Components of the natural environment

• Main Authors: Ziaja, Wiesław, Węgrzyn, Michał, Lisowska, Maja, Olech, Maria, Osyczka, Piotr
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2016
• Subjects: bedrock; climate; glaciation; landforms; waters; vegetation; Arctic; Sørkapp Land; permafrost
• Online Access: http://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/19417; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26574-2_3

Western Sørkapp Land geological structure is very varied.Pre-Quaternary bedrock consists of three complexes: (1) the most extensive rocksfrom the Middle Proterozoic to the Silurian, folded in the Caledonian Orogeny:dolomites, phyllites, schists, quartzites, limestones, sandstones, breccias, and others;(2) Early Carboniferous clastic sediments: sandstones, including quartzitic sand-stones, siltstones, and shales; and (3) Triassic sedimentary rocks: sandstones andconglomerates. None of these complexes lies horizontally. Loose Quaternarydeposits (marine, glacial,fluvial, organic, frost-weathering, slope, including talusand solifluction) are not continuous. The climate is Arctic and marine-type. Averageannual temperatures vary from−9to−3°C there. Average annual precipitationtotals reach 300–500 mm. The mountains in northwest Sørkapp Land remain free ofglaciers due to their exposure to relatively warm and dry eastern foehn winds. All thelowlands are unglaciated too. Sørkapp Land glaciation is clearly Arctic-type for tworeasons: the common presence of permafrost, and the very weak influence of altitudeon the distribution and extent of glaciers. The principal landform types in westernSørkapp Land are coastal lowlands, mountains, and mountain valleys. Nonglacialrivers and lakes (supplied directly by atmospheric precipitation and an active layer ofpermafrost) play an important part. There are also karst springs and glacial rivers andlakes in the northeast and southeast of the study area. Typically for the High Arctic,theflora of western Sørkapp Land is dominated by cryptogams, mainly lichens—about 170 species—whereas vascular plantflora includes 82 species. Differentvegetation types often create complex mosaics, following diverse habitat conditions(bedrock, terrain relief, hydrology, etc.). In a few places the presence of seabirdcolonies has a local but strong impact on the vegetation.