Polar Desert Biome

Polar Desert Biome

By: Heather Davies and Riley Peickert

Citations

• Polar Deserts. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://www.rusnature.info/reg/08_6.htm
• Polar desert. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2015, from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/171735/
• Global Warming Human Impact on the Polar Desert. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2015, from https://prezi.com/xsxm-kidplxw/global-warming-human-impact-on-the-polar-desert/
• Herbert, W. (1971). Polar deserts. London: Collins.

Purple Saxifrage

algae

Arctic poppy

Arctic Willow

Bearberries

Flora

Cotton Grass

Saxifraga Oppositifolia

Antarctic Hairgrass

Lichens

Phytoplankton

Fauna

Flora

• Due to extreme cold temperatures there is only an estimated 1700 plant species
• Adaptations of some plants include:
• Arctic Poppy; Due to its cup shape, sun rays are directed right to the center of the flower, Small leaves help maintain moisture
• Saxifraga Oppositifolia; Posses metabolic adaptations that allow successful growth, Net photosynthesis is still successful through drought
• Purple Saxifrage; Dark colored flower so receives more solar heat, Long fuzzy hairs on stem, leaves, and bud used as protection by wind

• Estimated 6000 species of animals in the polar deserts
• Special Adaptations include:
• Polar Bear; Uses white fur to blend in with snow, think layer of fat to keep warm, paws help them walk in thick snow
• Arctic Fox; white fur to hide in snow and keep warm, thick pads on feet to walk on ice
• Arctic wolf; legs are shorter, ears are smaller, and shorter muzzle help protect against the cold. Fur coat, and thick undercoat to protect against winds

Arctic Wolves

Musk ox

Bow head Whale

Arctic Fox

Arctic Hare

Water and Soil Types

Fauna

Ringed Seal

Wolverine

Polar Bear

Arctic Cod

Collared lemming

Snowy Owl

Krill

Walrus

Climate and Weather

• Water remains frozen for long periods of time
• Water only ever becomes unfrozen by the melting of ice caps
• No presence of surface water
• High concentrations of salt in water
• Soil is made up of exposed bedrock, talus, or rocky plains
• Soil is generalized by permafrost

Caribou

• Sun is never high enough to cause melting
• Temperature rarely rises above freezing
• Polar nights last six months
• Lowest temperature ever recorded was 88 degrees Celsius in Antarctica
• Constant Winter
• Covers 5% of Earth's total land

Location and General Parameters

Physical Features and Important resources

• Not many residents reside here
• Temperature changes frequently
• Due to cold weather, many animals do not live here.
• Polar deserts cover approximately 5 million sq. Kilometers
• Arctic lands span some 20 degrees latitude
• Reaches 84 degrees north in Greenland and southern limit of 51 degrees north in Southern Canada
• Northern Arctic and Antarctica are both Polar Deserts

What is a polar Desert Biome?

• Polar deserts are made up of shattered bedrock, gravel, and bare rocks
• Larger abundance of precipitation is where snow dunes occur
• Notice a pattern in the ground from a "freeze thaw" formation
• Resources of a polar desert include:
• Mineral resources like fossil fuels, metals, and rich oils
• Fresh water is one of the largest mineral resources in the arctic

• Precipitation below 250 mm of water
• Average temp. of less than 10 degrees Celsius
• Higher latitudes than tundra biome

4 Interesting Facts

Environmental Damage and Solutions

• Not many people live in the polar deserts
• Mars has polar ice caps but they aren't composed of water ice, instead mixture of carbon dioxide and water ice
• Polar deserts typically compared to space
• Both of Earth's ice caps are melting, result of anthropogenic global warming

• The first concern is the "global warming" concern and the constant release of greenhouse gases will be affecting the change in clouds, ice cover, and effects on sea level
• Solution: For the future we need to be reducing our green house gas emissions and find more sustainable ways than releasing fossil fuels
• The second concern is the damage of soil by the change in climate. You won't be able to grow plants anymore and there will be a lack of precipitation.
• Solution: Human effects and doings are typically the cause of the hurting to the soil. We need to be more conscious and aware and change our ways for the future.