human impacts on cold environments

human impacts on cold environments

1. environmental fragility

   • environments that are easily damaged by the smallest change that can have a major impact on the environment
   • why they are fragile
     • short growing season
     • slow decay due to low temperatures
     • highly specialised wildlife

2. human activities

   • oil extraction
     • risk of oil spills and water pollution
     • lots of infrastructure has to be built which is intrusive and melts permafrost
   • HEP
     • building the dams causes habitat damge
     • land is destroyed after flooding
     • wildlife displaced
   • fishing
     • overfishing causes species loss
     • bottom trawling damges ecosystems
   • tourism
     • cruise ships pollute the water
     • more infrastructure has to be built in the permafrosg
   • mining
     • scarring of the landscape
     • water pollution
   • climate change
     • predicted impacts
       • further sea level rise and ice retreat
     • current impacts
       • melting permafrost
         • PFL
         • collapsing infrastructure
       • damage to ecosystems and habitats
     • the altering of global temperatures through human activity

3. management

   • management strategies
     • legislation
   • reasons for increased protection
     • more demand for cold environments to be protected as concern grows
   • reasons for decreased protection
     • more demand for exploitation to meet the needs of the growing pop. and financial gain

4. human responses

   • adaptation
     • changing behaviours to match the conditions
     • alps
       • higher altitude skiing
       • artificial snow
       • summer tourism
     • alaska
       • running vehicles constantly warming practices in workplaces
   • mitigation
     • making the effects less severe
     • norway
       • well insulated homes
     • alaska
       • utilidors not in the permafrost
       • housing and trans alaskan pipeline on stilts
   • resilience
     • ability to cope
     • alps
       • Giandains protection dam
     • alaska
       • rollagons
       • energy generators

5. case studies

   • Svalbard, Norway
     • opportunities for development
       • mineral extraction
       • fishing
       • tourism
     • challenges
       • extreme temperatures
       • buildings and infrastructure
       • inaccessibility
       • resilience
       • thawing permafrost
   • Alps
     • effects of climate change
       • shorter skiing season lose money from tourism ski resorts have to close
       • tree line moves up and flora and flauna go extinct
       • melting permafrost leading to avalanches
       • flooding
   • himalayas
     • effects of climate change
       • rely on water from glaciers that melt seasonally to irrigate crops if they receed and melt they struggle to have a sustainable water source
     • climate change solution
       • stupahs
   • ALaska
     • development opportunities
       • oil extraction in prudhoe bay
       • mineral resources Tintina gold belt
       • tourism
       • fishing
     • challenges to development
       • building infrastructure is expensive on the permafrost
       • inaccessibility
       • construction can only take place in summer