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2b. It is possible to identify the physical and human factors that affect…
2b. It is possible to identify the physical and human factors that affect the water and carbon cycles in an Artic tundra area
Water cycle
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Limited transpiration due to the sparseness of the vegetation cover and the short growing season of only about 3 months
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Limited groundwater and soil moisture stores as permafrost is a barrier to infiltration, percolation, recharge and groundwater flow
Accumulation of snow and river ice during the winter months and melting of it in summer and the uppermost active layer
Yukon river has a minimum discharge of 340 cumecs in winter and a maximum of 24.600 cumecs in summer
Extensive wetland, ponds and lakes on the tundra during the summer. This temporary store of liquid water is due to permafrost which impedes drainage
Carbon cycle
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Flux of carbon concentrated in the summer months when the active layer thaws. Sedges and moss can grow rapidly in the short summer due to long hours of daylight in less than a few weeks
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Global warming is turning the carbon sink into a carbon source however this may not be the case as
- Higher plant growth therefore a greater uptake of co2
- Increasing the amount of plant litter entering a store
Physical factors, seasonal changes and stores and flows of water and carbon
Carbon cycle
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Low temperatures and waterlogging slow decomposition and respiration and the flow of CO2 to the atmopshere
Water cycle
Average temp below freezing for most of the year so water is stores as ground ice in the permafrost layer leading to low humidity and low precipitation
Permeability is low owing to the permafrost and the Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks which dominate the geology of the tundra
Weathering and erosion have led to the ancient rock surface which underlies the tundra has been reduced to a gently undulating plain
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In summer active layer thaws and liquid water flows on the surface as drainage is poor water cannot infiltrate the soils of permafrost
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Oil and gas production
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Massive fixed investment in pipelines, roads, oil production plants, power lines and gas processing facilities
By early 1990s the North Slope accounted for nearly 1/4 of USA domestic oil production today less than 4% due to growth of the oil shale industry
Melting of permafrost :
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Dust deposition along roadsides creating darkened snow surfaces, thus increasing absorption of sunlight
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Strip mining for construction creates artificial lakes which disrupt drainage and also expose the permafrost to further melting
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