Alaska / Adaptations

Polar Animals: How have polar bears adapted?

Fur on the soles of their feet for better grip on ice and insulation

Large body means small SA:V ratio and reduces heat losses

Large feet spread the load on the snow and ice

Thick layer of blubber serves as insulation and an energy store for winter

Polar Animals: How have (grey) seals adapted?

Streamlined taper down into tail to move through the water with minimum resistance

Encased with blubber, smooth outline to reducedrag and serves as insulation in polar conditions

Large eyes - flattened corneas and pupils that can open wide to let light in

Polar Animals: How have Arctic foxes adapted?

Thick fur on the paws that insulates them from snow and ice and provides grip on slippery surfaces

Fur on tail provides extra insulation when needed, and can be used for extra insulation when the fox sleeps or in extreme cold

Polar Animals: How have penguins (emperor) adapted?

Webbed feet for powerful swimming

Wings shaped like flippers - helps them ‘fly’ underwater at speeds up to 15mph

Tightly packed feathers that overlap to provide waterproofing and warmth

Polar Plants: How have sulphur butter-cups adapted?

Cup shaped so the sun rays are directed towards the centre of the flower

In clusters to protect them from harsh, freezing conditions

Polar Plants: How have dryas adapted?

They take the nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it on their roots in nodules

Their centre stamens are bright yellow and track the sun

Polar Plants: How have bearberries adapted?

Leathery leaves and silky head provides protection from the cold and windy

Small silky hairs for warmth

Grows slowly so it can stay out of the cold

Tundra animals: How have caribou adapted?

Compact, stocky bodies with a short tail and ears to avoid losing body heat

Noses with special chambers for holding heat and moisture from their breath to warm incoming arctic air before it can chill their lungs

Split hooves to spread apart and bear more wight without sinking into snow / wet ground. Also act as paddles when swimming.

Tundra animals: How have tundra swans adapted?

Long neck and bill aid their search for food

Quick swimmers and flyers, if they spot predators nearby they can fly away or escape quickly to save themselves

Able to migrate during harsh conditions

Tundra animals: How have tundra arctic hair (snowshoe) adapted?

Fur turns white in winter which helps blend in with the snow to camoflauge them better. In summer, the fur returns to its grey or brownish colour, which blends in with the hares surroundings.

Long and strong front claws for digging into hard packed snow

Large hind legs providing additional surface area and support for walking on snow

Tundra animals: How have shrews and small animals adapted?

Able to keep warm because they can live under the snow. Useful as temperatures under the snow are usually 7 degrees warmer than the air temperature above the snow.

Tundra Plants: How have arctic moss adapted?

Grows near the ground to survive during very strong winds

Long life and slow growth so are adapted to the short growing season and the cold

Tundra Plants: How have diamond-leaf willow adapted?

Forms a pesticide to keep predators away

Forms shallow roots to keep from freezing over

Hairs on their stems to keep warm and protect the plant from the cold climate

Tundra Plants: How have caribou moss adapted?

Lichens produce foods for the plant to grow so less foods are required for the plants to live

The tissue of the moss is not easily damaged by the frost allowing it to survive in the tundra

Tundra Plants: How have Labrador trees adapted?

Grows low to ground like other tundra plants to avoid the climate of the tundra

Grow silky wool on stems to keep it warm

Red stems / leaves that use chlorophyll and solar energy from the sun to create nourishment and warm it up

What is permafrost?

When in cold climates, the ground is usually permanently frozen.

How does permafrost in tundra regions end in waterlogged conditions?

In tundra regions, ice in the uppermost active layer of the soil thaws for 1 or 2 months of the year in the brief summer. But, there is still ice below the active layer that acts as an impermeable barrier to the downward movement of melted water in the soil layer above. This results in waterlogged conditions.

How does poor drainage in tundra environments influence plants?

If flat, low lying tundra regions, summer melting of the active layer leaves many areas waterlogged. This favours hardy organisms that can tolerate extremely dry and wet conditions, eg. Mosses.

How do strong winds in tundra environments influence plants?

High air pressure over the north pole generates strong, cold winds that blast tiny particles of ice southwards over the tundra.

Plants have adapted in ways that keep them warm and minimise transpiration loss to the wind. They grow close together and near round level. This allows plants to trap pockets of warmer air. Their leaves are small and fringed with tiny airs to capture heat.

What are soil and nutrients in polar and tundra areas like?

Ice sheets cover polar areas so soil is exposed.

Tundra soil is thin, acidic, and not very fertile.

Opportunities: Describe how tourism is an opportunity in Alaska.

Between 1 and 2 million people visit annually, so tourism is one of Alaska’s biggest employers.

However, its often poorly paid work and is seasonal.

Tourists enjoy activities such as fishing, kayaking, and hiking in numerous national parks and visit traditional heritage sites of Inuit people.

Tourists arrive by air though 60% of isitors are cruise ship passengers,

Opportunities: Describe how Energy is an opportunity in Alaska.

There are more than 50 Hydroelectric power plants (HEP) that supply 1/5th of Alaskan communities electricity. Previously glaciated U-Shape valleys are a perfect site for this.

Opportunities: Describe how oil is an opportunity in Alaska.

Oil production has declined over time but is estimated there is still between 6 and 16 billion barrels of oil which lie underneath 80,000 square kilometres of Arctic Wildlife National Refuge.

As this area is home to polar bears, wolverines and snow geese there has been fierce opposition to drilling there.

Describe the location ok Alaska

Covering nearly 2 million square Kms, the US state of Alaska borders Canada and the arctic and Pacific oceans.

It's in the north-west of the North American continent.

The whole of alaska is classed as being within the tundra biome.

Challenges: How is the uneven develompment of Alaska a challenge?

The Inuit have been there a long time but settlers have struggled.

There is virtually no settled population in the extreme north due to extremely low temperatures and months in darkness. The permafrost and short growing season means crop production is impossible.

Food is limited in the north to subsistence farming of fishing, seal and whale hunting.

Originally, the inupiat and Yup’ik people used caribou skin and sealskin boots for warmth though nowadays are likely to use modern materials like Gore-Tex

Challenges: How is solifluction a challenge in Alaska?

A process called solifluction happens in summer. This is where the active layer of soil on slopes flows downhill. The thawed soil slides easily over the still frozen layer below.

This soil and mud will collect at the base of slopes, which is usually in the bottom of the valleys where most roads are built and can cut off areas for months.

Challenges: How is the infrastructure of Alaska a challenge?

Infrastructure has changed over time to cope with the changing environmental conditions.

Roads are now built on gravel pas 1-2 metres deep to prevent artificial melting of the active layer. Utilities such as water, sewerage and gas are not buried underground otherwise theyd freeze and crack.

Instead, they're carried above ground in utility corridors known as utilidors.

Airport runways are also painted white to reflect the sun and prevent them from warming too much on rare sunny days.

Describe an overview of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Occured in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on march 24th 1989.

The Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for long beach, California, struck on Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef and spilled 11 to 38 million gallons of crude oil, or 250,000 barrels.

It resulted in massive damage to the environment, killing around 250,000 seabirds, 3,000 sea otters and many other animals species.

Where is William Sound located?

It's a sound on the gulf of Alaska east side of the Kenai Peninsula. It’s largest port is Valdez. Because Prince Williams Sound’s location is remote its only accessible by helicopter, plane or boat.

Name the environmental impacts of the Exxon Valdez Oil spill.

Deaths of 100,000 to as many as 250,000 seabirds, at least 2,800 sea otters, approximately.

Approximately 300 harbor seals, 247 bald eagles and 22 orcas.

Shoreline habitats will take an estimated 30 years to recover.

A thick layer of oil on the surface prevented fishes coming to the surface for food.

Name the social impacts of the Exxon Valdez Oil spill.

5 to 6 years after the spill, people became very depressed and isolated. There were very high levels of PTSD and documented levels of severe depression. This was found by a professor of sociology at the university of South Alabama.

Name the economic impacts of the Exxon Valdez Oil spill.

There was loss of recreational sports, fisheries and reduced tourism.

Managing cold environments: how have international agreements affected the arctic?

They can influence what happens to cold environments and their ecosystems.

For example, a global ban on the whale hunting (commercially) was introduced by the international whaing convention in 1986.

Since this, the number of bowhead whales in the arctic waters have been growing at 3% per year.