Download Tundra Climate

CLIMATE
Climate is a description of the average precipitation (rainfall) and
temperature experienced by an area over a year.
Describing temperature:
Is the temperature the same all year round ?
A Climatic Zone ( or region) is an area in which all the places have a
similar climate. It is possible to categorise the world into several
different climatic zones.
NO
In Standard Grade Geography you will learn about 4 of these zones: Hot
Deserts; Equatorial Rainforests; Tundra regions (sometimes called cold
deserts) and Mediterranean regions.
Is this warm (10 - 20° C), hot ( 20- 30° C) or very hot (30° C)?
For each of these zones you will need to:

describe their climates

recognise their climate graphs

know where each zone is found on a world map

describe the ways in which these climates affect these people
and their activities
Which season is the warmest?
Which season is the coolest?
Is this mild ( 0 - 10° C), cold (-10 - 0° C) or very cold (below -10° C)?
What is the range of temperature? (subtract the minimum temperature
from the maximum temperature)
YES
Write down the temperature and state if it is warm, hot etc.
Describing Rainfall:
Does rainfall occur all year round?
Describing Climate Graphs
Temperature is shown on a line graph, with the figures being shown on
the left side of the graph.
Rainfall is shown by a bar graph, with the figures being shown down the
right side of the graph.
What is the pattern of the rainfall (i.e. which season(s) is/are drier or
wetter than others)?
Is the rainfall high, moderate or low?
What is the total annual rainfall? (add each month's total together)
Tundra Climate – Summary
1.
Location tundra is found along the northern margins of North
America, Europe and Asia i.e.:(i) Alaska (U.S.A.)
(ii) Northern Canada
(iii) Southern Greenland
(iv) Northern Scandinavia
(v) Siberia (Russian Federation)
4. Peoples' use of the Evironment
Traditionally, the indigenous people of the tundra lived by hunting the
wildlife and sold furs to buy things they needed.
In recent years, people have moved in to the isolated areas of the
tundra to exploit the natural resources of the area such as:- large amounts of minerals - eg coal, gold, copper and gas. Though
perhaps the largest expansion has been in the drilling of oil eg the North
Slope of Alaska.
- vast amounts of wildlife - hunters have killed animals such as caribou;
reindeer; seals and polar bears. They have also killed whales and salmon
in the seas around the area.
- tourism - as the area now has more roads and airfields, it is easier for
tourists to come and view the scenery and wildlife. As well as this, they
use the area for hunting and sports such as cross country skiing and
snowmobile races.
2.
Climate long, very cold winters and short, mild summers. Most areas
of tundra have less than 250 mm of annual precipitation (they are
often called "cold deserts").
3. Vegetation
This zone has fewer species of plants than any other climatic (natural
region) area. Plants have adapted to this harsh environment by :-
problem .............................solution
strong cold wind ................all plants are low growing to gain protection
from this
limited precipitation ...........most plants have small leaves to reduce
transpiration
low temperatures ...............many plants are protected from the harsh
winter by a ..........................................deep covering of snow
short growing season ........plants benefit from the long hours of daylight
in ..........................................summer
permafrost .........................most plants have short roots to avoid the
underlying ..........................................permanently frozen ground
In addition, soils in tundra areas suffer from a lack of organic material
and tend to be poor, shallow and lacking in plant nutrients. The main
plants tend to be mosses, lichens, grasses, shrubs and flowers.
5. Peoples' abuse of the Environment
However, as more people move in to the tundra and use its resources,
there are many problems:- the extraction of mineral resources from this fragile area has led to
many environmental problems. An example being the large amounts of
unsightly infrastructure (wells, buildings, pipes, workers' houses, roads)
required by the oil industry. These often block the natural migration
routes of the caribou, make a lot of noise which disturbs wildlife, cause
air pollution through excess gas being burned off, with large vehicles
also destroying fragile tundra soils and plants. On top of this there is
the danger of an oil spill on land or at sea eg the Exxon Valdez oil tanker
disaster off Alaska in 1989.
- the widespread hunting of much of the area's wildlife has led to
several species becoming endangered. The habitats of wildlife are
disturbed e.g. arctic foxes, wolves and moose. Some governments have
put a limit on the amounts of certain species which can be killed eg seals
and whales in an attempt to limit this damage.
- although tourism can bring jobs to the area, the tourists themselves
can cause threats to the fragile environment eg dropping litter and
disturbing wildlife (especially in the breeding season).
- the traditional way of life of the native people (such as the Inuit in N.
Canada who were hunters) is damaged, as many new people move into the
area. Therefore, the natives are exposed to modern ways of life eg living
in houses instead of igloos and huts, and speaking English instead of
their native tongue.
Hot Desert Climate – Summary
Location hot deserts are found on the west coasts of continents north and south
of the Equator
Peoples' abuse of the Environment
Desertification is when land turns into desert. This means that little or no food can be
grown in areas where people live and farm the land. Desertification is caused by the
following factors
1.
Deforestation - This directly leads to lower rainfall and higher temperatures
2.
Overcultivation - growing too many crops, year after year on the same piece of
land damages the soil structure and reduces the soil fertility
Climate hot and dry all year round (less than 250 mm of precipitation). Some hot
desert areas have a 'wet' season e.g. South West U.S.A.
3.
Overgrazing - the cattle, sheep, goats and other animals take away the vegetation
cover and expose the bare soil
Vegetation
4.
Poor irrigation - this can make the ground too salty (salinisation)
Plants have adapted to this very hot + dry environment in a number of ways:A thick waxy skin can reflect some of the heat and reduce loss of moisture. Other
plants have thorns instead of leaves for the same reason.
Some plants can store water in bulbs in their roots.
Cactus plants can store water in their tissues and protect itself from animals or
birds wishing to use this water by spikes, needles or poisons.
Some plants (e.g. date palms) have roots which go down deep into the soil to reach
groundwater whilst others (e.g. cactus) have very long shallow root systems to
collect whatever rain ralls over a fairly large area. Such plants often 'fire' their
seed pods several metres from the parent plant so that their root systems will not
compete for rainfall.
Desert flowers or shrubs (e.g. rose of Jericho) can lie dormant in the drought
conditions for many years and bloom in short periods when there is rainfall in
order to release their seeds.
Tumbleweed pulls up its roots and allows itself to be blown into 'wetter' desert
areas.
5.
Drought - extended periods of lower than usual rainfall damages the vegetation
6.
War - this causes refugees to move into marginal land
Peoples' use of the Environment
traditional farming oasis agriculture with irrigation (e.g. dates)
nomadic herdsmen (cattle + goats)
modern farming irrigation is used to produce cotton and
mineral exploitation (particularly oil)
tourism e.g Eliat in Israel, Las Vegas in Nevada
retirement settlements the hot dry climate is seen as desirable by many retirees
military activity weapons testing + military training
Most of all desertification is caused by the pressure of too many people living in an area.
Solutions to Desertification:
To solve the problems caused by desertification means increase the amount of food that
can be grown in areas where people live and farm the land. The following problems can be
tackled by
1.
Deforestation - Aforestation, that is re-planting trees, especially in shelter belts.
Planting grasses can help stabilise the soil and cut down on erosion by wind and
rain.
2.
Overcultivation - Using good farming practices such as proper crop rotation and
the use of manure as a fertiliser
3.
Overgrazing - It is important that the young trees are fenced off to prevent
grazing by animals
4.
Poor irrigation - Make sure the water is not evaporated on the surface which
wastes water and increases its salinity
5.
Drought - This can be triggered by deforestation, so aforestation should help
reduce this. Also terracing the land to slow down the water running off will make
better use of the rain that does fall.
Tropical Rainforest - Summary
Location there are four main areas or tropical rain forest
(i) Central America
(ii) Amazon Basin
(iii) Zaire Basin
(iv) Indonesia
Climate hot + wet all year round (there may be a wetter season).
Vegetation
The Tropical Rainforest is an environment which is hot and wet all year round. The
natural forest is a thick mat of trees which grow rapidly upwards in search of
essential sunlight. The forest can be divided into vertical zones. :emergents These are individual trees (e.g. capoc) which break above the canopy to
heights of 65 - 80 metres.
canopy This might reach 45 metres above the ground and would be seen from the
air as a solid mass of tree tops. These trees tend to be hardwoods (e.g. ebony;
mahogany; rosewood; teak). There are over 500 species and as many as 250
different ones can colonise a small area of land. Tree trunks are straight and
branchless in their lower parts in an effort to grow tall. As with the emergents,
these tall trees need strong support at their base and tend to have buttress
roots. The leaves have drip tips to easily shed the heavy rainfall. Lianas are vine like plants which use large trees as a climbing frame to reach the canopy.
forest floor This zone is dark and damp. There is little undergrowth because the
sunlight cannot reach the ground level. Fallen leaves, branches and trees soon rot
in the hot wet climate.
clearings and river banks Dense undergrowth develops in these areas where
sunlight can penetrate.
Peoples' use of the Environment
Uses of the rainforest include:i. logging the valuable timber resources
ii. mining the valuable minerals which lie beneath this largely unexploited area e.g.
oil and metallic ores
iii. farming :-a. by native inhabitants i.e. 'slash + burn' cultivation
b. by migrants from the overcrowded towns. These people tend to clear and
cultivate small plots of land beside the lumber roads. Their impact is large as they
arrive in their thousands.
c. by large cattle ranches. These clear thousands of hectares using bulldozers or
firebombs and plant the land in grass.
iv. increasing discovery of medicinal uses of many plants in the forest.
Peoples' abuse of the Environment
If the forest is damaged, e.g. by fire, it can naturally regenerate but where
people destroy thousands of hectares and attempt to farm this land a number of
problems may occur which leave the land of little use. Soil erosion, with the heavy
rain, can strip the bare land of its essential soil or the hot sun can bake the land
as hard as concrete.
The rainforest is essential as a home for insects + plants (50% + of the planets
plants + animal species live here). Many of the plants are valuable sources of
medicines + drugs (many yet undiscovered). It also provides us with a valuable
source of oxygen, without which CO2 would increase with resultant global warming.
It is also the home of native people whose lives and lifestyles are being destroyed.
Rainforests can be protected by establishing game reserves to save rare animals
and plants, reducing deforestation in areas where native people live, replant the
areas the timber countries clear and by supporting the countries that have
rainforests. The "debt for nature" scheme is designed to remove or reduce the
debts that developing countries may have if the forests are protected.
People have also tried to reduce the demand for tropical hardwoods such as mahogany, teak
and ebony. This can be done by using woods that are grown in sustainable forests.
Mediterranean - Summary