Human activity in cold environments
\nYou need to be able to:
\nDescribe the local economies of the indigenous population and how they have changed
\nExplain how the resources of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica have been exploited by newcomers
\nDescribe the challenges of living in a the physical environment and the human activities that go on there
\nDefine what we mean by wilderness areas
\nExplain what a fragile environment is<\/p>\n
The economy, resource exploitation and human activities
\nHuman wildernesses\u2013 Tundra areas<\/p>\n
Resource exploitation by newcomers
\n \u00b7 17th Century
\n Use by outsiders
\n Sealing, whaling, trapping for fur, mining for gold in particular
\n \u00b7 Last 100 years
\n Larger scale and dramatic impacts on the indigenous people
\n Mining for oil
\n Production of HEP
\n Fishing
\n Tourism
\n Geo-politics of the USA positions in the Second world war<\/p>\n
Human activities and the physical environment<\/p>\n
Living in tundra areas is difficult due to a number of reasons:
\n \u00b7 Very low temperatures
\n\u00b7 Short summers and therefore short growing seasons
\n\u00b7 Low precipitation
\n Thin, stony, poorly developed soils
\n\u00b7 Permafrost
\n\u00b7 Surface thaw in summer leading to waterlogging
\n\u00b7 Snow lying for long periods
\n\u00b7 Blizzards<\/p>\n
Indigenous people have adapted there ways to cope with the climate and to make the most of the limited resources:<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Problems
\n Clearing ground vegetation for building from the ground surface \u2013 reduces insulation and results in a deepening of the active layer of permafrost \u2013 more flooding
\n Vehicle tracks can damage the vegetation as it takes a long time to grow
\n Buildings spread up this process by spreading heat into the ground
\n Leads to a \u2018thermokarst\u2019 \u2013 a landscape of topographic depression characterised by extensive areas of irregular, hummocky ground interspersed with waterlogged hollows
\n Leads to ground subsidence (sinking) \u2013 damage to roads and buildings<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Solutions
\nNew building methods are more expensive than conventional construction
\nAdding to costs of living in the region
\nContinual maintenance is often necessary
\nSome methods include:
\n \u00b7 Smaller buildings elevated above the ground
\n \u00b7 Allows air to circulate so the heat is not conducted into the ground
\n \u00b7 Buildings built on pads which acts like the insulating vegetation
\nOther issues in tundra areas
\nHunting \u2013 over exploitation
\nTransport \u2013 risk of spillages, road vehicles damaging the ground
\nTourism \u2013 vegetation removal, litter and waste not easily degraded
\nGeneral air pollution<\/p>\n
Below are two parts of a very useful Bruce Parry documentary covering the use of resources in the Tundra<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"