Transformation of the Natural Environment in Western Sørkapp Land (Spitsbergen) Since the 1980s

ISBN-13: 9783319265728 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 78 str.

Wieslaw Ziaja

Opis

This revised edition describes the transformation of the environment and landscape of Western Sorkapp Land based on research data collected by Jagiellonian University scientific expeditions in the period 1980 1986 and in 2008. It also outlines potential directions of the transformation of Western Sorkapp Land.Western Sorkapp Land has been experiencing dramatic natural changes such as glacial recession, coastline retreat, emergence of new landforms and Quaternary deposits, as well as changes in the water drainage and network due to global warming. Western Sorkapp Land is a very remote and diverse region, which is representative of the European Arctic. The establishment of South Spitsbergen National Park has led to a regeneration of the local reindeer herd, which has caused overgrazing of the local tundra resulting in altered plant communities and soil erosion. They have also destroyed numerous bird nests. The transformation of Western Sorkapp Land is set to continue. "

Recenzje

"This slim volume (92 pages) reports on approximately 25 years

of landscape change in Sørkapp Land, the southern peninsula

of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard Archipelago.

Field research was conducted by a team of Polish scientists

from Jagiellonian University, the legacy of an initial visit to

the region by physical geographer Zdzislaw Czeppe during the

International Geophysical Year 1957-1958. His interest in the

research potential of the area was piqued, which led to a series

of interdisciplinary summer expeditions beginning in 1980. The

emphasis was on mapping abiotic and biotic features at a large

scale (1:25 000 - 1:50 000). This resulted in a baseline of

spatially detailed data that another team was able to repeat in

an effort to detect change after another quarter century had

passed." (Bruce Forbes, Polar Record, Vol. 51, Issue 3, 2015)

Spis treści

1 Introduction: Study Area and Its Environmental Recognition.- 2 Methods and materials.- 3 Components of natural environment.- 4 Environmental and landscape changes.- 5 Conclusions and prognosis for environmental change.