Distribution Of Cold Enviroment Flashcards
When did the last ice age end?
10,000
When are the major periods of ice activity (ice age)
Every 200-250 million years
When was its maximum extent? How much of the earth did it cover? Where did it cover the uk?
18000
1/3
Bristol Channel to Norfolk
A glacier retreating?
Robert Scott Antarctica
Glacier advancing?
Svaritsen glacier Norway
When did the quaternary period begin?
2 million
3 main reasons why environment might be cold?
High latitude
High altitude
Middle of continents/ continentality
Why are high latitudes cold?
Receive less solar radiation- dubs energy hits earth at more of an angle so it spreads over larger areas
Why high altitude cold?
Air temperature decreases.
Less of suns energy reflected back from the earth is trapped at higher altitudes.
Gets 6-10 degrees colder every 1000m
Why are middle of continents cold?
Far away from sea, in summer the land heats up quickly and sea slowly, in winter land cools quickly sea cools slowly. So in winter sea warms land near coast but not interior, continentality
What are the 4 cold environments?
Glacial
Periglacial
Alpine
Polar
Where are glacial environments found?
High altitudes
High latitudes
What are glacial environments permanently covered by? What’s can the land be covered by?
Ice
Glaciers or ice sheets
Example of high latitude for glacier environment?
Antarctica ice sheet
Greenland Ice sheet
60o latitude
Example of high altitudes for glacial environment?
Himalayan mountains 30o
Where are periglacial environments found?
High altitudes
Highly latitudes
Continental interiors
What is a periglacial environment?
Places where temp is frequently or constantly below freezing, but not covered by ice. They contain a layer of permafrost on or below the surface
Where are periglacial environments found? Examples?
High latitude- North America, Europe North Asia
High altitude- around ice masses and mountain ranges- Tibetan plateau
Interior land masses- Siberia, Central Asia
Where are alpine environments found?
High altitudes above the tree line ( to cold for trees)
Examples of where alpine environments found?
Above treelike Himalayas and Andes
What can alpine environment exist at any?
Latitude, they exist at Rocky Mountains ( 50 to 30)
What conditions may periglacial environments include?
Periglacial- above/ below treeline
Glacial- higher up
Where are the polar environments found?
Around poles North Pole (Arctic) South Pole (Antarctica)
Why is actic polar enviro cold
High latitude
What can the arctic polar be fined as?
Arctic circle 66oN
10 oC July isotherm (north of this line average temp below 10 in July)
What is North Pole made up of
Sea ice- shrink in summer open sea, refreezes winter
North land areas- Asia America Europe
Land base- glacial - Greenland
Periglacial Russia
Why is the antartica polar environment cold?
High latitude
Antartica circle 66oS
What can the polar environment around the South Pole be defined as?
10 oC January isotherm
How thick is the ice in some places of the antartica, what latitude does it reach?
4000m
How far is the centre of antartica away from the arming effects of the ocean
Hundreds km- continentality
What is a large area around the antartica land mass made up of?
Ice sheets
What are the reasons for climatic fluctuations? (5)
Changes in earths position in space, orbit and tilt
Variations in sunspot activity changing the amount of polar radiation received by the earth
Changes in the amount of volcanic dust affecting the amount of radiation trapped by the atmosphere
Trapping of co2 by oceans reducing total amount in the atmosphere and this cooling the planet
Variations in the oceans currents
