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AQA A Level Geography > Antarctica > Flashcards

Antarctica Flashcards

1
Q

What is the size of Antarctica?

A

14 million square km

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2
Q

How much of the Earth’s ice does Antarctica contain?

A

90%

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3
Q

How much of the Earth’s freshwater does Antarctica contain?

A

70%

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4
Q

Why is Antarctica classified as a desert?

A

It receives less than 166mm of rainfall per year

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5
Q

What is the average temperature of Antarctica?

A

-49 degrees Celsius

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6
Q

The ecosystem is very ………… .

A

fragile

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7
Q

What do krill feed off in the Antarctic Convergence Zone?

A

Microsccopic phytoplankton

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8
Q

What are the four main threats to Antarctica?

A
  • climate change
  • fishing and whaling
  • search for minerals
  • tourism and research
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9
Q

By how much have temperatures risen on the western coast of Antarctica over the past five decades?

A

3 degrees Celsius

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10
Q

What have rising temperatures caused?

A

Ice shelves melting around the Ross Sea and Weddell Sea

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11
Q

Why has the population of Adelie penguins decreased?

A

They are adapted to live in icy conditions - they cannot survive with the melting ice

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12
Q

By how much have the Antarctic krill declined since 1970s?

A

80%

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13
Q

What is the effect of a declining krill population?

A

Decline in whale, penguin and seal populations as they depend on the krill as a food source

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14
Q

How much have global sea levels risen since the 1990s as a result of melting sea ice?

A

3mm per year

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15
Q

Why can climate change cause ocean acidification?

A

Carbon dioxide in teh air reacts with saltwater, it creates carbonic acid, which depletes the amount of calcium carbonate in the water/

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16
Q

How many tonnes of krill were fished in 2013?

A

200 000

17
Q

What do legal limits aim to do?

A

Keep stocks at a sustainable level (although illegal fishing is difficult to monitor)

18
Q

When was commercial whaling banned?

A

1982

19
Q

The whale population is now slowly …………., even though whales are slow breeders.

A

recovering

20
Q

There are believed to be a lot of ………… in Antarctica.

A

minerals

21
Q

There are large reserves of …………. underneath the Southern Ocean.

A

oil

22
Q

There hasn’t been any ………… - it is currently banned.

A

mining

23
Q

What is a reason for the lack of mining in Antarctica?

A

It is too far to transport machinery

24
Q

Why might mining occur in Antarctica in the future?

A

Demand for oil and minerals will increase as supplies deplete elsewhere.

25
Q

What can tourism cause?

A
  • air pollution from air travel
  • fuel spills from ships
26
Q

Tourists can disturb colonies of ………… .

A

birds

26
Q

………… can damage vegetation.

A

Trampling

26
Q

………… …………. can harm wildlife.

A

Waste disposal

27
Q

………… ………… may be introduced on tourists’ clothing.

A

Non-native species

28
Q

Scientific and environmental research requires lots of ………… .

A

facilities

29
Q

When was the Antarctic Treaty signed?

A

1959

30
Q

What does the Antarctic Treaty set out?

A
  • Antarctica should only be used for peaceful reasons
  • Countries should cooperate on scientific research
  • Antarctica should remain in the global commons
31
Q

What was signed in 1991?

A

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty

32
Q

International Whaling Commission (IWC)

A
  • responsible for regulating whaling so that populations stay at a sustainable level
  • in 1994, the IWC set up a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean
  • however, campaigners have criticised the IWC for not monitoring the number of whales in the sanctuary
33
Q

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

A
  • UNEP is a UN agency and is the main institution that governs the world’s environment
  • reports activity in Antarctica to the UN
  • programme in Antarctica is run by CCAMLR which aims to stop illegal fishing and conserve the ecosystem
  • however, its effectiveness is limited by individual countries protecting their own interests
34
Q

Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC)

A
  • NGO formed in 1978
  • campaigned to make Antarctic Treaty meetings more transparent
  • interested in protecting the environment
  • monitors environmental change
  • monitors effects of climate change by checking melting ice and sea levels
  • ASOC campaigns with other NGOs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

AQA A Level Geography (15 decks)

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