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AS Level Geography AQA Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days • Deliver two days of fieldwork within an inspiring physical environment. • Prepare AS level students for Section B of Paper 2: Geography fieldwork investigation and geographical skills, worth 12.5% of their total marks. • Cover specification content for AS fieldwork in 3.1 Physical geography; 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles. • For those going on to A level, this course will contribute two of the four days of fieldwork requirements and provide contextualised learning in inspiring real world environments to develop their geographical understanding for the A level examinations. AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Example Course Timetable DAY 1 MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING Arrive Midday Students will be greeted by FSC staff, with a welcome talk followed by a brief tour of the Centre and the local area. Choose one from: The Carbon Cycle as a Natural System Getting outside into the local environment to explore carbon through a systems approach; providing a context for the fieldwork and the learners place in the geography of carbon through setting a geological timeframe of carbon within the planetary system. Trialling techniques used to investigate carbon flux and storage. Developing a Systems Approach to Water A hands on outdoor exploration of the importance of water to life on Earth, and how it is cycled in the planetary system on different spatial and temporal scales. This will be given personal and local relevance through investigating inputs, stores and transfers in our own and the landscape system. Choose one from: Carbon Calculator Data Collection and Collation Developing understanding of our place within the carbon cycle through investigating human activity, our own, in transferring carbon from the land into the atmosphere through our daily actions. Data Analysis and Evaluation (1) - Water Data collected from the afternoon’s fieldwork will be collated, analysed and evaluated. The findings will be set into the context of understanding ‘water balance’ in a systems context, thus forming the foundation of the second day. Outline of the Course Allocation of wellies/waterproofs. Choose one part of the specification to focus on from:. 3.1.1.2 The Water Cycle 3.1.1.3 The Carbon Cycle 2 Choose one from: Change in the Carbon Cycle – Investigating Carbon in the Present Landscape A full fieldwork day investigating carbon in some of the most inspiring landscapes of the UK. Developing thinking around and experience of the carbon system through investigating transfers, flows and storage of carbon at a plant and sere scale. Carrying out fieldwork to explore the role of processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion and sequestration in the carbon cycle. Water and Catchment Equilibrium A local river catchment will be investigated to explore the patterns of water movement within the system, the catchment water balance or imbalance, and the resulting impacts of these on the physical and social landscape. This will build on understanding developed from work on the first afternoon, and will include opportunities to explore drought/water stress, sustainable water supply or flooding. 3 Choose one from: Carbon, Climate and the Future The systems approach to investigating carbon will be taken into a local settlement to contextualise the role of human activity on carbon and climate. Through employing a range of fieldwork learners will set out a post carbon vision for the settlement including suggestions for climate change mitigation strategies. Human Impacts and Mitigation - Water A local case study of land use change, storm event, seasonal change, farming practice or water abstraction with relation to flooding or water supply will be used to investigate the role of human impacts in the water system. This case study will link the previous fieldwork with systems concepts of feedback and causality and will develop thinking around climate change impacts and mitigation. Data Analysis and Evaluation (2) - Carbon or Water Using GIS and statistical tools to give meaning to the fieldwork data on both a global, local and personal scale. Contextualising the data into the global picture of change, both natural and anthropogenic. They will: • Process and present their data, using graphical and cartographical techniques • Analyse data using statistical techniques • Draw conclusions relating back to the original aims and objectives of the investigation • Review all the stages of the enquiry and how it might be developed further Depart at Midday A final farewell from FSC staff as the students depart at midday. Please note: to ensure safe and quality learning experiences for students, the timetable may alter depending on weather conditions and local factors at Centres. ’Carbon is the backbone of life on Earth. We are made of carbon, we eat carbon, and our civilizations—our economies, our homes, our means of transport—are built on carbon. We need carbon, but that need is also entwined with one of the most serious problems facing us today: global climate change.....’ NASA Earth Observatory The current geographical study of carbon is fundamental to the age in which we live, and to future generations. Equipping learners with the understanding of this fundamental system will play its part in allowing them to make informed decisions in a rapidly changing world. This highly topical fieldwork will explore carbon in the planetary system, developing understanding of the system on a local scale that can be applied to greater scales in both space and time. The water cycle is one of ‘Earth’s life support systems’, it is fundamental to all living systems and plays a key role in shaping the ever changing landscapes in which we live. Understanding the interconnections, feedbacks and processes occurring on spatial scales from individual plants to vast ecosystems and temporal scales of seconds to millions of years is the starting point for placing ourselves in this watery web of life on Earth. This hands on field course based in some of the UK’s finest fluvial landscapes develops geographical skills and deeper thinking around this keystone topic. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days The Carbon Cycle as a Natural System Learning Opportunities “The cycle of carbon is the key to life on Earth’ – This statement highlights the importance of understanding, valuing and living our lives with respect for this aspect of the planetary system. Carbon in its many forms is found in different amounts in terrestrial, atmospheric and oceanic stores. The balance in flux between these stores plays a key role in determining climatic changes over varying time periods – changes that affect all life on Earth. Learners will start to explore carbon through the idea that we share this moment in time with both the past and the future. They will explore the geological timeframe of carbon in the planetary system, what that system includes, and how they are a part of the system. They will develop their thinking around carbon in terms of its temporal and spatial scales; using secondary data to understand the global scale, and collecting primary data to examine small scale local aspects of the carbon cycle. Learners will also connect the bigger concepts of the carbon cycle with themselves through considering carbon in their bodily system and through auditing their collective carbon footprint throughout the residential course. Learners will be introduced to a number of experiments and fieldwork methods including: • Soil coring and analysis (moisture and organic content) • Measuring carbon in biomass (charcoal and furnace) • Personal carbon and water fluxes • Carbon footprinting Specification Links 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles 3.1.1.1 Water and carbon cycles as natural systems Systems in physical geography: Systems concepts and their application to the water and carbon cycles - inputs, outputs, energy, stores/ components, flows/transfers, positive/negative feedback, dynamic equilibrium. 3.1.1.3 The carbon cycle Global distribution, and size of major stores of carbon – lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere. Factors driving change in the magnitude of these stores including flows and transfers at plant, sere and continental scales. Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion, burial, compaction, carbon sequestration, weathering. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Developing a Systems Approach to Water Learning Opportunities “We don’t always think very consciously about water, but it is part of our bodies, communities, daily lives and habits. It is also integral to our ecosystems, economy, local landscapes and our experience of them.” – HydroCitizens Project Water is cycled in both the natural and built environment, through and within our bodies and all living systems on Earth. Exploring this fundamental life system in a geographical context connects us to the local and global importance of water, its careful management and the future challenges we face. Students will start to actively explore this thinking around the water cycle system at a personal and local scale using field data from their own experiments and secondary long term data sets. They will collect and analyse data relating to the inputs, movements, storage and outputs of water that relate to themselves and the local landscape. Combining this with data from secondary sources they will build up a picture of how their own and catchment systems operate in relation to water. To help contextualise and transfer learning into subsequent fieldwork and other areas of life this exploration of a river landscape as a complex system will be guided by the idea that ‘Water flows through all life, bringing change and balance’. Students will be introduced to a range of experiments, fieldwork methods and data analysis which may include: • Studying inputs to the drainage basin through precipitation measurements using rain gauges and secondary data sets, and drawing Thiessen polygons to estimate an average figure for the area. • Estimating the interception rate by comparison between areas of differing vegetation. • Measuring and calculating water fluxes through breathing and perspiration. • Calculating personal daily water usage. • Measuring infiltration rates in different geology, soil types or areas of the drainage basin. • Investigating storage and infiltration by measuring soil field capacity, moisture and texture. • Observing vegetation to deduce soil moisture in the landscape. • Using examples of evaporation pans and tree transpiration demonstrations to illustrate the system outputs. Specification Links 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles 3.1.1.1 Water and carbon cycles as natural systems Systems in physical geography: Systems concepts and their application to the water and carbon cycles - inputs, outputs, energy, stores/ components, flows/transfers, positive/negative feedback, dynamic equilibrium. 3.1.1.6 Case studies Case study of a river catchment(s) at a local scale to illustrate and analyse key themes set out above, engage with field data and consider the impact of precipitation upon drainage basin stores and transfers and implications for sustainable water supply and/or flooding. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Carbon Calculator Data Collection and Collation Learning Opportunities During this session students will process their data within a background context of the changes in the carbon cycle over time. They will consider the natural variation as well as the human impacts on the carbon budget. They will start to develop their qualitative and quantitative data skills and begin to understand how the geographical enquiry process fits together in as a coherent structure. Students may: • Use geo-spatial technologies such as GIS to analyse and present data. • Begin to use descriptive statistics and measures of difference. • Use electronic databases. • Develop their geographical literacy core skills. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Data Analysis and Evaluation (1) - Water Learning Opportunities Data collected from the afternoon’s fieldwork will be collated, analysed and evaluated. The findings will be set into the context of understanding ‘water balance’ in a systems context, thus forming the foundation of the second day. Students may: • Critique their observation skills to form targets ensuring progression. • Use geospatial mapping skills and data manipulation to contextualise their results. • Begin to use statistical skills on quantitative data. • Start to build information in to a case study to illustrate the impact of precipitation upon the drainage basin. • Consider the implications of the drainage basin management for a sustainable water supply. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Change in the Carbon Cycle - Investigating Carbon in the Present Landscape Learning Opportunities “Carbon is life and food, and moves from atmosphere to plants and soils and back in a grand cycle that is sometimes called the circle of life; a circle that encompasses the living and the dead. Soil Carbon Coalition 2013 Since the Industrial Revolution human activity has been dramatically upsetting this balance through the release of terrestrial carbon into the atmosphere, predominantly through the burning of fossil fuels, cement production, land use change and agriculture. These changes in the balance of carbon storage between land, atmosphere and oceans is having and will continue to have major impacts in the form of climate change and its many manifestations. Learners will extend their thinking around sharing the present with the past and the future by exploring how maintaining balance requires taking and giving back – a truism in all systems at every temporal and spatial scale. They will do this through engaging in landscape scale carbon experiments that will explore the land-atmosphere fluxes and sequestration of carbon resulting from past and present land use change, conservation land management and the part of biomass in the terrestrial/atmospheric aspects of the carbon cycle. This work will connect the learners thinking with the roll of anthropogenic induced carbon imbalance as a key component of current and future climate change, and carbon sequestration as a form of climate change mitigation. Fieldwork, measurements, calculation and analysis may include: • Soil moisture and carbon (organic matter) experiments on different land use areas. • Tree biomass measurements and calculations of sequestered carbon. • Site visit to farm/peatland/forestry including interview/discussion with land manager. • Carrying out practical land management for carbon sequestration (for example soil carbon, biomass, peat re-wetting). • Use of GIS to map land use and carbon flux/sequestration and positive carbon futures. Specification Links 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles 3.1.1.3 The carbon cycle Factors driving change in the magnitude of these stores including flows and transfers at plant, sere and continental scales. Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion, burial, compaction, carbon sequestration, weathering. Changes in the carbon cycle over time to include natural variation (including wild fires, volcanic activity) and human impact (including hydrocarbon fuel extraction and burning, farming practices, deforestation, land use changes). The carbon budget and the impact of the carbon cycle upon land, ocean and atmosphere including global climate. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Water and Catchment Equilibrium Learning Opportunities “We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” Jacques Cousteau River landscapes are an inspiring manifestation of the complex interactions of water, geology and life on vast scales in space and time. Water moves through and is stored in these landscapes, developing complex channel patterns mirrored on different scales within the planetary system. Understanding these landscapes and our part in them with respect to this interconnectivity between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere is key to a future of sustainable water usage. Building on the previous day’s fieldwork learners will explore the concept of water balance at the scale of a local river catchment using a range of fieldwork techniques, leading to consideration of its usefulness in managing drought, water supply and flooding. A series of storm simulation experiments will be used to investigate the storm hydrograph and consider how this relates to the river regime graphs, flood recurrence intervals and the drainage morphology such as drainage density, stream ordering and drainage basin size and shape. Learners will also collect field data to calculate the discharge of the river and start to relate this to the precipitation-discharge relationship using secondary rainfall data. Measurements, calculations and analysis might include: • Field data collection to calculate river discharge and peak flow using Manning’s n. • Size and shape of drainage basin – using circularity and elongation ratios. • Drainage density (km of channel per km2). • Flood recurrence intervals. • Storm simulation experiments. • Drawing storm hydrographs using Excel. • Spatial analysis using GIS of flood risk. Specification Links 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles 3.1.1.2 The water cycle Drainage basins as open systems – inputs, outputs to include precipitation, evapo-transpiration and run off; stores and flows to include: interception, surface, soil water, groundwater and channel storage; stemflow, infiltration overland flow, and channel flow. Concept of water balance. Runoff variation and the flood hydrograph. Changes in the water cycle over time to include natural variation (for example storm events, seasonal changes) and human impact (for example farming practices, land use change and water abstraction). 3.1.1.6 Case studies Case study of a river catchment(s) at a local scale to illustrate and analyse key themes set out above, engage with field data and consider the impact of precipitation upon drainage basin stores and transfers and implications for sustainable water supply and/or flooding. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Data Analysis and Evaluation (2) - Carbon Learning Opportunities In this session students will focus on developing their geographical fieldwork investigative skills using the days fieldwork as a context. They will start to draw conclusions relating back to the original aims of the day and link these conclusions to the place that they have studied, as well as the ideas surrounding changes within the carbon cycle. Students may: • Use measures of central tendency and dispersion. • Use inferential and relational statistics. • Produce graphs using ICT. • Use a range of secondary illustrative and visual material to contextual their conclusions. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Data Analysis and Evaluation (2) - Water Learning Opportunities Students will use GIS and statistical tools to give meaning to the fieldwork data on both a global, local and personal scale. They will contextualise the data into the global picture of change, both natural and anthropogenic, in the water cycle. Students will also consider how far they are progressing to understand fieldwork as a tool to understand and generate new knowledge about the real work and their developing skills at planning, undertaking and evaluating fieldwork in a range of new situations. Students will review the enquiry process and reflect on any gaps remaining in their knowledge and understanding. Students will consider these areas of the enquiry process: • Preparation for fieldwork, including background reading, drawing up aims and objectives for the enquiry, planning research in the field and from secondary sources, using data sampling techniques and carrying out health and safety procedures. • Collection of primary data in the field and using secondary data sources. • Processing and presenting data using relevant graphical and cartographical techniques. • Analysing data, including using statistical techniques where relevant. • Drawing conclusions related back to the original aims and objectives and linking these conclusions to both the place studied and the general ideas forming the basis of the enquiry. • Reviewing the success, or otherwise, of all stages of the enquiry. • Considering how the enquiry could be further developed. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Carbon, Climate and the Future Learning Opportunities “We already have the technology to power the UK with 100% renewable energy, to feed ourselves sustainably and to leave a safe and habitable climate for our children and future generations.” Zero Carbon Britain Report Understanding and acting on carbon and climate change are as much social issues, involving beliefs and attitudes, as they are technical or scientific. To recognise and act on this societally is the challenge faced by current and future generations around the planet we share. As geographers this crosses all aspects of our discipline and calls for interdisciplinary collaboration. At a local scale this means to explore the role of communities and individuals, as well as organisations and policy makers in this move toward a post-carbon future. Focusing on an urban setting learners will investigate societal carbon and its implications for climate change, visioning a sustainable post-carbon future. Learners will carry out fieldwork in a local settlement, mapping carbon in the form of transport, energy and consumption and exploring opportunities for climate change mitigation in urban settings. Learners will set out a vision for a positive post carbon future for the settlement – outlining necessary mitigation and adaptation through exploring the players, pathways, values and their own involvement in this process. Fieldwork may involve: • Carbon mapping. • Futures fieldsketching. • Interviews/questionnaires/perception analysis. • Site visit to innovative low carbon/zero-carbon/carbon-negative initiatives. Specification Links 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles 3.1.1.4 Water, carbon, climate and life on Earth The relationship between the water cycle and carbon cycle in the atmosphere. The role of feedbacks within and between cycles and their link to climate change. Human interventions in the carbon cycle designed to influence carbon transfers and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days Human Impacts and Mitigation - Water Learning Opportunities “In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference.” Rachel Carson Agriculture, production of energy, industrial uses and human consumption are some of the main pressures on global freshwater resources. These, coupled with the uncertainty of the impacts of climate change on future water security, are key issues for all life on Earth. It is therefore fundamental that responsible and sustainable water resource management and mitigation of water shortage/excesses and climate change are considered in the geographical context of the water cycle. To start to explore these interconnected landscape and climate change issues of water supply or flooding in real world settings, learners will focus on a local case study to investigate the part of one of the following elements within the context of a local drainage basin: • A storm event • Seasonal change • Farming practices • Land use change • Water abstraction Learners will use the River Basin Management Plan and have the opportunity to conduct secondary research, visit relevant field sites and analyse data to build a picture of how the water cycle changes over time, through natural or human intervention. They will consider any significant environmental, social, economic and political impacts this might have, and mitigation measures that are being or could be taken in relation to water security and climate change at a personal, catchment and global scale. Specification Links 3.1 Physical geography 3.1.1 Water and carbon cycles 3.1.1.2 The water cycle Changes in the water cycle over time to include natural variation (for example storm events, seasonal changes) and human impact (for example farming practices, land use change and water abstraction). 3.1.1.4 Water, carbon, climate and life on Earth The relationship between the water cycle and carbon cycle in the atmosphere. The role of feedbacks within and between cycles and their link to climate change. Human interventions in the carbon cycle designed to influence carbon transfers and mitigate the impacts of climate change. 3.1.1.6 Case studies Case study of a river catchment(s) at a local scale to illustrate and analyse key themes set out above, engage with field data and consider the impact of precipitation upon drainage basin stores and transfers and implications for sustainable water supply and/or flooding. Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses AS Level Geography: Water and Carbon Cycles 3 days FSC Centres Centres that offer this course BL Blencathra CH Castle Head DF Dale Fort FM Flatford Mill JH Juniper Hall MA Margam MT Malham Tarn NC Nettlecombe OR Orielton PM Preston Montford RC Rhyd-y-creuau SL Slapton To book this course, simply: Choose the time of the year you would like to attend 1.Pick the Centre(s) of interest 2.Check availability online, contact head office to check availability across multiple Centres or contact the Centre(s) of your choice directly To book this course the minimum size of your group must be 12 students and one member of staff. Head Office contact details: Tel: 01743 852100 Email: [email protected] Please visit http://www.field-studies-council.org/outdoorclassroom/ For alternative courses