A1: Human demands, Fluvial and Coastal Environments

Demands on Rivers and their Valleys
1. Domestic/ Residential
  1. WATER SUPPLY for drinking, cooking, cleaning and washing
    1. urban dwellers = 400-600 litres daily rural dwellers = 100-200 litres
  2. POP EXPLOSION esp. in LEDC's
    1. pop. increases tripled in 100 years - demand for water has increased 6 fold
    2. India pop of 15M
  3. River flow is an all too convenient means of waste disposal
  4. Urbanisation - increase surface flow, flooding is inevitable.
2. Agricultural
  1. Irrigation
    1. Farming uses more fresh water than all other human activities put together
    2. 30% of all farmland worldwide is irrigated
    3. Pumped directly from rivers
  2. Food production
    1. land adjacent is subject to periodic flooding - adding silt/alluvium on the floodplain
    2. Barsha Flooding in SE Asia - rich in nutrients, enhances quality of soil
3. Industrial
  1. Factories require land for building and water as a raw material/coolant/cleaning
  2. Iron/steel mill uses 4500 litres of water in prod. of tonne of steel
  3. Industrial transport, rivers and canals form a vital route for the movement of raw materials and industrial products
    1. Waterway transport of freight is 8x more efficient than via road
    2. Navigation - Mississippi River, 2004, equivalent of 40 M lorry loads
4. Energy Production
  1. Thermal power stations require large quantities of water for coolant
  2. Flat land eg floodplains is suitable for construction
  3. USA - power industry extracts around 650B litres of water, mostly from water
  4. Fuel can be transported along the river itself
  5. HEP stations, using dams and reservoirs constructed in valleys provide a cheap and renewable source of electricity
    1. Large areas of river valleys become flooded eg Three Gorges Dam flooded 1200 towns and villages
5. Leisure Activites
  1. Rivers, lakes and reservoirs are a common destination for people seeking relaxation in scenic environments at weekends and holidays
  2. Sports eg water sports, boating, walking/swimming and fishing all require land based infrastructure
Demands on Coasts
1. Most of the world's pop. live within an hours overland journey from the coast. Of 33 Megacities - 21 are in coastial areas
2. Domestic/Residential
  1. Growth of world trade - port facilites grown rapidly - expanding pop.
  2. Coastal zones perceived as hazardous b/c storm surges and tsunamis
  3. Releasing of sewage into the sea is a major issue
  4. Coasts are commonly seen as desirable locations for both holiday and retirement homes
3. Agricultural
  1. Even in places of poor soil, beaches can supply sand for improved drainage and seaweed for increased fertility.
  2. The Dutch are leading the way from the 14th century in the reclamation of coastal wetland from the sea in the Rhine Delta.
  3. Aquaculture is the farming of both fresh water and salt water organisms
    1. Growing by 6% each year to meet demand
  4. Ireland Co.Donegal - Salmon farms have become a common sight
4. Industrial
  1. Ports can be an advantage to industry to process materials or assemble products
  2. Reclamation of land on North and South of Belfast Lough to allow expansion of industrial premises
  3. Extractive industries - dredging seabed and quarrying sand from the shoreline
5. Emergy Production
  1. Remoteness of Nuclear Power Plants eg. Sellafield in Cumbria and Dounreay in Scotland
  2. Tidal and Wave power
    1. Strangford Lough - 16m long turbine blades anchored on the sea bed
  3. Off-shore wind farm
    1. 7 turbines 10km off the coast of south Dublin
    2. Robin Rigg wind farm, south scotland - 180MW of electricity to supply 120,000 homes.
6. Leisure Activities
  1. Coastal Resorts
  2. Infrastructure - sea walls used as promenades etc.
  3. Coastal protection needed in both MEDC's and LEDC's

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A1: Human demands, Fluvial and Coastal Environments

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	Created by Rachel Campbell about 11 years ago