G - Types of Cold Environment Flashcards
What are the 3 main reasons environments might be cold?
- High latitude
- High altitude
- They’re in the middle of a continent
High latitude: why does this make an environment cold?
They recieve less solar radiation than lower latitudes
→ the Suns energy hits the Earth at more of an angle at high latitudes so its spread over a larger area
High altitude: why does this make an environment cold?
They’re colder because air temperature decreases with increasing alitiude
→ Less of the suns energy reflected back from the Earth is trapped at higher altitudes, making it colder
→ Lower air pressures higher up also mean temperatures drop
(it gets between 6℃ and 10℃ colder for every 1000m you go up)
Continentiality: why does this make an area cold?
The middle of continents are cold because they’re far away from the sea
→ In summer, the land heats up quickly and the sea heats up slowly — in the winter, the land cools quickly and the sea cools slowly
So, in the winter the sea warms the land near the coast, but not the interior
What are the different types of cold environment?
Glacial, periglacial, alpine and polar
Where are glacial environments found?
High altitudes and high latitudes
What is a glacial environment?
Areas of land permanently covered in ice - land can be covered by glaciers or ice sheets
Glacial environment: examples?
High latitudes: Antarctic ice sheet/ Greenland ice sheet
→ They’re both entirely above 60 degrees latitude
High altitude: Himalayan mountains
Where are periglacial environments found?
At high altitudes, latitudes and in continental interiors
