Human case studies
Questions And Answers
Discuss wind in Antarctica
✓~ - windiest continent on earth
- stirns are commom in Antartica and are frequently very energetic and dramatic
- winds largely katabatic, this is a result of cold air forming over the people and
falling. (As colder air os heavier)
Why is Antarctica so dry?
✓~ - high plateau of East Antarctica is a desert with less than 50mm of
equivalent falling per year, this does not fall as snow but as tiny ice crystals in
the air.
Why is Antarctica so cold?
✓~ - due to the thickness of the Antarctica ice sheet.
- due to the isolation of Antarctica from other land masses on earth
What impact will climate changes have on Antarctica wildlife?
, ✓~ - parts of Antarctica are warming three times as fast as other parts of
the world
- Warner's seas impact the wildlife
- warming Antarctic could attract new species of animals and plants, creating
competition for life that is specifically adapted to icy temperatures
- emperor penguins who rely on sea ice could lose areas of their homes
- krill face challenges growing and reproducing in waters that are becoming more
acidic from absorbing carbon
- threats to wildlife like penguins and wales that rely on Krill as their main food
source
What impact will climate change have on Antarctica physical climate?
✓~ - warming climate contributes to ice/ glacier calving. If the ice shelf is
exposed to warmer air above or warmer water below, there will be more rapid
melting of the shelf.
- sea level rise is the most expensive consequence of global climate change, can
cause global flooding
- co2 released into atmosphere that is stored in ice sheets, which causes global
temperatures to rise more, enhancing global warming on Antarctica
, - albedo effect is lessens due to less ice sheets, meaning more heat is absorbed
into oceans
What are the 4 main threats to Antarctica?
✓~ - climate change
- fishing and whaling
- mineral exploitation
- tourism abs scientific research
What impact will fishing have on Antarctica?
✓~ - Antarctica is under threat from unsustainable fishing, which disrupts
the food chain of the environment
- overfishing removed viral animals in the already small food chain, such as
overfishing of krill which removes other marine animal food sources
- krill is the most fished marine animal and the majority is Antarctic krill
- despite regulations, there are still reports of illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing
- the fishing is unsustainable and causes wide scale marine habitat damage
Questions And Answers
Discuss wind in Antarctica
✓~ - windiest continent on earth
- stirns are commom in Antartica and are frequently very energetic and dramatic
- winds largely katabatic, this is a result of cold air forming over the people and
falling. (As colder air os heavier)
Why is Antarctica so dry?
✓~ - high plateau of East Antarctica is a desert with less than 50mm of
equivalent falling per year, this does not fall as snow but as tiny ice crystals in
the air.
Why is Antarctica so cold?
✓~ - due to the thickness of the Antarctica ice sheet.
- due to the isolation of Antarctica from other land masses on earth
What impact will climate changes have on Antarctica wildlife?
, ✓~ - parts of Antarctica are warming three times as fast as other parts of
the world
- Warner's seas impact the wildlife
- warming Antarctic could attract new species of animals and plants, creating
competition for life that is specifically adapted to icy temperatures
- emperor penguins who rely on sea ice could lose areas of their homes
- krill face challenges growing and reproducing in waters that are becoming more
acidic from absorbing carbon
- threats to wildlife like penguins and wales that rely on Krill as their main food
source
What impact will climate change have on Antarctica physical climate?
✓~ - warming climate contributes to ice/ glacier calving. If the ice shelf is
exposed to warmer air above or warmer water below, there will be more rapid
melting of the shelf.
- sea level rise is the most expensive consequence of global climate change, can
cause global flooding
- co2 released into atmosphere that is stored in ice sheets, which causes global
temperatures to rise more, enhancing global warming on Antarctica
, - albedo effect is lessens due to less ice sheets, meaning more heat is absorbed
into oceans
What are the 4 main threats to Antarctica?
✓~ - climate change
- fishing and whaling
- mineral exploitation
- tourism abs scientific research
What impact will fishing have on Antarctica?
✓~ - Antarctica is under threat from unsustainable fishing, which disrupts
the food chain of the environment
- overfishing removed viral animals in the already small food chain, such as
overfishing of krill which removes other marine animal food sources
- krill is the most fished marine animal and the majority is Antarctic krill
- despite regulations, there are still reports of illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing
- the fishing is unsustainable and causes wide scale marine habitat damage
