Cold Environments Flashcards
All 22 cards in this deck
Describe the climate of a polar environment.
Extremely cold (winter temperatures can fall below -50°C), very low precipitation (under 250 mm a year, mostly as snow), with strong winds and months of winter darkness.
Describe the physical characteristics of a tundra environment.
Short cool summers (around 5-10°C) and long cold winters, low precipitation, continuous permafrost with a thin active layer that thaws in summer, and thin, acidic, nutrient-poor soils.
True or false? Cold environments have high precipitation because they are covered in snow and ice.
False. Polar areas are cold deserts, receiving under 250 mm of precipitation a year, which accumulates because it does not melt.
Why is the tundra ground waterlogged and boggy in summer despite low precipitation?
The permafrost beneath the active layer is impermeable, so meltwater cannot drain away and pools at the surface.
Why are cold environment soils thin and low in nutrients?
Low temperatures slow decomposition, so little humus forms, and permafrost limits how deep soils can develop.
Give two ways plants adapt to conditions in the tundra.
They grow low to the ground in cushions to avoid wind, and have shallow roots to sit above the permafrost; many are small and flower quickly in the short growing season.
Give two ways animals adapt to conditions in cold environments.
e.g. the polar bear
Thick fur and a layer of blubber for insulation, and white fur for camouflage; small ears and a compact body reduce heat loss.
True or false? Cold environments have low biodiversity, and this makes the ecosystem fragile.
True. Few species can survive the cold, so food chains are short and the loss of one species has a large knock-on effect.
Give one mineral extraction opportunity in Alaska.
Oil and gas at the Prudhoe Bay field, or zinc and lead at the Red Dog Mine.
Give one energy development opportunity in Alaska.
Hydro-electric power from glacial meltwater rivers, e.g. the Bradley Lake HEP scheme, which supplies electricity to south-central Alaska.
Give one fishing opportunity in Alaska.
The cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Bering Sea and Bristol Bay support large salmon and pollock fisheries, providing jobs and exports.
Give one tourism opportunity in Alaska.
Wilderness tourism such as cruises and visits to Denali National Park, which attracts around half a million visitors a year and creates jobs.
How does extreme temperature challenge development in cold environments?
Workers need specialist clothing and shelter, machinery and vehicles fail in the cold, and the short frost-free season limits construction time.
How does inaccessibility challenge development in cold environments?
There are few roads or railways, so supplies and workers must travel by air or seasonal ice roads, making everything slow and expensive.
Why is providing buildings and infrastructure difficult in cold environments?
Heat from buildings and roads melts the permafrost, causing the ground to subside, so structures must be raised on piles and roads laid on thick gravel pads.
True or false? Long sections of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline are raised above the ground on supports.
True. This stops heat from the warm oil melting the permafrost, and the supports allow the pipeline to flex in earthquakes.
Give two reasons cold environments are valued as wilderness areas.
They are among the last places largely untouched by people, and they provide sites for scientific research such as ice cores that record past climate.
True or false? Cold environments recover quickly from damage caused by development.
False. The short growing season means plants grow very slowly, so scars such as vehicle tracks can remain for decades.
Give one way technology helps balance development and conservation in cold environments.
Insulated pipelines and refrigerated (thermosyphon) piles keep the permafrost frozen; modern seismic surveys reduce the number of test wells needed.
What is the role of governments in protecting cold environments?
They designate protected land and set rules on development, e.g. the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (1980) protected over 40 million hectares as parks and refuges.
Name an international agreement that protects a cold environment and what it does.
The Antarctic Treaty (1959) and its 1991 Environmental Protocol: Antarctica is used only for peaceful scientific research and mining is banned.
How do conservation groups help protect cold environments?
They campaign against damaging development and work with governments and businesses, e.g. WWF promotes sustainable Arctic fishing and Greenpeace's 'Save the Arctic' campaign opposes oil drilling.