Arctic Tundra

Question 1

What area does Tundra occupy?

Answer 1

8 million km^2 in Canada, Alaska and Siberia

Question 2

What is the heat balance in the Tundra?

Answer 2

Negative heat balance 8-9 months a year

Question 3

What is the mean annual precipitation?

Answer 3

50-350mm mostly as snow

Question 4

What is biodiversity like?

Answer 4

Low biodiversity

Question 5

Why is there limited transpiration?

Answer 5

Sparse vegetation and short growing season.

Question 6

What does the heat balance mean for water?

Answer 6

Surface and soil water are frozen for most of the year

Question 7

Why are there low rates of evapouration?

Answer 7

Most energy is used to melt the snow.

Question 8

What is permafrost a barrier to?

Answer 8

infiltration, percolation, recharge and groundwater flow.

Question 9

What happens in spring?

Answer 9

The spring melt opens up the active layer and causes a spike in river flow. Extensive wetlands and lakes on the tundra into summer. This is only a temporary store of water as permafrost impedes the drainage.
The flux of carbon is concentrated

Question 10

How large is the permafrost carbon sink?

Answer 10

1600GT

Question 11

What are the levels of decomposition?

Answer 11

very slow for plant material.

Question 12

How much more carbon is in the soils than above ground biomass?

Answer 12

5 times more. Biomass is small, between 4-29 tonnes/ha

Question 13

What is NPP?

Answer 13

Net Primary Productivity is less than 200grams/m^2/year

Question 14

What is climate change doing to tundra?

Answer 14

Melting permafrost, moving the tundra from a carbon sink to a carbon source. Increased temperatures do mean increased growth which may have a balancing effect.

Question 15

When and where were oil and gas discovered?

Answer 15

Prudhoe Bay 1968

Question 16

What makes extraction difficult?

Answer 16

Harsh climate with extreme cold and long periods of darkness.
Flooding in summer.
Very remote and poor accessibility.

Question 17

What have investments gone towards?

Answer 17

Pipelines, road networks, oil production plants, gas processing facilities, powerlines, power generators and gravel quarries.
Most were completed in 70’s and 80’s

Question 18

How has North Slope oil production changed?

Answer 18

Early 90’s it accounted for 25% of USA oil

Now its only 6%

Question 19

What is permafrost sensitive to?

Answer 19

Changes in the thermal balance.

Question 20

What issues does oil and gas production bring?

Answer 20

Localised melting of permafrost arounf facilities.
Construction and operation diffuses heat directly into the atmosphere.
Dust deposition around roads, reduces albedo.
Reduction of vegetation cover which insulates permafrost.

Question 21

How much are North Slope CO2 losses?

Answer 21

From 7-40 million tonnes/year.

Question 22

How much are North Slope Methane losses?

Answer 22

24-114,000 tonnes/year.

Question 23

What are other causes of changes to CO2 emissions?

Answer 23

Gas flarings and oil spillages.

Destruction of vegetation.

Question 24

Why is destruction of vegetation so bad?

Answer 24

It takes a long time to recover due to slow growth rates.

Question 25

What causes changes to runoff?

Answer 25

Melting of permafrost and snow cover increases runoff.

Extraction of water for industrial use reduces localised runoff.

Question 26

What do management strategies focus on?

Answer 26

Protecting permafrost

Question 27

What protection methods are used?

Answer 27

Insulated ice and gravel pads.
Buildings and pipelines of elevated piles.
Latteral drilling.
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