Questions from 2009
Marjorie Henry, Contributor

Question 9 from the 2009 paper will be my focus for today. The entire question was given in the last lesson. I hope you tried to find the answers to the different sections as I had suggested. In reference to your syllabus, you would have observed that the following specific objectives were tested in this question:

4. Define pollution

6. Identify areas in the Caribbean where pollution is a problem

9. Explain the causes and consequences of global warming, coral reef destruction and deforestation

Your skill at drawing sketch maps is tested in part (a) of the question. Here are some examples of Caribbean countries that you could draw where marine pollution is a problem:

Jamaica - the areas of Black River and Kingston Harbour

Trinidad and Tobago - the areas around Couva Bay and the Caroni Swamp

Belize - the coastline close to Belize.

It is important that you complete your sketch map properly. You must have a border, a title, a key/legend and an arrow to show north. Do block printing rather than cursive writing when labeling your map. Please remember that you must indicate the source of pollution for any country you choose to draw.

You are asked for four definitions in part (b) of the question. Here are some from your textbooks:

(i) Global warming is a rise in the average global temperature caused by a man-made increase in the level of greenhouse gases.

(ii) Greenhouse gases are so called because they trap some of the long-wave radiation from the sun and re-radiate it back to the Earth's surface. The atmosphere contains trace amounts of carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane, ozone and nitrous oxides known as greenhouse gases.

(iii) Pollution is the contamination of the environment with harmful substances as a result of various human activities. The harmful substances or pollutants may be in solid, liquid or gas form.

(iv) Air pollution refers to the contamination of the atmosphere by substances such as dust, ash, smoke and harmful gases.

You are required to explain how marine-based activities cause coral reef degradation in part (c) (i) of the question. Here are four from the text The Caribbean Environment by Mark Wilson:

• Shipping

Dredging the seabed to create a deep-water channel may cause ongoing problems. Part of a small island, Rackham's Cay, was destroyed to enlarge the shipping channel into Kingston Harbour. A section of reef may also be destroyed if a ship runs aground.

• Oil spills

Oil and other chemicals can cause permanent damage. Small and mid-scale spills have occurred many times in the Caribbean. A large tanker may be 450 metres long and carry up to 500,000 tonnes of oil, enough to pollute an entire coastline.

• Fishing

A well-managed fishing industry should not hurt the marine environment. However, damage may be caused by anchors, overfishing, or by badly placed or discarded fish traps and nets. A few fisherfolk have used bleach or explosives which cause serious and lasting damage to the reef.

• Recreation

Visitors who come to enjoy the reef may damage it, for example, by walking on living coral or breaking off pieces to take home with them. Dive boats may cause anchor damage. Buccoo Reef in Tobago has been seriously damaged in these ways.

The last section of the question, part (c) (ii) requires that you explain TWO ways by which global warming is likely to impact the coastal environment in the Caribbean. Here are some:

• Coral may be damaged. Global warming will cause the temperatures of oceans to increase. Sea temperatures only 1-20 C above normal can cause 'bleaching', where the algae which provide food for the coral polyps are killed. Reefs can recover from occasional damage but not from a permanent increase in temperature.
• Rising sea levels. Global warming will result in a rise in sea levels. Even a small increase in sea level can be destructive. With deeper water offshore, waves approach the coast with more force and the rate of erosion increases.
• Coastal flooding. Rising sea levels has caused an increase in coastal flooding. Jamaican coasts are affected by flooding from the large storm surges that result from the increased occurrences of tropical storms that occur annually between September and November. Global warming has led to an increase in occurrence of tropical storms or hurricanes.
• ?each erosion will increase, affecting tourism in the Caribbean - Negril, in Jamaica is already being affected.
• Groundwater near coastlines will become saline - some groundwater sources in Barbados and Jamaica are already affected.

As usual, I encourage you to do more reading on the topics covered so that you can be more informed. The references are:

• CSEC New Integrated Geography by Sheldon G. Bleasdell et al
• Geography for CSEC by Jeanette Ottley et al
• The Caribbean Environment by Mark Wilson

Marjorie Henry is an independent contributor. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com