Quick Study Flashcards
Define glaciation.
Glaciation: The process by which an area becomes covered with glaciers or masses of ice.
Define desertification.
The process by which fertile land becomes desert.
Define deforestation.
The process by which a forest is transformed into cleared land through the clearing of trees.
Define the natural process of climate change.
A long term change in the Earth’s climate.
Describe how climate change affects land cover change.
Affects rates of desertification by increasing the intensity of drought in semi arid and subhumid regions. Farming areas will need to adapt to changes in climate with changes in cropping and intensity of animal grazing. Climate change has also led to mass loss of sea ice, and mass losses of land to an accelerated sea level rise.
Give an example of land cover change through climate change.
Roughly 21,000 - 18,000 years ago the average temperature on Earth was approximately 4 C lower than present (15C), sea level was approximately 100m lower and the Earth’s climates were predominantly more so classified as ‘extreme desert’. The UN estimated 2 billion people are at risk from desertification.
Define glacial retreat.
Glacial retreat is when glacial melt outpaces the accumulation of new snow and ice.
Give an example of glacial retreat.
The Jakobshavn Isbrae Glacier. This glacier is the worlds fastest and has increased in velocity from 7km/year in 1985 to 14km/year in 2006. The glacier has retreated over 40km since 1851.
