What is a glacial period?

A long cold phase lasting tens of thousands of years when global temperatures fell by several degrees and ice sheets and glaciers advanced.

Which kind of period are we living in now, and roughly when did it begin?

An interglacial, which began around 12,000 years ago as the last glacial phase ended.

How does the natural temperature change of the Quaternary compare with the warming of the last hundred years?

The natural swings were larger overall but took many thousands of years, whereas the recent rise has happened within roughly a century.

What are Milankovitch cycles?

Regular long-term changes in the Earth's orbit and axis that alter how much solar energy reaches the planet and how it is shared between the seasons and latitudes.

Edexcel GCSE Geography A 1GA0

Changing Cities

Topic overview Global urbanisation trends and rates The UK’s urban population and why urbanisation varies by region The chosen UK city: site, situation, connectivity and structure Urbanisation, suburbanisation and migration in the chosen UK city Population change and deindustrialisation in the chosen UK city Inequality and changes in retailing in the chosen UK city Making the chosen UK city more sustainable The chosen developing or emerging city: site, situation and structure Population growth and migration in the chosen developing or emerging city Inequality and quality of life in the chosen developing or emerging city Rapid urbanisation: challenges, and bottom-up and top-down responses Government policy and quality of life in the chosen city

Coastal Landscapes and ProcessesLandscape option

Topic overview Coastal processes: weathering, mass movement, erosion, transport and deposition Geology, wave type and UK weather at the coast Coastal landforms of erosion and deposition Coastal recession, flooding and coastal defences A named distinctive coastal landscape in the UK

Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Management

Topic overview The world’s large-scale ecosystems and what controls their distribution The biosphere as a resource, and its commercial exploitation UK terrestrial and marine ecosystems Tropical rainforest characteristics and the nutrient cycle Rainforest biodiversity and plant and animal adaptations Rainforest goods and services, and the causes of deforestation Sustainable management of a named rainforest Deciduous woodland characteristics and the nutrient cycle Woodland biodiversity and plant and animal adaptations Woodland goods and services, and the causes of deforestation Sustainable management of a named deciduous woodland

Energy Resource ManagementResource option

Topic overview Renewable and non-renewable energy resources compared The UK’s energy mix and why energy mixes vary Rising energy demand and the development of non-renewables Developing renewables, and fracking Stakeholder attitudes to energy Sustainable management of energy resources

Geographical Investigations – Fieldwork

Topic overview River fieldwork: enquiry questions, methods and secondary data Coastal fieldwork: enquiry questions, methods and secondary data Urban fieldwork: enquiry questions and methods Urban fieldwork: secondary data sources Rural fieldwork: enquiry questions and methods Rural fieldwork: secondary data sources The enquiry process: asking questions and choosing methods The enquiry process: presenting, analysing and concluding The enquiry process: evaluating fieldwork

Geographical Investigations − UK Challenges

Topic overview The UK’s resource consumption and sustainability challenge The UK’s settlement, population and economic challenges The UK’s landscape challenges: National Parks and flood risk The UK’s climate change challenges

Geographical Skills

Topic overview Atlas and map skills: distributions, patterns and sketch maps Describing the site, situation and shape of settlements Interpreting diagrams, sketches and photographs Using online census sources Hypotheses, sampling and risk assessment Collecting, recording and presenting data Writing about findings and building an argument

Glaciated Upland Landscapes and ProcessesLandscape option

Topic overview Glacial processes and the processes at work on relict landscapes today Past climate and present UK weather in glaciated uplands Glacial landforms of erosion and deposition Crag and tail, and drumlins Human activity and development in glaciated uplands A named distinctive glaciated upland landscape in the UK

Global Development

Topic overview Defining and measuring development The global pattern of development and why it is uneven The consequences of uneven development for quality of life Strategies to reduce uneven development: aid, top-down and bottom-up The chosen country: location, context and internal unevenness Economic change, trade, aid and investment in the chosen country Population and social change in the chosen country Geopolitics and technology in the chosen country The impacts of rapid development and how they are managed

Mathematics and Statistics Skills

Topic overview Cartographic skills: contours, transects, scale and distance Using GIS and geo-spatial data Choosing, constructing and interpreting graphs and charts Numerical skills: number, scale, proportion and ratio Drawing conclusions from numerical data Statistical skills: averages, spread, percentages and correlation Spotting weaknesses in how data is presented

Resource Management

Topic overview What natural resources are, and how people exploit them How exploitation changes environments The distribution and consumption of food, energy and water

River Landscapes and ProcessesLandscape option

Topic overview River processes: weathering, mass movement, erosion, transport and deposition The long profile of a river and the effect of UK weather River landforms from source to mouth Land use, flood risk and river defences A named distinctive river landscape in the UK

The Changing Landscapes of the UK

Topic overview The UK’s rock types and geology How the UK’s upland and lowland landscapes were formed

Water Resource ManagementResource option

Topic overview The global distribution of fresh water, and water surplus and deficit Changing water supply and demand How water use differs between countries Water supply problems in the UK and in developing countries Stakeholder attitudes to water, and desalination Sustainable management of water resources

Weather Hazards and Climate Change

Topic overview Global atmospheric circulation and the transfer of heat Natural climate change and the evidence for it The enhanced greenhouse effect and the effects of climate change The climate of the UK and how it varies How tropical cyclones form, and where they occur Why tropical cyclones are hazardous, and their impacts Responses to tropical cyclones The causes of drought and why some places are more vulnerable The impacts of drought and responses to it

Weather Hazards and Climate Change

Natural climate change and the evidence for it

3 things to know
Paper 1

Overview

The Quaternary period, glacials and interglacials, natural change compared with recent warming, Milankovitch cycles, solar output and volcanic eruptions, and the evidence from ice cores, pollen, tree rings and historical records.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What is an interglacial?

Key term

Name the three Milankovitch cycles.

Key term

What is the Quaternary period?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is the Quaternary period?
Model answer
The most recent geological period, covering roughly the last 2.6 million years up to the present day.
2
What is a glacial period?
Model answer
A long cold phase lasting tens of thousands of years when global temperatures fell by several degrees and ice sheets and glaciers advanced.
3
What is an interglacial?
Model answer
A warmer phase between glacials, typically lasting about ten thousand years, when the ice retreated and temperatures were similar to those of today.
4
Which kind of period are we living in now, and roughly when did it begin?
Model answer
An interglacial, which began around 12,000 years ago as the last glacial phase ended.
5
How does the natural temperature change of the Quaternary compare with the warming of the last hundred years?
Model answer
The natural swings were larger overall but took many thousands of years, whereas the recent rise has happened within roughly a century.
6
What are Milankovitch cycles?
Model answer
Regular long-term changes in the Earth's orbit and axis that alter how much solar energy reaches the planet and how it is shared between the seasons and latitudes.

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Changing Cities

Coastal Landscapes and Processes

Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Management

Energy Resource Management

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ALess reliable rainfall slows both growth and decay.

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