Where the City Meets the SeaMidterm Exam – Summer 2021
Your Name: ______________
Note that 10 lines of text is approximately 150 words.
Arabian Gulf Ecosystems
1a) Please explain why the Arabian Gulf is considered one of the most environmentally extreme
seas in the world (in 10 lines or less) (5 pts)
1b) Please describe the importance of one coastal/marine ecosystem of the Arabian Gulf that
was NOT the ecosystem that you presented on in Week 1 (i.e. if you worked on seagrass, you
must discuss one of Sabkha, coral reefs or mangrove forests). Explain why it is important in 10
lines or less. (5 pts)
1c) Why is the Indian Ocean monsoon considered important for the future of coral reefs in the
Arabian Gulf? Explain in 10 lines or less. (5 pts)
Demography
2a) Please go to PopulationPyramid.net and use the dropdown (top left) to find a population
pyramid for a nation that starts with the third letter of your First Name [or second name if
there are no options (i.e. X)]. Please download and copy/paste the resulting population pyramid
in the space below: (2 pts) (nation with letter R)
INSERT CHART HERE
2b) Please interpret the population pyramid for your nation (from 2a). In terms of population
growth patterns, does the data suggest that the population of your birth nation is currently
stable, declining, growing slowly, or growing rapidly? How do you know – explain. (4 pts)
2c) Based on the data in your population pyramid alone and your interpretation above, what
socio-economic implications (if any) does the shape of your population pyramid imply may affect
the nation in the coming decades (e.g. ~20 years from now)? Explain your answer. (4 pts)
2d) Based on the above response, what are some approaches/policies that the government
might put in place to address these issues? If you expect NO socio-economic issues for the
nation based on the shape of your population pyramid, what approaches/policies can the
government do to maintain this population structure? (4 pts)
2e) Population growth rate is the result of natural increase (or decrease) as well as migration.
Assuming births and deaths balance for your nation (from 2a) (i.e. there is no effect of natural
increase, and only migration affects your population growth), does the migration data for the
country suggest that the nations’ population is growing or contracting? (use the dropdown [top
left] to search for your nation). Please copy/paste the migration chart for the nation below and
then use quantitative data from this chart to explain your answer; if there are nations of
particular importance for migration to or from your nation, you can include mention of these
specifics. (4 pts)
INSERT CHART HERE AND PROVIDE YOUR ANSWER BELOW IT
2f) All nations go through what is known as ‘demographic transition’. Contrast the demography
of a country in the early phases of demographic transition from a late-phase country (in 5 lines
or less). (4 pts)
GIS & Remote Sensing
3a) What wavelength of light is most often used to identify vegetation from satellite imagery? (2
pts)
3b) Describe what it means to have a high temporal resolution in remote sensing. (2 pts)
3c) The graph below (Figure 1) shows the relative change in land cover within 10 km of the
coast in 27 European countries between 2000–2006. Interpret the graph (in 2-4 sentences). (4
pts)
Figure 1 : Relative change in land cover within 10 km of the coast in 27 European countries,
2000–2006
3d) How does the graph above compare with the changes in Shanghai based on what you
learned in this course? (4 pts)
3e) What information about land cover change is NOT available from the graph above but would
be available in GIS? (2 pts)
Risks to Coastal Cities
4a) Please differentiate between relative sea level rise (also known as dynamic sea level rise)
and absolute sea level rise (3 pts), and list three factors that may influence relative sea level
rise in a local area (as discussed in class). [please LIST, don’t explain] (3 pts).
4b) What are the two primary drivers/mechanisms for sea level rise at a global scale? (LIST do
not explain) (2 pts)
4c) Based on what we discussed in class, which of the above (in 4b) are likely to be most
important in New York City in the coming century? Explain your answer in 10 lines or less (5
pts)
4d) Although carbon dioxide is the most well known greenhouse gas, methane is also important.
Explain the source(s) of methane as discussed in class (2 pts), and explain why scientists are
very concerned about methane even though it is far less abundant than carbon dioxide (2 pts).
Shoring Up Cities
5a) What is ‘coastal squeeze’ and why might it hamper efforts to use soft-engineering
approaches to coastal defense? Answer in 10 lines or less. (4 pts)
Please examine the diagram below and READ THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BEFORE
ANSWERING.
5b) Please explain the process of longshore transport in detail (10 lines or less). (8 pts)
5c) Looking at the diagram above, how is the construction of the groyne in that image likely to
affect the shoreline at C and D? (explain in 12 lines or less) (5 pts)
5d) If we remove the groyne from the image above, and instead put in a detached breakwater of
the same size in front of the same section of beach, what will likely happen to the beach over
the next few years? (explain in 6 lines or less, using terms we used in class). (5 pts)
Water Production
6a) The UAE produces nearly a quarter of the entire world’s desalinated water. Please
differentiate the two processes used for desalination in 6 lines or less. (4 pts)
6b) Urban planners often have to balance competing costs and benefits. If you were an urban
planner for a major coastal city occurring on an estuary in northern Europe, and had to
recommend 1) using dams to build reservoirs OR 2) using wells to access groundwater, which
would you recommend? Why? Answer in 15 lines or less. (6 pts)
Add your name here: ________________