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Term 1 - Geography - Coggle Diagram
Term 1 - Geography
KEY CONCEPTS - Key concepts are:
Interconnection - Geographers use the concept of interconnection to better understand the links between places & people, & how these interconnections affect the environment.
Sustainability - Developing ways to ensure the Earth’s resources be used and managed responsibility so they can be maintained for further generations.
Environment - Environment means that living & non-living components and elements that make up an area, and the ways they are organised into a system.
Change - The Earth is constantly changing. These changes can be a result of natural forces and human activity.
Space - Geographers use the concept of space when investigating the way that things are arranged on the Earth’s surface.
Scale - Geographers study things that take place on many different spatial levels. They use the concept of scale to look for explanations and outcomes at different levels.
Place - A place is a part of the Earth’s surface that is identified and given meaning by people.
MAPPING SKILLS
CONTINETS - North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica.
OCEANS - Pacific, Atlantic, Southern, India, Arctic.
PHYSICAL & CULTURAL FEATURES - Physical features on a map are things that're natural & not modified by humans. These can include oceans & mountains. Cultural features on a map are things that're made by humans. These can include buildings, farms.
GRID & AREA REFRENCES - Grid & area references locates a unique square region on the map. The difference between 'area reference' & 'grid reference' is that grid references uses 6 digits to better locate the feature, whereas area references uses only 4 digits.
LATITUDE & LONGITUDE - Latitude & longitude are lines specified by degrees that are used on a map to measure how far north or south of the equator a place is located. Latitude are the lines that go horizontal on a map, including point 0 degrees, Equator. Longitude (A.K.A "meridians") are the lines that go portrait on a map, the main line (meridian) that runs through Greenwich, England, is internationally accepted as the line of 0 degrees longitude, or prime meridian. The anti-meridian is halfway around the world, at 180 degrees. It is the basis for the International Date Line.
SCALES - There are two types of scales, these include linear & ratio. Scales are used to find the actual distance between two points on a map. They're also used to get a better idea of the actual size of an area.
BOLTSS - BOLTSS is an acronym. It helps us to remember the 6 essential features of a map. It stands for:
Legends - Legends are visual explanations of symbols used on the map. It typically includes a sample of each symbol (point, line, or area), and a short description of what the symbol means.
Orientation - The orientation of a map is the relationship between the directions on the map and the corresponding compass directions in reality (North, East, South, West).
Title - The title on a map is an element in a Map that lays out & describes the theme or subject of a map
Border - The border shows the edges of the map, and looks like a simple box.
Scale - The scale of a map is the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground.
Source - The source on a map is simply where you get the information from. These sources can be primary (from the event) or secondary (after the event).
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
BIODIVERSITY - Biodiversity refers to the variety of living organisms on the planet. It is measured by the number of species present in a particular ecosystem or region.
BIODIVERSITY LOSS - Biodiversity loss is when there is a decrease in the number, type or variety of living organisms within an environment. It is estimated that between 17,000 and 100,000 species are reaching extinction each year.
Cause - The cause of biodiversity loss is entirely due to humans. The five main causes are:
Habitat change such as deforestation
Over exploitation of resources such as fresh water
Pollution of land, water and air
The spread of invasive species
Climate change brought about by human activity
Invasive Species - An invasive species is an organism that causes ecological or economic harm in a new environment where it is not native.
Impacts - The impacts of biodiversity loss include:
The threaten to the structure and proper functioning of the ecosystem.
Structure of the food chain
Humans rely of plants and animals to food and medicines
Increases the spread of diseases
Impacts food security
Biodiversity Hotspots - A biodiversity hotspot is an area with unusual concentration of species, many of which are endemic (native). There are 35 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Hotspots have already lost 86% or their original habitats.
The two criteria for a region to be classified as a biodiversity hotspot are:
it must contain at least 1,500 species of native plants
it has to have lost at least 70% of its original native habitat
Lake Chad - Lake Chad was once one of Africa's largest & most important freshwater lakes. But from 1963 to 2001, it had declined by almost 75% in size. The decline is due to a combination of factors including:
Population Growth - The rapid increase of population in Africa increased the demand for water to irrigate crops.
Climate Change - The drying of the climate due to the decrease in rainfall events such as monsoonal storms caused increase desertification to Lake Chad. As of the heat, extremely high rates of evaporation occurred & as the lake got shallower, evaporation rates also heightened.
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES - Humans have the ability to degrade the environment to such an extent that the ecosystem services on which we rely become threatened. Ecosystem services are benefits human receive from nature’s ecosystems
A Working Environment -
Four S's of Ecosystem Services:
Sources - Sources are natural products that can be used or converted by humans for our use. Some examples are:
Mineral deposits such as coal which we turn into fuel
Iron ore which we use in manufacturing
Timber
Food sources
Sinks - Sinks are processes in the natural environment that absorb our waste. Some examples are:
Micro-organisms in oceans break down oil spills
Bacteria in soil breaks down human waste
Services - Services are things that are done for us by the natural environment that don’t produce consumable resources. For example:
Forests absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen
Wetlands filter water and slow floodwaters
Spirituality - Spirituality is the personal relationships that human beings have with the environment. For example:
The connection that Indigenous Australians have with the land
The experience of spending time in the natural environment and the sense of wellbeing it brings (surfing, bushwalking, etc).
CLIMATE CHANGE - Climate change is the long term permanent shift in some or all parts of the weather conditions experienced in an area. Global climate change is increasing at a rapid rate.
Cause - The causes of global warming are fossil fuels, agriculture & deforestation.
Fossil Fuels - Fossil fuels make up 76% of greenhouse gas emissions. When fossil fuels (coal) are burnt they produce carbon dioxide which contributes to the greenhouse effect causing the climate to change.
Increase in Population - Increase in food production, industrial output, urban settlement.
Urban living is responsible for 75% of Co2 emissions.
Deforestation responsible for 17% of world GHG emissions.
Industrial Revolution - During the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution started. This event contributed to fossil fuel emissions because they started burning fossil fuels to fuel heat, transport, power. Coal replaced wood. This was the rise in modern living.
Deforestation - Deforestation and forest degradation contribute to global warming because when trees are cut down, their stored carbon is released into the air as carbon dioxide.
Agriculture (Methane) - Methane is produced by livestock (cows, sheep) as they chew their food. When leaked into the air, it absorbs the sun's heat, warming the atmosphere. Currently 1.4 billion cattle on Earth. 1 cow produces 60-80kgs of methane each year. Methane is 24% of our GHG emissions & the second largest contributor to global warming.
Enhanced Greenhouse Effect - Methane and CO2 enter into the atmosphere and increase the layer of GHGs, trapping heat which creates the enhanced greenhouse effect and warms the planet.
Impacts - The impacts of climate change include:
Biodiversity loss - Ecosystems and biodiversity will be forced to fluctuate along with the regional climate, and that could harm many species.
Changes in temperature and rainfall - Increase in natural disasters such as droughts, floods, etc.
Ocean - As greenhouse gases trap more energy from the sun, the oceans are absorbing more heat, resulting in an increase in sea surface temperatures and rising sea level. Changes in ocean temperatures and currents brought about by climate change will lead to alterations in climate patterns around the world, including temperature increase, coral bleaching, etc.
SALANITY - Salinity is the movement and concentration of salt in the landscape. In parts of WA the soil contains 170 – 950 tonnes of salt per 10,000m2.
Salinity in Australia - Australia’s native vegetation has adapted to the salty soils. The native deep-rooted trees and shrubs soak up much of the rainwater entering the soil. This keep the water table low in the ground and means the salt stays deep in the soil and away from plant roots.
Changes in the Australian landscape since the arrival of Europeans have altered salinity of the land. Large areas of native vegetation have been cleared and replaced with shallow-rooted crops and grasses. This means that much more water is held in the soil and so the water table rises, bringing with it the salt. Salt collects in low lying areas, killing plants. As water evaporates, salt is left at or near the surface, creating salt pans where nothing can grow. The salt also moves across the landscape turning freshwater streams into salty drains.
DEGREDATION TO:
Land - Land degradation is due to deforestation & mining. Removing trees to use the land for farming & cities affects the land because as trees are cleared, carbon dioxide is released, this causes climate change, as carbon dioxide traps heat. It's also bad as of loss of animal habitat. Approximately 2800 plants & animal species are expected to become extinct in the next 25 years due to deforestation. The extraction of minerals/geographical materials from Earth via a hole affects the land because of the loss of habitats due to the removal of native vegetation & soil. It also affects the land because mining causes erosion. This is because if you cut down trees, bushes, etc, to mine the area, the open area will be left without any cover to wind or water type erosion.
Atmosphere - Atmosphere degradation is due to fossil fuels & greenhouse gases. The burning of fossil fuels (coal for transport) is bad for the atmosphere as it releases carbon dioxide, which traps heat. This causes global warming. Greenhouse gases releasement is bad for the atmosphere because the gases (methane & carbon dioxide) absorb the sun's heat, which causes the atmosphere to warm (global warming). Fossil fuels make up 76% of greenhouse gas emissions, and methane makes up 24%.
Water - Water degradation is due to oil spills & over-fishing. Oil spills are bad for the water as it pollutes it, leading too the death of our marine plants & animals, which further affects the food chain function. Removing fish from the water at a rate that they cannot replenish is bad for the water because it leads to species extinction, which then affects the food chain function.
