IGCSE Geo Case Studies (Incomplete)
IGCSE Geo Case Studies (Incomplete)
IGCSE Geo Case Studies (Incomplete)
Industry
Iron and steel manufacturing:
-Port Talbot Steelwork in South Wales
-Location: large area of flat land, near to the sea for importing and
exporting purposes (resources are heavy&have to be imported by
sea), near to a large workforce and access to the entire british
market through excellent motorway links (there have been
government grants and loans)
High-tech industries:
-The M4 Corridor- on either side of M4 motorway running from
London to Cardif
-Location: the motorway system (easy access to all parts of UK),
close proximity to many airports in London (heathrow), Bristol and
Cardif (international business links), a railway line runs through the
region, close proximity and good access to London (where major
govt functions and financial trading occurs), large pool of workers in
London, Reading, Bristol, close to good universities in London,
Cardif, Bath, Reading, Bristol (to supply skilled labour and
research&development facilities) (oxford, Cambridge,etc) ,
attractive areas to live nearby and enjoy recreation time like Mendip
Hills , many of the South of England is wealthy (so large potential
market for new products), there is already existing government and
research facilities and other research based companies like Rolls
Royce and British Aerospace, high conc. Oof high-tech industries
share ideas and service to reduce costs
-companies: LG, Microsoft, Panasonic
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/geography/industry/revise-it/casestudies
Manufacturing industry: Honda in Guangzhou (pearl river delta)
Impacts: air pollution area covered in smog (comes from power
plants that burn coal) (levels of SO2 and NO2 in PRD are 2-3 times
higher than in other areas of Guangdong province causes acid
rain) , pollution from factory waste and untreated sewage water
quality is very poor (pearl river water in Guangzhou is only suitable
for farm use not for drinking/domestic use), afects wildlife habitats
(pearl river drains into south china sea local species like chinese
white dolphin are becoming endangered), air pollution leads to
respiratory problems
Benefits:
1) construction of education institutes and innovation platform
has been improved (Guangzhou has 2/3 higher education
institutes in Guangdong)
ThreeGorgesDam
TheThreeGorgesDamisthelargesthydroelectricpowerstationintheworld.Thedamisover2km
wideanditproduces22,500MWofelectricity.TheHEPislocatedontheYangtseRiverinCentral
China.ChinaisthemostpopulatedcountryintheworldandtheYangtseisthethirdlongestriverinthe
world.ThesiteoftheThreeGorgesDamwaschosenover15othersitesinChina.Itslocationwas
pickedforthefollowingreasons:
Asthethirdlargestriverintheworldtheriverofferedhugehydroelectricpotential
Therivervalleywaswideandflatmakingbuildingeasier
Thebedrockwasfirmwithlimitedcracksandfissuresmakingitstronger
Therewasasmallislandintheriverchannelwhichmadeiteasytocreateadiversionchannel
duringbuilding
DespitelargepartsofChinabeingseismicallyactive,theareaaroundthedamhasnotsuffered
anyrecentmajorquakes
Thereweretownsandcitiesthatneededtoberelocated,butincommunistChinaitwaseasy
topurchasehomesandrelocatepeoplee.g.Fengdu
Chinahasahugepopulation(over1.3billion)soitwaseasytomobiliseworkers
SizewellAandB,UKNuclearPowerStation
SizewellAandBarelocatenearthevillageofSizewellinSuffolk.SuffolkiscountyofEngland
locatedintheeastinapartofEnglandcalledEastAnglia.Sizewellislocatedonthecoastnexttothe
NorthSea.AlthoughSizewellAisnowbeingdecommissioned(shutdown),SizewellBisstillinuse
andthereareproposalsforathird.ThelocationofSizewllwaschosenforthefollowingreasons:
Closetotheseasoseawatercanbeusedforcooling
Closetothecoastsorawmaterials(uranium)canbeimportedandwasteexported.
Awayfrommajorpopulationcentreswhomayfearimpactsofnuclearpower(NIMBY)
Ithasanearbyraillinkandroadlinksnuclearwasteisactuallytransportedbytrainto
Sellafield(adifferentnuclearsite)
Flatgroundwithplentyofextralandavailableforexpansion
Itisonaslightplateausositedaboutthelevelofcoastalflooding
Connectionstothenationalgrid
RatcliffeonSoar,UKThermalPowerStation(coal)
Athermalpowerstationisanypowerstationthatusesfossilfuelsasitsfuel.TheRatcliffeonSoar
powerstationislocatedinthecountyofNottinghamshireincentralEngland.Thepowerstationwas
initiallycommissionedin1968andgeneratesabout2,000MWofelectricitywhichcanmeettheneeds
ofabout2millionpeople.Thepowerstationgenerateselectricityusingcoal.Thelocationofthepower
stationwaschosenbecause:
ItisclosetotheRiverTrentsowastercanbeeasilyobtainedforcooling
ItisclosetheM1motorwaysorawmaterialscanbetransportedtothepowerstationeasily.
WhenbuiltitwasclosetotheDerbyshireandNottinghamshirecoalminesalthoughmost
havenowclosed.
Itwasconnectedtothenationalgrid
ItwasclosetothemajorpopulationcentresofDerby,LeicesterandNottinghamsupplyof
workers
Itwaslocatedoutsideofanymajorcitiestoreduceprotests(NIMBY)
Ithasarailwaynearbytohelpwithtransportationofworkersandmaterials
Itwasbuiltonflatland(floodplain)
ADVANTAGESOFLIVINGIN
MEKONGDELTA
Fertilelandforfarming,especiallycropslike
rice
Plentyofwaterforfishingoraquaculture.
Thiscanfeedfamiliesorprovidean
economicincome.
Abundantdrinkingwater
Waterforcooking,washing,etc.
Tourismopportunitiese.g.MekongDelta
Housescanbebuiltonwaterandarethen
transportableandtheydonotflood
Goodtransportlinks,possibletotrade
MekongdeltaisinVietnam
DISADVANTAGESOFLIVING
INMEKONGDELTA
Hardtomaketransportlinksbyroads
costofbridges
Areasareatconstantriskofflood
Vulnerabletorisingsealevels
Waterisoftendirtyandpolluted
(industry,agriculture,sewers)
Mosquitoesareattractedtowater
(Malaria,Dengue)
Stormsurgesfromtropicalstorms
Costofbuildingdefences