Advance AP Global Climate and Geology
Climate
Quick Guide
D = the temperature of the coldest month is below 0 °C (32.0 °F) or −3 °C (26.6 °F) and there must be at least four months whose mean temperatures are at or above 10 °C (50 °F)
E = This type of climate has every month of the year with an average temperature below 10 °C (50 °F)
F = Without dry season
T = Tundra climate; average temperature of warmest month between 0 °C (32 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F).
C = Regular subarctic, only 1–3 months above 10 °C (50.0 °F), coldest month between −3 °C (26.6 °F) and −38 °C (−36.4 °F).
D =Severely cold subarctic, only 1–3 months above 10 °C (50.0 °F), coldest month at or below −38 °C (−36.4 °F).
Subarctic climate (Dfc/Dfd)
This type of climate offers some of the most extreme seasonal temperature variations found on the planet: in winter, temperatures can drop to below −50 °C (−58 °F) and in summer, the temperature may exceed 26 °C (79 °F). However, the summers are short; no more than three months of the year (but at least one month) must have a 24-hour average temperature of at least 10 °C (50 °F) to fall into this category of climate, and the coldest month should average below 0 °C (32 °F) (or −3 °C (27 °F)). Record low temperatures can approach −70 °C (−94 °F)
With 5–7 consecutive months when the average temperature is below freezing, all moisture in the soil and subsoil freezes solidly to depths of many feet. Summer warmth is insufficient to thaw more than a few surface feet, so permafrost prevails under most areas not near the southern boundary of this climate zone. Seasonal thaw penetrates from 2 to 14 ft (0.6 to 4.3 m), depending on latitude, aspect, and type of ground. Some northern areas with subarctic climates located near oceans (southern Alaska, the northern fringe of Europe, Sakhalin Oblast and Kamchatka Oblast), have milder winters and no permafrost, and are more suited for farming unless precipitation is excessive. The frost-free season is very short, varying from about 45 to 100 days at most, and a freeze can occur anytime outside the summer months in many areas
Precipitation
Most subarctic climates have little precipitation, typically no more than 380 mm (15 in) over an entire year due to the low temperatures and evapotranspiration. Away from the coasts, precipitation occurs mostly in the summer months, while in coastal areas with subarctic climates the heaviest precipitation is usually during the autumn months when the relative warmth of sea vis-à-vis land is greatest. Low precipitation, by the standards of more temperate regions with longer summers and warmer winters, is typically sufficient in view of the very low evapotranspiration to allow a water-logged terrain in many areas of subarctic climate and to permit snow cover during winter.
A notable exception to this pattern is that subarctic climates occurring at high elevations in otherwise temperate regions have extremely high precipitation due to orographic lift. Mount Washington, with temperatures typical of a subarctic climate, receives an average rain-equivalent of 101.91 inches (2,588.5 mm) of precipitation per year.Coastal areas of Khabarovsk Krai also have much higher precipitation in summer due to orographic influences (up to 175 millimetres (6.9 in) in July in some areas), whilst the mountainous Kamchatka peninsula and Sakhalin island are even wetter, since orographic moisture isn't confined to the warmer months and creates large glaciers in Kamchatka. Labrador, in eastern Canada, is similarly wet throughout the year due to the semi-permanent Icelandic Low and can receive up to 1,300 millimetres (51 in) of rainfall equivalent per year, creating a snow cover of up to 1.5 metres (59 in) that does not melt until June.
Vegetation and land use
Vegetation in regions with subarctic climates is generally of low diversity, as only hardy tree species can survive the long winters and make use of the short summers. Trees are mostly limited to conifers, as few broadleaved trees are able to survive the very low temperatures in winter. This type of forest is also known as taiga, a term which is sometimes applied to the climate found therein as well. Even though the diversity may be low, the area and numbers are high, and the taiga (boreal) forest is the largest forest biome on the planet, with most of the forests located in Russia and Canada. The process by which plants become acclimated to cold temperatures is called hardening.
Agricultural potential is generally poor, due to the natural infertility of soils and the prevalence of swamps and lakes left by departing ice sheets, and short growing seasons prohibit all but the hardiest of crops. Despite the short season, the long summer days at such latitudes do permit some agriculture. In some areas, ice has scoured rock surfaces bare, entirely stripping off the overburden. Elsewhere, rock basins have been formed and stream courses dammed, creating countless lakes.
Tundra (ET)
Tundras are really inhospitable climates that generally are relatively sparsely populated. It's hard to dig for minerals in the frozen tundra as the frozen ground makes it extremely hard. To give your perspective on how cold it is, this a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough to melt snow (0 °C (32 °F)), but no month with an average temperature in excess of 10 °C (50 °F).
Wildlife in these areas is hard to come by, and the most common biome will likely be.... Tundra. Yes, this is the biome as well. It tends to be windy, with winds often blowing upwards of 50–100 km/h (30–60 mph). However, it is desert-like, with only about 150–250 mm (6–10 in) of precipitation falling per year (the summer is typically the season of maximum precipitation). Although precipitation is light, evaporation is also relatively minimal. During the summer, the permafrost thaws just enough to let plants grow and reproduce, but because the ground below this is frozen, the water cannot sink any lower, so the water forms the lakes and marshes found during the summer months. There is a natural pattern of accumulation of fuel and wildfire which varies depending on the nature of vegetation and terrain.
Geology
AP global has three types of Geological formations. Shield, Platform, Extended Crust, and Orogens. I will detail what to expect given the nature of this region in each part.
Platform
The platforms are areas of relatively flat sedimentary (sand, silt, and the related rocks such as sandstone) strata (geologist's word for a layer of rock or sediment) laying over a basement of igneous or metamorphic rock. I am totally unsure what rocks you will find here, but Clastic Sedimentary rocks
seems likely to me given that this will be eroded in my opinion by glaciers. Conglomerate Rock & Breccia will be also present because of the glaciers.
Economically, Conglomerate rock are generally most useful as a source of gravel, but in the case where the eroded material that has formed the conglomerate rock is valuable, the conglomerate rock itself may be considered valuable as well, but even then the rock may be most useful as an indicator of a nearby ore or precious stone deposit. Expect some deposits of iron oxide, lead, zinc, quartz, alcite, hematite, quartz, clay, and even uranium. I doubt you will have much luck mining in this area however.
Shield
This originally was a platform, but I disagree and think it is actually a shield in some parts.Shields are large areas of ancient igneous (formed by cooled down and solidified lava) or metamorphic (formed from other types of rocks in high temperatures and pressures) rock. Shields are tectonically extremely stable, meaning that there events such as earthquakes or volcanism are virtually non-existent in these areas. Shields are generally flat or domed.
I expect it to be similar to the Canadian Shield, which has greenstone belts, TTG rocks, and deposits of nickel, gold, silver, and copper. This region overall matchs well with the permafrost and boreal forests that likely cover it along with lakes.
Extended Crust
The Extended Crust are areas where the crust has been thinned by extensional strain (rift zones, the area around /polka/ and Sakuran) or passive margins (a transition zone between oceanic and continental lithospheres. Coastal areas, areas that have experienced a lot of erosion and /or sedimentation due to rivers). Passive margins can be either volcanic or non-volcanic in origin.
I expect it to be in the west caused by extensional strain and in the east by erosion. Really, I would treat the extended crust in the east like a shield and in the west acting like Foreland Basin. The foreland basin will likely have oil and gas reserves as will the other part of the extended crust.
Orogen
Orogenic formations are areas where an ongoing or past plate collision has caused the crust to fold, deform, crumble, and uplift to form mountains and island arcs.
I expect this orogenic belt to be part of the great niji orogenic belt, which would have copper, gold, silver, lead, iron, zinc and tin as per the Western Niji orogeny.
For non-metallic minerals, the rocks forming the orogeny will be mostly igneous and metamorphic due to active volcanism and tectonic folding. Compared with collisional orogens (orogeny caused by two continental plates converging), accretionary orogens will be more mafic (alkaline), and active volcanism means the igneous rocks will be more extrusive, while metamorphic rocks will lean towards high-temperature, low-pressure. Examples include basalt, pyroxene, olivine, amphibolite, greenschist, and hornfels.
Updated maps:
https://files.catbox.moe/x02lga.png main
https://files.catbox.moe/7qc2fc.png regions
https://files.catbox.moe/uq87s4.png topography