A Level Geography OCR
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60 topics in 14 modules
☑️ Coastal Landscapes 4 topics
- How can coastal landscapes be viewed as systems?
- How are coastal landscapes developed?
- How do coastal landforms evolve over time as climate changes?
- How does human activity cause change within coastal landscape systems?
☑️ Glaciated Landscapes 4 topics
- How can glaciated landscapes be viewed as systems?
- How are glaciated landscapes developed?
- How do glaciated landforms evolve over time as climate changes?
- How does human activity cause change within glaciated landscape systems?
☑️ Dryland landscapes 4 topics
- How can dryland landscapes be viewed as systems?
- How are landforms of mid- and low-altitude deserts developed?
- How do dryland landforms evolve over time as climate changes?
- How does human activity cause change within dryland landscape systems?
☑️ Earth's life support systems 4 topics
- How important are water and carbon to life on Earth?
- How do the water and carbon cycles operate in contrasting locations?
- How much change occurs over time in the water and carbon cycles?
- To what extent are the water and carbon cycles linked?
☑️ Changing Spaces; Making Spaces 5 topics
- What's in a Place?
- How do we understand place?
- How does economic change influence patterns of social inequality in places?
- Who are the players that influence economic change in places?
- How are places created through peacemaking processes?
☑️ Trade in the Contemporary World 3 topics
- What are the contemporary patterns of world trade?
- Why has trade become increasingly complex?
- What are the issues associated with unequal flows of international trade?
☑️ Global Migration 3 topics
- What are the contemporary patterns of global migration?
- Why has migration become increasingly complex?
- What are the issues associated with unequal flows of global migration?
☑️ Human Rights 4 topics
- What is meant by human rights?
- What are the variations in women's rights?
- What are the strategies for global governance of human rights?
- To what extent has intervention in human rights contributed to development?
☑️ Power and Borders 4 topics
- What is meant by sovereignty and territorial integrity?
- What are the contemporary challenges to sovereign stste authority?
- What is the role of global governance in conflict?
- How effective is global governance of sovereignty and territorial integrity?
☑️ Climate Change 5 topics
- How and why has climate changed in the geological past?
- How and why has the era of industrialisation affected global climate?
- Why is there debate over climate change?
- In what ways can humans respond to climate change?
- Can an international repsonse to climate change ever work?
☑️ Disease Dilemmas 5 topics
- What are the global patterns of disease and can factors be identified that determine these?
- Is there a link between edisease and levels of economic development?
- How effectively are communicable and non-communicable diseases dealt with?
- How far can diseases be predicted and mitigated against?
- Can diseases ever be fully eradicated?
☑️ Exploring oceans 5 topics
- What are the main characteristics of oceans?
- What are the opportunities and threats arising from the use of ocean resources?
- How and in what way do human activites pollute oceans?
- How is climate change impacting the ocean system?
- How have socio-economic and political factors influenced the use of oceans?
☑️ Future of Food 5 topics
- What is food security and why is it of global significance?
- What are the causes of inequality in global food security?
- What are the threats to global food security?
- How do food production and security issues impact people and the physical environment?
- Is there hope for the future of food?
☑️ Hazardous Earth 5 topics
- What is the evidence for continental drift and plate tetonics?
- What are the main hazards generated by volcanic activity?
- What are the main hazards generated by seismic activity?
- What are the implications of living in tetonically active locations?
- What measures are available to help people cope with living in tetonically active locations?
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A Level Geography OCR Revision Content
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A Level Geography OCR - Coastal Landscapes - How can coastal landscapes be viewed as systems? Content Preview
Coastal Landscapes
How can coastal landscapes be viewed as systems?
Coastal Systems Defined
- Coasts are considered systems because they incorporate a diverse set of components which interact with each other to enable processes and changes.
- The system can be based on three major concepts: inputs, processes, and outputs.
- Inputs are the energy and material that are introduced into the system, such as waves, tides, marine organisms, sediments, and humans.
- Processes are the physical, biological or chemical events or transactions that modify the inputs, such as weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition, and biological activity.
- Outputs refer to the resultant landforms and materials exported from the system, for example deposited sediment or eroded cliffs.
Open and Closed Coastal Systems
- Coasts can be classified as either open or closed systems.
- An open system has both inputs and outputs to and from other systems. Most natural systems, including coasts, are considered open.
- A closed system has no exchange with other systems. It is self-contained regarding energy and material flow.
Energy Flows in Coastal Systems
- Energy enters coastal systems in several ways, including: solar radiation, gravity, and tidal energy from the moon. These are important drivers of the processes that shape coastal landscapes.
- Waves, tides and currents are critical forms of kinetic energy in coastal systems, operating as agents of coastal change.
Material Flows in Coastal Systems
- Coastal systems also involve significant material flows including fluvial inputs, marine sediment, and weathered material from cliffs.
- The nature and rate of these material flows can exert significant influence on coastal shape, form and dynamic behaviour.
Feedback Mechanisms
- Feedback mechanisms can be either positive or negative, serving to amplify or decrease changes within the system respectively.
- An example of positive feedback would be where the erosion of a cliff base leading to collapse of the cliff face, provides more material to be eroded and further collapsing.
- An example of negative feedback would be where increased vegetation stabilises a dune system, reducing the potential for wind erosion.
Human Influence on Coastal Systems
- Humans can be both inputs and outputs of a coastal system.
- Human inputs can manifest in various forms ranging from physical alteration (like constructing sea defences) to indirect effects through climate change.
- Human outputs include use of marine resources, tourism, and integration into wider economic systems.
This systematic approach to understanding coastal landscapes provides a useful framework for analysing and predicting changes over time due to natural and anthropogenic influences.
Question: Explain what is meant by a coastal landscape being an open system, referring to one energy input and one material output.
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