American environmentalist Jeff Goodell once said, “Some studies suggest that the Arctic Ocean may be ice-free by the end of the century.” The destruction of the Polar Regions has caused major implications for the Earth today and has caused a positive feedback loop that ultimately will cause them to deplete further. The Polar Regions have slowly faded away due to the lack of precautions humans have taken to protect them, such as the use of chlorofluorocarbons, the destruction of the ozone layer, and the accelerated process of the Greenhouse Effect.
The Polar Regions The Polar Regions of the world consist of the northernmost and southernmost areas of the Earth. The Arctic, the northern area of the Earth, is the more known polar region. The Arctic consists of all the area located north of the Arctic Circle, which is found at 66°33’44’’ north of the equator. The southern area of the earth is known as the Antarctic, all of the area south of the Antarctic Circle. The Antarctic Circle is 66°33’44’’ south of the equator.
Both of these regions are highly susceptible to human actions, such as pollution. The actions can cause detrimental effects to the climate and to the
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It caused major advancements in technology, medicine, and science. Along with these advances, the Industrial Revolution sparked a major environmental problem, the accelerated warming of the climate. Since the late 1700s, humans have learned to more efficiently produce and consume goods. This mass production of products needs a lot of energy, and during the Industrial Revolution, the lone form of energy generation was the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels release an enormous amount of greenhouse gases when burned. Greenhouse gases are gases found in the atmosphere which acts as a blanket; they allow heat to penetrate down to the Earth’s surface, but they restrict heat’s escape back into
The arctic Tundra is normally around 10 to 29 degrees fahrenheit. Rainfall may vary in different regions of the arctic. Yearly precipitation, including melting snow, is 6 to 10 inches. Soil is formed slowly. The biggest threat to the Tundra is global warming. Many scientists believe global warming caused by greenhouse gases may eliminate Arctic regions, including the tundras there, forever. Another concern is that about one third of the worlds soil-bound carbon is in the tundra permafrost. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions by switching to alternative energy uses is key to protecting Earth's tundra habitats. The Tundra is located at the top of the earth by the North Pole. Switch to alternative energy
The Arctic Circle runs through the far north of Canada. This is considered the Canadian Arctic. The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. “The Arctic Circle, incidentally, is an imaginary line located at 66º, 30'N latitude, and as a guide defines the southernmost part of the Arctic. The climate within the Circle is very cold and much of the area is always covered with ice. (World Atlas) Although this is the case, the position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed. It directly depends on the Earth's axial tilt.
The Tundra is an extremely cold climate. During the winter months the average temperature is -34 degrees Celsius. The Arctic tundra is located in north Russia. Its coordinates are anywhere between 60 to 80 degrees North latitude and 70 to 180 degrees east longitude. The average precipitation including melting snow is 6 to 10 inches. The arctic tundra has a cold and dry climate but underneath the top layer of soil is a solid layer of subsoil called permafrost which never thaws.
Average annual temperatures in Tundra areas, lies at around -28º C, because of its latitude. Tundra regions receive less sunlight/insulation, and is further away from the equator (where 0˙ is the warmest surface on earth). There are two types of Tundras: the Arctic Tundra and the Alpine Tundra. Alpine areas are normally found in mountains, and the Arctic Tundra are generally found on ground level. The average temperature in Arctic Tundras ranges from -12º to 6ºC and the Alpine average temperature is -56ºC. Annual precipitation in Arctic tundras including rain coming from melting snow measures 15cm to 25cm. This can sometimes create temporary ponds. Moreover, annual precipitation in Alpine Regions is 30cm. Tundra biomes only have two seasons
Water is darker and thus has a "low albedo" that absorbs most solar radiation. This creates a condition known as a "positive feedback loop" and, as a consequence, the Arctic region essentially
Arctic tundra can be found circling the North Pole and reaching far enough south to reach the coniferous forests of the taiga. The arctic tundra is most known for its cold, dessert-like conditions. It experiences
The Arctic formally encompasses all of the Earth’s land and ocean areas north of the Arctic Circle, but the Arctic region describes a larger area with linked ecosystems and similar ecological challenges (Gale Encyclopedia). The arctic tundra has one of the coldest and longest winters and a very short summer, but event then there is only a brief period of time where the sun shines and the temperatures are mild. The arctic tundra is home to few different species and organisms because the temperatures cause issues for organisms that need to maintain a certain body temperature. A few of the organisms in the Arctic tundra are penguins, Polar bears, fox, and different species of birds, as well as caribou, wolves, and grizzly bears. The Arctic Tundra forces many species to fight for survival and adapt to the environment but these adaptations cause changes to the environment and the other species living in it.
1. The case study chosen focuses on the Arctic Ocean and the decrease of adverse effects on it caused by the emission of CO2 and other greenhouses gasses from industrial activates such as drilling and the burning of fossil fuels. 2. Oceans absorb two-thirds of CO2 emissions currently being produces. They help keep the Earth cool, and reduce the drastic effects of climate change.
Throughout history, Arctic Ocean has been explored by many nations that put its attention to discover the particular unknown areas. The first explorations of the Arctic started on 330 BC by European marine explorer named Pytheas of Massalia. Pytheas was the first person that recorded the existence of Polar Ice . Since the 12th century, with the increasing of the population and the increment of trade-related activities, commercial routes have had a growing importance and the overseas search for alternative routes has become crucial . On 1594-1960,the driving force for the exploration of the Arctic was the desire of European monarchs to find an alternate route to India and China, either a Northwest Passage along the coast of North America or
Polar bears are one of the countless species who are endangered. They were one of the first animals affected by global warming and their population is heavily decreasing. Around 1980, the Arctic was as large as 8 million square kilometres. In 2011, studies show that the Arctic has reduced its size to 4.5 million square kilometers. In the future, will there be anything such as the Arctic? Scientist predict by 2040, only a fringe of ice will remain in Northeast Canada and Northern Greenland. This is known as the Last Ice Area. This matter is mostly taking part in Canada, since; Canada holds more than half the world’s polar bear population. Other affected countries include the U.S. (Alaska), Greenland,
The convention applies to the area south of sixty degrees. Antarctica is an exceptional, remote continent surrounded by a wide, cold and stormy ocean. To some Antarctica is simply a cold, distant uninviting and dangerous place with little to offer the world. Antarctica is the last and largest unspoiled wilderness area on Earth. It is a reminder of what the planet was like before the influence of man. Its unspoiled beauty has inspired people, since first glimpse, to explore and discover the vast desert like continent. Antarctic has stretches of the most pristine oceans on earth with an enormous variety and quantity of marine life, much of which is only found in Antarctica. Antarctica is a continent for science, as it is so unspoiled it acts as a laboratory for the rest of the world where changes can be measured in isolation from the effects of
2.1 Mercury in the Arctic marine environments: As there are practically no point sources of industrial Hg close to the Arctic environment, the main source of Hg is from long range atmospheric transport (from lower latitude) particularly from Asia, Europe and North American emissions and other geologic sources (Braune et al., 1991). Despite significant Hg coming to the Arctic through long range atmospheric transport, the riverine (i.e., terrestrial runoff) and costal erosion or thawing permafrost input the same order of magnitude of Hg in Arctic marine waters or even higher than the atmospheric depositional flux (AMAP, 2005; Outridge et al., 2008; Fisher et al., 2012). Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) (Hg0), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM, Hg2+) and methylmercury (MeHg) (organometallic) are the
The industrial revolution marked a major turning point in Earth’s relationship with the environment. As said the world saw a significant increase in the population, which also applied to an increase of living standards, which led to many natural resources, however that was not the case. Natural resources were provided easily whilst it led to many severe natural changes simply because many people were consuming more natural resources. Higher living standards led to forests being cut down to make ways to expand cities and provide lumber for construction. Another destruction that struck in the industrial revolution era was pollution, as various types of pollutions were going on at the same time damaging. The different types of pollution that occurred
The industrial revolution showed how many fossil fuels could be used to improve how they did everyday things. Only they did not know how this would impact the world farther down the line. The increase in atmosphere concentration of carbon dioxide since the industrial revolution is nearly a 30 percent increase. Along with carbon dioxide methane concentration has more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentration has increased 15 percent. During the industrial revolution there was deforestation which impacted global warming by releasing greenhouse gasses. The impact of deforestation was great and will be discussed in the following paragraph. A major fossil fuel used during the industrial revolution was coal. Coal was used as a source of fuel during the industrial revolution and was used to make up for lack firewood. In total I think that industrial revolution was a turning point in the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels became much more used and advanced upon after the industrial
Another negative effect of the Industrial Revolution was on the environment. The factories and industry has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.