IB Geography Polar and Periglacial Regions

studied byStudied by 8 people
0.0(0)
Get a hint
Hint

Polar Characteristics

1 / 18

flashcard set

Earn XP

19 Terms

1

Polar Characteristics

  • Climate → long, cold winters, freezing, windy, little precipitation, ice caps

  • Soil → little soil, frozen through year

  • Plants → moss, algae, lichen, few other plants

  • Animals → polar bears in Arctic, penguins in Antarctic, whales, seals, snowy owls

New cards
2

Tundra/Periglacial Characteristics

  • Climate → cold, windy, dry, temperature -12° to -6°, summer lasts 60-80 days

  • Permafrost → as deep as 450m, active layer

  • Soil → high in organic matter, too cold to decompose

  • Plants → trees don’t grow, small plants when snow melts, cushion plants

  • Animals → foxes, polar bears, caribou, gray wolves, goats + sheep + marmots in alpine areas, shallows lakes and bogs appear in the summer

New cards
3

Polar

Relating to the North or South Pole

New cards
4

Tundra

A vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen, periglacial conditions

Periglacial: relating to a area adjacent to a glacier or ice sheet or otherwise subject to repeated freezing and thawing

New cards
5

Angle of Incidence

Solar footprint, same energy over a larger area, higher angle of incidence → colder

New cards
6

Arctic

  • Ocean surrounded by countries: US, Russia, Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark

  • Taiga and tundra(most extensive ecosystems) + alpine, marshes

  • Specially adapted flora and fauna

New cards
7

Antarctica

  • Frozen continent surrounded by ocean

  • No countries(1961 Antarctic Treaty), only claims

  • Generally much colder(continentality), average of -55°, -87° lowest recorded

  • Winds of up to 250kmph

  • 97.7% ice → 14 million km2

New cards
8

Antarctic Treaty 1961

  • No military use

  • Scientific investigation

  • Free exchange of data

  • Territorial claims put on hold

  • Nuclear-free zone

  • Applies to land not seas

  • Stations open to inspection

  • National laws apply to citizens, not areas

  • May be modified unanimously

  • All nations ensure no-one violates

New cards
9

Tourism to Antarctica

  • Diseases

  • Climate change

  • Organic waste doesn’t decompose

  • Organic contaminants

New cards
10

Barrow, Alaska

  • Northernmost town in the USA

  • Dark/light

  • Light for 65 days a year

  • No paved roads

  • No roads out

  • Supplies flown in → massive prices

  • Native Alaskans

  • 5,000 population

New cards
11

Human Challenges

Cold:

  • <-10° intolerable for long-term

  • frostbite, hypothermia, extremities

  • Oymyakon → coldest inhabited place on earth

Resource Development:

  • inavailability of water, food, fuel

  • infrastructure → roads and rail lines buckle from melting and refreezing

  • topography → unstable ground

  • no running water, pipes freeze

  • price of goods high

New cards
12

Ice Age

  • 100,000 years between them on average

  • last one 12,000 years ago

  • -6° than average temperature today

New cards
13

Snow to Ice

  • Snow

  • Névé → young, granular snow that is partially melted, refrozen and compacted

  • Firn → névé that survives a full year

  • Glacial Ice → becomes blue over time as air is compressed out

New cards
14

Ice Sheet

Covers a landmass(50,000km2+), Antarctica, Greenland

New cards
15

Ice Cap

Smaller than an ice sheet, Vatnajökull

New cards
16

Valley Glacier

Glaciers confined to an ancient river valley, Morteratsch

New cards
17

Accumulation, Ablation, Equilibrium

Accumulation → snow builds up

Ablation → ice melts, evaporates, sublimates

Equilibrium → line between zones

New cards
18

Effects of Glacial Loss

  • Global → sea level rise, surface energy balance, ocean circulation

  • Regional → water availability for drinking, agriculture, fisheries, HEP, recreation

  • Local → water availability for plants, animals, recreation, runoff issues and hazards

New cards
19

GLOF and GOF

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood and Glacial Outburst Flood

New cards

Explore top notes

note Note
studied byStudied by 17 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 20 people
... ago
5.0(2)
note Note
studied byStudied by 4 people
... ago
5.0(2)
note Note
studied byStudied by 33 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 4 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 18 people
... ago
5.0(2)
note Note
studied byStudied by 12 people
... ago
5.0(1)
note Note
studied byStudied by 147 people
... ago
5.0(3)

Explore top flashcards

flashcards Flashcard (50)
studied byStudied by 13 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (300)
studied byStudied by 6 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (30)
studied byStudied by 5 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (46)
studied byStudied by 4 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (171)
studied byStudied by 1 person
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (92)
studied byStudied by 109 people
... ago
5.0(1)
flashcards Flashcard (56)
studied byStudied by 7 people
... ago
5.0(1)
robot