Threats to cold environments and managing them Flashcards
What are some threats from human activity to specifically glacial landscapes?
- Increasing numbers of tourists cause damage to fragile ecology
- Deforestation leads to soil erosion and landslides
- Construction of dams and reservoirs leads to major landscape and hydrology changes
- Air pollution levels rising as vehicle numbers increase in glacial environments
What are some natural threats to glacial landscapes?
- Avalanches are increasing as numbers of skiers increase
- Glacial outburst floods occur when large volumes of meltwater are caused from geothermal heating or volcanic eruptions below glaciers.
What impact are rising temperatures having on glacial landscapes?
- Threat to ice masses and glaciated areas
- Negative mass balances and shrinking glaciers
- Periglacial areas experience melting permafrost and changes to ecosystem
- Changes to hydrological cycle
What are the effects of meltwater on glacial landscapes?
- Increased flood risk as extreme heat conditions in summer cause river discharge
- Changes in sediment of glacial meltwater
- Lower meltwater levels could mean less flowing water resulting in low water quality
What are the main human activities impacting cold environments?
Oil extraction, Fishing, Tourism, Hydroelectric power production and Mining
What impacts does oil extraction have on the cold environment?
- Oil spills can occur during transport of oil
- Oil spills can occur if pipelines leak
- E.g. between 1977 1n3 1994 there were roughly 30-40 spills a year from the Trans-Alaska pipeline.
What impact does fishing have on cold environments?
- Can disrupt food chains, e.g. large scale krill fishing in Southern Ocean is depleting food supplies for whales and penguins
- Bottom trawling catches fish by dragging nets along the seabed which damages and disrupts the ecosystems, as well as catching/killing unintentionally.
What impacts does hydroelectric power production have on glacial landscapes?
- Dams can block the normal migratory path of fish, preventing them reaching spawning grounds.
- Hydroelectric dams can heat water, endangering fish used to colder temperatures
What impacts does mining have on glacial landscapes?
- Can lead to ground and water contamination, either by chemicals or during mining
- Produces solid waste and wastewater, which can be dumped or released into the environment
What are some current issues being faced related to impacts on cold environments?
- Glaciers and ice sheets are melting, causing sea levels to rise
- Permafrost is metling, causing buildings to collapse and transportation is becoming more difficult
- Migration patterns of some species, e.g. caribou, are changing
What are some predicted impacts on cold environments?
- Sea levels will rise further as temperatures increase, which could flood low-lying coastal areas
- Melting permafrost could trigger a positive feedback as methane is released from permafrost, causing rising temperatures, therefore more melting of permafrost
- Plants and animals adapted to cold conditions will find it harder to survive.
How are cold environments managed?
- Protected areas - e.g. Areas of alaska are designated wilderness areas, where development forbidden and access is limited
- International treaties - e.g. Antarctic treaty was signed by 12 countries in 1959, now with 53 signatures
- Monitoring and regulation - Activities limited and disinfectant footwear used
- Fishing quotas - e.g. in Barents sea, number of fish that can be caught is limited
How do organisations help protect cold environments?
- National governments pass legislation to protect fragile landscapes.
- NGOs work to protect the environments and the indigenous people who live in them
- Global organisations establish and monitor international agreements
- Conservationists tend to mount campaigns, lobby governments and raise awareness of issues
- Local/regional governments are involved in the direct management and policing of legislation.
