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The Living World
cold environments
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Chavi
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Cards (26)
What are cold environments?
Cold environments experience temperatures that are at or below
zero
degrees Celcius for
long
periods of time.
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What is permafrost?
Permanently frozen ground, found in polar and tundra regions.
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What are the physical characteristics?
Soil: Top active layer freezes in winter,
permafrost
extends deep down
Climate: Cold, windy,
precipitation
Plants:
No
trees, low growing
bushes
Animals:
Polar
bears,
wolves
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How have plants adapted to the climate?
Bearberry
Very low growing - protect against
wind
Thick bark -
stability
against wind
Small leaves - reduce
water
lost (dry)
Hairy stems - protect against
cold
Bright red berries - eaten to spread
seeds
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How have animals adapted to the climate?
Arctic Fox
Compact body, short legs, small ears - less
surface area
for heat loss
Fur is grey in summer, white in winter - camouflage to ice or vegetation
Wide diet to increase
survival
- cold conditions limit food
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What threats are there to the cold environment?
Ice melting due to
climate
change
Risk of
wildfire
Human pressures (
oil
drilling,
overfishing
,, tourism)
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Where is
Svalbard
?
Islands in the
Arctic
Ocean. Belong to
Norway
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What opportunities are there in Svalbard?
Mineral extraction
Energy
Fishing
Tourism
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What are the opportunities of mineral extraction?
Lots of
coal mining
- vital to economy
Declined - only
45
jobs from 300
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What energy opportunities are there in Svalbard?
Most energy comes from coal
Solar energy (24 hour days in Summer) or
geothermal
energy (on an constructive boundary) are options for the future - not yet developed.
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What fishing opportunities are there?
Barents Sea
has over 150
species
of fish -
cod
haddock
herring
Controlled by Norway and Russia to prevent
overfishing
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What tourism opportunities are there?
85000
visitors
in
2018
, some on
cruises
Hiking,
kayaking
and snowmobiles can damage
environment
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What are the challenges of development in Svalbard?
Temperatures
Buildings and infrastructure
Accessibility
How does temperature create challengest?
Drop
below
-30
Stop machinery working
Difficult to labour due to clothes
How do buildings create challenges?
Buildings warm
permafrost
, causing melting. Buildings become unstable
Key infrastructure in
above ground
pipes
How does accessibility create challenges?
Very remote. One airport in main town, only roads are in the main town
Longyearbyen
People get around by
snowmobile
What impacts are humans having on cold environments?
Oil spills
damaging habitats
Deep tyre tracks damaging the
active layer
Ice melting
destroying habitats
Polluting the ice
What is a fragile environment?
An environment that is both easily
disturbed
and difficult to restore if disturbed
Why is tundra fragile?
Very slow growing conditions - takes decades to regrow
Permafrost
can melt easily and does not refreeze
What is a wilderness area?
A natural environment that has not been significantly
modified
by human activity.
Why are cold environments important?
Home to
indigenous people
Unique
species
Untouched environment is useful for
scientists’
research
What are the 4 strategies for protecting cold environments?
Use of
technology
Governments
International agreements
Conservation groups
How does technology help to protect cold environments?
Raised oil pipelines
Do not melt
permafrost
Limit impact of spills
Allow
caribou
to migrate
How do governments help to protect cold environments?
Create
conservation areas
The
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Conservation
E.g
President Obama
banned oil drilling in Alaska, but undone by
Trump
How do international agreements help to protect cold environments?
Arctic Council
work together to manage the area
No law making power but foster collaboration
Clean up
pollution
Dealing with
melting ice
How do conservation groups help to protect cold environments?
NGOs
can campaign
Example:
Greenpeace
‘Save the
Arctic
campaign’ raised awareness
Led to
government
action against
TNCs
like
Shell