THEMATIC SLIDES

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THEMATIC SLIDES
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TUNDRA AND POLAR

• Arctic Sea Ice
• Ninnis Glacier, Antarctica
• Drygalski Ice Tongue
• Antarctica
• Filchner Ice Shelf, Antarctica
• Breidamerkurjökull, Iceland
• Kolka Glacier, Russia
• Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
• Hubbard Glacier, United States
• Prudhoe Bay, United States

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TUNDRA AND POLAR FACTS

• The Earths tundra and polar regions are the
  worlds least populated regions

• Arctic Tundra is in the Northern hemisphere,
  while Alpine Tundra is found on mountains
  throughout the world

• Earths polar regions are the Arctic and the
  Antarctic the Arctic is frozen ocean surrounded
  by land and the Antarctic is frozen continent
  surrounded by ocean

• Most of the worlds freshwater is locked up in
  polar ice caps

• Arctic sea ice is melting at an alarming rate of
  8.5 per decade

• 87 of the 244 marine glaciers in Antarctic
  Peninsula have retreated over the last 50 years

Earth Observatory, UNEP 2005
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Dramatic changes in Artic Sea Ice
1979-2003 Progressive Loss of Arctic Ice
Imagine an ice-free Arctic
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Calving of Ninnis Glacier, Antarctica
22 January 2000 Shows Ninnis Glacier Tongue soon
after the initial calving
5 February 2002 Iceberg split into two sections
and started moving away from Ninnis Glacier
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Cracks on Drygalski Ice Tongue Antarctica
The ice tongue was discovered in 1902
21 February 2005 Drygalski calved an iceberg
Image shows cracks formed by time and ocean
currents
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Filchner Ice Shelf largest by volumeAntarctica
Filchner Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf on
the planet
In 1986, the front edge of the Ice Shelf broke
off into three enormous icebergs
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Shrinking Breidamerkrjökull Glacier Iceland
Breidamerkurjökull glacier has been shrinking
1973-2000 Images show glacier has receded and
the glacial lake at its tip has enlarged
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Collapse of Kolka Glacier, Russia
Around Mt. Kazbek, dormant volcano glaciers
intermittently collapse, burying the landscape
below
20 September 2002 Kolka shattered, setting off a
massive avalanche of ice, snow and rocks
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Extent of disaster in Kolka Glacier Russia
This before and after image shows the vast extent
of the disaster, following the glaciers collapse
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Disappearing ice cap of Mt. KilimanjaroTanzania
Africas highest mountain with a forest belt
containing a rich diversity of ecosystems

• 1976 Glaciers covered most of the summit

• 2000 The glaciers had receded alarmingly

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North America Angangueo
Calving of Hubbard GlacierUnited States

• 1986 Hubbard Glacier blocks Russell Fjord

• 1986 Images show Degradation of forest area

• 1999 Hubbard Glacier during the formation of
  the ice dam

• 2001 Between 1984 and 1999, 38 per cent of
  forests were degraded

• 2002 Hubbard Glacier blocks Russell Fjord again

• 2003 Glacier has retreated

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North America Angangueo
Hubbard Glacier AdvanceUnited States

• 1986 Images show Degradation of forest area

• 2001 Between 1984 and 1999, 38 per cent of
  forests were degraded

10 Aug 2002
14 Aug 2002
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Sprawling oil fields along Prudhoe BayUnited
States

• 1974-1999 After the discovery of oil fields in
  1968, the Bay has undergone dramatic changes

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TUNDRA AND POLAR
One Planet Many People Atlas of Our Changing
Environment
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