Polar Climates Flashcards
What are the characteristics of a polar climate?
A climate of long and intensely cold winters with temperatures below -40 degrees accompanied by snow and strong winds.
What types of conditions does the cold create?
Permanent covering of the land by glacial ice with a surface layer of snow or it creates a permafrost.
What defines a tundra climate?
When in the winter, the permafrost is covered in a layer of snow.
A treeless plain.
With less than 250mm of precipitation annually.
According to the Arctic Human Development Report, approximately how many people live in the polar regions?
13.1 million people
According to the Arctic Human Development Report, how many countries is the polar population inhabiting? And what is their population density?
Eight countries with a population density of four people per square kilometer.
Where does most of the polar population live?
Continental North America and Eurasia.
Why did the polar population begin to rapidly grow in the second half of the twentieth century?
Improved healthcare for indigenous populatiions.
The discovery of vast natural resources, leading to an influx of immagrants.
What is the recent population trend in the polar regions?
Population growth has slowed down.
In which polar region has populations started to decline?
The Russian North
It is estimated that how much of the total Arctic population lives in large settlements?
Two thirds.
What type of settlements do the indigenous tend to live in?
Small, widely scattered communities.
How is arable farming possible in the polar regions?
By creating an artificial environment.
Which farm creates artificial environments in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of Alaska?
Tim Meyers seven acres farm.
How did Meyers create an artificial environment?
By thawing the ground, using a two year process of clearing vegetation and spreading manure, composted salmon slurry.
What was used to mitigate low temperatures on Myer’s farm?
Raised beds and high polyunnels
