GEOG 1202 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Nitrogen Fixation, Tidal Bore, Permafrost
Document Summary
General abundance of salt and fresh water. Seas are not the ocean; generally distinct chemically and not well connected. Ice pack: extensive and cohesive mass of floating ice. Ice shelf - projects one the ocean. The one in high latitudes has been frozen for the last few thousand years but high average temperatures has caused it to thaw. Temperate environments- as the ground thaws, buildings, roads, pipelines, and airport runways are increasingly destabilized, and transportation and business are likely to be disrupted. Poor surface drainage- degradation of permafrost can lead to what is called wet thermokarst conditions, where the surface subsides and the ground biomes oversaturated with water. Before sea- rising temps are thawing permafrost in the coastal bluffs and contributing to more rapid erosion of the coastline. Thawing of frozen soils will likely lead to an increase in the activity of microorganisms in the soil.
