The Arctic

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  • Created by: Ellen.B
  • Created on: 12-11-19 11:00
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  • The Arctic
    • It is a polar region located at the most Northern part of the Earth
      • It is made up of the Arctic Ocean, parts of Alaska, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden
    • Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with a predominantly treeless permafrost containing tundra.
    • The seas found within the Arctic region contain seasonal sea ice in many places
      • The ecosystem of the Arctic seas are highly dependent on this sea ice and it's yearly cycle
        • The sea ice's yearly cycle can be seen to be disrupted by human impacts which can be seen to enhance global warming and the greenhouse effect
          • It is being predicted that due to global warming, there could be complete ice loss by 2100
            • As the ice and snow melts bare rock is revealed, and will absorb more of the sun's energy heating the Arctic up further; this is called the Albedo Effect
          • This will also further disrupt the worlds water cycle
          • These chnages can be seen to act as an early warning system to show that global warming is happening, as well as the negatives of it
        • Particularly Polar Bears
    • Average winter temperatures can go as low as 40 °C
    • Within the Arctic region in Northeastern Alaska there is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
      • It covers over 19,000,000 acre of land, the largest wildlife refuge in the country
      • The refuge can be seen to help many different animals such as polar bears, caribou, wolves, eagles, and migratory birds
      • The Coastal Plain of ANWR is being considered for oil and gas development, although less than 2000 acres would be affected, many believe there wouldn't be enough oil there worth destroying the habitats. 
        • However it can also be seen that the ANWR could potentially  produce greater than a million barrels of oil per day
          • The use of oil and gas can be seen to play a part in the enhanced greenhouse effect which is destroying the habitats in the Arctic region
            • It can also be seen that the ANWR could potentially produce more than 150 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year
        • It can also be seen that the ANWR could potentially produce more than 150 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year
    • As a net sink, the Arctic stores the most carbon, with 5%-14% in oceanic stores
      • The sea ice loss could cause an increase in marine plants such as phytoplankton and will in turn limit the amount of carbon that can be stored in the ocean

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