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Description
Mind Map by Andrew_Ellinas, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Andrew_Ellinas
almost 11 years ago
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Cold Environments: The Global
Distribution of Cold Environments
- Cold Environments of the Past
- About 18,000 years ago, much of the Northern Hemisphere was plunged into an ice age. In the
UK, only Southern Britain escaped being covered in ice.
- Scientists believe that this was one of as many as 20 glacial periods - each one
separated by a warmer inter-glacial period.
- Collectively, this period of time-lasting from 2 million years ago until about 8000 years ago - is
known as the ice age.
- About 18,000 years ago, much of the Northern Hemisphere was plunged into an ice age. In the
UK, only Southern Britain escaped being covered in ice.
- Cold Environments of the Past
- In the most extreme environments such as parts of Antarctica, the
temperature can stay well below 0 degrees C throughout the year -
sometimes plummeting to as low as -60 degrees C.
- Other, less extreme , clod environments simply experience cold
winters, such as the Alps in Europe or the Rockies in Canada
- In the most extreme environments such as parts of Antarctica, the
temperature can stay well below 0 degrees C throughout the year -
sometimes plummeting to as low as -60 degrees C.
- Global Distribution of Cold Environments
- Polar: These are the most extreme cold environments. In winter, temperatures
often drop to -50 degrees C. They include Antarctica, Greenland and some of the
islands inside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, such as Spitzbergen. Despite the
Snowy image of these polar environments, they are very dry - with relatively low
amounts of precipitation. There are also extensive areas of sea ice, particularly
in the Arctic.
- Alpine: Mountain areas, such as the Rockies and the Alps, experience very cold winters and
heavy snow, High altitude causes the temperature to drop to -1o degrees C or less. The
extreme winter cold is replaced in the summer with warmer weather, where the temperature can
even exceed 20 degrees C.
- Periglacial: This literally means 'edge' of glacier. Periglacial environments are found
on the fringes of polar or glacial environments, e.g. in parts of Siberia, Canada and
Greenland. Periglacial areas experience permanently frozen ground (permafrost).
During their brief warmer summers, the ground surface layer thaws - enabling hardy
plants to grow. Periglacial environments are not permanently covered by ice.
- Glacial: These environments are specifically associated with glaciers.
While some enormous glaciers are found in polar environments, most of
the world's actively moving glaciers are found high up in alpine mountain
regions. The heavy winter snowfall in those areas provides the ice to feed
the glaciers. Then, in the summer, meltwater lubricates the glaciers -
helping them to move like giant conveyor belts down the alpine valleys
- Polar: These are the most extreme cold environments. In winter, temperatures
often drop to -50 degrees C. They include Antarctica, Greenland and some of the
islands inside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, such as Spitzbergen. Despite the
Snowy image of these polar environments, they are very dry - with relatively low
amounts of precipitation. There are also extensive areas of sea ice, particularly
in the Arctic.
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