Unit 1: Physical Geography Core

Unit 1: Physical Geography

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Core Physical - Rivers, Floods & Management

Drainage basin hydrology and water balance

The drainage basin: www.physicalgeography.net and geomorphology
The hydrological cycle: cycle.html and hydrology.cgi
Soil moisture budgets: water_balance

Factors affecting river discharge

Hydrographs: thinkquest.org
Check your hydrograph terminology.
More on hydrographs.

Profiles, characteristics and processes

The long profile of a river.
Virtual fieldtrip down the River Dane.
Virtual fieldtrip along the River Darent.

Channel processes: library.thinkquest.org
Processes of erosion, transportation and deposition.
Transportation process animation.
Virtual rivers fieldwork: VirtualRiver
The Hjulstrom Curve

Landforms of erosion and deposition

Some basic ideas about river landforms.
Stream erosion and landscape development.
A meandering river.

Rejuvenation

Causes and impacts of flooding

Scottish flood case studies here.
UK Flood risk: news.bbc.co.uk
Impacts of Polish floods 1997: www.socialstyrelsen.se
What should be done about floods in Poland? www.edie.net
Polish floods return in 2001: news.bbc.co.uk
Recommendations for the future in Poland: wwf.us
Large flood events: www.dartmouth.edu

Flood management strategies

International Commission on Large Dams – benefits & problems: www.swissdams.ch
Critical dam building FAQs: www.irn.org
Aswan Dam: www.kented.org.uk
Itaipu Dam: www.kented.org.uk
The Three Gorges Dam: news.bbc.co.uk
The Narmada Valley Development Project here and here
What happened to people displaced by new reservoirs in Lesotho? www.panos.org.uk

Ecological restoration of rivers: http://www.ser.org/
Kissimmee River restoration: my.sfwmd.gov

Physical Option - Coastal Environments

The coastal system

Ocean waves: www.forgefx.com
Studying coastlines: www.theseashore.org.uk

Coastal processes

Waves breaking on the shore.

Landforms of erosion and deposition

Watch a stack get destroyed.

How sand dunes develop at virtual_dunes .
Magilligan Dunes, Northern Ireland: www.geographyinaction.co.uk .
Morfa Harlech Dunes, North Wales here .

Coastal erosion case studies

The disappearing Welsh coast: news.bbc.co.uk

Sea level change

Types of sea level change here .
The impact of sea level change on the Essex coast at www.essex-estuaries.co.uk .
Open University resources about the Blackwater Estuary on the Essex coast: openlearn.open.ac.uk
The impact of sea level change on the Maldives here .
What would disappear if sea level rose? merkel.zoneo.net

Human impact on the coast: news.bbc.co.uk

Coastal flooding case studies

Coastal protection and management

Contrasting management - hard and soft engineering