Chapter 11.2 – 11.6, 11.

8
11.2 Do Continents Fit Together Like Jigsaw Puzzles?

Wegener’s Theory - Continental drift :

 Wegener proposed that, more than 250 million years ago, the continents
were once one supercontinent called the Pangaea.
 Over time, it split into smaller land masses and have been drifting apart and
together ever since.
 Continental Drift - a theory explaining that continents shift position on
Earth's surface

Wegener’s evidence to support his theory:

 Similar fossils found on different continents
 Glacial evidence - Found clues that proved an Ice Age occurred at the same
time across parts of the continents, even the hottest ones
 Matching continental puzzles - the shapes of the continents indicated that
they could be fitted together to form a large land mass

Reactions to Wegener’s theory :

 Wegener thought the continents were once joined together, and this
made sense based on what he saw. But most scientists back then
believed continents and oceans couldn't move. Wegener couldn't
explain how something strong enough could push the continents, so his
idea wasn't widely accepted.
11.3 Earthquakes, Volcanoes & Mountain Belts

Harry Hess’ Theory :

 American scientist, Hess, used his studies of the ocean floor to propose a
new theory of sea-floor spreading.
 He believed that Wegener’s theory of the Continental Drift was right,
and claimed that the continents spread apart due to the growing sea
floor.
Mountain Belts :
 A mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges that are similar in form,
structure and alignment.
 Mountain belts are formed mostly from tectonic plate movement

11.4 The World Beneath our Feet

Layers of Earth:

1. Lithosphere - Thin and brittle upper layers of rocks, with rocks on the
surface called the crust (50 - 200 km thick)
2. Mantle - Thick mass of molten rock called magma, that is hot and is
constantly flowing (about 2,900 km thick)
3. Outer core - liquid iron and nickel
4. Inner core - hottest part, made of solid iron and nickel.
Theory of Plate Tectonics:

 The Earth’s solid outer crust, the lithosphere, is separated into plates that
move over the upper mantle.
 The plates constantly move and meet in various ways along the edges (plate
boundaries)

11.5
Convergent Plate Boundaries:

 Occurs when lithospheric plates move together (collide)

 There are two scenarios of converging plates:
 Two continental plates = Move upwards to form mountain belts. The high
pressure of the collision causes earthquakes
 Continental to oceanic plate = The heavier oceanic plate sinks under the
continental plate, into the mantle. This results in oceanic trench formation
and mountain belts on the continental plate. Partial melting of the rocks
into magma can cause volcanoes to occur

Divergent Plate Boundaries:

 Two lithospheric plates are forced apart.

 Magma rises to the surface, forming new ocean lithosphere.
 As the plates move further apart, mid-ocean ridges are formed. (Small
volcanoes)

Transform Plate Boundaries:

 Two plates slide slowly past each other.

 Friction causes the plates to stick together and pressure builds up.
 Severe earthquakes occur when the friction is overcome and a sudden
movement happens.
 No volcanoes
Plate Movement Explanation:

 Slab pull = the pull of the plates into the mantle has higher pressure as they
go deeper, thus increasing movement speed
 Ridge push = less powerful but occurs when gravity pulls down the mid-
ocean ridges to spread out

11.6 Earthquakes

1. Sudden Shaking: Earthquakes make the ground shake suddenly and

strongly.
2. Epicenter: They start from a certain spot inside the Earth, called the
epicenter.
3. Seismic Waves: The shaking creates waves that spread out from this starting
point.
4. Magnitude: We measure earthquakes with a number called "magnitude."
Bigger numbers mean stronger earthquakes.
5. Depth: Earthquakes can happen at different depths inside the Earth.
6. Aftershocks: After a big earthquake, there are often smaller ones that come
later.
7. Tectonic Plate Boundaries: Most earthquakes occur near the edges of huge
pieces of the Earth's crust, where these pieces meet.
11.8
Definition of Volcano :

 Openings or cracks in the lithosphere where magma from the Earth’s

mantle escapes onto the surface

Shield Volcano:

 Has gentle slopes

 Formed from runny lava
 Spreads far from the source / crater
Chapter 13.1 – 13.3, 13.7
13.1

 Large moving body of ice flowing slowly due to gravity.

 Made of snow accumulated over hundreds of years, and pushed down into
large ice masses
Conditions for Glaciers to Form:

 Average annual temperature near subzero. (0℃)

 Large amount of snowfall during winters
 Temperature at a certain region not high enough to melt the snow built up
during the previous winter
Types of Glaciers:

 Alpine glaciers: formed on mountainsides

 Continental ice sheets: spread out and covers large areas of land

13.2

1. Accumulation of Snow:
 More snow falls than it melts each year
 The build-up of snow causes the ice sheet become denser and larger
in area.
2. Formation of Firn:
 Granular ice on top of glaciers
 Formed from the weight of snow causing the layers to be compacted
and dense
 3. Sliding and Ablation (Removal of ice by melting)
 Ice mass slides downhill due to gravity and weight of the glacier
 Ablation happens at the snout during warmer months, causing
glaciers to retreat.

ABLATION:

 Series of processes involving the reduction or retreat of ice

 main processes of ablation will be surface melt, because air temperatures
generally increase as you lose altitude.
 Other processes are evaporation, melting, avalanche, and ice calving

13.3

 Bedrock - Solid rock under surface materials such as soil

 Weathering - Process of breaking down rocks and minerals on Earth’s
surface.

1. Erosion:
 Plucking - occurs when loose bedrock freezes to the glacier’s base. (rock
loosened by freeze-thaw weathering). As glaciers move, rocks frozen to
the ice moves together and is plucked from the bedrock, and becomes
embedded to the glacier’s base.
 Abrasion - rocks embedded to the base of the glacier scrapes against the
bedrock as they move, wearing off the bedrock.
2. Transport
 As glaciers move downwards, they carry more and more rocks mixed
with ice.
 This debris is called moraine.
3. Deposition
 At the snout, ice begins to melt. The materials carried will be
deposited:
 Till - Mixture of clay, sand, dirt / sediment carried by glaciers.
 Meltwater - Water from the melting ice of glaciers.

13.7
A)

1. Pastoral Farming
 Aimed at producing livestocks rather than crop growing at valleys and
corries.
 Glaciated areas are free of rocks, hence they can retain water well. This
makes the soil fertile for grass to grow, the primary food source of
livestocks
 Temperature is colder, which is ideal for sheep farming, and eventually,
production of wool.
2. Quarrying
 Glacial erosion, which leads to the formation of corries and valleys,
exposes parts of the rocks that were previously inaccessible.
 Provides easier access to mining of minerals and valuable rock resources.
3. Water Source
 Formation of rivers at valleys after the glaciers retreat over many years.
 Source of freshwater at hanging valleys for nearby settlement and
towns.
 Building of dams at U-shaped valleys for various purposes:
- Aquaculture (breeding and harvesting of aquatic animals and
plants for the purpose of conservation and research)
- Flood prevention (restricts flow to certain settlement)
- Clean energy (hydroelectric energy)
- Human consumption
- Irrigation (water supply to feed plants)
B)
Regulate Global Temperature:

 Glaciers are part of the cryosphere, which comprises of portions of Earth

that are made up of or covered in ice.
 It helps maintain global temperature by reflecting solar rays and heat of the
Sun back to space.

C)
Maintain the Ecosystem:

 Meltwater from the retreating glaciers feed lakes, rivers, and seas, thus
sustaining the habitats of aquatic plants and animals.
 The cold meltwater also regulates the temperatures of the habitats of
aquatic lives through the thermodynamic system of thermal equilibrium (A
state where all parts have reached the same temperature)

Why growth limiting nutrients are important to control the blooming of

phytoplankton?
 Excess blooming of phytoplankton will block sunlight from entering the
seafloor, causing aquatic plants to die due to lack of photosynthesis.
 When phytoplankton dies, the decomposition process consumes oxygen,
causing suffocation of aquatic life.
 Phytoplankton produces domoic acid, a toxin that can be fatal to animals
and humans if ingested in large amounts
D)
Balancing the Salinity of Seawater:

 Glacier is made up of freshwater (makes up 70% of the freshwater on Earth)

 As glaciers melt, fresh meltwater flows into saltwater of the seas, thus
ensuring the salinity of the sea does not go above uninhabitable levels.
 Salt of sea water comes from:
 Runoff from land (rocks from land is the major source of salt for the oceans)
 opening in the seafloor (weathering of former volcanic sites)

E)
Tourism:

 Skiing - The sports of travelling over snow, divided into two categories;
Nordic for jumping and cross country, and Alpine for downhill skiing
 Aurora formation - also known as polar lights / northern lights, usually can
be observed at the North and South pole regions. It occurs due to solar
wind collision with nitrogen and oxygen atoms of Earth’s atmosphere.
 Mountaineering - the sports of getting to higher points at mountainous
areas.
Chapter 14.1 – 14.4, 14.6 – 14.8
14.1

 Middle: Located where Asia, Europe, and Africa meet

 Middle East: Located in Asia, but not in the areas of China (The Far East)
 Used by European colonialists in the 19th century.
14.2

 Region: An area, either part of the country or the world, that has distinct
characteristics.
 Two physical zones: Pontic and Taurus Mountains to the North; Zargros and
Elburz Mountains of Iran (East)
 Majority of the region are lowland areas of deserts.\
Effect of Plate Movement on the Middle East:

 Arabian and Eurasian Plates spread apart (divergent boundary) at the lower
eastern parts, which formed the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Persian
Gulf; but collides (convergent) at the north eastern parts, which forms the
Zargros and Elburz Mountains.
 Arabian Plate moves northward, 3cm a year, and collides with the Eurasian
Plate, creating mountains in the northeast of Middle East.
14.3
Climatic Zones: (Map A, TB pg. 266)

1. Desert (south)
 Most of the Arabian Peninsula
 Brief rainfall, some areas never rain at all
 Daytime temperatures can be as high as 52℃
 Very cool and cold at night
2. Mediterranean (north)
 Two seasons: hot dry summers; warm & wetter winters
 Mainly arid climate in the region
14.4

 approx. 410 million

 Uneven population due to the physical geography.
 More densely populated in the northern parts of the region.
Reasons behind population diversity:

 Three continents meet

- becomes a trade junction for cultures of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
 Movement of people and ideas
- formation of diverse and complicated languages, cultures, and
religions.
- majority speaks Arabic except Turkey, Iran, and Israel.
- main religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

14.6

 Emirate - A territory ruled by an emir.

 Emir - A Muslim military commander or local chief.
7 Emirates of UAE:

3. Dubai
4. Abu Dhabi
5. Sharjah
6. Ajman
7. Umm Al-Quwain
8. Fujairah
9. Ras Al Khaimah (1972)
Diversifying of UAE economy:

 To reduce the dependence on oil exports

 Dubai: Oil revenue was used to develop modern ports, airports and airlines
 All other modern transport systems, high-class hotels, shopping malls, are
all results of economic investment using oil revenue.

14.7
Status of Yemen:

 Poorest country in the Middle East

 Has 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites
 Population of 25.4 million people
 45% of the population is malnourished

Yemen at “point of no return”:

 Civil war has caused 17 million to face severe food insecurity

 Poverty forced thousands of Yemeni to live in makeshift tents
 Malnutrition and harsh environmental conditions further increased the
mortality rate

14.8
List of Ongoing Conflicts in the Middle East:

 Yemeni Civil War (2015 - )

 Iraqi Insurgency (2017 - )
 Islamic Insurgency in Saudi Arabia (1995 - )
 Iran - Saudi Arabia conflict (2011 - )
Understanding the 5 Reasons of the Conflicts:

1. Oil (Main reason)

 Source of wealth for many regions
 Interference from European and Western countries in Middle Eastern
politics
 Manipulation and political play leads to more conflicts and terrorism
2. Borders
 Some regional borders were created by Britain and France for
colonisation
 Caused certain groups to be divided among different states, such as the
Kurdish people
 Other example: ongoing border conflict between Israel and Palestine
3. The Arab Spring (2011)
 Revolutionary waves of anti-government protests, riots and rebellions
that spread across the Arabian countries.
 Started from the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi.
 Protests began in Tunisia and Egypt
 Spread to Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria. (Protests in these countries
failed as the army responded with violence)
 Motivated by unemployment, rising prices and corruption.
4. Religion
 Division between the two main Islamic sects, Shia and Sunni
 Conflict between Saudi Arabia (Sunni majority) and Iran (Shia majority)
 Tensions further escalated due to the Iraq War in 2003.
5. The Iraq War
 The initial Iraqi government, led by Saddam Hussein, was mainly formed by
Sunni Muslims (minority)
 When Saddam was overthrown, Shia Muslims took over control of the
country, causing the rise in tensions between the neighboring Saudi Arabia
and Iran.
Chapter 15.1 – 15.3, 15.6 – 15.8
15.1
What is climate change?

 Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns

 Shifts can be natural or driven by human activities (primarily due to burning
of fossil fuels, which produces heat-trapping gases)

15.2
Evidence of Climate Change:

 *David Attenborough: Scientists should present the evidence of climate change to allow
people to decide what action to take in response to the change
 1. Global Warming
 The 10 indicators of global warming:
 Rising air temperature near the surface (troposphere)
 Retreating glaciers
 Retreating ice cover
 Rising temperature over land
 Rising humidity
 Rising temperature over oceans
 Rising sea surface temperature
 Shrinking sea ice (icebergs)
 Rising sea level
 Rising ocean heat content

The factors affecting sea levels:

 More than 90% of the warming on Earth goes to the oceans

 Large surface area of the ocean
 Thermal equilibrium: exchange of heat energy between two surfaces to the
point of achieving equal heat/temperature
 Water expands as it warms, hence causing sea levels to rise
 Melting of ice sheets and glaciers from the heat also cause sea levels to rise

2. Decrease in the World’s Ice Sheets

 The Arctic sea ice has been reducing by 600 thousand square kilometres
 Major ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, both which store most of the
world’s fresh water have also been shrinking

3. Increase in Global Rainfall

 As the temperature of the land and sea increase, evaporation rate increases
too, leading to increase of rainfall.
 In the UK, this has led to summer drought and winter flooding.
15.3

Greenhouse Effect :
 A process that occurs when gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap the Sun’s heat,
making Earth warmer than it would be without an atmosphere.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG):
 Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared
radiation.
 4 main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO₂), chlorofluorocarbon (CFC),
methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N₂O)
 Emitted by natural causes (normal exchange) or human causes (harmful
emissions)

15.6
Characteristics of Antarctica:

 Coldest, windiest, and driest continent (-4 to -70 ℃)

 Makes up 90% of the world’s ice
 Six months of day during the summer, six months of night during the winter
(due to the tilt of the Earth on its axis)
 Frequent formation of aurora

Consequences of Climate Change on Antarctica:

 Higher temperatures cause the spread of invasive plant species

 Decrease in the population of wildlife due to loss of habitat
 Increase in sea levels
 Higher volume of sun rays entering Earth as there are less areas of ice
sheets
15.8

1. Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED)

 Purpose: group experts together with the civil society, business community
and media, to promote vital environmental policies and programmes across
the Arab region
 Contribution:
 Policy advisory: advising Arab governments and organisations on climate
change, green economy, and sustainable development.
 State of Environment (SoE) report to answer 5 key questions:
1. What is happening in the environment? (environmental trends and
changes)
2. Why is it happening? (human activities)
3. Why is it significant? (ecological and socioeconomic effects)
4. What is being done about it? (government and voluntary initiatives)
5. Are the actions sustainable? (are human actions depleting natural
capital?)

2. Antarctic Treaty (June 1961)

 Purpose: peaceful use, freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation
in Antarctica
 Contribution:
 Waste disposal and management: minimise waste disposal, especially
wastes that contain Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB), a highly carcinogenic
chemical
 Prevention of marine pollution: prohibition of entry other than scientific
research within the “Special Area” of Antarctica
 Area protection and management: mainly for the conservation of Antarctic
flora and fauna

3. Paris Climate Agreement (2016)

 Purpose: limit global warming to below temperature change of 1.5 to 2
Degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
 Contribution:
 Finance: Enforcing that rich countries must provide 100 billion dollars to
climate change efforts
 Differentiation: Developed countries must take the lead in minimising GHG
emissions
 Burden sharing: Developed countries must provide financial resources to
developing countries