Geography Case Study

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Case Study

Coasts

Hel spit – coastal deposition.

  1. The Hel spit in the western end of Gdansk Bay of the Baltic Sea in the northern of Poland.
  2. Its over 50km long.
  3. It separates at the bay of Puck and the Baltic sea.
  4. Its used for tourism and fishing.

Coral Reef

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is located from Cape York peninsula to Gladstone in Queensland Australia.

Why is the Reef under threat.

The Reef is under threat as many tourist go to them. Although there are strict rules and you are only aloud to do certain activates, people still break the rules. Rivers bring toxic and metal pollutants to the reef from industrial activates.

There is fishing and people use Cyanide bombs to stun fish so they can be collected easily.

What is GBRMPA and what is being done to preserve (look after) the reef?

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is an organisation, which aims to protect the reef. To achieve this, they are developing laws to stop oil pollution, over-fishing and tourist damage. They have made different zones for different activates and the managers are told to keep the natural beauty of the reef.

Chaiten Volcano, Chile

May 2008

Causes

  • Nazca and South American plate.
  • The Soutg American crust is continental and the Nazca crust is oceanic.
  • The Nazca plate went under the South American plate which pushed magma up the volcano.

Effects

  • 4000 people had to flee from their homes out of a population on 4500 people. Many people were holes when they returned.
  • The ash rose to 20km tall and stayed there for 5 days.

Chendu Earthquake, China

May 2008

Causes

  1. China is on a plate boundary of the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate.
  2. The epicentre is 100km from Chengdu.
  3. The epicentre was the magnitude 7.9.
  4. There were 3 major faults. One near Wenchuan county, one near Chendu and one near Shifang.
  5. The Indo-Australian plate subducting beneath the Eurasian plate at the rate of 50mm per year.

Effects

  1. All trains were ordered to stop.
  2. 68,000 people have been estimated to have died.
  3. Almost 2,000 children were made orphans.
  4. 18,000 were missing.
  5. The official estimated death toll was 87,587.

Madagascar rainforest

  1. South East of Africa.
  2. The average annual rainfall is 1640 mm and the average temperature is 25 c
  • Temperature over 20 c for most months of the year so plant growth is not limited by low temperature.
  • High rainfall in each month the year so there is water available for growth all year.
  • Long hours of daylight and sunshine so photosynthesis can take place all year.
  • High temperatures and high rainfall results in the rapid recycling of nutrients.
  1. Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island. Before people arrived here years ago, nearly all of the island was forested. Since then local people have gradually cleared the land for farming which has led to deforestation. Today there are also threats from mining companies, and tourism is growing. The rainforest here is disappearing fast.

Cyclone Nargis – Myanmar

Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn in Myanmar.

Causes

  1. Warm air from the north met the warm air from the south and the sea temperature reached 27 c and the wind began to circulate anticlockwise.
  2. The sea was 27 c warm and 60 metres deep so it was perfect environment for a hurricane to be formed.
  3. Myanmar is in the northern hemisphere and for hurricanes to occur in the northern hemisphere, the time of year must be from May to November and it happened on the 5th May.
  4. The easterly winds were at a high level and they moved the tropical storms.

Australian Drought

Causes

  1. Located in a sub tropical area.
  2. Australia is also a very flat continent, which leads to reduced orographic rainfall.
  3. People using to much water.

Effects

  1. No water for crops and farming animals.
  2. Causes people to pay more for food and water.
  3. Causes erosion.

Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere. It is so large that it experiences several climate types. The daily weather can vary enormously depending on which climate zone your are in. There are monsoon rains in the north near Darwin, desert temperature up to 50c in the centre of the Northern Territory, and much of the west and south are also dry. Only within 400 km of the coast in the south east is the temperature maritime climate not too hot nor too cold and wet enough for people to farm and live in. Many Australians live in the two states that cover tis area: New South Wales and Victoria. Any failure in rainfall or river flow will cause a drought. Australia is the world’s driest continent but, since 2002, this area has experienced its worst drought in over 100 years.

Case study

River flooding

Lynmouth, 1952

North Devon, UK

Causes

  1. Rain for 12 of 14 days leading up to the flood.
  2. 24 hours. Over 200mm rain on day of flood.
  3. Impermeable rock (water doesn’t soak through).
  4. Narrowed channel.
  5. Steep drainage basin.
  6. River diverted to old channel due to huge discharge.
  7. Boulders got trapped behind bridges – counted temporary dams.

Effects

  1. 34 died.
  2. 1000 homeless.
  3. 90 houses/hotels destroyed.
  4. 130 cars lost.
  5. 19 boats lost (fishing/tourism).
  6. Delta was enlarged.

The Three Gorges Dam

Yangtze River – China

Advantages

  • Provides a huge amount of electricity.
  • 200 million people are protected due to the dams flood control.
  • Dam reduces the financial loss that is created by flood damage.

Disadvantages

  • Cost 26.5 billion dollars.
  • Peoples housing and factories destroyed for the reservoir.
  • Serious danger of the dam breaking. 360 million people would be in danger if the dam burst.
  • Increase landslide.
  • Local residence who lost their home never got compensated.
  • Sewage gets caught in the Yangtze.

Population growth in Niger

Locate

  • Land locked country in West Africa.
  • Niger river flows through the South West of the country.
  • The climate is extremely hot and dry.

Facts and figures

  • The population had increased from 1.7 million (in 1960) to over 13 million (in 2008).
  • Expected to reach up to 56 million by 2050.
  • Population growth rate is 2.9.
  • Highest fertility rate in the world (7.1 births per woman.
  • Stage 2 in DTM.

Why

  • Death rate is low because of more clinics and hospitals, clean water, babies are vaccinated against diseases.
  • Birth rate remains high.
  • 90% of people are involved with agriculture (farming).
  • Children are the source of wealth- they work in fields, then they go to town to earn money, mainly to look after their parents when they get old.

Population decline in Russia

Causes

  • High death rate, more than 1 million Russians with aids.
  • Low birth rate – 1.1/woman.
  • Low level of immigration because there is not a good lifestyle in Russia.
  • Alcohol related deaths.
  • Russian woman are highly educated and don’t want large families.
  • Emigration is occurring more = people moving to seek a better lifestyle.
  • Large number of suicides due to very cold weather and depression because of its lack of sunlight. (I looked this up, apparently its true).

Effects

  • Declining population
  • Male life expectancy of 59.
  • One pensioner for every worker in 20 year’s time.
  • Monthly child support to 1500 roubles = encouraging more children.
  • Woman who choose to have a 2nd baby will receive 250,000 roubles. (Roubles is the Russian Currency).

Under population in Australia

Some Background Knowledge

Australia has a population of 20,600,856 million people. It has an area of 7,686,850km2. Its main industries are mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals and steel production. The main agricultrural products are wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruids, cattle, sheep and poultry (chicken). From this, its value of exports is $141.7 billion. (Population increase from 3.7-1901 to 20—291 million.

There are many different advantages and disadvantages of Australia being unpopulated. Here are some:

Advantages:

  • More job opportunities and school places available.
  • As there are less people, easier to control drought e.g. water supply.
  • Less immigrants as there is a small population.

Disadvantages:

  • Tight citizenship and visa laws.
  • There are wasted resources and energy supplies.
  • Not enough people to occupy services- police, army.
  • People might have to work longer as there might not be enough people at that job/company.
  • More migration.
  • Can only be solved by letting immigrants in.

Case study: overpopulation in Nigeria

  • Nigeria is located on the western coast of Africa and its capital is Lagos.
  • Nigeria has a population of 140 million people with 40% living on less than 1 dollar a day.
  • It occupies 3% of the continent of Africa” land however has 15% of Africa’s inhabitants therefore is vastly over populated.
  • This is mostly caused by increase in birth rate due to better hospitals conditions which has led to falling deaths rates.
  • There has been a 60% population growth rate from 1990 to 2008 which has resulted in an overall population increases of 57 million people.
  • 29% of children are underweight and 68% are enrolled at school causing the problem of the health care and educational systems are being stretched.
  • In lagos the capital overpopulation has had a devastating effect. Over 250 people including 84 police men have been killed due to the increasing crime rate.
  • 9 million people are living in shanty towns on the fringes of Nigeria’s central business district, whtih no running water or sanitation. Urgent help is being requested by the government to solve the problem of overpopulation.

Low population density in Namibia

  • Namibia is in Southern Africa.
  • It has a low GDP per person of $5400.
  • The capital city is Windhoek.
  • The overall population density is 2.5/km2 making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in world.

The reasons for this are as follows:

  • Much of the country is desert.
  • Much of the land is, therefore, infertile.
  • There is a hot, dry climate.
  • Rainfall is sparse and erratic with long periods of drought.
  • The economy is dependent on the mining of minerals like diamonds and uranium
  • Mining only employs around 3% of people while about half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture.
  • The transport network is poor with many gravel rather than tarmac roads.
  1. Subsistence means they are just farming for themselves…in order to eat and survive…no profit is made to be able to buy any other goods.

Japan

Located: Eastern Asia on the Pacific Ocean.

High population density

  • Population density of 339/km2.
  • People are not spread out evenly across the land.
  • Capital cities (Tokyo) are crowded.
  • Japan has lots of mountainous areas (over two thirds) which are difficult to live on so people tend to stay where the relief is low.
  • Almost half of japans population live on the urban areas because:
  1. There is material to build towns and cities.
  2. Factories, offices and commercial buildings.
  3. On the coast there are ports and harbours.
  • Many live in rural areas were there is flat land because:
  1. Its easy to grow crops.
  2. Easy to use farm machinery on flat land.
  3. Good roads and railways make it easy live in the country side and still work in the city.

Honshu has a population of 103,322,000 and an area of 83,500km2. Kyushu has a population of 1,331,600 and an area of 42,150km2

Singapore increasing population

Located = cross road of South-east Asia; it is an island with an area of (approx.) 620km2.

Facts and figures (increasing population)

  • 1957 = population of 1.47 million; 6.4 children per woman.
  • 1965 = no longer a British colony; fertility rate down to 4.8; government wants to reduce population as the young are seen as a threat.

“Stop at two” – stop at two children

1970 = abortion and voluntary sterilisation made legal.

  • Extra taxes for 3rd child.
  • No paid maternity for 3rd child.
  • Parents with more than 2 children could not enrol in best schools.

Policies reduced fertility rate to les than 2 by 1980’s.

1987 = have 3 or more children if you can afford it.

  • Tax rebates fore 3rd child.
  • Subsidises for day-care.
  • Priority in enrolling at the best schools.
  • Priority in gaining housing fore large families.
  • Extended sick leaves.
  • Up to 4 years maternity leave for civil servants.

China 1 child

  • China has decided to end its decades-long one-child policy, Xinhua news agency reports.
  • All couples will now be allowed to have two children, the state-run news agency said, citing a statement from the Communist Party.
  • The controversial policy was introduced nationally in 1979, to reduce the country’s birth rate and slow the opulation growth rate.
  • However, concerns at China’s ageing population led to pressure for change.
  • The one-child policy is estimated to have prevented about 400m births since it began.
  • Couples who violated the policy faced a variety of punishments, from fines and the loss of employment to forced abortions.
  • Over time, the policy was relaxed in some provinces, as demographers and sociologist raised concerns about rising social cost and falling worker number.
  • The Communist Party began formally relaxing national rules two years ago, allowing couples in which at least one of the pair is an only child to have a second child.
  • The announcement comes on the final day of a summit of the Chinese Communist Party’s policy-making Central Committee, known as the fifth plenum.
  • The party is also set to announce growth targets and its next five year plan.

Reducing population in China

  • China is located is east Asia.
  • Before 1970’s they realized that there would not be enough food, jobs and services to cope with the rapidly growing population.
  • Due to this, in 1980 the first one child policy was introduced to control population growth.
  • China has the worlds biggest population, with 1.3 billion people, between 1984-2006 population growth reduced from 2,4 to 1%. The average fertility rate in woman in 2006 was 1.7 children.
  • Birth rate in 1966 was 40 per 1000 and in 2020 it is expected to be 11 per 1000.
  • Its about 86 girls to 100 boys because:
  • Parents want boys to carry on the family line.
  • Parents want boys to form work and look after their ageing parents.
  • Some men divorce their wife if a girl is born.
  • Couples are fined US 400-14000 depending on the region, can be a workers year salary.
  • The incentives of having one child is:
  • Free education.
  • Priority healthcare.
  • Benefits
  • Priority housing.

Sardinia – a Mediterranean island – industry

  • Calgliari – over 250,000
  • Olbia  – 50,000 to 250,000
  • Carbonia – 15,000 to 50,000
  • Bosa – 5000 to 15,000
  • Hundreds of small villages and hamlets – less than 5000

Cagliari has a much higher population than Bosa and so Cagliari will have much more hotels and services. This means that Cagliari will attract more tourist and will make more income than Bosa. People who live in Bosa will most likely be fishermen, while there will be a much bigger range of jobs in Cagliari.

The function of Cagliari is to be the industrial centre on the island, large fishing market and also one of the biggest containers terminals in the Mediterranean area.

The function of Carbonia was to provide housing for the workforce of nearby mines. There was a high unemployment when the mines closed down.

Boss – the function of Bosa is a fishing village and also a growing tourist village.

Olbia is an important port because it is in the north of Sardinia which is in the south of Europe and so Olbia is a convenient place to be a port. It has access to a lot of Europe so it has good trade. There are two headlands sheltering the port from destructive waves so boats and ships have calm waters.

Barcelona – Urban area

  • Barcelona is located in the north east of Spain in Catalonia
  • In the medieval city, there was a lack of space as there were narrow streets and alleyways.
  • The industrial zone is just outside of the CBD in zone 2 and shares its zone with low-class residential.
  • The high-class housing ranges from the CBD to the outskirt of the city in the north. There are also two small squares of high-class housing on the coastal brownfield sites at the Olympic village and Diagonal Mar.
  • New changes is the Olympic village and remaining factors and workshops in the Poblenou district are being changed into a zone for new technologies.

Lima, Peru

Lima is the capital city of Peru and about 30% of Peru’s 29.5 million people live in the capital city. In 1940, Lima’s population was 600,000 or 10% of the county’s population

Reasons

  • People want a better life for themselves and their families.
  • Most people in Peru live on the Andes but due to steep slopes and unpredictable climate, farming is a difficult job. For example, increasing numbers of young men and women are leaving Cusipata to migrate permanently to Lima to find work in the capital city.
  • The main occupation in the Andes is agriculture and people would want better paying jobs.

Cairo, Egypt

Problems

  1. Lack of housing
  • Self-built brick houses are built illegally on farmlands by the river Nile. These ‘informal’ houses cover 80% of Cairo. (I wasn’t sure about 80% so I looked it up and it is true)
  • In the Cities on the Dead, 2-3 million people have set up homes amongst the tombs of Old Cairo
  • Half a million people live in homemade huts on the roof spaces of office blocks and flats in the city centre.

2.  Traffic congestion

  • Between 1970 and 2000 the number of cars in Cairo rose from 100 000 to over a million.
  • Travel to work times can be very slow.
  • Many drivers are aggressive and do not keep to the rules of the road, causing danger for road users and pedestrians.

3.  Lack of jobs

  • Jobs for unskilled workers are hard to find.
  • Whilst many university graduates get jobs with the government, salaries are low.
  • Many poor people are forced to work in the informal sector, selling things on the streets to earn a meagre living.

4.  Pollution

  • The air is heavily polluted by the cocktail of vehicle exhaust and fumes from fuels used in homes and workplaces.
  • Groundwater is polluted by waste illegally dumped by factories and workshops.
  • Leaking and inadequate sewers pollute water courses.

Dubai – South Asia

Attractions

  • Physical – beach, ocean
  • Human – souks (shops) – Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world – hotels – Dubai motorsports – Dubai sky centre

Globalisation – Nokia

Location – Finland have offices, manufacture and sell all over the world.

The growth of the corporation

  • Nokia started off in south western Finland as a wood pulp mill and a few years later opened a second mill.
  • Later on Nokia started a rubber business.
  • Nokia started developing radios.
  • Nokia starts developing new technology like car phone and first handheld mobile phone.
  • Nokia was the world leader in mobile phones.
  • Microsoft buys Nokia

The impacts of the corporation with reference to both positive and negative effects.

  • Jobs for people who are skilled and not skilled.
  • It gives jobs for people in LEDCs who do not have work.
  • It can make people loose their jobs because Nokia will want to make factories in LEDCs because it is cheaper, therefore Finnish factories will have to be shut down.
  • Nokia will employ people in LEDCs because they will not have to pay them as much.
  • It gives trade to different countries.

World Population growth – Indonesia

  • Core regions are Java and Bali, capital city is Jakarta.
  • Peripheral regions are West Papua and Sulawesi.
  • Indonesia is made up of about 17,000 islands and about  9000 are populated.
  • Java is 6.9% of Indonesia’s land but 60.2% of Indonesia’s population lives there.
  • Reasons for Java being overpopulated are good transport links, education, health care, power – electricity, employment structure, flat land.

Case Study

Erigbaagsta tribe, Amazon rainforest

Subsistence farming

  • The Erigbaagsta tribe is located in the tropical rainforest of the Amazon Basin in Brazil.
  • The Erigbaagsta tribe practice shifting cultivation (an area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored.)
  • Men obtain food by hunting animals in the forest.
  • Women obtain food by growing crops such as maize, rice and cassava in small clearings.
  • The nutrients in the soil are obtained by burning trees.
  • After a few years, heavy rainfall has removed theses from the soil, so the tribe move to another area to farm.
  • They will eventually move back when the trees grow back again.

This is a sustainable agricultural system.

Case study

Glebe Farm, Lincolnshire UK

Arable commercial farming

  • The farm is about 127 hectors in area and is almost ideal for arable farming.
  • Most of the year, the temperature is above the growing temperature of 60
  • Warm temperature sin the summer make the sandy soil too dry for grass to grow well enough to feed cattle and sheep.
  • The European union only lets the farm get grants and subsidies if they meet the EU production targets.
  • The farm faces south so the higher northern fields drain down the hill to a wet area as the farm is not very high above sea level.
  • There are drain to take the surplus water away.
  • The farm uses fertilisers and uses sprays to protect crops from insects and diseases.
  • The farm has two tractors, a plough, a seed drill and the farm hires a combine harvester in the late summer.
  • The farm hires workers at busy times.

Energy in Iceland

  • Iceland locates in the Atlantic ocean in Scandinavia.
  • There is no oil in Iceland and there is not enough sunlight to make enough energy.
  • Iceland wants to be independent so it uses its natural water and plate boundaries for energy.
  • Iceland has a cold climate therefore needs to use a lot of energy for heating things like snow melting as there is a lot of snow in Iceland that can disrupt roads.
  • In Iceland there are 10 HEP stations, 1 Geothermal, 2 fossil fuel
  • The HEP capacities are better as they produce much more energy to Iceland than geothermal and fossil fuels capacity.

Water supply in Lesotho

  • Lesotho is a country that is located in the middle of South Africa.
  • A dam is being currently built in Lesotho that will give Lesotho and South Africa a good clean water supply.
  • The rivers involved will be the Sequa and Orange rivers.
  • The water is being extracted by water going through pipes in the dam.
  • The people who benefit is the people of Lesotho as they will get fresh clean water and also the dam will provide jobs to people to work at the dam.
  • The government of Lesotho will benefit as they will be able to sell water to South Africa and improve Lesotho’s economy.
  • People who work in agriculture will benefit as they will have more water tho work with.
  • South Africa will benefit as they have water for people to bring and agriculture.
  • The disadvantages is that South Africa will become dependant on Lesotho for water and South Africa’s economy isn’t strong at the moment.
  • People will lose their homes and animal habitats will be destroyed.

Fracking in California, USA

Fracking is a process for extracting oil and natural gas fro the ground by blasting water and chemicals into underground rocks.

Fracking makes energy sources and fuel sources.

Advantages

  • It makes the USA less dependant from other countries for oil.
  • It creates energy to meet California’s demands for many years.
  • There is high unemployment in California and fracking will create jobs for them.
  • It will boost the state economy.

Disadvantages

  • It is too risky for the water, air and wildlife.
  • There is a risk of illness and weather working at the shale.
  • Fracking needs a huge amount of water to work.
  • Wild life will suffer as they will loose their habitats and vegetation, which will cause death or migration.

Country with high dependancy – Italy

Italy has a population of more than 60 million residence and a population density of 520 people per square mile. Depend people are ages 0 to 15 and 65+. Ages 16 to 65 are the working population. 1/3 of the population is dependant.

Problems

  • The biggest problem is that there aren’t enough people paying taxes in the working population to pay for all the services for all the dependant peoples needs.
  • Younger population needs nurseries, schools and hospitals.
  • Older population need old age homes and even more hospitals.
  • More money is required for pensions.

Solutions

  • Raise taxes (unpopular)
  • Raise retirement age

River Elbe

Located in:

  • Europe
  • Rises in Czech Republic
  • The river flows through Germany
  • Very small parts of Austria and Poland are within its watershed.

Major cities that the river flows through are:

  • Prague
  • Dresden
  • Magdeburg
  • Hamburg

Opportunities:

  • River transport
  • Water supply
  • HEP (hydro-electric power)
  • Fertile soil
  • River cruises

Flood 2002 and what has been done to manage it:

  • Happened several days after heavy rain.
  • Heavy rain happened between 30th of May and 2nd of June.
  • The rainfall went up to 250mm in some areas.
  • There was as much rainfall between the 30th of May and the 2nd of June as two months on normal conditions.
  • One of the river Elbe’s tributaries in Prague rose to 5 metres above normal in some places.
  • Half the metro stations were closed and heavy machinery was brought in to stop debris building up at the historic Charles Bridge.
  • The main railway line to Berlin was underwater.
  • Chemical factories were closed to prevent the release of toxic chemicals into flood water.
  • Over 100 Czech troops were brought in to build flood defences.
  • Fire-fighters evacuated 50,000 people
  • Tigers at the Prague zoo had to be tranquillised and evacuated.
  • The government had to open dams to let water flow away quickly, which caused flooding further down in the Elbe river to the north.
  • In Dresden the river peaked at 7 metres above normal.
  • 25 deaths recorded and thousands left homeless.

Polish workers move into UK

Positive For UK

  • Jobs filled that UK workers do not want.
  • Can pay low wages.
  • Will work long hours.
  • Increased population will spend more in local economy.

Negative for UK

  • Fewer jobs for unskilled UK workers.
  • May move back once earned money.
  • Anti-immigration issues and racism.
  • Services such as hospitals and schools cannot cope with extra numbers.

Positive for the Poles

  • Chance of a job.
  • Better pay than in Poland.
  • Can save money and return to improve life in Poland.
  • Chance to get away from living with parents as they cannot afford to more out.

Negative for the Poles

  • May leave family at home.
  • May encounter hostility in UK.
  • Language and cultural issues in the UK.
  • May struggle to obtain housing in the UK; some end up homeless.

 

Famine in Darfur, Sudan

  • Darfur is located in west of Sudan which is located in north Africa.
  • Sudan is the largest country in Africa.
  • There have been two civil wars since Sudan’s independence from the UK and Egypt.
  • In 2009, periodic droughts and civil war meant that parts of Sudan required large amounts of food aid, most of these people are concentrated in Darfur.
  • Since 2003, the region has seen one of the world’s largest concentrations of human suffering.

Darfur – a difficult area to work and live in

  • The northern Libyan desert is hot with almost constant dry winds. Rain may not fall for years. 1.5 million people live here in drought conditions. Cookouts are a threat, too.
  • In western and central Darfur there is a short wet season where, for a few months of the year, the dusty brown environment changes to a lush green. In normal year pearl millet can be harvested by November and dry stalks fee to livestock during the long dry season.
  • Nyla is the capital of southern Darfur. it is a town full of government officials, with food in the market and cafés. Yet, close by, the needs of 40,000 refugees in tented camps are ignored.
  • In a small area in the south, average annual rainfall can total 700m, so vegetation can grow here all the year round.
  • The river nile flows in the east so agriculture can developed there using irrigation even with low amounts of rainfall.

Authors Note

This documents in not copyright and if your have this document, you are free to send to whoever you want. If there are any errors in the document, please email alexromaner11@gmail.com or text 07549411513. If you are revising for an exam, I may have not written every case study so don’t just revise this document.

Alex Romaner

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