GCSE Case Study Guide – GCSE Case Study Guide – UNIT 1:PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY
Foundation version
In the exam remember to:
Locate your case study clearly, with a
clear place name and where it is in the
world. Maps can help here.
Link your case study directly to the
question
Answer all parts of the question
(sometimes there can 3 or 4 sections in
one question!)
Quote some facts and figures about the
place
Mention specific locations and place or
scheme names to impress the examiner
Explain your ideas fully.
Locate the case
studies in this
booklet on the
maps of the UK
and the World
A case study of an Earthquake in an MEDC – Kobe
Earthquake in Japan, 1995
Kobe is located in Japan on a destructive margin where 2 oceanic plates (the Pacific and Philippine plates), are
pushed under the Eurasian plate. At 5.46am on January 17th 1995. The Kobe earthquake was powerful
(magnitude 6.9); the epicentre was only 20km southwest of the city and the focus was only about 16kms below
the surface. 10million people live in this area. This is a recipe for disaster. More than 5000 people perished and
300, 000 people were made homeless.
People were trapped under rubble and more than 102,000 buildings were destroyed in Kobe. The local
government‘s estimate of the cost to restore the basic infrastructure of the city was about £100 billion.
1) The worst effected area was in the central part of Kobe including the main docks and port area.
2) Emergency aid for the city needed to use damaged roads but many of them were destroyed during the
earthquake.
3) Raised motorways collapsed during the shaking. Other roads were affected, limiting rescue attempts.
Most new buildings and roads have, in the last 20 years, been designed to be earthquake proof, schools
and factories have regular earthquake drills, etc. Despite this, many older buildings still collapsed or
caught fire. This led to many blocked roads and massive problems of homelessness.
Initial short term responses
 Electricity and water supplies were badly damaged over large areas. This meant no power for heating,
lights, cooking, etc. Clean, fresh water was in short supply until April 1995. The government and city
authorities were criticised for being slow to rescue people and for refusing offers of Aid from other
countries.
 Many people had to sleep in cars or tents in cold winter conditions.
 Locals dug through the rubble to help others.
Long term responses
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Water, electricity, gas, telephone services were fully working by July 1995
The railways were back in service by August 1995
A year after the earthquake, 80% of the port was working but the Hanshin Expressway was still closed.
By January 1999, 134,000 housing units had been constructed but some people still had to live in
temporary accommodation.
New laws were passed to make buildings and transport structures even more earthquake proof.
A case study of a volcanic eruption in an
LEDC – Mount Pinatubo, the Philippines
Mount Pinatubo is found in the Philippines. It is very close to this countries capital
Manila. The volcano is found at a destructive plate margin, where the dense oceanic
Pacific plate is being pushed under the lighter Eurasian plate. On the 5th of April 40
earthquakes where recorded and later on the 9th of June pyroclastic flows occurred. The
most violent eruption occurred on the 15th of June producing a 40km high column of
ash and pyroclastic flows (scolding hot clouds of dust and ash at over 80 kph.
Effects
Social Effects
Economic Effects
Environmental effects
75, 000 people had to be evacuated
Houses and bridges destroyed and needed
replacing and Manila airport had to be
closed
Volcanic ash smothered fields and buildings.
847 people lost their lives.
Heavy rainfall from Typhoon Yunga
causes buildings to collapse.
Fast flowing volcanic mudflows (lahars) cause
sever river bank erosion, undercut bridges etc.
1.2 million people lost their homes around
the volcano
Farmland destroyed by falling ash and
pumice, unusable for years,
Global cooling caused by ash in the atmosphere
of 0.5°C
Prediction, Prevention, Aid and Monitoring
Prediction
What they
actually did
75,000 people were evacuated due to
accurate predictions. There was no
monitoring until the 3rd of April but
seismometers were put into place.
The United States Geological Service
helped to predict the disaster
Prevention
Preparation
75,000 people evacuated up to Evacuation camps built for refugees.
a radius of 30km. USA air
Warning sign like gas and steam looked
force helicopters helped.
for. Long and short term aid organized
Alert systems put into place to especially from the Red Cross and the
warn of eruption.
United States
Government Shelters.
Why the Tsunami happened
A massive earthquake occurred on
the ocean floor. Here 2 plates
driven by heat in the Earth’s
interior are grinding past one
another. When the stresses that
build up are released a massive
earthquake occurs. The IndoAustralian plate is being
subducted (pushed under) under
the Eurasian plate at the Sunda
Trench. Eventually the stresses
build up which can cause an
earthquake. Seismographs showed
how the earthquake lasted over 4
minutes and measured 9.0 on the
Richter scale. The movement of
the sea bed upwards moved
billions of tonnes of water above
it, some sea floor falls and water
rushes in to replace it. The
uplifted water collapses and
rushes outwards at a thousand km
per hour.
A timeline of destruction
20 minutes before the water arrives Banda Aceh feels the force of the
earthquake and buildings collapse.
10 minutes after the earthquake in Sumatra (Aceh province) the wave
is approaching at 600miles an hour, in the open ocean boats were
hardly affected. As the wave neared land the wave grew.
15minutes after the quake Northern Sumatra becomes the first place
to be hit. It caused utter devastation. Banda Aceh was completely
destroyed, with barely any buildings left standing. Ships were thrown
up onto the land, and the cement works were destroyed. ¾ of the
tsunamis victims died in Sumatra.
30 minutes after the quake, 7000 people are killed in the Nicobar
Islands
1 hour after the earthquake in Thailand, people still do not know that
people have died in Indonesia. People climbed upon the tops of hotels
to survive.
2 hours after the earthquake, the wave reaches Sri Lanka. A train
was running along the coast from Colombo to Galle. The train was hit
by the wave of water, and split the train up. The second wave arrived
soon after, killing most of the people who had survived the first wave
on the train. 1500 people died on the train, 45,000 people died in India
and Sri Lanka.
3 ¾ hours after the quake, the Maldives are only slightly effected.
7 hours after the quake, East Africa is next affected. News is finally
getting to communities and in Kenya there was only one fatality as
people were warned. The wave dissipates throughout the whole ocean
across the globe.
Boxing Day 2004 Tsunami
The Tsunami of December 26th 2004
killed over 220,000 people. This was an
enormous disaster of which most people
were completely oblivious to on that
Boxing Day morning.
650,000 people were seriously injured,
schools, hospitals and roads were
completely wiped out.
Haiti Earthquake, Caribbean (LEDC)
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, its GDP is only $1,200 per person, 207th in the world, its HDI is incredibly low at
0.404, 145th in the world, and 80 % of its 9.7 Million people live below the poverty line.
Port Au Prince, the capital, is on a fault line running off the Puerto Rico Trench, where the North American Plate is sliding under the Caribbean plate.
The fault line is a strike slip fault, the Caribbean Plate south of the fault line was sliding east and the smaller Gonvave Platelet north of the fault was
sliding west. There were many aftershocks after the main event. The earthquake occurred on January 12th 2010, the epicentre was centred just 10
miles southwest of the capital city, Port au Prince and the quake was shallow—only about 10-15 kilometres below the land's surface. The event
measured 7.0 on the Richter Magnitude scale.
There were many impacts including;
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Up to 316,000 people died and more than a million people were made homeless, even in 2011 people remained in make shift temporary
homes. Large parts of this impoverished nation where damage, most importantly the capital Port Au Prince, where shanty towns and even
the presidential palace crumbled to dust. 3 million people in total were affected. Few of the Buildings in Haiti were built with earthquakes
in mind, contributing to their collapse
The government of Haiti also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.
The port, other major roads and communications link were damaged beyond repair and needed replacing. The clothing industry, which
accounts for two-thirds of Haiti's exports, reported structural damage at manufacturing facilities. It is estimated the 1 in 5 jobs were lost as
a result of the quake
Rubble from collapsed buildings blocked roads and rail links.
The port was destroyed
Sea levels in local areas changed, with some parts of the land sinking below the sea
The roads were littered with cracks and fault lines
Long term recovery:
Short term responses
Many countries responded to appeals for aid, pledging funds and
dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel.
The EU gave $330 million and the World Bank waived the countries
debt repayments for 5 years.
Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals,
and electrical networks had been damaged by the earthquake, which
slowed rescue and aid efforts.
6 months after the quake, 98% of the rubble remained un cleared, some
still blocking vital access roads.
There was much confusion over who was in charge, air traffic
congestion, and problems with prioritisation of flights further
complicated early relief work.
Port-au-Prince's morgues were quickly overwhelmed with many tens of
thousands of bodies having to be buried in mass graves.
The number of people in relief camps of tents and tarps since the quake
was 1.6 million, and almost no transitional housing had been built. Most
of the camps had no electricity, running water, or sewage disposal, and
the tents were beginning to fall apart.
Between 23 major charities, $1.1 billion had been collected for Haiti for
relief efforts, but only two percent of the money had been released
One year after the earthquake 1 million people remained displaced
As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care and sanitation became
priorities.
The Dominican Republic which neighbours Haiti offered support and
accepted some refugees.
Delays in aid distribution led to angry appeals from aid workers and
survivors, and looting and sporadic violence were observed.
Medicines San frontiers, a charity, tried to help casualties whilst the
USA took charge of trying to coordinate Aid distribution.
Andes Fold mountains
About the Andes Mountains
The Andes Mountains run the length of the West
Coast of South America, rising in the North in
Colombia and finishing in Chile and Argentina
in the South. They are world's longest mountain
range running for over 7,000km and covering 6
countries.
Mining
The Andes Mountains contains a rich mix of minable
materials that are both very valuable and very useful to
man.
There exist large deposits of Coal, oil and natural gas, iron
ore, gold, silver, tin, copper, phosphates and nitrates and
Bauxite (for aluminium) within the Andes mountains.
The Yanacocha gold mine in Peru is the largest gold mine
in the world. It is an open cast mine and the rocks
containing the gold are blasted with dynamite. The rock is
then sprayed with toxic cyanide and the gold extracted
from the resulting solution. This can contaminate water
supplies
How the Andes Mountains are used
Farming
The mountain slopes of the Andes are used for a
variety of farming practices. The best land can be
found on the valley floors, but an ingenious system of
terraces dug into the valley sides and held up by
retaining walls has been used to bring the lands on the
valley sides into food production. The flat terraces
help to hold up water in a region where there are
marked shortages. The main staple crop of the Andes
is the potato, and there are hundreds of different
varieties found in the mountains. Most farming is
subsistence, with the food grown for personal
consumption, but there is some commercial farming.
Tourism
Tourism is a massive industry for Peru and the country has a lot
to offer. In the East you can take part in Eco-tourism activities in
the Amazon Basin, as found along the Madre De Dios River near
to Puerto Maldonado. The Inca trail basically covers 50km of old
pathways linking together old Inca settlements in the inhospitable
mountains of the Andes. It is South America's best known trek
and is one of only 23 World Heritage Sites (as deemed by
UNESCO) to be classified as important both naturally and
culturally. The trail is strictly controlled, and only 200 trekkers
are allowed to start out on the trail every day.
The Holderness coastline – management of a zone of rapid erosion
The Holderness Coastline is in the North of England.
It has the unenviable reputation as the number one place
in Europe for coastal erosion, and in a stormy year waves
from the North Sea can remove between 7 and 10m of
coastline.
Geology
The Clay that makes up the coast is a WEAK mass of
particles and boulders, it erodes more rapidly than the
more resistant rock of chalk in the north.
The processes of erosion and weathering occurring are
numerous but include hydraulic action, freeze thaw,
abrasion, solution and carbonation (on the clay)
This has left a bay where the clay is and a headland
jutting out to sea at Flamborough head.
The coastline today is around 4km inland from where it
was in Roman times, and there are many LOST villages
of the Holderness coastline that have long disappeared
into the sea. Indeed, today, farmland, tourist sites such as
caravan parks and villages remain under threat.
Defending the Holderness Coastline
In the case of the Holderness coastline, its geology (weak
clays) waves (destructive during North Sea storms) and
Geomorphology (the shape of the coastline allows the
waves to break at the base of the cliffs) make erosion
almost impossible to stop.
Mappleton is a small village that could become village
number 30 lost to the sea. The road running through it,
the B1242 links towns along the coastline and would
have been lost to coastal erosion if protection measures
were not put into place. It was decided that the cost of
coastal defence for a village of only 100 people was less
than the cost of building a new road. So, blocks of
granite were brought in and placed along the cliff base
and 2 rock groynes were put into place to trap
sediment moving because of longshore drift.
The basic plan for coastal protection is shown in Figure
6.
The cost is estimated at £17 million.
Keyhaven Salt marshes – management of a vulnerable coastal
ecosystem
Coasts provide valuable habitats for lots of species and despite all of the land uses there is a recognised need to protect and
conserve our vulnerable and precious coastal habitat. One example is Keyhaven. Keyhaven marshes are located on the south
coast of England, in the western Solent in Southern Hampshire.
Conservation and management;
A shoreline management plan was put in place in 1996 which added 300,000 cubic metres of shingle to the spit, and
added 550m of rock armour at the western end of the spit. It is hoped that this will stabilise the salt marsh.
The marsh is also a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and part of a National Nature Reserve. This is to protect
the biodiversity and plants of the area and so the area is carefully monitored and managed to help maintain this
biodiversity.
A case study of a coastal habitat - Hurst Castle and Keyhaven salt marshes
How Keyhaven salt marshes have been created;
1.
They have formed behind Hurst Castle Spit, which has formed
because of longshore drift from the West.
2. This spit provided a sheltered place for sediment accumulation and
for eel grass to accumulate away from the impact of strong winds and
coastal erosion.
3. The pioneer colonising plant, eel grass, helps to stabilise the area
further by trapping more sediment.
4. Gradually, halophytes (salt tolerant plants) such as glass wort and sea
blite colonise the accumulating mudflats.
5. These plants trap more sediment and contribute organic matter when
they die. These processes help the salty marsh to grow.
6. Eventually the salt marsh will grow further and an even more
complex set of plants will colonise the area, until the climax
community of alder and ash trees is reached, with a fully developed
creek system. This is known as vegetation SUCCESSION.
Threats.
Keyhaven salt marshes are under threat from the construction of groynes down current (to the West), which were designed to trap
sediment for some of the South coast beaches. The effect of this has been to starve the spit behind which the salt marsh ecosystem has
formed and relies upon for shelter. This human modification of the coastline had major ramifications for this ecosystem. This has
weakened the spit and at times it has been eroded and breached by erosion. This has led to the die back of Spartina Anglica and
threatens the overall health of the salt marsh.
The marsh is retreating by up to 6m a year, and is threatened by sea level rise and storms. In 1989 a storm in December pushed part
of the shingle onto the top of the salt marsh, exposing up to 80m of slat marsh top the sea. Over the next 3 months lots of erosion of
this section of marsh took place.
Animals also graze on the marsh damaging the marsh, and tourism is becoming increasingly important.
The UK– Impacts of sea level rise on the coastline
Sea levels are rising globally at the present time, but
have changed a lot over millions and millions of
years. In the past (up to 13,000 years ago) Britain
was actually part of Europe and the North Sea did not
exist! There are numerous causes for sea level
change, and these can be grouped into Natural and
Human causes. Natural causes of sea level rise are
related to changes in temperature or to the adding of
weight to the Earth's crust.
If global temperatures go up ice melts and the oceans
expand by thermal expansion - the sea level will rise.
If global temperatures fall then ice builds up on the
land and sea, the oceans contract in volume due to
thermal contraction, and sea level falls.
As human beings release more and more Carbon
Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide and Methane into the
atmosphere (in industrial processes etc) we accelerate
Global Warming. This could have massive impacts on
sea levels, drowning coastlines, changing the location
of erosion and affected coastal habitats.
The economic, social, environmental and political impact of coastal flooding on the UK.
Over the past 15 years sea levels have risen on average by 3mm a year, but this figure varies widely from place to place. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts a rise in global sea levels of between 28 and 43cm by the end of
the century.
The area most under threat in the UK is the South East and East of the country, where the land is flat and at very low
altitudes. Unfortunately, this is also where most people live in the UK!
The Norfolk Broads are a large tourist destination (they bring in £5million a year!) and farming area, here, sea level rise
would destroy the area and habitats.
London is built around a tidal area of the River Thames and is currently protected by the Thames Barrier, however, engineers
predict that this barrier will soon be inadequate with rising sea levels and will need to be replaced at the coast of over £80
billion!
Valuable agricultural land will be lost and coastal erosion in areas such as Holderness will be increased as seas become
stormier and waves reach further up beaches and cliff faces.
Flooding in an MEDC – the Morpeth floods
The Environment Agency recorded 150 millimetres of precipitation falling in the Wansbeck catchment between Friday 5
September and Saturday 6 September. The River Wansbeck Valley is narrow and steep and this caused a massive flood.
Because the soil was already saturated as a result of the wet summer, the effect of surface runoff was greatly enhanced. The
lag time was also very short, giving people very little time to respond.
Social Impacts
During 6 September 2008, more than 400 residents were evacuated. Shelter was provided in the Town Hall, King Edward VI
High School and County Hall. An error made by the Environment Agency's warning system meant that 198 properties in the
Middle Greens area of the town did not receive a flood warning. Fire fighters, ambulance crews, the RAF, the RNLI and the
British Red Cross were among the emergency services involved in rescue and recovery operations over the weekend. Many
residents had to be forced from their homes, and lived in caravans or with relatives as rebuilding took place. More than 1,000
houses were affected when the River Wansbeck burst its banks on Saturday, September 6, 2008.
Economic
995 properties in Morpeth town centre were directly affected by the flood water. Early estimates suggest that damages
could be over £10 million. On Sunday 7 September, Morpeth Lions Club and the Red Cross launched the Morpeth Flood Disaster
Fund and by Wednesday 10 September had raised over £20,000.
Environmental
At the peak of the flood, Morpeth High Street (Bridge Street) was under 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) of water. Not since 1963 had
the main street been flooded. The library suffered severe structural damage due to the heavy debris transported by the river.
Such was the extent of the damage that structural engineers were required to test its safety.
Management
Morpeth has a system of flood defences (flood walls and low embankments) in place following the 1963 flood event, but these
were overtopped by the high flood waters. The RAF and other emergency services had to evacuate people by boat and
helicopter, and aid rushed in from around the country and government sources. Insurance companies will foot most of the bill.
There are plans to have in place by 2011 a system of higher flood walls along weak spots in the town, poles to catch debris
upstream, to clear out the culverts that drain water in Morpeth and an upstream reservoir - which would hold over one million
cubic metres - would only allow through a volume of water manageable by the town centre defences.
Flooding in an LEDC – The Bangladesh floods
Bangladesh is a low lying country that is incredibly vulnerable to flooding. It has 3 major rivers flowing through it (the Ganges,
Brahmaputra and Meghna) and is vulnerable to coastal flooding as it is so low lying and flat. The 2004 floods lasted from July to
September and covered 50% of the country at their peak.
At the time of the July 2004 floods 40% of the capital, Dhaka was under water. 600 deaths were reported and 30million people were
homeless. 100,000 people alone in Dhaka suffered from diarrhoea from the flood waters.
Bridges were destroyed, the death toll rose to 750 and the airport and major roads were flooded. This hampered relief efforts. The
damage to schools and hospitals was estimated at $7billion. Rural areas also suffered, the rice crop was devastated as were
important cash crops such as jute and sugar.
Management and aid
Within Bangladesh food supplies, medicines, clothing and blankets were distributed. Local people began to rebuild their homes but
disease from contaminated and often stagnant flood water remained a threat. The United Nations launched an appeal to raise
$74million, but had received only 20% of this by September. Water Aid helped by bringing water purification tablets and
education campaigns.
In the long term a Flood Action Plan is in place in Bangladesh, but the embankments which are supposed to protect against flooding
have not always been successful. Flood warnings and provision of food and shelter has had a more positive impact.
Water supply in the UK – Kielder Water
Kielder water is a management scheme designed to store water for the North East of England. It is run by Northumbrian
Water, a large company supplying Northumberland, County Durham and parts of North Yorkshire and Cumbria.
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Population supplied: 2.5m
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Daily supply: 729m litres
The main conurbations served by the reservoir are Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside. The decline of traditional heavy industry,
together with more water-efficient industrial processes and better control of water supply leakage, served to undermine the
original reasons for the reservoir and many came to criticise the government-funded project as a white elephant.
In recent years, however, Kielder Water has come into its own, with underground springs ensuring that it always remains at high
levels, regardless of the prevailing climate condition. This means that while the south of England is often forced to implement
drought strategies and hosepipe bans, north east England enjoys plentiful water supplies
Positive
Negative
A hydro-electric power station, using the water
released by Kielder reservoir can generate 6MW of
power.
Reducing the flow of water from a river changes
the landscape of that river which can affect plants
and animals. A dam holds back sediment,
especially the gravel and pebbles. The depletion of
riverbed gravels reduces spawning grounds for fish
and invertebrates.
Kielder is one of the last places for red squirrels in
England
The lake is 11km long and stores nearly
200,000million litres of water – this helps in times of
water shortages
58 families were displaced from their homes by the
dam, their houses disappearing beneath the lake
that formed.
It can act as a flood prevention measure.
When the dam was completed it flooded an area of
scenic natural beauty.
A visitors study showed that £6million is raised
through tourism to Kielder every year.
2,700 acres of farmland and habitat was lost as a
result of the scheme.
Complete the table below by writing a summary sentence about the case study and by writing down 5 bits of factual information (location, dates, facts, figures,
distances etc) about the case study that you can remember for the exam.
Bangladesh Floods
Morpeth Floods
Kielder Water
UK and Sea level rise
Keyhaven Salt Marshes
The Holderness Coastline
The Haiti Earthquake
The Kobe Earthquake
The Andes Mountains
The 2004 Tsunami
Mount Pinatubo
Case study questions – all 8 marks each
The Restless Earth
A) People respond to hazards in different ways. Choose a volcano or an earthquake you have studied in an LEDC.
Describe the measures to predict and to take precautions against your chosen hazard
and
explain the short term responses to your chosen hazard.
B) Choose a volcanic eruption you have studied.
Describe the aid given to people affected by the eruption
and
Explain the long term recovery of the area affected by the volcanic eruption.
C) People respond to Tsunami in different ways. Choose a Tsunami you have studied. Explain how people responded in the short term and the
long term.
D) Choose one earthquake/volcano/tsunami/supervolcano that you have studied.
Describe the short term (immediate) responses made by the people in the area
and
Explain the long term problems for people in the area.
E) Fold mountains are used in different ways. Choose a range of Fold mountains that you have studied.
Describe the variety of landuses that occur in the fold mountains
and
Evaluate the impact of those landuses
The Coastal Zone
A) Sea levels have risen around the world. Choose a stretch of coastline that you have studied that i9s under threat from sea level rise.
Describe the impacts that sea level rise could have on this stretch of coastline
And
Explain the consequences of these impacts.
B) Some coastlines are suffering from erosion and cliff retreat. For a coastline you have studied;
Explain the causes of cliff retreat
and
Outline how the cliff retreat is being managed
C) Coastal environments contain a range of unique ecosystems. For a coastal ecosystem that you have studied:
Describe how the ecosystem functions
and
Explain how it is being managed sustainably against any threats it might face.
Rivers, floods and management
1)Many rivers around the world suffer flooding. For a river that has flooded in an MEDC;
Outline the causes of flooding
and
Explain the economic and social impacts of those floods.
2)Many rivers around the world suffer flooding. For a river that has flooded in an LEDC;
Outline the effects of flooding
and
Explain the management strategies used to try and control damage caused by future flooding.
3) Water supply and demand vary across the British Isles. For a water supply scheme that you have studied:
Describe how the scheme works
and
Assess the positive and negative impacts of that scheme.
4)Compare the impacts of flooding in MEDCs and LEDCs and explain their differing impacts