Greenland case study Flashcards
what % of Greenland is covered in ice
80%
what type of landscape is Greenland
Glacial
what is Greenlands length and width
1,660 miles and 650 miles
how far away is Greenland from the North Pole
500 miles
how thick is the Greenland ice sheet
5,000 feet reaching a maximum of 10,000 feet
what is the population of Greenland
56,653
what is the population density
0.14 people per km2
what is the population split
88% Inuit
12% European (Danish)
what % of the population lives in urban areas
87.5%
what do many Greenland Inuit do for work
they work in the growing mining and tourism industry as well as maintaining traditional lifestyles.
flora
sedge and cotton grass, plantlike lichens and some dwarfed birch and willow trees
fauna
polar bears, reindeer, musk oxen, Arctic foxes, and lemmings can be found on land. Seals and whales can be found in surrounding water as well as multiple species of fish.
what are the average winter temperatures in the North and South
-34 degrees (N)
-7 degrees (S)
what are the average summer temperatures in the North and South
4 degrees (N)
7 degrees (S)
what economic opportunities does Greenland offer
huge potential for hydroelectric power as well as ice retreat revealing valuable deposits of oil, gas metals and minerals
how is culture threatened
by modern culture, conservationists and by climate change. Environmental groups have led to hunting bans on species as well as sea ice melting and reducing hunting grounds
what does Greenlands ice possess
immense scientific research as the multitude of ice layers contain a unique record of Earth’s climate history formed over millions of years which can be studied using ice cores
what was the contribution to global sea level between 1993 and 2010
0.33mm per year
what was the reported average rate of ice loss between 1992 and 2001
34 gigatonnes per year
what had it increased to between 2002 and 2011
215 gigatonnes per year
what % does Greenlands ice sheet contribute to global ice mass
10%
if the Greenland ice sheet melted what would the calculated global mean sea level rise up to
7m
what is the risk of increased shipping
increases the risk of marine pollution
what is the risk of overfishing and discharge of ballast water
may introduce invasive species that may outcompete and displace resident species
what are the risks to polar bears
POPs (persistent organic pollutants) are being discovered in high concentrations in polar bears from East Greenland to Svalbard
what happened in 2007 politically
political disputes threaten the landscape as well with Russia claiming part of the Arctic seabed leading to nations such as Denmark and Canada now staking their own claims to areas of the seabed.
what were the 2014 protests about
reversing a ban on radioactive uranium mining as it could cause devasting impacts on the farming and fishing industries that could be irreversible
how is the Greenland ice sheet protected
by cold Arctic waters against the temperate waters of the Atlantic, research teams have also been studying ice cores and comparing them to Antarctic ice cores
how fast is Greenland losing ice
7 times faster than it was in the 1990s
what is the expected ocean rise at the end of the century from Greenland
7cm
roughly how many people live less than 10m above current high-tide lines
1 billion
how many people live below 1m
250 million
how many people are brought into a flooding situation for every 1cm of sea level rise
6 million
what does IMBIE stand for
Ice sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise
what does IMBIE consist of
89 polar experts from 50 international organisations
what has the temperature been over the last decade in Greenland
0.75 degreees
how much ice has Greenland lost to the ocean and what’s this equivalent to
3.8 trillion tonnes and a 10.6mm sea level rise
what is the rate of loss per decade
1mm in the 1990s now 7mm
what are the two ways Greenland is losing ice
surface melting with the water running off into the ocean and calving of icebergs where the ice then melts when in contact with the ocean
how many tonnes of ice does Greenland shed in an average year now
250 billion
what was the ice loss in 2019
370 billion tonnes
what is the projection of global sea level rise in 2100
60cm
