Four dimensions of the Spitsbergen landscape
Spatial differentiation of the Spitsbergen landscape is not determined by its geographical latitude and longitude due to the island’s location and influence of the sea-currents around the island. There is a clear landscape contrast between the eastern and western Spitsbergen coast. Horizontal and ve...
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Format: | Book Part |
Language: | English |
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Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies of the University of Warsaw
2011
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Online Access: | http://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/25218 http://paek.ukw.edu.pl/pek/index.php/PEK/article/view/781 |
Summary: | Spatial differentiation of the Spitsbergen landscape is not determined by its geographical latitude and longitude due to the island’s location and influence of the sea-currents around the island. There is a clear landscape contrast between the eastern and western Spitsbergen coast. Horizontal and vertical landscape differentiation and its temporal development are outlined. There are three landscape vertical zones in Spitsbergen (glacial-nival, sub-nival, and the continuous Arctic tundra), apart from its eastern coast where there are only two of them (without the continuous tundra). However, the continuous tundra zone, absent in the east until today, may develop due to contemporary climate warming and its environmental implications there. |
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