Recent Environmental Changes/ Human Impacts
- Resource exploitation
- Coal, lead, copper and gold
- Global warming
- Natural gas drilling
- Off-road vehicles
- Desertification
- Extinction of wildlife
Snow Leopard
- Uncia Uncia
- Cat
- Adaptations
Long-Eared Hedgehog
- Hemiechinus auritus
- Central Asia
Gobi Desert
- Northern China, southern Mongolia
- Rain shadow desert
- Temp. down to -40 deg. F
- Continues to grow
- Fossil discoveries
Taklamakan Desert
Wild Onion
- In spring, revives winter-starved herds
- Adaptations:
- Extra-long roots
- Fewer leaves
- Northwest China
- "Go in and you will never come out"
- Rain shadow of Himalayas
- Cold because of its extreme interior position
References
- Hogan, C. (2013). Polar desert. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/171735
- Patagonia. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/446174/Patagonia
Bactrian Camel
- Camelus ferus
- Asia
- Tolerance for cold
- Adaptations
- Two humps
Temperature & Precipitation
Patagonian Desert
- Covers southern mainland Argentina
- Min. temp. between 16 and -27 deg. F
- North is semiarid, south is colder
Pygmy Armadillo
Polar Desert Climate
- Temp. generally around the freezing point of water
- Precipitation below 250 mm/year
- Higher latitudes than tundra
- Permafrost
- In the Arctic: 1-5% of ground is covered by plants
Polar Deserts
Polar Desert Unique Features
- Complete absence of sunlight for 9-10 months
- Hypersaline lakes
- Antarctic: coldest month has mean of -29 to -30 deg. C
Penguins
- Emperor Penguin
- Antartica
- Diet
- Adaptions
Antarctic Desert
- Arid
- High winds
- Hypersaline lakes
- Some areas have been ice-free for thousands of years