Glaciated landscapes and change

• What is one threat to Svalbard? (T)

  Tourism - More facilities are being built for people in Svalbard which damages the landscape, oil spills and other waste is discharged from shipping, and air pollution is releasedfrom flights
• What is one threat to Svalbard? (CM)

  Coal mining - Svalbard has valuable resource reserves, and extraction damages the landscape
• What is one threat to Svalbard? (PSR)

  Polar scientific research - Building the neccessary infastructure such as research stations damages the landscape
• Why is coal mining not as big of a threat to Svalbard?

  Because of the extreme cold, lack of light in the winter, and the remoteness of the mines
• How can tourism, mining, and research help Svalbard?

  Their economy depends on it
• When was the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act passed, and what did it do?

  It was passed in 2002, and it protects Svalbard's natural environment as well as its cultural heritage
• When was the last epoch where there have been major periods of ice activity?

  The Pleistocene epoch
• What are cold periods and warm periods in the Earth's temperature called?

  Glacials (cold periods),and interglacials (warm periods)
• What is one long term factor leading to climate change and glaciation? (MC)

  Milankovitch cycles - Changes in the Earth's axis and orbit which determines the amount of solar radiation on Earth, leading to both glacial and interglacial periods
• How long are each three Milankovitch cycles?

  21,000 years, 41,000 years, and 100,000 years
• What occurs in the 100,000 year Milankovitch cycle?

  The Earth's orbit stretches from nearly circular to eliptical and back, with glacials occuring during the former and interglacials occuring during the latter
• What occurs in the 41,000 year Milankovitch cycle?

  Earth's axis completes a full tilt with summers being hotter and winters being colder when the tilt increases
• What occurs in the 21,000 year Milankovitch cycle?

  Earth's axis rotates in a circular movement
• What is short long term factor leading to climate change and glaciation? (SS)

  Sun spots - These emit variable amounts of solar radiation, and therefore cause small changes in the Earth's temperature
• What is one short term factor leading to climate change and glaciation? (VE)

  Volcanic eruptions - These prdouce thick gases, and when they rise high enough into the atmosphere solar radiation will be reflected back into space, meaning the Earth's temperature will cool
• What is the cryosphere?

  The frozen part of the Earth's hydrological system
• What is the majority of the cryosphere made up of?

  Land surfaces, such as ice sheets, ice caps, and glaciers
• What is the rest of the cryosphere made up of?

  Bodies of frozen water, such as can be found in oceans, lakes, and rivers
• What is an ice sheet?

  A large area of ice which covers land surfaces, often over one kilometre thick
• What is an ice shelf?

  A large floating platform of ice formed at the end of ice sheets next to the ocean
• What is an ice cap?

  A small mass of ice that are associated with mountain ranges
• What is a cirque/corrie glacier?

  Small glaciers that occupy hollows on mountains
• What is valley glacier?

  Large glaciers that move from ice fields or corries and follow river courses
• What are polar regions?

  Areas of permanent ice
• What are periglacial/tundra regions?

  Areas at the edge of permanent ice, characterised by permafrost
• What are alpine regions?

  Mountainous areas where glaciers are found
• What are glacial environments?

  Areas created by the movement of glaciers
• What is permafrost?

  Permanently frozen ground, including soil, sediment, or rock
• What is the active layer of permafrost?

  The top layer of the soil that thaws and refreezes seasonally
• How does frost shattering/freeze thaw weathering occur?

  Water that gets into the cracks of a rock turns to ice and expands when the temperature goes below freezing, and as the freezing and thawing process is repeated, cracks form and become larger until chunks of rock break off and pile up at the foot of a slope as scree
• What landform does frost shattering/freeze thaw weathering create?

  Blockfields - Large deposits of scree create areas of broken up, angular fragments of rock
• How does nivation occur?

  Through any processes related to snow
• What landform does nivation create?

  Nivation hollows - Summer meltwater which carries away any weathered rock debris, revealing a small hole
• How does frost heave occur?

  In low temperatures, the ground contracts and cracks develop so that in the summer, meltwater fills them and this is then frozen again in winter to form ice wedges due to frost heave
• What landform does frost heave create?

  Stone polygons - Frost heave causes the ground to expand and lift soil particles upwards, and as smaller particles might be removed by wind, this leaves a concentration of larger stones lying on top
• How does groundwater freezing occur?

  The freezing of water in the upper layers of the soil leads to expansion of the ice within it
• What landform does groundwater freezing create?

  Pingos - Groundwater freezing causes the overlying sediments to heave upwards into a dome shaped feature
• What is solifluction, and what is it caused by?

  Caused by meltwater, solifluction is the slow downhill flow of saturated soil, where the active layer provides enough water to allow flow to occur
• What are loesses, and what are they caused by?

  Caused by wind, loesses are large amounts of loose sediment which has been picked up and deposited away from its original location
• What is glacier mass balance?

  The annual difference between the amount of ice and snow accumulation and the amount of ice and snow ablation