Cold Environments

Question 1

What are the four main types of cold environments?

Answer 1

There are four main types of cold environments, these include: Glacial, Polar, Periglacial and Alpine.

Question 2

Why are cold environments generally found in high latitude areas?

Answer 2

Generally, we find cold environments in high latitudes, this is because they are in the extreme North and South, far away from the equator and it is cooler here as the sun’s energy is spread over a larger surface area and so is less concentrated.

Question 3

Why are cold environments generally found in high altitude areas?

Answer 3

Additionally, we find cold environments in high altitudes, this is because they are high above sea level and therefore it is cooler as it is further away from the surface, where heat is being re-radiated and the atmosphere is thinner.

Question 4

What are glacial environments?

Answer 4

Glacial environments are areas of land permanently covered by ice. Land can be covered by glaciers or ice sheets. Glaciers are masses of ice that flow downhill. Ice sheets are domes of ice covering huge areas of land, e.g. the Antarctic ice sheet. The largest glacial environment is the Antarctic 13 million km (squared)