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Environmental Change and Management
Year 10 Geography
RoSA – 2024
Semester 1
Glossary of geographical concepts
· Google the terms below and write down a geographical definition or use the pages in this booklet.
· Extension: Choose 5 terms and find a picture to demonstrate your understanding of the term and write a sentence including that term. (5 sentences in total)
The four spheres: atmosphere biosphere hydrosphere lithosphere
long-shore drift Sustainabllity Functions of Environmental Change
Geography is the study of the interaction between people and environments. Geographers study these interactions to learn more about the ways environments influence the activities of people and the impacts people have on environments. By developing these understandings, we are better able to manage our environment. Good environmental management is important if we are to leave our children and grandchildren a better world in which to live.
Geography is the subject that helps us to find answers to questions about the world around us—about where things are and how they got there. It seeks to explain the character of places and the distribution (spread) of people, features and events on or near the earth’s surface. It is concerned with the processes that shape the earth’s surface and the way people interact with environments.
The study of geography helps us to better understand the world in which we live.
Today's geographers are interested in:
Ø the earth’s surface - its landforms (shapes)
Ø climate
Ø vegetation
Ø water resources
Ø soils
Geographers are also interested in how people interact with the earth –
Ø what they do
Ø what they produce and
Ø how they live.
Therefore we can say that a geographer is interested in the physical and human aspects of the earth. ‘Landscape’ refers to the visible part of the earth’s surface that we look at (e.g. rivers, mountains, grasslands).
The word environment means our surroundings, which are made up of natural and cultural features. Natural features mean the surroundings as they are found in their natural state, untouched by humans. Natural features include plants, air, animals, water, oceans, climate and the earth itself. Any feature which has been created by humans becomes a cultural feature.
The environment has a great importance in our world. Environment refers to all living and non-living things in the natural and human world that support and enrich life. They provide food and shelter for the flora, fauna and humans living on Earth. The world in which we live is made up of many different environments. Some environments occur naturally, such as forests, deserts and coral reefs. These are known as natural environments. Other environments are built or altered by humans, such as cities, towns and farmlands. These are known as human environments.
The concept of environment helps geographers to better understand the interconnections between humans and the environment – that is, how environmental processes affect humans (in positive and negative ways) and how human processes affect the environment (in positive and negative ways.
Geographers study the physical environment , natural environments and cultural environments which are man-made e.g. Landscape
The Four Spheres
Part 1: (4mins)
The earth is a system made up of four spheres,.
1. Lithosphere
2. Atmosphere
3. Hydrosphere
4. Biosphere
The surface of the lithosphere, where the rocky part of our planet is in contact with water, air, and/or life, is generally where the spheres intersect and affect each other.
The function of natural environments
in supporting life
As the world population continues to grow, the way we manage our environment becomes increasingly important. The natural environment includes both living and non-living things on Earth that occur in a state that has not been substantially influenced by humans. The different environment types in Australia include land; inland water; and coastal, marine and urban environments.
So, what are the main functions of our environment?
The ways our environment functions and supports human and animal life are diverse. Four major functions of the environment that we will consider here are source, sink, service and spiritual functions.
Source and sink functions
The environment has a very important source function with its abundant supply of raw materials and natural resources. The Earth’s environment provides us with an immense amount of raw materials. Some examples are air, water, minerals (such as coal and iron) and timber. Natural resources include animal life, including marine life; our forests and plant life; mountains; and even deserts.
Another very important function of our environment is its sink function. The environment has an amazing capacity to absorb, break down and recycle the wastes and pollution produced. For example, when carbon dioxide is produced by the burning of fossil fuels (e.g. by industry and cars), plants such as trees in a forest absorb carbon dioxide during respiration and release oxygen back into the atmosphere.
Service functions
The environment on Earth provides very useful functions for us known as service functions. These are services that support life without human intervention or participation; that is, how the Earth’s environment supports life independently. For example, the Earth’s atmosphere protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Furthermore, the air we breathe has the right mix of oxygen for us to survive. Other services our environment provides us with are biodiversity, ecological integrity (that is, providing the conditions for species’ survival in the ecosystem) and climatic stability.
Our Earth’s environment tends to keep aspects balanced and functional. This is why climate change due to human impacts is so concerning.
Questions:
1. What is another example of how service functions might occur in the environment?
2. What are some human impacts that are causing climate change?
Spiritual functions
The spiritual function refers to the way in which our environment is valued psychologically, as well as recreationally and aesthetically. A spiritual view of the environment suggests a deeper personal connection to the environment, a sense of place, as well as responsibility towards it. Our spiritual understanding of the environment can be cultural and evokes awe, humility and wonder. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia have a deep connection to the land. Landscapes and culture are inseparable; the term ‘Country’ expresses the idea of a fully cultural landscape where the land, sea, waterways and sky are interconnected. Clan identity is closely associated with the land.
Onshore The onshore zone can extend up to 60km inland
Offshore
Coast
Inland
Other ideas you may consider when thinking about the functions of coasts could be:
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Function |
Coastal environments |
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Source function |
4 Most seafood is taken from coastal waters, making this a crucial environment for feeding the world’s growing human population. 4 Coastal areas are vital habitats for many animal species that rely on the coast for food and shelter. |
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Sink function |
4 Coastal ecosystems, especially those with lots of underwater plants, are important in absorbing carbon dioxide, as well as adding oxygen to the water. 4 Humans use coastal waters to dump waste e.g. sewerage. |
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Service function |
4 Coasts are a barrier between the land and sea. E.g. dune systems absorb the energy of storm waves, reducing impacts such as potential flooding from storm surges. 4 Coastal areas are vital breeding grounds for many animal species e.g. turtles to lay eggs |
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Spiritual function |
4 Relaxation / leisure / aesthetic value. 4 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) peoples, whose traditional lands include coastal areas, have strong links through their Dreaming stories to the coastal environment. |
1.
Video 1 text English Commentary in Arabic
Video Two from the United Nations
Deforestation - BBC Invasive Species
Managing change in coastal environments
The coast is home to 80% of the world’s population, and it is a popular place to settle (live) for reasons of climate, leisure, water resources, and land for agriculture and industry. Therefore, it is essential to understand the changes that are occurring to coastal environments and how they will affect human settlements.
Coasts have changed over time because of both human activities (population growth, tourism and recreation, pollution, fishing) and natural causes (e.g. erosion, climate change, and extreme climatic events such as hurricanes and tsunamis).
To cope with these changes, careful planning and management is needed to ensure a sustainable future for human activity on the coast. Coastal management refers to attempts made by people to conserve any part of the coastal environment. Sustainable coastal management balances the economic, social and environmental needs of people and the environment, while also considering the needs of future generations. It considers different perspectives and resolves conflicts between interest groups in coastal development disputes. In Australia, coastal management is often the responsibility of relevant local councils, state government and land users.
50 years of coastal management - The Gold Coast
a)
ð Coastal deposition describes how sediment builds up coastal landforms due to transportation.
ð Coastal erosion wears down and breaks off materials along the coastline.
ð Transportation is when sediment is transported by currents, rivers, and constructive waves to a destination.
Erosion and deposition are the main natural processes that create coastal change.
Understanding natural processes in coastal environments
Natural processes are constantly shaping and changing the coast. Rocks are eroded and material such as sand is transported by the energy of waves, tides and currents, creating a landscape that is constantly evolving. All this change means that coasts are very complex environments to study and understand.
Waves do much of the work of marine processes. Waves are created by winds as they blow over the surface of the sea. It is the friction (rubbing) between the wind and the water that sets waves in motion. Waves erode, transport and deposit materials.
Erosion is the wearing away of the Earth’s surface by agents such as wind and water. When the weather is windy, the waves are larger and more powerful. As the waves hit the coastline, the energy in them is used to erode rocks through corrasion i.e. particles of sand hitting rocks and cliff face as well as moving sand, pebbles and other material.
As waves near the coast, they enter into shallower water. Friction with the seabed causes the wave to tip forward so that it eventually breaks.
Waves carry sand and other material on and off the shore. When a wave breaks, the water from it runs up the beach. This is called the swash. The movement of water back down the beach to the sea is called the backwash.
Waves, tides, currents, rips, storm surges and tsunamis form and transform coastal landscapes.
1. Identify the four main marine processes that impact coastal environments.
2. Swash and Backwash .
Constructive and Destructive waves
Correctly label the diagrams below of constructive and destructive waves by using the information that follows.
When storms occur and waves are large, more material is carried in the backwash to deep water. These waves are called destructive waves because of the movement of sand and material away from the beach. Destructive waves cause erosion of coastal landforms. (See Figure 1.)
When the waves are small and contain less energy, sand and other materials are more likely to be carried in the swash and laid down as deposition on the beach. These are called constructive waves. As a result, material is moved up the beach and can form beaches and sand dunes. (See Figure 2.)
In addition to moving material into and out of beaches, waves move material along the shore. Once rocks and sand are detached (separated) from a cliff, waves can move them along the coastline for long distances. This process is called long-shore drift and results in a zig-zag along the beach. Longshore drift is usually in one direction only — that of the prevailing wind. The throwing into the water of an orange should illustrate the longshore drift of that particular beach.
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……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… Backwash ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………… |
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6. Choose one of the above coastal processes. Answer either (a) or (b).
(a) Explain how [the coastal process] could impact the coast.
OR
(b) Explain how [the coastal process] could impact how humans manage the coast.
Extension:
7. Describe the difference(s) between erosion and deposition.