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39 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Includes countries
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Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, US (Alaska), Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland
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Located
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Area around North Pole
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Habitat
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Ice covered ocean and treeless permafrost
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Arctic temperature rise
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Twice the rate of the rest of the world in past few decades
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Temperature rise in Alaska and northwest Canada
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3-4°C in last 50 years
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Over next 100 years
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Temperature could rise further 3-5°C over land and up to 7°C over oceans
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Ice over water
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Will melt, possibly by as early as 2020
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Area covered in ice
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Dropped by 30% since 1980
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Thickness of ice
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Nearly halved since 1980
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Rate of melting
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Increased in recent years
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Permafrost boundary
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Moving north and area covered by permafrost shrinking
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Vegetation zones
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Predicted to shift northwards- food webs destabilised
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Growing season
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Longer and warmer- benefit Arctic agriculture, but soil quality a limiting factor
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Permafrost
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Up to 40% expected to thaw, especially in Siberia
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Lakes and rivers
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Will drain in some places- Impact on species e.g. freshwater fish like Arctic Char and Lake Trout
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Increased UV radiation reaches earth surface
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As snow and ice cover is lost. Destroys phytoplankton at base of marine food chain.
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More forests in place of Arctic vegetation
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Higher primary productivity and CO2 uptake
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Coastal erosion
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Increases as thawing permafrost weakens coast- more waves/storm surges as protection of sea ice lost
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Melting of ice sheets
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Fresh water into sea- changes jn density of water. Disrupt ocean currents like north Atlantic drift
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Thawing permafrost
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More CO2 and methane released- permafrost a natural sink
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Species
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Shift north with forests- possible species decline
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Polar bears
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Decline due to melting sea ice- melts earlier so less time to hunt
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Walruses
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Since 2007, mother walruses confused by lack of ice- crowd onto land with young, crushes pups to death
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Killer whales
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Extending range to Arctic- longer summers so can travel north as dorsal fin hitting ice no longer a problem
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Land species adapted to arctic climate
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e.g. Arctic Fox and Caribou, at risk
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Migration patterns
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Change- e.g. geese
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Few species
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Loss of one- devastating impacts on others
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Some parts of Arctic
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Diversity may increase as sea ice coverage is reduced and sea temps rise
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Indigenous peoples
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Loss of hunting culture and decline of food security
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Shrinking sea ice
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New shipping routes e.g. 2007 Northwest Passage cleared completely of ice for the first time
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New natural resources can be exploited
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e.g. for oil, gas, fish etc.
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Agriculture and forestry
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Enhanced- warmer souls and climate
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Thawing of permafrost
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Collapsed buildings and broken pipelines where ground less stable
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Conflict
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Due to access of new resources- who owns them
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Freshwater ice melts
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From lakes of meltwater e.g. Greenland glaciera - meltwater disappears down moulins to bottom of ice sheet- lubricant- glacier flows twice as fast as it did 20 years ago. Breaks into ice bergs. Raises sea level
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By the end of the century, Greenland
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May add as much as 0.5m to global sea level, swamping many coastal cities
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Melting ice sheets
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Add to rising global sea levels
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Ocean currents in Arctic
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Affected by salinity levels which affects global ocean currents as they are interlinked
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Changing temperature, sea ice, landscapes
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Affects air currents in Arctic so affects global weather patterns as interlinked
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