Geography key terms

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  • Created by: Hannah
  • Created on: 13-03-14 12:42
Carbon credits
A way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in industry by putting a value and limit on a companies emissions
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Carbon offsetting
The act of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions e.g. asking people to pay extra for air travel
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Carbon sequestration
Process of capture and long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide
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Carbon sinks
Reservoirs of carbon dioxide. Main natural sinks are oceans and plants
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Deep sea core samples
A cylindrical section of the Earth's crust removed from the ocean floor. Tell us about geological history of area
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Destructive plate boundary
Where two tectonic plates meet and where the denser plate is being destroyed by diving under the other plate and turning into magma
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Enhanced greenhouse effect
Occurs when the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase due to human activity
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Inter-tropical convergence zone
A zone of low atmospheric pressure near the equator. Migrates seasonally
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Climate change
Any long term trend or shift in climate
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Albedo
How much solar radiation a surface reflects
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Tipping point
The point at which a system switches from one state to another
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Feedback mechanism
Where the output of a system acts to amplify (positive) or reduce (negative) further output
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Thermohaline circulation
A global system of surface and deep water ocean currents driven by differences in temperature and salinity of the oceans
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Little Ice Age
A cool period in Europe in which many Alpine glaciers advanced. Last from around 1400-1850
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Medieval Warm Period
A period of unusually warm North Atlantic climate lasting from around 800-1400
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Thermal expansion
The increased volume of the oceans as a result of their higher water temp, leading to sea level rise
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Climate forcing
Any mechanism that alters the global energy balance and 'forces' the climate to change in response
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Permafrost
Permanently frozen ground (found in Arctic)
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Eustatic change
Change in sea level due to change in the amount of water in the oceans (global sea level rise)
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Isostatic change
Movement of land in response to loss of gain of mass (local sea level rise)
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Adaptive capacity
The extent to which a system can cope with climate change
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Climate vulnerability
The degree to which a natural or human system lacks the ability to cope with climate change
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Birth rate
The number of deaths per 1,000 people per year in a region
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Death rate
Number of deaths per 1,000 per year in a region
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Economic migrant
A migrant whos primary motivation is to seek employment
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Internal migration
The movement of people between different regions within the same nation
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Intervening obstacle
Barrier to a migrant such as political border or physical feature
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Intervening opportunity
An alternative migration destination that exists between the migrants place of origin and intended destination
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Natural increase
The difference between the birth rate and death rate, usually converted into a percentage
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Structural adjustment programmes
Strict conditions imposed on countries receiving loans from the IMF and World Bank
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Elite
A group of people who are economically and socially powerful
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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
A financial injection made by a TNC into a nation's economy
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Rural-urban migration
A movement of population from rural to urban areas
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Development gap
The difference in levels of economic and social well-being between the richest and poorest people on the planet
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Gross domestic product (GDP)
A measure of the financial value of the goods and services produced within a territory. It is often divided by population size to produce a per capita figure
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Human development index (HDI)
A UN measure of economic and social development that takes into account income per capita, life expectancy and adult literacy
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Poverty
A lack of wealth. Absolute poverty describes income levels below what is needed to maintain an adequate diet. Relative poverty: income levels that are below average for a region
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Petrodollars
Money derived from selling oil
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Transnational corperation (TNC)
A company that has operations in more than 1 country
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Glocalisation
The local sourcing of parts by TNC's in places where they assemble their 'global products' close to markets. Can also customise their products to meet local tastes or laws
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Core
The most developed and highly populated region of a country. Growth of core regions is fed by flows of labour from less well developed regions
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Switched-on places
Nations, regions or cities that are strongly connected to other places through the production and consumption of goods and services
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Wilderness
An area of the planet that has remained relatively untouched by human activity and is home to a small number of indigenous people
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Cluster
A geographically concentrated group of connected industries and institutions e.g. London
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Export processing zone
A small industrial area often on the coast, where favourable conditions are created to attract foreign TNC's
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Global hub
A settlement providing a focal point for activities that have a global influence
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Technopole
A cluster of technologically innovative businesses and research institutes e.g. Silicon Valley, California. Silicon Fen, Cambridge
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Greying population
A population where the % of people over 65 is high and rising
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Secularisation
A general decline in the significance of religious beliefs
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Illegal migrants
People who avoid border and immigration controls and enter a new country illegally
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Net migration
The balance between emigration and immigration
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Slum
An urban settlement in which the UN say over 50% of inhabitants lack one or more of either: durable housing; sufficient living area; access to sanitation and tenure (ownership); improved water supply
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Urban growth
The growth in the physical size of a city
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Urban sprawl
When urban areas grow in an uncontrolled way onto surrounding rural land
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Suburbanisation
The movement of wealthy people to the city edge to avoid the poverty, crime and congestion of city centre
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Counter-urbanisation
Refers to the movement of people out of cities to rural areas
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Reurbanisation
Many follow attempts to regenerate areas of cities that have declined
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Megacity
An urban area with a population over 10 million
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World city
A city with major economic and political power
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Deindustrialisation
The decline of regionally important manufacturing industries
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Post-industrial economy
Replacement of traditional manufacturing or mining employment by an employment structure based on services
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Food miles
The distance food travels from a farm to the consumer
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Ethical purchase
A financial exchange where the consumer has considered the social and environmental costs of production of the food etc
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Economies of scale
Savings in unit costs that arise from large-scale production
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Multilateral agencies
International institutions such as the UN and World Bank that focus on economic+social development and chanelling of aid to developing countries
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Dry farming
Farming systems that rely on direct rainfall rather than irrigation
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Urban heat island effect
Phenomenon of higher temps in towns and cities compared to surrounding countryside. Caused by greater absorbtion of solar radiation by urban surfaces
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Enhanced greenhouse effect
Amplifies the Earth's natural greenhouse process as human activity releases additional CO2 and other GHG's
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Polar front jet stream
Narrow belt of fast moving air that encircles the globe in mid-latitudes at a hieght of 8-10km
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Teleconnection
Relationship between surface ocean temperatures and regional climate weather patterns
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Environmental migrant
People who are forced to migrate from or flee their home region due to sudden or long-term changes to their local environment which compromise their well being or secure livelihood
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Disaster hotspot
A geographical area that is underthreat by 2 or more natural hazards
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

The act of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions e.g. asking people to pay extra for air travel

Back

Carbon offsetting

Card 3

Front

Process of capture and long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Reservoirs of carbon dioxide. Main natural sinks are oceans and plants

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

A cylindrical section of the Earth's crust removed from the ocean floor. Tell us about geological history of area

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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