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
The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity
- 30 subtopics
- 90 things to know
- Papers 1 and 3
What The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity covers
Covers water as a global system and as a scarce resource: the hydrological cycle and the drainage basin, drought and flooding, how climate change is altering both, why water insecurity arises, and how supply is managed and fought over.
Where it is assessed
Papers 1 and 3
Physical Geography, then the synoptic investigation.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 30 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The processes of the hydrological cycleThe hydrological cycle as a closed system driven by solar and gravitational energy, and evaporation, transpiration, evapotranspiration, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, percolation, surface runoff and groundwater flow.Open →
- The stores of water and their relative sizeRecall questions on the oceans, cryosphere, groundwater, surface water, atmosphere and biosphere, and the share each holds.Open →
- Fluxes, residence time, fossil water and the cryosphereRecall questions on annual fluxes, the global water budget, residence time, fossil water and irreversible cryosphere loss.Open →
- The drainage basin as an open systemRecall questions on the inputs, flows, stores and outputs of a drainage basin.Open →
- What influences drainage basin processesHow climate, soils, vegetation, geology and relief influence drainage basin processes, the effects of deforestation, urbanisation, reservoirs and water abstraction, and Amazonia as an example of human disruption through cattle ranching, soya cultivation and dams such as Belo Monte.Open →
- Water budgets and river regimesWhat a water budget shows about soil moisture and water availability in tropical, temperate and polar climates, what a river regime is, how climate, geology and soils shape it, and the contrasting regimes of the Yukon, Amazon and Indus.Open →
- What shapes a storm hydrographRecall questions on basin size and shape, drainage density, rock type, soil, relief, vegetation and land use.Open →
- Reading a storm hydrographRecall questions on lag time, peak discharge, the rising and falling limbs, and flashy against flat hydrographs.Open →
- Meteorological and hydrological drought, ENSO and human causesMeteorological and hydrological drought and why one lags the other, short and longer-term precipitation deficits, ENSO and the regions affected in its El Niño and La Niña phases, and human causes such as over-abstraction, with the Sahel and the Murray-Darling Basin as examples.Open →
- The impacts of drought on wetlands and forestsRecall questions on what drought does to wetland and forest ecosystems, and on what determines their resilience.Open →
- The physical causes of floodingRecall questions on rainfall intensity and duration, monsoon, snowmelt and saturated ground.Open →
- Human causes of floodingHow deforestation, urbanisation, agricultural drainage and land use changes shorten lag time and raise peak discharge, and how channelisation, embankments, dams and upstream flood protection can increase flood risk.Open →
- The environmental and economic impacts of floodingRecall questions on soil erosion, waterlogging, habitat loss, business closure and recovery costs.Open →
- Social impacts, case studies and synoptic chartsThe social impacts of flooding on water supplies, telecommunications, buildings, displacement, disease and mental health, the UK floods of 2007 and 2012 as examples, flash against fluvial flooding, and reading synoptic charts for the conditions that bring flooding and drought.Open →
- How climate change alters the hydrological cycleRecall questions on changes to precipitation, evaporation, glaciers, permafrost, soil moisture and river flow.Open →
- ENSO, uncertainty and future projectionsRecall questions on why short-term oscillations and warming together make the system harder to predict.Open →
- Water stress, scarcity and the physical causes of insecurityRecall questions on the thresholds for stress and scarcity, and on climate variability and salt water encroachment.Open →
- Human causes of water insecurity and rising demandRecall questions on over-abstraction and contamination, and on population, living standards, industry and agriculture as drivers of demand.Open →
- Physical and economic water scarcityRecall questions on what separates the two, and on where each is found.Open →
- Why economic scarcity happens, and the price of waterRecall questions on poverty, infrastructure, governance and corruption, and on what determines what water costs.Open →
- How water is used: industry, energy and agricultureRecall questions on cooling, processing, power generation and irrigation, and on which sector uses most.Open →
- The consequences of water insecurityRecall questions on the health, ecosystem and economic consequences of not having enough.Open →
- Competing users and trans-boundary riversRecall questions on how agriculture, industry, households and the environment compete, and on the Nile and Mekong.Open →
- The players in water conflict, and its causesRecall questions on governments, farmers, corporations, NGOs and international bodies, and on dams, abstraction and pollution as causes.Open →
- Water transfers as a hard engineering solutionRecall questions on what a transfer scheme does, its costs and benefits, and China's South-North scheme.Open →
- Mega dams and their costsRecall questions on the storage, power and irrigation they provide, set against displacement, ecosystem loss and sediment trapping.Open →
- Desalination, and the case against the techno-fixRecall questions on how desalination works and what it costs, and on the criticisms of hard engineering generally.Open →
- The value of more sustainable schemes of restoration of water supplies and water conservationRecall questions on smart irrigation, recycling and conservation, and on Singapore's Four National Taps.Open →
- Integrated drainage basin management and water treatiesRecall questions on the principle behind basin-wide management, and on the Nile, Colorado and the international frameworks.Open →
- The players in water management and the conflicts between themRecall questions on governments, IGOs, regional authorities, NGOs and communities, and on upstream-downstream disputes.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What are the main features of a storm hydrograph?
Key term
Why is the global hydrological cycle described as a closed system?
Process
Define the cryosphere as a water store.
Numbers
Why are oceans considered the dominant store in the global hydrological cycle?
Numbers
State the approximate residence time of water in the atmosphere.
Key term
What do proportional flow diagrams of the global hydrological system represent?
Key term
Why is a drainage basin classified as an open system rather than a closed system?
Key term
Explain how direct runoff (overland flow) occurs.
Key term
How does geology influence percolation and groundwater flow?
Key term
What is a water budget?
Key term
What characterises the water budget of polar climates?
Key term
Explain why urbanisation produces flashier hydrographs.
Key term
Define lag time on a storm hydrograph.
Key term
Which regions can experience intensified drought during the La Niña phase of ENSO?
Key term
What can happen when repeated or prolonged drought exceeds ecosystem resilience thresholds?
Key term
Why does overland flow increase after prolonged heavy rainfall?
Evaluation
What effect do land use changes have on lag time and peak discharge?
Evaluation
What risk do dams pose during extreme flood events?
Process
What causes species mortality during flood events?
Process
In what ways can flooding disrupt ecosystems?
Key term
How can flooding contaminate water supplies?
Numbers
What was notable about England's rainfall in 2012?
Key term
What is permafrost thawing and how does it affect the hydrological cycle?
Key term
State the full name of ENSO.
Process
What would occur if demand for water continues to rise while supply remains constant?
Process
In what way does agricultural activity contaminate water supplies?
Process
How does industrial pollution contribute to water insecurity?
Key term
Why do limited groundwater reserves contribute to physical water scarcity?
Evaluation
How does ability to pay affect water pricing globally?
Process
Why is water needed for cooling in industrial processes?
Study
How is water critical for hydroelectric power generation?
Process
Why is a reliable water supply essential for adequate sanitation?
Key term
How does inadequate water supply lead to ecosystem degradation?
Evaluation
Why does industry come into conflict with other water users?
Key term
How would you expect the shape of a water poverty index diamond to differ between a developed and a developing country?
Evaluation
Why are water transfers considered energy intensive?
Evaluation
In what way do mega dams contribute to flood control?
Evaluation
In what ways do mega dams alter river ecology?
Key term
Why is desalination particularly suitable for coastal arid regions?
Evaluation
What assumption underlies the techno-fix approach to water management?
Key term
What does restoration of water supplies mean?
Evaluation
What is the argument for treating water as an economic good?
Key term
What is a water sharing treaty?
Key term
What is the Water Framework Directive?
Key term
What competing demands must water sharing frameworks aim to balance?
Evaluation
What would happen to downstream nations if an upstream country significantly increased water abstraction?
Process
Explain how climate influences drainage basin processes.
Key term
What does a storm hydrograph show?
Key term
What is the definition of meteorological drought?
Key term
What impacts does drought have on wetland ecosystems?
Key term
What characteristic of rainfall intensity contributes to flash flooding?
Key term
How does climate change affect precipitation inputs to the hydrological cycle?
Key term
What is ENSO and what does it cause?
Key term
What is the threshold for water stress in terms of annual per capita availability?
Key term
What threshold of annual renewable water supply per person is commonly used to indicate physical water scarcity?
Key term
Explain how poverty causes economic water scarcity.
Key term
How does agriculture compete with other users in water conflicts within a country?
Key term
How does dam construction cause international water conflicts?
Key term
What are water transfers and what infrastructure do they use?
Key term
What energy source drives evaporation and evapotranspiration in the hydrological cycle?
Key term
Name the six main stores of water in the global hydrological cycle.
Key term
What are annual fluxes in the context of the hydrological cycle?
Key term
Define interception in the context of the drainage basin system.
Key term
How do permeable sandy soils affect water movement compared to impermeable clay soils?
Key term
What aspect of soil conditions do water budgets affect throughout the year?
Key term
How does drainage basin size affect storm hydrograph shape?
Key term
What is peak discharge?
Key term
What are the immediate effects of a short-term precipitation deficit on the hydrological cycle?
Key term
Define ecosystem resilience.
Key term
Why does the short duration of intense storms still cause flash flooding?
Key term
Why does urbanisation increase flood risk in a catchment?
Key term
What is soil erosion as an environmental impact of flooding?
Key term
What causes telecommunications failure during floods?
Key term
What would happen to regional water availability if climate change shifted monsoon patterns to arrive later in the year?
Key term
How do ENSO cycles increase uncertainty in the hydrological system?
Key term
Define water scarcity using the standard quantitative threshold.
Key term
Why is over-abstraction from rivers considered a human cause of water insecurity?
Key term
Define economic water scarcity.
Key term
How does lack of infrastructure investment lead to economic water scarcity?
Key term
How is water used for cleaning in industry?
Key term
Name three waterborne diseases that result from water insecurity.
Key term
Why do environmental needs create conflict with other water users?
Key term
Why does irrigation abstraction lead to international water disputes?
Key term
Define a mega dam and state its main purposes.
Key term
How do mega dams provide water storage and supply security?
Key term
Why is desalination considered a rainfall-independent water supply?
Key term
Why is weather data integration valuable in smart irrigation?
Key term
Which countries and jurisdictions share the Colorado River basin?
Key term
Name an international body that helps reduce the risk of conflict over water shared between countries.
Take The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Infiltration vs Percolation
Infiltration: water entry from the surface into soil. Percolation: water movement downward through soil and rock.
Physical scarcity vs Economic scarcity
Physical scarcity: insufficient natural water resources to meet demand. Economic scarcity: inadequate access caused by limited infrastructure or investment.
Hard engineering vs Soft management
Hard engineering: large constructed intervention controlling water supply. Soft management: demand reduction and governance working with existing systems.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Why is the global hydrological cycle described as a closed system?
Model answer
No water enters or leaves the Earth system; water is continuously recycled between stores.
- 2
What energy source drives evaporation and evapotranspiration in the hydrological cycle?
Model answer
Solar energy provides the energy input that moves water from surface stores into the atmosphere.
- 3
Which form of energy is responsible for driving precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration, percolation and groundwater flow?
Model answer
Gravitational potential energy, which moves water downslope and through the system.
- 4
Define evaporation in the context of the global hydrological cycle.
Model answer
The process by which liquid water is converted into water vapour at the surface of water bodies or moist surfaces.
- 5
What is transpiration?
Model answer
The release of water vapour from plants through their stomata into the atmosphere.
- 6
Define evapotranspiration.
Model answer
The combined loss of water to the atmosphere from evaporation and plant transpiration.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity revision questions
- What does The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity cover in Edexcel A-Level Geography?
- 30 subtopics: the processes of the hydrological cycle, the stores of water and their relative size, fluxes, residence time, fossil water and the cryosphere, the drainage basin as an open system, what influences drainage basin processes, water budgets and river regimes, what shapes a storm hydrograph, reading a storm hydrograph, meteorological and hydrological drought, enso and human causes, the impacts of drought on wetlands and forests, the physical causes of flooding, human causes of flooding, the environmental and economic impacts of flooding, social impacts, case studies and synoptic charts, how climate change alters the hydrological cycle, enso, uncertainty and future projections, water stress, scarcity and the physical causes of insecurity, human causes of water insecurity and rising demand, physical and economic water scarcity, why economic scarcity happens, and the price of water, how water is used: industry, energy and agriculture, the consequences of water insecurity, competing users and trans-boundary rivers, the players in water conflict, and its causes, water transfers as a hard engineering solution, mega dams and their costs, desalination, and the case against the techno-fix, the value of more sustainable schemes of restoration of water supplies and water conservation, integrated drainage basin management and water treaties and the players in water management and the conflicts between them. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity organised?
- By the Edexcel 9GE0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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