GEOGRAPHY extreme environments
- Created by: willbrewin1
- Created on: 13-04-15 16:01
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- Extreme environments
- hot arid
- mostly in the tropics
- deserts- less than 250mm rain annually
- drylands- 250-500mm rainfall annually
- cold polar
- Only found at high lattitudes
- glacial- ice covered
- tundra- frozen soils
- Fauna and flora
- polar
- glacial- very little life, small tough plants and some small animals
- tundra- many animals and evergreen trees
- fauna are adapted to have thick fur and fat layers to keep heat in eg arctic bison
- hot arid
- semi arid regions- animals store water in fat, are nocturnal to avoid heat
- flora store water for draught, have long shallow roots to get water before it evaporates
- semi arid regions- animals store water in fat, are nocturnal to avoid heat
- polar
- they are vulnerable
- cold polar- ice melt = flood, whole ecosystems can be wiped out, permafrost melt = landslides and ecosystem damage
- hot arid- draught = no life, desertification (soil to desert) = semi arid wiped out
- human adaptations
- cold polar
- cold- trip;e glazing, thick clothes, geothermal power (iceland)
- frozen ground- houses on stilts (ground melts), hunting not farming,roads on gravel (ground melts)
- snow- steep roofs (snow slides off)
- hot arid
- heat- whire walls (reflect heat), thick walls and small windows (keep heat out), air con, loose clothes and head coverings
- lack of water- flat roofs (collect water), irrigation and nomadic farming
- cold polar
- Human influences
- cold polar, ALASKA- oil spills, permafrost melt (industry), cultural dilution (increased travel), out igration for better opportunities (youth)
- hot arid, SAHEL- air pollution (industry) overgrazing leads to desertification,youth out migration (opportunities), traditions performed for tourist entertainment
- Climate change
- polar- warm summers means ice and permafrost melt, species migration, extiction.
- hot arid- rainfall drops, so desertification occurs, and unpredictable weather means draughts and storms
- sustainable management- making sure environments can support people, recover quickly, is damaged less and understood by the locals
- hot arid, tanzenia- water management (wells etc)
- cold polar- geothermal power (iceland), laws for fishing and pollution, ecotourism and culture preservation
- Global management
- polar- Antarctic treaty, 1961 (restricts development) protocol environment protections (no new activity in Antarctica besides low impact
- hot arid- UN convention for combating desertification 1994- 195 countries give money and share info on it
- hot arid
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