Geographical Investigations Flashcards
What is the river’s fieldwork enquiry question?
How and why do channel characteristics of the Carding Mill Valley influence flood risk for people and property?
What are the 3 sub questions that were investigated during the fieldwork?
- How do the stream characteristics change as you move down the channel?
- Why do channel characteristics change as you move down the valley- can you link this to the Bradshaw model?
- What is the risk of flooding and how do the channel characteristics influence this?
What are the channel characteristics that you are measuring?
Velocity
Depth
Width
How do you choose methods to work out how characteristics change?
You use a SMART method: Specific Measurable Achievable Reliable Timely
Where is Carding Mill Valley located?
On the England-Wales border
50 miles from Birmingham (not too far away)
Runs through Church Stratton
Why is the Carding Mill Valley a suitable investigation location?
Safe (not to deep)
Accessible (can walk to river)
Can be reached in a day
Relevant to the enquiry question
What is the landscape of the Carding Mill Valley like?
Lots of vegetation Steep, v-shaped valley Waterfalls Leisure routes Tributaries Foot bridges
How do humans use the valley and how are they affected by it?
- Spa tourism (Victorian era)
- Wool and cotton mills in the 1800s: narrower channel and more flooding
- Modern tourism (earns 250,000/ year): less vegetation and more flooding
- 3000 sheep are farmed: less vegetation and more flooding
What secondary evidence did you use in your investigation?
- Environmental agency flood risk map
- National trust newspaper article
Assess the advantaged and disadvantages of the flood risk map:
\+Appropriate colours (understandable) \+Clear key \+Property is indicated clearly -Generalised -Hard to see actual river
How could the flood risk map be improved?
- Add a scale: time period
- Add a depth scale
Assess the advantages and disadvantages of the newspaper article:
+Clear facts
+Photos make it easy to understand
-Outdated
-Vague
How could the newspaper article be improved?
Talk about more river locations
Talk about Valley characteristics
How do the pieces of secondary data support the investigation?
M- Clearly demonstrates flood risks to people and property
A- Information on flood impacts
A- Locational evidence
A- Channel characteristics are shown
Why are the river investigation locations suitable?
- 4 sites show river changes
- Shows both high and low risk sites
- 3 out of 4 sites are easily accessible
Systematic sampling for 3 of the sites to avoid bias
Stratified sampling for 4th site to show high risk areas
What were the 3 data collection methods?
Width: Ranging poles and tape measure
Depth: Tape measure ans measure the depth every 25cm
Velocity: Time for ping-pong ball to float over 10m
How did you record qualitative data?
Detailed, labelled field sketches
How did you represent data for your fieldwork?
- Cross section of channel
- Average velocity in m/s
- Discharge in m^3/s
How did the channel characteristics change downstream?
Increased stream depth Increased stream width Increased discharge Decreased valley shape Increased human influences Decreased vegetation
How could you improve the quantitative data collection methods?
Velocity-Use a flow meter
Velocity-Use a floating object heavier than a ping pong ball
How could you improve the qualitative data collection methods?
Take a photo for increased accuracy
What is the enquiry question for the Birmingham fieldwork?
Investigate how and why quality of life varies within urban areas.
What type of sample did you use to choose your sites?
Stratified to demonstrate different areas of the city
Where were your fieldwork sample sites?
Meriden
Hall Green
Sparkbrook
Which other sites did you visit and what did you investigate there?
Moseley: Gentrification Highgate: Improvements in the inner city Park central in Lee Bank: Sustainability in the inner city Birminghams CBD Aston University: Studentification Eastside/ Millenium Point: Regeneration
What primary methods did you use to investigate your EQ?
Quantitative: environmental survey
Qualitative: field sketches
Qual and Quant: questionnaire
What secondary methods did you use to investigate your EQs?
Census data (Nomis): Investigating employment IMD data: Investigating income
Which methods did you use to present your data?
Bar charts/ line graphs
Stacked bar charts on a base map
Word clouds
Field sketches
How was your location suitable for your cities fieldwork?
Easily accessible within a day
Large, significant contrasts in quality of life
How were the sites suitable for the cities fieldwork?
3 sites are easy to understand, remember and contrast.
However, hall green didn’t fully represent the suburbs.
