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The increase in population means that more space, food, supplies are needed
NIGERIA: OVER-POPULATION
175 million people of which 60% living under 1 dollar per day.
Over population lead to:
Not enough housing
Water and air pollution
Shortage of water and food supplies
High crime rates
Not enough health care
Congested roads
AUSTRALIA: UNDER-POPULATION
Australia and USA has more or less the same area but a very different population size,
import, exports, oil and natural gas production
Australia indeed is mostly covered by deserts, and many people think that it wouldn’t be
good to welcome other permanent migrants.
There is this difference because in LEDCs people have more children in order to gain more
money, because in LEDCs families are less informed don’t plan their families, don’t have
the same availability to contraceptives that there is in MEDCs and due to religious and
social factors.
NIGER: HIGH RATE OF POPULATION GROWTH
Land locked country in west Africa
Almost half of its population under 15, growth rate of 3.4% has one of the highest fertility
rate
The population is increasing because death rate is falling due to improvement in health
care food and water supplies and sanitation that lead to less diseases, also related to
malnutrition.
Another reason is that women don’t want to have many children because it’s a difficult
project and so Vladimir Putin has decided to increase benefits for mothers. This project has
effectively worked.
POPULATION POLICIES
Government earn money through taxes which re needed to sustain the current population
and also next generations
Examples:
Singapore: it has few natural resources but is highly economically advanced. Due to
few resources its increasing population was becoming a problem. In order to solve
the problem Singapore’s government introduced in 1970 the “stop at two” policies
which included taxes and disadvantages for a third child. This decreased the fertility
rate at less than 2 by 1980, this, in future, would have led to a decreasing working
population. As consequence government encouraged a rapid population growth.
China: in 1970s China’s government introduced the “Later, Longer, Fewer” policies
which encouraged families to delay their first child, decreasing birth rate. These
policies were still not enough so China’s government decided to introduce the “one
family, one child” policy. The fertility rate decreased from 5.8 to 1.7 but, as
Singapore, there was the problem of a shrinking working population. In order to
solve it China’s government decided to change the policies: they let some families
have two children and encouraged to have only male children.
POPULATION MIGRATION
Migrants are people that move from one place to another they can be immigrant or
emigrant.
Types of migrants:
Asylum seeker: leaves for fear of persecution, they asked for the permission.
Refugee: leaves for fear of their lives, don’t know where to go and usually is worse.
Illegal migrant: enter in a country to live and work without any permission.
Economic migrant: moves for more than a year to work in a different country.
Internal migrant: moves in another place to work within the same country
Push factors: features of their home area that makes them want to go (i.e. unemployment,
natural disasters, few schools, civil wars…)
Pull factors: features of their destination that makes them want to move usually are
economic factors, unless it is a forced migrant (i.e. better paid jobs, water supply, freedom
of speech…)
IMPACTS OF MIGRATION
The wealthiest countries have many problems such as an ageing population, a shrinking
workforce, workforce that lacks some skills….
To solve these problems they encouraged immigration. This has both positive factor and
negative factors for both the migrant and the indigenous people of the migrant’s
destination
Positive impacts Negative impacts
O -Can send money to -Loss of contact
ri family with family and
gi -The migrant learns friends
n new skills -away from home
for a long period
of time
-Chance to obtain -May be low paid
de job job
sti -Chance to earn -May be exploited
na money -May be racial
ti -Chance of better problems
o quality of life -May be language
n problems
The biggest internal migration of the world is taking place in China many villages have been
abandoned due to urban sprawl. Until 1978 less than 20% of china’s population lived in
cities, now more than 75%.
This is taking place because young people don’t want to farm because it’s difficult and
don’t have good wages.
QATAR: INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
Qatar ha experienced a rapid grow due to which now it's the second country of the world
with the highest GDP per capita.
Because of this richness the indigenous population either don't have the necessary skills or
don't need to work. As consequence is difficult to find local people doing low-paid jobs
such as taxi drivers or waitresses.
◦ the youngest age group 0-14 years, which are young dependents
◦ the age group 15-64 years, which is the workforce, dependents lean on them
Italy has more than 60 millions residents, a high population density and a high degree of young
and old dependents on the working population, one of the highest in the world.
ο It has a high old dependence, low death rate but still higher than birth rate
ο working population narrow at the bottom, this means that in future there won't be
enough workforce. Immigrants are increasing workforce but is not enough.
Many workers are reaching 65 and retiring, and there isn't enough people to replace them. The
solutions are:
ο increase taxes
ο people are attracted by areas with fertile soil, reliable water supplies, many natural
resources and flat land because it's easy to create and maintain a new settlement
ο people are attracted by urban areas as they have good communications and high
employments
ο few people live in areas with extreme climate, infertile or marshy lands and steep relief
because it's difficult to live on them
JAPAN: HIGH POPULATION DENSITY:
Japan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. However people are not
spread out evenly because Japan has many mountains. Kobe for example is a city with millions of
people and the demand of land is really high but there isn't that much area because the city is
trapped between sea and steep mountains. In order to increase land available they removed many
rocks from the mountains and put it in the sea. As consequence they created new land where first
there were the sea and flattened mountains so that more space was available to build new
houses.
1/3 of Japan's land is mountain. Few people live there because:
ο near coasts there are many ports and harbours that lead to import of new materials,
export of manufactured goods, development of fish industry
NAMIBIA: LOW POPULATION DENSITY
The republic of Namibia is a country in south-east Africa with a low GDP and a
population density lower than 3%. the Namib desert is a big expanding desert, which
stretches along all the coast. In Namibia there is high drought and the economy depends
on the extraction and processing of minerals such as diamonds or uranium for export.
Although mining employs only 3% of all the population which depends on subsistence
agriculture
SETTLEMENT PATTERNS
There are different type of settlements, such as villages, towns or cities. Town and cities are
called urban areas, while hamlets, village and farms are rural areas. Settlements can be:
ο Linear: are long, thin and ribbon shaped. This develops along a road or a river or in an
area where flat land is limited.
ο Dispersed: when buildings such as farms are scattered across the landscape. These
are found in mountains where settlement is difficult. Here farmers settled in areas
sheltered or with access to roads
SETTLEMENT SITES, GROWTH AND FUNCTIONS
Most rural settlements grew up as self sufficient communities. Where to build a new
settlement depended on:
ο water supply, though area where floods were a problem were avoid
ο market town: where goods produced in surrounding areas are sold and bought. These
are found in farming areas, have many services, good transports and have a market place
ο ports (i.e. Olbia, sardinia ) where goods are imported and exportedby ships. These : are
found in sheltered areas, near flat land close to the water for buildings and storage, have deep
water, close to major industries
ο industrial town (i.e. pittsbutgh, USA) where many people work in factories. These: may
be found near coalfields, may have old factories near to the centre, old housing and factories build
near each other and may have new industries in the outskirts.
ο Tourist resort (Marbella, Spain) place which people visit to enjoy vacations. These: may
be on the coasts, may be historical cities, may be close to industrial areas and have hotels and
entertainments
Accra: it developed as a fishing village, became an important port after the arrive of Europeans.
Now it's an important financial, commercial and administrative city. Also tourism is important and
fishing is still, too
SETTLEMENTS HIERARCHIES
Settlement hierarchies show the settlements in an area shown in order of people linìving in
each or in the order of the number of services offered. There are few high order settlements, such
as big cities, a little more towns and many low order settlements, such as villages. The area served
by a settlement is known as its sphere of influence, this will depend on which and how many
services are offered. Low order settlements only have low order services which are those used
often, such as general markets. High order settlements have more and more various services,
including high order services. These are those services that are not needed often
the distance that people are prepared to travel in order to use a service is called its range.
In order to make a profit each service has a minimum number of potential consumers known as
threshold population. Low order service have low range and low threshold population
Warsaw is the capital of Poland and has high order services such as:
ο hospitals
ο theatres
ο large malls
ο A big stadium
SARDINIA: SETTLEMENT AND SERVICE PROVISION
Sardinia is an Italian island, which, until few years ago, was based on agriculture and the
extraction of coal. However during last 50 years tourism developed. Now there are large towns
with different functions:
ο cagliari: is the capital city, it is the main commercial and industrial centre of the island it
has one of the largest fish markets in Italy and it's one of the biggest containers terminal in
Mediterranean.
ο Carbonia: was build to provide houses to workers that mined coal, since mines closed it
has suffered unemployment
ο Bosa: is a small town situated on the west cost. It' s now developing thanks to tourism.
It has been voted the most beautiful beach of Italy.
ο Olbia: is the main connection between the island and italian mainland with an airport, a
passenger port and many communications with other important cities of Sardinia such as a railway
to Cagliari.
URBAN ZONES
All urban areas has some particular schemes of land use. The CBD, industrial zones and
residential zones follow, approximately, some patterns described buy the Burgess circle model or
the Hoyt model. These are based on the idea that the most valuable zone is the CBD because
space is limited and competition is high. The urban areas are always expanding. The edges of the
city is called rural-urban fringe
Barcelona has many features
URBANISATION
Urbanisation is the increase in proportion of people living in towns and cities due to push
and pull factors. This leads to rural depopulation.
Urbanisation takes place mainly due to 3 types of factors:
Physical factors: drought, natural disasters…
Economic factors: more and better paid jobs, the need of making a life…
Social and political factors: better education and health care, safety, more housing.
Urbanisation took place in MEDCs in 19th and 20th century and now is taking place in LEDCs.
Although another process, known as counter-urbanisation, is now taking place in most
MEDCs.
2)
VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES Earthquakes are triggered by sudden jerking movement of the
rocks under Earth’s surface. Where this takes place is known as focus or origin whilst the point on
the surface just above the origin is known as the epicentre.
Scientists use the Richter scale to measure the strength of an earthquake. It was invented
by Charles R. in 1935, it goes from 0 to 12, each number of magnitude is ten times stronger
than the one before
A volcano is formed when a crack in the Earth's surface allows molten rock, solid rock and
gasses to escape on the surface.
There are two types of volcanoes: shield and strato volcanoes. Strato ones are the most
destructive ones, as they erupt with a great violence. This because there is a great built-up
pressure.
Volcanoes can also be active (if erupt regularly), dormant (if don't erupt regularly but have
some activity inside) or extinct (if there isn't any activity).
PLATE TECTONICS
Earth is formed by a inner core, an outer core, a mantle and the crust. The crust is formed
of many plates that, because of convection forces in the mantel generated by the heat,
moves towards, forwards or alongside each other. Centre
Near plate boundaries it's more possible to detect an earthquake with respect to the
middle of tectonic plates.
Most of the volcanoes and earthquakes take place near plate boundaries. However due to
some weaknesses of the crust is possible that a particularly hot flow (called hot spots) of
magma digs a hole through the crust and forms a volcano
for example the Hawaii islands are volcanoes generated by the movement of a hot spot.ù
o volcanoes attract tourists, minerals, ash falling brings nutrients to the soil and can
be used for geothermal power.
VOLCANOES: HAZARDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Many people live on or near a dangerous volcano. There are many consequences of an
eruption: ash spreads causing problems to flights, ice that is formed on the volcano melts
creating mudflows and lahars that destroy the enviroment, the explosion and the lava
destroys many buildings, roads, infrastructures, forests, crops and kill people and animals.
(i.e. Mount St.Helens in USA or a volcano in Iceland)
volcanoes have also benefits: the ashes that land on the soil make it fertile, giving local the
possibility to farm, thanks to the heat electricity can be generated, some mineral (such as
sulphur) are brought near Earth's surface and so can be extracted and volcanoes are also a
great tourism attraction.
REDUCING THE IMPACTS
It's impossible to predict earthquakes so the only possibility to reduce impacts is to prevent
them. This can be done by building structures that can withstand during a powerful event
(with deep foundations, strong walls, low structures, boilers firmly fixed...) and by teaching
people how to behave during an earthquake.
Volcanologists can predict, not exactly, when there will be a major eruption, thank to some
indicators such as small lava flows, gas rising, changes in the chemical composition of the
air and the soil near the volcano... . The predictions are becoming more and more precise
thanks to the new technologies.
HAITI: EARTHQUAKE
on the 12th of January 2010 a severe earthquake occurred near Haiti's capital. This killed
more than 220 000 people, destroyed many building and infrastructures letting many
people displaced, caused problems with transports, polluted water causing cholera...
the rebuilding of Haiti is slow and goes on thanks to aids from other countries.
MOUNT SINABUNG, INDOESIA: VOLCANO
Indonesia is located on the “Ring of Fire” and, of it' 17 000 islands the most dangerous is
Sumatra. Mount Sinabung erupted in 2010 and than again in September 2013. this
eruption lasted for many months, until in 2014 the government said that it was safe. But it
wasn't, indeed the volcano erupted again causing 16 deaths
there are many reason why people don't want to leave: because they have always lived
there, because they don't have the communications needed to leave that place, because
don't think that there is any danger...
WATER CYCLE
The drainage basin is al the surface influenced by a river, its boundaries are called
watershed and usually are on the top of mountains or hills and usually divide do rivers.
THE WORK OF RIVERS
o suspension load: very light are carried by the rivers giving their colours (e.g. Blue
Nile).
o Saltation load: small pebbles and loads are brought in the river bouncing on the
riverbed.
o Traction load: heavy rocks are rolled by the water on the riverbed , this requires the
most energy.
Deposition: a river deposits the rocks that is transporting while it decreases its power (due
to reduction of the river's gradient). Heavier rocks first and then lighter ones although
lightest materials are brought to the sea. Some of this materials are very fertile. Thanks to
deposition rivers can, throughout many years, form valleys called flood plains.
Erosion of river valleys: while it flows the river erodes the bed in order to reach sea level.
This sometimes happened unevenly, resulting in waterfalls or rapids, and sometimes
evenly.
While it flows the river erodes also its banks thanks to lateral erosion
RIVER LANDFORMS 1
The shape of a river valley depends on: the rate of lateral and vertical erosion, the geology
and the climate of the valley and the time.
The Colorado valley is a river valley in USA 10 miles wide, 1 mile deep and 180 miles long.
It's deep and has sharp edges. This form is caused by high vertical erosion, low lateral
erosion, lack of rainfall and the presence of different types of rocks with different hardness
that generate irregular and sharp edges. Moreover the plateau is flat and regular, due to
the lack of tributaries.
In the upper part of a river there is high vertical erosion. When the river meets a resistant
rock, it will create a waterfall. If there is a layer of hard rock than the river will erode the
softer rock down first, than the harder rock will break under its weight. This process will
result in the retreat of the waterfall and with the creation of a gorge and of a plunge pool.
Instead, if the hard rock has a vertical angle, than the waterfall won't retreat.
RIVER LANDFORMS 2
oxbow lakes: As it flows downwards the river slows down because also the valley gets
more gentle. As consequence the main erosion is lateral erosion. This let the river flow in
bends instead of straight. This will generate meanders. Over time the banks of the river will
be worn by the water and the neck will get narrower. At the end the river will burst in a
straight line cutting off the meander and creating an oxbow lake of stagnant water.
Levees and flood plans: As a river continuously floods deposition occurs on the flood plain
and moreover on the banks. Indeed the water will flow slower on the banks, depositing the
heaviest materials and increasing banks' or levees' height. Deposition occurs also on the
bed of the river. This two types of deposition will lead to the creation of a flood plain and
to the uplift of all the river. If the river is in an higher position when it will overflow the
banks it will have large impacts
deltas: the river slows down while reaching the sea and deposits the heaviest materials.
After years of depositions it will form an island. The river will flood more frequently and
will need to divide into distributaries in order to reach the sea. This process will repeat
creating deltas.
RIVERS: HAZARDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Rivers can cause floods. These can have many consequences such as the loss of housing,
loss of transport links, lower prices for houses and higher prices for insurance, stress,
injuries and deaths. If the river has high banks the consequences of the flood will be much
worse.
o for irrigation (most of Egyptians' food supplies come from lands near Nile)
o generating electricity (the high Aswan Dam, built in 1970, generates most of Egypt's
electricity)
o for tourism (many local people gain jobs from cruise ships).
Rivers are also give: flat lands for buildings, fertile soils and land where to build roads and
links
MANAGING RIVER FLOODING
Flooding can cause damage so it's necessary to being able to predict when they will
happen. To help studying flood hydrologists use hydrographs. These shows the discharge
with respect to the time. (fig A p 88)
o barriers and flood walls: can control flooding but are expensive and might seem
unsightly.
o Embankments or levees: can control flooding but might ruin the landscapes and, if
the river bursts it will cause large-scale damages
o dredging and straightening: allows water to run faster but may cause more severe
floods in other areas
o canals and waterways: move water away but take many space
o afforestation: planting trees upstream intercepts some of the water and let it flow
more slowly
o balancing lakes and washlands: water is allowed to overflow in some areas low
valued instead of in other areas
o reducing buildings near rivers.
The Elbe river is one of the most important waterways in Europe, more than 24 million
people live within its drainage basin because of the opportunities offered. In 2013 some
parts of Europe experienced 2 months of rainfall in 2 days between 30 th May and 2nd June.
Many troops were used to help the people and to build some flood defences, many people
were asked to evacuate and many factories were closed. Although the attempts of the
governments 25 deaths occurred. Now the flood defences, such as dams, dykes, levees,
metal barriers..., of all the major cities are being upgraded.
THE WORK OF THE SEA
There are two types of waves: destructive (carry out erosion, create a narrow and steep
beach) and constructive (carry out deposition, create a gentle beach) waves
coastal erosion can occur at different rates. This depends by many factors such as:
o the type of rock that forms the cliffs
Soft rock is eroded creating a bay and headlands. Cliffs are formed and on the headlands
there may be a line of weakness. This will be eroded and the part over the notch may:
o collapse forming a wave-cut platform
o withstand creating a cave then, an arch and then when the arch roof collapses and
creates a stack and at the end, due to erosion, a stump
The twelve Apostles are a famous coastal landforms in Victoria, Australia. Originally the
rock layers formed as sediments on the bed of the sea. They were formed as the result of
different rate of erosion. Waves worn faster the softest rock, letting the hardest rock form
headlands, then, due to some notches, some caves were formed and after sometime the
roofs of the arches collapsed letting only the 12 stacks.
COASTAL LANDFORMS CREATED BY DEPOSITION
Coastal landforms are formed as consequence of longshore drift. Waves usually arrive on
the beach not at a right angle so the wash carries the pebbles alongside. When the wave
reaches its top it loses alongside force and the pebbles come back in the sea at a right
angle. This over time results as a movement of the pebbles along the beach. This process is
known as longshore drift.
If there is a change in the direction of the coastline this process might result in on of these
features:
o Sand spit: a long, narrow stretch of sand with one an d attached to the mainland
o Sand bar: develops when a spit links two mainlands. Behind it an area of salt water
called lagoon.
o Tombolo: forms when a sand spit meets an island
o Barrier island: island parallel to the mainland, it can create a tidal lagoon
o Saltmarsh: a sheltered area, it may be found behind a sand spit or bar
the Hel Peninsula is a sand spit in Poland, it's long narrow and relatively flat. It's the result
of the movement of the waves that have a direction from west/north-west due to the
winds. The waves have slowly brought the pebbles, forming the spit.
CORAL REEFS AND MANGROVE SWAMPS
Coral polyps are animals that build up calcium skeletons as shelter. A coral reef is a
community of living organisms, included coral polyps, usually found between 30 degrees
north and south. They live in the Indian ocean, Red Sea, Pacific Ocean and Caribbean.
Corals need three factors to develop:
o warm water: between 23°-25° C.
Mangrove swamps are made of many mangrove species and other plants. They grow
between 32 and 38 degrees north south, in areas calm, with a great space between low
and high water marks and must live in saltwater. They have adapted to excrete the salt, to
withstand being covered by water twice a day and to take in oxygen during low tides.
Mangrove swamplands are home to many different species of animals and benefit coral
reefs by trapping pollutants and sediments.
HAZARDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Coasts offer many opportunities: in many areas the land is gently sloping, making it the
ideal place where to farm, settle buildings and communications. In areas with sheltered
and deep waters ports can be built, industries for manufacturing can be settled, and it can
be used to fish. Sea is also a good place for tourism.
However coasts have many risks: storms and tsunamis may cause death or injuries and
people have to protect also their homes from coastal erosion. Between tropic of cancer hot
air meets cold air and begin to circulate due to Earth's rotation, creating the eye of the
storm (an area of really low pressure) and tropical storms. Winds at high level first bring
these storms to west and then other high winds bring them in other directions. These
tropical storms are known as typhoons, hurricanes or cyclones and as they move away
from the equator they loose energy and may die over land.
MANAGING COSTAL EROSION
Coastal areas are have high value so it's important to protect them from coastal erosion,
longshore drift and flooding. To do that there are both hard engineering techniques:
o sea walls: usually made of cement and curve are built in order to prevent both
erosion and flooding. On the other hand they can cause erosion of the beach at
their base, they are expensive, visually intrusive and cost of maintenance is high.
o Groynes: are barriers made of wood built at right angle to the beach to prevent
longshore drift. On the other hand they are expensive and not attractive.
o Rock armour: consists of large boulders placed at the base of the cliff in order to
absorb most of the power of the waves. On the other hand it can be expensive to
transport and place the boulders.
o Revetments: are wooden or concrete slatted barriers placed at the base of the cliff
to protect them from waves, are quite cheap and not so unattractive. On the other
hand are not so suitable when the waves have high power.
o Gabions: metal cages with enclose rocks to absorb energy from waves and they are
not so expensive. On the other hand they are unattractive and have a short
lifespan.
o Offshore breakwaters: are large concrete rocks placed offshore to reduce waves'
power and longshore drift. On the other hand they can be unattractive and
expensive.
And soft engineering techniques:
o beach nourishment: consists on placing materials removed from waves or
longshore drift such as sand or pebbles, it is cheap and preserve natural appearance
of the beach. On the other hand increases the erosion in other areas, changing
natural environment.
o Managed retreat: is when low value areas are allowed to erode and flood. On the
other hand farmers loose their land.
Hawaii is a state of USA situated in the centre of the Pacific Ocean. It's made of many
islands which are in danger due to the coastal erosion, tsunamis, hurricanes, sea level rise
and flooding. Some preventive plans are being taken by locals. Some Hawaiians lost their
homes due to coastal erosion and so they want to build some shelters but they can't
because scientists think that if they build seawalls they will increase the erosion rate in
other place such as an important river for important surf competitions.
MAURITIUS: AN AREA OF COASTLINE
Mauritius is an island in the Indian ocean famous for beautiful lagoons and beaches. There
tourism has largely developed between 1970 and 2013 thanks to: large increase in sugar
exports earnings, more tourism, the establishment of industries and financial services.
Now many beaches of Mauritius experience coastal erosion and flooding. Coastal erosion
has increased in the last 15 years, many sea walls collapsed and may roads were destroyed,
especially after storms
STUDYING THE WEATHER
Weather are al those short-term day-to-day changes in the atmosphere in a place (i.e.
rainfall, wind direction and strength, temperatures, air pressure, sunshine and humidity).
Climate are the average weather conditions in a place over a period of time longer than 30
years. Climate regions cover large areas
the Stevenson screen it's a wooden box designed to protect weather measuring
instruments such as max/min thermometers and a hygrometer. It has particular features:
o it has a roof which protects the instruments from direct heat of the Sun. The ai
space in the screen is a bed conductor of heat, too.
o It is made of wood slats to allow air circulate freely
o it should be sited on grass or bare earth, and not on concrete which can trap and re
radiate heat.
o It should be surrounded by a secure fence to protect from animals and humans.
o The door should face away from the sun to not allow direct heat influence the
instruments during the readings.
o It should be sited away from artificial sources of heat
after collecting data these must be refined, by carrying out calculations of useful statistics,
and presented so that patterns can be seen. To show refined data there are different
graphs:
o map showing average annual temperatures in a given area. In this map a line joins
all the points with the same specific average temperature, known as isotherm
o map showing average rainfall in a given area. In this map a line joins all the points
with the same specific average rainfall, known as isohyet
o map showing average pressure in a given area. In this map a line joins all the points
with the same specific average pressure, known as isobar
relative humidity is calculated using a chart and the data of a min/max thermometer
wind direction is presented thanks to wind rose in which a mark describes on a particular
day the where wind was coming from or by plotting data on a table.
USING WEATHER AND CLIMATE DATA
data are recorded over all the country and then are sent to meteorologist who analyse the
informations and produce weather maps to show patterns over a large area. Then
climatologists keep these records to produce data over a long period of time. After years
climatologists create graphs that show patterns of all the world.
THE EQUATORIAL CLIMATE
Also known as tropical rainy climate is a climate hot and very wet, it is found between the
tropics, usually 10° away from the Equator and it extends to 1000 meters above sea level.
It has some typical characteristics:
o low pressure all year, an area known as the Doldrums.
o Average temperatures around 26°C, lower than other areas thank to heavy rainfalls
The biosphere is made up of all those plants and animal components that are either live or
have lived. The interactions between these and non-living things takes place in an
ecosystem. Large ecosystem at global scale are called biomes.
The tropical rainforest biome has a complex ecosystem and contains 90% of all the known
species thanks to a diverse fauna and flora. Most animals live in the canopy which is the
main layer, the true jungle, because the light can reach it and because is not that high. All
plants need sun to photosynthesise so they fight for light, indeed on the ground layer the
light is trapped by all the upper layer and not much organisms can live there.
RAINFOREST DEFORESTATION
The deforestation of rainforests is a big problem as these produce most of our oxygen.
Most deforestation began with subsistence farmers' shifting cultivation. Clearings were
made, crops were grown and animals were hunted then the tribes moved to allow
regrowth but little damages were already made. This process is increased in last 50 years
and it is no more sustainable.
ECUADOR: TROPICAL RAINFOREST
In the east of Ecuador there is a part of Amazon basin, this region is known as Oriente and
contains one of the most diverse ecosystem of the world. It is under threat from tourism,
logging and oil companies.
Ecuador's parliament asked from aids to other countries but without any success. As
consequence it was forced to approve the extraction of oil in the Oriente region. The
president said: “the problem is this: do we preserve 100% of the national park and stay
poor, or we save 99% of it and gain money to fight poverty?”.
HOT DESERT CLIMATES
A desert is an area that receives less than 250 mm of precipitation. Deserts can be hot (like
Sahara) or cold (as in tundra regions). Hot desert have really high temperatures during the
day (above 50°C) and temperatures below 0°C during night. They are situated on the
tropics, usually on the west part of countries because main winds blow from east and can't
pick up moisture from the sea.
Due to heat of the Sun on the Equator, air warms and rises, lowering pressure. Reached the
tropopause air start to move poleward and cools. As it cools it starts to sink at 30°N and S
this gives tropical high pressure and anticyclones due to which it's difficult to have
precipitations and this creates hot deserts
HOT DESERT ECOSYSTEM
o extreme daily variation in temperatures from 50°C to 0°C during day/night cycle.
o sandy soils with good drainage, little sub-surface water but low in nutrients.
desert ecosystem is now changing: people has lived in hot desertfor thousand of years,
moving to find oasis where to obtain water and grass, but now:
o less rainfall and more will increase desertification and let agricultural lands suffer
forcing people to move
o diverting rivers may force some people to move
o deserts are ideal for tourism due to camels, dune buggying and star-gazing.
The Sahara desert is the largest desert in the world. It is large as USA but almost ¼ is
covered with sand. Fossil shows that there was life and water 1000 years ago but now, due
to natural and human climate change have turned into a desert. Today sahara is growing
and the fringe of this growth is called, the Sahel.
Sahel is a semi desert area. Drought is normal but because of desertification and land
degradation is forcing people to move limits of land for growing crops. Countries like Mali
now have even less land available.
Mali is the largest country in west Africa but one of the poorest countries in the world. 65%
of it is covered by deserts and Malians suffer drought.
The fennac fox lives in the deserts in Mali and is the world's smallest fox. This because it
helps to cool their bodies as the ratio surface volume is high
the Acacia tree has developed a long system of roots in order to find water. It has thick
leaves to prevent water lost
s
P 78 WETTED PERIMETER AND CROSS-SECTION AREA DIFFERENCE, P 115 SOURCE B
GEOGRAPHY
REDUCING CARBON EMISSION
There have been cold and warm periods throughout Earth’s history and nobody is sure
how much human activity cause additional global warming.
INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT
Development measures how economically, socially, culturally and technologically
developed a country is.
The aspect of development that can be measured are economic and social development:
Economic development measures the country’s wealth
Social development measures the access of people to services (wealth, education, food…)
Economic indicators are:
GDP: the total value of goods and services produced in a country in one year
Gross National Income/Product: total income including earnings from abroad.
GNI per capita: GNI÷population
Social indicators are:
Life expectancy
Literacy rate
INEQUALITIES
Between countries:
Norway: most developed in HDI, has an advanced economic with a large amounts of
income
DR of Congo: it was a Belgian colony with a great variety of natural resources much of
its population is poor and don’t have job. Since its independence it suffers of civil wars
Within countries: in countries some areas develop faster becoming the core areas,
usually urban areas in flat lands with good transports, while other become less
important, creating periphery, usually rural areas.
Indonesia: is made of 17 000 islands, 9000 of which are inhabited: in some islands,
people are crowded into a small area, like Jakarta, many other islands are under
populated and underdeveloped.
During 20th century, the government gave incentives to people to move from crowded
islands to other in order to reduce the poverty and over population in some islands,
provide opportunities, and provide a workforce.
PRODUCTION
Sectors:
o Primary: the part of a country’s economy that grows or extract raw
materials
o Secondary: the part of a country’s economy that is concerned with
manufacturing and processing of goods. It uses primary products either
directly or indirectly
o Tertiary: the part of a country’s economy that provide services people may
buy service either directly or indirectly (through taxes).
o Quaternary or advanced tertiary: the part of a country’s economy that
provides information services (i.e. computing information communication
technologies, search and development, financial services…)
Hi-tech: hi-tech industries involve making and using silicon chips, computers and semi-
conductors devices. Hi-tech industries has been rapidly increasing. Specially silicon valley
EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURES
The Emp. Struc. of a country shows the percentage of workers in the primary, secondary
and tertiary sector. The MEDCs usually have larger tertiary and quaternary sector while in
LEDCs most of the people work in primary sector.
Malasya is a Newly Industrialised Country, almost half of its population works in
secondary sector, many people are employed in tertiary sector.
Many countries in Western Europe in 19th century worked in primary sector, during the
industrial revolution many people were needed in the secondary sector. Since 1900
mechanisation meant that machines could do most of the work that previously men did,
products from abroad became more affordable so more products were imported and less
work in primary and secondary sector was needed. Jobs increased in schools, hospitals
and shops that by 21st century much of the workforce in Western Europe was employed in
tertiary industries. In some of these countries, quaternary industries have recently been
established and the sector is growing.
GLOBALISATION
Globalisation is the process of creation of global unique market and of increased
connection of countries, especially in economics, politics and culture.
Globalisation has occurred due to:
Increased trades: trades are important as companies rely on them to make large profits,
International Corporation promote free trade.
Labour availability and skills: LEDCs have lower labour costs than MEDCs (due to fewer
government restrictions) and many also have people with high skills.
Improvement in transports: larger ships means lower costs of transport between countries
and that people and products can travel faster.
Quick communications: the internet and the mobile phones has allowed greater and faster
communications between countries
Transnational corporations: the global spread of Mc Donald has become a symbol
of globalisation: world’s biggest companies, which operate in many countries,
became transnational corporation. When companies based in MEDCs move
factories in LEDCs, this is called Outsourcing
Globalisation has benefits:
Money is invested in LEDCs providing jobs and skills.
Many problems cross national borders, and aid agencies can respond quickly.
TNCs may send back money to MEDCs, putting local companies out of business
FOOD SHORTAGES
More than enough food is produced to feed everyone but there are still 850 million
people (13%) that don’t eat enough food to lead a healthy life
Food is not spread equally due to wars, natural disaster low productivity or rising prices
and because it’s expensive to move shortages from a country to another.
GLOSSARY TERMS
Commercial farmers: a farmer whose main aim is to grow crops or keep livestock to
sell for a profit
Core area: a highly developed urban region to which people are attracted and
which receives the most investment.
Division of labour: the way that a community shares the work between its
members.
Economic development: the progress made by a country as it develops its
economy. Measurable economic indicators such as GDP per person, income per
person are used to measure the economic development of a country.
Extensive farming: where there are small inputs of capital and labour compared
with the large amounts of land used, yields per hectare are low.
Food and Agricultural Organisation: based in Rome, is part of the United Nations.
Was created to defeat hunger in both MEDCs and LEDCs.
Free trade: the movement of goods and services within a country or trade group
which does not require the payment of taxes.
Globalisation: the expansion of a company from its original country to a position
where it has branches in many countries. These have an important influence on
global trade.
Indigenous: the original inhabitants of a region or country before colonisation by
people from other countries.
Intensive farming: where there are large inputs of capital and labour compared
with the small amount of land used.
Newly Industrialised Country: these countries, mostly based in south-east Asia
showed rapidly growth in the late 20th century, largely through the creation and the
expansion of transnational companies based on modern technology and IT.
Periphery: the rural surrounds of a region that people may wish to migrate from
towards the core regions because of low investments and low prospects.
Social development: the progress made by a country as it develops its social aspect.
Measurable social indicators such as divorces rate, health statistics and degree of
obesity indicate the social development of a country.
Subsistence farmers: a farmer whose aim is to support himself and his family by
growing crops or keeping livestock.
Sustainable: capable, by careful use and management, of being maintained over
time for future generations to use or enjoy whilst meeting the needs of the
present.
Transmigration: the relocation of a large number of people as a result of a
government plan.