Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Geography Edexcel Specification A. Unit 4 Physical Systems, Processes and Patterns (6464)

Unit 4: Physical Systems, Processes and Patterns (6464)

Choose the section that you are interested in by clicking on the headings below:
Ecosystems Atmospheric Systems Glacial Systems

Ecosystems:

Rainforest Action Networks - Rainforest Action Networks - excellent! Includes factsheets and photos on a range of rainforest topics.

Suriname Rainforest - A description of the Suriname Rainforest in South America.

Rainforest Biome - one of a series from Introduction to Biomes - maps, photos & text

Tropical Rainforest Biome - from Ecosystems of our World - photos, limited text & sounds!

Temperate Forest Biome - one of a series from Introduction to Biomes - maps, photos & text

Temperate Forest Biome - from Ecosystems of our World - photos, limited text & sounds!

Taiga Forest Biome - one of a series from Introduction to Biomes - maps, photos & text

Taiga Forest Biome - from Ecosystems of our World - photos, limited text & sounds!

Savanna Biome - one of a series from Introduction to Biomes - maps, photos & text

Savanna Biome - from Ecosystems of our World - photos, limited text & sounds!

Soil Erosion - excellent overview of types/causes of soil erosion and management techniques - well illustrated with a good selection of photos and diagrams

Soil Erosion - good overview of types/causes of soil erosion

Soil Erosion - good overview of management techniques for soil erosion

Soil Erosion - a UK example with photos

Soil Glossary 1a huge glossary of terms from the Univ. of Washington - if it isn't here, then it probably doesn't exist!!

Soil Glossary 2a useful resource from the Soil Science Society of America - nicely laid out site which includes tables and figures as well as definitions. Now has the facility to add the glossary to your Word customised dictionary.

Soil Lab Units - thirteen detailed Soil Lab Units of Study e.g. texture, horizons, pH, etc

Forest Soilsa large pdf file (1.5mb) dealing with soil formation, soil erosion/conservation, soil measurement. It will take a while to download!

Glossary of Ecologya useful glossary of ecological terms.

Ecology, Biodiversity & the Environmenta wide range of resources from the Virtual Library of Ecology and Biodiversity.

Nutrient Cyclinga clear explanation of nutrient cycling.

Food Chainsa good explanation of food chains with lots of highlighted terms all linked to the online glossary.

Introduction to Biomes - the complete set of eight ecosystems from Introduction to Biomes - quality maps, photos & text Back to top of page



Atmospheric Systems (weather, climate):

Choose the section that you are interested in by clicking on the headings below:

General Weather Maps & Satellite Images Hurricanes & Storms Data

General Weather Links:

The BBC Weather siteThis excellent site will provide almost everything that you need. It has forecasts for the whole country plus your own region and individual towns/cities. It has satellite images and lots of weather articles on hurricanes, El Nino, clouds, the climate of Europe, etc, etc.

The U.K. Met OfficeThe Met Office is the source of weather data for most other UK sites. It now provides some of its data online e.g. satellite photos, synoptic maps, etc. A new 'About The Weather' section provides a large number of information pages for students and teachers.

Weather UndergroundFind the weather for a wide range of world locations

Weather Underground UKFind the weather for over 90 UK locations

Meteorology GuideText and attractive diagrams showing clouds, air masses and fronts, hurricanes, El Nino, the water cycle, etc. Useful for research homeworks and revision.

Climate MonitoringDozens of reports on current climate data and issues arising from climate extremes and change

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Weather Maps & Satellite Images:

All original satellite images are black and white. Some sites colour enhance the images and/or add overlays. Infra red images are useful 24 hours a day whilst visible images only work during the daylight hours. Most images are from geostationary satellites which show a fixed view of one area of the globe. Others are from polar orbiting satellites which move around the earth and show many different views.

	Europe Meteosat infra-red view of North-west Europe and North Africa. Combine it with the synoptic chart below.
	Synoptic Chart Met Office synoptic chart imported from Wetterzentral, Denmark updated every 6 hours Try also this link: Synoptic Chart
	Global Meteosat infra-red global view
	Australia & New Zealand GMSS infra-red view of Australia & New Zealand
	Japan & China GMSN infra-red view of Japan and eastern China
	North America GOES satellite infra-red view of North America
	University of Nottingham Satellite Index Thumbnail Index of all the Meteosat images from the University of Nottingham. This is an excellent site if you are not sure what images you want. The images above are all from this site.
	Europe UK Met Office Meteosat infra-red image updated every 6 hours
	Europe Meteo France (French Met Office) access colour enhanced Meteosat image of North-west Europe from this page
	Tropical Atlantic Weather Channel colour enhanced image of the tropical Atlantic - good for hurricanes
	Europe Weather Channel colour enhanced image of Europe
	Western hemisphere Weather Channel colour enhanced image of Western hemisphere
	Synoptic Chart Colour image of North-west Europe plus cloud overlay from the Met Office updated every 24 hours
	Europe U.S.A.F. satellite image of Western Europe colour enhanced and combined with fronts/weather symbols
	Europe Meteosat colour enhanced image of North-west Europe from a company called Meteotest.
	UK Rainfall Radar UK Met Office rainfall radar image. This shows not the clouds but where the actual rain is falling. Try the BBC version at: UK Rainfall Radar Animation from the BBC

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Hurricanes, Cyclones and other storms:

There is an almost endless set of links for those interested in this dramatic and often disastrous aspect of the weather. The aim, therefore, is to provide you with a range of general information and also specific information on a few famous storms e.g. Hurricane Andrew.

Hurricane Organisations

• National Hurricane Centre, Miami, Florida (US)
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (US)
• DMSP - Defence Meteorological Satellite Program (US) excellent sets of hi-resolution images
• National Climatic Data Center (US)
• USATODAY newspaper
• Weather Matrix Hurricane Information Pages

Hurricane Facts and Images

• Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Damage Scale
• Hurricane Images you won't even begin to believe how many images!!

Specific Hurricanes

• Hurricane Fran (1996)
• Hurricane Andrew (1992)
• Hurricane Andrew (1992) a very detailed account

Hurricanes, Typhoons, Willy-Willies, etc...

• Tropical Storms Worldwide

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Data Links:

WorldClimate data for 85,000 places around the world.

Britain & Ireland Climate data for individual towns in England, Wales, Scotland and N.Ireland.

UKweather statistics for various UK locations - some of it going back to the 1850's !

UKAnnual and monthly averages for a large number of UK locations (1961 - 1990 average)

World weather and climate statisticsstatistics for most regions from the Met Office

Weather Data, Bern, SwitzerlandActual live weather data including some excellent graphs showing changes in pressure, temperature, etc over the last 24 hours. Mostly in English! If you want data for the last seven days, try Last 7 days


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Glacial Systems (glaciation, periglaciation):

Glaciers - what are they, how do they move, landscapes, ice ages, - detailed but very readable.

Glacier National Park - Glacier National Park on the USA/Canada border - details about visiting, photos, etc.

N Carolina State Univ. Ch. 13 Glaciers & Glaciation - some good notes but not always clear diagrams University of Wisconsin Glaciers & Glaciation - good notes and diagrams from an online textbook

Univ. of New YorkGeology 111 - Glaciation

Alpine Glacial Landforms photos and definitions - well worth a look

Univ. of WashingtonInside Geology Ch. 17 Glaciation & Ice Ages

National Snow & Ice Data Centregood site, detailed text , poor b/w photos.

Mount Rainier glaciersdata sheet on the Mount Rainier glaciers.

Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska virtual tour of Mendenhall Glacier with questions.


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