The Tundra

Question 1

location of tundra?

Answer 1

8 million km2 in northen canada, alaska and siberia

Question 2

what is the climate like?

Answer 2

climate conditions in the tundra are sever
8/9 months a year the tunda has a negative heat balance
ground is permanently frozen with only top layer or so thawing durin the arctic summer

Question 3

what is permaforst?

Answer 3

permafrost underlines much of the tundra and is a key feature of the regions water cycle

Question 4

whats the winter link?

Answer 4

sun remains below the horizion and temperatures can get below -40 degrees

Question 5

whats the summer like?

Answer 5

long day light hours, growing season

Question 6

what are levels of precipitation like?

Answer 6

always low 50-350mm per year mostly snow

Question 7

whats the biodiversity like? (plants and animals)

Answer 7

few plants and animals adapted to these conditions
biodiveristy is low
ecosystem is treeless

Question 8

is there much water in the atmosphere?

Answer 8

no

Question 9

why is transportation low?

Answer 9

sparsness of vegetation cover and short growing season

Question 10

why is evaporation low?

Answer 10

much of the suns energy is melting snow so groundcover remains low

Question 11

what is permafrost a barrier to?

Answer 11

infiltration, percolation, recharge and groundwater flow

Question 12

when is there a sharp increase in river flow?

Answer 12

melting of snow, river ad lake ice and the most active layer of permafrost so in spring and early summer it means that there is a sharp incraese in river flow

Question 13

what does the increase in river flow do?

Answer 13

extensive wetlands, ponds and lakes on the tundra durin summer- temporary store of liquid water due to permafrost which impedes drangidge

Question 14

is permafrost a carbon sink or store?

Answer 14

vast carbon sink

Question 15

how much cabon is the tundra estimated to store?

Answer 15

1600 GT of carbon

Question 16

why is there so much carbon in the tundra?

Answer 16

accumulation of carbon is due to low temps which cause slow decomposition of dead plant material.

Question 17

how much greater is carbon stored in the tundra soil then above ground biomass?

Answer 17

x5

Question 18

whats a carbon flux?

Answer 18

summer months the active layer thaws

Question 19

how does the carbon cycle change?

Answer 19

durin growing season tundra inputs carbon rich litter into the soil
in the summer activity of the micro orgnisms incraese relasing c02 into the atmosphere
in the winter pockets of unfrozen water and soil in the permaforst act as a source of carbon dioxide and methane

Question 20

what is the fear around the tundra?

Answer 20

that due to global walming and vast menting the huge carbon sink will eventually become a carbon store

Question 21

what allows so decomposition to take place?

Answer 21

snow cover

Question 22

however what might insure that the tundra doesnt become a carbon store?

Answer 22

higher temp stimulate vegiation growth incraesing upatke of CO2

Question 23

what are flow are stores in the tundra influenced by?

Answer 23

temperature, relief, rock permeability

Question 24

impact of meltwater

Answer 24

forms million of ponds and shallow lakes

Question 25

why is drainage poor?

Answer 25

water cannot infiltrate the soil because of permafrost depth

Question 26

impact of low growing season?

Answer 26

photosynthesis and net primary production (NPP) are low because growing season only lasts three months

Question 27

oil and gas production

Answer 27

oil and gas were discoverd in the tundra at prudhoe bay, by the early 1990s the north slope accounted for nearly 1/4 of the USA’s dometsic oil production

Question 28

impact that production has

Answer 28

-permafrost is highly sensitive to changes in the thermal balance
-construction and operation of oil and gas instillations and infustratcure diffusing heat directly to the environment
-dust along the roadside creates darkness on snow surfaces therefour increasing absorption of sunlight

Question 29

how do gas and oil spillages impact?

Answer 29

imput co2 into the atmosphere, destruction or degrading of vegitation reduced photosysnthis ect
slow growing nature of the tundra means that recovery may take years
-flooding more likley due to melting
-strip mining creates artifical lakes wich disrupts dranige and exposes permaforst

Question 30

managment

Answer 30

-inslated ice and gravel pads to directly protect the permafrost
-building and pipelines on evaluated piles, this allows cool air to circulate beneth these structures
-drilling latterally, this allows oil and gas to be assessed from sevrel km away therefor fewer drilling sites are needed
-technology, powerful computers can more accurately detected where the oil is meaning that they don’t have to have so many drilling sites
-refrigerated support - used on transatlantic pipeline to stabalise temp of permafrost