Cold Enviornments

Question 1

Name two biomes that are cold environments

Answer 1

Polar and tundra

Question 2

Describe 4 of the characteristics of where and what happens at polar and tundra environments

Answer 2

Covers one quarter of earths land surface
Found at high latitudes
Cold sinking air generates freezing winds and sunlight is thin/sparse
At high latitudes the sun doesn’t rise for several months

Question 3

Where are polar regions & Name some polar areas and a characteristic

Answer 3

Found in inland areas far from warming influence of sea
Greenland
Northern Canada
Northern Russia (Siberia)
Antarctica
Average monthly temperature is always below freezing, this allows snow and ice to accumulate over time.
Most polar regions are partly or completely covered with ice caps

Question 4

Where are tundra regions, name some and give some characteristics

Answer 4

Found south of ice caps in the northern hemisphere
They occupy around 1/5 of earths land surface e.g. Russia and Canada
Places don’t have permanent ice cover but experience very weather for most of the year
Has low lying shrubs and mosses, no trees and most of the ground is permanently frozen

Question 5

What is permafrost

Answer 5

Permanently frozen ground found in polar and tundra regions

Question 6

Physical characteristics of cold environments

Answer 6

Cold sinking air created freezing winds and at the highest latitudes the sun may not rise for several months of the year - tilt of earths axis
Average temp is below freezing
Tundra = dry
Polar= dry
Not much rain because air is to cold to evaporate water

Question 7

Nutrient cycle in tundra

Answer 7

Biggest circle will be biomass

Soil and little will be relatively small

Question 8

Describe a tundra food web

Answer 8

The producers= mosses, lichens and grasses form at the base
Primary consumers\herbivores= depend on producers for survival are musk ox, artic hare and pikas.
Secondary consumers\carnivores= eat the herbivores are the arctic foxes, brown bears.
Above them are the artic wolves, polar bears and snowy owls - third order consumers.
Tertiary/top predator = man who kills animals and birds.
Decomposers = Bacteria and fungi

Question 9

Describe the interdependence of climate, permafrost, soils, plants, animals and people.

Answer 9

The permafrost relies on the climate to be cool enough so it remains frozen, the climate relies on man not to break through permafrost in which contains methane gas= global warming.
Plants and animals rely on climate for suitable living conditions and the plants rely on the soil to be able to grow and the animals rely on plants to eat and other animals rely on those animals to eat.
Humans rely on plants for oxygen in the environment and for the animals for food and materials

Question 10

How do animals adapt to the cold environments

Answer 10

Tundra wolf= white fur to camouflage, small rounded ears, smaller nuzzle and legs to reduce heat loss. Thick undercoat to keep warm, large padded feet.
Musk ox= dark thick long hollow haired fur to keep warm, the hollow hairs keep air warmed by body heat. They huddle together to keep warm, horns= protection.
Snowshoe rabbit= fur can be different colour in seasons, in winter they are white and in spring/summer they turn a reddish brown. Both used for camouflage. A lot of fur and large legs to support walking.
Caribou= compact, stocky body with short tail and ears to reduce heat loss. Skinny legs have veins and arteries that run side by side so that the heat of the arterial blood coming from the body warms cooler blood from lower legs. Split hooves = help balance walking

Question 11

How do plants adapt to cold environments

Answer 11

Bearberry plant= low growing to survive strong winds, bright red berries eaten by birds which helps distribute seeds, hair stems to retain heat, small leathery leaves help retain water in dry environment
Caribou moss= can go a long time without water, they grow dry and go dormant when there isn’t enough water and can grow again after being dormant for a very long time, grows close to floor 1-4 inches high and stems are hollow.

Question 12

Issues related to biodiversity

Answer 12

Climate change= melting ice and rising sea level can put many species in danger eg polar bears , when ice isn’t there anymore it can’t reflect sunlight which reduced heat.

Question 13

Location and basic facts on Alaska

Answer 13

Alaska is located in the Southern Hemisphere to the west of Canada and is owned by America
Alaska is a tundra biome

Question 14

What are som the of the development opportunities found in Alaska

Answer 14

Mineral extraction
Energy
Fishing
Tourism

Question 15

What are the facts/reasons why and effects of mineral extraction

Answer 15

1/5 of mining wealth is from gold
Humans and ecosystems can be harmed by the toxic environments and gasses released
Machinery used can release chemicals which pollute the air and also damage the permafrost
Can extract mercury, gold, nitric extracts
Used for medicine g

Question 16

What are the facts/reasons why and effects of the use of energy and oil as a development opportunity

Answer 16

Oil leaks can damage the environment e.g.- a broken pipeline spilt 1 million letters of oil in 2006
Fast reserves of oil
Industry provides 100,000 jobs
Contributes to 1/3 of Alaska annual earnings of $40 billion
Can realise toxins

Question 17

What are the facts/reasons why and effects of fishing in Alaska

Answer 17

There are 2 types of fishing; commercial and subsistence
Commercial fishing is of salmon, crab and whitefish which is done on a large scale whereas subsistence fishing is by native Americans and is done on a small scale and they use the fishing for oil (food) and bones (clothes).
Successful and sustainable $6 billion a year
3000 rivers
3 million lakes

Question 18

What are the facts/reasons why and effects of tourism on Alaska

Answer 18

Damages animals habitats 
Can cause pollution
Damages permafrost 
Historical sites are view 
60% crew ship passengers 
Fish, view, wildlife, whale watching and kayaking 
Tourism brings 1-2 million visitors a year 
Seasonal and poor pay

Question 19

What are the challenges of developing extreme temperature

Answer 19

The newer and changed temperatures could result in certain plants not being able to grow there anymore, therefore effecting food chains as there could be a decline of primary consumers.
Certain animals won’t have adaptations or characteristics that match or fit with the more extreme temperatures
Loss of habitat for species eg- melting ice increases sea levels and decreases amount of land for animals such as polar bearsp

Question 20

What are the challenges of developing inaccessibility

Answer 20

As they are inaccessible people might not be able to rely upon reliable supplies of food and energy.
Isolate people
Harder to travel and access in summer as ice cracks
Hard to reach people in need or help

Question 21

What are the challenges of developing provision of buildings and infrastructure

Answer 21

Houses have to be raised up above ground to prevent subsidence
Roads are built on gravel to prevented them cracking
Oil pipelines are raised on stilts to prevent melting of permafrost
Many houses have triple glazing to prevent heat loss
Geothermal power is used where underground pumps pump water deep underground where it is warmer and then brings that warmed water back to surface to heat buildings
Buildings have steep pitched roofs to get rid of snow that falls

Question 22

What is the value of cold environments as wilderness areas

Answer 22

Ice reflects back light to reduce global warming, if the area wasn’t a wilderness area and was covered in buildings then this wouldn’t happen
Provides clean non polluted air
Acts as a laboratory for the rest of the world where changes can be measured in isolation from effects of man- crucial for us to find out about the effects of global warming including using ice cores to date back hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Question 23

Why should wilderness areas such as Antarctica be protected

Answer 23

Antarctica is the last and largest unspoiled wilderness area on earth- reminder of what the planet was like before the influence of man.
Wildlife in which isn’t found in any other areas- help protect them and their habitats, if not they could become extinct.
Antarctica acts as a laboratory for the rest of the world where changes can be measured in isolation from effects of man- crucial for us to find out about the effects of global warming including using ice cores to date back hundreds of thousands of years ago.
The ice in Antarctica reflects the sunlight which decreases temperature- helps combat global warming

Question 24

What are the 4 main strategies used to balance the needs of economic development and conservation in cold environments

Answer 24

Use of technology
Role of governments
International agreements
Conservation groups

Question 25

How has technology been used to balance the needs of economic development and conservation in cold environments

Answer 25

Spread awareness for the need to He protect it
Designing certain technology and machines so when out there we can limit amount of damage done
Learning new ways to protect the environment e.g.- raising oil pipes so it doesn’t heat permafrost

Question 26

How has role of government been used to balance the needs of economic development and conservation in cold environments

Answer 26

The government have been able to asses the needs and been able to meet the needs by giving money to contribute towards helping conserve the environment.
The government have also put in place certain rules and regulations to help conserve it e.g.- closing off certain parts so they remain untouched and saying that tourists cannot go within 1 metre of the wildlife or their habitats

Question 27

How has the role of international agreements been used to balance the needs of economic development and conservation in cold environments

Answer 27

International agreements have brought together very powerful strong and wealthy countries to help work together to preserve the environment eg- Antarctic treaty in 1961 (1959)- no new activity is allowed unless the potential impacts of the environment have been fully assessed and minimised.

Question 28

How has conservation groups used to balance the needs of economic development and conservation in cold environments

Answer 28

Conservation groups such as green peace who are supported and promoters of Antarctic Ocean alliance which protects the oceans.
These groups increase awareness, funding and support of protecting these areas.
They also educate people on why we need to protect them