Explain what it is meant by, in a drainage basin, by the terms drainage density and stream order
A) Explain what it is meant by, in a drainage basin, by the terms drainage density and stream order. The drainage basin is an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. Drainage Density represents an approach to the quantitative analysis of drainage basin. It is the average length of channel per unit area of the drainage basin. It is calculated as shown below. Drainage density is a qualitative analysis of the areal properties of a river basin . Drainage density is useful as a measure of frequency and spacing of streams within the drainage basin. It also helps to determine the texture of dissection of a drainage basin- the extent to which the landscape is cut into by river valleys and in turn influence slope development. Generally, there are 4 categories of drainage density and corresponding texture of dissection. Very low- less than 8km/km sq coarse Medium low- 8-20 medium High density- 20- 200 fine Very high density- more than 200 ultra fines Drainage density and texture of dissection varies in response to these factors: * Permeability of surface- a highly permeable material such as sand tends to give low drainage density because of high infiltration capacity and little water is available as surface runoff to maintain channels. * Rock type * Topography * Vegetation- dense vegetation helps to intercept rainfall, because of infiltration capacity and
how does a match affect the workings of a molecular charged planet?
http://www.evergreenaviation.com/EHI/specsheets/bell205.html http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0477(1970)051%3C1121:VOREWS%3E2.0.CO%3B2 http://www.allthingsarctic.com/weather/index.aspx http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/arctic/enviro.shtml Some coastal areas endure almost constant strong winds, whereas other areas may be quite calm much of the time and then suddenly experience hurricane force winds as air rushes down through glacial valleys. These sudden and unexpected winds are called katabatic, or down slope, winds. The famous Australian explorer Douglas Mawson established a base there in 1912 and recorded wind speeds for two years. This is reputed to be the windiest place on earth, because the average wind speed during that period was 72 kilometres per hour (45 miles per hour), and gusts of more than 240 kph (150 mph) were common. Nevertheless, wind speeds have been observed to drop very significantly just a few miles away from the coast. Visitors to the Arctic should be aware that katabatic winds can occur quite suddenly, and with little warning, but then die down again just as quickly. They create dramatically low effective temperatures, due to the wind-chill factor. Also strong gale-force winds are quite common, especially in the region between 40º-60ºS. These cyclonic storms are caused by extremely cold air coming from
The Pacific Ring of fire + Formation of the continents
LCKBRI001 The Ring Of fire Brian Lockyer The Pacific Ocean throughout history has been synonymous with stories of explorers who discovered large amounts of natural mineral deposits in the form of valuable metals such as silver, gold and copper. The perimeter of the Pacific Ocean largely consists of volcanoes and large areas of land that regularly undergo vicious seismic activity. There is a unique link between the occurrences of earthquakes and the distribution of the mineral wealth around the Pacific and it is this connection between the two that is the biggest clue to one of the most puzzling questions about the Earth: How did the continents form? The 'Ring of fire' outlines the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean, it extends 40 000km from New Zealand all the way north, through the Phillipines, up to Japan and across the Aleutian trench and then south along the west coasts of North and South America.. It has been essential in helping scientists understand the formation of the continents. Until recently, it had been a common misconception amongst scientists that both oceanic and continental rocks were of the exact same nature, it was only when technological improvements enabled scientists to conduct underwater surveillance that it was discovered that there were differences
Describe and Explain the conditions And processes, which lead to The development of coastal spits.
Describe and Explain the conditions And processes, which lead to The development of coastal spits. Spits are narrow ridges of sand and/or shingle attached to the shore at one end and terminating in open water at the other ("beach extension"). They are associated with coastal orientation changes and occur in areas with a low tidal range (less than 3 metres). Broadly, there are 2 types can be recognised - Parallel - those aligned to the shore. Divergent - those that change angle to the shore. An example of a Parallel spit would be Orfordness : This spit is 17 miles long and is "pinned" to the coast by waves. The lack of power from the River Alde has helped spit formation. Salt Marshes have developed in the low energy area behind the spit. An example of a divergent spit would be at Hurst Castle : This spit is 2-3 miles long and it has a "re-curved distal" end due to strong currents in the Solent. It is about 10 metres high and 40-50 metres across. Different spit material is produced by different waves Sandy Spits are formed by constructive waves. Shingle Spits are formed by destructive waves. Composite Spits are shingle deposited before the finer sand (made of both constructive and destructive waves). Spits are formed by longshore drift, which carries material along the coast and continues in the same direction when the coastline retreats E.g. Estuary. There
(a) What is meant by the concept of climax communities in plant succession? (b) Analyse the role of human activity in plant succession.
Section C- Ecosystems Chloe Borthwick (a) What is meant by the concept of climax communities in plant succession? Succession is the long term change in a plant community from a bare inorganic surface to a climax community. The series of changes happen over time (temporal) and space (spatial). A climax community is reached when habitat is stable, the vegetation is in equilibrium with the local environment, and in balance with the climate and the soils of the area. The plants go through the prisere, which is a chain of successive seres from a pioneer community to a climax community. Each successive sere usually has an increase in the number of species and the height of the plants. For example Studland Bay in the South West of England has a pioneer species of sea lyme grass which succeeds to the climax community of oak, which was mainly influenced by the climate. (b) Analyse the role of human activity in plant succession. Plagioclimax, if reached can stop or alter the natural succession so climatic climax can never be achieved resulting in a sub climax. A few examples of this would be clearing, burning, planting, harvesting, urbanisation and pollution. Secondary succession would be a result of this as it would occur on a surface that had previously been influenced by an allogenic factor, for example land clearings from forest fires. There are few physical environments
Tourism has impacted along the Hengistbury Head and Mudefort Split area. This has resulted in more costal problems.
Andrew Taylor Hengistbury Head Coursework Candidate Number 8383 Centre Number 58313 Contents Page Number Title 1 Title Page 2 Contents 3 Hypothesis 4 Method 5 Costal Protections 6 Erosion Problems 7 How Erosion Takes Place 8 Highcliff 9 Transect 0 Rubbish 1 Sketch Of Mudeford Spit 2 Hengistbury Head 3 Analysis 4 Analysis 5 Damage Done 16 Cost Vs Revenue 17 Conclusion 18 Evaluation 9 Picture 1 20 Picture 2 21 Picture 3 22 Picture 4 23 Picture 5 24 Picture 6 25 Picture 7 Hypothesis The hypothesis that my group have chosen to investigate is: "Tourism has impacted along the Hengistbury Head and Mudeford Spit area. This has resulted In more coastal problems." Throughout this piece of coursework, I will gather information from sources to either agree, or disagree with my chosen hypothesis. These are the areas that I will be investigating: * Tourist Facilities * Reasons why tourist facilities are needed * The coastal defences * Damage done to the coast - natural and human * Effects damage has done to the landscape * Cost Vs Revenue I am also going to be expanding this hypothesis by also investigating the impact that tourism has done to the Highcliff high street and Highcliff beach area. Method For this piece of coursework, need to gather information to either agree or disagree with my chosen hypothesis. I am going to gather
How does the Monsoon affect life in India?
How does the Monsoon affect life in India? A monsoon is a wind pattern that reverses direction with the seasons. The term was originally applied to seasonal winds in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. The word is also used more specifically for the season in which this wind blows from the south-west in India and adjacent areas that is characterised by very heavy rainfall, and especially, for the rainfall associated with this wind. In terms of total precipitation, total area covered and the total number of people affected, the monsoon affecting the Indian Subcontinent dwarfs the North American monsoon (also called the "Mexican", "south-west", desert or "Arizona" monsoon). Monsoons are caused by the larger amplitude of the seasonal cycle of temperature over land as compared to the adjacent oceans. This differential warming results from the fact that heat in the ocean is mixed vertically through a "mixed layer" that may be 50 meters deep, through the action of wind and buoyancy-generated turbulence, whereas the land surface conducts heat slowly, with the seasonal signal penetrating perhaps a meter or so. Additionally, the specific heat of liquid water is significantly higher than that of most materials that make up land. Together, these factors mean that the heat capacity of the layer participating in the seasonal cycle is much larger over the oceans than over land, with the
Why does temperature vary around the world?
Why does temperature vary around the world? There are many reasons why the temperature varies around the world, why it is often very hot in some places but below freezing in others. The main factor in temperature is the sun, and it is because of the sun that places are not way below freezing in the first place. The sun is our main source of heat, and places that get more sun are obviously warmer than those that don't receive as many of the sun's rays. There are many different causes that the temperature varies around the world, and they all affect our climate in many ways. One of the most important factors affecting temperature is latitude. Places nearer the Earth's equator are far warmer than those near to the poles. This is due to the shape of the Earth and the way the rays of the sun hit the planet. Since the Earth is spherical, the suns rays will be far more concentrated at the equator, as the sun is always far higher in the sky, so it will concentrate its rays on a small area. And as the sun is far lower in the sky around the poles, the rays are shared over a much larger area, and the temperatures will stay down. Also, as you can see on the diagram, towards the poles, the sun's rays have much further to travel through the Earth's atmosphere before they reach the Earth than the rays at the equator. As the rays pass through the atmosphere, they lose heat in the
The occurence of the earthquake
The occurrence of the earthquake hazard and the highest level of vulnerability is centred upon the economically developing nations. Discuss the truth of this statement and make recommendations concerning how LEDC's might manage the earthquake hazards. Earthquake hazards are one of the three geological hazards that occur. Earthquakes have lots of energy that cause destruction on the planet. There are up to 3000 earthquakes per year and about 30 cause serious damage. Most of the damage occurs in LEDC's because poor infrastructure and housing is not earthquake proof. The way forward is to manage earthquakes hazards in LEDC's so when they do strike the area is not likely to suffer lots of damage and loss of life. The earth is made up of many different plate tectonics, some large like the Pacific plate and some small like the Nazca plate. Most activity happens are plate boundaries and there are three types of boundaries. Destructive plate boundaries are where one plate the less dense Nazca (sima) is sub ducting under another more dense plate, South American (sial). Conservative plate boundaries merely slide place each other and are quite inactive. Earthquakes are very rare here compared to destructive plate boundaries. There is also constructive plate boundaries, where plates are pulling apart and sea trenches and ridges appear. When friction builds up between the two
Beach profiling
Describe and explain how attached beaches vary in both plan and profile. A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of a body of water. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, or cobble. The particles of which the beach is composed can sometimes instead have biological origins, such as shell fragments or coralline algae fragments. Beaches often occur along coastal areas, where wave or current action deposits and reworks sediments. Although the seashore is most commonly associated with the word "beach", beaches are not only found by the sea or ocean: beaches also occur at the margin of the land along lakes and rivers where sediments are reworked or deposited. A profile of a beach is a cross section of the landform showing the shape, length, steepness and features. A plan of a beach is a bird's eye view which shows it's shape in relation to surrounding features. Beach can come in many shapes and sizes therefore the profile will change in width, gradient and show different features such as ridges, and storm beaches. As well as changing from beach to beach the profile can change at different points along the same beach. From looking at beach profiles you can tell that width and gradient tend to be linked. Wide beaches tend t be gently sloping, whereas narrow beaches tend to be steep. You can also
