crowded coasts edexcel guide - part 1
TRANSCRIPT
6GEO2 Unit 2 Geographical Investigations – Student Guide: Crowded Coasts – Part 1
1. Overview2. Requirements of the
specification3. What are crowded coasts?4. Investigating crowded
coasts5. Ideas for fieldwork6. Research on crowded coasts7. Making it work for the exam
CONTENTS
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In Part 2
1. Overview
• Unit 2 has four components, but you are only required to study two of these.
• In the 75 minute exam you answer one question based on your two chosen topic areas. This means there is no choice.
• This exam is designed to test both knowledge and understanding of geographical concepts as well as geographical skills.
• Fieldwork, research and the enquiry process lie at the heart of this exam.
• The most important ways of ensuring the highest possible grades in this module is (i) being able to focus on the question set, (ii) to be able to use resources effectively, and (iii) to get your fieldwork in a form that works for the exam.
UNIT 2: The Paired Options –you only study one in each pair!
The ‘Physical’ Pair1. Extreme Weather2. Crowded Coasts
The ‘Human’ Pair3. Unequal Spaces4. Rebranding
UNIT 2 – Assessment overview and structure
• Normally the first part of each question starts with a data stimulus element.
• The fieldwork and research elements are related directly to work you have carried out during a field trip AND may involve questions about how you processed, interpreted etc what you found.
• The remaining question is more management and issues based. Here case study knowledge will be required.
• The data stimulus in unlikely to be the 15 mark question
• Data stimulus with an analysis element is possible
What makes the coast so attractive?
The factors opposite show why the coastal zone has always attracted settlers and been favoured by developers.
European countries built great ports to receive goods from
their colonies abroad (e.g. The port of Hong Kong). Of the
factors opposite, which do you think is the most important
and why? How might this vary from place to place and time
to time?
Global - Quick coasts facts• 3 billion people live within 100km of the
coast• Coastal population densities are typically 80
people / km2 – 50% more than non coastal areas; they rise to 1000+ in the Nile and Ganges deltas.
• Migration is a key component of growth
400% population growth since 1980
in some Florida counties
1500 new houses
approved each day in all coastal counties
combined.
Growth in the southern USACoastal counties occupy 17% of USA land area, yet are home to and 53% of population.There are a number of growth hotspots including Florida, Georgia, Texas and California
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has focused ideas of coastal pressure – the impacts on fishing
+ ecosystems will likely be enormous
Different types of coast
Retirement
CoastsExamples include:Parts of Norfolk,
Cornwall, plus UK south coast, Florida
Resource-rich
CoastsExamples include:
South-east Asia shrimp
industry, Nile and
Niger Delta
Tourism coasts
Examples include:
(almost all coasts), but specifically any coastal counties of southern England,
Costa Blanca
Industrial coasts
Examples include:
Rotterdam, south East UK, Pearl
River Delta, coastal cities of China,
including Hong Kong
Coasts may be developed for a number of reasons – they can be classified into a number of different types – there are some examples opposite. What other types of coast are there and where might they be found?
Many coasts are multi-purpose, with an overlap of different types of activity
occurring in adjacent locations or at the same
places.
Other types of coasts may exist, e.g. The ‘Golf Coast’, the ‘Eco-coast’, the ‘Activity Coast’.
1. Competition for coasts Coasts attract a wide range of users – this can bring challenges and opportunities for managers of coastal areas. Conservation of areas is becoming increasingly complex, especially when weighed up against the economic arguments of industry and tourism.
Who might be the
different coastal
stakeholders?
A number of physical and human factors shape the coastline.
Factors that shape
the coastline
Physical factors, e.g. sand dunes, mudflats, estuary, sand
banks, woodland , river
An exam question could ask you to
identify the physical and human factors
from a resource, e.g. GIS map / satellite
image
Human factors, e.g. roads, agriculture / farming. Settlement, bridge
2. Coping with the pressure Coastal developments
create patterns resulting from the competition for space. This can lead to pressure on coastal environments. The sea and shoreline can distort the patterns of land use.
A pressurised coastal system….
• Tossa de Mar, Spain• Increasingly crowded as
tourist market changes.• No longer fully ‘coastal’.• Potential conflicts between old
and new, residents and visitors, development versus conservation.
• A big issue is the future of such places with demands for water especially during the summer tourist season.
3. Increasing risks
The Fal estuaryin Cornwall; areasvulnerable to sea level rise
• Context links back to Unit 1 in terms of climate change
• Rising sea levels; increased storm activity + coastal flood risk
• Importance of ‘one off’ events such as 1953, tsunami and hurricanes
• Touch on issues such as isostatic change for the UK
• There is a fieldwork choice (‘coastal retreat or flood risk’); in many cases both can easily be covered.
You should be aware of the risks posed by the growing incidence
of coastal hazards – and potentially their social,
economic and environmental impacts
Coastal change…..
Climate change and rapid coastalisation are big threats globally. In the UK large amounts of money are being spend to try to manage threat and reduce risk.
Coastlines have always changed and responded to physical and
human processes. What is now of particular concern is rates of
change and numbers of vulnerable people
You could link the hazard risk equation from Unit 1 to assess your chosen coast or coasts
Risk =
HAZARDSFrequency and magnitude of events such as storm surges
CAPACITY: present resources and abilityto prepared for the future
VULNERABILITYA brief contrast mightbe useful; physical andhuman factors bothimportant
Risk The probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environment damaged) resulting from interactions between natural or human-induced hazards and vulnerable conditions.
Hazard A potentially damaging physical event, phenomenon or human activity that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.
Vulnerability
The conditions determined by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors or processes, which increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards.
Capacity A combination of all the strengths and resources available within a community, society or organization that can reduce the level of risk, or the effects of a disaster.
4. Coastal management
- Hold the line (hard and soft approaches)- Strategic retreat- Do Nothing- Advance the line
You should be aware that there are a range of coastal management and defence strategies. What are their
advantages and disadvantages?
Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and
SMPs (Shoreline Management Plans) and
ideas that should be researched.
Example – Newbiggin, N.E England
Context – (1) coastal mining subsidence leading to beach scour, (2) sea level rise is an increasing risk.Also, the town itself has suffered from mining job losses and relative isolation within SE Northumberland
An ambitious £10million plan to improve the beach and
promenade area through a replenishment scheme
Plan details 2007-8
500,000 tonnes beach nourishment
Offshore breakwater to
maintain beach and reduce wave energy; built from concrete tetrapods
Removal of some sea wall to improve beach
access and appearance
Landscaping works around the town to
improve image
Now see part 2 for the Fieldwork and Research