AQA A-Level Geography 7037
Water and Carbon Cycles
Hot Desert Systems and LandscapesLandscape
Coastal Systems and LandscapesLandscape
Glacial Systems and LandscapesLandscape
HazardsHazards or ecosystems
Ecosystems Under StressHazards or ecosystems
Global Systems and Global Governance
Changing Places
Contemporary Urban EnvironmentsHuman option
Population and the EnvironmentHuman option
Resource SecurityHuman option
Glacial Systems and Landscapes
Impacts and Management of Cold Environments
- 4 things to know
- Component 1
Overview
Recall questions on pipelines and roads, glacier retreat, permafrost thaw, sea ice loss and coastal erosion, on management through protected areas, the Antarctic Treaty System, tourism controls, elevated pipelines and thermosyphons, and on future scenarios, indigenous involvement, mitigation, adaptation and resilience.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How does protected area designation help manage cold environments?
How do visitor quotas help manage tourism sustainably in cold environments?
What does resilience mean in the context of cold environment management?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
How do infrastructure corridors such as pipelines and roads cause regional-scale impacts in cold environments?
Model answer
They fragment habitats over extensive areas, block or redirect wildlife migration routes, and alter natural drainage patterns, affecting hydrology across whole catchments.
- 2
What is the primary driver of global-scale human impacts on cold environments?
Model answer
Climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions from sources located far outside cold regions.
- 3
Explain how climate change causes accelerated glacier retreat and its downstream consequences.
Model answer
Rising temperatures increase ablation relative to accumulation, shrinking glaciers. This reduces long-term freshwater storage and alters downstream river regimes, affecting seasonal flow patterns and water availability.
- 4
Describe the positive feedback loop created by permafrost thaw under climate change.
Model answer
Thawing permafrost releases stored methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; these greenhouse gases enhance warming, which causes further permafrost thaw, amplifying the original warming signal.
- 5
What are two consequences of reduced sea ice extent due to climate change?
Model answer
Species dependent on ice platforms (e.g. polar bears, seals) lose critical habitat, and previously inaccessible waters become open to shipping and resource extraction.
- 6
How might climate change alter ecosystem composition in tundra regions in the future?
Model answer
Treelines and species ranges are expected to migrate northward, allowing boreal species to colonise former tundra and changing the structure and biodiversity of these ecosystems.
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