Extreme Climates RevisionPolar Truly arid places with less than 250mm rain a year , e.g

Sahara.

Hot Arid Ice covered places, e.g. Greenland

Glacial Semi- arid places with 250 – 500mm rain a year , e.g Sahel

Tundra Referring to the parts of the world that have high average temp and very low precipitation.

Deserts Places with frozen soil , e.g. Alaska

Drylands Referring to the North and South Pole. These areas are covered with ice or frozen.

Key Question:

What do I need to know? RAGPolar

RAGArid

What are the challenges of extreme environments?

- The location of one named extreme environment

- How the flora and fauna are successfully adapted to survive in chosen extreme environment

- How people are successfully adapted to survive in chosen extreme environment- Why the culture of peoples living in extreme environments is unique and extremely valuable

How can extreme environments be managed and protected from the threats they face?

- What threats there are to people and the natural systems of chosen extreme environment

- How climate change could threaten the people and the natural systems of chosen extreme environment

- How intermediate technology (local actions) can help people to adapt to their changing environments

- What impact the role of global actions might have in protecting chosen extreme environments from climate change

Climates of Extreme Areas

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Polar Adaptations

People in extreme environments – polarFeature Describe Explain how these help people to

survive:Buildings .

Transport

Farming Methods

Clothing

Greenland

• Eat narwhal skin as a source of vitamin C (can’t grow crops)• Build houses on stilts so permafrost doesn’t melt (causing ground to

subside)• Triple glazed windows in their houses• Steep roofs that let snow fall off and bright coloured houses so they

can be easily seen• Travel on husky sleighs (and take their houses with them)• Harvest muscles under sea ice during equinox (when tide is low)• Feed Greenland shark to their huskies• Traditional methods – ice fishing and spear fishing in kayaks• Seal and caribou skins used for clothing (Gore-Tex is also used)• Huskies are their legacy to their children• Igloos

Uniqueness of culture – Polar

Threats to polarThe Effect of Climate Change on PermafrostPermafrost is soil that has been frozen year round for at least two years. The upper layer of permafrost, or the active layer, sometimes thaws in the summer. Recently, the active layer of permafrost has been observed to be getting larger with time, which means more permafrost is melting each summer. Climate change is expected to significantly affect above and below-ground climate. In Alaska, houses and buildings lean at odd angles. Some slump as if sliding downhill. Windows and doors inch closer and closer to the ground. In Canada, a combination of warmer temperatures and sunny days has triggered an increasing frequency of landslidesFlooding has occurred in large areas

Management of polar areasThe geothermal heat is mostly used to heat fresh water which, when hot, can be utilized directly for central heating. 89% of all the houses in Iceland are heated this way. But the geothermal water is also used in many other ways. It is used in swimming pools, for soil warming, fish farming, drying of timber and wool, animal husbandry etc.

Over most of the polar bear range, hunting is now governed by a quota system designed to keep the kill within the bounds that populations can support. Each village gets a number of tags allowing hunters residing there to take the number of bears the population can sustain.

Hot Arid Adaptations

Extreme ClimatesAn extreme climate is a place with extreme rainfall or temperature conditions that limit fauna numbers and flora growth

Where are deserts and drylands located?

FACTFILEWhat is the hottest place on earth?

What is the biggest desert?

What is the driest place?

PLANT ADAPTATION CASE STUDY

ANIMAL ADAPTATION CASE STUDY

LIST PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Deserts are generally found between 15-35

degrees latitude (N and S of the equator), however the largest cold desert is

Antarctica, which is found at the South Pole. Deserts and drylands are found in

all continents of the world.

Hottest temp ever recorded: Libya 58°C.

Sahara: 9 million km2. Covers 12 countries.

Atacama Desert, Chile. Average rainfall:

1mm/year.

PLANTS (Flora)Cacti, prickly pears,

desert holly, brittlebush.

Mainly shrubs and flowers. No trees live in

the desert.

ANIMALS (Fauna)Camels, wolves,

kangaroo, lizards, jack rabbit, snakes, spiders, desert toads, ostrich, vultures, roadrunner, meerkats, scorpions...

The Red Kangaroo (Australia)Nocturnal – avoids the heat of

the dayDrinks dew from cacti for water

Hopping – A fast and energy efficient way to cross the desertRainfall – triggers hormones in

females so breeding only occurs in rainy season.

Barrel Cactus (North America)

Light colour – reflect sunlightPrickly spines – protect

against animals and reduce evapotranspiration

Large stem – stores water

Key ideas of Hot Arid adaptationsKey term Definition Examples Pictures

Succulence The ability to retain or store water.

Aloe – stores water inside its fleshy leaves.

Camel – stores water and fat inside its hump.

Drought Tolerance

The ability to tolerate drought conditions.

Eucalyptus – waxy leaves minimise water loss.

American Jackrabbit – large ears with capillaries close to the skin allow blood to be cooled by the breeze as it circulates.

Drought Avoidance

The ability to avoid drought.

Creosote Bush – survives one season, rapid life cycle, dies quickly after seeding to avoid dry season.

The Bilby – burrows deep into the ground to find cooler and moister conditions.

People in extreme environments – hot aridFeature Describe Explain how these help people to

survive:Buildings Flat roofs

White wallsSmall windowsAir conditioning

Flat roofs can be used to collect water, helping people to survive drought. White walls reflect the sunlight keeping buildings cool. Small windows reduce the amount of sunlight entering buildings, therefore keeping the temperatures inside low. In richer areas (e.g. Texas, USA) air conditioning can be used to keep buildings cool.

Transport CamelsOff-road vehicles

Farming Methods Irrigation using riversDamsNomadic pastorialism – moving animal herds frequently

Clothing Loose-fittingLight coloursHeadscarves

HUMAN SURVIVALExplain how people have developed different ways of surviving in the desert.

Feature Describe Explain how these help people to survive:

Buildings Flat roofsWhite wallsSmall windowsAir conditioning

Flat roofs can be used to collect water, helping people to survive drought. White walls reflect the sunlight keeping buildings cool. Small windows reduce the amount of sunlight entering buildings, therefore keeping the temperatures inside low. In richer areas (e.g. Texas, USA) air conditioning can be used to keep buildings cool.

Transport CamelsOff-road vehicles

Camels are adapted to survive in extreme conditions and able to walk very long distances, making them a perfect form of transport across the desert. Their toes prevent them from sinking and their hump stores fat and water which they can use as sustenance along the journey. In richer areas (e.g. USA and Middle East) off-road vehicles with powerful four wheel drive can be used to travel quickly across the large expanses of desert.

Farming Methods

Irrigation using riversDamsNomadic pastorialism – moving animal herds frequently

River water can be diverted along small channels or pumped onto the land to feed and water crops. Dams (e.g. Three Gorges in China) can be used to provide a reservoir of water for people to use. Ancient tribes in arid areas often use nomadic pastorialism to avoid over using the land and causing desertification.

Clothing Loose-fittingLight coloursHeadscarves

Loose-fitting clothes allow the body to stay cool and light colours reflect the sunlight. Headscarves cover the head from the sun and shield against sand storms. Head-to-toe clothing prevents the skin from becoming burnt. Sunglasses protect the eyes and in richer places the use of sun cream is common to protect against skin diseases such as cancer.

Uniqueness of culture – Hot AridWhen women and children from the Tubu tribe of Niger set off across the desert for market, they know that the walk will take them eight days in temperatures that can exceed 45C. They also know that the only way to survive is by remembering the location of a single well along the way, their only lifeline in a sea of emptiness.Relying on the navigational skills passed down by their mothers, the women must take their bearings from the stars and read the shapes of the sand dunes. But take one wrong turn in these ever-shifting sands and death may be just around the corner.

Chileans of the Atacama Desert have learned to wait for it to come to them. As the wind blows across the Pacific, it draws up water from the sea until it becomes a thick fog. When the fog then hits the desert coastline it is trapped by lichen on cacti and condenses into water that is drunk by the local animals. Inspired by this, local people now set down huge nets that line the hills and trap the fog as it rolls across the desert. As the fog condenses, the precious liquid runs through pipes that lead down to the grateful villages below. As usual, Mother Nature has all the best tricks.

•The Aboriginal people had a healthy diet and lifestyle. •Depending on what area of Australia the Aboriginal groups lived their diet varied, desert groups lived on native plants and animals. Today, the ‘native food’ industry is growing by using the skills and knowledge of the Aboriginies.

Native Foods of the

Australian Aboriginal

people

FruitsBush tomatoes, bananas, desert

limes and quandongs

SeedsSandalwood nuts

are eaten and acacia seeds are used in biscuits,

drinks and dressings

GrubsWitchetty grubs are the larvae of moths and beetles, tasting like scrambled egg and peanut butter

MeatTraditional wild animals such as

Kangaroo, Crocodile and Emu

a. Suggest ways that the Aboriginal people adapted to their extreme environment. b. Examine they ways in which the Aboriginal hunter gatherer lifestyle is sustainable (or not).

Social Economic Environmental

•Explain the difficulties faced by farmers in the Outback.

The graph above shows the yearly variation from average rainfall in the Sahel. Is the situation getting better or worse?

How will culture be affected by decreasing rainfall in the Sahel?

The dry season leaves these pools full of fish, but if it gets warmer, will there be any

fish?

The dried up desert below is in Texas, but is Lake Banzena, where human’s race

elephants for water, next?

Think about the PHYSICAL EFFECTS of climate change and then the HUMAN

EFFECTS of these...

The Tubu women already travel for days to get to market – keep to their tribe’s survival – and the only way they can get there is by making a stop at one isolated water hole.

How will climate change affect them?

How could climate change threaten

people and natural systems of the

Sahel?

If these people can’t stay in the Sahel, where will they go?

Managing Hot Arid

Diguettes in Burkina Faso- A diguette is a line of stones, laid along the natural contours of the farmland. -The small walls slow the flow of the rainwater, giving it a chance to soak into the ground.-They also trap soil limiting soil degradation at the same time. -Over 400 villages in Burkina Faso use diguettes as they are proven to improve crop yields.

GLOBALWhat evidence exists that the Sahel will be affected by climate change?-70% of Africa’s population rely on farming; climate change is expected to reduce crop yields by at least 10%.- Food emergencies in Africa have tripled in the last 20 years.-Increased drought could lead to a humanitarian disaster. Kyoto Protocol, 1997-International agreement setting targets for industrialised nations to cut their carbon emissions-Based on framework drawn up in 1992, agreed in 1997 and finally made legally binding in 2005.

Extreme Exam Questions!Good luck surviving these extreme exam questions!

Question: My answer:Describe how people’s clothing helps them survive in an area of extreme climate you have studied. (3 marks)

Describe how building styles are adapted to the extreme climate you have studied (3 marks)

Choose one extreme environment. Describe one threat that it faces on account of human activity (2 marks)

Extreme Exam Questions!Self assess your answers

Question: Mark scheme:Describe how people’s clothing helps them survive in an area of extreme climate you have studied. (3 marks)

0-1 marks:State one type of clothing worn in the desert (e.g. Headscarves are worn).2 marks:Describe what the named piece of clothing protects (e.g. Headscarves protect the face and head). 3 marks:Describe how the clothing helps people to survive (e.g. Headscarves keep the sun off people’s heads and shield a person’s face in a sandstorm).

Describe how building styles are adapted to the extreme climate you have studied (3 marks)

0-1 marks:State one feature of buildings in desert areas (e.g. They are painted white). 2 marks:Describe how this feature works (e.g. Buildings painted white reflect the sun).3 marks:Describe how this adaptation helps people to survive (e.g. Buildings painted white reflect the sun, helping them to stay cool).

Choose one extreme environment. Describe one threat that it faces on account of human activity (2 marks)

1 markName a human produced problem (e.g. Desertification is caused by over-grazing of the land in the Sahel).2 marksDescribe how this problem impacts on the natural environment (e.g. Grasses die out and soil erosion takes place due to a lack of root systems holding the land together).