SL Paper 1
Examine possible ways of managing the causes and consequences of desertification.
Examine how competition over resources in one or more extreme environments has led to tension among stakeholders.
Examine the importance of permafrost in the development of periglacial landscapes.
Examine the political issues associated with mineral extraction in two or more extreme environments.
The radial diagram shows the facing direction for a sample of cirques/corries in a glaciated mountainous area.
[Source: Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.]
State the difference in mean altitude, in metres, for south-facing and north-facing corries.
Estimate the percentage of cirques/corries facing east.
Outline one erosional process responsible for the formation of cirques/corries.
Explain two consequences of a warming climate on ice distribution in a glaciated mountainous area such as this.
Examine the possible long-term challenges associated with tourism in one or more types of cold environment.
Examine the importance of wind in the development of two or more hot, arid landscape features.
Examine the opportunities and challenges associated with tourism in hot, arid environments.
Examine possible ways of managing the impacts of global climate change on local populations in hot, arid environments.
Examine why opportunities for agriculture vary from place to place in hot, arid environments.
Evaluate the main opportunities and challenges for indigenous groups in extreme environments.
The map shows the distribution of buildings on the continent of Antarctica.
[Source: Brooks, S. T., Jabour, J., Van den Hoff, J. and Bergstrom, D. M., 2019. Our footprint on Antarctica competes with
nature for rare ice-free land. Nature Sustainability. [online]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/
Distribution-of-building-footprint-on-Antarctica-a-The-distribution-and-density-of_fig1_331506395 [Accessed 1
October 2020]. Source adapted.]
Identify one feature of the way buildings are dispersed across Antarctica.
Estimate the latitude of building A.
Outline one reason why a long-term fall in temperature might cause glaciers to advance.
Explain two geographic factors that can make very high-latitude polar regions challenging for human activity.
The map shows the ways in which the Arctic is being used by various countries.
[Source: map after an original document by Philippe Rekacewicz, visionscarto.net]
Briefly describe two main features of the pattern of the gas and oil extraction sites shown on the map.
Outline one physical reason why permafrost causes challenges for the industries shown on the map.
Explain three possible conflicts over the use of cold environments (such as the Arctic) for mineral extraction.
The map shows the location of hot, arid deserts in Australia.
2013. Deserts in Australia. [online] Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deserts_in_Australia_en.png CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ [accessed 17 April 2019]. Source adapted.
Identify which state has the largest area of named deserts.
Identify the two deserts with the greatest longitudinal (east to west) extent.
Outline one reason why rainfall is low in hot, arid deserts.
Explain two challenges that low rainfall creates for agriculture in inland deserts such as those shown on the map.
Examine the importance of water in the development of hot, arid landscape features.
Examine the extent to which new technologies might contribute to sustainable development in one or more kinds of extreme environment.
The map shows predicted permafrost conditions in Greenland and North America in 2080.
[Source: Dr. Sergey Marchenko, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA]
Briefly describe the distribution of thawing permafrost in Greenland.
Outline one possible reason why some permafrost in area A has not thawed.
Suggest three possible ways in which the melting of permafrost could affect local populations in areas such as those shown on the map.