UEE Geography flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Weathering versus erosion

Weathering is the in-place breakdown of rock by physical, chemical or biological processes; erosion removes and transports the broken material by water, wind or ice.

Hydrological cycle

The continuous circulation of water between ocean, atmosphere and land through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff and groundwater flow within catchments.

Köppen climate classification

A system dividing world climates into groups A tropical, B dry, C temperate, D continental and E polar, using annual and monthly temperature and precipitation thresholds.

Demographic transition model

A five-stage model describing population change from high birth and death rates, through rapid growth as death rates fall, to low stable or declining rates.

Dependency ratio

The ratio of dependants (under 15 and over 64) to the working-age population aged 15 to 64, usually expressed per 100 workers.

Push and pull factors

Conditions driving migration: push factors such as poverty or conflict repel people from origin areas; pull factors such as jobs or safety attract them to destinations.

Settlement hierarchy

A ranking of settlements by population and service provision, with few large high-order centres offering rare services and many small low-order centres offering everyday services.

Core-periphery model

A spatial model in which wealthy cores concentrate investment, jobs and infrastructure while peripheries supply raw materials and labour and often experience out-migration and weaker development.

Formal versus functional region

A formal region shares a measurable uniform trait such as climate or language; a functional region is organised around a node, such as a city's commuting or drainage catchment area.

Map scale

The ratio of map distance to ground distance, expressed as a representative fraction such as 1:50,000, where one centimetre represents half a kilometre on the ground.

Grid reference

A coordinate read from map grid lines: four figures identify a square, six figures pinpoint a position within it, always reading eastings before northings.

Contour interpretation

Contour lines join points of equal elevation; close spacing indicates steep slopes, and V shapes pointing uphill mark valleys while U shapes mark spurs.

GIS overlay analysis

A GIS technique that superimposes thematic layers such as soils, roads and slopes to identify areas meeting multiple criteria for site selection.

Hazard risk equation

Risk results from the interaction of hazard magnitude and frequency with exposure of people and assets and their vulnerability; reducing exposure or vulnerability lowers risk.

Carrying capacity

The maximum population or level of use an environment can sustain without degrading its resources, determined by food, water, space and technology.

Salinisation

The accumulation of soluble salts in soil, often caused by over-irrigation raising water tables and evaporation concentrating salts at the surface, reducing fertility.

Systematic sampling

A fieldwork method selecting data points at regular intervals along a transect or grid, giving even spatial coverage but risking bias if the interval matches a pattern.

Spearman rank correlation

A statistical test measuring the strength and direction of association between two ranked variables, producing a coefficient from minus one to plus one.

Choropleth map

A thematic map shading administrative areas by value density, normally using data normalised by area or population to allow valid comparison between zones.

Von Thünen model

A land-use model showing concentric rings of farming around a market, where land rent and transport costs determine intensive uses near the centre and extensive uses farther out.

Central place theory

Christaller's model in which settlements form a hexagonal hierarchy, each offering goods whose range and threshold population determine its position in the hierarchy.

Positive feedback

A process in which a change amplifies itself, such as ice loss reducing albedo and causing further warming, pushing a system away from equilibrium.

Malthus versus Boserup

Malthus argued population growth outruns food supply, causing checks; Boserup argued population pressure stimulates agricultural innovation and intensification instead.

Enhanced greenhouse effect

The intensification of atmospheric heat retention by human emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, raising global mean temperatures and altering climate patterns.

Mitigation versus adaptation

Mitigation reduces the causes of climate change by cutting emissions; adaptation reduces vulnerability to its impacts through measures such as flood defences and drought-resistant crops.

Sustainable development

Development meeting present needs without compromising future generations, balancing economic growth, social equity and environmental protection.

Urban heat island

The tendency of built-up areas to be warmer than surrounding rural land because of dark surfaces, low vegetation, heat storage and human energy use.

Longshore drift

The movement of sediment along a coast by waves approaching at an angle, carrying material in a zigzag path and building features such as spits.

Ecological footprint

The area of biologically productive land and water needed to supply a population's resources and absorb its wastes, measured in global hectares.

Remote sensing resolution

The level of detail in satellite imagery, described by spatial resolution (pixel size), temporal resolution (revisit time) and spectral resolution (wavelength bands).

Quaternary sector

The knowledge-based part of the economy involving research, information technology, education and consultancy, typically concentrated in highly educated urban regions.

Land-use conflict

Disagreement arising when competing activities such as housing, farming, industry, recreation and conservation demand the same limited space with incompatible effects.