Deltas

 

A river delta is a landform that forms at the mouth of a river where the river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, or reservoir. Deltas form by deposition as sediment if carried by a river out of its mouth. When a river reaches a lake or the sea the water slows down and loses the energy to carry sediment. The sediment is dropped at the mouth of the river over time it builds up in layers forming a delta. Some deltas are so large that people live and farm on it such as the Nile in Egypt.

A delta plain is a flat section that is above water, small channels are cut through the plain by rivers. These channels are called distributaries, new sections of delta build up at the mouths of distributaries. The rest of the delta is under water. A steeply sloping delta front faces the lake or ocean. The prodelta is furthest away from the mouth of the river and is deepest under water.

Deltas can be different shapes and sizes depending on how much sediment is deposited by the river and how much is eroded and re-deposited by waves and tides;

A river dominated delta is often named a bird’s foot delta because of its form. Leeves build up along the sides of the narrow distributary channels.  Such as the Mississippi delta in Louisiana USA.

Tide dominated deltas have long and narrow offshore bars or islands at the mouth of the river, such as in Western Papua New Guinea.

 

Wave dominated deltas look like a trodden triangles. The lines running across the delta are ridges that formed as the delta built up, such as Caravelas, Brazil.

 

 

The UK doesn’t have any delta as deltas need to run out onto vast areas of flat land, like the Nile and Mississippi deltas. We only have one area similar to a delta and that’s the Wash between Lincolnshire and Norfolk. However there are only two or three very small rivers flowing into that unlike the Nile. River Deltas require a large source of sediment to form, usually from weathering of large high mountain ranges. Those high volumes of sediment get washed out to sea by rivers coming down from the mountains. Over time the sediment at the mouth of the river builds up to form new land forming a delta. Britain doesn't have mountain ranges the size of the Himalayas, Rockies, or Andes, which provide much of the sediment source for many of the World’s great river deltas.

Decidous woodland biome- basic facts

Deciduous woodlands contain trees with broad leaves such as oak, beech and elm. These form the canopy layer. They occur in places with high rainfall, warm summers and cooler winters and lose their leaves in winter. As some light can get through, the vegetation is layered. Beneath the taller trees in the canopy layer is a shrub layer. The shrub layer contains species like hazel, ash and holly. Beneath this is the ground layer where you can find grass, bracken or bluebells.

 

Temperate deciduous forests are found between 40° and 60° north and south of the equator. They are well suited to a moderate climate. The annual temperature range in these areas is low and precipitation can occur throughout the year with the rainfall being high, between 500-1,500 mm a year. The temperatures remain on average above 0°C even in the winter. The summer temperatures average between 25-20°C. The winter is cooler, encouraging the trees to shed their leaves. The area must have regrowth throughout the year so that trees can grow new leaves after the winter and conventional growth of other vegetation can occur according to seasonal variations of the woodland.

 

The soil type is brown earth, which is reddish-brown in colour. This is a fertile soil. In the autumn the leaves fall from the trees. The leaves decompose and help to give the soil its nutrients. Earthworms in the soil help to mix the nutrients, and blend the layers within the soil helping to keep the soil fertile.

 

The tree roots are deep and so help to break up the rock below. This helps to give the soil more minerals. The trees take up the nutrients in the soil as they grow. However, more nutrients are put back in the soil when the autumn comes

Deciduous trees shed their leaves in the winter, when the light and temperature falls so they can conserve water and to survive the harsh abiotic winter conditions. The vegetation in temperate deciduous forests grows in layers. Bluebells grow very quickly in the spring so they can flower before the trees get their leaves as the forest floor is too dark to grow when the canopy is complete.

 

Huge tracts of deciduous woodland have been cleared across Britain over the past centuries, as humans have cut the trees down for building materials and fuel. Settlements were built close to woods, as they allowed local people a place to hunt, find fuel, and find protection in times of danger. One of the primary reasons for the clearance of many of the deciduous woodlands around Britain was to use the area for agriculture. This occurred as more and more new settlements grew and the food sources of the forests ran out.

Coastal processes (from GCSE)

 

Depositional lanforms 

Spits, bars, dunes and tombolos are all formed by deposition. Depositional processes include long shore drift and swash.

Transportation

You can see transportation takes place if a beach has groins. Groins are used to slow down or stop long shore drift.

Erosion

Hydraulic action is the name given to erosion which is caused by the force of the waves against rocks and cliffs. This process takes the form of the sea's waves crashing against rocks and cliffs. Water drives air into cracks in the rock, pressure builds up, exploding the crack and forcing bits of rock break off. The stronger the wave, the greater its explosive power.

Corrosion (solution) is an example of a chemical process. Chemicals in the sea water, such as salt dissolve minerals in the rocks, causing them to slowly break up. Sea water can also contain mild acids which have a similar effect. Chemicals released into the sea as a result of pollution can speed up the rate of corrosion.

Attrition are Fragments of rock which have broken off the cliff face fall down and can collect on the seabed. Here, moved by the water, they knock against each other and the bedrock, becoming ever smaller, rounder and smoother.

Corrasion is another physical process which wears down coastal cliffs and rock faces. Waves carry debris (such as sand, shingle and pebbles) which is hurled against the coastline. The debris rubs against the rock and eventually causes pieces to break off. These broken fragments are in turn thrown back at the rock face by the waves and the process repeats itself.

Weathering

Freeze thaw action is an example of physical weathering. Water from rain and from the sea makes its way into cracks in the rock. In cold conditions this water freezes, slightly increasing in volume. The expansion of the ice puts pressure on the rock and causes cracks to open a little. When it thaws, the ice melts and changes back to water. Repeated freezing and thawing weakens the rock and splits it into jagged pieces. These pieces may fall by gravity onto the beach to be broken down further. Bare, exposed cliffs are often subjected to this type of weathering.

Chemical weathering the action of water on rock can cause chemical weathering. Ordinary rainwater contains small amounts of acid. This acidic solution attacks the structure of the rock, causing it to rot and crumble. The rate at which chemical weathering occurs depends on several factors. The acidity of the rainfall affects the rate of weathering. Raindrops naturally absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, resulting in the formation of a very weak acid. However, acid rain caused by pollution (particularly the emission into the atmosphere of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) is often more damaging, speeding up the rate of destruction caused by chemical weathering. The type of rock is important. Permeable rocks such as limestone and sandstone allow water to penetrate beyond the surface. They are broken down more quickly than impermeable rocks such as slate and granite.

Slumping Waves form as a result of the transfer of energy. They are caused by the friction that occurs when wind blows over water – this friction causes the water to move in a circular orbit. The amount of energy gained by the wave is determined by several factors. These include: the speed of the wind, the length of time that the wind has been blowing, and the distance of open water over which the wind has been blowing – this distance is known as the fetch. These factors will influence the way in which waves behave and the effect they have on the coastline.

Mass movement

 

Rockfall is the rapid, free-fall of rock from a steep cliff face. Rock fragments fall from the face of the cliff because of the action of gravity. This is made worse by freeze-thaw action loosening the rock. Bare, well-jointed rock is very vulnerable to rockfall - water enters the joint, freezes and expands, cracking the rock. A scree slope of fallen rock is formed at the bottom of the cliff.

Mudflow occurs on steep slopes over 10°. It's a rapid sudden movement which occurs after periods of heavy rain. When there is not enough vegetation to hold the soil in place, saturated soil flows over impermeable sub soil, causing great devastation and endangering lives.

Landslips or land slumps are occasional, rapid movements of a mass of earth or rock sliding along a concave plane. They can occur after periods of heavy rain, when the water saturates overlying rock, making it heavy and liable to slide. Undercutting of a steep slope by river or sea erosion weakens the rock above, also making a slump likely.

 

Soil creep is a very slow movement, occurring on very gentle slopes because of the way soil particles repeatedly expand and contract in wet and dry periods. When wet, soil particles increase in size and weight, and expand at right angles. When the soil dries out, it contracts vertically. As a result, the soil slowly moves downslope.

Asian Tigers the future

The Asian tigers are made up of a group of countries; Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. They saw huge economic growth between the 1960s and 1990s.

 

From the 1960's onwards the Tigers developed, and by the 21st century they were in fully developed status. This is due to the investment from TNC's particularly from Japan in technology. The tigers adopted an export driven model of industrialisation and development meaning they no longer produced products for the domestic market. They opted for exportable products particularly aimed at industrialised nations of Europe and America. With the help of their huge cheap labour force and Foreign Direct Investment from wealthy countries the tigers saw huge economic growth. This meant quality of life massively improved as people were earning more money becoming more educated and had good facilities such as doctors available to them. However, after stocks crashed in the 1990s shares became overvalued causing a recession. The tigers relied on foreign markets so when they hit the recession they couldn't provide the products to the TNC's anymore. This meant a loss in the market to other countries such as India. This shows export led growth and cheap labour can't last forever, therefore in order to further develop they had to create new industries.

The Tigers main problem was the loss of FDI from TNC's as they moved to other countries. The TNC’s moved because as the Tigers economy grew the workforce wasn't as cheap as before so they were now less financially competitive, compared to other countries like China. These countries were now following the original tiger model offering a cheaper work force, better tax incentives and less strict environmental and political laws. For example, Nike who used to manufacture most of their products in Taiwan moved to other countries such as Vietnam and China. Nike doesn't own any factories; it rents out other firms. Therefore, it can easily re-locate to another area if needed. This is why countries compete with low wages and relaxed laws to attract these TNC's for their FDI. Many of these countries that are following the Asian Tigers early model, are a group of countries dubbed the 'Asian Cubs' they consist of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

 

In emerging economies such as Malaysia the model of the Asian Tigers is key to their success. Although its geographical location places in the 'poor south' the past 40/50 years of impressive economic growth make this untrue. Before 1970 Malaysia was a typical agricultural nation specialising in the export of raw materials. However, by 1980 80% of exports were manufactured goods. It grew due to the abundance of a cheap and well educated workforce which attracted businesses to set up their factories in Malaysia. Also due to the strong leaders particularly Dr Mahathir Mohamed who oversaw economic growth and developed the industrial policy which allowed foreign companies to invest. After the businesses had invested he then promoted local development. Another important factor was the 'growth poles' which saw domestic goods e.g. Food, drink and household goods located inland near to the capital (Kuala Lumpur) and the export goods e.g. Electronic machinery, equipment and textile industries concentrated in Georgetown close to the port and road bridge connecting Penong to the mainland and international airport. This meant that the exportable goods were close to transport points so global trade is easier. Thus prompting businesses to invest in the area as they don’t have to build infrastructure such as roads for transport as it is already there.

 

The economic growth of the Tigers has presented greater opportunities for emerging economies to develop, as TNC’s shift looking for cheaper economies to place their businesses. Some countries specialise in certain areas to attract an expert niche market for investors. For example India was used mainly for telemarketing particular technological therefore they had an expert advantage on tech TNC's over other countries who might offer cheaper wages but not be as specialised. In China they attract investors with tax breaks and tariff free processing, therefore their workforce becomes more appealing to an investor. Another advantage for these countries is having a large English speaking workforce for example India with over 350, 000 English speaking graduates every year. This is a bonus that the original tigers cannot compete with. They are also an incredibly skilled workforce therefore lots of high-tech industries have settled there such as HSBC. The development in technology has been down to the fact that they became so skilled in the areas they were working for, so they decided to do it themselves. This created many self-made entrepreneurs from India such as Vishal Sikka the CEO of Infosys, although he started the company by accident, it is now worth $1 billion and started with about $250. Sikka said that the capitalism fuelled the idea of Infosys, along with the huge opportunity for technologies as there was loads of engineers without jobs. However, India's labour cost advantages might only be temporary as other developing countries try to move into the same market. Infosys is developing more sophisticated aspects of the industry to add greater value in the face of possible low-cost competition. Another advantage for emerging economies would be having a large natural wealth for example Africa or South America. Brazil in South America is home to 200m people and is booming with natural wealth due to the Amazon Rainforest. Economic growth is so great that it is overtaking Britain to become the 6th largest economy. In the city of Manus growth is key so the first bridge ever across the Amazon is being built and $3trillion is being spent on infrastructure to create jobs and develop the country. Due to the huge natural wealth no resources need to be imported as everything comes from within Brazil. However, many complain that this is sacrificing the environmental sustainability of the country for economic gain. The Amazon is key to all human life on earth as it provides clean air and medicine such as Vicks Vapour rub. The medicine TNC's exploit the rainforests as the business makes $75bn per year. This again is another aspect that other countries can't compete with. For example China who destroyed most of the natural environment for economic gain, cannot cash in from their natural resources and has now even become the most polluted place on the planet.

 

However, these NICs can’t last forever as the Asian Tigers got richer it became increasingly more expensive to produce things there as wages became higher. So the market moved to continue to keep costs low to less developed countries such as the Asian cubs. Also new TNC’s grew out of the Asian Tigers economies e.g. Samsung originated in South Korea. These TNC’s set up their manufacturing in less developed countries as well. The growth of manufacturing into less developed countries from both new and established TNCs created a second wave of NIC’s. However now that these less developed countries are becoming richer TNC’s are starting to look elsewhere to place their business. This is currently happening in China, since the 1970s there has been rapid economic growth. This meant that GNI per capita rose from around $180 in 1978nto $2940 in 2010 with a growth rate of around 10% a year. However, China's economic growth has slowed to 6.9%. There are many reasons for this, over-capacity, huge debt and particularly the rising cost of labour caused by the original growth of the economy. These are all the signs of a maturing developed country. China has entered a stage where the population capacity is no longer the main factor of its growth. The Chinese central government has for years talked about a soft landing of its economic growth. This is because on its current trajectory, if the Chinese economy comes to a grinding halt, we would be looking at a disaster on a global scale. China has the second-biggest economy; any slowdown will have an impact on global growth. The International Monetary Fund cut its 2015 growth target to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent. And Janet Yellen, the Chair of the US Federal Reserve, decided not to raise interest rates in September partly because China's economy was slowing.

  

In conclusion, the global economy has moved on from the Asian Tigers; the present and the future of the global economy now lie elsewhere. This can be seen as the tiger cub economies get stronger, labour become more expensive so TNC's start to look for less developed countries to manufacture their goods in. The shift in location of production opens up new NIC markets and a second wave of NICs are formed. However, the service industry started to grow in the Asian Tigers because people had more money so there was a natural shift away from manufacturing to tertiary, therefore they still continued to grow. The question is what happens when we run out of LIC's?