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A Level Geography > Antarctica - Global Systems > Flashcards

Antarctica - Global Systems Flashcards

1
Q

Driest continent

A

Annual precipitation is only 50mm per year

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2
Q

Windiest continent

A

Winds can reach 200mph and avergae 50mph (not slowed by surface friction)

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3
Q

Clodest continent

A

Avergae temps -49C with lowest -89C

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4
Q

Highest continent

A

Avergae height of 2300m

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5
Q

Mountains

A

Mt vinson massif, 4892m at highest peak

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6
Q

Size

A
  • 1 1/2 times the size of USA

- 98% covered by ice sheet at 1 mile deep

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7
Q

Population

A

1000 people in winter and 5000 people in the summer

- most transiet populaiton

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8
Q

Antarctic convergence zone

A

Marks the edge of Antractica

  • approx 40km wide
  • seperating TWO distinct hydrological regions
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9
Q

Key things on antractica

A
  • Ronne Ice Shelf (North), Ross ice shelf (South)
  • transantartic mountains
  • McMurdo research station (US)
  • Vostok climate station (Russia)
  • antarcita peninsula - cape horn = 850km
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10
Q

What happens at the ACZ

A
  • sea water cooled at Antarctic so is heavier and sinks northward
  • meets deep water south - water from equaltoial regions result in an upwlling of the deep waters to the surface
  • this brings many dissolved nutrients bringing fish
  • water moves along gradiens - as the water becomes colder it also becomes more dense and sinks
  • oceans have this accelerated further by the change in water salinity (thermohaline circulation)
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11
Q

Ablation

A

Process that removes snow, ice or water from a glacier or snowfield

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12
Q

Nunatak

A

An exposed, often rocky element of a ridge, mountain or peak not covered with ice or snow wihtin an ice field or glacier

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13
Q

Tourism Activities

A
  • kayaking
  • hiking
  • Climbing
  • small boat crusing
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14
Q

Animal distancing

A
  • emperor penguin = 50m

- non breading = 5m

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15
Q

Visitor stats

A
  • 35% visitors from the USA
  • 75K visitor 2019-2020
  • 18K never leave cruise
  • cost $75K
  • 1% fly to centre
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16
Q

Tour guides and ships

A
  • 1 guide to a max 20 tourists
  • max 100 people on land at one time for 1-3 hours, 1-3 landings a day
  • 1 ship at a landing site
  • up to 500 on a ship
17
Q

Negatives

A
  • invasive species
  • impact of breeding birds
  • oil spills
  • no walking on lichin = erosion
18
Q

Economic pressures on antarctica

A
  1. Fishing and whaling
  2. Mineral exploitation
  3. Tourism and scientific research
19
Q

Environmental pressure on antarcitca

A

Krill

  • high rates of fishing
  • 100,000 tonnes in 1999
  • 210,000 tonnes in 2012
  • used for dietary supplements as oil capsules
  • mostly used in livestock food
20
Q

Environmental pressure on antarctica - climate change

A
  • peninsula has had the most rapid warming on earth
  • last 50 years warmed by 3C = 3x higher then elsewhere
  • distribution of penguine colonies changed
  • increased plant colonisation
  • long term decline in krill
  • changes to ice cover
  • glacial retreate
21
Q

Environmental pressures on antarctica - ice caps

A
  • since 2009, 278 billion tons of ice has melted from antarcitica per year
  • 1980s lost 44 billion tons a year
22
Q

Thwaites Glacier

A
  • Western Antarctica
  • 80 miles, around 3,900 feet deep
  • it holds enough freshwater to rise sea levels 50cm
  • holds back potential further glacial movement
  • will increase storms and storm surges if melted
23
Q

Who owns antarctica

A

No one

  • claims since 1959 are not relevant
  • antarctic treaty signed 1959
  • gaurantess free access to antarctica for scientific reasearch and the exchange of ideas
24
Q

Antarctic treaty

A
  • 14 article treaty signed by 12 nations in 1959

- an agreement between countires to prevent antarctica from becoming a scene of international discord

25
Q

1982 - moratorium

A
  • 1970 the blue whale population was less than 6,000
  • greenpeace antiwhaling campaign - confronting whaling fleets in the high seas
  • 1982, IWC delivered a moratorium on commercial whaling, a ban on all whaling unless for scientific purposes
  • Japan, Norway and Iceland ignore this
  • japan collects whales for ‘science’ then sold for food
  • japan hunts 300 whales a year
  • whales fetch up to $1 million
26
Q

Southern ocean whaling sanctury

A
  • 1994
  • bans all types of commercial whaling in antractica
  • dispute over legality with japan ignoring this
  • allow whales to recover from over exploitation
  • it facilitates recovery of depleated populations
  • protects feeding and breeding grounds
  • provides economic benefits
  • protetcs multiple species
  • whales can play their role in the ecosytem
  • increases public awareness
27
Q

Convention of the conservation of Antarctic Marine living resources

A
  • aim in preserving atarctic marine life
  • aims to reduce the impacts of krill fishing
  • helped to manage vulnerable ecosystems
  • reduced seabird mortality
  • BUT have failed to deliver increased protecttion for the fragile ecosystem
28
Q

Convention for the conservation of antarctic seals 1972

A
  • aim to protect the stocks of antarctic seal from commercial exploitation
  • species of seals are not allowed to be killed
  • 1978 enforced
  • seal populations have now recovered
  • 17 parties in the CCAS
  • they give a permisable limit on catch for species and when catch can start again
29
Q

Antarctic environmental protocol (madrid protocol)

A
  • keep the continent clean and unspoiled
  • prohibits drilling or mining of any minerals
  • it is a ‘natural reserve, devoted to peace and science’
  • requirs assesment of activities prior to them happening
  • CEP - an expert advisory body that provide advice and formulate recommendations
  • prevents human impact
30
Q

NGO - ASOC

A

Focus on wildlife and marine conservation

  • reduce the exploitation
  • convince governments to join protocols
  • monitor the impact in antarctica
31
Q

NGO - SCAR

A

Coordinate the scientific reasearch that is going on

  • set up by the initial 12 nations
  • Anticlimnow (predic of conditions from climate change), Anticon (reserach - conservation and management of international policies), instant (antarcticas role in global sea level change)

A Level Geography (51 decks)

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