Geography Case Studies

• Located South East Asia
• 63% of Malaysia is tropical rainforest

Dangers:

• 150,000 hectares of forest lost every year
• Clear chopping of trees lead to total destruction of rainforest
• $2 billion Bakun Dam project resulted in the flooding of 1000s of hectares of rainforest
  • 250km squared of virgin rainforest cut down
  • 9,000 indigenous people forced to move from the area but not supplied with rehousing
• Areas of rainforest cleared for mining, leading to pollution of land and rivers
• Drilling has started in Borneo, as well as deforestation for palm oil plantations
• Land cleared for countryside population
• Fires are common due to 'slash and burn' methods

• National Forestry Act  -  Banning sales of raw timber ; timber processing to reduce demand for raw timber ; increases awareness of forests
• Selective Management System - A system in which scientists decide which trees should be chopped down and in which direction. After chopping them down, the trees are replanted and allowed to grow
• Permanent Forest Estates - Ban commercial activity in virgin rainforest areas
• Forest Stewardship Council - Promotes the purchase of wood from sustainable sources, rather than rare hardwood
• Ecotourism - Allows locals to make a living without damaging the environment
• Debt Relief - Paying countries to maintain rainforests or cutting their debts in exchange for rainforest maintenance
• Carbon Sinks - Large forests maintained to reduce CO2 in the air. E.g. Gola Forest in Sierra Leone (supported by European Commission and the French Government)

• River Tees is 137km long
• River Tees source is located in Cross Fell, 760m above sea level
• The source has on average 2000mm of rainfall each year
• Upper course - steep sided valleys, interlocking spurs, V-Shaped valleys, waterfalls
• High Force Waterfall is 21m high - highest in the UK
• Harder rock over softer rock means that the softer rock has eroded away leaving an overhang of harder rock that eventually collapses into the plunge pool that has been created by the erosion of the waterfall
• A gorge is created as the waterfall retreats
• Gorge is currently 700m long
• Hard rock - Whinstone
• Soft rock - Limestone
• Bed load is mainly large boulders transported by traction

• Between Swanage and Studland in Dorset
• Lies near a headland
  
• Geology - chalk
  
• Hard headland causes waves to refract and cause bays - waves are calmer as energy has been absorbed so deposits material and create beaches
  
• Chalk is common for forming cliffs as it is a sedimentary rock
  
• Hydraulic action weakens the cracks in the rocks and deepens the cracks to form sea caves
  
• The cave is on a headland so hydraulic action breaks through the rock to form an arch
  
• Arch is continuously expanded by erosion and eventually the arch collapses as it cannot support the weight leaving a stack (Old Harry)
  
• Stack is eroded at the base and eventually collapses leaving a stump (Old Harry's Wife)

• 29th August 2005
• Cost $3 billion in damage
• Category 4 storm
  
• 1800 people were killed
• 300,000 houses were destroyed
• 3 million left without electricity
  
• Main routes out of New Orleans were closed because part of a bridge collapsed
• Coastal habitats such as turtle breeding centres were damaged
• 230,000 jobs were lost due to damaged businesses
• Water supplies were polluted with sewage, chemicals and dead bodies
• USA has a warning system so people could prepare - 70-80% were evacuated before
• Coastguard, police, fire service and the army rescued 50,000 people
  
• The flood defences supposed to protect New Orleans failed