Cold environment

Question 1

Physical characteristics of a cold environment:Climate

Answer 1

-polar temperatures are very cold with winters below -40°
-Summer temperatures are only 10° but daylight can last 24 hours!
-precipitation (rain and snow) is very low. Less than 100 mm a year
-cold summers and even colder winters

Question 2

Physical characteristics of a cold environment:Permafrost/Soils

Answer 2

-in polar regions large areas are covered by ice sheets and glaciers so no soil is available
-in tundra areas (further south) soils are permanently frozen (permafrost) but will melt on the surface in the summer
-soils are infertile with little bacterial action due to the cold they are waterlogged in summer as the ice melts

Question 3

Physical characteristics of a cold environment:Plants and Animals

Answer 3

-in polar regions only mosses and lichens can survive
-in tundra areas you find low growing flowering plants such as bearberry
-further south no bushes and small trees may grow
-polar bears penguins and marine animals like whales are found in polar regions

Question 4

Physical characteristics of a cold environment:People

Answer 4

-polar areas are largely in uninhabited apart from research scientists
-some indigenous people such as the Inuit survive in the Arctic
-tundra environment support higher populations including indigenous peoples and oil and gas workers