Distrubution Of Cold Environements

Question 1

Last glacial periods: Pleistocene era

Answer 1

-Started 115,000 years ago and ended 11,700 years ago
-Large ice sheet over North America, Asia and Europe
-Glaciers formed in Rockies, Greenland and Canada

Question 2

Present day: Interglacial period

Answer 2

-10% of land covered by ice
-Antarctica has 85% of earth’s ice
-Greenland has 10% of earth’s ice
Canadian and Russian tundra has 5% of earth’s ice

Question 3

What are polar environments like?

Answer 3

• Below -50 °C
  -large snowy areas
  -Small amounts of precipitation
  -Large expanses of sea ice
  -E.g. Antarctica

Question 4

What are glacial environments like?

Answer 4

-Mountainous regions
-Heavy snow in winter
-Ice is the main transport process
-Warm summers promote meltwater
-e.g. Greenland

Question 5

What are periglacial environments like?

Answer 5

-On the edge of glacial and polar regions
-Presence of permafrost
-Located in Russia, Canada and Greenland
-Short summers allow small amounts of surface thaw
-e.g. Spitsbergen

Question 6

What are alpine environments like?

Answer 6

-Temperatures below 10 °C
-Heavy snow in winter
-High altitudes
-Summer temperatures above 15 °C
-E.g. Alps

Question 7

Antartica’s climate

Answer 7

-Sunlight hits the surface at a low angle
-Dark winters and light summers
-Has lower temperatures due to being surrounded by sea
-Regular storms

Question 8

Artic’s climate

Answer 8

-sunlight hits surface at a low angle
-Dark winters and light summers
-Higher temperatures due to being surrounded by land
-Warm ocean currents bring warm, moist air

Question 9

Where do cold environments develop?

Answer 9

It gets colder as the latitudes and altitudes go up, so they form at the higher latitudes and altitudes

Question 10

What happens if we enter a glacial period?

Answer 10

Cold environments will found lower down