What effect does Human Activity have on Coastal Landforms
What effects does Human Activity have on Coastal Landforms Human activities add another layer of complexity to the natural processes of coastal lands and materials. These activities may have direct or indirect effects on our changing coastlines. They may effect sources of new sediment to the coast and the movement of sediment within the coastal environment. Sediment starvation caused by river and coastal management is one effect of human activities on the coast. For some coastal regions, such as the Pacific coast, a large part of their sediment is supplied by rivers. Dams built for flood control and water catchment along the rivers leading to these coasts inhibit the transport of large grained sediment, The coasts lack new material so erode and move inland. For instance damming of the tributary rivers to the Mississippi River over the past 60 years has reduced the movement of sediment. Studies in recent years have demonstrated that the amount of sediment carried by the Mississippi has been cut in half, aggravating the deterioration of Louisiana's wetlands. An important source of sediment to Louisiana's delta wetlands was periodic flooding of the Mississippi River, which deposits new material on the flood plain. Massive levees built along the river bans now contain these floods and eliminate the supply of sediment to the wetlands. As a results, the natural compaction and
Does Global Warming exist?
Does Global Warming exist? Evidence For: Evidence Against: * Methane Increasing Levels of atmospheric methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, have risen 145% in the last 100 years. Methane is derived from sources such as rice paddies, bovine flatulence, bacteria in bogs and fossil fuel production. * Peculiar Weather Recently, young people in Vietnam noticed strange white stuff covering the fields. They had never seen snow before. It is the coldest spell in the country for 20 years. * Carbon Dioxide Increasing in Atmosphere The atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, have increased since pre-industrial times from 280 part per million (ppm) to 360 ppm, a 30% increase. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are the highest in 160,000 years. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of the burning of fossil fuels, such as gasoline in an automobile or coal in a power plant generating electricity. * Cooling Poles Recently, scientists found that temperatures in the Arctic have been cooling since the 1920s. Computer predictions are that, if the world is warming, the Poles should warm twice as much. * Disappearing Glaciers Ice is melting all over the planet. Glaciers are melting on six continents. If present warming trends continue, all glaciers in Glacier National Park could be gone by 2030. The park's Grinnell Glacier is already 90% gone. - Ice cores taken
Bangladesh Problems
Bangladesh Problems. Bangladesh is considered a third world country; the major crisis Bangladesh endures is poverty. Increasing at a rate of about 2.06% per year, the current population of Bangladesh is about 138 million. 35.6% of the population is below the poverty line (Coutsoukis). Steps are taken to diminish the number of citizens that are below the poverty line. For example, Bangladesh decreased its illiteracy level of females from 73.5% in 1995 (Data Profile) to 31.8% in 2003 (Coutsoukis). This means that more and more people are deciding to receive an education. The Bangladesh government and the Bangladesh Aid Group have taken seriously the idea that Bangladesh is the test case for development. In the late 1980s, it was possible to say, in the somewhat patronizing tone sometimes adopted by representatives of donor organizations, that Bangladesh had generally been a "good performer." Even in straitened times for the industrialized countries, Bangladesh remained a favored country for substantial commitments of new aid resources from a strikingly broad range of donors. Even with the greatest imaginable efficiency in planning and administration, resource-poor and overpopulated Bangladesh cannot achieve significant economic improvements on the basis of that level of assistance. In examining the economy of Bangladesh, wherever one turns the problems crowd in and threaten
Common types of coastal problems are: pollution, erosion, salt intrusion, flooding calamities, habitat degradation / loss of biodiversity.
Anne Milot Enviromental Geography Topic: Coastal Problems Common types of coastal problems are: pollution, erosion, salt intrusion, flooding calamities, habitat degradation / loss of biodiversity. Coastal erosion of rocky cliffs and sandy beaches results from the action of ocean waves and currents. This is especially severe during storms. In many parts of the world the loss of land due to coastal erosion represents a serious problem. The action of waves, however, does not extend to a great depth, and the sea tends to cut a flat platform, characteristic of marine erosion, into coastal rocks. Various measures can be taken to reduce the risk of flooding, especially in the settled parts of floodplains. One of the most effective methods of reducing damage has been to alter the size of floods themselves. By planting trees, controlling soil erosion, and preserving wetlands, people have helped to reduce the size of floods. Special channels have been constructed to divert floodwaters away from built-up areas. The construction of dams has also been a very successful means of controlling floods. Constructing dams, however, can also alter the processes that shape the floodplains farther downstream. Since most sediment carried by a river settles out in the reservoir behind a dam, the water flowing past a dam has very little sediment in it. Water poor in sediment will scour sediment
The Netherlands is a densely populated low-lying country in which about 60 percent of the population lives in the coastal area
The Netherlands is a densely populated low-lying country in which about 60 percent of the population lives in the coastal
Analysis of The Maer at exmouth, coursework
Introduction - The Maer, Exmouth Exmouth is a popular holiday spot situated in Devon, along a lovely piece of coastline. Exmouth is a thriving area and is very popular with tourists during the summer seasons. The town host events all through the year and caters not only for the incoming tourists, but for its local community of around 35000 people as well. The Maer is a large, green open public space along Exmouth seafront. It was once a shallow lagoon but then in later years was converted into a large pitch and putt golf course. However the golf course was demolished a few years back and since 1992 The Maer has been a local Nature Reserve. It hosts over 400 species of plants, many of which are rare. The land at The Maer is made up of grassland and sand-dunes, perfect for all sorts of activities including; dog walking, jogging, football, picnics and barbeques. It has good access to Exmouth town centre and plenty of car parking spaces. There are many good amenities nearby including toilets, café's and an amusement arcade. I visited The Maer on Monday 16th march 2009. I went with an aim to explore the area, and to help myself answer a Hypothesis I had set myself during class work. I also set myself 3 key questions that would help me in answering my Hypothesis. I decided to set my hypothesis against developing on The Maer as I did some research before I went, and found out how
GCSE Geography
Introduction Druridge bay is located 47miles from Berwick, 10miles from Morpeth, 23.6miles from Newcastle. I have been asked to answer three questions about the sand dunes at druridge bay and the management of the park. Druridge Bay Country Park includes three miles of beautiful beach and sand dunes, as well as a 100 acre lake surrounded by woods and meadows. There is a wide variety in the landscape. The park concedes of beach land woodlands and a lake. The bay its self is about 5 miles long and the golden sands are preserved in areas that are near small villages. Whereas in certain areas the beach is left for man to trample all over it and destroy its natural beauty. This beach in the north-east is a gem of the east coast with its rolling dunes slowly decaying due to human activity. In this piece of work I will be answering three key questions that concern the welfare of the beach. Key Question one "how do the dunes at druridge bay compare with a model sand dune" Introduction In this key question I am going to compare a model sand dune with the dunes a Druridge bay. I will also be comparing the vegetation found on the dunes at Druridge bay and what I should be expected to find on a model sand dune. The model sand dune consists of an embryo dune followed by a yellow dune followed by a semi-fixed dune followed by a fixed dune. That is what the dunes at druridge bay should
Maneging coral reefs
Introduction Coral reefs are unique ecosystems of plants, animals, and their associated geological framework. The ocean equivalent of rainforests, they are home to 25% of all marine species, yet it is estimated that many of the world's reefs will be destroyed or significantly damaged in the next 20 years because of the human and the physical damage put on to them. They grow in tropical seas in the photic zone, where there is mild wave action, not so strong to tear the reef apart yet strong enough to stir the water and deliver sufficient food and oxygen. Coral reefs also need nutrient-poor, clear, warm, shallow water to grow. Human Threats to the Coral reefs Tourist There are a number of different human threats applied to the coral reefs, most of it which is caused by tourists. These activities are; * Snorkelling- Inexperienced snorkellers can trample corals with their flippers. The can also damage the corals by getting to close and resting on the reefs. * Boat trips- Cruses taking visitors out to the reefs are often careless when the drop their anchor. The anchor will crush the delicate corals with their weight. The water movements made by the boats travelling too fast will damage the corals the force applied to the corals underwater. When the boats get to close to the reefs, the hull tends to scrape past the corals, damaging them. * Boat hire- Tourist don't tend to
Between Prawle point and Start Bay
How have human activities shaped the landscape between Prawle Point and Start Bay? On day two, we analysed the human home settlements found in the villages of Hallsands, Beesands and Torcross. The whole aim of doing this was to find how these man made homes and settlements have affected the land at each village, and how other human activities have affected these settlements vulnerability to coastal damage, as how the natural coastline has developed due to this. We also looked at how these settlements have used man made sea defences t help protect them from coastal attacks. Route Firstly, here is the route we took along the coast from Start point (red) to Torcross (green), passing both Beesands and Hallsands along the way. Hallsands - Description When we visited Hallsands we noticed that it was had very small population, with little human settlements which were all near each other. Hallsands also had many narrow rough roads throughout the village and was ear the shore. Hallsands - History Between the years 1894-1903 the shingle beach close to Hallsands was lowered by 1.4m, due to the continuous taking of the shingle to build the dockyards at Plymouth. This made the village of Hallsands extremely vulnerable and open to floods from the waves of the sea. In 1917 a storm with 10m waves destroyed the now unprotected village of Hallsands which was no longer protected by the
Global warming is a growing problem in the world but the sad thing is the people who are least responsible for Global warming are the ones that will suffer most.
Global warming is a growing problem in the world but the sad thing is the people who are least responsible for Global warming are the ones that will suffer most. Many things are going to be affected by global warming such as the weather. We will start to see major increases in freak weather such as hurricanes and tsunamis. With the world expected to increase in temperature by at least 1 degree Fahrenheit. This may not sound like much but it will have terrible consequences for our Earth including what I mentioned above. What are the causes of Global warming? Carbon Dioxide Carbon Dioxide the largest contributor to Global Warming. Carbon Dioxide is caused mainly through emissions through Electricity and Fuel. Carbon Emissions are also strong from Power Plants incidentally 40% of the emissions from the USA are from Power Plants. Other Causes: Methane Increasing Water Vapour Nitrous Oxide City Gridlocks Deforestation Deforestation is a major problem in the world, the Amazon has nearly halved in size since the start of the deforestation work there began. Trees are a major part in our oxygen supply they take in our Carbon Dioxide which we breath out and they breath out oxygen for us to breath. This is a continual cycle but with the decrease of trees where will the excess of Carbon dioxide be going? What will be the Consequences for the UK. Although Newcastle itself
