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GCSE Geography > Cood Environments > Flashcards

Cood Environments Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 3 cold environments case studies

A

Antarctica
Trans Alaskan pipeline
Svalbard

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2
Q

What is the Tundra climate like

A

Very cold
Varying levels of rainfall across year
Very high wind speeds due to absence of trees
In winter temperature can reach -50 degrees (there are distinct seasons between summer and winter)

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3
Q

3 reasons why cold environments are cold

A

Albedo effect
Tilt of Earth
Angle of incidence

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4
Q

3 layers of soil in cold environments

A

Active layer (top)
Permafrost (middle)
Talik (bottom)

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5
Q

3 stores of nutrient cycle (in Tundra)

A

Biomass
Litter
Soil

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6
Q

4 challenges plants face in tundra

A

No food or drink
Strong winds
Freezing temperatures
Darkness

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7
Q

One plant that has adapted to the Tundra environment

A

Bearberry plant

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8
Q

Adaptations of bearberry plant for Tundra

A

Stems= thick bark for stability in strong winds
Hairy stems retains heat and keeps pant safe in very low temperatures
Very low growing (5- 15cm off ground)= survives in strong winds
Bright red berries= eaten by birds and owls to help distribute seeds

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9
Q

4 opportunities of Svalbard

A

Extreme tourism
Scientific research
Fishing
Mineral extraction and energy

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10
Q

Name of sea south of Svalbard used for fishing

A

Barents Sea- 150 fish species found here

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11
Q

Number of fish species found in Barents Sea

A

150 (including haddock and herring)

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12
Q

How many students study at University of Svalbard and what courses

A

Over 350
Including geology

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13
Q

How many are employed in mining e.g coal in Svalbard

A

300 +

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14
Q

What is Svalbard’s main island

A

Spitsbergen

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15
Q

4 challenges of Svalbard

A

Infrastructure
Construction
Extreme temperatures
Accessibility

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16
Q

Why must pipes be overground in Svalbard

A

To stop their contents from freezing e.g when transporting water as the permafrost is very cold

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17
Q

What temperatures can Svalbard reach

A

-30 degrees

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18
Q

3 adaptations of polar bears

A

White fur- camouflage in snow and sneak on prey (arctic fox)
Huge paws (30cm in diameter) -distribute their weight and stop them sinking in snow
Thick layer of blubber (up to 10cm thick) - for insulation and warmth in freezing temperatures as well as food storage

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19
Q

5 terms of Antarctic Treaty

A

Mining banned until 2048
No territorial claims
Nuclear tests banned
Protect all plant and animal life
Share scientific research

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20
Q

What is the Trans- Alaskan Pipeline a case study of

A

How different strategies (technology) can be used to reduce the damage done to the cold environment whilst still exploiting oil

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21
Q

What year was the Antarctic Treaty introduced

A

1959

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22
Q

Svalbard’s location/ facts

A

Svalbard is a Norwegian territory located between Norway and the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean. It is one of the most Northerly groups of islands in the world that’s inhabited and has a population of around 2,700.
Its main island (as it is a collection of islands), is called Spitsbergen and its capital is called Longyearbyen

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23
Q

3 cold environment biomes

A

Polar
Tundra
Alpine

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24
Q

Features of Trans Alaskan pipeline

A

Pump stations
Raised on supports
Teflon slippers
Insulation

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25
Q

Why is the Trans Alaskan pipeline built on stilts 3m above ground

A

Prevents permafrost from melting
Allows caribou to migrate underneath

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26
Q

Purpose of pump stations in Trans Alaskan pipeline

A

Heat and pressurise oil to move it over mountain ranges (Brooks and Alaskan Mountain Range) + 34 major river crossings

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27
Q

2 mountain ranges Trans- Alaskan pipeline passes over

A

Brooks
Alaskan Mountain range

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28
Q

Why must the Trans Alaskan pipeline be insulated

A

Stop oil being transported from freezing and heat escaping and melting permafrost

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29
Q

Where are tundra environments located

A

Northern hemisphere around Arctic circle e.g Northern Canada, Greenland and Northern Russia

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30
Q

Describe the angle of incidence at the Poles

A

Sunlight strikes Earth at very narrow angle so light is dispersed over large area and not very concentrated like at the Equator so less energy is converted to heat per square kilometre making it colder

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31
Q

What is the active layer like

A

Top layer of soil
Thaws in summer and freezes in winter
10cm-5m deep

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32
Q

Describe the permafrost layer

A

Permenantly frozen middle layer of tundra soil and is very tough like concrete so no plant roots can penetrate this layer
Up to 1.5km deep

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33
Q

What is the thickest layer of tundra soil

A

Permafrost (permanently frozen middle layer)

34
Q

Is the Talik (bottom layer of tundra soil) frozen or unfrozen

A

Unfrozen

35
Q

What is the Talik like and why is it unfrozen

A

Mostly rock and thin bottom layer of tundra soil
Unfrozen due to geothermal heating from mantle

36
Q

Why is the active layer sometimes frozen but sometimes unfrozen

A

In summer it thaws due to warmer temperatures as there is a wide range in temperatures throughout the year, even though it is always very cold

37
Q

What are wilderness areas

A

Unspoilt and remote regions of the world

38
Q

Why are the world’s wilderness areas becoming increasingly under pressure

A

Climate change is wiping out ecosystems
The areas have been opened up to tourists and businesses e.g Antarctica

39
Q

What resources are available in cold environments

A

Oil, gas, gold and other precious minerals
Tourism e.g northern lights
Fishing
Valuable research

40
Q

True or false, cold environments are fragile wilderness that have value and should be protected (even if they provide economic benefits like mining)

A

True

41
Q

True or false, permafrost contains lots of methane

A

True
If we damage the cold environment all the methane could be released having catastrophic environmental impacts

42
Q

How low growing is the bear berry plant

A

5-15cm off the ground

43
Q

Why does the bearberry plant have bright red seeds

A

So that they can be very visibly seen and eaten by birds and owls to help distribute the seeds

44
Q

What do bearberry plant stems have to help them keep stable in the very strong winds

A

Thick bark

45
Q

What is Svalbard’s accessibility like and why is this a challenge

A

Very limited and hard to get to
Only 50km of road in capital (Longyearbyen and 1 airport and access by boat is limited due to the sea being frozen over in winter)

46
Q

What are polar bear’ prey

A

Arctic fox
(Has white fur to be able to camouflage in snow and sneak up on it)

47
Q

How thick can polar bears’ blubber be

A

Up to 10cm

48
Q

2 Functions of blubber in polar bear

A

Warmth
Food storage

49
Q

Which ocean is Svalbard located in

A

Arctic ocean

50
Q

How many pumping stations does the Trans Alaskan pipeline have

A

11

51
Q

How high above the ground is the Trans Alaskan pipeline raised

A

3m (on stilts)

52
Q

Why is the Trans Alaskan pipeline insulated

A

Allows oil to flow through pipeline and to stop the oil from freezing
Prevents heat getting out and melting permafrost

53
Q

Why is it important that the Trans Alaskan pipeline is flexible and can can slide

A

Stop it breaking in earthquake

54
Q

Purpose of Teflon slippers in trans Alaskan pipeline

A

Allow it to move from side to side in zig zag pattern to prevent it from breaking in an earthquake

55
Q

What faults does the Trans Alaskan pipeline lie on that puts it at risk of earthquakes

A

Denali fault

56
Q

What are PIGS used for in Trans Alaskan pipeline

A

Cleaning it to reduce risk of oil spills and damage to environment

57
Q

What temperature can it reach in Svalbard (challenge)

A

Below -30 degrees

58
Q

Give examples of 5 tourist rules in Antarctica in order to protect the wilderness area

A

Only 100 tourists from cruise ships can land at a time
Visitors mustn’t take or leave anything behind
Do not feed/ touch/ photograph wildlife in ways that could alter their behaviour
Visitors must comply with the Treaty
Tourism must be run through the IAATO (a group of tour operators that enforce the rules listed above)

59
Q

Name of tour operators in Antarctica that ensure visitors help protect the area and wildlife

A

IAATO

60
Q

Give an example of a conservation group helping to protect a cold environment from development

A

Greenpeace in Antarctica

61
Q

2 achievements of Greenpeace in Antarctica

A

World Parks Antarctica (environmental campaign where Antarctica will be protected from exploitation e.g mining)
The Ross Sea Marine protected area (important habitats for marine mammals e.g penguins and fish in Ross sea are protected e.g no fishing)

62
Q

Why do Greenpeace want to protect natural environments like Antarctica from exploitation

A

Want to help protect the natural wildlife and ecosystems, especially with increasing threat of climate change

63
Q

How many country signed the Antarctic Treaty

A

52

64
Q

Purpose of Antarctic Treaty

A

Preserve fragile polar environment for science and peace

65
Q

Where are the polar biomes located

A

North and south of Arctic circle

66
Q

Where are the alpine biomes located

A

Dispersed along west coasts of north and South America
Small cluster just North of Tropic of Cancer in East Asia (Himalayas)

67
Q

How do Arctic Tribes use reindeer to live

A

Use fur to make warm clothing to deal with extreme freezing temperatures and prevent frostbite
Also eat reindeer meat and use coldness as freezer to help preserve it
Use reindeer to help them travel e.g to move their house

68
Q

3 features of an Arctic survival outfit/ kit

A

Thick hat made from wool to insulate head and prevent frostbite
Polar bear deterrent- polar bears are very dangerous and a serious threat so this scared them away
Polarised sunglasses- protect your eyes from albedo effect to prevent snow blindness

69
Q

3 cold environment biomes

A

Tundra
Polar
Alpine

70
Q

Due to white surfaces up to what % of light is reflected back to space

A

90%

71
Q

What is Greenpeace

A

A group of key organisations campaigning to help protect and defence teh natural world and environment against human activity

72
Q

What is greenpeace

A

NGO
Group of organisations who campaign for protection of environment against human activity

73
Q

What is greenpeace

A

NGO
Group of organisations who campaign for protection of environment against human activity

74
Q

Example of conservation group helping to protect a cold environment from development

A

Greenpeace- NGO who campaign to protect natural environments from exploitation including Antarctica

75
Q

What is Antarctic treaty a case study of

A

International agreement and conservation groups helping to protect Antarctica from exploitation and to preserve the fragile polar environment for science and peace

76
Q

What temperature can it reach in the tundra

A

-50 degrees

77
Q

What temperature can the polar biome reach

A

-90 degrees

78
Q

Why are cold environments fragile

A

Plants and animals have highly adapted to the harsh climate and physical characteristics (e.g plants not being able to penetrate through the soil) therefore any changes or disruption can imbalance ecosystems taking them years to recover (if they are able to recover at all)

Plants take a long time to decompose and grow back very slowly due to a lack of nutrients making the nutrient cycle very slow

Species are extremely dependent on each other due to a lack of biodiversity so if just one species dies this can be catastrophic for the whole ecosystem e.g krill are under threat in Antarctica and form the base of most ecosystems meaning penguins are having to migrate to other areas

79
Q

One affect of reducing number of krill in Antarctica

A

Penguins are having to migrate to other areas to find food so then there is more competition for food meaning less penguins survive

80
Q

Why can’t oil be transported across Alaska by ships

A

Sea ice in winter (sea freezes) obstructs ships so they can’t get through

81
Q

Why can’t oil be transported across Alaska by ships

A

Sea ice in winter (sea freezes) obstructs ships so they can’t get through

82
Q

Why can’t oil be transported across Alaska by ships

A

Sea ice in winter (sea freezes) obstructs ships so they can’t get through

GCSE Geography (11 decks)

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