THEMATIC SLIDES

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

TUNDRA AND POLAR FACTS The Earth’s tundra and polar regions are the world’s least populated regions Arctic Tundra is in the Northern hemisphere, while Alpine Tundra is found on mountains throughout the world Most of the world’s freshwater is locked up in polar ice caps Earth’s 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 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

Dramatic changes in Artic Sea Ice : Progressive Loss of Arctic Ice Imagine an ice-free Arctic

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

Cracks on Drygalski Ice Tongue Antarctica The ice tongue was discovered in February 2005: Drygalski calved an iceberg Image shows cracks formed by time and ocean currents

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 Filchner Ice Shelf – largest by volume Antarctica

Breidamerkurjökull glacier has been shrinking : Images show glacier has receded and the glacial lake at its tip has enlarged Shrinking Breidamerkrjökull Glacier Iceland

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

This before and after image shows the vast extent of the disaster, following the glacier’s collapse Extent of disaster in Kolka Glacier Russia

Disappearing ice cap of Mt. Kilimanjaro Tanzania Africa’s 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

North America: Angangueo 1986: Images show Degradation of forest area 2001: Between 1984 and 1999, 38 per cent of forests were degraded Calving of Hubbard Glacier United States 1986 – Hubbard Glacier blocks Russell Fjord 2002 – Hubbard Glacier blocks Russell Fjord again 2003 – Glacier has retreated 1999 – Hubbard Glacier during the formation of the ice dam

North America: Angangueo 1986: Images show Degradation of forest area 2001: Between 1984 and 1999, 38 per cent of forests were degraded 14 Aug Aug 2002 Hubbard Glacier Advance United States

Sprawling oil fields along Prudhoe Bay United States : After the discovery of oil fields in 1968, the Bay has undergone dramatic changes

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