Process
Edexcel A-Level Geography 9GE0
Tectonic Processes and Hazards
Topic overviewGlobal distribution of tectonic hazards and plate boundary processesThe structure of the Earth and mantle convectionRidge push, slab pull and sea-floor spreadingDestructive and constructive plate marginsCollision and transform marginsMagma composition and eruption styleThe Benioff zone and earthquake magnitudeSeismic waves and their effectsVolcanic hazards and tsunamisHazard, vulnerability, resilience and the risk equationThe Pressure and Release modelThe impacts of tectonic hazardsMeasuring hazards, and the hazard profileSpeed of onset, areal extent, duration and predictabilityWhy impacts differ between countriesEducation, buildings, healthcare and income as factors in vulnerabilityGovernance at local and national levelPopulation density, isolation and urbanisationHow development level shapes disaster outcomesTrends in tectonic disasters, data reliability and samplingMega-disasters and multiple-hazard zonesTheoretical frameworks for prediction, impact and managementLand-use zoning and hazard-resistant designMonitoring, prediction, preparedness and aid
Glaciated Landscapes and ChangeLandscape
Topic overviewThe cryosphere and the types of glacierGlacial chronology and the causes of climate changeEvidence for Pleistocene ice extentRelict glacial landscapes, and polar against temperate glaciersPermafrost, nivation, frost heave and solifluctionIce wedges, patterned ground, pingos and loessGlacial mass balance and the ice-albedo feedbackAccumulation and ablation processesThe equilibrium line and how glaciers moveWhat controls the rate of glacial movementBasal slip and internal deformationWhat speeds a glacier up or slows it downDebris entrainment, transport and the scale of glacial landformsGlacial erosion, corries, aretes and pyramidal peaksTroughs, hanging valleys, ribbon lakes and roches moutonneesMoraines: lateral, medial, recessional and terminalDrumlins, till plains and the two kinds of tillErratics and reconstructing former ice movementMeltwater pathways, and analysing fluvioglacial sedimentFluvio-glacial (meltwater) landformsThe value of glaciated landscapes to peopleNatural hazards and human threats to glaciated landscapesClimate change and the players who manage these landscapesManagement approaches, legislation and scale
Coastal Landscapes and ChangeLandscape
Topic overviewThe littoral zone and the influences that shape itConcordant and discordant coasts, and geological structureCoastal types and the influence of rock structureFaulting, folding and geological weaknessesRock type, permeability and cliff profilesPsammosere succession on sand dunesHalosere succession and rates of recessionWaves, beach profiles and marine erosionWave-cut notches, platforms and cliffsCaves, arches, stacks and stumpsLongshore drift and the transport of sedimentSpits, bars, tombolos and other depositional landformsSediment cells: sources, transfers and sinksWeathering on the coastMass movement and its landformsRapid coastal recession and variations in its rateCauses of sea level change, and emergent coastlinesSubmergent coastlines and contemporary sea level riseCoastal flooding as a significant and increasing riskLosses from coastal recession, and environmental refugeesHard and soft engineering on the coastIntegrated coastal zone management and shoreline policiesHow coastal management decisions are made, and by whomUsing GIS, photographs and crowd-sourced data in coastal management
Globalisation
Topic overviewWidening, deepening and the global flowsThe five global flows definedTransport, ICT and the shrinking worldPolitical and economic decision making in globalisationMeasuring globalisation: the AT Kearney and KOF indicesTNCs, glocalisation, outsourcing and switched-off placesThe global shift and who gains from itThe social and environmental costs of the global shiftDeindustrialised regions in developed countriesRural-urban migration and the growth of megacitiesGlobal hub cities and international migrationThe costs and benefits of economic migrationCultural diffusion and the spread of a global cultureCultural erosion and opposition to globalisationMeasuring development: GDP, HDI and the Gender Inequality IndexEnvironmental measures, the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curveGeographical skills: statistics, data and research ethicsWinners, losers and the widening development gapSocial, political and environmental tensions from global changeLocal sourcing and its costs and benefitsFair trade, ethical consumption and recycling
Regenerating PlacesPlaces
Topic overviewEconomic classification and variation from place to placeThe functions of a place and why they changeMeasuring place change and deprivationPast and present connections shaping economic and social characteristicsEconomic and social inequalities changing perceptions of areasLived experience, attachment and conflict over placeEvidence, representations, Spearman's rank and significance testingMeasures of dispersion: range, interquartile range and standard deviationSuccessful regions and the spiral of declinePerceptions of the need for regenerationNational planning, transport and funding decisionsNational policy: Levelling Up, house-building targets and foreign investmentLocal government incentives and inward investmentWhat attracts investment, and the multiplier effectLocal interest groups and tourism, sport and rural regenerationRebranding to change public perception of placesRebranding deindustrialised cities and rural areasEconomic, social and environmental measures of successDeprivation domains and demographic changeHow different stakeholders judge regenerationUrban stakeholders and their criteria for successUrban regeneration: reality, image and contested decisionsRural stakeholders and their criteria for successRural regeneration: reality, image and contested decisions
Diverse PlacesPlaces
Topic overviewPopulation structure variation from place to place and over timePopulation characteristics variation from place to place and over timeGlobal, national and regional influences on placeHow places are represented in film, art, music and mediaContinuity and change in demographic and cultural characterUrban places viewed differently by different groupsIdyllic and negative perceptions of rural placesHow reputation, media and lived experience shape rural viewsEvidence about living spaces, and research ethicsMedia and creative sources, coding and samplingIncreasing cultural and social diversity in the UKWhat causes segregationSegregation along the rural-urban continuum, and migrationPerceptions of segregated places, and measuring segregationLand-use change and tension between residents and newcomersMeasuring integration, and community cohesion in SloughDiverse rural communities: the Lake District
The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity
Topic overviewThe processes of the hydrological cycleThe stores of water and their relative sizeFluxes, residence time, fossil water and the cryosphereThe drainage basin as an open systemWhat influences drainage basin processesWater budgets and river regimesWhat shapes a storm hydrographReading a storm hydrographMeteorological and hydrological drought, ENSO and human causesThe impacts of drought on wetlands and forestsThe physical causes of floodingHuman causes of floodingThe environmental and economic impacts of floodingSocial impacts, case studies and synoptic chartsHow climate change alters the hydrological cycleENSO, uncertainty and future projectionsWater stress, scarcity and the physical causes of insecurityHuman causes of water insecurity and rising demandPhysical and economic water scarcityWhy economic scarcity happens, and the price of waterHow water is used: industry, energy and agricultureThe consequences of water insecurityCompeting users and trans-boundary riversThe players in water conflict, and its causesWater transfers as a hard engineering solutionMega dams and their costsDesalination, and the case against the techno-fixThe value of more sustainable schemes of restoration of water supplies and water conservationIntegrated drainage basin management and water treatiesThe players in water management and the conflicts between them
The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security
Topic overviewCarbon stores and fluxesChemical weathering, carbonate rocks and the slow carbon cycleBiological processes sequestering carbon (fast carbon cycle)Balanced carbon cycle sustaining earth systemsEnergy security and measuring energy useWhat shapes a country's energy mixContrasting energy mixes, public perception and OPECThe players in energy security, and energy pathwaysEnergy pathways and the mismatch between supply and demandUnconventional fossil fuels and their environmental costRenewables and nuclear: the costs and benefitsBiofuels, carbon capture, hydrogen and the uncertaintiesLand-use change and its effect on the carbon and water cyclesOcean acidification and coral reefsClimate belts, Amazonian drought and ecosystem servicesForest loss, the Kuznets curve and consumer attitudesHow warming changes the hydrological cycleUncertainty, ocean health and vulnerable regionsUncertainty, feedback loops and tipping pointsAdaptation and mitigation strategiesWhy players disagree, and handling climate data
Superpowers
Topic overviewWhat makes a superpower: economy, politics and militaryCultural, demographic and resource characteristicsHard power, soft power and smart powerThe Belt and Road Initiative, and power indexesPatterns of power change over timeEmerging powers and how their strengths are assessedWorld systems, dependency and modernisation theoryIGOs and how superpowers dominate themTNCs, cultural influence and WesternisationHow superpowers and emerging nations act in global decisionsAlliances, IGOs and geostrategyThe environmental cost of superpower demandThe rising middle class in emerging superpowersContested resources and intellectual propertyContested political spheres and open conflictChina's ties with the developing worldTensions in Asia and the Middle EastChallenges to existing superpowers, and future power structures
Health, Human Rights and InterventionConnections
Topic overviewConcepts of human developmentWhat causes variations in health and life expectancyHealth variations within countriesGovernments and IGOs defining development targets and policiesHuman rights in international law and agreementsDifferences between countries in definitions and protection of human rightsVariations in rights within countriesProgress towards equality, and the case studiesForms of geopolitical interventionDevelopment aid and the arguments about itEconomic development projects and military aidDevelopment focused on human rights and welfareHealth and life expectancy variation between and within countriesWelfare states, neo-liberalism and IGO programmesThe Responsibility to Protect and UN authorisationMilitary alliances, war crimes and the cost of military powerMeasuring the success of geopolitical interventionsThe mixed record of development aidWhy superpowers give aid, and the Gini coefficientMilitary interventions, both direct and indirect, have a mixed record of success
Migration, Identity and SovereigntyConnections
Topic overviewGlobalisation and the growth of migrationWhat changes migration patterns, and flow-line mapsVaried and complex causes of migrationConsequences of international migrationNation states and their varied historiesNationalism in the development of the modern worldTax havens, new state forms and alternatives to capitalismThe UN and its interventionsThe IMF, World Bank, WTO and other IGOsMigration in a globalised worldOpen borders, deregulation and migrant integrationNation states, borders and contested territoryNationalism, decolonisation and low-tax regimesIGOs managing environmental problemsNational identity as an elusive and contested conceptChallenges to national identityConsequences of disunity within nations
Tectonic Processes and Hazards
- 24 subtopics
- 71 things to know
- Papers 1 and 3
What Tectonic Processes and Hazards covers
Covers why the Earth's crust moves and what happens when it does: plate boundaries and the forces driving them, the hazards each produces, and why the same magnitude event kills thousands in one country and dozens in another.
Where it is assessed
Papers 1 and 3
Physical Geography, then the synoptic investigation.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 24 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Global distribution of tectonic hazards and plate boundary processesRecall questions on where earthquakes, eruptions and tsunamis cluster, the four kinds of plate boundary, and intra-plate activity at hot spots.Open →
- The structure of the Earth and mantle convectionRecall questions on the crust, mantle and core, and on the convection currents driven by heat from below.Open →
- Ridge push, slab pull and sea-floor spreadingRecall questions on the forces that move plates, sea-floor spreading, and the magnetic striping that provides the evidence.Open →
- Destructive and constructive plate marginsRecall questions on what happens where plates converge and diverge, and the landforms and eruption styles each produces.Open →
- Collision and transform marginsRecall questions on why fold mountains form where two continents meet, and why transform margins produce earthquakes but no volcanoes.Open →
- Magma composition and eruption styleRecall questions on how silica content, gas and temperature decide whether an eruption is effusive or explosive.Open →
- The Benioff zone and earthquake magnitudeRecall questions on the depth of earthquakes along a subducting slab, and on what makes a quake large.Open →
- Seismic waves and their effectsRecall questions on P, S and L waves, and on ground shaking, liquefaction and landslides.Open →
- Volcanic hazards and tsunamisRecall questions on lava flows, pyroclastic flows, ash, gases, lahars and jokulhlaups, and on how a tsunami is generated.Open →
- Hazard, vulnerability, resilience and the risk equationRecall questions on what turns a hazard into a disaster, and on the terms in the hazard risk equation.Open →
- The Pressure and Release modelRecall questions on root causes, dynamic pressures and unsafe conditions, and on what the model explains.Open →
- The impacts of tectonic hazardsRecall questions on the social, economic and environmental consequences, and on the secondary hazards that follow.Open →
- Measuring hazards, and the hazard profileRecall questions on the Mercalli scale, moment magnitude and the Volcanic Explosivity Index, and on what a hazard profile shows.Open →
- Speed of onset, areal extent, duration and predictabilityRecall questions on how earthquakes, eruptions and tsunamis compare on each of the profile criteria.Open →
- Why impacts differ between countriesWhy death tolls and economic losses differ between developed, emerging and developing countries, the social and economic impacts of tectonic hazards, resilience and correlating magnitude with deaths and damage, and events such as Haiti 2010, Gorkha 2015, Christchurch 2011, Tōhoku 2011, Nevado del Ruiz, Eyjafjallajökull and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.Open →
- Education, buildings, healthcare and income as factors in vulnerabilityHow unequal access to education limits hazard awareness, preparedness and understanding of warnings, how building quality and informal settlements affect collapse, how medical response and healthcare shape resilience and recovery, and how low incomes, limited insurance and constrained recovery funding raise vulnerability to tectonic hazards.Open →
- Governance at local and national levelRecall questions on zoning, building codes, emergency services, legislation and national coordination.Open →
- Population density, isolation and urbanisationRecall questions on how crowding, remoteness and city growth raise exposure and slow the response.Open →
- How development level shapes disaster outcomesHow building codes, warning systems, emergency response and preparedness lower death tolls in developed countries, why poverty raises them in developing countries, urbanisation, infrastructure lag and variable governance in emerging countries, physical factors such as depth, geology and coastal exposure, and comparisons of Haiti with Darfield, Christchurch, Nepal 2015, Sichuan 2008 and Japan 2011.Open →
- Trends in tectonic disasters, data reliability and samplingTrends since 1960 in the number of tectonic disasters, people affected, deaths and economic losses, why underreporting, population density, urbanisation, wealth and reporting standards make the data hard to read, and random, systematic and stratified sampling, sample size and measurement error.Open →
- Mega-disasters and multiple-hazard zonesTectonic mega-disasters such as the 2004 Asian tsunami, the global disruption from Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 and the Fukushima nuclear disaster after the 2011 Japanese tsunami, and multiple-hazard zones and linked hazards, with the earthquakes, typhoons, flooding and landslides of the Philippines as the example.Open →
- Theoretical frameworks for prediction, impact and managementRecall questions on the hazard management cycle and the Park model, and on what each is used to explain.Open →
- Land-use zoning and hazard-resistant designRecall questions on planning controls, and on base isolation, cross-bracing, shear walls and diverting lava.Open →
- Monitoring, prediction, preparedness and aidRecall questions on monitoring instruments, education and drills, short and long-term aid, insurance, NGOs and GIS.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Process
What are the three kinds of seismic wave and how do they differ?
Key term
Explain why volcanic eruptions occur at plate boundaries and hotspots.
Process
What happens to continental crust at a divergent boundary, and what may eventually form?
Process
What causes hot material in the mantle to rise towards the surface?
Process
Why is the subducting slab able to exert a pulling force on the rest of the plate?
Process
How do iron minerals in cooling basalt provide evidence for plate tectonics?
Key term
How is magma generated at an oceanic-continental destructive margin?
Key term
Define a constructive (divergent) plate margin.
Key term
Why is there no volcanic activity at transform margins?
Process
How does silica content affect volcanic eruption characteristics?
Key term
Where do shallow-focus earthquakes occur along the Benioff zone?
Key term
What characteristics of the crust at constructive margins limit earthquake magnitude?
Key term
Describe the motion of P waves as they travel through rock.
Process
How do pyroclastic flows move in terms of speed?
Key term
At what type of plate boundary are tsunamis typically generated?
Evaluation
At what point does a hazard event become classified as a disaster?
Evaluation
What does the term 'threshold for resilience' mean for a community?
Evaluation
Which volcanic hazards associated with explosive eruptions cause the greatest loss of life?
Evaluation
List six factors that influence the severity of earthquake impacts.
Key term
What factors cause volcanic eruptions to have highly variable duration?
Evaluation
Why do developed countries often experience higher absolute economic losses from tectonic hazards?
Evaluation
How does business interruption occur as an economic impact of tectonic hazards?
Evaluation
Why does high population density increase exposure to tectonic hazards?
Evaluation
In what way might urbanisation provide advantages for emergency response to tectonic events?
Evaluation
Why does higher individual preparedness capacity reduce vulnerability in developed countries?
Evaluation
How does under-resourced emergency response affect tectonic disaster outcomes in developing countries?
Key term
Define a tectonic mega-disaster.
Evaluation
Define a multiple-hazard zone.
Evaluation
What does mitigation mean in the context of tectonic hazard management?
Evaluation
Explain how insurance helps communities recover from tectonic disasters.
Evaluation
How can Geographic Information Systems be used in tectonic hazard management?
Key term
What is the composition and physical state of the Earth's mantle?
Key term
What happens when two continental plates converge at a collision margin?
Key term
How does magma viscosity influence volcanic eruption style?
Key term
What does the Pressure and Release (PAR) model explain?
Key term
What does the Mercalli scale measure, and what is it based on?
Key term
How much more energy is released with each whole number increase on the Moment Magnitude Scale?
Key term
Describe the typical speed of onset for earthquakes.
Key term
In what way does inequality of access to education affect preparedness capacity for tectonic disasters?
Key term
How does building quality variation affect vulnerability to seismic events?
Key term
Why is building code enforcement by local government important for reducing earthquake impacts?
Key term
How does national investment in monitoring infrastructure reduce tectonic hazard impacts?
Key term
What trend has been observed in economic damage from tectonic disasters since 1960?
Key term
What trend has been observed in the number of deaths from tectonic disasters since 1960?
Key term
Why are volcanic eruptions generally more predictable than earthquakes?
Key term
What is land-use zoning as a mitigation strategy for tectonic hazards?
Key term
What is the function of cross-bracing in earthquake-resistant construction?
Key term
Where are earthquakes most concentrated globally?
Key term
What are the two types of crust that form the outermost layer of Earth's structure?
Key term
What is the fate of subducted oceanic crust?
Key term
Define a destructive (convergent) plate margin.
Key term
What happens to the crust when two continental plates collide?
Key term
How does gas content influence volcanic eruption magnitude?
Key term
Define the Benioff zone.
Key term
Which type of seismic wave travels fastest through the Earth's crust?
Key term
What is a pyroclastic flow composed of?
Key term
What is a natural hazard?
Key term
Name the three levels in the PAR model's progression of vulnerability.
Key term
List four social impacts of tectonic hazards.
Key term
What three criteria does the Volcanic Explosivity Index use to measure eruption magnitude?
Key term
How long does earthquake ground shaking typically last, and how long might aftershocks continue?
Key term
Why do developing countries typically experience higher death tolls from tectonic hazards?
Key term
Why do differences in structural resilience influence earthquake impacts?
Key term
How does high population density lead to higher potential casualty numbers from earthquakes?
Key term
How do enforced building codes in developed countries reduce earthquake death tolls?
Key term
Why might tectonic disaster data lack accuracy when comparing different databases?
Numbers
Approximately how many people were killed by the 2004 Asian tsunami, and what does this demonstrate?
Key term
How does geographic location influence the accuracy of tectonic hazard prediction?
Key term
How do shear walls contribute to a building's resistance to seismic shaking?
Key term
Name four types of instruments used in hi-tech monitoring of tectonic activity.
Take Tectonic Processes and Hazards further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Hazard vs Disaster
Hazard: natural event threatening people or property. Disaster: serious disruption exceeding a community’s ability to cope.
Primary hazard vs Secondary hazard
Primary hazard: direct consequence of a tectonic event. Secondary hazard: later consequence triggered by the initial event.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Where are earthquakes most concentrated globally?
Model answer
Along plate boundaries, with the highest concentration around the Pacific Ring of Fire, along mid-ocean ridges, and through the Alpine-Himalayan belt.
- 2
What causes earthquakes at plate boundaries?
Model answer
The sudden release of accumulated stress in the lithosphere, typically due to friction and pressure at plate boundaries or along fault lines.
- 3
Where are volcanic eruptions concentrated globally?
Model answer
Along convergent plate boundaries (subduction zones), divergent boundaries (mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys), and at hot spots.
- 4
Explain why volcanic eruptions occur at these locations.
Model answer
Magma rises through the lithosphere due to pressure differences, partial melting of subducted plates, or mantle plume activity.
- 5
In which ocean basin are tsunamis most common, and what type of plate boundary are they associated with?
Model answer
The Pacific Ocean basin, associated with subduction zones where large undersea earthquakes occur.
- 6
What causes tsunamis to form?
Model answer
Sudden vertical displacement of the ocean floor, typically from submarine earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or underwater landslides.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Tectonic Processes and Hazards revision questions
- What does Tectonic Processes and Hazards cover in Edexcel A-Level Geography?
- 24 subtopics: global distribution of tectonic hazards and plate boundary processes, the structure of the earth and mantle convection, ridge push, slab pull and sea-floor spreading, destructive and constructive plate margins, collision and transform margins, magma composition and eruption style, the benioff zone and earthquake magnitude, seismic waves and their effects, volcanic hazards and tsunamis, hazard, vulnerability, resilience and the risk equation, the pressure and release model, the impacts of tectonic hazards, measuring hazards, and the hazard profile, speed of onset, areal extent, duration and predictability, why impacts differ between countries, education, buildings, healthcare and income as factors in vulnerability, governance at local and national level, population density, isolation and urbanisation, how development level shapes disaster outcomes, trends in tectonic disasters, data reliability and sampling, mega-disasters and multiple-hazard zones, theoretical frameworks for prediction, impact and management, land-use zoning and hazard-resistant design and monitoring, prediction, preparedness and aid. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Tectonic Processes and Hazards organised?
- By the Edexcel 9GE0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
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