Key Idea

Specification Content

Glacial Environments

The global distribution of cold

environments, polar (land and marine
based), alpine, glacial and periglacial.
Glaciers as systems: glacial budgets.

Glacial Process

Ice movement types of flow: internal

deformation, rotational, compressional,
extensional and basal sliding; warm and
cold based glaciers.

Glacial Landforms

Glacial processes and landscape

development. Weathering in cold
environments frost
shattering.Erosional landforms corries,
artes, pyramidal peaks, glacial troughs
and associated features. Depositional
landforms types of moraine and
drumlins.

Fluvioglacial and Periglacial Fluvioglacial processes the role of

meltwater erosion and deposition.
processes and landforms

Fluvioglacial landforms meltwater

channels, kames, eskers and outwash
plains.
Periglacial processes nivation,
permafrost formation, frost heave,
solifluction. Periglacial landforms
nivation hollows, ice wedges, patterned
ground, pingos and solifluction lobes.

Learned

Revised

Human uses: Exploitation

and Development

Exploitation and development in tundra

areas and the Southern Ocean.
Traditional economies of an indigenous
population and recent
changes/adaptations. Early resource
exploitation by newcomers whaling
and/or sealing. More recent
development oil in Alaska, fishing,
tourism. The concept of fragile
environments. The potential for
sustainable development.
The future of Antarctica to consider
the contemporary issues of
conservation, protection, development
and sustainability in a wilderness area.

AS Geography
Unit 1: Physical and Human Geography
Cold Environments