Kosciusko Alpine Area Environmental Field Report

SynopsisThis painting study seeks to supply an every overview analysis of the Kosciuszko alpine athletic knit stitch. It foc intakes on the do of glaciation and political campaign body of weewee on the lithosphither, the fundamental fundamental inter natural processs of the spheres and pop the questions a forgetful overview analysis of the vegetation. Photos be included as evidence and to promote in an explanations of the topics. solely grid references atomic number 18 for Kosciuszko Map Extract. ContentsPageTitle Page1Synopsis + Contents2Introduction3Thredbo clime Graph + Maps4Section A6Section B8Section C10Bibliography + Appendix12IntroductionThe Kosciuszko alpine Area (KAA) is a unique and first-class place and is located in the S verbotenh-East region of Australia crosswise New South Wales and Victoria. Our fieldwork has focused on the force field along the Four Wheel Drive track from Charlottes outstrip to sinister Lake and Caruthers Peak. The path provides examples of the habitats and environments of the Kosciuszko alpine Area, much(prenominal) as heathland, T e very alpine Herbfield, Windswept Feldmark etc ? and characterisations provide a record of each of the opposite habitats. The Kosciuszko Alpine Area is angiotensin converting enzyme of the introduction?s oldest skunk ranges and fol downhearteding millions of age of wearing outdoor(a) it has undergone dramatic weathering. For example, the results of glaciers appears pureer in the KAA than in some opposite alpine regions somewhat the cosmos. It is overly home to one of the close minute ecosystems in the world and contains m either types of ground life and sentient being that ar exclusive to the ara. Importantly, it remains the alone glaciated atomic number 18a in mainland Australia. StatisticsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAnnualYearsTemperatureMean maximum temperature (°C)21.121.018.113.910.16.65.26.69.613.216.219.113.43519692008Mean m inimum temperature (°C)7.06.84.51.4-0.4-2.4! -4.0-2.5-0.61.73.65.21.73419692008Rainf everyMean rainfall (mm)105.384.5104.6107.8153.4165.2158.2187.5212.9182.6160.6119.01712.43619692008Decile 5 (median) rainfall (mm)100.380.895.197.6141.8159.5136.9182.5205.5173.2145.7126.71753.73519692008Mean physique of days of rain ≥ 1 mm8.98.18.49.110.712.312.613.314.111.711.48.9129.53519712009Thredbo modality GraphMapsSection A: The offspring of glaciation on the lithosphere of the KAA, and the subsequent marrow of running piss on the landscapeIn the KAA in that location be numerous examples of the military units of glaciations and running water ( excessively bash as fluvial peculiaritys). A bounteous example of any glacier is the U-shaped vale that is left behind at erst the glacier has melted. With fluvial features there argon usually V-shaped valleys where the water has bang onward the posts leaving a V-shape. Parts of the Snowy are V-shaped valleys and it is hemorrhoid easy to recognise the difference amid a nipping feature and a fluvial feature. During the field glum amaze umteen examples of glaciations in the KAA were noned. The most prominent example of glaciation was the field of battle at no- not bad(predicate) Lake which is a cirque that has been form by a glacier millions of years ago. The glaciers appear to present expounded at Blue Lake and indeed move with the force of gravity. Glaciers carve out U-shaped valleys by ?grinding? the dishonor down like sandpaper and extra time cuts a path through the ground and as it travels, picking up large boulders that help in the ?sand papering? process. manifest of the glacier at Blue Lake can be identify by the large moraines at the side of Blue Lake that sight the start of glacier ( shine uped on the field sketch of Blue Lake on the attached page). The glacier then appears to follow a path which has created a U-shaped valley as it travelled. An another(prenominal)(prenominal) example of a glacial feature in the KAA is th e U-shaped valley in Section A Photo 1. This is a di! spatch example of where a glacier absolute and has left a large deposit of rocks and crap that had been pushed along similar to the effect from a bulldozer. As glaciers carry rocks they also deposit them once they are pushed to the side or when the glacier has melted. This is frequently why you give see large boulders that seem out of place resting in an field of operation with no other plain rocks. There examples of glaciation are prominent at the KAA but not as open-and-shut as they are in other countries around the world in higher regions. While the bear upon of glacial move has been signficant, when contrasted with other areas in North the States the outcomes are thin in comparison. An central feature in the area is also set in the evidence of the fluvial features, particularly in move of the Snowy River where fluvial features with the clear V-shaped sides created by the constant endure of water carried away a lot of the reproach. V-shapped valleys are formed by flowing rivers because they erode to a greater effect soil downwards than laterally This causes the bottom to erode apace while the sides erode more slowly which leads to what can much be steep sides of the river. Section A Photo 2, shows a itty-bitty V-shaped valley put in at the KAA and while the small creek is only a tributary to the Snowy River, it calm down has caused enough erosion to form the V-shape. The v-shaped valleys in the region are relatively small but are still good examples of the effects of running water. In conclusion, water has changed the shape of the KAA dramitically over the years through some(prenominal) glaciation and running water. The examples studied provide a good indication of the diversity of effects and changed landscapes that are the result of glaciation and running water . Section B: Interactions of the spheres, and how this contributes to the study(ip) facets of the ecosystem: landforms, vegetation, soil and climateInteractions between the spheres occur all around the world. The spheres ! are the Biosphere which contains all living things and the Lithosphere is the out layer of the earth which covers everything from deal ranges to the sea floor. The hydrosphere contains all water in all its forms (eg Ice, vapour and liquid) and the atmosphere is the air surrounding the earth. These spheres react in antithetic ways with each other that can try both positive and negative results. An example of a uncomplicated interaction between two spheres is the formation of U and V-shapped valleys. These formations are explained in greater detail in Section A. The interactions in these examples highlight the differences between the lithosphere and the hyrdosphere. Another interaction between the spheres is the push-down list Plum true pine where the spheres interacting in this instance are the litosphere and the biosphere. peck Plum long is the only tree that runs in a higher place the treeline in the KAA. The vegetation only divvy ups to know by suppuration on bould ers which create their own microclimate which then provides enough alter for the Mountain Plum Pine to survive, eve in the extremes of cold. The microclimate workings during the day through the insolate hotness up the outer(a) layers of the rocks which is the source of heat that the Mountain Plum Pine uses in order to survive. The boulders at Mount Kosciuszko offer another interaction and that is their exfoliation which involves the lithosphere and the atmosphere. Exfoliation occurs when the heat from the sun heats the outer layers of the boulders causing it to expand, which then cools at night as there is no heat from the sun. With this constantly occurring almost universal it causes major stress leading to the outer shell of the rocks ? desquamation off?, not unlike an onion. Weathering also occurs in the boulders delinquent to the effect known as ?freeze thaw action?. This occurs when water seeps into the cracks of the rock and then freezes at night. As water expands it cr eates monumental stress on the boulder leading to b! ig cracks in the rock which crimsontually leads to the rock splitting apart, which is an interaction between the hydrosphere and the lithosphere.

There are umteen examples of interactions between the spheres all around the world and the KAA is no exception. These interactions range from the weathering of rocks through to the selection of trees to a higher place the tree line. The spheres are primary(prenominal) and no life could survive with out them. Section C: Vegetation associations of the KAAThere are many types of flora in the KAA and many are exclusive to the area. The flora in the KAA can be categorised as heath, long-shanked A lpine Herbfield, Short Alpine Herbfield, Windswept Feldmark , Bogs and Fens. Each of the vegetations categories maintains different flora and requirements. Bogs and Fens GR 175 686Water is important to all ecosystems around the world and this is especially the case in the the higher cold climate regions of the KAA. At certain points in rivers in the KAA you can get word bogs and fens. These act as a filter or ? colorful? for area. The KAA has high levels of rainfall yet most of the plants are also drought tolerant. The curtilage for being so drought resistant in an area with such high rainfall is that the. bogs and fens only cover sestet per centumage of the area yet they are also sarcastic in maintaining water purity in the area. The most green plant in the Bogs and Fens is the Sphagnum Moss (see photo in apendix). marvellous Alpine HerbfieldGR 180 675Tall Alpine Herbfield covers 68 pct of the KAA with many of the plants in the Tall Alpine Herbfield area being drought res istant. There are a variety of plants that live in th! e Tall Alpine Herbfield including Poa (Section C Photo 3), Celmisia (Section C Photo 1), Craspedia and Alpine Celery. Heath GR 173 693Heath covers 25 percent of the KAA and is usually set up around the right(prenominal) of bogs where the soil is often damp. Heath is used to describe the plant communities in the KAA that have small leaves and wooden stems and generally low lying. The Mountain Plum Pine lives in the Heath (Section B Photo 1) along with plants such as the Golden Shaggy-pea and the ruby-red Bog Heath. Short Alpine Herbfield GR 170 696Short Alpine Herbfield is ancient in the KAA and only covers 0.85 percent of the area. They are usually name in areas below the snowline and where the soil is permanently wet. The Short Alpine Herbfield resembles grass, almost even a putting green. This ?grass? is not actually grass but is Small spark advance Plantain. The other plants found in the Short Alpine Herbfield are the Star Plantain (see photo in appendix). Windswept Feldmar k GR 163 699Windswept Feldmarks cover 1.6 percent of the KAA and are found on the slopes that are the least protected. These areas have high undulate speeds which blow away and snow and prohibitionist out and moisture from the precipitation leaving this area very dry even with 2,500mm of rainfall per year. The snow that does fall here is blown away leaving the area exposed for the plants which use snow as an insulator. Section C Photo 2 is of the Windswept Feldmark found on the track before Mt Twynam. There are not many plants that can survive in the rough conditions of the Windswept Feldmark. The plants that do survive manage to by be low lying with small, dense leaves and curved away from the wind. The plants found in the Windswept Feldmark include the coral Heath, Silver Ewartia, Horey sunbeam and the Anemone Buttercup. The plants in the Windswept Feldmark are known to reincarnate downwind by a few millimetres per year. This occurs because the upwind side of the plant die s and the downwind sides continue growing. Bibliograp! hyAnonymous, ,Maps, hypertext transfer protocol://www.maps.ethz.ch, Accessed at capital of Australia on 14th MarchMy Kosciuszko Alpine Area airfield Notebook. Bureau of Meteorology, Thredbo Weather Report, Bureau of Meteorology, Accessed at Canberra on 14th March If you want to get a total essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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