Activities and responses in glacial environments

Now that I have covered all the basic information concerning glaciers that is needed for background knowledge, I am now going to move on to look at the interaction of people with glaciers and this particular environment. This is beginning to move slightly away from the more physical geography aspect and looking more at the human aspect of the subject (a much more welcome topic for me!). It is important to look at the human interaction in this environment as glaciers can provide both negative and positive aspects for people.

Tourism

Due to the erosional processes that occur as a glacier moves down the valley, the landscape it leaves behind is highly attractive for many walkers, hikers, mountaineers, photographers, skiers and many other people. This is a positive aspect for the surrounding communities as it generates money and contributes to the local economy.

However, although it may generate a lot of money there is also the negative side to tourism. If many people visit the area, walking and hiking it can have a negative effect on the physical environment and can cause damage to the vegetation and thus have a knock on effect on the wild life. As well as this, tourism is not always welcome by everybody and is seen in a negative light with local people when issues such as pollution and litter begin to arise.

Farming

One of the positive aspects of glacial environments is the deposits left behind. Glacial till in lowland glacial environments provides fertile soil for both arable and pastoral farming. This is a very positive aspect as it generates income for the local area as well as providing jobs for people. Glacial environments also provide farming opportunities in the upland areas – more specifically pastoral farming. This also helps the local economy. Not only this but it pastoral farming has been a way of life for centuries and is therefore now embedded in local culture.

However, there are some negative aspects of farming. Over-grazing in areas have a negative multiplier effect on many other variables; it can lead to soil erosion which then prevents vegetation from growing in the area and then means that there will be no where for wild life to live.

Water Supply

Freshwater is one of the most important resource that glaciers provide for people. Many rivers around the world are fed by melting ice water of glaciers, for example the Ganges River is fed by a glacier in the Himalaya mountains and therefore supplies many people with fresh water. Not only is it a key source of water for people in Bangladesh in India, but it also provides Hydro-Electric Power (HEP). Another example of the reliance of people on glaciers for water is in La Paz, Bolivia. Here, people rely on glacial melting from an ice cap to provide them with water during the many dry spells.

However, despite this huge positive aspect, there are many negative aspects implicated with HEP. To begin with, the creation of the necessary dams and reservoirs involves flooding large areas of land, of which sometimes contains numerous villages. This then creates many disputes and can lead people to having to completely relocate and change their way of life. As well as this, they also create an eyesore in the landscape and many people feel that they create visual pollution in an otherwise unchanged, scenic landscape.

Forestry

Highland areas in the UK are a good source of conifer forests. This therefore provides a lot of jobs for people in the area and also benefits the local economy. Not only this, but the forests also help to counter the effects of soil erosion that may occur as a result of tourism or farming (over-grazing).

Like the other activities, there are negative aspects of forestry. Forestry may contribute to a very uniform forest, not allowing other types of tree to be present and thus create a low diversity. This may impact negatively on wildlife species that may rely on a diverse forest for food and homes.

Settlements

Lowland glacial environments provide a good place for settlements as they are low and flat and are much more suitable than the highland areas which are more isolated with much harsher living conditions. The lowland glacial areas are also good for settlements as it much better for infrastructure and so, together with farming, make it easier for goods to be transported.

All the negative aspects of settlements are associated with this; pollution, high water and power consumption and the displacement of vegetation and wild life.

It is important, within this area, to highlight the fact that each of these scenarios have both positive and negative sides. When teaching this, it may be good to discuss with pupils and get them to think of ideas that may be positive and negative. After discussing, it would be good to then get them to create a table illustrating the positives and negatives associated with each activity. After this, using case studies to show these examples would be good to put what they have learnt into practise and to be able to actually see these conflicts occurring in a real life situation.

Links used:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/glacial_landscapes/human_activity_glaciated_areas_rev3.shtml - BBC Bitesize

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/glacier/?ar_a=1#page=3 – National Geographic

http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/questions/people.html - National Snow and Ice Data Centre

http://www.geographypages.co.uk/glachuman.htm - Human use of glaciated areas