencyanddispersion.• Useinferentialandrelationalstatistics.• ProducegraphsusingICT.• Usearangeofsecondaryillustrativeandvisualmaterialtocontextualtheirconclusions.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysData Analysis and Evaluation (2) - Water



Learning OpportunitiesStudents will use GIS and statistical tools to give meaning to the fieldwork data on both a global, local and personal scale. They will contextualise the data into the global picture of change, both natural and anthropogenic, in the water cycle. Students will also consider how far they are progressing to understand fieldwork as a tool to understand and generate new knowledge about the real work and their developing skills at planning, undertaking and evaluating fieldwork in a range of new situations. Students will review the enquiry process and reflect on any gaps remaining in their knowledge and understanding.

Students will consider these areas of the enquiry process:•Preparationforfieldwork,includingbackgroundreading,drawingupaimsandobjectivesfortheenquiry,planningresearchinthefieldandfrom secondary sources, using data sampling techniques and carrying out health and safety procedures.•Collectionofprimarydatainthefieldandusingsecondarydatasources.•Processingandpresentingdatausingrelevantgraphicalandcartographicaltechniques.•Analysingdata,includingusingstatisticaltechniqueswhererelevant.•Drawingconclusionsrelatedbacktotheoriginalaimsandobjectivesandlinkingtheseconclusionstoboththeplacestudiedandthegeneral ideas forming the basis of the enquiry.•Reviewingthesuccess,orotherwise,ofallstagesoftheenquiry.•Consideringhowtheenquirycouldbefurtherdeveloped.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysCarbon, Climate and the Future



Learning Opportunities“We already have the technology to power the UK with 100% renewable energy, to feed ourselves sustainably and to leave a safe and habitable climate for our children and future generations.”ZeroCarbonBritainReport

Understanding and acting on carbon and climate change are as much social issues, involving beliefs and attitudes, as they are technical or scientific.

To recognise and act on this societally is the challenge faced by current and future generations around the planet we share. As geographers this crosses all aspects of our discipline and calls for interdisciplinary collaboration. At a local scale this means to explore the role of communities and individuals, as well as organisations and policy makers in this move toward a post-carbon future.

Focusing on an urban setting learners will investigate societal carbon and its implications for climate change, visioning a sustainable post-carbon future. Learners will carry out fieldwork in a local settlement, mapping carbon in the form of transport, energy and consumption and exploring opportunities for climate change mitigation in urban settings. Learners will set out a vision for a positive post carbon future for the settlement – outlining necessary mitigation and adaptation through exploring the players, pathways, values and their own involvement in this process.

Fieldwork may involve:• Carbonmapping.• Futuresfieldsketching.• Interviews/questionnaires/perceptionanalysis.• Sitevisittoinnovativelowcarbon/zero-carbon/carbon-negativeinitiatives.

Specification Links



3.1.1.4 Water, carbon, climate and life on EarthThe relationship between the water cycle and carbon cycle in the atmosphere. The role of feedbacks within and between cycles and their link to climate change.

Human interventions in the carbon cycle designed to influence carbon transfers and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysHuman Impacts and Mitigation - Water



Learning Opportunities“In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference.” Rachel Carson

Agriculture, production of energy, industrial uses and human consumption are some of the main pressures on global freshwater resources. These, coupled with the uncertainty of the impacts of climate change on future water security, are key issues for all life on Earth. It is therefore fundamental that responsible and sustainable water resource management and mitigation of water shortage/excesses and climate change are considered in the geographical context of the water cycle.

To start to explore these interconnected landscape and climate change issues of water supply or flooding in real world settings, learners will focus on a local case study to investigate the part of one of the following elements within the context of a local drainage basin:• Astormevent• Seasonalchange• Farmingpractices• Landusechange• Waterabstraction

LearnerswillusetheRiverBasinManagementPlanandhavetheopportunitytoconductsecondaryresearch,visitrelevantfieldsitesandanalysedata to build a picture of how the water cycle changes over time, through natural or human intervention. They will consider any significant environmental, social, economic and political impacts this might have, and mitigation measures that are being or could be taken in relation to water security and climate change at a personal, catchment and global scale.

Specification Links



3.1.1.2 The water cycleChangesinthewatercycleovertimetoincludenaturalvariation(forexamplestormevents,seasonalchanges)andhumanimpact(forexamplefarmingpractices,landusechangeandwaterabstraction). 3.1.1.4 Water, carbon, climate and life on EarthThe relationship between the water cycle and carbon cycle in the atmosphere. The role of feedbacks within and between cycles and their link to climate change.

Human interventions in the carbon cycle designed to influence carbon transfers and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

3.1.1.6 Case studiesCasestudyofarivercatchment(s)atalocalscaletoillustrateandanalysekeythemessetoutabove,engagewithfielddataandconsidertheimpact of precipitation upon drainage basin stores and transfers and implications for sustainable water supply and/or flooding.

AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 daysFSC Centres



To book this course, simply: Choose the time of the year you would like to attend1. PicktheCentre(s)ofinterest2. Check availability online, contact head office to check availability across multiple Centres or contact the Centre(s)ofyourchoicedirectly

To book this course the minimum size of your group must be 12 students and one member of staff.

Head Office contact details:Tel: 01743 852100 Email: [email protected]

Centres that offer this course

BL Blencathra

CH Castle Head

DF Dale Fort

FM FlatfordMill

JH Juniper Hall

MA Margam

MT MalhamTarn

NC Nettlecombe

OR Orielton

PM PrestonMontford

RC Rhyd-y-creuau

SL Slapton

as level geography water and carbon cycles 3 days level geography aqa water and carbon cycles 3 days...

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