Value of Glaciated Landscapes (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Environmental & Cultural Value of Glaciated Landscapes

Wilderness's value

• Some glaciated landscapes have more wilderness qualities and therefore, more value than others

• Areas of active glacial and periglacial regions in high altitudes and latitudes have greater 'true wilderness' qualities than relict upland glacial landscapes, such as the Lake District or Snowdonia (Eryri) 

• People attach spiritual meaning to pristine, natural, and untouched environments and many people have been inspired to write, paint, and express through film, their feelings and experiences of such places

• The value of wilderness can be seen as a sliding scale of quality wilderness

  • Antarctica is the pinnacle of pristine wilderness and an aspirational place to visit

  • The Arctic polar regions have areas of pristine wilderness but also areas inhabited by small groups of indigenous people with strong historical and cultural connections, such as the Inuit and the Nenets of Siberia

  • Whereas, places such as the Cairngorms or Eryri are a lower quality of wilderness. They are more accessible, with a higher population

  • However, mountain peaks are considered spiritual and linked with reaching a higher plane

    • Mount Kailash, Himalayas, is sacred to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism and is never climbed 

    • Pilgrimages are undertaken every year to sacred mountains and lakes in Tibet

    • Prayer flags are hung in the mountains of Nepal, to spread goodwill and compassion into the surrounding countryside

  • All are valued, but one is seen as having a higher value than the other, due to having more elements of pristine qualities 

• An important value of cold environments is to scientific research as living labs:

  • Maintenance of genetic variety (Svalbard's Global Seed Vault)

  • Migratory patterns for birds and animals 

  • Comparison of pristine or natural communities versus exploited, and mismanaged environments

  • Front-line indicators of global warming and climate change

Economic Value of Glaciated Landscapes

• Globally many people benefit from, both active and relict glaciated environments through the availability of:

  • Glacial mountain water

  • Timber

  • Hydropower

  • Recreation and leisure

  • Gold, diamonds, copper, oil, gas, etc. 

• But they also provide some local economic value through:

  • Farming

  • Mineral and mining opportunities

  • Hydroelectric power

  • Tourism

  • Forestry (silviculture)

Farming

• Opportunities and benefits depend on location:

  • Upland hill farming is restrictive to sheep, which generates low incomes for farmers

  • Developing nations may have limited transport links, access to supplies and markets  

  • Many isolated communities survive through subsistence farming 

    • In Bolivia, 70% of the population live in the High Andes, growing crops and rearing llamas and alpacas, but earning just 30% of the country's GDP

    • The advancement of the internet and mobile phones have provided opportunities for cottage industries including ecotourism, weaving, and knitting of traditional clothing for sale to tourists who visit

  • Alpine areas within developed countries are pastoral or transhumance farming

  • The environment is steep, and stony with shallow soils and higher precipitation rates, making it difficult to cultivate, but can be grazed in summer, leaving the lower pastures free to recover and provide hay for the winter months

Forestry (silviculture)

• Many upland farms are now used for forestry due to poor returns on the more traditional sheep farming

• The Forestry Commission in the UK has invested in planting fast-growing soft-wood such as spruce conifers and other non-native trees

• Although these trees provide timber, wood pulp, and paper, conservationists blame these forests for wiping out woodland species and disfiguring the landscape with their monotonous similarity

• However, conifers tolerate the harsh climate and acidic soil, that would otherwise be unsuitable for other land uses

Hydroelectric power (HEP)

• The major use of water from both active and relict glaciated landscapes

• Economic uses include commercial and local HEP production

  • In the Himalayas, mini HEPs are used to power villages due to their inaccessibility

  • Villagers are involved in the set-up and maintenance of the generators and use diverted meltwater to drive the turbines

  • This provides light and power to the village, increased safety during the long nights, and has encouraged cottage industries to be set up

• Countries such as Norway and New Zealand have utilised their glacial waters and these provide over 90% of their electricity 

• Switzerland has over 500 HEPs, that provide 70% of the country's electricity

• On the downside, there are issues with reliable supplies and in light of global warming and retreating glaciers, longevity is another factor to consider for longer-term use

• Conflict arises when the damming of rivers affects villages that rely on these waters downstream

Mining

• Natural erosion in glaciated environments exposes economically viable minerals, ores, and rocks 

• Past geological processes have formed metamorphic rock such as slate for roofing and igneous rock (granite) for kitchen tops etc.

• In lowland areas, outwash deposits of sand and gravel can be sold as aggregates for building with concrete but also deposits of gold, diamonds, and other precious minerals

Tourism

• Globalisation has brought many distant places closer and with long-haul flights becoming cheaper and the ability of people to 'surf' for the best prices, glacial tourism has become a place of mass tourism

• Tourism is one of the largest providers of economic value to glaciated regions, for instance:

  • In the Chamonix Valley, France roughly 5 million tourists visit each year, and this generates 2500 jobs seasonally, with railway companies and ski-lift engineers in high-demand

• The benefits are seen in both relict and active glaciated environments and provide year-round outdoor activities;

  • Hillwalking and climbing

  • Mountain biking

  • Mountaineering - professional climbs such as Everest and K2

  • Skiing and snowcat rides

  • Glacial walking and climbing

  • Heli-rides and skiing on glaciers

  • Ice caves and ice hotels

  • Cruises to Antarctica, South Georgia and around the Antarctic peninsula

  • Zip-wire rides in Eryri National Park

  • Snowwalking in the Cairngorms

• Tourism isn't contained to the traditional single areas but attracts mass tourism to places such as Iceland, Greenland, Alaska, and Svalbard

• As such, glaciated regions are under pressure from continued exposure to increased tourism and some are becoming very fragile landscapes

Biodiversity & Role in Natural Systems

• Both glacial and periglacial ecosystems are significant to global life support systems

  • 75% of global freshwater is held as glacial ice

  • Glacial valleys form natural water reservoirs

  • Glacial lakes can be used for HEP

  • Valuable source of irrigation water - Boulder, Colorado relies heavily on the Arapaho glacier for its drinking and agricultural water

  • Provides a source for commercial sales of bottled water

• Periglacial areas are sources of carbon sinks

  • The UN Environment Programme estimates:

• Tundra peat ecosystems gain carbon, (therefore, act as a carbon sink), through the anaerobic decay of plant/animal biomass and new organic matter gained during the short summer growing season

• Resulting in a net gain as plant photosynthesis and growth is greater than the carbon respired by plants and soil back into the atmosphere

• As permafrost soils remain frozen for long periods of time, they can store large amounts of carbon and other nutrients within their frozen framework for hundreds and even thousands of years

• However, scientists are now concerned that the continued melting of the permafrost is resulting in an overall net carbon loss

• As the tundra peat thaws, increased microbial breakdown occurs, releasing greenhouse gases such as methane, into the atmosphere which feeds a positive feedback loop

• Periglacial and glacial flora and fauna are low by global standards and under continued threat from global warming, risking the loss of important genetic or chemical material that could benefit engineering, science or food sectors

• The high albedo effect of glaciated regions ensures that insolation is reflected which helps to maintain a heat deficit within polar regions, thus protecting specialised and adapted flora and fauna, but more importantly act as a global climate regulator

• A valuable ecosystem service is the ability to provide goods such as:

  • Fish from the Southern and Arctic oceans for local and international use

  • Wild food from the seasonal hunting of seal, caribou and reindeer

  • Whaling in the past provided many goods and is now banned except for scientific purposes but Japan still hunts in the Antarctic waters

• Glaciated ecosystems provide cultural, aesthetic and spiritual value as they are mostly unspoilt wilderness with Creation Stories linked to their vast landscape and open, dark skies

• However, human activities have direct and indirect impacts through removing vegetation, building of infrastructure and indirectly through pollution has brought into question if the value of polar ecosystems are irreversibly damaged