Polar Environment

Question 1

Where are polar climates found?

Answer 1

• Found in regions north of the Arctic circle and south of Antarctic circle
• Found in the southern hemisphere + northern hemisphere
• Antarctica is the greatest single stretch of ice cap

Question 2

What are the main characteristics of the polar climate?

Answer 2

• Weeks of continuous darkness
• Ground remains as permafrost making it very inaccessible to plants
• Frost occurs at any time
• Blizzards are not infrequent and can reach a velocity of 130 miles an hour

Question 3

What is temperature like in polar climates?

Answer 3

• Very low mean annual temperatures
• In mid winters, temperatures reach as low 40-50 degrees below freezing
• Summers are relatively warmer, but no more than 4 months have temperatures above freezing point

Question 4

What is precipitation like in polar environments?

Answer 4

• Precipitation is mainly in the form of snow and sleet

- Convectional rainfall is generally absent

Question 5

How does the polar climate effect its population

Answer 5

• There are roughly 13.1 million people between 8 countries living in cold environments
• Population density is under 4/km2
• Most of this population live in the tundra climate area because glacial areas are almost impossible to live in permanently
• Human activities are restricted and characterised by fishing/adventure tourism and mineral exploitation
• Land used by indigenous population
• Coastal erosion, permafrost