Hydrology and fluvial

m r I
he drainage sin s ste
A drainage basin is the area drained by a river and its • Evaporation is the loss of water from the lanci
tributaries. A drainage basin system is an open system surface and bodies of water as it transfers frorn
as water can be added as an input or lost as an output. a liquici to a gaseous state (water vapour) by
Within the system water can flow/be transferred in a application of heat. The rate at which it will take
number of ways from a variety of stores. piace will ciepend on the temperature; the higher
the temperature the higher the rate of evaporation.
• Evapotranspiration refers to the combined
Evapotranspiration
loss from both evaporation and transpiration.
Transpiration is the loss of water vapour from the
stornata in the leaves of plants and trees. Rates of
transpiration will depend on the amount anci type
of vegetation. The typical tropica! forest ecosystern
has very high rates of transpiration. More
precipitation than evaporation or evapotranspiration
occurs over the lanci but most of the Earth's
evaporation (86 per cent) and precipitation
(78 per cent) take piace aver the oceans.
• River discharge is the volume of water being
discharged by a river. lt is normally expressed as
the volume of water passing a point in the river
channel in a given unit of time. This is commonly
the nurnber of cubie metres per second -
abbreviateci as "cumecs".

Stores
Channel
flow out
of basin
The stores in a drainage basin are where water is held
in some part of the cirainage basin for any length of
time 'from seconds - on a leaf, to hours and days in
depression stores such as puddles and lakes or in
Key the soil, to severa I thousand years in an underground
411119 Input aquifer. Stores include soil stores - water retained
f::~;$;'':i'.~5~1'1 Store within the pore spaces of the soil (called interstices)
e:::> Flow
and grounciwater stores - water that has percolateci
C==:)output
and is held in rocks below the top of the water table.
lnterception and interception stores - this is
Fig 1.1 The processes operating within drainage basin precipitation which is intercepted on its way to
systems the lanci surface by leaves, plants and trees. lt
slows up the arrivai of rainwater at the surface
Inputs and outputs and reduces the amount that reaches the ground
as some or all will evaporate as it lies anci flows
lnputs are the addition of water to a drainage basin over the leaves, stems and trunks of the trees
in the form of precipitation. The inputs can occur in a and plants. lt is important in that it reduces the
number of forms (rain, snow, hail, etc.) and at different amount of water available for overland flow/
times, intensities anci frequencies throughout the year. surface runoff and therefore helps reduce the
In some parts of the world, such as high mountainous possibility of soil erosion and flooding.
areas and in polar and temperate climates, snow and
glacial meltwater is an important input, especially in • Surface water or depression stores - this is
spring and summer when it can produce floods. water that is stored on the surface in the form of
puddles, ponds, strearns and lakes - often above
Outputs are the losses of water from a drainage
an impermeable surface or where the ground or
basin in terrns of evaporation, evapotranspiration soil below is fully saturateci.
anci river/channel flow.
1
 1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

or mn;1~1:,ure - this is water impermeable surface, such as a clay soil, which

retained within the gaps and pore spaces in has a very slow infiltration capacity as it contains
the soil. Antecedent moisture is the moisture very tiny pore spaces (while a sandy soil rnay
retained in the soil before a rainfall event. exhibit a fast infiltration capacity as it has large
• Groundwater stores - this is water that has pore spaces). A clay soil may therefore r1ave water
percolateci downwards and is held in gaps such as quickly building up on its surface and this may
cracks, joints, bedding planes, fault lines and pore then start to flow over the surface, as overland
spaces in rocks in the underground aquifer. The flow, possibly causing soil erosion. Without a
top of the aquifer is called the water table. The protective cover of trees and vegetation soil
factors that influence the amount of water that erosion is a distinct possibility. The occurrence of
reaches the groundwater store are precipitation overland flow will be increased on slopes, or when
amount and intensity, surface flow and there is saturation overland flow - when all the
throughflow. The time it takes is controlled mainly open/pore spaces in the underlying soil and rock
by the speed of infiltration and percolation which, are filled with water, which rneans that water is
in turn, are controlled by porosity and permeability forced to flow over the land surface.
of both the soil and the underlying bedrock.
• Channel store - this is the volume of water Below ground
contained in the river channel. Once in the river • lnfiltration - when water enters small openings
channel water will flow to the sea or lake and be and pores in the ground from the surface. Every
lost from the drainage basin system. land surface has its own individuai infiltration
capacity i.e. the speed at which water enters that
Flows land surface. Areas with a low infiltration capacity
can be very prone to flooding after heavy rain.
The main flows found within a drainage basin system
• Percolation - when water flows down through
can be either above ground or below ground:
the soil and underlying rock pulled down by
gravity. The rate at which the water percolates
Above ground will depend on the porosity of the soil or rock -
• Throughfall - this is precipitation that makes depending on the size and number of open pore
it directly to the land surface without being spaces in the soil or rock and the permeability
intercepted by the plant canopy. Some of this of the rock - depending on the size and number
throughfall may be intercepted by leaves and this of cracks, fault lines, joints and bedding planes
water may then flow off the leaves and drip to the in the rock. Chalk is a good exarnple of a porous
ground as dripflow - some plants have developed rock as it rnay actually absorb water in its many
drip tips and waxy shiny surfaces on their leaf pore spaces and lirnestone is a good example
surface to get water off the leaf surface quickly. of a permeable rock as it usually has many
• Stemflow - is the flow of water from precipitation joints and bedding planes within it, but does not
down the stems of plants. lf they reacr1 the norrnally absorb water.
trunks of larger trees the water will flow down the lnfiltration, therefore, is the actual entry of water into
trunks of trees, termed trunk flow, to reach the the surface of the soil, whereas percolation is the
land surface. The interception of precipitation by downward rnovement of infiltrateci water through the
trees and other vegetation means that the soil pores and spaces of soil once the water has actually
may be protected from rainwater irnpact and the entered the soil or surface.
water that is intercepted is then released slowly
• Throughflow is U1e lateral (sideways) movernent
to the land surface allowing it to infiltrate more
in soil of infiltrateci water. lt occurs when water
easily. In areas which experience high, intense
that r1as infiltrateci the surface is retaineci in
periods of rainfall this slow release of water will
the soil. The water then moves horizontally
prevent excess overland flow.
(parallel to surface) througr1 the soil, down a
• Overland flow when water flows over the land slope towards a river channel, usually along
surface. There are two types of overland flow - well-ciefined lines of seepage (called percolines)
channel flow and sheet flow. Channel flow is that have been formed in the soil or above an
when the water is flowing in small channels, rills, imperrneable layer (for exarnple, when there is a
which are less than 30 cm in width/depth, in a clay layer in the soil called a clay pan).
defined strearn or in a river channel. Sheet flow
• Baseflow (groundwater flow) is water that
is norrnally a relatively rare event and takes piace
has infiltrateci anci percolateci into the bed
when there is a layer/ sheet of water on the ground
rock below the soil that then moves laterally
surface. lt rnay occur in two ways. Firstly, when uncier gravity or hydrostatic pressure in a
there is either excess overland flow, when rainfall downslope direction to feed springs and river
or water arrives too quickly on the land surface
channels. Baseflow will norrnally increase where
and does not have enough time to infiltrate the
conditions encourage infiltration anci percolation
soil, i.e. when rainfall intensity exceeds the such as during periocis of steady rainfall or
infiltration capacity of the surface. Secondly, it
where the soils and/or underlying rocks/geology
2 may occur when water flows onto a relatively are permeable and porous.
 Thrnughfall zone is called the
height depending upon the nature of the rock and
-
lt may be variable in

the level of precipitation input and evapotranspiration

Stemflow output. The water table will generally mirror/follow the
shape of the surface topography and water will flow,
!
l
under the influence of gravity and by the hydraulic
.... -
Trunk flow Dripflow //,,.,,.
gradient, to a point in the river basin where it will
appear either as a spring or by contributing to river
Water --~---tPe,;~lation discharge as baseflow. lt may also be abstracted by
-taG1e ___ humans in wells or boreholes.
The height of the water table will vary according to
Baseflow/groundwater flow the season - winter or summer, wet or dry, and the
Channel
flow Aquifer amount of precipitation input and evapotranspiration
output. Within an aquifer there will be a zone of
Fig 1.2 Flows permanent saturation, called the phreatic zone.

Underground water Recharge

Recharge of the groundwater takes piace when
Water tables water is added to the aquifer. Recharge takes piace
When water infiltrates the lanci surface, it becomes when precipitation on the lanci surface exceeds
groundwater. lt may then percolate, under the influence evapotranspiration and water then infiltrates the
of gravity, through pores, cracks, joints and bedding ground and percolates down to the aquifer. How long
planes and reach an area of saturation where all pores, the groundwater takes to recharge will be controlled
joints, etc are full of water. The top of this saturateci by the speed of infiltration and percolation.

Exam-style questions
1. Define the term drainage basin systern as it 12. Briefly indicate how rates of infiltration might
applies to a river basin. [2] vary with the intensity of rainfall. [4]
2. Describe what is meant by the term 13. Explain how precipitation received by a river
interception storage. [2] basin rnay reach the river channel. [6]
3. What are the zones found in an aquifer and its 14. Explain how water reaches, is stored in and
water table? [2] removed frorn an aquifer. [6]
4. Define the terms interception and stemflow.[ 4] 15. What is rneant by inputs and outputs within a
5. Define the terrns throughfall and throughflow. [4] drainage basin system? [6]
6. Define the terms water table and springs. [4] 16. With the help of a labelled diagram, s~10w how
water makes its way through a drainage basin
7. ldentify and briefly describe two stores found in
system. [6]
a river basin. [4]
17. Explain how water from surface storage
8. Describe how groundwater recharge occurs. [3]
reaches groundwater storage. [6]
9. Describe how and when overland flow may
18. Define the terrns precipitation intensity and
occur. [3]
infiltrati on capa city. [ 4]
10. Explain how throughflow and groundwater flow
19. Describe how precipitation intensity might affect
(baseflow) occur. [ 4]
the surface flow of water in a river basin. [4]
11. Describe the difference between infiltration and
percolation. [4]
'-

3
 1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

drainage basins
The components of • Rising or ascending limb - the period when
discharge is rising from the start of a rainfall
event until it reaches peak discharge.

annual) • Falling or recession limb - the period when

discharge is falling.
There are two sorts of hydrographs - storm and annual.
The term river regime may be seen in some textbooks 50 Peak discharge
as an alternative to the term annua! hydrograph.
An annual hydrograph displays the pattern of seasonal
variation that takes piace to a river's discharge in a
typical year. lt is shown by graphs like the one in fig 1.3,
where the peak in the summer months is explained by
snow melt or a summer monsoon.
4500
E 50
E 40
uì 30
(.) 4000
Cl) 20
E 10
::i 3500
2 o:: o
Cl)
'e_D 3000 Time (hours)
CO
.r:::
(.) 2500 Fig 1.4 A typical storm hydrograph
(/)
'6 2000
>, In addition to these key components, several other
;se 1500 pieces of information may be provided, such as:
o
E 1000 Approach segment - the period of time before
e
CO
Cl)
500 water from the rainfall event gets into the river
channel.
o
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dee • Bankfull discharge - when the discharge of the
Month
river is at the top of the river banks - any further
added discharge will cause the river to flood the
Fig 1.3 A typical annual hydrograph surrounding land and flow over its floodplain.
Storm hydrographs show how river discharge • The different flows U1at make up the total
discharge. Each of the three flows will arrive, and
responds to a rainfall event. lt has a number of
important components. The lag time between rainfall peak, at different times - the quickest to arrive
peak and flood discharge peak indicates how quickly and peak will be the overland flow/surface runoff,
the precipitation is reaching the river channel after a foliowed by the next fastest - throughflow and,
rainfall event. lastly, baseflow/groundwater flow.
Storm hydrographs allow an estimate to be made of
the relative importance of the quick flows (mainly Influences on hydrographs
overland flow/surface runoff) and the baseflow/ The shape of a hydrograph may be influenced by
groundwater flow. several clirnate factors, such as how the precipitation
The steepness of the rising and falling/recession amount, intensity and type, ternperatures and
limbs also indicates how quickly the precipitation evapotranspiration vary over the year.
input is reaching U1e river channel and being taken
away by it. A storm hydrograph plots two variables
- the rainfall received during a rainfall event (in
Climate
millimetres.) and the river discharge (measured in
cubie metres per second - shortened to cumecs). Precipitation type and intensity
A typical storm hydrograph (fig 1.4) will have severa! Precipitation type is the form in which precipitation
key components: is received by the drainage basin systern. Rain will
be available to the systern very quickly, whereas
• Rainfall peak - when the highest amount of
snow will delay the impact on the system; but it rnay
rainfall occurs during a rainfall event. lf it is the
then have a drarnatic effect on the hydrograph as it
same each hour the median time is taken - i.e.
may be released quickly as meltwater.
the middle of the event.
Precipitation intensity is the rate at which
• Peak discharge or peak flow - when the highest
precipitation is received at the ground surface - it is
amount of disc~1arge occurs.
the amount of precipitation in millimetres divided by
• Lag time - the time between the rainfall peak the time.
4 and peak discharge.
When the precipitation exceeds the
infiltration capacity of the soil or surface it lands on
water will remain on the surface and overland flow/ characteristics
-
surface runoff will result.
Precipitation intensity can lead to the infiltration Drainage basin size and shape
capacity of the soil or land surface being exceeded. The larger the size of the drainage basin the greater
This leads to water building up on the surface the amount of water is likely to be collected and
which, in turn, often leads to rapid surface runoff/ released as river discharge, although this might take
overland flow. This means that water will reach the longer to reach the river channel and therefore have
river channel very rapidly, producing rapid rises
a longer lag time. lf a drainage basin is very large,
in river channel discharge and high flood peak like the Mississippi or the Nile, a rainfall event may
discharges as water will reacr1 the river channel affect only one part of the basin.
very quickly, possibly causing flooding. On a storm
hydrograph this will be indicateci by a short lag time An elongated basin, like the one on the left below,
and steep rising limb. has relatively short lag times (i.e. they are said
to have a flashy response), but peak discharges,
although fairly low, may be sustained fora long
Temperature, evaporation, period of time. Round basins, like the one on the
transpiration, evapotranspiration right below, have longer lag times but a higher peak
A river in an equatorial climate may have a discharge.
fairly constant annua! pattern as it may have
most of these factors constant throughout the Drainage density
year. A river which experiences disti net wet and High drainage densities mean that water will reach
dry seasons will reflect the varying input of river and stream d1annels quickly, because water
precipitation. Drainage basins that experience will have a relatively short distance to flow to a river
freezing temperatures climates will have annua I channel, which will produce a rapid response - a
hydrographs that have very marked changes as flashy hydrograph - giving high, sharp flood peaks,
the seasons and the factors change. During the with short lag times.
winter there may be a lack of precipitation input as Low drainage densities mean that water will reach
precipitation falls as snow and is not available to river and stream channels more slowly, because
the river. In spring and early summer there may be water will have a relatively long distance to flow to
a sudden input of meltwater as the snow is rnelted a river channel, which will produce a much slower
by higher temperatures. response - a delayed hydrograph - giving longer lag
times and lower flood peaks.
Antecedent moisture Drainage density is found by measuring the total length
Antecedent moisture is the moisture retained in the of river and stream channels in a drainage basin and
soil before a rainfall event. This retained/residual water dividing it by the tota I area of the drainage basin.
moisture affects the soil's infiltration capacity. During
the next rainfall event, the infiltration capacity will cause Porosity and permeability of soils
the soil to be saturateci at a different rate, as the higher
The soil type will affect both infiltration rates
the level of antecedent soil moisture, the more quickly
and percolation rates. A clay soil has a very slow
the soil becomes saturateci. Once the soil is saturateci,
overland flow/surface runoff will occur.

.,.... ... ...

ro
;ro
.s:::. .s:::.
(.) (.)
(/) (/)

o o
,,, , /
- ~"' .,..,,"'
'',, r r

',,, ..
.,..,,..,. "'"'.,.

Time Time

Fig 1.5 Drainage basin shape

5
 1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

infiltration capacity as it has very tiny pore spaces, that it will speed up the arrivai of water into the river
while a sandy soil has a fast infiltration capacity channel, producing higher peak discharges, steeper
as it has large pore spaces. The rate at which the rising and recession limbs and shorter lag time a
water percolates will depend on the porosity of the flashy hydrograph.
soil depending on the size and number of open pore
spaces in the soil and the permeability of the soil, Land-use
which will depend on the size and number of cracks
• The abstraction (removal) and storage of water by
and structures within the soil.
humans can have a major effect on the flows and
lnfiltration is the actual entry of water into the surface storages within a drainage basin. When water
of the soil, whereas percolation is the downward is taken from river channels it will affect river
movement of infiltrateci water through the pores and channel discharge, while groundwater abstraction
spaces of soil once the water has actually entered will lower water tables and reduce baseflow and
the soil or surface. A clay soil may have water quickly the amount released as ct1annel flow.
building up on the surface which will then start to flow
• The replacement of a natural woodland by
over the surface as overland flow (quick flow). This will
permanent pasture will lead to a reduction in
reach the river channel quickly and so a hydrograph will
interception and hence interception storage
have a high peak discharge, with short lag time and
(on leaves, stems, trunks, etc.). A natural
steep rising and fc:1lling limbs - a flashy hydrograph. In
woodland will slow the flow of water to the soil
contrast to a clay soil sandy or loamy soil has a high
surface and will reduce the amount of surface
infiltration capacity as it has large pore spaces. There
runoff/overland flow (quickflow). lnfiltration
will be less surface runoff/overland flow and more
rates are normally greater under woodland
throughflow and baseflow which are slower. As a result
and the water will make its way to the river
the hydrograph will have a lower peak discharge, longer
by throughflow and baseflow/groundwater
lag time and more gentle rising and falling limbs - a
flow rather than overland flow. lf permanent
delayed hydrograph. Also, a thin soil will not have the
pasture - grassland - is ploughed up and used
storage capacity of a deeper soil; this could mean that
for growing crops called arable farming - for
its storage capacity is reached quickly, possibly leading
a short time there will be no vegetation cover
to increased overland flow.
and even less interception until the crop grows
and interception increases.
Rock type • The impermeable surfaces of concrete, roofs
Permeable and porous rocks (e.g. limestone and and sealed roads found in urban areas will
chalk) store more precipitation and release it more intercept most rainwater and prevent infiltration.
gradually/slowly as baseflow/groundwater flow, This may lead to rapid surface runoff/overland
producing a delayed hydrograph with a lower flood flow either on the surface or by storm drains.
peak discharge and long lag times. lmpermeable Water may reach river channels in minutes rather
or non-porous rocks (e.g. sedimentary clay, igneous than hours and days and in large amounts. This
granite and metamorphic schists) do not absorb as will produce very steep rising and falling limbs
much water and so have more water running overland on the hydrograph, a very short lag time and
as surface runoff called quick flow and so have a
more rapid response producing a flashy hydrograph
with high flood peak discharges, with steeper rising Land use - Natural forestjwoodland
and recession limbs and short lag times. Lag time
ro
..e
Slopes (.)
(/)

'5
Steep slopes will encourage greater overland flow/ -o
e
ro
surface runoff - producing flashy hydrographs as the
water will be moving quickly down the slope with little
time to infiltrate the soil, while on more gentle slopes
the water will have more time to infiltrate the soil Time
and there will be more areas of surface storage -
producing longer lag times and delayed hydrographs. Land use - Permanent pasture

Vegetation type (1)

Dense vegetation will encourage both greater ro

..e
(.)
interception and infiltration which means that it will (/)
'5
slow down the arrivai of water into the river channel, -o
e
producing lower peak discharges, flatter rising and ro

recession limbs and longer lag time - a delayed e

hydrograph. ro
o:: L...J..J..J...J...J...L._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _

Sparse/thin vegetation cover has opposite effects - Time

both less interception and infiltration which will mean Fig 1.6 The influence of land use on discharge
6
 a high flood peak. Afforestation will have the
opposite effect - by decreasing the amount of
surface runoff/ overland flow through increased
peak discharges and make the rising and
recession limbs more gentle - producing
-
delayed hydrographs in river channels that in
interception and so lengthen lag times, decrease their natural state had flashy hydrographs.

style questions
1. Explain one situation that may produce a rise in 7. For each of (i) a river basin on clay
tr1e leve! of baseflow on a storm hydrograph. [3] (impermeable) geology and (ii) a river basin on
2. Define the hydrological terms lag time and limestone (permeable) geology, draw labelled
rising limb. [ 4] storm hydrographs to show the effect on
discharge of a rain storm.[8]
3. How may the pattern of discharge in a river
basin be affected by: 8. Using examples of hydrographs, demonstrate how
the discharge in a drainage basin can be affected
a. The size and shape of the drainage basin;
by: (i) soils and geology and (ii) slopes. [8]
b. The drainage density. [6]
9. How can hydrographs help the study of flows in
4. Explain how changes in land-use may affect a catchment area? [10]
river discharge. [4]
10. Using diagrams, show how the soils and
5. Explain how three of the following drainage vegetation found within a catchment area
basin characteristics may affect river discharge (drainage basin) can affect the shape of a
as shown on a storm hydrograph. Choose from: storm hydrograph. [8]
drainage basin shape, drainage basin slopes,
11. Explain how human activities within a drainage
drainage basin geology, drainage basin land-
basin might affect the shape of a river's
use. [9]
hydrograph. [10]
6. Using simple sketch hydrographs, explain how
a change in lanci-use in a drainage basin from
woodland to urbanisation may affect river
discharge. [6]

7
 1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

River channels have three groups of processes - Sediment load received from:
erosion, transportation and deposition. The processes · Overland flow/surface runoff.
of erosion and deposition produce a variety of · Erosion of river channel sides and bed.
· Valley slope/side failure/collapse.
landforms both in and adjacent to the channel. · Wind (aeolian) transportation.

Erosion
Water flow

• Abrasion (corrasion) takes piace when coarse

and angular rock fragments are dragged and _ _S_o_lu_tio_n.à.,/_di_ss_o_lv_e_d_.,. Solute load

bounced along the channel bed and sides,

scraping and removing fragments of rock frorn
the channel floor and sides. Some of the bedload .. . Suspension/carried
:;.::.·-----'--___:_____. Suspended load
rnay become trapped in depressions in the bed
of the channel and spun round by U1e current.
This often results in the process of evorsion
which involves the forrnation of potholes which
may enlarge and merge and contribute to the
deepening/lowering of the charmel bed.
• Solution (corrosion) takes piace when the acids
River bed
in river water put certain minerals in solution. lt
is particularly effective in calcareous rocks such Fig 1. 7 The four main ways of load transport
as lirnestone and chalk.
• Cavitation occurs during turbulent flow when
the water is full of air bubbles - such as in the
Deposition and
plunge pools below waterfalls. These air bubbles sedimentation: the
implode and create small cavities in the rock of
the channel bed and sides. Hjiilstrom curve
• Hydraulic action occurs where the weight and The transport of sedirnent in a river channel
force of the river flow penetrates cracks, joints depends on the speed/velocity of river flow and the
and bedding planes in the channel bed and load particle size. lt is sometimes expressed as a
sides, leading to the erosion of bed rock and rneasure of a river or stream's competence.
the undercutting of the sides of the channel. The HjCtlstrorn curve represents this in the form
When rock particles are being carried/transported, of a diagram which displays the river channel flow
the process of attrition may take piace as the solid velocities required for tr1e sedirnent particles of
rock particles, which form the bedload, collide with different sizes to be picked up (entrained) and
one another, breaking pieces off and rnaking them transported (fig 1.8). This will take piace whenever
both smaller and rounder. the river velocity is great enough to erode or entrain
sediment. This could occur in periods of high
Load transport discharge or where river channels long gradient is
steep. lt is usually combined with a deposition curve
Rivers transport their load in four ways (fig 1. 7): so that it is possible to see the speeds at which
1. Traction is the rolling/sliding/pushing of larger, materiai will be deposited. lt allows an estimate
heavier sedirnent, such as pebbles, along the of the balance between the three river functions of
river bed by the river flow. erosion, transportation and deposition.
2. Saltation is the bouncing along the river bed of ci) 1000 Clay
Silt Sand Grave! Cobbles
I I
small particles light enough to be picked up/ (.)
Cl.)
I I
entrained for only a short distance. Both traction E : Particles :
¼i10
::i
. 1. eroded 1
and saltation transport tr1e bedload. S 100 C't?J,, .1 I li,..~
l"eh I . ;'$ì
3. Suspension - is the transport of particles light CO J1llti-e . I . '((\'vi
.e I <1tolpic\<.. IJ.ç I
(.)
enough to be carried/suspended above the river (/)
10 I . I I

bed by the flow of the river.

u I I I
>, Particles
:e
....., transported
1
I
1
I Particles
4. Solution - is the transport of dissolved e: I ~O I
o o I .::,_'ZJ I deposited
sediments in solution that are the products of E
e:
J°"'<?o
!<}-'
I
I
CO C;Je;I I
solution weathering. Cl.)
I I
0.1-t---r-1-----.-'-----,--'---..----+----,
0.001 0.01 0.1 1.0 10 100 1000
Size of particle (mm)

Fig 1.8 A typical HjC1lstrom curve

8
The different velocities illustrate the speeds
erode, transport and deposit particles of a given size.
to

Larger particles and fine sized particles are, surprisingly,

on a corkscrew shape and is found in water
-
occurs where the river flow takes

that travels around the bend of a meander. The

both entrained at high velocities (surprisingly because flow, while stili moving downstream, also moves
it would seem logica! that the very small clay particles across the top of the water surface of a meander
would be the first particles to be picked up). from the inside bank towards the outside bank
The reason for this is that the tiny clay particles actually where it then drops/descends towards Uie bed of
"stick" together as a result of weak electrical bonding. the channel and returns towards the inside bank
At low velocities sediment settles and is deposited. For as a reverse flow.
coarse particles this is just below the erosion velocity.
Clay particles settle at very low velocities. Thalweg
The thalweg is the name given to the line of both
River flow maximum depth and maximum speed/velocity found
along a river channel. lt tends to swing across a river
channel and is found on the outside of meander
Velocity and discharge bends, where it causes the outside bank to be
River velocity is the mean speed of the river flow in undercut and collapse, forming a river cliff.
metres per second measured either at a point in a
river by a current meter or over a set distance along
the channel (often 10 metres) and time. The velocity Channel types
of a river is controlled by four factors:
1. The gradient of the channel bed i.e. the gradient
Straight channels
of the long profile. These are rare in nature and will not last for long -
rarely for longer than 10 times their channel width.
2. The volume of water in the channel.
For example, they may follow the route of a fault line.
3. The shape of the river channel. They are found when rivers have:
4. The channel roughness is a measure of how 1. Low energy
rough or smooth the channel bed and sides
2. Small discharges
are, the amount of friction acting on the water
to slow it down and how fast the river channel 3. Gentle gradients
allows water to flow through it. The Manning
flow equation (sometimes called Manning's "n") Meandering channels
is a method by which channel roughness can be Meandering channels are a rnuch more common
measured using fieldwork data. form; about 80 per cent of channels are meandering.
River discharge is the volume of water passing a Meanders are characterised by a winding shape in
point in a given unit of time, which is calculated by their pian view and have an asyrnrnetrical cross profile.
the equation Q = A x V where: Meanders are produced when the li ne of fastest and
Q = Discharge, in cubie metres per second (Cumecs) deepest flow - the thalweg- starts to follow a winding/
A= Channel cross sectional area, in square metres sinuous path through alternating sections of deep and
shallow water called pools and riffles. Meanders form
V = Velocity, in metres per second when there is: moderate gradient, moderate flow and
the channel sides and bed are formed in alluvium.
Patterns of flow When the thalweg runs past the outside of the
Water within a river channel flows in quite complex river bank, the more powerful river current erodes
patterns. Three types of flow are found: and undercuts the outer bank, wr1ich will eventually
1. Laminar flow is found in a smooth, shallow, collapse and the process will be continually
straight channel with a slow velocity. The water repeated, increasing the size of the meander.
flows in layers/sheets sliding over one another lt also produces a secondary movement;flow called
parallel to the river bed. lt is usually found in the helical (or helicoidal) flow which is a spirai shaped
lower section of a rivers course. flow which piles up/raises/elevates the water on
2. Turbulent flow is found in rough, shallow the outside of the meander and produces a return/
channels which have complex and rapid cr1anges counter current which moves across to the inside of
in shape, along with an increased velocity. This the meander. In a rneander cross profile/section the
produces a series of spinning eddies which mix features include point bars/slip off slopes on the inside
with one another. They often trap air bubbles bend where deposition occurs as the current slackens.
inside thern producing a "white water" effect. lt On the outside bends undercutting and collapse of the
is in this type of channel that cavitation takes river channel banks takes piace by the faster current
piace, as ali the air bubbles are constantly (following the line of deepest flow - the thalweg) which
imploding. will produces river cliffs/bluffs. lateraljsideways
erosion of the river channel is then taking piace. This
lateral movernent is called meander rnigration and it is
responsible for widening the floodplain. 9
 1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

..
•::
;

J......

Fig 1.9 The position of the riffles and pools causes the thalweg to swing from side to side, which leads to the
development of a meandering channel

Some of the stages in the development of a 1. A reduction in the gradient of the stream.
meandering channel from a straight channel are 2. The reduction of discharge after precipitation or
shown in fig 1.9. the spring melting of snow and ice.
Vegetation may quickly colonise these islands in the
Braided channels braided channels which will help trap more sediment
Braided channels consist of two or more channels in and increase the height of the eyot. This vegetation
an interlocking pattern. They are divided by low bars may become quite permanent and well established
and islands made up of sands and gravels which with trees and only then U1e eyot will only be covered
have been deposited by the river (fig 1.10). briefly by water during very high discharge.
Braided river channels are found in rivers that have Braided channels occur where there are:
extremes of river discharge, which are sometimes • abundant amounts of bedload
called "unstable flow regimes". In periods of high
• easily eroded banks
discharge these rivers pick up and transport very
large amounts of sediment (i.e. they have large bed • high and variable discharges
loads and incoherent, easily eroded banks). Sand • steep long gradients/channel slopes.
and gravel bars and islands are formed in periods Such conditions are most often found in tropica!
of low discharge. Two conditions often cause this climates, deserts and in arctic tundra climates.
reduction in river discharge:

';/ì';/ì"lìt~

~----·- -
I
I
I
I
I

*
Vegetati on Vegetati on Vegetati on
* lt:lC' lC', W *

\dis~~:rge/
High discharge ....._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _....,,/~

'-...:__....7

Fig 1.10 A typical braided channel (pian view and cross section)
10
 -
River channels often have alternating shallow (riffle)
and deep (pool) sections.
A riffle is an accumulation of river channel sediment -
called fluvial sediment - which forms a bar. lt is caused
by the deposition of sand and grave! on the bed of a
river channel causing the bed to be shallow and rough
aver which water flows in a turbulent flow. The space
between the riffles is about 6 times the channel width.
A pool is a deeper area within a river channel in
Thalweg whid1 water flows in a calrner, smoother, laminar flow.
Riffles and pools cause the river current to swing
Fig 1.11 Features of a meandering river channel frorn side to side in its channel and therefore
encourage the developrnent of a meandering river
River cliffs channel. The deeper pools tend to be found where
erosion is greatest, such as on the outside of
Water flows fastest on the outer bend of the river
developing meander bends, while the shallower riffles
where the channel is deeper and there is less friction.
are regularly spaced along U1e straighter parts of the
This faster flow causes lateral erosion of the outside
charme! and are separateci by the deeper pools.
bank which results in the undercutting of the river
bank and the formation of a steep sided river cliff.
Waterfalls and gorges
Point bars The smooth long profile of a typical river is often
interrupted in severa! places by vertical breaks which
In contrast, on the inner bend water is slow flowing.
produce waterfalls. They vary enormously in size.
As a result, deposition occurs resulting in the inside
There are three common ways fora waterfall to form
of the meander becorning a shallower channel. This
in a river channel:
increases the amount of friction acting on the river
flow, which further reduces the speed/velocity and 1. By a layer of resistant rock passing across the
further reduces U1e river's energy which encourages bed of a river channel - causing differential
further deposition. Over time, a srnall crescent erosion, as shown in fig 1.12;
shaped area of materiai builds up on the inner bend; 2. By a drop in base level (caused by the
this is called a point bar or slip-off slope. rejuvenation of the river channel often as a
result of a drop in sea level);

Waterfall retreats upstream

(headward erosion)

Cap rock undercut by

erosion of less resistant
rock. As it becomes
unsupported it will
collapse into the plunge
pool.

Plungepool
Collapsed rock

Fig 1.12 Typical features found in a waterfall formed by a change in rock type: as the water falls aver its edge into
a plunge pool, it undercuts the top of the waterfall. The less resistant rock underneath will be eroded backwards, by
hydraulic action and cavitation, as the falling water literally explodes into the plunge pool. Eventually, the overhanging rock
collapses and the waterfall retreats upstream. This leaves behind a narrow, steep sided valley, known as a gorge. Gorges
are narrow, steep sided valleys and can also be formed in other ways:
• by the collapse of an underground limestone cavern
• in arid areas where there is little erosion of the valley sides
• in arctic climates where tundra areas are often frozen far most of the year; during the short hot summers, tundra
areas experience rivers with huge discharges and great erosive power, which produce deep gorges. 11
 1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

By an earth movement - often triggered by an floodplain. Finer such as silts and clays, will be
earthquake producing a fault line and possibly transported further away from the channel and deposited
causing a drop in the river bed. on the floodplain. Repeated flooding will cause layers of
coarse alluviurn to be built up into levées.
Rapids
When a waterfall retreats the waterfall often Deltas
becomes smaller in size until it almost disappears A delta is a fan-shaped feature that will form when
producing a steeper, more turbulent section of river vast quantities of sediment are deposited at the
profile, often with a rough bed w~1ere outcrops of mouth of the river when it reaches the sea or a lake.
resistant rock are found; these are called rapids. Deltas are deposited where a slowing of the river
speed causes a decrease in its ability to transport its
Floodplains load - its competence - so that its load is deposited.
Floodplains are that part of the catchment that This can occur where velocity is reduced as a river
floods when over bankfull conditions occur. They are enters a large stationary body of water such as a lake,
usually locateci in the lower parts of the river valley lagoon, sea or ocean.The deposition of the river's
profile and are characterised by having an almost load is increased when it enters salt water because of
flat, low relief with very gentle gradients. Floodplains the process of flocculation. This is a process which
are edged by bluffs where they meet the valley sides. causes the salts in sea water to join with the fine
The junction where the valley slopes meet the edge clays brought down by the river in a chernical reaction.
of the floodplain is known as the bluff line. The fine clay particles join together to form larger
heavier particles which will then fall to the sea bed.
When the river reaches bankfull leve!, any water that
is added to the river will then become overbank flow The river channel often splits into severa! smaller,
and floods aver the surrounding land. lt will quickly divergent channels on a delta and these are called
lose energy and start to deposit its load. distributaries. This rnay produce a range of different
shaped deltas, the three most comrnon being:
Regular flooding will result in the building up of layers
of nutrient rich alluvium (silt) which forms a flat and 1. Arcuate - these have many distributaries, they
fertile floodplain. are fan s~1aped and build out radially in a uniform
shape.
Levées 2. Digitai ( or bird's foot) - these are found where the
river has vast amounts of load and splits into two
A levée is an elevateci bank lying parallel to the river on
or more cr1annels which deposit their load along
the edge of the floodplain, where it reaches the river
their sides and extend out into the sea or lake.
channel. lt lies slightly above the level of the rest of the
floodplain. Levées are formed during flooding by tr1e 3. Cuspate - these form a pointed delta where
deposition of heavier sediments as floodwater comes there is a dorninant channel shaped by tidal and
out of the river charme I and starts to flow across the longshore currents.
,
Exam-style questions
1. Describe one of the processes of 10. Using a labelled diagram, describe how the
transportation in a river. [2] Hjulstrorn curve can be used to show the
2. Briefly describe helicoidal flow and laminar changes that take piace in both transportation
flow. [4] and depositi on in a river channel. [8]
3. Describe turbulent flow and the conditions 11. With the help of diagrams, explain how rivers
under which it may occur in a river channel. [3] pick up (entrain), transport and deposit
sedirnent. [8]
4. Define the terms saltation and suspension in a
river as they apply to the transportation of the 12. Using diagrarns, explain the forrnation of: a
channel load. [4] river cliff witt1in a river channel. [8]
5. Define the terrns discharge and velocity as they 13. Define the terrns riffle and pool. [4]
would apply to a river channel. [4] 14. Briefly explain how riffle and pool sequences
6. What factors can affect the velocity of the may affect channel shape. [3]
water in a river channel? [ 4] 15. With the use of diagrarns, describe and explain
7. Explain how a river develops frorn a straight to the forrnation of: (i) waterfalls and (ii) gorges. [8]
a rneandering channel. [6] 16. Briefly explain how a floodplain is formed. (4]
8. Describe an eyot and explain how it rnight have 17. Using diagrarns, describe and explain two
been formed. [6] landforms produced by river deposition. [8]
9. Describe the processes of erosion in river 18. Using diagrams, describe the forrnation of: (i) a
channels. Illustrate your answer with reference delta; (ii) floodplains and levées. [8]
to the types of landforrns produced by these 19. With the use of diagrarns, describe and explain
processes. [10] the landforms produced by river floods. (8]
12 \.
 -
Modifications to 0ne other effect below many darns is clear water
erosion. This is where the river has more energy
catchment flows and than before the building of the dam as it no longer

stores has to use much of its energy to transport its load

- which has been deposited in the lake behind the
flows by land-use changes dam. This rneans that it is more powerful and will
increase the erosion of its channel bed and sides
A wide range of human activities can affect the flows below the dam.
within a drainage basin, as well as river channels
thernselves. Changes made in the river basin, such
as changes to lanci-use including deforestation, The causes and impacts of
afforestation and urbanisation, can affect the
amount of water reaching the channel by increasing
floods
Floods are caused by an excess of precipitation input
the amount of overland flow. Channel flows and
into the river system so that the drainage network of
discharge can be affected by changes of lanci-use
river channels is unable to cope with the volume of
within the drainage basin, which can reduce lag
water it is receiving. Floods are a natural and random
times and increase the possibility of flooding.
phenomenon and can occur regularly.
Deforestation will reduce the interception of
rainwater and increase the possibility of surface
runoff and increase rates of soil erosion.
Causes
Water will reach river channels more quickly, The main causes of floods is the excessive input
reducing lag times, and eroded soil will infili river of precipitation into the river basin, resulting in the
cr1annels, reducing their channel capacity and flooding of floodplains usually in the lower catchment
increase the potential number and size of floods. areas. Lower catchment areas can also be affected
Deforestation will not simply affect interception by storm surges frorn the ocean or sea, as strong
but it will also have an effect on infiltration, onshore winds blow water onto a shoreline and up
overland flow, groundwater flow and the degree of rivers and onto their deltas and floodplains - often
evapotranspiration. during hurricane/cyclone events, as in Bangladesh.
• Afforestation can have the opposite effect by Human activities can influence flooding by changing
increasing interception, protecting the soil from the physical conditions within a river catchrnent area
erosion and increasing lag times. so that overland flow is increased, allowing fora
much more rapid response to a rainfall event that
• Urbanisation can increase flows into a river
could potentially lead to flooding. Activities such
channel by the construction of impermeable
as deforestation and urbanisation, especially on
surfaces of concrete and tarmac and the
floodplains adjacent to river channels, may cause
construction of storm drains to remove water
increased overland flow at the expense of the slower
from buildings and roads which often stops or
baseflow. Similarly, the channel capacity may be
reduces the infiltration of rainwater and reduces
reduced by channel straightening or the concreting of
the amount of water available as baseflow.
the charme! bed and sides.
This will therefore increase both the amount of
quick flow discharge and the speed of overland
flow. In urban areas, as in Los Angeles, USA, Impacts
river channels are often canalised to produce Worldwide, floods were responsible for 84 per cent of
more rapid river flow and remove potential flood all disaster-related deaU1s between 2000 and 2005,
water quickly. Flood prevention methods such as and for 65 per cent of disaster-related economie
artificial levees and embankments, flood walls, losses between 1992 and 2001.
dredging and channel straightening are also used Globally, floods accounted for 31 per cent of the
to increase channel capacity and efficiency. 9 632 natural disasters that occurred in the 20th
• Water abstraction can reduce channel flow. century. The 4 035 major floods during the peri od
As water is removed from aquifers, it causes 1900-2012 killed 6.9 rnillion people and affected
a drop in water tables, which then reduces the another 3.6 billion people to some extent, and
river discharge, increasing the rate of sediment caused economie losses totalling $550 billion.
deposition. Water storage involves building dams In Asia, 1625 of these flood relateci disasters
and creating reservoirs. Projects such as the (40 per cent of tota! disasters worldwide) resulted in
Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China 6.8 million deaths (98 per cent of deaths worldwide)
have significant and widespread impacts on river and caused $330 billion in economie losses.
flow, velocity and types of flow as far down as the
Other flood-related losses include damage to
Shanghai urban area. Dams provide an interruption
ecosystems, land, and water quality degradation, and
to the flow of water throug~1 the systern. Surface
an increased incidence of waterborne diseases, such
storage is increased due to the reservoir behind
as cholera. Flood damage in Asia in the 20U1 century
the dam at the expense of river channel flow. 13
 1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

was estimateci at 60 per cent of global economie

losses due to floods.
From 1965 to 2011, tota! economie losses due to amelioration of floods
floods in Asia showed an upward trend which may
be attributed to the greater frequency of floods, the Forecasts and warnings
acceleration of economie development in flood-prone Flood prediction can be a very useful tooi in
areas, or, more usually, both. reducing the impact of floods. Flood forecasting
with the use of satellite imagery, rainfall radar,
Prediction of flood risk rain gauges and discharge recorders in the upper

and recurrence intervals parts of river catchrnents and accurate weather

forecasting can ali provide an early warning system
Floods are natural events. Long term measurements for the potential flooding of a drainage basin. These
of individuai rivers can determine: warnings can be delivered to the potentially flood
• their frequency or how often they occur affected population through the media, TV and
• their magnitude or the size of the flood radio, by phoning landlines and mobile phones,
warning alarms or by persona! contact by relief and
• their recurrence interval or how often a flood of rescue workers to ali properties.
a particular ~ize may occur.
Satellite imagery can be updated on a 15 minute
Flood prediction can be achieved by: basis and allow approaching weather systems to
• analysing flood recurrence intervals - this is be identified and their rate of approach measured
done by analysing the data of past flood events and predicted. They can also show the build-up of
and working out how often a flood of a particular convectional cloud systems with their potential to
size will occur in a specified time span by plotting produce extremely heavy rainfall over a short period
flood heights against average time intervals. The of time over limited areas of larger drainage basins.
data can show the timing, frequency and the size
of past events - usually 10, 50, 100, 500 year Hard engineering
events. Using such intervals can be confusing to Hard engineering involves the construction of
residents of flood prone areas. Cumbria in north perrnanent structures, such as building dams,
west England, for example, had two flood events straightening river channels, building artificial levées
in November 2009 and December 2015 which and diversion spillways.
were both classed as 1 in 100 year events. On
• Dams, such as the Aswan Dam on the Nile and
both occasions Cumbria also received the record
Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze river in China
amount of rainfall fora 24 hour period in U1e UK -
are used in regulating river flow. The effects
316 mm in 2009 and then 341 mm in 2015. This
equates to about 10 per cent of its annual rainfall of flooding can be reduced/mitigated to some
extent by controlling flows in the upper catchrnent
arriving in just 24 hours.
through the use of holding dams which can be
• catchment modelling - this was done by making used to temporarily store floodwater or snowrnelt
scale models of river basins or sections of river coming down tributary rivers. There are over
basins (in the past) or by computer modelling 200 holding darns in the upper sections of the
(nowdays). BoU1 methods of prediction have Mississippi river drainage basin.
severe limitations as predictive tools. This is
• Straightening of the river channel can speed
because for many of the world's river catchments,
the flow of flood water away. However, critics of
historical hydrological data is often lacking;
this rnethod say that it reduces channel capacity,
when data exists, it may not be reliable because
increases erosion of the charme!, and although
data collection practices changed over time or
it may remove potential flood water from one
because notali of the necessary variables had
been taken into account. area, it makes conditions and flood levels worse
further down the river.
From gathering information on flood frequency,
• Artificial levées, flood walls and embankments
magnitude and recurrence interval, the agencies
can be constructed to increase channel capacity.
given the role of prediction and prevention, such as
the American Corps of Engineers in the USA and These can be built some distance away from the
channel to further increase capacity. In ernergency
the Environment Agency in England and Wales, can
put together a risk assessment. This document situations, sandbags can be used to give a limited
proposes recommendations for alleviating the impact quick fix in a small section of a river channel.
of flooding on the resident population and businesses • Diversion spillways may be built to take excess
located in identified flood threatened areas. These floodwater away from the main river channel.
recomrnendations can include: advice, emergency
action plans, flood warning systems, flood insurance Soft engineering
and grants available for help with flood protection and Soft engineering involves floodplain and drainage
land-use regulations, including the zoning of areas basin management, wetland and river bank
where habitation and building is not recommended. conservation and river restoration. Allowing natural
14 floodplains to remain undeveloped and not artificially
altering river channels can also reduce the potential
flood impact upon people living in a drainage basin.
Extreme rainfall events, however, are stili likely to
-
ploughing, cover crops, seed drilling and strip
crops to protect the soil from erosion and stop
eroded sediment filling up river channels and
result in flooding and so it is often the case of flood reducing their capacity.
mitigation rather than flood prevention. • Preventing infrastructure development on
The soft engineering methods used in a river threatened floodplains.
catchrnent can include: • Floodplain retreat - some government agencies,
• Afforestation/Reafforestation to increase along the Mississippi for exarnple, are actually
interception and to protect and stabilise the soil. buying floodplain lanci frorn landowners and
• Changing farming practices in the catchment. allowing these to flood during flood events as
This may include the use of terracing, contour they reduce flood peaks further down the river.

Ioo ing in Pakistan - tbe Indus

River asin (2010)
Pakistan has a long history of flooding. Between more than 5.3 million jobs. The province of Sindh
1950 and 2010, floods in the lndus river basin in the south of Pakistan was most badly affected
have killed a total of 8887 people, affected - about 1 million houses were damaged and of
109 822 villages, and caused a cumulative direct these, 66 per cent were completely demolished,
economie loss of about $19 billion. while the remaining damaged houses were often
no longer habitable. There was also extensive
Impacts of the 2010 flood damage to schools, roads and bridges, telephone
lines and electric supply lines.
• The 2010 flood, which affected ali the
provinces and regions of Pakistan, killed
1600 people, caused damage totalling over What causes the flooding?
$10 billion, and inundated an area of about Flooding in Pakistan has generally been caused
38 600 km 2 • This flood was Pakistan's most by the heavy concentrateci rain received in the
damaging on record. monsoon season in the months of July and August.
• In the country as a whole, the floods damaged However, the 2010 floods were a combination of
nearly 2 million houses and displaced a natural and human factors that produced flood
population of over 20 million. peaks that were far in excess of the river channels
capacity to hold them.
• Flood damage occurred mainly in the
agriculture and livestock sector (50 per cent The natural factors included:
lost), followed by housing (16 per cent) and • The monsoon rainfall in July 2010 was
transport and communications (13 per cent). exceptional - some areas in Northern Pakistan
The prolonged inundation of large areas of received more than three times their annua!
cultivated lanci resulted in massive losses in rainfall in a matter of 36 hours. These
the agriculture sector. Forecasts estimateci abnormal monsoon rains amounted to double
that Pakistan's GDP growth rate of 4 per cent the 50-year average annua! rainfall.
prior to the floods could turn to minus 2 per • A steep topography in the upper basin
cent to minus 5 per cent followed by severa! produced rapid overland flow/surface runoff
additional years of below-trend growth.
The human factors included:
• Crop losses were not just in vegetables and
• The lndus basin lacks an appropriate flood
cereals but in crops such as cotton that
policy and has an inadequate flood-control
supplied textile manufacturing, Pakistan's
infrastructure.
largest export sector. There was also the loss
of over 10 million heads of livestock which, • Lack of protective vegetation due to river
along with the loss of arable crops, reduced basin developments increased runoff into
agricultural production by more than 15 per river channels. Deforestation in the upper
cent. As rnilk supplies fell by 15 per cent, the catchment was a major factor.
price of milk increased by 5 US cents per litre. • Poor anticipation of the scale of the flood - it
• Manufacturing companies, such as Toyota was known in advance by a couple of days that
and Unilever Pakistan, had to make cuts in around 4-10 km 3 of water would pass through
production, as infrastructure such as roads the Taunsa, Guddu and Sukkur dams, but no
and bridges were destroyed and darnaged. measures were taken to mitigate the effects of
these huge volurnes of floodwater downstream
• In September 2010, the lnternational Labour
from the dams.
Organisation reported that the floods had cost

15
 1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

than the previously observed peak flood

levels in the basin. However, due to changes
measures in channel sr1ape the channel capacity at
any location may change and require higher
• The Government of Pakistan has been relying
levées. Channel shape monitoring is needed to
on a traditional flood contro! approach based
accurately determine the optirnal levée height
on structural, hard engineering measures,
at different locations.
through the building of dams and building of
The remote location and the inadequate
artificial levees. Between 1950-2010 the
maintenance of many levées has proved to be
government spent $1.2 billion repairing flood
a major challenge.
damage, developing a flood-forecast system
and building new levées. However the 2010 • 141.0 spurs (these are stone walls constructed
flood exposed weaknesses in these systems. transversely or obliquely to the flow direction
to divert flooding at criticai locations) that have
• The Pakistani government does not have an
been built since 1960 to protect the main
approved water policy, but there is a draft
towns and important infrastructure, such as
National Water Policy that recognises the need
major roads and railways .
. for appropriate flood management. This includes:
• The 2010 flood dernonstrated the
the continued construction of flood-
effectiveness of the country's two main
protection facilities and the maintenance of
reservoirs at Mangia and Tarbela. However,
existing infrastructure
sedimentation in both has significantly
reviewing the design and maintenance reduced their storage capacities. Pakistan
standards of existing flood protection currently has a water storage capacity equal
structures to about 30 days of mean annua! discharge,
the establishment and promotion of flood and this water is mostly used for irrigation
zoning, and the enforcement of appropriate and energy generation.
lanci uses in flood threatened areas
strict reservoir operating rules Non -structural measures
the effective use of non-structural measures Pakistan is looking to improve its flood forecasting
the creation of flood response plans. and early flood warning systems. At present it does
not cover the whole lndus river basin. The lndus is
Structuralmeasures a trans-boundary river - parts of its catchment are
in neighbouring countries. Currently, cooperation
• 6 000 km of levées provide the bulk of flood with these neighbouring countries is limited so that
protection. The levées now cover most of the key information regarding precipitation input and
criticai stretches along the river channels and river discharge from the important upper areas of
are the main flood-protection infrastructure. the catchment is both insufficient and delayed.
The height of these levées remains arbitrarily
fixed at 1.8 meters (6 feet), which is higher

Exam-style questions
1. Briefly explain what is meant by the term 7. Explain how river floods might be predicted.
recurrence interval in flood prediction. [3] Giving examples, describe the methods that
2. Describe and explain the effects on a drainage could be used to reduce the effects of flooding
basin of building dams for water storage.[6] within a drainage basin. [8]
3. Using examples, explain how human activities 8. What are the rnain causes of river floods and
in a drainage basin may affect channel flow. [8] to what extent can theìr effects be limìted by
human intervention? [8]
4. Explain how urban growth could affect the flows
within a river channel. [6] 9. Descrìbe the extent to whìch it may be possible
to predict and prevent the flooding of rivers? [8]
5. How can changes in lanci-use affect flows and
stores in a drainage basin? [6] 10. Explain the causes of rìver floods. Describe
the effects such conditions may have on the
6. How can the abstraction (removal) and the
river channel and the landforms found in river
storage of water by humans affect flows and
valleys. [8]
stores within a drainage basin? [6]
11. 0utline the causes of floods in a river
catchment and explain how such floods may be
eìther prevented or amelìorated (reduced). [8]

16
 Atmosphere and weather

I erg
lii

IU
The diurna! (daily) energy budget accounts for the early rnorning or evening due to condensation.
how much energy is received by the Earth and its As the exposed surface cools by radiating its heat,
atmosphere frorn the Sun each day, how much water vapour condenses at a rate greater than it
energy is then lost to space, as well as how much can evaporate, resulting in the formation of water
energy is retained by the Earth and its atmosphere. droplets. Sensible heat transfer rnay again take piace
The rnain parts of the diurna! energy budget are and absorbed energy is returned to the Earth.
sumrnarised in fig 2.1.
Quantifying changes in the incoming, absorbed and
outgoing radiation is required to accurately model the
Incoming (shortwave)
Earth's clirnate and predict climate change. solar radiation
During the hours of daylight, the Earth receives The Earth's rnain source of energy is incoming short
incoming solar radiation, some of which is then wave solar radiation from the Sun. This energy fuels
reflected by clouds and the Earth's surface; some is the Earth's weather system.
absorbed into the surface and sub-surface, which then How much incorning solar radiation is received by the
transfers this heat to the overlying atrnosphere - an Earth is controlled by four factors:
example of sensible heat transfer. This energy may
1. The solar constant the energy released by the
then be lost to space by long-wave earth radiation.
sun. This does vary in arnount as it is linked to
Latent heat transfer rnay take piace when some of this
the arnount of sunspot activity on the Sun.
energy is absorbed by, or released from a substance
during a phase change, for example from a gas to a 2. The distance of the Earth from the Sun - our
liquid or a solid or vice versa, for example, when water distance is not constant due to orbitai rotation;
changes to water vapour by evaporation. this can cause a 6 per cent variance in the
amount of solar energy being received.
The process of evaporation rnay then be reversed
when the water vapour is changed back to water by 3. The altitude of the Sun in U1e sky - as the
the process of condensation. Earth is a sphere, the amount of incorning solar
radiation being received varies greatly depending
During the night, the Earth continues to emit long-
on the angle of the Earth's surface that it is falling
wave earth radiation and latent heat transfer can
on. The same amount of solar radiation above 60°
take piace resulting in the formation of dew. Dew is
north and soutJ1 of the Equator has to cover twice
droplets of water that appear on exposed objects in
the land surface cornpared to the Equator.

12%
lncoming 6% Long wave
Solar radiation Ref/ected radiation from
Reflected by
18% clouds to 100% by the Earth's surface the Earth
23%
of solar space
energy
returns
direct/y to
space Scattered 25%
5% by the Latent heat
atmosphere transfer
to space
---,~

Absorbed
by the
23 1/o atmosphere
0
5% 'ì
including Sensible Con,densation
clouds heat transfer __________C~~Jtses heat

Heat energy
stored in
Convection
water vapour
Air near
surface Evaporation
F_la_t_g_ra_s_s-_co_v_er_ed_su_r_fa_ce__4-8_%_ _ _~-----~------w_a_rn_1_ed_ _.;. us;;. .;. ;es heat
Absorbed by the surface
and sub-surface
Fig 2.1 Diurna! energy budget
17
 2 Atmosphere and weather

4. The length of night and day experienced - as the

Earth is tilted at an angle of 23½ 0 there is a long
Energy absorbed into the
period of time during the year when areas north surface and subsurface
of the Arctic Circle (66½ 0 north of the Equator) This incoming short wave solar radiation is converted
and south of U1e Antarctic Circle (66½ 0 south of into heat energy when it reaches the surface of the
the Equator) do not receive any incoming solar Earth. lncoming solar radiation exceeds outgoing heat
radiation; the areas between the two Tropics energy for many hours after noon and equilibrium is
of Cancer and Capricorn (at 23½ 0 north and usually reached in mid afternoon, from 3-5 p.m.
south of the Equator, respectively) receive high
amounts ali year round (fig 2.2). The amount of energy absorbed by the surface and
sub-surface during daylight hours can be affected by
Notice that the solar radiation received at the a variety of factors, such as the presence of large
Equator is lower than that at the Tropics. This is bodies of water and snow cover. These can have a
because of cloud cover over the Equator which is high albedo and reflect as much as 80-90 per cent
produced by the uplift of the warm and moist air. of the incoming radiation.
The absorption is mainly by the gases ozone, water Some of the incoming energy will be transferred from
vapour and carbon dioxide and minute particles of the surface into the sub-surface soil and rocks by
ice and dust in the atmosphere. conduction. A light-coloured soil or rock, like chalk, is
a poor conductor, so heating will mainly be confined
Reflected solar radiation to the surface; this explains the high temperatures
As the radiation from the Sun passes through the of 50-60°C recorded in hot deserts in daytime. In
atmosphere, some is absorbed by liquids, gases and contrast, a dark volcanic soil or dark rocks like basalt
solids. Some is reflected and scattered, especially and siate, with low albedos of 5-10 per cent, will
by the tops of clouds. The amount of energy that absorb heat well.
is reflected by a surface is determined by the The moisture content of a sub-surface soil will also
reflectivity of that surface, called the albedo. Albedo affect its ability to conduct heat. A coarse sandy soil
is expressed as a percentage. A high albedo means that has large pore spaces will be a poor conductor
the surface reflects the majority of the radiation that of heat, so the heat will concentrate on the surface,
hits it and absorbs the rest. A low albedo means whereas a soil with a ~1igh water content will conduct
a surface reflects a small amount of the incoming heat down into the sub-surface and so the soil surface
radiation and absorbs the rest. For instance, fresh will be cooler.
snow reflects up to 95 per cent of the incoming Wind can remove heat quicky from a lanci surface,
radiation. Generally, dark surfaces have a low albedo while the amount of cloud cover and the amount of
and light surfaces have a hig~1 albedo. water vapour in the atmosphere will affect the amount
Thin clouds reflect 30-40 per cent, thicker clouds of reflection of incoming radiation and therefore the
50-70 per cent, while towering cumulonimbus clouds amount of incoming radiation that will reach the surface
can reflect up to 90 per cent. and sub-surface.

Solar radiation (w/m)

Fig 2.2 The annua! ave rage distribution of solar radiation at the Earth 's surface
18
As the Earth's surface warms up, it then radiates
-
Latent heat is the energy absorbed by or released
energy, at a longer wavelength, back to the from a substance during a phase change from a gas
atrnosphere as Earth or terrestrial long-wave to a liquid or a solid or vice versa, for example, when
radiation. Of tr1is, 94 per cent is absorbed by the water changes to water vapour by evaporation. When
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere such as carbon heat is taken from the atrnosphere to help with this
dioxide, water vapour and methane, warming the process it will result in the atmosphere being cooled.
atrnosphere and producing the natural greenhouse When the process of evaporation is reversed, for
effect. The remaining 6 per cent is lost to space. exarnple when water vapour is changed to water
Without the greenhouse effect the Earth's average by condensation, heat energy is released into the
temperature would be about 33 °C colder than it is at atmosphere which will heat up as a result. The main
present and life as we know it would not be possible. processes that do this type of transfer are radiation,
conduction and convection.
Sensible heat transfers During the night, there is no incoming solar radiation,
During the day, when incoming short-wave solar which means that the only source of energy is the
radiation enters the atrnosphere it is absorbed by radiation that is being held/retained within the
the lanci surface before being re-radiateci as long- atmosphere. The rnain energy flow is therefore a net
wave Earth radiation which then heats the air above loss of heat from the lanci, which cools the air from
it. This is an example of a sensible heat transfer. the surface upwards.
Sensible heat is the energy required to change
the temperature of a substance with no phase
change. The temperature change can come from the
absorption of sunlight by the soil or the air itself. Or
it can come from contact with the warrner air caused
by release of latent heat (by direct conduction).

/'

Exam-style questions
1. Define the terms sensible heat transfer and 3. Explain one way in which solar radiation is
latent heat transfer. [ 4] reflected. [3]
2. Define the terms solar radiation and earth
(terrestri al) radiation. [ 4]
\.

19
 2 Atmosphere and weather

The latitudinal pattern of Pressure and wind belts

radiation: excesses and The circulation of wind in the atmosphere is driven
by the rotation of the Earth and the incoming energy
from the Sun. Wind circulates in each hemisphere
in three distinct cells which help transport energy
As can be seen from fig 2.2 and 2.3, there is a and heat from the Equator to the poles. The winds
positive heat balance around the Equator and
are driven by the energy frorn the Sun at the surface
a negative heat balance towards the North and as warm air rises and cooler air sinks. Heated air
South Poles, as more solar radiation is received at occurs in equatorial areas and this rises and then
the Earth 's surface between the tropics than at the travels towards the poles before descending in the
polar areas. This is a result of the impact of solar sub-tropica! areas.
radiation in the area between the tropics, on the
one hand, and the greater curvature of the Earth, These cells generate areas of high and low pressure
combined with the extent of the atmosphere at the that influence locai weather. For example, in areas of
poles, on the ot_r1er. In fact, there is a net surplus high pressure, cooler, denser air descends towards
of radiation arriving in the area between 40° north the Earth's surface. As it does so, the air becornes
and 35° south of the Equator; the difference cornpressed and less r1Urnid. This explains why areas
between the two sides is due to the large lanci of high pressure are characterised by fair weather
masses north of the Equator which absorb more and lirnited precipitation.
radiation than the large areas of ocean to the These cells also generate belts of wind. The three
south. This illustrates the influence of latitude, or main wind belts are the Trade Winds, Westerlies and
distance from U1e Equator, on climate. Polar Easterlies (fig 2.4).
The Trade Winds are found between the equatorial
350 350 low pressure areas and U1e sub-tropica! high
pressure areas. They blow from the south east in
300 300 the Southern Hemisphere and from the north east in
Surplus
250 250
the Northern Hemisphere due to the influence of the
Earth's Coriolis farce.
N
Surplus heat energy transferred 200~
E 200 The Westerlies are found to the north and south
(f) by atmosphere and oceans ::+
(/)

150
to higher latitudes 150 3 of the Tracie winds. The Monsoon winds are an
"' extension of these moving into the northern lndian
100 100 0cean and Bay of Bengal.
net short-wave
50 net long-wave
50 The Polar Easterlies begin at approximately 60°
north and south latitude and reach the poles. When
0-i---.--.--r-.--.---.----,r----r---,-----.-----.----.--.--+- O
9070 50 40 30 20 10 O 10 20 30 40 50 7090 air moves toward the poles, it causes a polar high-
pressure zone. Air from this high-pressure zone then
North .....,_. Latitude ___.... South
rushes toward the low-pressure zone surrounding
the sub-polar region. This flow of air is altered by
Fig 2.3 The net radiation balance tr1e Earth's rotation, the Coriolis force, and deflected
west, giving thern the name easterlies as they come

Atmospheric transfers: from the east.

pressure belts, wind belts Ocean currents

and ocean currents Sea water that is heated at the Equator becornes
less dense and moves north and south towards the
To balance/budget this imbalance in radiation poles. These ocean currents are one of U1e main
sensible heat transfers (horizontal heat transfers) mechanisms for redistributing heat around the
take piace, where heat is moved r10rizontally Earth's surface (fig 2.5).
away from the hot tropica! areas towards the cold
Warm ocean currents circuiate around their ocean
polar areas. This is either by winds (80 per cent)
basins in a clockwise direction in the Northern
or through the movement of ocean currents
Hemisphere (like the North Atlantic Drift in the North
(20 per cent) moving the heat away from the tropics.
Atlantic 0cean), and anticlockwise in tr1e Southern
Warm currents flowing toward the Poles and cold
Hernisphere (Brazil current in the South Atlantic
currents flowing towards the Equator have a major
0cean). The circulation of ocean currents explains
influence on the temperatures of the air above them.
why some coastal areas have different temperatures
These transfers take piace when heat energy is in winter and summer than what could be expected
transferred by convection or by direct conduction. given their latitudes.

20
 90°N
LP
Po far
t r 0 /.J
OJ.Ja
&se
-
Troposphere Polar Polar
HP Ce/I Front
Polar high pressure H HP QJ
Polar Easterlies
60°N _;
l
LP
Sub-polar lows l Ferrei
Ce//
Variable Westerlies
(mainly SW)
LPQJ
Sub-tropica! high 30°N ...: H HP (.{)
pressure cells
H -\

Hadley
NE Tracie Wincis Ce/I

Equatorial low pressure

be lt ( Do Ici rum s) oo -i''"''''"'' ,,,w.·;··ci2.,.C"/i,<v,.,. DJCC'fm'J'''"'''''"'''''""'"""'"''''"'"''"''·'i;,,,;,.;,,·,,/~s,;,,,;;:,,,cc., LP HP

SE Tracie Wincis Hadley

Ce/I

Sub-tropica! high 30°s ..: H

pressure cells HP
Variable Westerlies
(mainly NW)
Ferrei
L Ce/I
Sub-polar lows
LP Key
----------------.---------- 60°S
Polar Easterlies
LP low pressure
HP high pressure
Polar high pressure HP [Il Jet stream
HP Potar Potar QJ (2 polar anci
Ce/I Front 2 sub-tropica!)
Troposphere

90°S ..,LP
Fig 2.4 Earth's major cells and wind belts

30°--------------- \:_
'
California\
.,
\

• North Equatoria!____--/

60°-------

Fig 2.5 Ocean currents

21
 2 Atmosphere and weather

For the eastern coasts of North and South amount. Therefore it takes the sea a much longer time
America or the western coast of Europe have higher to heat up than the lanci in summer, but, in winter,
temperatures in winter and lower temperatures in the apposite occurs as the lanci loses its heat much
summer because of warm currents circulating along more rapidly than the sea. This results in the oceans
their shores. The reverse is true far south west and seas acting as heat or thermal reservoirs and
Africa, where the cold Benguela current brings cold areas close to the sea have a much smaller annua!
water and cooler air temperatures northwards, or range of temperature than those areas in the centre of
far the west coast of South America, where the continents which are far away from the influence of the
Humboldt (Peruvian) current has a similar effect. seas and oceans.
Areas of lanci and sea can affect temperatures as a
Seasonal variations in result of tr1eir different thermal capacities, i.e. as the

temperature, pressure lanci heats up faster and cools faster tr1an the seas.
The result is a greater movement and concentration
and wind belts of isotherms (lines that join points with the same
temperatures) aver the lanci masses rather than aver
the oceans.
The influence of land and sea As the oceans absorb and store vast amounts of
distribution heat, making them warmer than the lanci masses in
The lanci and the sea can differ quite markedly in winter it results in a shift of the isotherms over the
their ability to absorb, transfer and then radiate oceans towards the North and South Poles. The warm
heat energy. The sea is much more transparent ocean currents, suc~1 as the North Atlantic Drift/Gulf
than the lanci and so can absorb heat down to Stream therefore push isotherms north in the Northern
a depth of about 10 metres. This heat can then Hemisphere winter while the cold Peruvian current
be transferred to deeper depths through the pushes isotherms towards the Equator).
movement of waves and currents.
Also, the sea has twice the specific heat capacity of The differences between the
the lanci surface. Specific heat capacity is the amount temperatures of land masses and
of heat energy that is needed to raise the temperature
of 1 kg of a substance, like the lanci or the sea, by sea areas on a global scale
1 °C. lt is expressed in kilojoules per kg per 1 °C. A close look at the mean sea temperatures for
This means that water needs twice as much energy January and July maps (fig 2.6 and 2.7) shows that
as the lanci to raise its temperature by the same there is a marked difference between the Northern

Key to Figs 2.6 and 2. 7

Above 25°C
0-25°C
Below 0°C
Fig 2.6 Global pattern of temperatures in January
22
 -

10---~

-------------- o
5 ~~~-----s-------------s------
-------------0

Fig 2. 7 Global pattern of mean temperatures in July

and Southern hemispheres which reflects the This is due to the different thermal capacities of
differences in the areas of the land masses and land and sea. The sea heats up more slowly in the
oceans in each sphere. summer in the Northern Hernisphere and cools more
In the Southern Hernisphere (which is experiencing its slowly in Southern Hemisphere winter as more heat
winter in July) the isotherms are moved to the north, is retained in the oceans.
towards the Equator, over the oceans, whereas, in the Conversely, the lanci rnasses heat up anci lose their
Northern Hernisphere (when it is summer in July) they heat at a faster rate.
are moved northward over the large lanci areas.

Exam-style questions
1. With the help of diagrams, describe and 5. Explain how the differences in energy
explain two methods by which the heat exchanges between day and night occur. [6]
received from solar radiation at the Equator is 6. Describe the pattern of ocean currents and,
transferred towards the poles. [6] using examples, explain how warm and cool
2. Explain one reason why the solar radiation ocean currents can affect temperatures on
being receiveci at the Equator is lower than that land. [6]
received at the tropics. [3] 7. Explain how the global distribution of
3. Explain how the daytirne anci night-time temperatures may be influenced by areas of
patterns of wind circulation occur. [6] land and areas of sea. [8]
4. Name two effects that land and sea breezes
may have upon locai weather. [2]

23
 2 Atmosphere and weather

t er r ss s
Atmospheric moisture which are not warmed by conducted heat from
the lanci surface. When temperatures are below
processes: evaporation, freezing, the water vapour will be deposited onto

condensation, freezing, freezing surfaces as hoar frost.

melting, deposition and Causes of precipitation

sublimation. For precipitation to take piace the water vapour has to
be condensed. The process of condensation requires
• Evaporation is the process by which a liquid is the air to be cooled and there are four common ways
changed into a gas by molecular transfer, for for this to happen:
example, liquid water into water vapour. The
process can be helped if there is high insolation,
dry air, high wind speed, bare ground or if there is
Convection
a large water source present like a sea or a lake. When air that is in contact with a warrn land surface
starts to warm up, it expands and starts to rise as
• Condensation is the process by which water
an invisible parceljbubble of air, called a thermal.
vapour chariges/converts into liquid water or
However, as the air rises, it will also find itself entering
solid ice, a latent heat transfer, usually helped
a lower atmospheric pressure, as atrnospheric pressure
by the presence of condensation nuclei in
also drops with height. This causes the air to expand
the atmosphere and by the atmosphere being
and lose energy, which means it loses heat and its
cooled. Condensation nuclei are sometimes
temperature falls causing condensation to take piace.
called hygroscopic nuclei and they are
normally tiny (there can be 1 million in 1cm 3 When convection occurs aver a hot land surface in
of air!) particles of dust which can be from summer, anticyclones in the air may be in contact with
dust storms blown up from deserts and dried the hot land surface for several hours. This heated air
soil (40 000 tonnes reaches as far as South will expand, becorne less dense, rising and cooling. Tali,
America from the Sahara desert in Africa each towering clouds will form as the water vapour in the air
year!). lt can also be volcanic ash, salt from condenses and the latent heat released will add further
sea spray and smoke from fires and burning warmth to increase the speed of the ascent, until the
tossii fuels. In a vertical section through the tropopause is reached, forming a cumulonirnbus cloud.
atmosphere, the condensation level is the This can release several hundred thousand tonnes of
height at which the dew point is reached and water quite quickly and is responsible for localised flash
visible water droplets in U1e form of clouds can flooding in summer months.
be seen. Tropopause
Condensation takes piace when air that is not
fully saturateci with water vapour is cooled. lf

I
the atmospheric pressure remains constant, a
criticai temperature will be reached when the air
becomes fully saturateci (it has a relative humidity
of 100 per cent) with water vapour. This criticai
temperature is known as the dew point. lf the air is
cooled any further condensation will take piace.
• Freezing, melting deposition and the process convection
of sublimation: The process of sublimation may currents
take piace when water vapour either undergoes
freezing, turning directly into ice crystals, or
melting, when U1e ice crystals return to water
vapour. lf the temperature of the air falls below
freezing, O°C, then the water vapour gas will
condense directly into solid ice crystals. lt occurs
eitr1er by condensation taking piace onto a
frozen surface or at very high altitudes with the
production of ice crystals, seen by the presence of
Rising air expands and cools
very high cirrus clouds.
• Deposition will take piace when dew forms as
~-
Hot moisi ai( rises
condensation and water droplets are deposited. i
T
This happens when moist air cornes into contact Moist air -· ... ,.......-··-·····..,-.. Air in comact is heated Moist air
with a cold surface such as grass, leaves, Strong insolation heats the ground
windows and car roofs in the early rnorning or
evening. lt is formed most easily on surfaces
24 Fig 2.8 Cumulonimbus cloud and rainfall
Fronts mark the boundary between two air masses When a moist air mass moves off an ocean onto the
-
which have contrasting temperature. Fig 2.9 illustrates lanci it may be forced to rise over high ground and
what happens in a frontal system. condensation and precipitation may occur as the air
A warm front (Y on the diagram) is the surface mass is cooled. Orographic uplift often intensifies
boundary between a warm air mass and a cold air rainfall, accounting for the high totals experienced
mass. When warm air moves into an area of colder, over mountains.
drier air, the two air masses do not readily mix. This
results in the warm air mass rising slowly over the Radiation cooling
colder air mass because it is less dense. This upward This is a common process on calm evenings when
movernent of warrn moist air over the colder air causes there is a clear sky. lt may occur when the lanci surface
it to cool. Condensation of the water vapour takes piace rapidly loses heat as the sun goes down and long
to produce clouds and precipitation, often well ahead of wave earth radiation is quickly lost to space. The air in
the warm front approaching at ground level. contact with the ground is then cooled by conduction
Steady precipitation is often the result along the and condensation of the water vapour near the ground
boundary of a warm front. The amount of precipitation, surface may take piace and form fog - called radiation
however, will depend on the amount of moisture in fog - see later explanation.
the air ahead of the surface front. lf the warm air is Dew is also commonly produced and, if temperatures
relatively dry and stable, precipitation is not likely to are below freezing, water vapour forms directly into ice
occur. However, if U1e air is moist, heavy precipitation crystals and is called hoar frost. Dew is water droplets
can occur over a wide area. that form when the moist air comes into contact with
During winter in temperate climates, an approaching a cold surface such as grass, leaves, windows and car
warm front may bring about hazardous winter weather roofs in the early morning or evening. lt is formed most
conditions. Along the warm front, near U1e surface, easily on surfaces wr1ich are not warmed by conducted
where temperatures are relatively warm, rain will be the r1eat from the lanci surface.
likely form of precipitation. However, outside of this rain
area, ahead of the warm front, sleet or snow may be
found in an area that is at or just below freezing.
Types of precipitation
• Clouds form when air is cooled until it reaches
Behind the warm front is a warm sector, where the air dew point and the water vapour condenses
mass is usually relatively warm and moist. either into water droplets or ice crystals. At
A cold front (X on the diagram) separates a cold, dry air some point the water droplets or ice crystals
mass from a warm air mass. A heavier, cold air mass become large enough to fall as precipitation
may push under a warm air mass because of its higher - rain, snow and hail. There are 20 plus types
density, forcing this warm air to rise. lf enough moisture of clouds and they are classified according to
exists in U1e atmosphere at this time, then thick clouds their height and shape (fig 2.10). Luke Howard
and possibly thunderstorrns could develop. in 1803 used five Latin words as the basis
Cold fronts tend to move much faster than warm for his classification: cirrus - meaning a wispy
fronts and are usually accompanied with areas of low lock of curly hair; curnulus - rneaning a heap;
pressure. stratus - meaning layer; nimbus - meaning rain
Ahead of the cold front boundary there is often a bearing and alto - meaning mid-level. Severa!
narrow band of precipitation. Depending on the cloud types use combinations of these, such
amount of moisture in the air and the speed of the as nimbostratus - meaning a continuous layer
approaching cold front, the area of precipitation may of low rain bearing clouds, or curnulonimbus,
range from no precipitation to heavy precipitation. meaning a large heap of rain bearing cloud.
During the summer months, an approaching cold front The highest clouds are the cirrus.
may bring thunderstorrns.

Cirrus
Cumulonimbus Cirrostratus
gives short period
Cold front Altostratus
of heavy rain
Cumulonimbus Warm front

Cold air
Cumulus'--\ Warm moist air
Cumulus
Cold air

X y

Direction of movement of depression

Fig 2.9 Section through a mature depression showing warm air rising aver cold air along the warrn and cold fronts 25
 2 Atmosphere and weather

is formed when the condensation of water The ice crystals are quite complicateci hexagonal
vapour takes piace around a particle of dust - a shaped structures and tend to interlock and
condensation, or hygroscopic nuclei. This initially become attached to each other to form a larger
prociuces tiny water ciroplets less than 0.05mm in snowflake. For snow to fall, the temperatures at the
diameter. Being so tiny, they are easily kept up in ground level must be below freezing. As it falls, it
the air by rising air currents and forrn clouds. As will encounter warmer temperatures near the ground
further condensation takes piace, they become surface, so it may partially melt; this is called sleet.
larger and heavier droplets which are too heavy to • Fog: there are two types of fog - radiation
be kept up by rising air currents so they fall as rain. and advection fog. Radiation fog is commonly
• Hail When raindrops are cooled below freezing, formed on calm evenings when there is a clear
hail is formeci. Hail is frozen raincirops that are sky. When the lanci surface rapidly loses heat as
larger than 5mm in diarneter. They are commonly the sun goes down, long wave earth radiation
forrned in towering cumulonimbus clouds which is quickly lost to space. The air in contact with
have rapidly rising air within them, that can the ground is then cooled by conduction and
reach heights in excess of 10 kilometres - this may cause condensation to take piace. This
well above the height where ternperatures are tends to be most common where cold dense
below freezing. Hail is rnost common in warrner air accumulates - often in valley bottoms at
clirnates wh_ere the lanci is heated sufficiently to ciawn and sunrise. Advection fog is formed
produce a rapid uplift of air. when warm rnoist air moves over either a cooler
• Snow forms in the same way as rain, except that lanci or sea surface. The air is then cooled and
the water vapour goes directly into a frozen state, condensation takes piace to forrn fog.
as an ice crystal - a process called sublimation.

16 km 1----,-,---'-H:--:--e-='ig-,-h_t_of-=-t-ro_p_op_a_u_se-_--at_t,.,...he-_=Éq_u_a-to_r_--'---------,.----,---,-li----ro-p-op_a......,u-se--/--,ce-cr-ys-t-al--'-s~--j 16 km

Anvil head
Cirrostratus Cirrus Cirrocumulus
"O
::, Clouds made ofice crystals
o
u
.e
.'2!1
I

Heig1·1t of
Mount Everest
6krnr----,-----------~--,------------,-------------------16k111
Clouds made
' "O of water droplets
§ _Q
·- u Altostratus Altocumulus
"O -
Q) Q)

Water droplets
-g 2km 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ 2 k m
o
....J uo
Sea level ...___Stratus
_ _ _ _ _Cumulus
______ Stratocumulus
_ _ _ _ _Nimbostratus
_______ Curnulonimbus
______ Curnulonimbus
_ _ _ ____, Sea level

Fig 2.10 Types of fair weather and rain clouds in the tropics

Exam-style questions
1. Define the terms evaporation and 7. With the help of diagrams, explain how cloucis
condensation. [ 4] and rainfall are produced. [8]
2. Give three conditions which help the process of 8. Explain briefly how clouds and fog are forrned.
evaporation. [3] [3]
3. Define the terms sublimation anci water vapour. 9. Describe the conditions which may lead to the
[4] forrnation of dew. [3]
4. Briefly explain what is meant by the term 10. Briefly describe what is meant by the term
relative humidity. [3] frost. [3]
5. Explain how clouds and rain may be produced 11. Briefly explain the formation of snow. [3]
by the uplift of air. [5] 12. Describe the differences between snow and
6. Using diagrams, explain how convectional uplift hail. [3]
anci orographic uplift of air rnay occur. Outline the
effects of these forms of uplift on the weather. [8]

26
 -
The enhanced greenhouse Possible causes
effect and global warming The rise in carbon dioxide started with:
• clearing of forests by burning this has the
Evidence tor the greenhouse effect double effect of increasing carbon dioxide levels
but also of removing trees which convert carbon
The greenhouse effect is the process by which the
dioxide to oxygen and land cultivation
Earth's atmosphere is warmed as certain gases
within the atmosphere absorb some of tt1e long- • industrialisation since the nineteenth century
wave earth radiation being emitted by the Earth has put large amounts of carbon dioxide into the
and re-radiate some of it back. n1e most common atmosphere from the burning fossil fuels.
greenhouse gases are Water Vapour, Carbon • emissions from internal combustion engines and
Dioxide, Methane, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and jet engines.
Nitrous 0xide. Methane is the second biggest contributor to global
The greenhouse gases allow the incoming short- warming. lt is increasing by 1 per cent per year, but
wave solar radiation to pass through them, it absorbs 25 times more heat than the equivalent
but they are then very effective in trapping the amount of carbon dioxide. Methane may be produced
outgoing long-wave terrestrial radiation. Without frorn:
these greenhouse gases life on the Earth as we • cattle, which emit 100 million tonnes per year
know it could not exist. n1e greenhouse gases • wet rice fields
combine to raise the average temperature of the
Earth by 33 °C. • natural wetlands - both of which release
rnethane by decornposing organic rnatter
Before the rapid growth of the human population
and its various activities in the last 200 years, • melting of permafrost in Arctic areas which
which have altered the amount of greenhouse releases rnethane frorn the organic rnatter that
gases, the atmosphere was fairly balanced with was previously frozen and is now rnelting as a
the carbon dioxide being produced by animals and result of global warming.
humans equalling the amount being taken up in CFCs are human produced synthetic chemicals used
plants as part of the process of photosynthesis. as propellants in spray cans, coolants in fridges,
The enhanced greenhouse effect (EGE) and global freezers and air conditioning systems. Though
warming are the terms used to describe the build-
alternatives to this chemical exist, they are not being
up of greenhouse gases and the impact it has fully used and the amount of CFCs is increasing by
had in the last 200 years by human actions and 6 per cent a year. The problem with CFCs is that they
activities. are 10 000 times more efficient at trapping long-wave
earth radiation than carbon dioxide.
0ne of the most significant changes in the last
There are also concerns about the possible
60 years has been the rise in carbon dioxide from
315 ppm to 392 ppm today (fig 2.11). lncreasing contribution frorn urban heat islands (UHls) to
amounts of heat are now being retained in the global warming. An urban heat island is a city or
Earth's atmosphere leading to a global rise in urban area that is significantly warrner than its
temperatures. surrounding rural areas, due to human activities. The
temperature difference is usually larger at night than
400 during the day, and is rnost apparent when winds
are weak. The main cause of the urban heat island
effect is from tt1e modification of lanci surfaces,
E 380
Q.
though waste heat generateci by energy usage is
3
o"' a secondary contributor. As a population centre
360 grows, it tends to expand its area and increase
·~
..e its average temperature. Monthly rainfall may also
Q.
CJ) be greater downwind of cities, partially due to the
E 340 UHI. lncreases in temperature within urban centres
may also increase the length of growing season,
320 and decreases the occurrence of weak tornadoes.
The UHI can also decrease air quality by increasing
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 the production of pollutants such as ozone, and
decrease water quality as warmer water flows into
Year
locai rivers and streams and puts stress on their
Fig 2.11 Changes in atmospheric C0 2 registered at the ecosysterns.
Mauna Loa Observatory (Hawaii, 1960-2015). In February
2015, the level of C0 2 reached 400 ppm.

27
 2 Atmosphere and weather

an increase in dynamism of climatic

and more extreme weather events such as
The effect of global warming has been to increase
storms, hurricanes, floods and droughts; the
the Earth's average temperature by about 0.5°C
greater amount of heat producing more dynamic
since 1950 anci to potentially produce a further
systems, when linkeci with rises in sea leve!,
increase of 2 °C by 2100.
could leaci to increaseci evaporation and rainfall
This will have severa! impacts (fig 2.12) incluciing: and more frequent and larger storms
• polar ice sheets and glacier ice melting • conversely, the greater amount of heat in the
• rising sea levels - threatening low lying countries atmospr1ere means that more water vapour can
such as the Maldives, Bangladesh, severa! small be held in the atmosphere, therefore producing
Pacific !slanci nations such as Kiribati, Tuvalu, less rainfall, extinction of plant and animai
Marshall lslands, Vanuatu, and the Netherlands; species.
the leve! of economie development (MICs/LICs) in
proviciing coastal ciefences will vary enormously
• changing climatic patterns a pole-ward shift of
climatic belts

Coastal areas
threatened by
flooding

Forests are damaged

by heatwaves (heat
and drought)

Some islands in the lndian and

Pacific Oceans will disappear

Fig 2.12 Worldwide impacts of global warming

m Los Angeles, California, us

The Los Angeles metropolitan area is the seconci- This highly populated urban region with its high
largest metropolitan area, after New York, in the density buildings, congested roads and booming
USA with a population of 18.2 million people. lts economy has an influence on local climate:
lanci area is 12 562 km 2 , making it the largest in • Daytime temperatures may be on average
the Uniteci States. 0.6 °C higher than surrounding rural areas.
In the 1930s, Los Angeles was nothing like it is • Nighttime temperatures rnay be 3-4 °c
today. lt was covered by irrigateci orchards with higher due to buildings raciiating heat and the
a high temperature of around 36 °c. However, as presence of increaseci cloud and ciust reducing
urbanisation took piace, vegetation and trees were long-wave radiation output.
replaced with concrete anci metal and the average
• Mean winter temperatures may be 1-2 °c higher.
temperature of Los Angeles increased steaciily and
reacheci 41 °C, anci higher, in the 1990s. Fig 2.13 • Mean summer temperatures may be 5 °c higher.
shows how average annual temperatures have • Mean annua! temperatures may be 0.5 to
increased in Los Angeles from 1878-2008. 1.5 °c higher than the surrounding areas.
28
 70
-
Temp
- Linear (temp)
68
:..---'-
66
,____ -.
-,----r-- -r
LJ..

-- --
Cl)

64
o
62
i ,_ .
1

I
60 -.

58
.li~ i
o oO) o o o(Y) o o o oCO oO) o
CO oO) C\I LO <O t-- o
CO
s--1
CO O)
s--1
O)
s--1
O) 0) O) O) O) o
s--1 s--1 s--1 s--1 s--1 s--1 C\I

Fig 2.13 Change in annual temperatures in Los Angeles, 1987-2008

33
Cl)

.3 32
Cl)
Cl.
E 31
2
e
o
g 30

co
1------
$
CO
__J

Suburban Commerciai Downtown Urban Park Suburban Rural

Residential Residential Residential Farmland
Fig 2.14 A typical thermal profile of an urban area in the United States

The reasons for these differences include: Building materials are usually very good at
• Urban heat island: buildings in urban areas insulating, or holding in heat. For example,
absorb more radiation than vegetation. This concrete can hold roughly 2 000 times as much
is then re-radiateci back to the atmospt1ere at heat as an equivalent volume of air. This insulation
night, raising temperatures and giving the urban makes the areas around buildings warmer.
heat island effect, which has an effect on the Therefore, buildings in cities tend not to reflect
thermal profile of an urban area (fig 2.14). heat but absorb it. The albedo of urban areas is
also lower, allowing for the greater absorption of
In this typical thermal profile of the UHI
heat energy. The buildings become stores of heat,
(fig 2.14), the rural thermal field is interrupted
which can then be released during the night. In
by a steep temperature gradient at the rural/
addition, there is less evaporation so less energy
urban boundaries. There is then an increasing
is needed for the evaporation process, making it
temperature until the highest temperature point
more available in the form of heat.
is reached in the urban core or city centre. The
island-shaped pattern is not quite uniform with a • Convectional activity: the higher temperatures
few peaks and depressions due to the presence and convectional heating may lead to an
of particularly hot points (i.e. micro urban heat increased likelihood of thunder storms and hai I
islands) associateci with features such as car in urban areas.
parks/parking lots, shopping malls, industriai • Wind: buildings also provide increased friction
facilities, etc, and cold points due to features with the wind which produces lower wind speeds
such as parks, fields, water bodies such as lakes, - up to 30 per cent lower - than in rural areas.
ponds and rivers, etc. However, high-rise buildings and skyscrapers
Temperature is not the only change - London may channel winds and so increase wind
receives approximately 270 fewer hours of sunlight speeds in the gaps between them.
than the surrounding countryside due to clouds
and smog.
29
 2 Atmosphere and weather

1. Explain how an increase in greenhouse gases 5. Briefly describe one effect that atmospheric
may cause changes to both temperature and pollution may have upon urban climates. [3]
precipitation. [5] 6. Give reasons why air pollution is higher in
2. Explain the possible causes of present day urban areas. [3]
global warming and describe the possible 7. Explain why nighttime temperatures may vary
climatic effects. [10] across a city. [5]
3. Explain how human activities have contributed 8. Explain the extent to which the climate in urban
to global warming and why the consequences areas differs from that in the surrounding
of sea-level rise may be more severe in some countryside. [10]
areas than others. [10]
9. Why do urban areas often experience
4. What is meant by the term urban heat island? [4] warmer, wetter conditions and more fog than
surrounding rural areas? [10]

30
 Rocks and weathering

lat te onics
The subject of plate tectonics brings together 3 grams/cm 3 and it is split into plates. lt floats
severa! theories which attempt to describe and on a much denser layer beneath it, called the
explain the global distribution of earthquakes, asthenosphere. There are two types of plates - the
volcanoes, fold mountains and the theory of continental plates and the oceanic plates.
continental drift. Continental plates carry the lanci continents and are
The generai consensus, at the present time, is that generally older, thicker (more than 33 krn) and lighter
on top of the Earth's inner and outer core is the than the oceanic plates. The continental crust is
mantle, made up of semi-molten magma on top of mainly composed of an igneous rock called granite.
which the Earth's lithosphere moves around and The continental crust is sometimes called sial, as it
is split into severa! parts plates - of varying size is mainly made up of silica and aluminium.
(fig 3.1). Oceanic plates are underneath the ocean basins.
The mechanism for this movement is made of They are made up of younger sediments lying on
huge convection currents which are createci by top of denser, heavier basaltic lavas. They are
the radioactive decay of the Earth's core. As these younger, thinner (10-16 km) and more dense than
convection currents rise up and spread out as they the continental plates as they are made up of
reach the underside of the Earth's lithosphere, their sima, which is a mixture of silica and magnesium.
friction with the crust drags the plates apart and they As the oceanic plates are subducted beneath the
move across the asthenosphere and this causes continental plates, melting occurs in the Benioff zone
some of them to collide with each other. Fig 3.1 and the molten magma that is produced forces its
st10ws the distribution of the main plates. way through faults to the surface to form volcanoes,
The Earth's crust is called the lithosphere. lt is a such as Mount St. Helens in the north west of the
relatively inflexible layer of solid rocks. lts depth USA. Volcanoes can also form in weaknesses in a
varies from 6-70 km, with a density of about plate called hot spots.

Eurasian

North

t
-+--- Pacific
I ,,
Cocos -...._ Caribbean African

;,.,--

South
I lndo-
Nazca American
_.,...--
___.,...
Australian ---------
t
Antarci'.ic

Fig 3.1 Plates, plate boundaries and plate movements

31
 3 Rocks and weathering

pes of plate boundaries Conservative (transform) plate

margins
Divergent (constructive) plate n1ese are found where plates slide past each other
margins and commonly produce earthquakes, but lanci is
neither destroyed nor created along these margins -
These are found where two plates are moving
for exarnple, along the west coast of North America
apart. Sea floor spreading is the sideways/lateral
where the North American and Pacific plates move
expansion/extension of some ocean floors as the
past each other. As no subduction occurs, there is
oceanic plates move apart. The Mid-Atlantic ridge
no melting of the crust and so there is no volcanic
is a very long, high submarine mountain chain. lt
activity associated with this type of plate margin.
stretches through the centre of the Atlantic between
Africa and Europe to the east and North and South
America to the west (fig 3.2). lt is cornposed of Continental-oceanic plate margins
volcanic lava and it varies in both width and height.
High volcanic peaks appear above the ocean surface
forrning the islands of the Azores, Ascension lsland,
Tristan da Cunha and lceland. The Mid-Atlantic ridge
is very irregular, with huge pieces of the plates
offset at an angle sliding past ead1 other to form
transform faults, creating a series of short zigzags to
accornmodate the movement of U1e plates (fig 3.3).

Oceanic-oceanic plate margins

lsland are

Key
A Volcanic lslands

___,,,,.,. Transform fault

Fig 3.2 The Mid-Atlantic ridge Continental-continental plate margins

Continental Continental
crust crust

Fig 3.3 Transform faults Mantle

Fig 3.4 Cross-sections through the different types of

convergent plate margins
32
Convergent (destructive) plate
margins
•
-
Oceanic - oceanic margins are found where two
convergent oceanic plates meet. At the point
of impact or subduction a deep ocean trench
They are found where two plates are moving towards may be formed where the oceanic crust moves
each other and are classified by referring to the type downwards. The heavier, melting subducting
of the plates colllding (fig 3.4). oceanic plate rises through the thinner, lighter
• Continental - oceanic margins are seen when oceanic plate above it, upwelling magma and
the denser oceanic plate subducts a continental forming island arcs which are chains of volcanic
plate, triggering earthquakes and forrning islands, as in the Caribbean islands.
volcanoes. This leads to the formation of ocean • Continental - continental margins ( collision
trenches. An example of an ocean trench is the plate margins) are found where two lighter,
Mariana Trench, which at 10 994 metres deep is continental plates collide with each other. This
the deepest part of the world's oceans. Locateci leads to formation of fold mountains as neither
in the western Pacific 0cean and to the east of plate can sink into the denser rocks below.
the Philippines, it is about 2 550 kilometres long lnstead, they are crushed, crumpled and forced
and only 69 kilometres wide (on average). upwards, usually folding in the process.

Exam-style questions
1. Define the term tectonic plate and give two 6. How does an understanding of plate tectonics
differences between oceanic and continental help to explain the development of the Earth's
tectonic plates. [ 4] crustal features, such as the development of
2. Define the terms island are and ocean trench. [4] mountains? (10]
3. Briefly describe sea floor spreading. [3] 7. How can the theory of plate tectonics be used
to explain the formation and distribution of
4. Describe one landform that may develop at a
volcanoes, ocean trenches and island arcs? [10]
convergent plate boundary. [3]
5. With the aid of diagrams describe the features
that may be found at a divergent plate
boundary. [8]
\.

33
 3 Rocks and weathering

There is often a lot of confusion over the terms When water freezes, it expands its volume by
weathering and erosion, many people think that they 9 per cent. lf it freezes within a rock, freeze-thawing
are the same process. They are, in fact, very different. can take piace. Freeze-thaw weathering (fig 3.5)
Weathering is the graduai breakdown or decay of occurs in rocks which have cracks in them, are
rocks in situ (in their originai piace) at or close to jointed, or have bedding planes that allow water to
the ground surface. There are two major types of enter the rock. The climate must allow temperatures
weathering: to fluctuate below and above freezing.
1. Physical weathering is the mechanical A long series of cycles of water freezing and thawing
breakdown of rocks largely due to temperature in the cracks can lead to the separation of blocks of
change. The chemical composition of the rocks rock producihg landscapes filled with loose blocks
remains unaltered. Physical weaU1ering includes: of rocks called block fields (sometimes called
freeze-thaw weathering; heating and cooling felsenmeer). lt takes piace when water gets into
- sometimes called exfoliation (or onion skin small spaces and cracks in a rock. lf it then freezes
weathering); salt crystal growth/crystallisation and expands it can put enormous pressures of up to
and the growth of vegetation roots. 2100 kg/ cm on the rock!
2

2. Chemical weathering is the breakdown of rocks Most rocks can only take pressures of about 500 kg/
2

through chemical changes to the composition of cm before they split apart. Where bare rock is
the rock. lt includes the processes of: solution, exposed on a cliff or slope, fragments of rock may
carbonation, hydration, hydrolysis and oxidation. be forced away from the face. Freeze-thaw is most
effective where temperatures frequently fall below

Physical (mechanical) freezing (i.e. daily/ diurnally rather than seasonally)

and where there is an availability of water, therefore
weathering processes temperatures should not generally be below -5 °c
to -15 °C; if it does, there is unlikely to be any water
present as it will be frozen permanently. Therefore
Freeze-thaw weathering this process tends to be most active in polar
A Water enters a crack periglacial areas and in mountainous alpine areas.
during the day
The fragments of rock that fall to the bottom of a cliff
or slope form a large pile of rocks called scree.
few centìmetres
Frost shattering is another type of freeze-thaw
Natural 1 metre weathering which takes piace in porous rocks, such
in the rock
as chalk. These rocks absorb water, but can also
B break off in sheets. When U1e water freezes within
The water freezes durìng
these rocks the process is so powerful that the
night and expands
whole rock can fall apart and shatter.

The crack Heating/cooling

deepens Heating/cooling weathering is most effective in dark
and widens
crystalline rocks, which absorb heat. This process
e requires a wide diurnal temperature range, ideally
After repeated freezìng and
from greater than 25 °C down to O0 c. Therefore, the
thawing, the rock splits apart
clear skies and r1igh temperature range of tropica!
hot deserts are prime locations for this process.
As rocks are poor conductors of heat, this leads to
the surface of the rock expanding, causing granular
disintegration as the surface breaks up into small
grains of rock or block disintegration as larger
Freeze-thaw blocks or plates of rock are detached from the main
body of rock (fig 3.6).
Rock sheets
or hundreds
Scree Cracks in surface
builds up
Broken rock
fragments

Fig 3.5 Freeze-thaw weathering

Fig 3.6 Block disintegration
34
This process takes piace in areas with temperatures
to form a weak carbonic acid. This acidulateci
rainwater will react with any rock containing
calcium carbonate (mainly the many different
-
of around 26-28 °C, when two types of commonly
types of limestone) converting it to calcium
occurring salt - sodium sulphate and sodium
bicarbonate which then dissolves. Carbonation
carbonate - expand in size by up to 300 per cent.
is more active in cold conditions, as cold water
When salt is dissolved in water (brine), evaporation
can hold more carbon dioxide.
will leave behind salt crystals which attack and
disintegrate the surface of the rock. This explains
why houses close to the sea need repairing Generai factors affecting
frequently, as salt weathering causes paint to flake.
the type and rate of
Pressure release (dilatation) weathering
This process takes piace when heavy overlying rocks Climate acts as the main overall influence on
are removed by erosion. The release of this pressure weathering, affecting the rate (speed) and the type of
and weight causes the exposed rocks to expand which weathering. This will in turn influence the thickness
may cause them to split apart parallel to the rock of the weathered materiai found on a slope - the
surface. The removal of melting ice sheets and glaciers regolith.
frorn an area is a primary cause of pressure release. lt also affects slope transportational processes
the processes that move weathered materiai
Vegetation roots down a slope - including rainwash and a wide
Roots can grow into joints and bedding planes where range of mass movements. lt plays an important
there may be moisture and washed in soil. Seedlings role in boU1 physical and chemical weathering and
may grow in such areas. In both cases extreme it also supplies water for chemical processes and
pressure can be exerted by the growth of roots leading influences the speed of chemical reactions.
to, or adding to, mechanical weathering break up. Temperature and precipitation contro! the type
and speed of weathering processes (fig 3. 7). For
Chemical weathering exarnple, in physical weathering, water is required
for freeze-thaw, as well as temperatures that rnove
processes above and below freezing. In exfoliation, high
• Hydrolysis is a complex chemical process temperatures are needed for the rock surfaces to
involving water that affects the minerals in expand and these need to fall for the surface to
igneous and metamorphic rocks. lt is particularly contract.
active in weathering the feldspar found in granite Chemical weathering is most effective in areas with
whereby materiai is removed in solution leaving a both high precipitation and high ternperatures which
clay, called kaolinite/kaolin or China clay. speed up most of tr1e process. The active retreat
• Hydration affects minerals that have tr1e capacity or lowering of a slope will be more pronounced in
to take up water. As they absorb/soak up the areas where chernical weathering is active, such
water they expand and change their chemical as the humid tropics. Areas with little precipitation,
composition which often makes them weaker and such as the arctic tundra and deserts will have
less resistant to erosion. For example, gypsum chemical weathering processes that are slow and
changing into anhydrite. relatively ineffective.
• Carbonation is particularly associateci with Rock type refers to the cornposition of the rock
limestone and chalk. Precipitation falling and it influences both the rate and the type of
through the atmosphere absorbs carbon dioxide weathering. This is due to three factors:

30 30
G G
~. 25 25
::::; ::::;

Q)
20 Q)
20
Q. Q.
E E
2 15 2 15
ro::::; ro::::;
§ 10 § 10
(O (O
e
(O

5
,,,,
0-1--~-....----,.-----,-----.---.....--..-------,,---, 0-+---+--....-----r-----,-----.---.....--...--.---,
O 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 o 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
(a) Mean annual precipitation (mm) (b) Mean annual precipitation (mm)

Fig 3. 7 The influences of temperature and precipitati on on (a) physical and (b) chemical weathering
35
 3 Rocks and weathering

Differences in the chernical cornposition of the dominant chemical weathering processes. In

rocks. For exarnple, lirnestone is cornposed U1ese areas, the height of the land may cause
of calcium carbonate which makes it very freezing temperatures and freeze-thaw action on
susceptible to chemical weathering through exposed rocks.
solution and carbonation. In areas of steep relief, slope processes, such
2. Differences in the cements that hold together as slides and flows, can expose rock to various
sedimentary rocks. For example, some processes of weathering. In contrast, in lowland
cements are iron oxide-based and are very areas, rock may be protected by thick layers of soil
susceptible to oxidation, whereas silica-based and weathered materiai. The accumulation of water
cements made of quartz are very resistant to at the base of slopes may also provide more water
oxidation. for chernical processes to take piace.
3. The presence or absence of pores (holes) will The aspect of a slope may also affect rates of
affect its vulnerability to weaU1ering processes. weathering. In the Northern Hemisphere, rates of
Porous rocks (e.g. chalk) have a high proportion physical weathering are greater on north-facing
of cracks, while non-porous rocks (such as siate) slopes (sometirnes called ubac slopes), which
do not. experience longer periods of freezing temperatures
Rock structures, such as bedding planes, joints, having longer periods of time in the shadow and
fault lines and -cracks that are present in rocks a lack of direct sunlight compared to south-facing
will often have a major influence on the angle of a slopes (sometimes called adret slopes). The
slope. Earth movements can tilt these structures. apposite is the case in the Southern Hemisphere.
n1e angle of a tilted rock is called its dip. This can Peltier diagrams produced in the 1950s show how
also affect the susceptibility of a slope to mass rates of weathering are relateci to the availability of
movement. Where the angle of the dip is inwards, water and average annua! temperatures (fig 3.8).
towards the slope, the slope will tend to be stable;

/ / /</
if the dip is down a slope, the slope may fai I and
rock slides can occur.
-10
Moderate mechanig,al
weathering
Strong mechanical
r, // /
/

/
Vegetation intercepts precipitation and so it can wea{hering /_,./ / I
protect a slope from weathering and erosion, Mohder_ate /__,-/ / Slig~{
mec ani?a 1- ~~ché}nical
especially in wet tropica! areas. When vegetation is o weathenng . . / - " weatyering

1~ith
sparse, the transport of materiai and runoff from a a.> ~oderate chemical \ /
slope will be greater. E / weathering V
2 frost action / I
The breakdown and decomposition of vegetation can 10 )
produce humic acids which are especially effective
in adding to the amount of chemical weathering,
f Moderate\ /;
/ Strong, ) chemic~I ,
especially in areas of tropica I rainforest. Mosses 20. / chemical weathenng / Very slight
and lichens growing on rocks may cause biologica! / weatherin/ ;· weathering
weathering on rock surfaces.
I I I I
Relief has an indirect effect on the locai climate, 2000 1500 1000 500 o
and therefore on locai processes. For example, in Mean annua! rainfall (mm)
mountainous areas in temperate climates, freeze-
Fig 3.8 Peltier diagram showing the effect of climate on
thaw action also plays an important role, besides weathering

Exam-style questions
1. Define the weathering processes of hydrolysis 7. Explain how temperatures and precipitation can
and carbonation. [4] influence the types of weathering processes.
2. Under what circumstances might freeze-thaw [6]
weathering occur? [3] 8. Explain what factors can affect the type and
3. What is meant by the term basai surface of rate of chemical and physical weathering. [8]
weathering? [3] 9. Explain how precipitation and temperature can
4. Define the weathering processes of wetting influence the type of weathering process. [6]
and drying and heating and cooling (insolation 10. To what extent can both chemical and physical
weathering). [4] weathering be said to be controlled by climate
5. What is meant by the term acid rain? Explain alone? [10]
how this process may affect the weathering of
rocks. [5]
6. Define the terms physical (mechanical)
weathering and chemical weathering. [ 4]

36
 -
Mass movement Flows
A mass movement is the movement down a slope Flows are much faster forms of mass movement.
of weathered rock and soil, responding to the pull of These may take piace as earthflows at relatively
gravity. When the pull of gravity is greater than the slow speeds of 1 to 15 km per year when materiai
force of friction and resistance, a slope will fail and is transported on slopes of 5-15° with a high water
materiai will start to move downwards. content. On steeper slopes mudflows rnay take
lt is the primary contrai of slope steepness, because piace where speeds increase to between 1 and
the angle of a slope will depend upon its shear 40 km per hour, especially after heavy rainfall, adding
strength and shear resistance. both volume and weight to the soil. The heavy rain
(or excess supplies of water from springs, etc.)
Slope failure will depend on two factors:
increases the pore water pressure which forces the
1. Shear strength - how much internal resistance particles into a rapidly flowing mass of materiai.
there is within a rock, or slope, to stop part of the
slope falling, slipping or sliding down the slope.
Slides
2. Shear stress - the forces that are trying to
Slides can be extremely rapid processes. They occur
pull part of the slope down the slope. These
where a complete mass of materiai detaches itself
include extra weight being added by water being
from a slope and slides downhill. There are two types
absorbed into the slope or weight of added
of slides - planar - where the mass movement leaves
materiai being put on the slope, or the weight of
behind a flat slide piane, such as along bedding planes
extra vegetation growing on a slope.
or fault lines, and rotational slides or slumps - where
Therefore resistant, hard rocks, such as granite, the materiai slides out from a slope in a curved motion.
will be able to create steeper slopes than weaker,
landslides take piace at speeds of between 1 and
less resistant rocks such as sandstones and
100 metres per second on slopes that are often
clays. Where a permeable rock lies on top of an
greater than 40° and have a low water content. Here
impermeable rock it can lead to slope failure as
the materiai slides down a steep slope and forms a
the perrneable rock rnay slide and move aver the
mass of broken fragments at the bottom of a slope.
impermeable rock. Softer, less resistant rocks, such
as clays and rnudstones, are usually more affected landslides are most active in areas of high relief
by mudflows and, sometimes, rotational slides. and unstable slopes. In rock slides, the effects of
bedding and joint planes are important in allowing
There is a wide variety of mass movements taking
the rock to fragment and they also provide slide
piace on slopes, with heave, flow, slide and fall being
planes. Landslides are the result of sudden and
the four main ones.
massive slope failure.

Heave (soil creep and solifluction) Transverse tension crack Main back scar

Soil creep is probably the most common and

widespread of mass movements. lt is a slow and
almost imperceptible movement of particles down a
slope under the influence of gravity. As the movement
is very slow, it has lirnited impact on overall shape.
lts main irnpact is to smooth and round the slope.
lt leads to U1e accumulation of soil on the upslope
side of fences, walls and hedges and causes trees
and telegraph poles to become out of vertical
alignment. Soil creep may result in the formation of
small pressure ridges (tenacettes) on a hill side.
Buried originai
Soil creep involves the mechanism of heave, where
ground surface
soil particles rise towards the surface due to wetting Toe of landslide
or freezing, only to drop back vertically to tr1e slope
Fig 3.9 Features of a rotational slide
when drying or thawing occurs. In this way, over many
cycles, particles slowly rnove downhill. Landslides occur where the shear stress exceeds
the shear strength of a materiai and this allows
Solifluction is very similar to soil creep, but is normally
the materiai to slide. They are particularly common
a slightly faster down slope movement (5cm to 1 rnetre
in tectonically unstable mountainous areas (areas
per year) of materials that have a high water content. lt
prone to lots of earthquakes).
occurs in the cold periglacial regions of the world and in
cold, high mountainous areas. Solifluction takes piace People can play a part in producing instability in
in the summer when the surface ice melts to form slopes and landslides through increases in weight (by
a saturateci active layer. This slowly slips and flows constructing buildings, reservoir, etc.), by undercutting
downhill on top of the frozen permafrost below. a slope - for example in building roads across slopes
37
 3 Rocks and weathering

- and by diverting water onto slopes. The result of a However, as the soil particles can only be moved
landslide is to produce a shallower slope where the a few centimetres at most by this process, it is all
angle the landslide comes to rest has been reduced merely redistributed back over the surface of the
and the length of the slope has been increased. soil. As rainsplash requires high rainfall intensities,
Landslides often occur along slide planes that are it tends to be most effective under heavy convective
often influenced by bedding and joint planes. rainstorms in the world's tropica! regions.

Falls Surface runoff

Rockfalls occur on steep, often almost vertical • Sheetwash: as surface runoff moves downslope
jointed and fractured rock faces where the cohesion as a thin sheet of water, it will move only slowly,
between masses of rock is overcome and the have low energy, and will be generally incapable
shear strength of the materiai is exceeded. They of detaching or transporting soil particles.
often result after severa! freeze-thaw cycles, or by However, on steeper slopes it will have more
repeated wetting and drying and other weathering energy and the loose dislodged soil particles may
processes. be moved downslope by water flowing overland
as a sheet, sheetwash. A more or less uniform
Water and sediment layer of fine soil particles may be removed
from the entire surface of an area, sometimes
movement on hillslopes resulting in the extensive loss of fertile topsoil
Water and sediment movement on hillslopes will take from a field. Sheetwash commonly occurs on
piace as a result of rainsplash and surface runoff. recently ploughed fields or in areas with poorly
consolidateci soil materiai with little or no
protective vegetative cover.
Rainsplash
• Rills: where sheetwash takes piace the soil's
Rainsplash occurs when rain falls with sufficient
surface will be lowered slightly. In time, these
intensity. lf it does, then as the raindrops hit bare
preferential flow paths will be eroded to form
soil, it is able to detach and move soil particles a
small, well-defined channels, called rills. These
short distance by the impact of the fa-lling raindrop.
may quickly develop and enlarge into gullies. Rills
Over two hundred tonnes of soil particles per hectare
form efficient pathways for the removal of both
may be dislodged during a single rainfall event and
water and sediment from hillslopes.
then moved downslope!

Exam-style questions
1. Define the terms rock slide and heave. [4] 7. Describe the conditions under which a rock fall
2. Briefly describe the differences between a flow may take piace. [3]
and a slide. [3] 8. Explain r10w landslides occur and describe the
3. Briefly describe how these processes can effects they have upon slopes. [6]
affect the shape of slopes. [3] 9. Explain how rock type and structure, climate
4. Describe the process of solifluction and explain and vegetation can affect the form and
the conditions in which it occurs. [ 4] development of slopes. [10]
5. Describe soil creep and explain why it occurs 10. How and to what extent can human activities
at such low velocities. [ 4] affect the shape and form of slopes? [10]
6. Briefly describe the effects that tr1e process of
soil creep may have on the shape of a slope. [3]

'-

38
 -
Increasing and decreasing Strategies to modify
stability of slopes slopes to reduce mass
Human activities may either increase or decrease the
stability of slopes. Human activities may decrease movements
slope stability by rnining, quarrying or undercutting Strategies to modify slopes to reduce mass
a slope through road or railway construction. Also, movements include:
large amounts of weight may be added to a slope • Grading, where the geometry of a slope may be
by depositing the waste materiai from mining and changed by removing materiai frorn the slope
quarrying. and the slope may be re-graded to a lower angle
Once the stability of a slope has been decreased through a combination of slope reduction and
it can lead to landslips, landslides and mudflows infilling at the foot of the slope.
(e.g. in Aberfan in 1966 in South Wales, UI-<, when • Hydrogeological, where the groundwater level
the collapse of coal waste on a hillside after heavy is lowered or the water content of the slope
rain caused an estimateci 100000m3 of coal waste materiai is reduced. Shallow drainage trenches
to destroy part of the town, including a locai junior rnay be cut into the slope when the potential
school, killing 147 people, including 116 children and slope movement is a shallow landslide affecting
five of their teachers) which attempt to re-establish the ground to a depth of only 5-6 metres. When
the stability of the slope profile. there is deeper slope movement, deep drainage
The rapid urbanisation of unsuitable sites in has to be introduced, often in addition to the
fast growing cities has led to some catastrophic shallow drainage trenches.
landslides, for example in the favelas of Rio de • Mechanical, where atternpts are made to
Janeiro and Sào Paulo in Brazil, and in Hong Kong, increase the shear strength of the slope by
where landslips have killed 480 people since 1948. using rock anchors, rock or ground nailing/
There are activities with less obvious effects, such as pinning to counter the destabilising forces
deforestation and the removal of vegetation from a acting on a slope. Steelwire rnesh netting
slope or the diversion of drainage channels off roads can also be used for slope stabilisation, with
and urban areas onto slopes and damming, which the slope surface being covered by a steel-
can affect the movement of both water and materials wire mesh, which is fastened to the slope and
down slopes. AII these can also have catastrophic tensioned. lt is a cost-effective approach.
locai effects.
r

ID Southern Brazil (January 2011)

From 1900--2015 there were 22 major landslide occupied hillsides, with poor foundation quality
events in Brazil, killing 1641 people, affecting and the physical expansion of urban areas by
4.24 million people and causing $86 rnillion worth rapid population growth has also contributed
of damage to property and infrastructure. to the increased vulnerability of the residents
The majority of these events were in the coastal in the region. This disaster caused millions of
mountains of mid-southern Brazil. During the dollars in damage. Apart from the destruction of
Southern Hemisphere summer season of infrastructure, locai authorities also had to spend
December to March, the cornbination of steep millions on the provision of temporary housing.
slopes, heavy rainfall, residuai soils, and
weathered rocks have made the coastal mountains Responses to the
of mid-southern Brazil particularly susceptible to
major, catastrophic landslide activity. landslides
In January 2011 a massive landslide in the The Brazilian national and urban authorities have
mountainous Serrana region of the state of Rio designed short and long-terms solutions to deal
de Janeiro left over 900 people dead and 18000 with the disaster.
homeless. 300 mm of rainfall within 24 hours In the short-term, the urban authority gave
triggered many landslides. In the worst incident, affected families shelter for up to six months and
more than 200 people were buried alive when the federai government offered to pay the rent of
the Morro do Bumba favela collapsed. 2 500 farnilies for an indeterminate period, set up
The region has becorne more vulnerable due to ' a centre to register missing persons, and relocated
unchecked deforestation turning steep slopes families to better organise shelters in churches,
into dangerous landslide-prone areas. lllegally warehouses, and stadlurns. C)
\..
39
 3 Rocks and weathering

In the 11•~'u1u1m 10,ne:--terms the federai Rio de Janeiro has put into operation a landslide
government allocateci $460 million for early warning system "Alerta-Rio" dividing the
reconstruction funds and promised to remove urban area, for warning purposes, into four alert
bureaucratic bottlenecks, register people to zones. Alerta-Rio has two different alerts: rainfall
help with long-term housing needs, map _out warnings and landslide warnings.
and evacuate risk-areas where residents are 0ther responses by the government include
holding on to their homes, and review the current mapping geologica! risk areas, identification of
procedure of cleaning up disasters rather than support facilities (places to serve as temporary
stopping them from happening - being pro-active shelter during heavy rains, usually churches,
rather thah re-active, and to prioritise prevention schools, kindergartens, etc.), and of safer routes
by controlling urban expansion pressures and towards them, as well as points for the installation
natural resource exploitation, especially in areas of sound alarms (horns or sirens).
characterised by mountainous topography.

Exam-style questions
1. How and to what extent can human activities 3. What strategies can be used to rnodify slopes
affect the shape and form of slopes? [10] so they are less prone to mass
2. With the use of one or more case studies movernent? [10]
explain how human activity may decrease the
stability of a slope. [6]
.

40
 Population

t r I i ,..&""ll~s as a p
opul tion change
Definitions Levels of fertility around
TIP the world
The terminology relating to this topic must be The birth rate is sometimes used to give an idea of
correctly understood and used. Be careful in giving the fertility of a country, but a more precise measure
these definitions and make sure you give ali the is to use the fertility rate. The total fertility rate
parts of the definition. For example, the crude death/ is sornetimes used. This is defined as the average
mortality rate is: the number of deaths per 1000 number of live births in a year per 1000 women of
people in a year - for the definition to be correct, ali childbearing age (15-49 years).
three terms in italics need to be mentioned.
Niger in West Africa had the highest total fertility rate
in 2014 (7 .3) and Macao and Hong Kong in China
• Natural increase rate - is the birth rate minus the lowest (1.0). The world average total fertility rate
the death rate. lt is normally expressed as a between 2010 and 2015 was 2.5. The HICs have
percentage per year. The natural increase rate the lowest total fertility rate fora group of countries
is the rate at which the population is growing (1. 7) and Africa, the highest (4. 7); a major factor in
naturally, excluding gains from migration. this is the relative use of contraception by women
Sometimes a country may experience a - 71 per cent in the HICs and 29 per cent in Africa.
negative natural increase (called natural Fig 4.1 illustrates how the total fertility rate has
decrease). A natural decrease may occur in fallen globally and by region since 1950 and the
some of the fluctuations in stages 1 and 4 of predicted trend to 2050, while fig 4.2 shows the total
the demographic transition model or in stage fertility rate in 2010 fora few selected countries.
5. Stage 5 examples include Japan, Germany,
Russia and many countries in Eastern Europe.
Key
• Birth rate (sometimes called the crude birth 8 World
o More developed regions
rate) - is the average number of cr1ildren born o Africa
7
(live) per 1000 people per year. In 2011 the b. Asia
highest rate was in Niger in the Sahel region t? 6
111 Latin America/Caribbean

of Africa with 46/1000 and the lowest was t:.

2 5 ,.,.._...-..-W--n
Germany and Japan with 8/1000.The use of
the word "crude" is because the rate applies 4
to the whole population and does not take into 't
3
account the age and sex of the population. m
2
• Death/mortality rate (sometimes called the
crude death rate) is the number of deaths 1
per 1000 people per year.
LO LO LO LO LO LO
• Fertility rate - may be expressed as: (i) e.o e.o I'-
LO
00
LO
(J)
LO
o 'l'"'"l N
LO
(Y) <:j-
(J) (J) (J) (J) (J) o o o o o
an individuai rate - the average number of 'l'"'"l
I
'l'"'"l
I
'l'"'"l
I
'l'"'"l
I
'l'"'"l
I
N
I
N
I
N
I
N
I
N
I
children each woman in a country will give birU1 o o o o o(J) o o o o(Y) o<:j-
LO e.o I'- 00 o 'l'"'"l N
(J) (J) (J) (J) (J) o o o o o
to or (ii) a generai rate - the number of births 'l'"'"l 'l'"'"l 'l'"'"l 'l'"'"l 'l'"'"l N N N N N

in a year per 1000 women or as a per cent of

childbearing age, 15-49/50 or a similar age. Fig 4.1 Total fertility rate - trends by region, 1950-2050
• lnfant mortality rate - is the number of deaths A fertility rate of 2.1 children per wornan is the
of babies/cr1ildren under one year of age or replacement level fertility. Below this, a country's
before their first birthday per thousand live population will fall - unless it is kept high or even
birtr1s per year. rises due to rnigration into that country. In 2010, 87
• life expectancy is the average number of years countries were either at or below this level, reflecting
from birth that a person is expected to live. one of the most fundarnental and drarnatic socia!
changes in human history which allowed more
women to work and more children to be educateci.
41
 4 Population

-
Singapore I
-
Portugal I
-
Greece I
-
Poland I
-
Japan I
-
Latvia I
-
China I
-
Russia I
-
USA I
-
Sweden I
-
Qatar I
-
India I
-
Peru I
-
Pr1ilippines I
-
Rwanda I
-
Zambia I
-
Nige r I
I I I I I I I I
o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Total fertility rate

Fig 4.2 Total fertility rate - selected countries, 2010. Source: UN World Population Prospects, 2015. © (2016) Uniteci
Nations. Reprinted with the permission of the Uniteci Nations

By 2015 fertility had continued to fall in the vast attitudes and cultura! factors, which see children
majority of countries, particularly where it was as an economie asset or as security in old age,
recently at high levels. Among countries with at have meant that family sizes have until recent times
least 90000 inhabitants in 2015, the number with been large in LICs. Certain religions encourage large
high fertility (five children or more per woman) has families and disapprove of any form of artificial birth
roughly halved, from 40 countries in 2000-2005 to contro!, for example, Roman Catholicism, lslamism
21 in 2010-2015. Among 126 countries where total and Hinduism.
fertility was above the replacement leve! (2.1 children Education, especially female literacy, seems to lower
per woman) in 2005-2010, fertility has fallen in 108 fertility in a number of ways, by:
of U1em between 2005-2010 and 2010-2015.
• raising the socia! and economic/employment
More and more countries now have below- aspirations of women, who spend a longer time
replacement fertility and in many cases have had in education (to age 18 or 21) and prioritise
below-replacement fertility for severa! decades. starting a career over marriage and motherhood,
Eighty-U1ree countries had below-replacement fertility which are delayed to a later age. This contributes
during 2010-2015, and in 25 of those countries, to the changing roles and expectations of women
fertility was below 1.5 children per woman. In a (and men)
number of countries, fertility rates have fluctuated
• increasing the understanding of family planning
slightly in the recent past. Fifty-four countries with
and the need for, and means of, birth contro!;
below-replacement fertility in 2010-2015 recorded
higher use of contraception
a slight increase in fertility at some point between
2000-2005 and 2010-2015, although 21 of these • raising the status of, and empowering, women
countries subsequently experienced slight downturns • challenging the traditional views of large family
in 2010-2015. Only four European countries have sizes
experienced above-replacement fertility during any • legai and easily obtained abortion.
5-year period since 1990-1995. As the level of education increases (through
the number of years of schooling, the level of
Factors affecting fertility schooling and the level of educational attainment),

rates fertility decreases.

There are four main factors affecting fertility. 2. Economie factors

In many LICs children are viewed as an economie
1. Social and cultural factors asset. They can work and they can look after their
In many countries, such as those in Africa, it is parents in old age. As most of this work is on
a cultura! expectation that a woman should have sustainable family farms, the children are also
many children and there is often intense pressure cheap to feed. In many HICs children are not seen
fora wife to have children. In the past, traditional as an economie asset but a potential economie
42
burden, as financial costs of raising children are
high. This affects the decision of when to start
or add to a family, and many couples limit their
reasons. China's "one child per family" policy
or lndia's incentives to promote sterilisation
are examples of government policies to reduce
-
family size. Many employers do not want to lose population growth, while some countries have pro-
valuable female workers and offer child care and natalist policies to encourage births. For example,
more flexible working hours so that women can France offers tax breaks for larger families and
continue to work. Fig 4.3 illustrates and compares Kuwait provides a monthly grant of $180 per child.
total fertility rates and GDP per person in 2009 for The results of these policies may be as expected or
severa! countries. may have unexpected consequences as they did in
Moreover, lifestyle choices, such as spending China (see the case study).
incomes on leisure pursuits, travel, buying and The death rate may also increase due to a
improving houses, buying cars can also impact the combination of factors. For example, politica! (war),
decision of having children. socia! and environmental (epidemie diseases, such
as flu, SARS or AIDS) factors have an impact on life
8 expectancy at birth for some Sub-Saharan countries.
The decrease in life expectancy in the 1990s
e 7 o
(illustrateci in fig 4.4) is primarily due to the impact of
0
0 Angola the AIDS pandemie.
o o

i
6

i
70
5

4 Saudi Arabia
o
~Còo
.... Oé5 South Africa
3 éJ o World9:, lsrael

0)
2.33- ~gJb;a~-----------~------------------
2 c9o o CX)r,,._
o o o UgA
Kenya

4- ---vo O
,efì
UJ:JoO
lij O Oé}) Oo O 0 OO ff OO
1 o ' ' ' , .... __ ........ ,,.
Uganda
0-4---.-----,----,-----,.------.----.----,-----,----,
Zimbabwe
O 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 40
GDP per person (US$, 2009)
o( I I I I I
Fig 4.3 Total fertility rates and GDP per person of countries 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
with more 5 million people, 2009
Fig 4.4 Ufe expectancy at birth in Sub-Saharan Africa
3. Environmental factors
A natural catastropr1e, such as the Asian tsunami Mortality (deaths)
in 2004 or the Sichuan earthquake in China in In 2014, tr1e crude death rate for the whole world
2008, can r1ave an impact on population structure. was 7 .89 per 1000 (down frorn 8.37 per 1000 in
In the Asian tsunami, a large number of young 2009). Where infant and cr1ild mortality rates are
children died as H1ey were physically weaker and high rnany children will not live to becorne adults.
less able to survive the impact of the tsunami. A Because of this, parents choose to have many
sustained fertility increase in affected cornrnunities children to ensure some live to becorne adults.
was observed after the tsunami, which was driven
by two behavioral responses. First, mothers who
lost one or more children in the disaster were
Factors affecting
significantly more likely to bear additional children mortality/death rates
after the tsunami. Second, women without children • Social: women gaining a better knowledge of
before the tsunami initiated family-building earlier primary healthcare and the need for better
in communities where tsunami-relateci rnortality nutrition and hygiene will reduce infant mortality.
rates were higher, indicating that the fertility of Living in better educateci comrnunities means
these women is an important route to rebuilding rnothers can access better advice from friends
the population in the afterrnath of a deadly natural and family, as well as professional medicai help
disaster. In the case of the Sichuan earthquake, when needed.
large numbers of children were killed in their
• Economie: mothers finding paid work so that
schools and couples who had been sterilised to
they can afford a better diet and provide better
avoid having more than one child were offered the
nutrition for themselves, and, in consequence,
chance to have their sterilisations reversed.
a child, provide medicines for the family, etc.
Generally, if people are more affluent, their
4. Political factors standards of living will increase. In countries
Many governments have attempted to change with a high level of economie development,
their fertility rates for either economie or strategie governments can spend and invest in education
43
 4 Population

and healthcare, ensuring a high level of medicai The base of the age/ sex structure diagram indicates
care and neo-natal facilities. the birth rate of the population. The wider it is, the
• Environmental: putting in piace safe water more people are being born.
strategies and better living conditions, as well The sides of the age/sex structure diagram indicate
as ensuring that food supply is plentiful in both the death rates of the population. lf the sides are
quantity and quality. very steep and there is little change in the length
• Political: the empowerment of women and of the segments for each age group, it indicates
allowing them to have a voice, often through that there are very few people dying until they reach
campaigning and setting up action groups. the older age groups. Therefore the death rate is
generally low. lf there is a big change from one age
High rates of mortality (death rates) either result
group to the next, the death rate is high.
from a lot of older people dying, as in the case of
HICs, or high infant mortality and low Iife expectancy, The impact of natural disasters, such as earthquakes,
as in many LICs. as well as the effects of migration and population
policies may affect U1e shape of the diagram.
lnfant mortality rates may be r1igh fora number of
reasons, such as: As fig 4.6 indicates, over time, the age/sex diagram
changes shape to become bell-shaped and then
• the mother being in poor health
barrel-shaped.
• the delivery _of the baby taking piace in an
unclean environment
Key
• poor nutrition.
1980
Educating mothers is often seen as fundamental to [=:]2015
reducing child mortality. [=:J 2050

Population structures 80+

70-74
The term population structure is used to describe
the structure of population in a country or region. -(f) 60-64
The two most studied characteristics are age and m50-54
à
gender and these two characteristics are normally
§- 40-44
shown together in an age/sex structure diagram e
(fig 4.5) often referred to as a population pyramid !° 30-34
'O.O
as it frequently has a pyramidal shape. Population <C 20-24
pyramids illustrate the distribution of various age 10-14
groups in a population.
0-4 '---1.J.._..J::
Age
400 200 O 200 400
Population (millions)

Fig 4.6 Age/sex diagram showing global population growth

(actual growth: 1980-2015, forecasted growth: to 2050)
Female

In 2050, global population will have an additional

2.2 billion people growing to approximately
9.5 billion (almost 30 per cent more than today).
Fig 4.5 An exarnple of an age/sex structure diagram with a Roughly speaking, Africa and Asia will each grow
pyrarnidal shape
by a billion, while the rest of world will add some
Interpreting age/sex diagrams 200 million. Collectively, the global population will
On the horizontal axis, these diagrams represent also be significantly older. Much of this growth is
gender, showing the male population on the left and due to increase in life expectancy, as well as higr1
female on the right, using either absolute numbers birth rates in certain regions of the world.
in thousands and millions, or, more commonly, Fig 4. 7 sr1ows the predicted change in population
percentages of the total population. from 2014 to 2050:
On the vertical axis, they show age, which is • Children and teenagers (0-19 years) will remain
commonly given in five year segments or one year the largest group, but only grow modestly from
segments (less common). Age groups can also be 2.5 billion to 2.7 billion (an increase of 8 per cent)
indicateci on the diagram, dividing the population in from 2014 to 2050.
three broad age groups: • Young adults and parents (20-39 years) will
• dependent children - children under 15 also see modest changes (the biggest shifts
• economically active adults - aged 15-59 or 64 in this group already happened over the last
(depending on retirement age) 30 years) growing from 2.2 to 2.6 billion (a
14 per cent increase).
• dependent elderly - aged over 60 or 65.
44
 The "new middle will
experience majo1· growth. Rising from 1. 7 billion
today to 2.2 billion in 2050, this group will add
A ratio can be a challenge ifa large
proportìon of a governmenfs expenditure is spent on
health, socia! security and education, which are rnost
-
more than half a billion people (plus 38 per cent). used by the non-economically active population - the
• The old aged (60-79 years) will gain the most youngest and the oldest in a population. The fewer
and more than double in size frorn 760 million to people that are econornically active, tr1e fewer the
1.6 billion (a 100 per cent increase). people who can pay taxes and provide governments
with the income to provide these services.
• The new very old aged (80+) are also expected
to rise sharply but frorn a very low base. Frorn The dependency ratio may hide the fact that the 65+
120 million today, they sr10uld add another age group may not necessarily be dependent, as an
380 million by 2050 (plus 211 per cent). increasing proportion of them rema in in employment.
Many people of "working age" may be not be in
employment or may not be paying taxes.
Key Fig 4.8 shows a forecast for changes in the dependency
900 Nurnber of people added ratios from 2005 to 2050 in selected HICs.
250%
Percentage difference
800 In some HICs governments are introducing policies
700 200%
as possible solutions to higher dependency ratios
600 which include:
Cl) 150%
6 500 • raising retirement age in line with longer life spans
§ 400
100% • encouraging immigration of people in their early
300
200 50%
20s and 30s
100 • reducing the real value of state pension and
Q--'-....1..:::...A....-_.______._..__....._....__..,____._...._0%
encouraging private pension take up.
0-19 20-39 40-59 60-79 80+
Age group
80
Key
Fig 4. 7 Predicted change in population (2014-2050) 70 fi0f~~~11 2005
60 C] 2050
Dependency and dependency ratio o
-~ 50
• Dependency is the reliance for survival on the g 40
support provided by anoU1er or others. (})

1? 30
• Dependency ratio is the relationship between (})
o.
the economically active and non-economically t3 20
active population, where the economically active 10
population is usually taken as being between 15 o_._.._.,_,_-.. . . . . ........._......._...__._...__._._,_"-=._,_....._......................_.
<( 'O
-~ 'O (}) >,
e
>, e e
and 65 years in age, regardless whether it is in (/) e e ::) (.)
ro roo. ro
::i ro Ig ro e o.
ro ro E
employment or not.
N
(})
Cl)
::J
w: Q)
(/)

<( 0
The formula for calculating the dependency ratio is: 3
(})
z
Non-economical/y active population Fig 4.8 Predicted changes in dependency ratios (2005-2050)
. Ily act1ve
economica . popu Iat1on
. X 100
or

Young people (under 15) + Aged people (over 65)

People aged 15-65 x 100

45
 4 Population

1.. Name two factors which may decrease fertility 11. Describe and explain the differences in the
rates significantly. [2] death rate between countries in different stages
2. Using examples, describe tr1e differences in of the demographic transition model. [8]
natural increase between countries. [5] 12. Explain why many HICs are experiencing low
3. 0utline the main features of one country's fertility rates. [8]
population policy regarding natural increase. [8] 13. To what extent have attempts to reduce birth
4. Assess the results of seeking to manage the rates been successful in one country that you
natural increase of population in a country. [10] have studied? [10]
5. Using examples, identify and explain the links 14. Give two reasons which help to explain why
between fertility rate and education. [8] HICs record only a small percentage of total
deaths under 50 years of age. [4]
6. Using examples, describe the circumstances
under which a natural decrease in population 15. Explain the terrn population structure. [3]
may occur. [4] 16. Explain the terms dependency and dependency
7. Explain why, although the size of the average ratio. [7]
family sizé is decreasing, world population is 17. Explain the term infant mortality rate. [3]
still increasing. [8] 18. Explain the term "fertility rate". [3]
8. Explain the reasons for the success or failure 19. Explain the term natural increase rate and
of population policies. [10] show how it is calculated. [3]
9. What is meant by the term death rate? [2] 20. With the help of a simple diagram of an age/
10. Using examples, explain the circumstances sex pyramid, explain the terrns dependency
under which death rates may increase. [5] and dependency ratio. [7]

46
 -
Democratic transition Most HICs are within stage 4 of the model. The
majority of LICs could be said to be in stages 2 or 3.
model (DTM) The major exceptions are the poorest LIC countries,
Demographic transition is the change in birth and mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and some Middle
death rates from high levels to low levels over time. Eastern countries, which are poor or affected by
government policy or civil strife, notably Pakistan,
The demographic transition model (DTM, fig 4.9) is
Palestinian Territories, Yemen and Afghanistan.
a theoretical model that has been used to show the
possible changes in birth and death rates that may
take piace in a country over time. Stages of the DTM
lt is based on a model put forward by an American The demographic transition model has five stages
demographer, Warren Thompson, who recorded the through which countries transition as they develop.
changes, or transitions, in birth and death rates in
industrialised societies over the past two hundred years. Stage 1 - High stationary
The demographic transition model can also be In a stage 1, pre-industrial society, both death rates
illustrateci using age/sex diagrams. These diagrams and birth rates are high and fluctuating about
differ considerably in shape from country to country 34-40 per 1000 people. Fluctuations in the birth
and within any country over a period of time, making and death rates almost canee! each other out such
them useful tools in showing and analysing changes that the natural increase rate is very low. The birth
and trends in population structure (fig 4.10). rate is high as infant mortality rates are high and

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5

High

Births and deaths

per 1000 people
per year

Low ,..___ _ _ ___,___ _ _ _ _ _ ___.__ _ _ _ _ _...1-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.1....--_ _ _ __

Time------

Fig 4.9 The demographic transition model

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

65 ----------

15 ------

Stage 1 expanding Stage 2 - expanding Stage 3 - stationary Stage 4 - contracting

Fig 4.10 The age/sex diagrams illustrate the demographic transition model, showing four stages of a changing population
structure
47
 4 Population

life expectancy is low. numbers of children a reduction in subsistence agriculture and

were needed to support their parents by working on increasing mechanisation - not as many children
the lanci. With high rates of infant mortality, women are needed to work on the farms
chose to give birth to severa! children so that some • an increase in the status and education of
could survive. women. lncreasing female education has led to
The death rate is high as the food supply is variable, more women getting jobs and following careers.
diseases are uncontrolled and there is no medicai Most HICs are beyond stage 3 of the model, but the
help. Wars, famines and disease accounted for majority of LICs could be said to be in stages 2 or 3.
fluctuations in the death rate. In a stage 1, pre- The DTM was based on the changes seen in Europe
industrial society, natural events, such as droughts, as European countries seemed to follow the model
floods and disease, are a factor in U1e high birth relatively well. Many developing countries have now
and death rates, leading to a relatively constant and moved into stage 3 with the exception of the poorest
young population. LIC countries, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and some
Middle Eastern countries, which are poor or affected
Stage 2 - Early expanding by government policy or civil strife, notably Pakistan,
In stage 2 birth rates remain high, but death rates Palestinian Territories, Yemen and Afghanistan.
drop rapidly (to about 20 per 1000). The drop in Countries that r1ave experienced a fertility decline
death rates is due to severa! factors: of over 40 per cent from their pre-transition levels
• lmprovements in farming techniques increase include: Jamaica, Philippines and Marocco.
food supply. These agricultural improvements
include crop rotation, selective breeding, and Stage 4 - Low stationary
seed drill technology. During stage 4 there are both low birth rates and low
• Significant improvements in basic public death rates. n1erefore the tota! population is high
healthcare help reduce mortality, particularly in and stable. This is a sustainable situation.
childhood. These include medicai breakthroughs Death rates may remain consistently low or even
(such as the development of vaccinations and increase slightly due to a rise in lifestyle diseases.
vaccination programmes) and, more importantly, These are due to people doing less exercise and
improvements in water supply, sewerage, and eating high calorie, fatty foods, leading to increased
improved generai persona! hygiene. obesity and an increase in diabetes and coronary
• lmprovements in transport allow food to be heart diseases.
moved around. Countries that are at this stage include: tr1e USA,
AII tr1is results in increased life expectancy. As there Canada, Australia and most of Europe.
is no corresponding fall in birth rates, countries in
this stage experience a rapid increase in population. Stage 5
In Europe, the change to stage 2 was started in the The originai DTM has just four stages. Some people
so-called Agricultural Revolution of the eighteenth think that a fifth stage can be identified to represent
century, when better farming techniques meant that countries that have gone through the economie
more food could be grown which could support a transition from manufacturing-based industries to
larger population. service and information-based industries - a process
Countries in this stage today could include Yemen, called deindustrialisation. The fifth stage follows the
Afghanistan, and much of Sub-Saharan Africa. low fluctuating stage 4: as the birth rate permanently
drops below the death rate, a country will have
Stage 3 - Late expanding a natural decrease rate of modest proportions,
possibly less than 1 per cent, and therefore have a
In stage 3, birth rates fall rapidly (to about 20 per
contracting population.
1000) and death rates continue to fall more slowly
(to about 21.5 per 1000). There are severa I reasons This stage is often associateci with high economie
for this change: development and results in an ageing population.
This is of great concern to governments, and it
• wider access to and better knowledge of
may result in pro-nata! policies which encourage
contraception, meaning that family size can be
population growth. Some countries in Eastern
planned
Europe, together with Germany and Japan are
• improved healthcare, such as immunisation and arguably in stage 5 of the DTM.
access to primary health care, doctors and rural

•
clinics
improved sewerage, sanitation and the provision
Limitations and criticism
of a clean water supply and the eradication of of the DTM
killer diseases As with all models, the DTM is an idealised picture
• an improved diet due to agricultural d1anges of population change, based on the historical
• increases in wages: families are better off and experience of a few HICs whose development
do not need as many children to work and population transition occurred in a particular
48
social, politica! and environmental
context. The DTM is only a suggestion about the
future population levels of a country and is nota
socia! security and education, wl1ich are mostly
used by the non-economically active population -
the youngest and the oldest in a population. Fewer
-
prediction. There are limitations to it as with any economically active people means fewer people
model. can pay taxes, which provide governments with
The model is a generalisation that applies to these the income to provide these services. National
countries as a group and may not accurately describe budgets will have to be carefully planned to ensure
ali individuai cases. Just because it applies to a that available resources are used appropriately in
smali group of European countries does not mean it key areas of healthcare, socia I security, education
is necessarily going to be suitable forali countries. lt and housing.
does, however, give an indication of what the future The median age, that is, the age that divides
birth and death rates may be fora country, together the population in two halves of equal size, is an
with the total population size. indicator of population ageing. Median age varies
In particular, of course the DTM makes no comment widely globally (table 4.1). Both an old median
on change in population due to migration, nor does age and a young median age pose chalienges
it account for recent phenomena such as AIDS, to governments, and HIC and LIC countries have
which impacts some countries (African countries, differing abilities to deal with them. For example,
in particular) and stalis them in stage 2 due to the population growth in LICs wili make it harder
stagnant development and a high mortality rate. for their governments to eradicate poverty and
Ninety-four per cent of ali HIV cases are found in inequality, combat hunger and malnutrition, expand
underdeveloped countries, and thus the mortality education enroliment and health systems, improve
decline of most of Sub-Saharan Africa has been the provision of basic services and implement other
arrested starting in the mid-1990s. elements of a sustainable development agenda.
Many countries such as China, Brazil and Thailand
Table 4.1 Variation in median ages across the globe, in 2015
have passed through the DTM very quickly due to
rapid socia! and economie change. ;eountry Median
For many LICs the timing of the transition has been Japan 46.5
influenced by the transfer of technology from HICs Germany 46.2
to LICs, the introduction of aid programmes or the
ltaly 45.9
problems of corruption, war, unrest and religious
fundamentalist beliefs. Portugal 44.0
Greece 43.6

Issues of youthful Niger 14.8

populations and ageing Uganda

Chad
15.9
16.0
populations Angola 16.1
As mentioned in section 4.1, a high dependency Mali 16.2
ratio with either large proportion of young and
old can be a challenge, ifa large proportion of a
government's expenditure is being spent on health,

Exam-style questions
1. What socia! and economie factors can help to 2. Describe and explain the differences in the
explain the population trends that have taken death rate between countries in different stages
piace in HICs in stage 4 of the demographic of the demographic transition model. [8]
transition model? [8]

49
 4 Population

Food security demand for biofuels - in 2008 aver 20 per cent

of the U.S. maize crop went to ethanol plants
The concept of food security is related to the
• higher energy prices
supply of food and people's access to it. There
are severa! definitions of food security. The 1996 • surging demand in China and India where people
World Food Summit put forward the idea that food and suppliers began to hoard supplies of cereals
security "exists when all people, at all times, have believing that prices would continue to rise and
physical and economie access to sufficient, safe and that shortages would occur.
nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy Iife". Consequences
Comrt1only, the concept of food security is defined as This led to an increase in food prices worldwide.
including both physical and economie access to food From the beginning of 2005 to early 2008, prices
that meets people's dietary needs as well as their leapt 80 per cent. Some countries, especially in
food preferences. Africa, faced an increasingly dire situation while even
Food security is dependent on three factors: consumers in wealthy HICs were forced to adjust.
1. Food availability: having sufficient quantities of In the Sahel countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, wheat
food available on a consistent basis. prices rose by up to 67 per cent in local markets in
a year. The first solution for many people was to stop
2. Food access: having sufficient resources to be
eating bread and downgrade to cheaper foods, such
able to obtain appropriate food fora nutritious
as sorghum. But sorghum prices also rose by up to
diet.
20 per cent. For many people living on less than $1
3. Food use: the appropriate use of food sources a day the answer was cutting out daily meals such as
based on a knowledge of basic nutrition and breakfast, drinking tea for lunch and rationing a small
care, as well as adequate water and sanitation. serving of soupy sorghum meal for family dinners.
Food security is a complex sustainable development People living in poverty cannot afford nutritious food
issue, linked to sustainable economie development, for themselves and their families. When prices rise,
the natural physical environment, and tracie. There consumers often shift to cheaper, less-nutritious foods,
is a great deal of debate at a global, national and heightening the risks of micronutrient deficiencies and
regional level concerning present and future food other forms of malnutrition. When this occurs, people
security on issues including distribution of food, are less able to resist disease and can suffer from a
given that there is enough food in the world to feed number of protein and vitamin deficiency diseases,
everyone adequately; whether future food needs can such as kwashiorkor (lack of protein), beriberi (lack of
be met by current levels of production or whether vitamin 81), rickets (lack of vitamin D) and scurvy (lack
national food security is stili necessary, given the of vitamin C).This makes them weaker and less able to
globalisation of the food industry. earn the money that would help them escape poverty
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the Uniteci and hunger.
Nations (FAO) reported that almost 870 million In developing countries, farmers often cannot afford
people were cr1ronically undernourished between the higher prices for seeds, so they cannot plant
2010 and 2012. This represents 12.5 per cent of the crops that would provide for their families. They
the global population, or 1 in 8 people. Higher rates may have to cultivate crops without the tools and
occur in developing countries, where 852 million fertilisers they need. Some governments provide food
people (about 15 per cent of the population) are subsidies or limit exports to keep food affordable.
chronically undernourished. Climatic hazards, such as droughts, floods, tropica!
storms and earthquakes, affect food production.
Food shortages: causes Subsistence farmers typically have greater difficulty

and consequences recovering than commerciai farmers. Drought is

one of the most common causes of food shortages
in the world. In 2011, recurrent drought caused
Causes crop failures and heavy livestock losses in parts
In 2007-8, there were severe food shortages in of eastern Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia and
parts of the world due to a combination of factors: northern Kenya. In 2012, there was a similar
situation in the Sahel region of West Africa.
• poor harvests in the USA and Europe
In many countries, climate change is exacerbating
• a multi-year prolonged drought in Australia
already adverse natural conditions. lncreasingly,
causing wheat production to fall to 11 and 13
the world's fertile farmland is under threat from
million tonnes in 2006 and 2007 - compared to
deforestation, erosion, salination and desertification.
aver 24 million tonnes in 2013
War interrupts farming activities, and the consequent
• competition with biofuels causing wheat prices
displacement of people separates them from their
to rise because U.S. farmers planted less wheat
usual sources of food. In some conflict areas, warring
and planted more maize to capitalise on the
50
factions steal food aid, block commerciai food
deliveries and systematically wreck locai markets.
Fields are often mined and water wells contaminateci,
resistant to drought
-
higher yielding, often by two to four times, than
traditional species of these crops
forcing farmers to abandon their land. Fighting
• growing in less time (shorted growing season),
also forces rnillions of people to flee their homes,
allowing more crops to be grown in a year in
leading to hunger emergencies as the displaced find
some areas.
themselves without the rneans to feed themselves.
The conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya are Severa! countries, such as India, Indonesia and
recent examples. In the newly independent country the Philippines, set up research programmes to
of South Sudan, internal tribal conflicts remain investigate how to increase rice yields. One result
and up to 2 million people have had to leave their was a new variety of rice called IR8, produced by
hornes and farrns and it has often been impossible crossing a semi-dwarf variety from China with a
for farmers to grow crops and rear animals. Those stronger taller variety from Indonesia.
that do may find their crops and anirnals destroyed The result was a stronger, shorter variety of rice
or stolen. More than 70000 people have died so which could be planted closer together, had a shorter
far from a mixture of starvation and diseases often growing season (4 months instead of 5 rnonths)
caused or made worse by malnutrition. and a much higher yield (5 tonnes instead of
1.5 tonnes per hectare) than traditional varieties
Increasing food of rice. However, this new variety needed expensive
fertilisers and more water for irrigation, which
production smaller farmers could not afford to buy. IR8 also
lncreasing food production may involve developing attraeteci more pests than the traditional varieties so
skills and technology suited to the leve! of wealth, expensive pesticides had to be used.
knowledge and skills of local people and is Generally, the Green Revolution had severa! positive
developed to meet their specific needs. This may results:
include several approaches. • Farm incomes increased, raising the standard of
living of many people in rural area. Families had
Use of appropriate technology money to pay for the education of their children,
• The building of small earth dams and digging giving them access to qualifications that could
wells and boreholes to provide water for basic allow them to get a better job in future.
irrigation projects. • lncreasing yields meant that crops could be
• Methods of soil conservation, such as planting exported.
trees to make shelter belts to protect soil from • lmproved people's diets and fewer food
wind ero.sion in dry periods. Low stone walls can shortages in some areas.
be built along the contours of a slope to stop However, the Green Revolution had its problems and
runoff and allow it time to enter the soil. This critics, sucr1 as:
helps to prevent soil erosion and increases the
• The HYV crops need bigger, more expensive
amount of water in the soil, making it available
inputs of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.
for crops.
• The mechanisation of jobs on the farms triggers
• Tied ridging - low walls of soil are built in a
increased unernployment, increasing poverty for
field to form a grid of srnall squares which stops
some and forcing some people to migrate to
runoff and again allows water to drain into the
cities in search of jobs.
soil. Root crops such as potatoes and cassava
are grown on the soil walls. • Much of the farmland is now being used for
growing one HYV crop. HYV crops are often lower
• Strip/inter Cropping involves alternate strips
in minerals and vitamins than the locai varieties
of crops at different stages of growth across a
they have replaced, which means that they do not
slope. This limits runoff as there is always a strip
provide people with the same level of nutrition
of crops to trap water and prevent soil moving
compared to their traditional crop varieties.
down the slope.
• lmproved food storage which allows food to be
Irrigati on
kept fresh and edible for longer periods of time
and protected from being eaten by rats and lrrigation is an artificial watering of crops. lt is
insects and from diseases. mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall
shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost.
Additionally irrigation helps to suppress weeds
The Green Revolution growing in rice fields.
The Green Revolution started in the rnid 1960s with
Surface irrigation has been the rnost common
the development of high yielding varieties (HYVs)
method of irrigating agricultural lanci, where water
of five of the world's major cerea! crops - rice,
moves over and across the land by simple gravity
wheat, maize, sorghum and rnillet. These new hybrid
flow in order to wet it and infiltrate into the soil.
varieties of crops were:
Surface irrigation can be subdivided into furrow,
51
 4 Population

border strip or basin irrigation. lt is often called flood cows has increased from 4 200 to up to 12 000-
irrigation when it results in flooding or near flooding 17 000 kg of milk per lactation between 1950 and
of the cultivated land. 2015. Genetic engineering and selective breeding
lncreasingly, drip irrigation, where water is in the beef cattle industry has brought tremendous
delivered at or near the root zone of plants is used increases in productivity. Between 1980 and 2010
as it is a more water-efficient method of irrigation, the mature size of cows has increased by over
since evaporation and runoff are minimised. In 135 kg. Today the ave rage cow in the U.S. weighs
modem agriculture, drip irrigation and is also the 610 kg. Herd size too is increasing. Cattle ranches in
means of delivery of fertiliser - a process known Brazil can have over 125000 head of cattle and the
as fertigation. country as a whole has 210 million cattle reared for
both domestic consumption and for export, to supply
Modern drip irrigation has arguably become the
the ever increasing demand for beef, especially from
world's most valued innovation in agriculture since
China.
the invention of the impact sprinkler in the 1930s,
which replaced flood irrigation. A further development
is sub-surface drip irrigation (SDI) which uses a Carrying capacity
permanently, or temporarily buried, dripper line or a Carrying capacity means the maximum number of
drip tape locateci at or below the plant roots. lt is people that can be supported by the resources of
becoming popul_pr for row crop irrigation, especially an area.
in areas where water supplies are limited or recycled The definition of carrying capacity is sometimes
water is used for irrigation. seen as very subjective and statistically complex to
Overuse of irrigation and poor irrigation practices actually measure. The carrying capacity of an area
have led to increased soil salt content, salinity, in may not be about absolute/real numbers of people,
some areas, reducing the productivity of the lanci. but of the living standards that people have and the
lrrigation salinity is caused by water soaking through differences/contrasts/disparities that may occur -
the soil leve! adding to the groundwater below. This for exarnple between rural and urban areas.
causes the water table to rise, bringing dissolved The discovery of new resources, such as an oil field
salts to the surface. As the irrigateci area dries, the or other minerai resources may change the "ceiling".
salt remains and can bring crop production to a halt. Also, most areas and environments are not closed
In New South Wales, Australia irrigation salinity systems and emigration may occur as a response to
is solved through a salt interception scheme potential overpopulation, before disaster/famine or
that pumps saline groundwater into evaporation starvation is likely to occur.
basins, protecting approximately 50 000 hectares lnnovations such as improvements in agriculture
of farmland in the area from high water tables and water management can lead to an increase
and salinity. The subsequent sa/t has various in carrying capacity. However, there are certain
uses, including as an animai feed supplement. aspects of a resource base which are effectively
The programme has returned to production aver fixed, for example, thin or stony soils, mountainous
2 000 hectares of previously barren farmland and landscapes or a lack of land area.
encouraged the regeneration of native eucalypts.
The term population ceiling is sornetimes used in
Other problems caused by irrigation include: describing the carrying capacity as a barrier, or cap,
• increased competition for water, from individuai to future population growth.
farmers, communities and even countries
• over-extraction of water can lead to the depletion Overpopulation,
of underground aquifers
optimum population and
underpopulation
• ground subsidence, e.g. New Orleans, Louisiana,
USA, may occur as water is removed for irrigation
from the underground aquifer. • Overpopulation occurs where a country or region
has tao many people overusing the resources at
Selective breeding a given level of technology.
Farm animals have been undergoing human-managed • Optimum population is where a balance between
selection ever since their originai domestication. population and resources exists. There is a
lnitially, selection was probably limited to docility debate as to whether optimum population
and manageability, but in the last 60 years actually exists in the classic rnanner as a point in
breeding programmes have focused on the genetic time/absolute nurnber of people. lt is also seen
improvement of production traits, such as milk yield, as a very subjective term, as a government's
growth rates and weight gain. point of view of what is an optimum population
The most widely used dairy production systems now may not be that of the people's.
use higr1-nutrient-input high-milk-output systems. In • Underpopulation occurs in a country or region
many countries yield per cow has more than doubled where there are too few/not enough people
in the last 40 years. The average milk yield for dairy to make full use of the resources at a given
52 level of technology. Underpopulation is said to
 occur where tl1ere are too few people to
the resources of an area fully and therefore to
attain the highest standard of living forali the
These two terms are and
-
express
population in relation to the resources in a country or
region at a given level of technology. So a resource
people, at any given level of technology. lt is rich HIC with sophisticated technology may be said
usually calculated and expressed at national to be underpopulated, but an LIC with few resources
or sometimes at a regional scale. Most areas (soil, climate, minerals, etc.) and traditional
considered as underpopulated today occupy a technology may be overpopulated.
large territory and are resource rich, sud1 as Areas may become underpopulated when there has
Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. been a depopulation of rural areas in LICs where
• Population density is the average nurnber agricultural output has fallen or lanci has been
of people per unit area, such as per square abandoned due to rural-urban migration, the impact
kilometre, in a region or country. There may be of natural catastrophe - such as drought or floods,
a situation where two countries have the same war, or the impact of HIV/ AIDs.
population density, but one may be viewed as
overpopulated and one as underpopulated.

Exam-style questions
1. What is meant by the term carrying capacity in 9. Using one or more examples, describe and
connection with population? [3] explain the problems that may be caused by a
2. Describe the constraints that may limit the falling birth rate. [8]
capability of resources to feed a country's 10. Why is population growth unsustainable, given
population. [4] current population growth rates and existing
3. Why are some areas of the world considered resources? [10]
underpopulated? [8] 11. What is meant by the term fertility rate? [3]
4. Explain why the concept of a population ceiling 12. Explain two factors that may influence levels of
rnay be of limited use in reality. [8] fertility. [4]
5. What is rneant by the term underpopulation? 13. How far do you agree with the view that
[4] population change is predictable? [10]
6. Assess the success of attempts to sustain an 14. What is meant by the term overpopulation? [3]
increasing population using technology and 15. What methods can be used to reduce the
innovation. [10] problem of overpopulation? [ 4]
7. Explain the reasons why family planning 16. Explain the causes and the consequences of
services may not be available to everyone in food shortages. [8]
LICs. [5]
17. Explain why the theory of optimum population
8. Explain why birth rates rnay vary over time. [5] may not exist in real life. [5]
\.. ,)

53
 4 Population

m Population policy in Singapore

Singapore is a modem city-state and island country
in south-east Asia. lt lies off the southern tip of
the Malay Peninsula and is cornprised of the main Beginning in 1949, family planning services,
island...., linked by a causeway and a bridge to the including clinica! services and public education
southern tip of Malaysia - and about 50 smaller on family planning, were offered by the private
islands. Singapore F~mily Planning Association.
Once a colonia! outpost of the UK, Singapore has The policies were accompanied by publicity
become one of the world's most prosperous places campaigns urging parents to "Stop at Two" and
- with glittering skyscrapers and a thriving port. arguing tr1at large farnilies threatened parents'
Most of its population lives in public housing present livelihood and future security.
tower blocks. They enjoy one of the world's The government introduced a set of policies known
highest stanqards of living. Singapore has a highly as population disincentives to raise the costs
developed trade-oriented market economy and of families having a third, fourth and subsequent
the third highest per-person GDP in the world; its children and encourage small families. These
PurchasingPower Parity (PPP): $85427 in 2015. disincentives included:
Population contrai policies in Singapore have gone • rnaternity hospitals charged progressively
througr1 two distinct phases. higr1er fees far each additional birth
• The first phase attempted to slow and reverse • large farnilies received no extra consideration
the boom in births that started after Second in public housing assignments
World War. • top priority in the competition for enrolment in
• The second phase, from the 1980s onwards, the rnost desirable primary schools was given
attempted to encourage parents to have more to only children and to children whose parents
children because birth rates had fallen below had been sterilised before the age of forty
replacement levels. • workers in the public sector would not receive
As fig 4.11 shows, Singapore experienced a long maternity leave for their third child or any
period of rapid population growth from the 1960s subsequent children.
as a result of falling death rates, high birth rates The Singapore governrnent launched the National
and high immigration, producing an annual growth Family Planning Programme in 1966 using the
rate of 4.4 per cent. During this time, the crude slogan "Giri or Boy - Two is Enough". Subsidised
birth rate peaked at 42. 7 per 1000. family planning services were provided through
6 materna! and child health clinics. Wornen who had
Q.)
given birth were advised to go to these clinics or
§- 5
Q.) their family doctors for family planning services
~4 and they were able to gain advice and consultation
o
3 on contraception and purchase contraceptives at
o
§2 reduced prices.
2;
1--'------,---~--....---...----~ In 1970 abortion and voluntary sterilisation were
1969 1980 1991 2002 2013 legalised and incentives sucr1 as tax relief, priority
Year housing and paid maternity leave were further
Fig 4.11 Population growth in Singapore, 1969-2013 implemented to encourage smaller family sizes.
The Singapore government saw rapid population
growth as a potential threat to the living standards, Outcomes of family
education and health services and the politica!
stability of the country. The government thought
planning
that this could result in: These measures proved to be successful.
Singapore had developed into a well-educated,
• widespread unernployment
highly urbanised society. Also, an increasing
• a shortage of housing numbers of women were entering the workforce or
• insufficient educational and healthcare continuing into higher education and the trend of
services for the people later marriages was becoming more accepted.
• increasing pressure on the limited resources of A downward trend started in the total fertility rate
the country frorn 2.1 babies per woman in 1975 to 1.4 in 1986.

54
F

C 1965 the crude birth rate was 29.5 per 1000

and the annual rate of natural increase had been
level of 2.1. The government reacted in 1987
by urging Singaporeans not to "passively watch
-
reduced to 2.5 per cent. ourselves going extinct" but the rate dropped to
However, the campaign was so successful that 1.9 in 1990 and continued to fall to 1.6 in 1999.
certain unforeseen problems began to surface. The continuing decline in replacement leve! in
With U1e birth rates falling and death rates Singapore was due to increasing numbers of
remaining low, Singapore's elderly population Singaporeans not getting married.
increased in proportion to the population that was Women were having children at an older age
working. because couples were marrying later, resulting
The government recognised the importance of in families having fewer children. In 2001, the
having enough young people to replace the ageing government offered the Children Development
workforce so that the econorny would remain Co-Savings Scheme (or Baby Bonus Scheme). The
competitive with other countries. There was also aim of the Baby Bonus Scheme was to remove
a concern that a reduction in the number of young the financial obstacles associateci with having
male adults enlisting in the arrned forces would more children. When a family had more children, a
have serious consequences for national security. Children Development Account was set up by the
government for the second chi Id of the family.
Pro-natal policies The government put $500 into the account annually
and matched, up to another $1000, every dollar
In 1986 the government decided to revamp its
deposited into the account by the family.
population policy to reflect its identification of the
low birth rate as one of the country's most serious For the third child, the government contributed
problems. The old family planning slogan of "Stop $1000 to the account annually and matched, up to
at Two" was replaced by "Have Three or More, lf another $2 000, in contributions by the family. This
You Can Afford lt". A new package of incentives incentive was valici unti! the children reached six
for large families reversed the earlier incentives for years of age and could be used for the education
small families. lt included: and development of any child in the family.
• tax rebates for third children
• up to four years' unpaid maternity leave for Outcome of pro-natalist
civil servants policies
• pregnant women were to be offered increased Despite all these pro-natal policies Singapore's
counselling to discourage "abortions of
population, at 5.4 7 million, saw its slowest growth
convenience" or sterilisation after the birth of
in 10 years in 2014. The tota! fertility rate was
one or two children
1.19 in 2014, compared to 1.29 in 2013, again,
• a public relations campaign to promote the well below the replacement rate of 2.1 per cent.
joys of marriage and parenthood
The 65 and above age group now forms
• in March 1989, the government announced a 12.4 per cent of the population in 2014, up
S$20000 tax rebate for fourth children born from 11. 7 per cent in 2013. The tota I number of
after January 1, 1988 marriages and births also fell.
• for children attending government-approved Due to the continued low total fertility rate, the
childcare centres, parents were given a $100 Singapore government has varied its immigration
subsidy per month regardless of their income policy over the years. As the demand for labour grew
• third child families were given priority over with industrialisation, foreign talent with professional
small families for school registration. qualifications, as well as less-skilled foreign workers,
The initial response to the new policy was positive has made up a significant and increasing proportion
as tota! fertility rate rose from 1.4 in 1986 to 1.96 of Singapore's tota! population since 2000.
per woman, but stil! far short of the replacement

55
 4 Population

China is the only country in the world to introduce

quotas to contrai the number of children people Consequencesofthe
can have. In 1970 the Chinese government issued
three policies in an attempt to reduce the birth
policy
During the 1970s the average number of children per
rate:
woman in China dropped from 6 to 2.5 and between
1. Late marriage - men were encouraged to marry 1950 and 2005 the crude birth rate dropped from
no earlier than 28 years old (25, in rural areas) 44/1000 to 14/1000 - a figure comparable to
and women no earlier than 25 years old (23, in many HICs. The policy was harder to enforce in some
rural areas). remote rural areas where there was great pressure
2. Longer spacing between births - couples were on women in rural farming areas to produce sons to
encouraged to allow at least a four-year gap work on the land. Severa! unexpected consequences
after the first child before having another baby. have come to light since 1979:
3. Fewer children - it was suggested that urban • There is a new generation of indulged and
families should be limited to two children, and spoiled children - China's "little emperors".
rural fami·lies to three children. With one child in a family being the centre of
In 1979, the Chinese authorities further tightened attention of two parents and four grandparents,
their contrai and limited all households to only one they can end up overweight, arrogant and
chi Id. The goal of this policy was to limit China's lacking in social skills.
population to 1.2 billion by the year 2000. • This four-two-one problem will also mean
The policy proved extremely difficult for many that one child will have to look after possibly
families, with a complicated system of rewards, six elderly people in the future. There is now
incentives, fines and punishments, which included: evidence to show that the standard of care for
• massive advertising campaigns to explain the the elderly in China has already declined sharply.
reasons behind the policy • Currently, an average gender ratio at birth of
• tax incentives for those who had just one child 119 boys to 100 girls exists, but in some rural
areas it can be as high as 140:100. Selective
• women being forced or coerced into having abortion is practised where mothers can have
abortions a scan to determine the sex of their chi Id and
• free health and education services for single abort a female foetus, or practise infanticide or
children, but heavy fees for additional children deliberately neglect a female child. As a result
• neighbours being encouraged to "inform" on of this, a high percentage of unmarried men
their family or friends who were expecting or now live in China. Millions of extra boys have
considering having more than one child. been born and now 41 million male bachelors
The policy has been heavily criticised for taking in China will not have women to marry.
away the rights of the individuai to choose the size • China now has a shrinking population of
of their family, but was it successful in slowing economically active, working aged adults.
China's population growth. At least 300-400 • Wealthy couples can buy U1eir way around the
million births were prevented, easing the pressure system - there is a $30000 fine for having a
on China's resources. second child which many couples can afford.

56
 -
In August 1999, lndia's population passed the 1 A nurnber of factors have undermined the effect of
billion mark and in 2015 had reached 1.28 billion, lndia's policies:
increasing by 47141 people daily. With 2.4 per cent • the sterilisation programme ignored other
of the world's land area, India is now horne to 17.5 influences on the birth rate, including issues of
per cent of the world's population, with 15.5 million poverty and inequality
babies being born in India each year. When India
• early marriage - one in two girls marry before
gained independence in 1947 it had a crude birth
they are 18 and many start having children
rate of 45/1000. lt was one of the first countries in
stra ight away
the world to adopt population contrai policies.
• people are living longer, largely because of an
The government set a target to bring the crude
irnproved diet, and the death rate declined
birth rate down to 21/1000 by U1e year 2000.
faster than the birth rate
Fifty years later, the crude birth rate had dropped
to 27 /1000 and in 2013 it was 23/1000 - a • a built-in mornenturn - 36 per cent of the
significant decrease. population is in the reproductive age group. Even
if these men and women have srnall families, the

What are India's sheer numbers of the next generation will lead to
a further increase in population before it starts to
population policies? shrink in future generations.
Throughout the implementation of lndia's family In spite of these limitations, lndia's rate of
planning prograrnrne since the 1950s, the main population growth is decreasing. In 1991, lndia's
emphasis has been on taking drastic rneasures annua! population growth rate was 2.15 per cent.
to reduce overpopulation. The rnost severe of By 1997 this figure had dropped to 1. 7 per cent,
these was undoubtedly the policy of encouraged which indicates that India was making some
sterilisation. Government agencies were given progress through its population policies. However,
sterilisation quotas to achieve among employees. in real terms, between 2010 and 2015, lndia's
Workers were often rewarded with a radio or yearly population growth was stili over 16 million
television if they successfully convinced enough people - the equivalent of adding the population of
people to have the operation. the Netherlands each year! Yet lndia's population
pyrarnid for 2010-2015 stili shows the classic
This policy reached its most extreme in 1976 when
pyramid shape of an LIC with a wide base of
India declared a state of emergency and began
children and young adults, tapering to a relatively
"forced sterilisation" in poor neighbourhoods. This
small elderly population. Despite some small
policy led to international criticisrn and did not
successes, if India is to be successful in slowing
result in the dramatic reduction in the crude birth
population growt~1, more has to be done.
rate that had been hoped for.

Exam--style question
1. To what extent have atternpts to reduce birth rates been successful in one country that you have
studied? [10]

57
 Migration

igration s co po ent
population change
Migration is the rnovement of people to live orto • housing shortages
work. lt can be either internal (movement within a • land shortages
country) or extemal (movement to another country).
• famine or lack of food.
People who leave a country are called emigrants while
people who arrive in a country are called immigrants. Pull factors include:
Migration can b~ permanent, when the migrant moves • employment
away forever, temporary, when the migrant returns • higher wages
to their home country at some time in the future or • availability of food supplies
daily, when the migrant returns to their own country
• better housing and education opportunities
after each day's work. The reasons for migration can
be forced, where there is no choice for the migrant, or • higher standard of living
voluntary, where it is the own choice of the migrant. • greater racial, politica! and religious tolerance
• more attractive living environment
Causes of migration • "bright lights" syndrome
• less crime.
Push and pull f actors A generai view taken of many migrants is that most
The causes why people migrate may beone or more are "young, male and jobless". However, the type of
of two sets of factors, called push and pull factors as migrant varies according to the type of migration. In
explained by Everett S. Lee in his 1966 model (fig 5.1). international migration, the "young, male and jobless"
label is valici, but migration flows are quite diverse.
i\ The contrast of migrants in and between LICs and
'\ /\ ,', /\
\ /\ ,/ \ /\ / \ ,\ / \ / HICs illustrates how diverse migrants can be.
lntervening obstacles
There are several ways in which potential migrants
receive information about possible destinations,
Origin Destination including:
More attractions = • through government agencies or advertising
Disadvantages
more migration
+ Advantages • through media reports in newspapers, TV, the
More obstacles
O Other unimportant, less vital, variable factors and opportunities = Internet and the radio
/l,{tl\ Obstacles and opportunities, e g, distance, less migration
cost, employment • by taking holidays to the destination/tourism
• from returning rnigrants
Fig 5.1 A model of migration proposed by Lee, 1966
• as a result of hearsay and rumour.
Push factors operate in the source area (origin)
and promote emigration, causing people to move Chain migration
away. Pull factors operate in the receiving area
Chain migration is where migrants from a particular
(destination) promoting immigration, attracting
area may follow others from that area to a particular
people to move there. Push factors include:
city or neighbourhood. A chain migration may begin
• natural disasters and events - such as volcanic with migrants learning of opportunities. They may
eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, tropica! then be provided with transportation, and have their
storms/hurricanes/ cyclones/typhoons, floods, initial accommodation and employment arranged.
droughts and rising sea levels
A chain migration may result in either a temporary
• unemployment or a permanent move. ltalian immigration in the late
• lack of work opportunities nineteenth and early twentieth century relied on a
• escape from poverty and low incomes system of both chain and return migration. Chain
• war migration helped ltalian men emigrate to the Uniteci
States for work as migrant labourers. They generally
• racial, politica! or religious intolerance
left ltaly due to poor economie conditions and a lack
• high crime rates of job opportunities and they then returned to ltaly
58
as relatively wealthy people by ltalian standards after
working in the Uniteci States fora number of years.
-
environment. This could well depend on the nature of
the donor area and the volume of migration as both
areas and migrants are far from uniform in terms of
Patterns of migration their resources and their population.
Movements may appear to be random or individuai,
but distinct patterns of migration can often be Constraints, obstacles and barriers
identified. There may be the urban-rural movement to migration
from towns and cities; stepped migrations or, for
Severa! constraints, obstacles and barriers may need
example, to a capitai city orto the coast or the
to be overcome in arder for migration to take piace and
sunbelt for retirement such as to the south of Spain
migrants may be put off, deterred or delayed. These
in Europe or Florida in the USA.
constraints may also restrict the size of migration
There are severa! connections between a person's flows. The constraints may differ according to the socia I
age and migration. Commonly, in voluntary migrations, context of the migrants and the development level of a
younger adults are more likely to migrate than older country. The most frequently recognised constraints are:
adults, children migrate with parents and many
• the distance to the destination
movements relate to reaching certain stages in the
life cycle, such as in making a career, or retiring. For • the cost of getting there
example, only a small percentage of people aged over • the need fora permit
60 years migrate. Possible reasons for this include: • possible civil unrest
• retirement is a settled phase of life • the availability of imperfect information for the
• much migration relates to employment and in migrants to make their decision.
this age group most are retired Migration decision-making is often complex and differs
• many older people have limited means (pensions) between individuai people. A combination of pull
and moving can be costly factors and constraints may be involved, including:
• older people may want to avoid the hassle and • betterment e.g. maximising economie opportunity
hard work of moving and the economie returns/remittances
• older people have less energy and may be in • distance to migrate e.g. in relation to the cost of
poorer health trave! and the possibility of visits back home
• seniors may have less appetite for change, so • information available e.g. in the media, from
ignore push/pull factors relatives or friends, or rumour
• the familiar may be more appealing to them than • the contacts a person has e.g. at work, or with
the new family members and friends
• habit patterns and networks of family and friends • the opportunities available e.g. possible job
are established. openings, what transport is available
However, forced (involuntary) migrations affect • the barriers to migration e.g. politica!, economie,
everybody and are not linked to age. persona!, physical
Migration may bring negative socia!, economie and • the character of the individuai migrant e.g.
environmental impacts for the areas undergoing out- are they a risk-taker, are they optimistic or
migration and may be linked to the type of migrant pessimistic, what fears do they have
who leaves: young, often male, better educateci and • the impact of a new culture and if there is a
more dynamic. However, there can be some positives similar group from your area at the destination
for the donor areas, such as lower unemployment, to share experiences and speak your native
cheaper housing, less pressure on resources language with.
such as food supply and less pressure on the

Exam-style questions
1. Describe one way that the government of a 4. Explain the role that push and pull factors may
receiving country can affect immigration? [2] have in migration decision-making. [6]
2. Describe the ways in which potential migrants 5. "Most migrants are economie migrants." How
may receive information about possible far do you agree with this statement? [10]
destinations. [6] 6. "Migration decision-making is often complex
3. Describe and explain the possible impacts that and differs between individuals." How far do
migration may have on receiving countries. [5] you agree with this statement? [10]

59
 5 M1gration

Internal migration is the movement of people within a themselves under pressure to release more lanci
country's national borders, staying for one year or more. for housing, threatening the countryside. House
and lanci prices may rise in these areas, which can
There are severa! types of internal migration:
mean that locai people, especially the young adults,
• forced versus voluntary are unable to afford to live in their locai area.
• rural-urban; urban-rural; urban-urban Table 5.1 Push and pull factors ìnfluencing people's
• stepped migration decìsion to migrate away from large urban areas
• intra-urban. Push factors Pull factors
lower cast of housìng
Rural-urban migration
hìgh cast of housìng
traffìc congestion the hìgher quality living
One of the most common voluntary migrations taking noìse and air pollution environment
piace in the world is rural to urban migration or high levels of crime less crime
the movement of people from the countryside to the ability to commute
a poor quality living
citi~s and towns - the process of urbanisation. environment wìth a lack longer distances to
Rural to urban migrations have an impact on of open space. work with improved
both the donor rural area and the receiving urban road and rail links to
urban areas.
area. Rural areas can become depopulated. Fewer
farmers can lead to a drop in food production and
there are less people to help with harvesting crops. Urban-urban migration
Many of the people who migrate are males, often This is when rnigrants rnove frorn town to town,
husbands and fathers, who leave their families town to city or city to city. This rnay take piace when
behind for several rnonths or years at a time. migrants work in a particular form of employment,
Urban areas can find it difficult to cope with large work fora national company with branches in severa!
numbers of rnigrants especially witr1 regard to towns and cities, or have a transferable set of skills
housing, health care, education and in providing that can allow them to find similar employment or
enough jobs. Many of the migrants may be very gain promotion in a company by rnigrating to other
poor and will end up in squatter settlernents. urban areas.
In some HICs, rural areas are losing population,
such as Snowdonia, an upland area in North Stepped migration
Wales, in the Uniteci Kingdom. The reasons people Internal rnigration often takes piace as stepped
leave Snowdonia include: migration. A stepped (step-wise or staged)
• A lack of jobs as employment opportunities migration occurs when a migrant reaches their
are limited to sheep farming, forestry and destination in a number of steps or stages,
water supply, all of which require few workers. rather than in one movement frorn a source to
In addition, the siate quarries which used to a destination. For example, rnigrants may rnove
employ many people frorn the area have closed. up the settlement hierarchy migrating frorn their
• The landscape consisting of many mountains home farm or village to a locai market town and
which are unsuitable for building and have a frorn there to a regional or capitai city. Through
poor road network, with winding roads such as the process of counter-urbanisation migrants may
the A5. do these steps in reverse, as they look to live in
a smaller urban or more rural environment. The
TIP migrant may be able to do this by working frorn
Many questions on this topic ask "to what extent" home or a rural area by the use of the internet and
so a comparative judgement needs to be made to postai network. They rnay also choose to rnove to
get full marks. There is no rìght or wrong answer but take advantage of cheaper housing, an environment
the answer should be based on the evìdence and that is less polluted, with lower crime rates.
examples presented.
A stepped rnigration breaks up what is, for many
migrants, a long, challenging and potentially costly

Urban-rural migration move into smaller sections.

A staged migration gives migrants a number of
In some HICs there is the apposite of rural to potential benefits, mainly social and economie.
urban migration taking piace as people move frorn
• lt gives rnigrants a small trial or taste of what
cities to the countryside. This process is called
migrating will mean, but reduces U1e risk by
counter-urbanisation.
trying out a new life while they are still able
One of the negative impacts of urban to rural to maintain contact with relatively familiar
migration has been the decline of inner city areas locations - farniliarity (nearer to home) versus
resulting in closure of shops and amenities and unfamiliarity (the unknown).
generai abandonment (dereliction). Rural areas find
60
•
lt lets them a new culture and
language and assess any possible issues.
lt helps reduce the costs of migration and
-
There are several types of intra-urban movements,
such as:
allows them to save up for the next step.
• centripetal flows, such as re-urbanisation
• lt allows skills to be acquired along the way.
• centrifugai flows, such as to the suburbs,
• lt helps to keep the options open for the
counter urbanisation, invasion and succession
migrants in terms of a possible return
migration as well as an onward move. • other movements, such as from a shanty town
into new housing.
There may be other reasons for a stepped
migration: The impacts of these movements vary - they can be
social, economie, environmental and politica!; and
• The means of transport required to move
different groups of people may experience different
directly to the final destination may not be
impacts and the impacts may be quite complex.
available or affordable.
• There may be intervening opportunities, such
as new employment opportunities.
• lt allows the migrant to review the possible
outcomes of migrating and make further
decisions.
• There may also be a lack of information about
their ultimate destination.

The Huk u syst~ri1111a•• ID bina

11111

The Chinese government used to be very restrictive At the same time the Chinese government
in its policy on rural-urban migration. However, "encouraged" people to move from the cities to
the enormous expansion of the Chinese economy the oilfields and cerea! growing areas of north and
in the last 10 years has seen a relaxation of this north-eastern China. They also wanted people to
policy to satisfy the increasing demand for cheap colonise the sparsely populated western areas
labour in its new industries. of China - mostly for security purposes, to help
From the 1950s the main method of controlling prepare for potential threats from neighbouring
rural-urban migration was to register people countries lìke Russia.
as being either "urban" or "rural" - the Hukou Between 1969 and 1973, possibly as many as
system. People had to get permission to leave a 10-15 million young people were moved from cities.
rural area and this could only be obtained if people This was to relieve the pressure of population in
could prove, by documentary evidence, that they urban areas and raise productivity in rural areas.
had a job to goto in an urban area. Food rationing This process was not popular but continued until
was also used to restrict movement: people could the late 1970s, when it was reversed to supply the
only get grain and oil if they had urban household necessary labour for China's economie expansion.
registration documents. This relaxation of controls saw a massive growth in
population and the economy.

61
 5 Migration

Exam-style
1. Explain the term internal migration. [2] 11. Exarnine the theory that there is a connection
2. Explain the reasons far an increase in internal between a person's age and migration. [10]
rnigration in rnany countries. [8] 12. Using examples, explain why migration rnay
3. Using exarnples, explain why internal rnigration take piace between urban and rural areas. [7]
rnay oeeur in stages. [8] 13. What are the possible social and economie
4. Explain why urban-rural rnigration oceurs in links whieh rural migrants living in urban areas
LICs. [6] may have with the rural areas from which they
have come from? [8]
5. Explain the terrn intra-urban migration. [2]
14. Explain why the destination may play only a
6. Describe and explain two types of intra-urban
srnall role in the decision-rnaking about rural to
migration. [5]
urban migration. [10]
7. With the help of examples, describe how
15. Describe and explain the social and economie
constraints, obstacles and barriers may affect
links whieh the rural migrants that now live in
internal migrations. [6]
urban areas may have with the rural areas from
8. To what extent can it be said that push which they moved. [8]
faetors are more important than pull faetors in
16. To what extent can it be said that internal
voluntary migration? [6]
migration brings only negative impaets for the
9. What is meant by the term stepped migration? areas left by migrants? [10]
Explain why it oeeurs within the settlement
hierarchy. [8]
10. Using examples, describe and explain why
push factors may influence people to migrate
away from large urban areas. [8]

62
 -
lnternational migration is the movement of people receiving areas as they can be perceived as taking
across national borders or from country to country the jobs of loca! people or, conversely, become an
for more than one year (that means that tourism, essential part of the loca! economy, e.g. by taking
business trips, etc. are excluded). lnternational menial jobs.
economie migration is the movement of people for Refugee flows, where people are moving away from
one year or more from one country to another for the war zones or areas of racial and religious tension,
purpose of employment. are an example of forced (involuntary) migration.
lnternational migration is increasing due to a The rnigrants will have severa! impacts on botr1
combination of causes: their source areas and receiving areas.
• the globalisation of economie activity As a result of the civil war in Syria, more than
• improved transport systems 7 .6 million Syrians had been displaced within the
country by the conflict, fleeing to safer areas. By
• refugee movements - people leaving countries
2015, the UNHCR reported that many Syrians had
for fear of death or prosecution. Refugees are
fled the country and the number of Syrian refugees
people who have been forced to leave their
had reached over 4 000 000 people, mostly
homes because of these reasons, e.g. the recent
residing in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. In
civil wars in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the
2015, Turkey had become the world's biggest
Congo and Sudan in Africa
refugee hosting country with 2.1 million Syrian
• more information available e.g. from the media refugees and had spent more than $6 billion on
and the Internet. direct assistance to refugees. However, during
lnternational migration can be classified by: the first half of 2015, large numbers of Syrian
• the type of movement - is it voluntary or forced? refugees crossed into European Union mernber
states, reaching 313 000 UNHCR applications
• the distances covered - is it between Caribbean
across Europe by early August 2015. The largest
and European neighbours, for example, or is it
numbers were recorded in Germany with over
intercontinental?
89 000 and Sweden with over 62 000 in early
• the numbers of migrants involved - are August.
they individuals, families, or are tr1ey mass
More than 100 000 refugees crossed the European
movements/migrations - such as refugees or
Union's borders in July alone and Syrians formed
part of the slave tracie?
the largest group of refugees to Europe.
• the time scale - is it fora year or two (temporary
and intending to return) or a lifetime (emigration)?
• the legality of the migration - is it a lega! or
illegal movement?

oluntary and forced

(involuntary) migration
Voluntary migration is where it is the persona!
choice of the migrant to move, making their own
decision as a result of push and pull factors.
Voluntary migrations are often for economie
reasons as people look for employment or for
improved wages. There are several distinct causes
and patterns of international migrations including
economie migrations where people are looking to
improve their economie leve!, such as from western
Africa to Europe. Economie migration may have
an impact on the population structure, especially
on the number of young adults, who might decide Fig 5.2 By the end of 2015, more than 4 million Syrians
to have fewer children (reducing the birth rate). left their homes as a result of the civil war in Syria. Source:
Migrants might also provide remittances, which UNHCR
can result in an increase in the standards of living
in source areas. Migrants may be rejected by some

63
 5 Migration

theUSA
An example of voluntary migration is between Mexico anci the USA. Over one million Mexicans migrate
to the USA every year to work for the large farming anci fooci processing inciustries in states such as
California where they can earn 10 times the wages they coulci earn in Mexico. lt is estimateci that for
every $1 sent home to Mexico by migrant workers, $3 are generateci in the form of buying construction
materials, fooci or in people getting contract work.

North
Montana Dakota New Hampsh;ce

Idaho
South
Dakota (
Wyoming

Nebraska

Utah Colorado

Top destination states

for Mexican immigrants

C=:J 2.,000-1 million

C=:J aver 1 million
over 3 million
MEXICO 1111 over 4 million
Fig 5.3 Map showing where lega! Mexican immigrants lived in the USA, 2008-2012

Impacts of international migration

lnternational migration has both positive anci negative impacts on both senciing anci receiving countries.
Table 5.2 lmpacts of international migration on source areas

Beneflts Disadvantages
a reduction in a "brain" drain
unemployment a "brawn" drain
an increase in remittances a loss of entrepreneurs and leaders
migrants having enhanced their investment in the education of
skills on their return the migrants lost

Table 5.3 lmpacts of international migration on destination areas

Benefits Disadvantages
being able to fill job vacancies that are unattractive to a perceived loss of jobs to foreign labour, for example
nationals. For example, the Caribbean migration to the UK the flooding of the UK job market by EU labourers,
after the Second World War; the German "guest workers" the perception of putting locals out of a job causing
- gastarbeiter - including 3 million Turkish workers; guest resentment
workers in Kuwait and other Gulf countries increased socia! benefit applications
gaining skills and perspectives, for example IT a possible strain on social services, such as schools
consultants, doctors and healthcare
gaining an increased output from "young" labour farce cultura! divide between migrants and locals
enriching their culture - through food and music racial tensions
increasing tax revenue from migrant workers paying an outflow of currency from migrants to family back
incarne tax home
64
In describing the character of one example of international 3. What is the source, destination?
-
migration that has been studied, care must be taken to 4. Who does it involve - the scale and what group of
ensure that the example falls within the above definition people?
and is not for tourism or visits.
5. Why it is taking piace - the push/pull factors?
lt should be clearly stateci whether the international
6. When it took piace - the date, duration, and
migration was/is:
residence/return?
1. Forced or voluntary?
7. How it took piace?
2. Where it took, is taking, piace?

140 000 new citize s

Key
Foreign-born population
increase, 2011-14
C=:J 6% and under
C=:J 7-9%
i ,,110-15%
More than 15%

Fig 5.4 Map showing the distribution of foreign-born population in England, by region

The Uniteci Kingdom is an HIC, a member of the or environrnental circumstances that exist in
European Union (EU) and one of the top receiving a country, such as tribal conflict (social), war
countries in Europe. The migrant population of (politica!) or a natural hazard (environmental).
England has risen by 565 000 since 2011, with The possible reasons for this include:
two-thirds coming from the EU. The greatest change
• the vigour, enterprise, risk-taking and
has been in London, where almost 3.2 rnillion
hopefulness of youth
people were born abroad - 200 000 more than
at the time of the last census. The foreign-born • the preference of the old and older for
population of the South East is projected to have stability, familiarity, tradition
also risen to more than 1.1 million. Carlos Vargas • the role of perception
Silva, immigration researcher at Oxford University, • the role of education e.g. young professionals
said migrants, particularly from the EU, were coming
• the role of the media and other sources of
to England for work. "They are finding jobs in low
informati on
skilled positions and low paid jobs.
• the influence of ties e.g. to spouse, family,
So for British workers competing in those
lanci, business
positions it means some competition. For
employers looking for more workers to fili those • family structure e.g. dependents under 16 who
gaps it is good news because they have more migrate with parents
employees available." • the role of economie migrants in providing
In forced (involuntary) migration the migrant has remittances
to rnove as a result of social, economie, politica! • entry restrictions and visa regulations.
65
 5 Migration

discrimination some people may think that their

'
barriers to international •
jobs are being lost to the immigrants
many migrants may have entered the country

migration illegally and therefore be in fear of arrest,

meaning they cannot access services for fear of
The rnain politica! barriers to international rnigration being caught and deported
fall into two categories: emigration barriers and • exploitation by business and factory owners
irnmigration barriers.
• culture may be a barrier to the acceptance and
• Emigration (exit) barriers may be as a result integration into a new society, especially if there is
of the nature of the regime. For example, a large cultura! distance between the two countries
U1e communist governments of China, North in terms of language, religion, food, dress, tribe,
Korea, Vietnam and Cuba may not allow their family and community Iife. lf there is a smaller
inhabitants to leave. cultura! difference and the two cultures are more
• lrnmigration (entry) barriers may be formai, similar, integration may be easier, such as when
such as the need to obtain visas, permits, EU migrating within Europe, within French speaking
citizenship or a green card for the USA; or generai, (called Francophone) Africa, within the Caribbean,
.such as the incidence of civil war, the persecution etc.
of minorities, enmity between governments, the There can be severa! cultura! negatives, for example,
security situation in a country. intolerance and prejudice in host populations, fear
Migrants who move to a new country can face and misunderstanding of the immigrants, invasion
severa! obstacles and constraints. These include: and succession, and the development of socia!
• a lack of qualifications/skills/education/no segregation within cities or in carnps.
experience There are, however, cultura! positives in countries
• no knowledge of the language which are already culturally diverse and where
• a lack of skills restricting them to low paid, immigrants are wanted, for example to fill gaps in the
unskilled jobs labour market.

• inability to obtain employment; higher living costs The effect of differences in culture may be weakened
rnay mean they are unable to buy hornes and end over time - in the second and third generations - as
up living in poor, overcrowded conditions a result of education, by marriage and upward rnobility
in society so that the integration of immigrant groups
into a society or country may increase.

r
Exam-style questions
1. Describe briefly one example of refugee 8. To what extent can it be stateci that economie
migration that you have studied. [2] migration is usually beneficiai to both sending
2. Explain the term international economie and receiving countries? [6]
migration. [3] 9. Explain why culture may be a barrier to the
3. Explain what is meant by the term international acceptance and integration of immigrants. [8]
migration. [3] 10. Explain, using examples, how positive factors
4. Explain what is meant by the terrn refugee. [5] and negative factors may affect whether or not
people decide to migrate within a country. [7]
5. Explain the terms voluntary migration and
involuntary (forced) rnigration. Support your 11. Describe some of the possible obstacles
answer with an example of each. [7] encountered by those people who migrate
internationally. [8]
6. Describe why pull factors rnay be more
irnportant than push factors in voluntary 12. Assess the impacts on the places that people
migration. [8] have migrateci from (source areas) and the
places people have migrateci to (receiving
7. Using one or more exarnples, explain how push
areas). [8]
factors and pull factors combine to prornote
movernent. [8] 13. Explain why HICs may encourage immigration. [6]

66
 -
m Canada 1991-2001
auses Characteristic
Canada has one of the higr1est per person
immigration rates in the world. Canada is also
migration
unusual among western HICs in having widespread After an initial period of British and French
popular support for high rates of immigration. colonisation, Canada has experienced severa!
Ali of Canada's rnajor politica! parties support waves of immigration and settlement by non-
either sustaining or increasing the current level of aboriginal peoples which took piace over a period
immigration. The higr1 immigration policy is most of almost two centuries. Since 1991, the majority
often justified through economie arguments to of migrants to Canada have been from South Asia
rnake up for the shortage of skilled workers and to and China and this trend is expected to continue.
compensate for an ageing population. The number of migrants has remained, with slight
fluctuations, at 221000-275 000 annually. Canada
Canada has one of the highest standards of
is known as a country with a broad migration policy
living and quality of life among HICs. By most
which is reflected in its ethnic diversity.
economie standards it is a fast growing, modem,
industrialised nation. lt has relatively low taxes, a
2.3 per cent inflation rate and a resilient economy. Scale of migration
Canadians have access to socia! assistance In 2001, 250640 people migrateci to Canada,
programmes, affordable housing, free healthcare, relative to its tota! population of over 30 million
community policing, strict gun contro! laws and people at that time. In 2006, Canada received
crime rates are among the lowest in the world. 236 756 immigrants. In 2015, Canada's population
Unemployment is relatively low, at 6.8 per cent and was over 35 million.
the average annual salary is $40 000. lt offers free
primary and secondary education and subsidised
post-secondary studies, Canada spends more on
Pattern of migration
Fig 5.5 shows the source countries of migrants by
education than any industriai nation and Canadian
country of birth in 2001.
universities and colleges have an excellent
international reputation for high quality. The city of
Vancouver is tied with Zurich (Switzerland) for the
highest quality of life of any city in the world.

Key

10 000-19 999

Fig 5.5 lmmìgrants and non-permanent residents of Canada in 2001 by country of birth

67
 5 Migrat1on

The top ten sending countries in 2006 are shown

in table 5.4, alongside immigration data from
2013, which allows far a comparison to be made: areas
Table 5.4 In 2014 Canada planned to receive between
Country Number of Numberof Rank 240000 and 265000 migrants, split into several
Rank
migrants migrants in groups, as shown in fig 5.6.
in
2006 in 2006 in 2013 2013 Migrant population growth is concentrateci
1 People's 28896 34126 1 in or near the large urban areas, particularly
Republic of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. These cities are
China experiencing increased services demands that
2 India 28520 33085 2 accompany strong population growth, causing
3 Philippines 19718 29539 3 concern about the capability of the infrastructure
of these urban areas to handle the influx.
4 Pakistan 9808 12602 4
By 2031, almost half of the Canadian population
5 Uniteci 8750 8495 6
States
over the age of 15 will be foreign-born or have
at least one foreign-born parent. The number of
6 Uniteci 7324 5826 7
visible minorities will double and make up the
Kingdom
majority of the population of the cities in Canada.
7 Iran 7195 11291 5
A study looked at the arrivai of the Vietnamese
8 South Korea 5909 4509 10 boat people who began to arrive in Canada in
9 Colombia 5382 3632 17 1979 to much controversy.
10 Sri Lanka 4068 2395 23 The tota I number of refugees was 60 000, the
11 France 4026 5624 8 largest single group of refugees to ever arrive in
12 Marocco 4025 3259 18 Canada. Upon their arrivai, few spoke English or
French, most were farmers with few skills useful in
The marked drop in migrants from Sri Lanka Canada, and they arrived with no assets with which
reflects the ending of the civil war in that country. to establish themselves.

Impact on source areas

In 2012, an estimateci $23.4 billion was sent
overseas from Canada as remittances to migrant
source countries: India, China and the Philippines
were the top recipients. Workers and families who
have migrateci to Canada often play an important role
in looking after relatives in their source countries.

63.0% 26.1% 10.9%

Economie Family Humanitarian
164500 68000 28400

Federai
workers skilled
(and Federai ftftftftftfi Spous:~d~~i~~~sn
Protecte_d persons
mCanada
fffi
skilled trades) (includes 7500
47300 public policy)
48000 fi
flff
Dependants abroad
3500
Canadian
experience class
15000
Parents and
grandparents
ftft Government-assisted ffft
20000 refugees
f ftftf
Live-in carf
7100
Visa office referred f
Federai business ft 500

Privately sponsored ftf

6000

Quebec business ft refugees

5300 6300

ftftftf Policy - Federai resettlement

assistance and other
f
26600 500

tttttttttttt Humanitari~n and

compassionate
ft
46800 3000

Fig 5.6 Planned immigration quotas for 2014

68
 Settlement dynamics

hanlllllF'l/l///l'--
contemporary issues in • High levels of unemployment and
underemployment by which people have some
rural areas form of employment for severa! hours or a few
days in a week. Employment in agriculture is
Depopulation often in the informai sector and it may only
provide seasonal work when, for example, crops
A major contemporary issue in many rural
need harvesting.
settlements in LICs, MICs and HICs is the migration
of people from rural areas into urban areas. lt is • Population growth in rural areas leads to an
sometimes termed rural flight. increased demand for food and services and it
may lead to shortages of agricultural land.
Globally, it often occurs following the mechanisation
of agriculture processes, which results in fewer • Rural-urban migration may lead to rural
people being needed to produce and process crops depopulation as younger people leave for work
and animals. The impact of this out migration from in urban areas, leading to a decline in the rural
rural areas and their consequent population decline workforce. This, in turn, may lead to an ageing
often leads to the loss of rural services, such as population, but it may alleviate population
shops, healthcare and schools. This may lead to growth. The financial remittances (money sent
an even greater loss of population as more people home by migrant workers) may also be important
migrate to obtain access to these services. to rural families.

Small, labour-intensive, often subsistence family • Low capitai investment in the rural areas of MICs
farms have often been replaced by or amalgamateci and LICs may mean the output of farrns remains
into much larger heavily mechanised and specialised low due to a lack of fertilisers, improved varieties
industriai farms. of seeds and animals, so that rural families
remain in poverty.
Service provision
In many rural areas, the consolidation of agricultural Civil war and government
processing industries has meant that tr1ere are fewer corruption
agriculture service and processing businesses which Many MICs and LICs have been badly affected by
has reduced the demand for labour. Rural areas that both internal conflicts and government corruption.
used to be able to provide employment for all young When people are forced to leave their homes in
adults, increasingly provide fewer opportunities for rural areas, food production is badly affected, while
them. The situation is made worse by the decrease government corrupt officials may divert government
in services such as schools, service businesses, and and international aid funds into their own accounts
cultura! opportunities that accompany the decline in to the detriment of rural development programmes.
population. Additionally, the social service system of This can be very evident in the lack of provision of
rural areas is stretd1ed further with fewer resources services and infrastructure in rural areas. There
attempting to cater for an increasing ageing population. is often a lack of clean water resulting in high
In the UK, there has been a decline in service provision incidences of diseases, such as dysentery and
which has led to increased rural depopulation: diarrhoea. Electricity networks in rural areas may be
• there are fewer post offices in rural settlements very limited. Sealed, tarred roads may not extend
as more transactions are done online and cash into rural areas, making transport communication
is being obtained from ATMs difficult, so that farmers cannot sell their food
• contraction of public transport services, such as surpluses easily in urban areas.
buses, closure of village shops due to increased
use of supermarkets in nearby towns Health care
• lack of high speed broadband and poor mobile High incidences of disease can have a debilitating
phone reception in many rural areas discourage effect on the rural workforce. Every year, 3.2 billion
businesses. people me at risk of malaria. This leads to about
Rural areas in LICs and MICs are faced with a 198 million malaria cases and an estimateci
number of issues, which are often interrelated, 584 000 malaria deaths. People living in MICs and
such as: LICs are the most vulnerable. In 2013, 90 per cent
69
 6 Settlement dynamics

of the world's malaria deaths occurred in Africa

and over 430 000 African children died before their
Access to schools in remote rural areas may be
fifth birthciay. Malaria is commonly associateci
inaciequate or lacking completely, especially access
with poverty and is a major hincirance to increaseci
to seconciary education. More than 57 million
fooci prociuction. lt can trap rural families anci
children around the world do not goto primary
communities in a ciownwarci spirai of poverty,
school. At least 250 million children cannot reaci or
ciisproportionately affecting marginaliseci anci
count, even if tr1ey have spent four years in school.
poor people who cannot afforci treatment or who
Without a good education, they will be less likely to
~1ave limiteci access to health care. An estimateci
get a job and look after their families in the future.
1.3 per cent of GDP growth is annually lost in
An extra year of gooci schooling can lift a country's
Africa as a result of malaria.
yearly economie growth by 1 per cent anci this is
particularly effective in rural populations.

BIBayston ili ( r s ire,11111

)
During the seconci half of the 20th century, many connected to the large town of Telford and the
towns and è'ities in HICs experienced widespread West Midlancis. In 1961, its population was uncier
counterurbanisation, as some people moveci 2 000 but, by 1971, it haci risen dramatically
away from cities and large towns to small towns to over 5000. 0ver 75 per cent of people work
or villages in the surrounciing areas in orcier to outsicie the village area. This changed the
achieve a perceived improvement in their quality character of the village. A second primary school
of life. This movement was starteci by wealthier was built and new shops were openeci to serve
families who bought houses in vill_ages anci the larger community. In 1981, the villagers were
commuted back to the town or city for work. asked about their concerns: many felt that this
In the UK, from the 1960s onwards, many villages cievelopment haci been too sudcien and on too
near towns and cities were increased in size by large a scale. lt was also felt that there were not
builciing of large housing estates. People, mainly enough facilities for resicients.
families, wanteci houses with larger gardens, As a result, building of large housing cievelopments
anci often houses on these village estates were was no longer allowed anci the Locai Pian has
cheaper than comparable houses in the nearby createci tightly cirawn bounciaries to encourage
towns. This influx of new residents often changeci cievelopment within the nearby town of Shrewsbury,
the character of the villages anci put severe strain especially on brownfielci sites. Much has been
on their infrastructure, such as schools and cione since then to provicie facilities, especially for
access roacis. young people. Nowaciays, the village's population
Bayston Hill in Shropshire, with a population structure is ageing. Those young aciults with
of about 5 079 in 2011, is an example of a families who moveci in ciuring the 1960s anci
suburbanised village near the town of Shrewsbury. 1970s have ageci and remaineci in the village -
From 1970, young couples anci families were the number of people aver the age of 65 is over
attraeteci to the village as it was convenient for 24 per cent anci increasing, anci a ciifferent balance
working in Shrewsbury; Bayston Hill is also well of services will be required in the future.

Exam-style questions
1. Choose one rural settlement or rural area that 2. For a named rural settlement or rural area that
is unciergoing change. Explain how the changes you have stuciieci in cietail:
that have taken piace recently may be seen as a. Describe its location, size anci character. [7]
both positive and negative. [8]
b. Explain how issues in its development have
affecteci the people who live there. [8]
c. Assess how effective the authorities'
responses have been to the issues you
have icientifieci in (b). [10]

70
 -
Urban growth and the Key

process of urbanisation: 100

90
2003
C] 2030

causes and consequences e

.2
80

The process of urbanisation can be defined as the 12

::i ro
70

progressive concentration of population into urban §- § 60

o. .o 50
areas aver time. :S
2 -~ 40
Urbanisation is caused by a combination of high fG
natural increase of population in cities and the t: > 30
tf.=
process of rural-urban migration. The process of 20
urbanisation is closely associateci with economie
development. Urbanisation took piace earlier in the
HICs of Europe and North America and in some
MICs, where often more than 90 per cent of the
population lives in towns and cities. The process of
urbanisation started to accelerate aver 200 years
ago, as these countries went through the Industriai Fig 6.1 Predicted urban population increase (2003-2030)
Revolution. People left their jobs in agriculture
in rural areas and migrateci to the growing towns • the increase is highly variable, frorn 0ceania's
and cities to work in factories. In these countries, 2 per cent to a massive 17 per cent far Africa
urbanisation is now either very slow or has stopped. and Asia
In 2007, the majority of people worldwide lived in • all four world regions had urban population of
urban areas, far the first time in history; this is 73 per cent or higher in 2003
referred to as the arrivai of the "Urban Millennium" or • only Africa and Asia had a much lower level
the "tipping point". In the future, it is estimateci that in 2003 (38 per cent) so the majority of
93 per cent of urban growth will occur in developing the population still lived in rural areas. This
nations, with 80 per cent occurring in Asia and Africa. predicted to increase significantly, by about
The LICs and MICs in Africa and south-east Asia have 17 per cent by 2030.
much lower levels of urbanisation at the moment, The two cities w~1ere the increase in total population
because industrialisation took piace later. is expected to be the greatest between 2000
Cities offer a larger variety of services than rural and 2015 are Lagos - 10.9 million and Bombay
areas, including specialist services not found in rural (Mumbai) - 9.3 rnillion (fig 6.2) The large population
areas. These services require workers, resulting in increase expected in many cities can be explained by
more numerous anci varied job opportunities. Elcierly the combination of high rates of natural increase and
people may be farced to move to cities where there of rural-urban migration.
are doctors anci hospitals that can cater far their Urbanisation is part of a sequence of processes that
health needs. Varied and high-quality educational rnay also involve the processes of suburbanisation,
opportunities are another factor in urban migration. counterurbanisation and re-urbanisation. This
Urbanisation also creates opportunities far women, sequence has occurred in many HICs, including the
creating a gender-related transfarmation, where women UK and Gerrnany.
are engageci in paid employment and have access to
education. This, in turn, may cause fertility to decline. Suburbanisation (1860s-1960s)
However, women are sometimes stili at a disadvantage
The main reason far the sudcien surge in
due to their unequal position in the labour market,
suburbanisation involves the outwarci growth of a
their inability to secure assets independently from
city by the construction of suburban housing. In
male relatives and exposure to violence.
the UK, the main reason far this process was the
Rural migrants can be attraeteci by the possibilities construction of the urban railway networks. This
that cities can offer, but often settle in shanty towns triggered a huge increase in house building as where
and experience extreme poverty. The inability of there was increaseci cornpetition far available lanci,
countries to provide adequate housing far these rural people could now leave the crowded inner city areas
migrants is relateci to overurbanisation, a phenomenon and live along the railway networks. This was firstly
in which the rate of urbanisation grows more rapidly only the richer rnicidle classes who could afford to
that the rate of economie cievelopment, leading to high move. But, after the First World War (1914-18), there
unernployment and high demand far resources. was a massive move to build public housing far the
• The main trends shown in fig 6.1 are: all world working classes.
regions show a predicted increase in urban
population by 2030
71
 6 Settlement dynamics

Q 10-15mi1!1onoeoo:e

Q 16-19rrn1tionpeoote

4I 20-37 m1!11on oeople

Fig 6.2 World's largest cities in 2015

This resulted in the building of 4.3 million ~10uses in Urban renewal involves H1e relocation of
the period up to the Second World War (1939-45). businesses, the demolition of structures, the
Of this total, over 30 per cent was built by local relocation of people, and the government purchase
authorities with the financial support of the UK of property for city-initiated development projects.
government and was often referred to as "council In some cases, renewal may result in urban
housing". sprawl and less congestion when some areas of
This housing remained in the ownership of the cities witness the construction of new motorways,
councils and the people who inhabited them paid a freeways and expressways.
small rent to the council. Having the backing of the Urban renewal has been seen as a means of
government finance meant that the essential, and economie development. In some cases it is seen as
expensive infrastructure - such as sealed roads, enhancing existing communities and in other cases
piped clean water, sewage systems , electricity, gas, as the destruction and demolition of neighbourhood
telephone and street lighting - could be put into communities.
piace. Many cities link the revitalisation of the centrai
business district and the gentrification of
Counterurbanisation (1960s-1990s) residential neighbourhoods as exarnples of urban
Counterurbanisation involves the movement of renewal. Over time, urban renewal has evolved in
people out of urban areas into smaller towns and many cities as a policy based less on destruction
villages. For example, from London into the smaller and more on renovation and investment, and today
towns of south-east England, such as Reading. is an integrai part of rnany locai governments,
Many cities in HICs, such as Detroit in Michigan, often combined with small and big business
USA, have been losing population from their incentives.
centrai areas.
Re-urbanisation (1990s onwards)
Urban renewal Re-urbanisation is the movernent back to the city
Urban renewal has taken piace in many cities and at a later stage in the urbanisation process. Many
involves redevelopment in areas of moderate to HIC cities have attempted to reverse the population
high density urban land-use. Urban renewal has decline taking piace in the centrai areas of their
had both successes and failures. lt began in the major cities. In the UK millions of pounds of
late 19th century in HICs and experienced an government money has been spent on rejuvenating
intense phase in the late 1940s. The process has inner city areas to make thern more attractive to live
had a major impact on many urban landscapes, and work. There is also pressure on the governrnent
and has played an important role in the to develop older brownfield sites and relieve the
development of cities around the world. pressure on the surrounding countryside areas - the
greenfield sites.

72
 -
lnner London had a population of 5 million in 1900 • people have easy access to a vibrant, active,
but this had halved to 2.5 million by 1983. Since cultured urban environment, especially
1983 the loss of population has been reversed, appealing to young adults
due to reurbanisation, and the population of lnner • there may be refurbished heritage properties or
London has risento 3.2 million by 2011. Many of new build housing to live in.
the people who have moved into London are young
There are severa! examples of re-urbanisation in
adults. The newly developed inner city areas in
London, including the London Docklands area. This
London provide severa! benefits:
was re-developed from the mid 1970s by the LDDC
• people have easy access to shops and - the London Docklands Development Corporation
services, including entertainment and lies to the east of the city along the River
• people can save money by living close to work Thames.

Causes of urbanisation Causes ofthe growth of world cities

Possible factors contributing to the growth of the
HICs world cities include the emergence of:
HICs are characterised by having low rates of urban • a fast growing, increasingly integrateci, world
growth. Cities in HICs grew many years ago due economy, based in world cities
to rural-urban migration so that a majority of the • the transport (especially air) and
total population of many HICs are now living in telecommunications revolutions
urban areas. Added to this is the fall in birth and • urbanisation and the preferences of people far
death rates and the consequent natural increase in urban living and working
population. This migration to the cities of many HICs
• urban agglomeration i.e. the growth of
has now all but ceased.
conurbations and megalopolises
In many HICs there is actually a decline in population
• facilitation e.g. architecture, planning, finance,
in urban areas rather than an increase which can be
infrastructure, stability, etc.
explained by counter-urbanisation and industriai decline.
These factors combine to give the following
LICs characteristic features of world cities:
• a variety of international financial services,
LICs are characterised by rapid growth rates of urban
notably in finance, insurance, real estate,
growth. There are two main causes:
banking, accountancy, and marketing along with
1. Rural-urban migration due to perceived the existence of financial headquarters, a stock
opportunities/changing agricultural economies, etc. exchange and major financial institutions
2. Population growth of the existing urban • the headquarters of severa! multinational
population due to lack of family planning, need corporations
far children, cultura! desire for large families, etc.
• domination of the tracie and economy of a large,
This rapid growth has led to a number of problems, often national, surrounding region
including the uncontrollable growth of shanty towns,
unemployment, pollution and socia! unrest. • major manufacturing centres with port and
container facilities

World cities • considerable decision-making power on a daily

basis and at a global leve!
World cities are of global significance. They tend
• centres of new ideas and innovation in business,
to be large (both in population, in area and in their
economics, culture and politics
global reacr1). They are very powerful economically,
and they are familiar to a large number of the EarU1's • centres of media and communications far global
population from the media, trave! and world events. networks
They are often major financial hubs containing the • a high percentage of residents employed in the
headquarters of major global banks and businesses services sector and information sector
and they are at the centre of regional transport • high-quality educational institutions, including
networks. Politically, many world cities are capitals renowned universities, international student
or regional capitals and homes to governmental attendance and research facilities
institutions such as the UN and the WTO. They • multi-functional infrastructure offering some
previde the venues far major summit meetings. of the best legai, medicai and entertainment
Socially, they are multi-ethnic, diverse and they have facilities in the country.
a vibrant sports, arts and cultura! life. 73
 6 Settlement dynamics

Stockholm
Seoul Tokyo
Moscow
Beijing

San Francisco
Warsaw Shanghai
Osaka
Hong Kong . - ··

Paris,.

Los Angeles
Houston Budapest
Mexico
City Istanbul
Caracas
Rame
Sao Paulo
Sydney

Buenos
Santiago Johannesburg
Aires
Melbourne
The GaWC lnventory of World Cities _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Alpha Beta Gamma

World Cities World Cities World Cities

Fig 6.3 World cities based upon their level of advanced producer services. Global service centres are identified and
graded far accountancy, advertising, banking/finance and law. Aggregating these results produces a list of 55 world cities
at three levels: 10 alpha world cities, 10 beta world cities and 35 gamma world cities. These are mainly concentrateci in
three areas: North America, Western Europe and Pacific Asia (Source: GaWC Research Network)

Development of a hierarchy of 2. Encouraging the development of other urban

areas. This can be done by:
world cities • Developing the concept of the growth pole,
lt is possible to identify a hierarchy of world cities such as Zimbabwe's growth points, which
(fig 6.3). The GaWC (Globalization and World Cities have proved quite successful. This diverts
Research Network) identified the position of a city new growth to other cities and towns.
based on the service value of a city to a particular
• Developing a new town or expanding town
company, meaning the importance of the company's
policy - London has eight new towns, such
office from that city within the global network of the
as Bracknell and Crawley, which are now
company's offices.
well established outside of its Green Belt.
lts disadvantages though are that it does not offer Milton Keynes took this a step further when
any basis to work out the differences between the it was established as a new city to the
different cities - differentiation especially between north of London. Expanded towns have the
the top cities of London, Paris and New York; and advantage of already having set up much of
it does not indicate which cities are the growing, the expensive basic physical, economie and
emergent cities. There have been many attempts social infrastructure in piace to which new
by governments to discourage further development development can be added such as Reading
of the largest urban centres in some countries. Two to the west of London.
broad government approaches exist:
1. Restricting development of the largest centres.
This can be done by:
• decentralisation, such as moving government
departments to other centres, as in some
Caribbean islands
• by withholding permission for development,
such as TNC investment or housing
• by protective measures such as a Greenbelt
policy.

74
 -
settlements
Factors affecting the providing a theoretical foundation on which other
researchers could investigate further. lt had 4
activities main assurnptions:

cities 1. A uniforrn, sometirnes called an isotropie,

lanci surface.
There are several social, economie, environmental
2. Free competition for the space in the city.
and politica! factors that usually combine to
determine the location of activities within urban 3. Easy access to the centre of the urban area
areas. These factors are dynamic and change over from ali directions.
time with the result that the urban locations for 4. Continuai rnigration into the city with new
retailing, services and manufacturing change and can development expanding out from the centre.
be grouped in social, economie, environmental and The end result of this was that the city developed
politica! factors. The development of these factors as a series of concentric rings, as seen in the
over time is reflected and explained in the evolution zonal model (fig 6.4a).
of urban lanci-use models. • The sector model (Hoyt)
The sector model developed by Homer Hoyt in
Urban land-use models 1939 was based on a larger sample of 142 cities,
Several theoretical urban models have been put but only in the USA. Again, he placed the Centrai
forward over the last 80 years to try to describe and Business District (CBD) in a centrai location as it
explain patterns and zones you may expect to see had maximum accessibility (fig 6.4b).
in a "typical" city or large town. These result from
However, he found that once land uses established
social, economie, environmental and politica! factors
thernselves near to the city centre they expanded
out from the centre in a distinct wedge/sector
shape as the city grew. This expansion was
normally along major transport routes.
Low incarne housing was found in the least
favourable locations, while high income housing
was in the most favourable, with a middle incarne
group in an intermediate position between the two.
The originai l1igh and middle class areas, in
the oldest housing near the city centre, was
abandoned in time and became occupied by low
a Zonal model b Sector model
incarne groups, who often subdivided the larger
1 Centrai Business District houses.
2 Wholesale light manufacturing • The multiple nuclei model (Harris and Ullman)
3 Low-class residential
4 Medium-class residential This was developed by Harris and Ullman in
5 High-class residential 1945 who put forward the idea that urban areas
6 Heavy manufacturing developed around several centres or nuclei
7 Outlying business district (fig 6.4c). Some of these centres would have
8 Residential suburb
been the centres of villages and small towns
9 Industriai suburb
10 Commuter's zone swallowed into the city area as it expanded, while
others would have been newly createci.
They put forward the ideas of attraction and
e Multiple-nuclei model
repulsion - similar activities tend to group
together, others repulse each other.
Fig 6.4 Urban settlement models For example, the residential segregation of ethnic
groups may develop within an urban area. This
• The concentric model (Burgess) can be due to the location of a person's family,
The concentric model was devised in 1925 by community, village, people, tribe, and language
Burgess, based on his work on the cities of group as well as religion.
mid-west USA, in particular Chicago. He relateci
a city's growth to a natural ecologica! succession
Factors affecting residential patterns
where growth and change took piace by a • Forces of attraction: like attracts like, so new
sequence of invasion and succession. Although arrivals have natural bonds with and links to
outdated now in many ways, it was irnportant in others from the sarne ethnic group through
shared language, tradition, religion, family or 75
 6 Settlement dynamics

friendship ties. They also may have similar needs Surrounding the centrai area is a
both socia!: for interaction, rnarriage partners, which contains a mixture of older traditional housing.
schooling, worship etc; and economie, e.g. to This used to house the elite high income group who
shop for food items or clothing specific to their now lives in the elite sector. These buildings are in
ethnic needs or working for each other. Beyond relative decline and have often been subdivided.
this, residential segregation enhances well- Some have been replaced by self-built housing.
being through feelings of security and security Outside of this is a zone of "in situ" accretion which
in numbers, the maintenance of traditions and has a very wide variety of housing, both in type and
identificati on with "home". quality. The provision of services is variable in having
• Forces of repulsion: unliked ethnic groups may sealed road surfaces, electricity, water and sewerage.
repel, keeping others out. At worst, this relates New governrnent housing projects are often focused
to ethnic distrust, rivalry, disputes and violence, in this zone.
some of which may be longstanding. lt may be an lndustries tend to be locateci near the centre because
expression of the needs of minorities to survive this area has both power and water supplies.
in urban areas and to "defend" themselves
Surrounding the periphery of tr1e city is a zone of
socially. lt may be fostered by the working of the
squatter settlements which is horne to new migrants.
property market e.g. landlords, by discriminatory
behaviour and by planning decisions. The rnain features of the model's residential pattern
are that the urban area is divided by incarne (an
• Urban model in LICs ( Griffin and Ford)
economie factor) and geographical location.
Severa! urban models have been based on LIC
There are severa! economie factors which help
cities. The one developed by Griffin and Ford
to create residential districts with different
(fig 6.5) is based on studies carried out on
characteristics within many large urban areas.
Latin American cities. As with the cities of HICs,
One of the most important factors is the level/
the CBD is centrally locateci and has the same
arnount of persona! or household incarne. This
characteristics (referring to offices, government
affects the ability of residents to pay for housing.
buildings, retailing etc). Many develop a commerciai
However, the reasons may also include investment
spine which extends out from the CBD and an elite
by locai authorities in public sector housing or in
residential sector on either side of this.
infrastructure. For exarnple, the construction of

Zone of
Zone of peripheral
Periférico in situ
squatter
accretion
settlements

Fig 6.5 Urban model of a Latin American city (Griffin and Ford)
76
 networks which may then affect an area's
desirability if access is good and commuting to
work is possible.
-
witl1 large areas of free car parking
and stores with very large floor space grew along
ring roads and major intersections.
Many factors promote ethnic segregation in cities, • Urban superstores and hypermarkets were built
such as language, kinship, religion, culture, support, at points of high accessibility and high consumer
business opportunities and networks. This shows dernand - led by large supermarket corporations,
the importance of social factors in determining sucr1 as Walrnart, Carrefour and Teseo.
residential patterns. • Out of town shopping centres with one stop
Many businesses today might choose to locate in shopping, in a controlled environment, with eating
the outlying business district (OBD) of a town or and leisure facilities included.
city rather than in its centrai business district. This • Internet shopping and home delivery from very
is because high costs, congestion, lack of space large retail outlets threaten to irreversibly change
for expansion, unpleasant environment in the CBD, traditional shopping habits.
whereas the OBD provides better communications,
Peripheral locations are increasingly popular in many
cheaper land costs and a more pleasant working
urban areas because they offer several advantages,
environment.
including rnore space, better access and parking
(often for free), cheap(er) lanci, linkage for deliveries
Changes in location of and a better shopping environrnent.
manufacturing industry Changes in location of
During the Industriai Revolution of the nineteenU1
century, industry tended to be locateci in the inner
cities. By the twentieth century though, an inner city
services
Apart frorn retailing, other services have moved
location started to become very disadvantageous.
to either the suburbs orto the rural-urban fringe.
In most cases this was due to increasingly poor
These include new sport complexes and stadia,
accessibility to centrai locations for workers,
including gold courses, large secondary schools,
raw materials and for the distribution of finished
further education colleges and universities and
products. However there were many other factors,
regional health centres and hospitals. As with
including:
retailing, the reasons for their location include
• Many of the early factories, such as textile mills cheaper available lanci, more space for expansion,
were several storeys high, unsuitable for new good access to transport lines and a pleasant
manufacturing methods which needed single- environrnent.
storey, low-rise factories and space for their
Where the service sector has expanded in the
rnodern production methods.
suburbs and rural-urban fringe, there has been a
• The old inner city locations left no space for decline in service provision in many inner city areas.
industries to expand or reorganise into new, large
Many key workers, who usually have average
industriai estates.
or lower than average salaries, have found
• The old industriai sites were often polluted, very thernselves in inner city locations where they are
costly to clean up and decontaminate and there unable to buy or rent accornmodation or afford the
were also increasing concerns over air and noise cost of transport. They include teachers, nurses,
pollution and public safety in inner city areas. paramedics, police and fire officers. AII of this has
• lnner city areas faced increasing dernands from led to further decline in the inner city areas.
other land users who wanted a centrai location,
particularly for retailing and cornrnercial activities. The changing Centrai
Changes in Iocation of Business District (CBD)
retailing The Centrai Business District (CBD; fig 6.6) is
the centrai part of a city, characterised by a
There have been enorrnous changes in retailing high concentration of retailing, banks, office and
habits in the last 45 years, with people having administration. lt is often one of the most dynarnic
increased access to private motor cars. In the UK and rapidly changing areas/zones in a city.
there were 2.5 million vehicles in 1954, in 2015 Whilst the four main functions found within a
there were 35.6 million! This has led to severa! CBD are usually retailing, offices, banks and
irnportant new developments: administration, other functions may include
• Suburban CBDs - as urban areas grew, people professional services such as lawyers, transport
started to find themselves at considerable such as the bus or railway stations and public
distances both in space and time from the . buildings such as courts, libraries and museums.
centrai CBDs, so suburban retail and commerciai Some CBDs may also have parks, manufacturing
centres expanded and residential (usually apartments) buildings.

77
 6 Settlement dynamics

M ulti-storey Absence of
development Concentration of
manufacturing
high buildings banks/businesses Concentration of
industry
Some vertical department stores,
zoning with use comparison goods
of first/ second stores, chain stores,
floors specialist outlets

Area of
l1ighest
shopping
quality

High density of pedestrians- Functional zoning-similar

zones of maximum accessibility, activities concentrate and
often pedestrianised areas and cluster, e.g. banks/shoe shops
shopping malls Low residential
population
PLVI = Peak lanci value intersection: the highest rated, busiest, most accessible part of a CBD

Fig 6.6 Key features of a CBD

Recent changes within a CBD can include: • the absence of uncompetitive users, e.g. low
• pedestrianisation density housing, factory development with the
limited presence of others such as open space
• heritage conservation, such as along the
or vacant lots.
Singapore River
Some cities are witnessing a decline in the CBD. The
• the construction of iconic buildings, e.g. the Burj
many causes vary and include:
Khalifa in Dubai
• the perception that some CBDs have a poor level
• population changes, with the reversal of the
of ageing infrastructure
move away from centrai cities in HICs
• they are dirty and unsafe
• increased development of high-rise buildings,
especially in LICs • congestion of roads in the centrai area may
reduce levels the growth in private car ownership
• the replacement of traditional buildings
that allows shoppers to access pleasant out of
• the intense pressure for land in the CBD has led town shopping centres
to a number of developments: the maximal use
• developers are attraeteci to out of town
of building areas/plots e.g. high-rise buildings
complexes as they have lower lanci and
• the use of basements; multi-storey and construction costs on greenfield sites and
underground parking improved access for goods distribution
• decked transport systems (e.g double decked • CBD locations can be more expensive in terms of
highways or roads running above railways) business rate and rental costs

78
(spatial competition) in • Prestige - a city centre address is important to
-
CBD lanci offers the highest potential profits for
businesses.

urban areas, the concept the image of some businesses.

The bid-rent does have some limitations:
of bid-rent and functional • lt is very simple, with only three broad zones, it
zonation assumes straight lines for cost curves and there
is no scale on the y axis.
In ali urban areas there is some degree of
• lt is too graphical, compareci to a map or pian.
competition for the land. The level of competition
will depend on the location of the land anci it may • lt doesn't take into account transport networks,
vary consicierably over time. Competition is usually planning decisions or the physical environment
measured by looking at lanci values and the rents (hills, rivers, harbours etc.).
paid for properties. Different types of land-use
require different abilities to buy the land or pay the Residential segregation
rents. This often results in very distinct, functional
Residential segregation is the physical separation of
zones characterised by certain land uses.
people based on residence and housing. lncome is a
This competition based on land values is illustrateci common reason for residential segregation, but there
by the bid-rent theory, put forward by Alonso in are several other features, too. These include:
1964 (fig 6.7).The centrai area is the area with the
• Social factors (such as people's culture and the
most intense competition for lanci on account of it influence of family and friends), historical factors,
traditionally having the highest level of accessibility. politica! factors anci environmental factors.
There are several reasons why there is intense • Economie factors: high income families often
competition among potential users to obtain a relocate to areas where other affluent families
location in the CBD: live. Alternatively, they tend to bici up the price
• Land in the CBD is the most accessible and so of locai housing. The spiralling costs of housing
attracts the most people/customers. may in turn dispiace families with lower incomes.
• There is relatively little CBD lanci/space available In LICs, the wealthy are locateci close to the CBD.
(assuming concentric rings).

Bìg
rent

-- -- -- -- -- --
Resìdentìal
-+-----+----. dìstance from the CBD

Resìdential

Fig 6. 7 Bid-rent diagram for an urban area 79

 6 Settlement dynamics

+.,,,,,..,;;,,.,..,.,,. different racial and groups, in their "gated communities". In South

ethnic groups are often segregateci into different Africa there was racial segregation during the
residential areas. In American cities, the vast period of the apartheid policy and its effects
majority of the most underprivileged social and continue to be important in the urban areas of
occupational groups come from among African South Africa today.
Americans. As tr1e most underprivileged of the • Religious factors: religious segregation is found
ethnic groups, they are also afflicted by a whole in several areas of the world, for example,
series of ethnic prejudices and discrimination. Christian/Muslim in Sudan and now South
Therefore, in North American cities, low-status Sudan, Northern lreland (Catholic/Protestant),
groups tend to be segregateci in a few, large, and Iraq (Shi'a/Sunni).
spatially coherent areas, as are the high-status

Exam-style questions
1. Explain the meaning of the terms 13. Name the processes that lead to an increase
counterurbanisation and re-urbanisation. [7] in the numbers of people living in urban areas
2. Why is re-urbanisation taking piace in many of in LICs. [2]
the cities· in HICs? [8] 14. Suggest why there is a small percentage
3. Explain the term functional zonation and increase in urban population in HICs. [ 4]
explain why it may occur in urban areas. [8] 15. What is meant by the term gentrification?
4. Using examples, assess the problems and Outline the impact gentrification may have on
challenges facing urban areas. [12] urban areas. [8]
5. Describe the characteristic functions of the 16. With reference to an example you have studied,
Centrai Business District (CBD). [7] assess the success of attempts to solve the
problems of the inner city in HICs. [10]
6. What are the potential advantages and
disadvantages for retailing businesses in 17. Describe why the process of re-urbanisation
locating on the periphery of urban areas rather (the movement back to live in inner urban
than centrally? [8] areas) is taking piace in some cities. [10]
7. Explain the meaning of the terms low order 18. Using examples of urban areas experiencing
goods and services and high order goods and counterurbanisation, suggest reasons why
services. [7] people rnay wish to leave the urban area. [5]
8. Explain the term "bid-rent" in relation to urban 19. Explain why residential segregation takes piace
lanci-use. [3] in the urban areas of LICs. [5]
9. Describe the location and character of 20. Describe and explain the changes in the
manufacturing industry within an urban area. [8] relationship between land value and distance
in an urban area. [7]
10. Describe and explain the problems that
urbanisation has caused for cities in LICs. [7] 21. Explain what is meant by the term world city. [5]
11. Explain the term urban renewal. [2]
12. Explain why urban renewal occurs in the centrai
areas of towns and cities. [5]

80
 -
Certain factors may influence the decline of a CBD and 90 000 vacant lots, Detroit has become
and cause a possible Do-Nut Effect. Some HIC notorious for its urban blight. The average price
cities have either gone, or are going through, this of homes sold in Detroit in 2012 was US$7 500.
process. Detroit in Michigan, USA was the world's In January 2013, 4 7 houses in Detroit were listed
most important motor ver1icle manufacturing far US$500 or less, with five properties listed far
centre, but the decline of the companies in this US$1. Despite the extremely low price of Detroit
area saw high unemployment and out migration of properties, most of the properties remained unsold
both people and businesses. as buyers witnessed the boarded up, abandoned
This has led to whole streets being abandoned houses of Detroit. A 2014 analysis of the city's
and buildings boarded up. City incarne from taxes tens of thousands of abandoned and dilapidateci
dropped enormously and the city had to cut its bus buildings founci that around 50 000 of the city's
services and even turned off the street lighting in 261000 structures were abandoned, with aver
some areas. In 2012 it was $12 billion in debt and 9 000 bea ring fire damage. lt recommended the
possibly needed to be taken aver by the Michigan demolition of 5 000 of these structures.
State government so that essential services could Of the 50 largest cities in the USA, Detroit has
be maintained. the highest unemployment rate, at 23 per cent. lt
The population of the city fell from a high of is first in the percentage of the city's population
1850000 in 1950 to 701000 in 2013. The city's living below the poverty level, as indicateci by
automobile industry has suffered from global the registered incarne per person (fig 6.8). The
competition and has moved mud1 of the remaining individuai rate living below the poverty level is
production out of Detroit. Locai crime rates are 36 per cent, while the family rate is 31 per cent.
among the highest in the Uniteci States, and vast Detroit's murcier rate was 53 per 100 000 in 2012,
areas of the city are in a state of severe urban ten times that of New York City. A 2012 Forbes
decay. Poverty, crime, and urban blight in Detroit report nameci Detroit as the most ciangerous city
continue to be ongoing problems. in the Uniteci States far the fourth year in a row.
A significant percentage of housing plots in the According to Detroit officials in 2007, about 65
city are vacant, wiU1 abandoned plots making to 70 per cent of homicides in the city were drug
up more than half of tota I residential plots in relateci and the rate of unsolved murders is at
rnany parts of the inner city. With at least 70 000 roughly 70 per cent.
abandoned buildings, 31000 empty houses,

Detroit
Population 4 500 000

C=.J <US $6600

Fig 6.8 Registered incarne per l?erson in Detroit, 2000

81
 6 Settlement dynamics

Shanty towns - an areas. They are often on the edge - on the periphery
- of urban settlements or alongside of main roads or
introduction railway lines.
n 1e UN estimates that one in three of the world's Many of these settlements are close to the
urban dwellers lives in a slum, shanty town or workplaces of the people who live there, e.g. riear an
squatter settlement. industriai zone.
Shanty towns tend to develop illegally on any vacant Faced with such a wave of new migrants, urban
land in a city, e.g. vacant plots of lanci that have not authorities may tolerate and even help previde
yet been developed or areas that have been rejected materials and infrastructural improvernents such as
by other users, such as steep slopes or marshy water and electricity.

m Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro is a huge city in Brazil. lt has or other services.
over 750 shanty towns (called favelas), housing The government also encouraged self-help
20 per cent of its population and at least schemes in Rocinha, where the local authority
1.1 million~ people (fig 6.9). The largest favela in provided building materials, such as wood and
Rio is Rocinha, housing close to 70000 people. concrete blocks, while local residents provided
the labour supply. The local authority provided
À.
N basic services (e.g. water, electricity and sewerage
system) with the money saved, so that today,
almost all the houses in Rocinha are made from
concrete and brick. Some buildings are three and
four stories tall and almost all houses have basic
sanitation, plumbing, and electricity. Compared
Sepetiba to simple shanty towns or slums, Rocinha has a
Bay
better developed infrastructure and hundreds of
businesses, including banks, pharmacies, bus
Key lines, cable television, including the locally-based TV
- Favelas C:::::, Lakes and lagoons channel, TV R0C. There are a number of community
O 8 D Urbanised areas Height in metres organisations at work in Rocinha, including three
"---'----1
- - - - City boundary neighbourhood associations and numerous NGOs,
km
staffed by both Brazilian and foreign teachers,
Fig 6.9 Distribution of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
volunteers and workers, and non-profit educational
The officiai definition of a favela in Rio is that it institutions. Rocinha is home to most of the service
is a residential area where 60 or more families workers in Zona Sul (the South Zone of Rio).
live in housing that lacks any basic amenities.
These factors help classify Rocinha as a Favela
The government is fully aware of the existence of
Bairro, or Favela District. Rio de Janeiro aims to
the favelas and much has been done to provide
investa total of $1 billion in its internationally
the favelas with these basic amenities in recent
acclaimed "Favela-Bairro" neighbourhood
times. The UN estimates that 95 per cent of favela
improvement programme which focuses on
residents now have access to clean water and
medium-size settlements with 500 to 2 500
76 per cent to improved sanitation.
homes. lt builds roads, drainage systems, sports
The people who live in the favelas - the Favelados facilities and leisure areas; stabilises hillsides,
are squatters who do not have any legal right to be and brings services such as water and sanitation,
on this lanci and do not own it. garbage collection, street cleaning and public
Generally, the government has attempted to improve lighting to the city's poor neighbourhoods. lt also
access to the "favelas", improve sewerage systems offers communities a menu of socia! services
and provide childcare centres and schools. The sud1 as day care centres, school retention and
provision of clean water and electricity are among reinforcement programmes for children and
the works that have had the greatest impact. teenagers, programmes for at-risk adolescents,
Straightening up the narrow, winding streets of the activities to foster women and youth leadership,
favelas to allow the passage of traffic and assigning and counselling on domestic violence, substance
street numbers to housing units have also been addictions and sexual abuse. An income-
important steps, providing local residents for the generation component provides adult education
first time with a postai address. This is important and job training.
for them to feel like full citizens and to obtain loans
82
 -
The development of transportation infrastructure planned to encircle the centrai portion of the island
has played an irnportant role in the economie and and a new airport was built at Changi.
physical development of mociern Singapore. As a result, there was a substantial expansion
After inciependence from British rule in 1965, in the road infrastructure from 1960, from about
Singapore has cieveloped into a rnociern 800km of roads to 3360km in 2015. Also, an
city state with a well-cievelopeci transport expressway network was gradually developeci,
infrastructure. In the area of international forming key transport arteries between Singapore's
transportation, Singapore is one of the busiest satellite towns anci the city centre.
seaports in the worlci anci one of the leading Other transport developments included:
airports in Asia.
• lncreasing the cost of motoring: an import
Within Singapore, the lanci transport systern is duty of 45 per cent was placed on cars. An
both well-planneci and efficiently operateci, in annual roaci tax was also placed on vehicles
comparison to many rnajor cities that are plagueci on a sliciing scale ciepending on vehicle engine
with serious transport problems. capacity. However, car growth rapidly continued
and the government increased car road taxes;
Challenges company-registered cars were made to pay
In the post-war years after 1945, Singapore twice the amount required of private cars, a
faced formidable problems, notably serious policy that stili exists.
unemployment and acute housing shortage. • Staggered work hours: this was an experiment
In 1960, the population passed 2 million (lts designed to reduce traffic congestion at peak
population in 2015 was over 5.5 million) and the times. By staggering the work hours of civil
government's most urgent task was to house the servants, the peak rush hour period was
people and set out a large-scale industrialisation extended from 2 to 3 hours. The impact of the
programme to create jobs. civil service experiment on relieving peak hour
Transportation was not high. The massive traffic was found to be small, as it only affected
developments in housing, factories and schools 10 per cent of the work farce. The private sector
in the 1960s and 1970s put a great strain on the was encouraged to do the same, but notali
land transport system. Rapid economie growth led firms or personnel could adopt flexible work
to increased car ownership, too. In 1955, there hours. Moreover, encouraging staggered work
were 53 000 cars on the roaci and this had grown hours actually discouraged car pooling, as the
to 156 000 by 1966 and 530 000 by 2014, when opportunities for forming car pools were reduced.
the per-person car ownership rate in Singapore • Car pooling involves sharing lifts with other car
was 12 cars per 100 people (or 1 car per 8.25 drivers to reduce the number of cars on the
people). The total number of vehicles in Singapore road. There are several problems with this:
in 2014 was 973 004. - forming a suitable pool with sufficiently
The inadequate transport infrastructure, coupled with common reporting times, as well as
increasing transport dernanci resulted in mounting reasonably nearby origins and destinations,
traffic problems. lt soon became clear that unless was not easy to achieve
these transport problems were tackled, the overall - distribution of costs
development of Singapore would be hampered. - participants' discipline on punctuality
Singapore's traffic problems were typical of those - vehicle insurance coverage.
experienced in many developing cities:
• Congestion charging: various forms of
• poor traffic management and serious congestion charging were considered, including
congestion in the city centre having toll roads and metered vehicles, as well
• inaciequate and inefficiently operateci public as area licensing and paying for parking. As
transport services a result, in 1998 Singapore implemented an
• poor infrastructure development and maintenance electronic road pricing (ERP) scheme to deter
• poor driver discipline and enforcement traffic congestion during peak hours at various
resulting in high road accidents roads in the CBD. The ERP has electronic
gantries placed over roads at designateci
• rising number of vehicles. locations and cars are equipped with an in-
vehicle unit (IU), on the inside of the front
Solutions windscreen, which deducts a toll price from a
In 1971, a concept pian was put forwarci to CashCard inserted into the device (fig 6.10).
construct a comprehensive network of expressways There is no charge for entering the CBD area
and arteria! roacis. A mass rapid transit system was during certain non-peak times.

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 6 Settlement dynamics

Fig 6.10 An ERP gantry in Singapore

• Parking controls were applied to discourage - Reserved bus lanes during peak hours of
trips by car, especially work trips into the city. the day. The trave! time of buses improved
This has been done in two ways: by up to 40 per cent and other vehicles
1. Raising parking charges differentiated were found not to be adversely affected.
between CBD and non-CBD areas: S$1 - Computer controlled traffic signals within
(approximately US$0. 70) for the first the city area. lt allowed pre-determined
hour and S$2 for each subsequent hour. signal phases and timings to be changed
0utside the CBD, parking charges were half at specific times of the day, depending
this amount. on traffic demand. The average speeds
2. lmposing a charge on each car park space of vehicles improved by more than 20 per
owned by the private car park operators - cent during peak periods and by about 15
$20 per month per lot within the core area per cent during the off peak period.
of the Restricted Zone and $10 per month - The conversion of roundabouts to
for lots elsewhere in the Restricted Zone. signalised intersections.
The cost of parking in many car parks can • Public transport improvements: The public
be deducted from the CashCard in the IU transport system in Singapore involved the
of the vehicle, thus eliminating the need for use of buses, taxis, the Mass Rapid Transit
the car park to have an attendant. Corporation (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT)
• Traffic engineering measures: Singapore also This is a result of the Singapore government's
introduced severa! traffic engineering measures efforts to promote its use over private
to irnprove traffic movements, particularly at transport. About 5.3 million trips are made on
congested intersections. These measures a daily basis on the public transport system
include: and at least half of Singapore's population
- Yellow box junctions, to prohibit vehicles uses it daily.
from queuing within an intersection area - The public transport system is the most
even when they had the signal right-of-way. irnportant means of transportation to work
This reduced the risk of a gridlock at major and school for Singaporeans. In 2012,
intersections. 63 per cent of Singaporean residents
travelled to work using public transport.

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 -

Fig 6.11 The MRT and LRT system in Singapore

Amongst school students, 42 per cent of minutes at the 42 stations in the MRT network
them goto school by public transport. and runs from 6 am to midnight.
- The government aims to have the total The LRT systern is meant to complement the MRT
average number of commuters on public network (fig 6.1.1). The LRT system acts as: (1)
transport above 75 per cent of all trips a feeder to the MRT network in housing estates
made by 2030. (2) short-distance links connecting two or more
- Taxicabs are a popular form of public high activity centres, and (3) long-distance links
transport in Singapore, with fares and direct inter-town transit between new towns.
considered relatively low compared The driverless LRT trains are designed to run on
to those in most cities in developed rubber tyres along concrete tracks and operate
countries. In 2014, the total taxi fleet in at average speeds of 25 km/hr. The trains run on
Singapore was almost 29 000 taxis. dedicateci elevateci guideways, bypassing any traffic
congestion and traffic lights on the roads, and do
- Bus operations originally faced severa!
not add to road traffic.
problems, including poor quality of
service, inefficient management and lack • New road network: The road network in
of coordination. To improve the overall Singapore has grown from about 6 800 lane-km
public transport service, they introduced ten years ago to nearly 8 000 lane-km today
air-conditioned coaches, semi-express and it includes a 161 km expressway network.
services and one-person operateci lt is also constructing an underground road
services, higher capacity double-decker network, known as Singapore Underground
buses and feeder services in new towns Road System (SURS; fig 6.12). The project will
and the bus companies now move about comprise two 15 km-long, 2-4 lane concentric
3 million people daily. ring tunnels around the CBD and will be ready
after 2021.
Mass Rapid Transit Corporation • The Singapore transport system has produced
effective results and the rate at which
Frorn as early as 1970 Singapore's government
Singapore has emerged from a potential
considered the need for a mass transit systern
transport nightmare is impressive. lt has
to cater for future transport demands. In 1983
developed an efficient lanci transport system
it formed the MRT, in 1999, the LRT system.
from a more reactive to a more pro-active one.
In 2007 the 2.1 km Sentosa Express monorail
was added linking Sentosa island to mainland Singapore has made great strides to overcome the
Singapore. The basic rail network now has problems faced by many growing cities. Transport
a total length of 153.2 km and 104 stations planning though is never final and a planner
serving much of the business, industriai and needs to look beyond what is currently planned to
residential areas within the catchment of anticipate the next phase of urban development.
Singapore. An MRT train arrives every 3-8
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