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 OUR FRAGILE PLANET

POLAR REGIONS
Human Impacts
 OUR FRAGILE PLANET
atmosphere
Biosphere
Climate
geosphere
Humans and the natural environment
Hydrosphere
oceans
polar regions
 OUR FRAGILE PLANET

POLAR REGIONS
Human Impacts

DANA DESONIE , PH .D.

Polar Regions

Copyright © 2008 by Dana Desonie, Ph.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval
systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact:

Chelsea House
An imprint of Infobase Publishing
132 West 31st Street
New York, NY 10001

Library of Congress ­Cataloging-­in-­Publication Data

Desonie, Dana.
Polar regions: human impacts / Dana Desonie.
p. cm. — (Our fragile planet)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-6218-8 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8160-6218-8 (hardcover)
1. Ecology—Polar regions—Juvenile literature. 2. Nature—Effect of human beings on—Juvenile
literature. 3. Polar regions—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series.

QH541.5.P6D47 2007
578.0911—dc22 2007029994

Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for
­businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in
New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755.

You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com

Text design by Annie O’Donnell

Cover design by Ben Peterson

Printed in the United States of America

Bang NMSG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is printed on ­acid-­free paper.

All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication.
Because of the dynamic nature of the Web, some addresses and links may have changed since publica-
tion and may no longer be valid.

Cover photograph: © Thomas & Pat Leeson/Photo Researchers, Inc.

 Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction x

 Part oNe
the Polar regions 1
1. The Unique Polar Regions 3
2. The Nature of the Arctic and Antarctic 13
3. Life on Land in the Polar Regions 23
4. Life in the Polar Seas 36

 Part tWo
atmospheric Pollution and the Polar regions 51
5. The Antarctic Ozone Hole 53
6. Global Warming and the Polar Regions 64
7. The Effects of Global Warming on the Polar Regions 79
8. Future Polar Climate 93
9. Tackling Global Warming 101
 PART THREE
Chemical Pollution of the Arctic 109
10. Arctic Chemical Pollution 111
11. The Effects of Chemicals on Arctic Wildlife 125

 PART FOUR
Overfishing and Overhunting
in the Polar Regions 141
12. Threats to Fish and Fisheries 143
13. Threats to Marine Mammals and Birds 152

 PART FIVE
The Future of the Polar Regions 167
14. Protecting the Polar Regions 169
Conclusion 177

Glossary 181
Further Reading 194
Index 197
About the Author 202
 Preface

T
he planet is a marvelous place: a place with blue skies, wild
storms, deep lakes, and rich and diverse ecosystems. The tides
ebb and flow, baby animals are born in the spring, and tropi-
cal rain forests harbor an astonishing array of life. The Earth sustains
living things and provides humans with the resources to maintain a
bountiful way of life: water, soil, and nutrients to grow food, and the
mineral and energy resources to build and fuel modern society, among
many other things.
The physical and biological sciences provide an understanding of
the whys and hows of natural phenomena and processes—why the sky
is blue and how metals form, for example—and insights into how the
many parts are interrelated. Climate is a good example. Among the
many influences on the Earth’s climate are the circulation patterns of
the atmosphere and the oceans, the abundance of plant life, the quan-
tity of various gases in the atmosphere, and even the size and shapes of
the continents. Clearly, to understand climate it is necessary to have a
basic understanding of several scientific fields and to be aware of how
these fields are interconnected.
As Earth scientists like to say, the only thing constant about our
planet is change. From the ball of dust, gas, and rocks that came
together 4.6 billion years ago to the lively and diverse globe that orbits
the Sun today, very little about the Earth has remained the same for
long. Yet, while change is fundamental, people have altered the envi-
ronment unlike any other species in Earth’s history. Everywhere there
are reminders of our presence. A look at the sky might show a sooty
cloud or a jet contrail. A look at the sea might reveal plastic refuse,

vii
viii polar regions

oil, or only a few fish swimming where once they had been countless.
The land has been deforested and ­strip-­mined. Rivers and lakes have
been polluted. Changing conditions and habitats have caused some
plants and animals to expand their populations, while others have
become extinct. Even the ­climate—­which for millennia was thought to
be beyond human ­influence—­has been shifting due to alterations in
the makeup of atmospheric gases brought about by human activities.
The planet is changing fast and people are the primary ­cause.
Our Fragile Planet is a set of eight books that celebrate the
wonders of the world by highlighting the scientific processes behind
them. The books also look at the science underlying the tremendous
influence humans are having on the environment. The set is divided
into volumes based on the large domains on which humans have had
an impact: Atmosphere, Climate, Hydrosphere, Oceans, Geosphere,
Biosphere, and Polar Regions. The volume Humans and the Natural
Environment describes the impact of human activity on the planet and
explores ways in which we can live more sustainably.
A core belief expressed in each volume is that to mitigate the
impacts humans are having on the Earth, each of us must understand
the scientific processes that operate in the natural world. We must
understand how human activities disrupt those processes and use
that knowledge to predict ways that changes in one system will affect
seemingly unrelated systems. These books express the belief that sci-
ence is the solid ground from which we can reach an agreement on the
behavioral changes that we must ­adopt—­both as individuals and as a
­society—­to solve the problems caused by the impact of humans on our
fragile ­planet.
 Acknowledgments

I
would like to thank, above all, the scientists who have dedicated
their lives to the study of the Earth, especially those engaged in
the important work of understanding how human activities are
impacting the planet. Many thanks to the staff of Facts On File and
Chelsea House for their guidance and editing expertise: Frank Darm-
stadt, Executive Editor; Brian Belval, Senior Editor; and Leigh Ann
Cobb, independent developmental editor. Dr. Tobi Zausner located
the color images that illustrate our planet’s incredible beauty and the
harsh reality of the effects human activities are having on it. Thanks
also to my agent, Jodie Rhodes, who got me involved in this project.
Family and friends were a great source of support and encourage-
ment as I wrote these books. Special thanks to the May ’97 Moms,
who provided the virtual water cooler that kept me sane during long
days of writing. Cathy Propper was always enthusiastic as I was writing
the books, and even more so when they were completed. My mother,
Irene Desonie, took great care of me as I wrote for much of June 2006.
Mostly importantly, my husband, Miles Orchinik, kept things moving
at home when I needed extra writing time and provided love, support,
and encouragement when I needed that, too. This book is dedicated
to our children, Reed and Maya, who were always loving, and usually
patient. I hope these books do a small bit to help people understand
how their actions impact the future for all children.

ix
 Introduction

T
he polar regions are unique sites on an exceptional planet.
The Arctic and Antarctic regions, which lie remote and distant
from the rest of the world, form the ice caps of the Earth. Until
recently, these areas were extremely difficult to reach from the more
temperate, populated regions of the world. With their cycles of dark
and bitter cold winters and long and plentiful summers, the polar areas
have existed without much impact from human civilization.
The north and south polar regions go through winter and sum-
mer cycles at opposite times of the year, but they both annually
experience months of darkness and months of sunlight. During the
long summers, plants bloom on land and in the seas. Water remains
captured in enormous amounts of ice that takes many forms: sea ice,
ice sheets, ice shelves, icebergs, frozen lakes and streams, and snow.
Even the ground is frozen much of the year. Polar life is unique,
either adapted to these harsh conditions or migrating into the area to
partake of the summer bounty. Marine life abounds in the cold seas.
Tiny plankton form the base of an ecosystem that includes abundant
fish, enormous whales, plentiful seals, and fabulous diving and
swimming birds.
Still, the Arctic and Antarctic are very different from each other:
The Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land, while the Antarctic is
land surrounded by an ocean. Although these two situations may not
seem very different, they result in distinct conditions. Both locations
are bitter cold and dry in the winter, but the presence of land around
the Arctic allows for more variability in temperature and precipitation.
Winters and summers in the Arctic are quite a bit warmer than in the

x
 Introduction xi

Antarctic. In many northern locations, temperatures hover around the

freezing point of water for a portion of the year. Because ice collects
better over frigid land than over relatively warm seawater, the ice sheet
that has grown over Antarctica far exceeds in area and volume the sea
ice that spreads over the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic has an ice sheet,
too; but the Greenland ice sheet is much smaller than the one that
covers Antarctica.
Arctic and Antarctic plant and animal species are also dissimilar.
Each location has relatively few different species when compared with
the species diversity found in more temperate climates. This is because
few species have been able to adapt to the severe conditions at the poles.
Polar region species are unusual. Herds of large mammals migrate
through the lands that surround the Arctic sea in summer; but, in Ant-
arctica, the only large mammals were introduced by human visitors in
the years between about a.d. 900 to about 1300. Polar bears and walrus
hunt from ice floes in the Arctic, but penguins are the main animals
that live in the Antarctic. Marine creatures in both regions are ­similar:
Large whales, seals, fish, and birds take advantage of the productive
seas, and some large marine mammals make the long annual journey
from one polar region to the other to reap the summertime abundance.
Human habitation and resource exploitation have had very different
impacts in the two locations. While about 4 million people currently
reside in the Arctic, only about 4,000 scientists inhabit Antarctica. The
Arctic has a long history of habitation by native people who developed
a complex set of rituals and skills to survive in the unforgiving condi-
tions. Their ­well-­timed practices took advantage of seasonal rhythms
that allowed them to thrive, or at least survive, year round. There is no
evidence that native people ever lived in the ­Antarctic—­hence, human
beings have not had as great an impact on its environment.
When the inhabitants of the temperate zones think of the polar
regions, they typically think of clean, white, and pristine lands. Com-
pared with the rest of the world, which has been greatly modified by
human activities, they mostly are. Relatively little pollution is produced
in the polar areas, and what little pollution is there, comes from far-
away places. The exploitation of the Arctic for oil and minerals results
xii polar regions

in some pollution. However, Antarctica, with its land buried beneath a

thick layer of ice, is largely off limits to commercial interests.
Pollution in the polar regions largely travels in from elsewhere.
Compared with the Arctic region, the Antarctic is isolated from many
of the environmental problems of the rest of the world. For one thing,
currents that circulate through the main portions of the ocean basins
do not reach that far south. The land that drains into the surrounding
ocean is cloaked in ice and uninhabited. Little land exists north of the
Antarctic seas because of the way most of the continents’ land masses
narrow at their southernmost reaches. The environmental problems
that the Antarctic does experience are largely caused by the emissions
of pollutants into the atmosphere from far away. Due to conditions that
are particular to the Antarctic, the ozone hole is centered there. The
worldwide problem of global warming is being felt there, too. Nor is
the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica immune to the problems
of overfishing and overhunting that plague the world’s oceans overall:
Over the past few centuries, Antartica’s marine creatures have been
subject to both.
The situation in the Arctic is vastly different from the Antarctic.
Because 70% of the world’s land, including the most developed regions
on Earth, is located in the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic is vulner-
able to the environmental problems that plague those lands. Pollutants
travel in by air and via ocean currents and across lands in rivers that
drain into the region. As a result, Arctic animals have surprisingly large
concentrations of some toxic chemicals in their tissues and body fat. The
conditions that cause Arctic temperatures to be more variable also keep
air from becoming as stagnant as in Antarctica. For this reason, ozone
depletion in the Arctic is much less of a problem than in the Antarctic.
Like the Antarctic, though, the Arctic is warming at a higher rate than
the rest of the planet, and the effects of global warming are being felt
more strongly there. Overfishing and overhunting are also a concern.
This volume of Our Fragile Planet explores the polar regions and
how they are uniquely affected by environmental problems. Because
their harsh conditions make them more vulnerable to some environ-
mental ills, particularly global warming, the polar regions have been
 Introduction xiii

called the “canary in the coal mine.” (This expression refers to the
time before monitoring devices were invented to detect dangerous
gases in mines. To serve as a warning, coal miners kept caged canar-
ies in the mines with them. Because the birds were more sensitive to
deadly fumes than the miners, the miners knew that when the birds
died it was time to get out of the mine.) The changes now being seen in
the polar regions, especially in the Arctic, may also be a forewarning
of large changes to take place on the rest of the Earth.
Part One of this volume details the physical, chemical, and bio-
logical characteristics of the two polar areas. Part Two describes the
problems—particularly global warming—caused by atmospheric
pollutants, with an emphasis on the Arctic and the ozone hole in the
Antarctic. Due to its proximity to the developed parts of the world,
chemical pollution is much more serious a problem in the Arctic,
which is the focus of Part Three. Part Four describes overfishing and
overhunting in the Arctic and Southern Oceans. Finally, Part Five
looks at the protections that are already in place for the Arctic and
Antarctic and imagines the future of the Arctic—a future that may
arrive sooner than most people realize.
 PART ONE

THE POLAR REGIONS

 1
The Unique
Polar Regions

i
n part because their temperatures are often below the freezing
point of water, the polar regions are very different from any other
part of the world. Their remote locations, oceanic environments,
and atmospheric circulation patterns keep them somewhat isolated
from the rest of the world. The Antarctic is especially isolated because
it is surrounded by the world’s most rapid ocean current and because
it is so distant from the developed regions of the planet.

the PoleS and the Polar regionS

The polar regions refer to the areas surrounding the north and south
poles. The North Pole, also called True North, is the northernmost
point where the planet’s axis of rotation passes through the Earth.
From the true North Pole, everywhere else is south. The South Pole is
the North Pole’s mirror image—­the southernmost point of the Earth’s
surface where the planet’s axis of rotation passes through.

3
 polar regions

Each of these poles has another pole located near it: the magnetic
north and south poles. Seen in a diagram, the Earth’s magnetic field
appears as though a dipole magnet were running through the planet.
At the north magnetic pole, all the magnetic field lines point downward
into the Earth. At the south magnetic pole, all the magnetic field lines
emerge upward from the Earth. The difference between the magnetic
north pole and true North Pole is called magnetic declination.
The polar ­regions—­the areas surrounding the True North and True
South ­Poles—­are defined by their latitude, which is the distance north
or south of the Equator as measured in degrees. Earth is divided into
five imaginary circles that run ­east-­west around its mass. The central

World map with the five imaginary circles: (1) the Equator, in the center (0°N); (2) the Tropic
of Cancer (23° 26' 22" N) and (3) the Arctic Circle (66° 33' 38" N), in the Northern Hemisphere;
and (4) the Tropic of Capricorn (23° 26' 22" S) and (5) the Antarctic Circle (66° 33' 38" S), in
the Southern Hemisphere.
 The Unique Polar Regions 

circle is the Equator, which is at 0°N (or, zero degree latitude north).
The Northern Hemisphere lies between the Equator, and the North
Pole and the Southern Hemisphere lies between the Equator and
the South Pole. Each hemisphere is divided into equal thirds, and each
third is bound by a circle around the globe. The two tropical circles
located just north and south of the Equator are called the Tropic of
Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The two circles located just north
and south of the poles are the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle.
This discussion will focus on the territory that lies on the pole-­
ward sides of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, known as the Arctic
and the Antarctic, respectively. Portions of the countries of Rus-­
sia, Canada, the United States (Alaska), Greenland (a territory of
Denmark), Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland are in the Arctic.
(Notably, 20% of Russia, including much of the region called Siberia,
lies north of the Arctic Circle.) Most of the Antarctic region contains
the continent of Antarctica, a nearly circular landmass with a penin-­
sula that extends northward toward South America. Antarctica is not
owned by any nations and is, by international agreement, to be used
only for peaceful, scientific purposes.

Polar Light and Heat

The essential trait of the polar regions is the tremendous variation in
sunlight they receive over the course of a year. This happens for the
same reason that the Earth has seasons: The angle of the planet’s axis
of rotation changes relative to its plane of orbit around the Sun. Earth
orbits the Sun once each year and rotates on its axis once each day.
The axis of rotation is tilted approximately 23.5° relative to its plane
of orbit around the Sun. (This is also called the axial tilt.) At any
given time, the part of the planet that points toward the Sun receives
more solar radiation; this area changes as the Earth revolves during
its orbit.
On June 21 or 22, a date that is called the summer solstice, the
North Pole is tilted toward the Sun. The Sun appears at its ­ farthest
 polar regions

point north in the sky and is also at its highest point of the year when
observed from the North Pole. (During summer solstice, the Sun’s rays
are vertical to the Earth at the Tropic of Cancer.) Six months later, on
December 21 or 22—the winter ­solstice—­the South Pole will have
tilted toward the Sun. The Sun appears farthest south and is at its
highest point when observed from the South Pole. (The Sun’s rays are
vertical at the Tropic of Capricorn.) The midway points between the
solstices, when the Sun shines directly over the Equator, are autumnal
or fall equinox (September 22 or 23) and vernal or spring equinox
(March 21 or 22) in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemi-­
sphere, the equinox dates are reversed, with vernal equinox arriving
in September and autumnal equinox in March.
At the North Pole, the Sun rises on vernal equinox and does not set
until autumnal equinox. During that same time, the South Pole lies in
total darkness. The opposite is true in the time between autumnal and
vernal equinoxes. At the poles, therefore, the Sun rises and sets only
once a year, and the polar day and polar night last for six months each.
During the polar day, the Sun never gets too high in the sky, but circles
around the horizon, reaching its highest point on the summer solstice.
During the polar night, the Sun never rises above the horizon, although
the sky may show twilight some of the time. The darkest night is the
winter solstice, when the Sun is at its farthest point from that pole.
Moving toward the Equator from the poles, both day and night
become more like what most people are used to. The Arctic and Ant-­
arctic Circle regions have only one extended day and night each: The
Sun is up continuously for one 24-hour period at the summer solstice
and down for one 24-hour period at the winter solstice. At the Equa-­
tor, days and nights are each nearly 12 hours long year round, and the
midday Sun is always overhead. Locations along the Equator, then,
receives roughly the same amount of sunlight all year long.
Because of the way the Earth’s axis tilts throughout the year, the
amount of solar radiation received by different parts of the Earth is very
different. Each pole receives nearly all of its radiation during only half
the year. Even then, because the Sun never rises very high in the polar
 The Unique Polar Regions 

The seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. The North Pole is always light at the
summer solstice and always dark at the winter solstice.
 polar regions

Common Surfaces and Their Albedo

Surface Albedo (%) Surface Albedo (%)

Earth, average 30 Farmland 15
Moon, average 7 Forest 3 to 10
Fresh snow 75 to 95 City, tropical region 12
Antarctica 80 Swampland 9 to 14
Clouds 30 to 90 City, northern region 7
Desert 25 Bare dirt 5 to 40
Beach 25 Ocean 3.5

Grassy field 10 to 30

Source: C. Donald Ahrens, Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather,

Climate, and the Environment. 6th ed. Belmont, Calif.: Brooks/Cole, 2000.

sky, the amount of solar radiation the region receives remains relatively
small. Also, whereas the Sun’s rays come straight downward at the
Equator, near the poles, the rays come in at an angle and so are filtered
through a thicker portion of the Earth’s atmosphere before they reach
the ground. (An atmosphere is the mixture of the gases and particles
that surround a planet or a moon.) For these reasons, the higher latitudes
receive much less solar radiation each year than the lower latitudes.
Because the polar regions receive relatively little solar radiation,
their surfaces, whether land or water, are covered with ice or snow
much or all of the year. This accounts for the differences in solar
energy that are reflected or absorbed by the ground surfaces on other
parts of the planet. When polar ground surface reflects radiation back
into the atmosphere, that radiation remains as light and does not warm
the area. When a ground surface is able to absorb the radiation, the
energy is converted to heat, and the area becomes warmer. The type of
 The Unique polar regions 9

ground cover is extremely important because of albedo, which is the

amount of light a surface reflects. As can be seen in the table on page
8, different types of ground surfaces have very different albedo. Ice
and snow, for example, have very high albedo and reradiate most of the
sunlight they receive into the atmosphere as light. Soil and vegetation
absorb much of the solar energy they receive and radiate some of it
back into the atmosphere as heat, so they have lower albedo. Seawater
has the lowest albedo: The oceans absorb much of the solar radiation
they receive and radiate only some of it back into space as heat. The

The Aurora

One of the most the spectacular features

of the polar regions is the aurora. The
aurora can be brilliant—with streamers,
arcs, or fog-­like bursts of light, sometimes
in white and sometimes in colors—punctu-­
ating the night. These lights are called the
aurora borealis or northern lights in the
Northern Hemisphere and the aurora aus-
tralis or southern lights in the Southern
Hemisphere. The aurora is caused by the
Earth’s magnetic field, which channels
the electrically charged particles of the The aurora australis over South Pole Station in the
incoming solar wind toward the North 1997 Southern Hemisphere winter. The brilliant
aurora forms as particles from the solar wind collide
and South Poles. As these particles travel
with gases in the atmosphere, causing them to emit
through the ionosphere, the part of the lights of different wavelengths. (Lieutenant Mark
Earth’s atmosphere where free electrons Boland / NOAA Corps)
(tiny negatively charged particles) move
as electric currents, they collide with the
atmospheric gases, causing them to light
up the sky. Each gas emits its own wave-­ or violet. (A wavelength is the length of
length of light: For example, oxygen emits one wave—the distance from crest to crest
green or red light, and nitrogen emits red or trough to trough.)
10 polar regions

high albedo of the polar regions, therefore, contributes to the discrep-­

ancy in heat between those regions and lands at lower latitudes.

Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation

The imbalance of heat between the low and high latitudes due to the
amount of solar radiation that comes in drives the motions of the atmo-­
sphere. Atmospheric circulation takes place in the lower atmosphere,
or troposphere, the area located beneath the upper atmosphere, or
stratosphere. The circulation occurs in six great convection cells.
Each hemisphere contains three of them. An atmospheric convection
cell is a circuit in which warm air rises to the top of the troposphere
in one location; moves horizontally and, as it cools, sinks in another
location; and then warms as it moves
horizontally to its original location.
As air travels horizontally along the
ground, it creates wind. The planet’s
major wind belts are created near the
ground by the bases of the six great
convection cells: The bases of the first
two belts are the trade winds, between
the Equator and 30°N and 30°S; the
bases of the next two belts are the
westerly winds that blow between
30° and about 50° to 60°N and 50°
to 60°S; and, finally, the polar east-­
erlies are the bottoms of the cells that
blow between 60°N and the North
Pole and 60°S and the South Pole.
The large contrasts in the air masses
that meet at 50° to 60°N and 50° to
­60°S—­one air mass coming from its
respective pole and the other coming
A ­low-­pressure system over the Arctic Ocean
looks like a frozen hurricane. (Jeff Schmaltz / indirectly from the ­Equator—­result in
Aqua / MODIS / NASA) enormous storms that create a great
 The Unique Polar Regions 11

The major surface ocean currents. The five gyres are the North and South Pacific, the
North and South Atlantic, and the Indian. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current moves
clockwise around Antarctica and is the only surface current that is uninterrupted
by land.

deal of wind and some precipitation; but very little of this precipitation
reaches the continental interiors, however.
Understanding atmospheric circulation is important for under-­
standing the polar regions for two reasons: Air circulates all around
the Earth, and all air (and whatever it carries with it) eventually passes
near the poles. Also, air circulation distributes heat around the Earth,
which helps to keep the planet’s temperature more even, though by no
means entirely so.
It is the way the atmosphere moves that drives the movement of
ocean currents. Winds push seawater so that the main surface ocean
currents travel in the same directions as the major wind belts. The
westerly winds drag North Pacific water from west to east, for example,
12 polar regions

while the trade winds move surface currents from east to west. But,
unlike air, which can move freely over continents, oceanic currents
must turn when they run into continents. Thus, most of the large oce-­
anic currents become part of great loops of water known as gyres.
Only one current travels freely around the Earth without running into
a continent. Called the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, it flows
endlessly between Antarctica and the tips of the southern continents
of Australia, South America, and South Africa.
Ocean currents also flow vertically in all oceans, including the
Arctic and Southern Oceans. Upwelling occurs where seawater flows
from the ocean depths up to the surface. Upwelling water is ­nutrient-
­rich because it comes from the deep ocean, where over many decades
or centuries the remains of dead plants and animals falling from the
surface have collected and where there are few organisms to utilize
them. (Nutrients are biologically important substances that are criti-­
cal to living organisms.) Upwelling zones are often rich with life.

Wrap-­up
The polar regions are unique for a number of important reasons.
Because each pole is tilted away from the Sun for half of the year, and
because sunlight must travel through a large wedge of atmosphere,
these ­high-­latitude locations receive much less solar energy and are
cold when compared to the rest of the Earth. The discrepancy in the
amount of heat found in the low and high latitudes is responsible for
oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns. These atmospheric
currents move heat from the low to the high latitudes, moderating,
but not evening out, global temperatures. Because the polar regions
are so cold, they are covered with ice and snow. These white surfaces
have very high albedo and reflect rather than absorb solar radiation,
further decreasing the amount of solar energy that these regions can
hold. Where ice melts and dark ground or seawater is exposed, the
change in albedo can have an important effect on the climate. The cir-­
culation of both the atmosphere and the ocean also plays a major role
in the conditions in both polar regions by evening out temperatures to
some degree.
 2
The Nature of the
Arctic and Antarctic

t
he Arctic consists of the land and ocean that lies north of the
Arctic Circle. The Antarctic, which lies south of the Antarctic
Circle, is quite a different environment from the Arctic: Among
its other aspects, that region is colder and more remote. These differ-­
ences will be explored further in the following chapter. Ice in many
forms plays an important role in both of these regions.

the arctic ocean

The North Pole is found approximately at the center of the world’s small-­
est ocean, the Arctic Ocean. At 5,440,000 square miles (14,056,000
square kilometers), this body of water is one-­sixth the area of the sec-­
ond smallest ocean, the Indian, but is five times larger than the largest
sea, the Mediterranean. The Arctic is ringed by several shallow seas
along its margin and is dotted with many islands.
Sea ice covers most of the Arctic Ocean at least 10 months out
of the year. When this sea ice joins together it forms pack ice. Much
of the ocean is covered with permanent ice, which does not go away
13
14 polar regions

but whose thickness increases and

decreases with the seasons. Perma-­
nent ice can be up to 10 to 13 feet
(3 to 4 meters) thick, with ridges up to
66 feet (20 m) thick. Some sea ice is
seasonal, reaching its greatest extent
in March or April and shrinking to its
minimum extent in September. This
seasonal ice reaches only about 3 feet
(1 m) in thickness. Permanent sea ice
in the Arctic Ocean extends south to
The Arctic in May 2003, as seen on a surface
temperature map, MODIS Daily Snow Cover and
about 75°N latitude, while seasonal
Sea Ice Surface Temperature. The temperature ice reaches latitudes between 60° to
differences of ice allow the image to show sea 75°N. Sea ice rarely appears below
ice, ice sheets, glaciers, snow, and even buried
60°N, except in enclosed bays and
permafrost. (NASA / Goddard Space Flight
Center Scientific Visualization Studio) seas. ­Semipermanent open regions of
water can be found within the pack
ice. The Arctic Ocean is ­icelocked at
least from October to June, but some parts remain inaccessible to ship-­
ping throughout the year.
The sea ice that covers the Arctic Ocean insulates its water from
the atmosphere. With its high albedo, sea ice reflects incoming solar
radiation back into space, which keeps the environment from getting
warm. The ice cover also prevents the ocean water from losing its heat
to the atmosphere. The pack ice that covers the ocean reduces the
exchange of energy between the ocean and atmosphere by about 100
times. Pack ice also restricts the evaporation of surface water (the
change in state from a liquid to a gas). By blocking the wind from
reaching the ocean surface, the ice also prevents the mixing and dis-­
tribution of the ocean’s nutrients and gases that are essential to living
organisms. Pack ice also blocks light from the water, which prevents
photosynthesis by plants and algae. (Photosynthesis is the produc-­
tion of sugar [food energy] and oxygen [O2] from CO2 and water [H2O]
in the presence of sunlight. Algae are aquatic, photosynthetic organ-­
isms but are not plants, however.)
 The Nature of the Arctic and Antarctic 15

A map of the Arctic region including major landmasses, islands, the Arctic Ocean, bays
and seas, the magnetic and true north poles, and the apparent extent of permanent
sea ice.
16 polar regions

Because liquid water is much warmer than ice, the Arctic Ocean is
a tremendous heat source for the north polar region. Where the ocean
is covered by ice, its heat actually melts the ice from the bottom. If
the ice is thin, this heat may melt the ice away where the ice is thin,
causing a reduction in albedo. In ­ice-­free areas, the warm water heats
the surrounding air and moderates polar air temperatures. Because
oceans are important sources of moisture to the atmosphere, much of
the Arctic region’s precipitation falls near the Arctic Ocean. Precipita-­
tion is more likely to fall in the summer, when the weather is foggier,
damper, and, surprisingly, much stormier. Winter weather over the
Arctic Ocean is extremely cold and dry.
The Arctic Ocean is somewhat separated from the rest of the
oceans, primarily by the continental landmasses of North America,
Greenland, and Eurasia. Although Arctic Ocean waters are not freely
exchanged with waters of the Pacific and Atlantic to the south, the
Norwegian surface current and various ­ deep-­water currents flow in
from the Atlantic. The Greenland current provides the major seawater
outflow. Significantly less water flows through the Bering Strait from
the Pacific Ocean.
Water also flows into the Arctic Ocean in rivers that drain from the
surrounding landmasses. By far, the largest portion of the Arctic Ocean
is bordered by Russia, and most of Russia’s rivers and streams drain
from Siberia into the Arctic Ocean. The Siberian rivers drain an area
of 3 million square miles (8 million sq. km) that includes some major
industrial cities, which contributes to the ocean’s pollution problems.

The Greenland Ice Sheet

Another large portion of the Arctic is covered by the Greenland ice
sheet, one of the world’s two ice sheets. (The other is the much larger
Antarctic ice sheet.) An ice sheet is a type of enormous glacier (a
moving body of ice that persists over time) and is defined as covering
an area greater than 19,305 square miles (50,000 sq. km). Over 60%
of the planet’s freshwater is trapped in glaciers. Together, the Green-­
land and Antarctic ice sheets hold nearly 70% of this freshwater and
 The Nature of the Arctic and Antarctic 17

cover about 10% of the surface. Ice caps are similar to ice sheets but
are smaller. Both ice sheets and ice caps flow outward from an area
where snow accumulation is greatest. They cover large regions of rela-­
tively flat ground, burying the underlying terrain.
The Greenland ice sheet is twice the size of California: about 1,570
miles (2,500 km) long and 600 miles (970 km) wide at its widest, for
a total area of more than 650,000 square miles (1.7 million sq. km).
Its average thickness is 5,800 feet (1,760 m) but reaches 11,000 feet
(3,350 m) at its center. The Greenland ice sheet holds enough water to
fill the Gulf of Mexico. It is confined by coastal mountains on the east
and west. Like other ice sheets and ice caps, Greenland feeds smaller
glaciers around its margins. The lowest annual temperature on the
Greenland ice sheet reaches about -24°F (-31°C).
An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that flows from a
glacier onto the ocean surface. When these shelves flow into the rela-­
tively warm sea, they break into small blocks of ice known as icebergs.
Small ice caps and glaciers are found throughout the Arctic Ocean.

Arctic Permafrost
Much of the ground beneath the Arctic is perennially frozen. This
feature is known as permafrost and is defined as soil that remains
below 32°F (0°C) for at least two years. It is found beneath about ­one-
­quarter of the Northern Hemisphere’s land, including that covered by
glaciers. Permafrost is found beneath 85% of the ground in Alaska,
and beneath 55% of both Russia and Canada.
In permafrost regions, the surface layer thaws in the summer, allow-­
ing plants to grow, but refreezes each winter. This surface ­layer—­also
known as the active ­layer—­extends down to depths ranging from a few
inches (cm) to several yards (m). The active layer responds to changes
in the climate by expanding downward as surface air temperatures
rise. Permanently frozen ground begins at a depth of 2 to 12 feet (0.6
to 4 m). When permafrost forms, the highest level freezes first, and
then the freezing spreads downward. Usually water ice is present, but
even without water, the rock or soil may freeze anyway. Engineers
18 polar regions

encounter serious challenges when building on permafrost. Sometimes

a building’s heating system will cause the permafrost to melt, which
can undermine the structure’s foundation, for example.
Permafrost is continuous nearer the pole but becomes discontinu-­
ous at lower latitudes. It can be thin or extremely thick. For example, it
reaches a depth of 2,100 feet (650 m) at the high latitude of Prudhoe
Bay, Alaska. Scientists estimate that it took ­one-­half million years for
this deep permafrost to form. It reaches a depth of 4,510 feet (1,493 m)
in the northern Lena and Yana River basins in Siberia. Deeper perma-­
frost has not thawed since the last ice age, over 10,000 years ago. Por-­
tions of it even extend offshore beneath the Arctic Ocean, a phenomenon
that can be found nowhere else on Earth.

Antarctica
Antarctica is the world’s southernmost continent. It is also the small-­
est, after Australia and Europe. In addition to its size, Antarctica has
the distinction of being the coldest, driest place on Earth.
Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, which, at 7 mil-­
lion cubic miles (30 million cubic km), contains about 90% of the
world’s total ice. If this ice sheet were to melt, the seas would rise by
over 200 feet (60 m). This enormously thick ice sheet gives Antarctica
the highest average elevation of any continent: 7,544 feet (2,300 m)
above sea level. The average ice thickness is 6,500 feet (2,000 m).
The thickest layer is found at Wilkes Land, at 15,669 feet (4,776 m)
thick. Antarctic ice is so deep in places that scientists using advanced
geophysical equipment have discovered mountain ranges and other
geologic features buried beneath the ice sheet.
The 1,900 ­mile (3,000 km) long Transantarctic Mountains split the
Antarctic continent into eastern and western sides. East Antarctica,
the larger side, is dominated by a thick ice plateau that lies atop the
continental mainland. West Antarctica, the smaller side, is a chain of
mountainous islands and intervening water covered by ice. A portion of
West Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula, extends far outward toward
South America and is a collection of islands, mountain ranges, and
 The Nature of the Arctic and Antarctic 19

A map of the Antarctic showing the major regions of the continent, including the Antarctic
Peninsula; the Southern Ocean; the seas; ice shelves; islands; and the southern tips of
South America, New Zealand, and Australia.
20 polar regions

Icebergs grounded on Pennel Bank, Ross Sea, Antarctica. (Michael Van Woert / NOAA
NESDIS, ORA)

glaciers. The continent has two deep seas that form embayments called
the Ross and the Weddell. All around the continent, glaciers flow into
the sea and calve to form icebergs, which sometimes ram up against
ice shelves, as seen in the photo on page 20. These ice shelves float
out above the Ross and Weddell seas.
Antarctica is much colder than the Arctic, with an average annual
temperature of -58°F (-50°C). The average winter temperature of the
frigid continental interior ranges from -40° to -94°F (-40° to -90°C)
and reaches an average of around 32°F (0°C) during the summer.
Antarctica holds the record for the coldest temperature ever, recorded
in 1983 at Vostok Station in East Antarctica: -129°F (-89.6°C). Ant-­
arctic temperatures are lower than Arctic temperatures because of the
continent’s greater elevation: The air above it is cooler, just as it would
 The Nature of the Arctic and Antarctic 21

be over high mountain ranges such as the Rockies. Also, while the
Arctic is warmed by the Arctic Ocean, the Antarctic is receives no
warmth from its land mass. Furthermore, the sea ice that surrounds
Antarctica in winter blocks much of the heat from the nearby South-­
ern Ocean. Still, the ocean’s heat does manage to warm the coastal
regions somewhat, so that area is warm and wet when compared to the
interior. Winter coastal temperatures range from -4° to -22°F (-20° to
-30°C), with summer temperatures that reach as high as 40°F (9°C).
The warmest part of Antarctica is the peninsula, which has average
summer temperatures at around 35°F (2°C).
The air above Antarctica is so cold that it can hold little moisture,
which is why the continent receives very little precipitation. In fact,
Antarctica is the world’s largest desert. Only about 2 inches (50 mil-­
limeters) of precipitation falls a year on the coldest part of the plateau,
nearly all of it as snow. Near the coast, where the air is wetter, about
20 to 40 inches (50 to more than 100 cm) of precipitation falls each
year. The amount of snowfall, averaged over the entire continent, totals
about 6.5 inches (17 mm) per year. Permafrost lies beneath the entire
continental surface.

The Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean around Antarctica was recognized as the world’s
fifth ocean in 2000. Smaller than the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian,
but slightly larger than the Arctic, it is slightly less than 1.5 times the
area of the United States. The Southern Ocean incorporates water from
the southern reaches of the three largest oceans and is defined by the
Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current has 100 times the flow volume
of all the world’s rivers combined. Its swift current effectively separates
Antarctica from the rest of the world’s surface oceans and is generated
by westerly winds that travel unimpeded around the continent. With
no land to slow them down, these winds, on average, are the strongest
on Earth. The combination of the extreme winds and the large, swift
22 polar regions

ocean current have created intensely stormy seas in the Southern

Ocean that have protected Antarctica from human development for
much of its history.
The Southern Ocean is covered with so much sea ice in winter
that it more than doubles the size of the Antarctic continent. Much
of this sea ice, however, melts each Antarctic summer. By March, the
ice pack is around 1 million square miles (2.6 million sq. km), but
by September, the end of the Antarctic winter, it is about seven times
larger, spreading to 7.2 million square miles (18.8 million sq. km).
Sea temperatures vary from about 28° to 50°F (-2 to 10°C), with some
surface areas measuring well below freezing. Icebergs detaching from
the Antarctic ice sheet float throughout these seas, making travel even
more dangerous.

Wrap-­up
The Arctic and Antarctic are different from the rest of the ­world—­they
are extremely cold and shrouded in ice, have day lengths up to six
months long, and are relatively isolated. These two regions are also
very different from each other. The Arctic is primarily an ocean sur-­
rounded by land. This ocean receives water from the Atlantic and, to
a much lesser extent, from the Pacific to the south and from the rivers
that run off of the surrounding landmasses. The Antarctic, on the other
hand, is a continent surrounded by water. The Southern Ocean, which
is defined by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, isolates the continent
from the rest of the world. The Antarctic is not only more remote, it is
colder and much less hospitable than the Arctic.
 3
Life on Land
in the Polar Regions

e
arth’s plants, animals, and other life forms live together in
ecosystems—­all the organisms that live in an area along
with the water, land, and atmosphere they need to sustain
them. Ecosystems exist on many scales: They can be as small as a
flea’s intestines or as large as a river, including all its tributaries
and all of the land that drains into it. The entire Earth is also an
ecosystem. Ecosystems, therefore, can be nested inside each other.
The total number of species found in an ecosystem indicates its
level of biodiversity. (A species is a classification of organisms
that includes those that can or do interbreed and produce fer-­
tile offspring.)
On land, when ecosystems that have similar climate and organ-­
isms are taken together, they make up a biome. Polar ecosystems
have very low biodiversity in comparison with more temperate eco-­
systems such as tropical rain forests or coral reefs. Nonetheless,
many unique and interesting creatures make the polar ecosystems
their home.

23
24 polar regions

Food Chains and Food Webs

In every ecosystem, food energy passes from one level to another. Each
level is called a trophic level, and organisms at one trophic level pass
energy to organisms at the next trophic level. This passing of energy is
described as the food chain.
At the base of every food ­chain—­the first trophic ­level—­live the
primary producers. Most of them are photosynthetic plants and
algae. Nearly all primary producers use photosynthesis to create food
energy. The second trophic level consists of primary consumers, or
herbivores, which are ­plant-­ or ­algae-eating animals. The third tro-­
phic level consists of the ­first-­level carnivores, which are the animals
that eat the herbivores. Animals that hunt other animals are known as
predators. The animals they hunt are their prey. At the end of all
food chains, usually at the third, fourth, or, more rarely, the fifth or
sixth trophic levels, are the top carnivores: those animals that eat one
or more of the organisms in underlying trophic levels but who are not
themselves food for predators. Scavengers consume plant or animal
tissue that is already dead.
The food chain implies that all organisms eat from only one trophic
level, but many organisms, including humans, eat from multiple trophic
levels. Therefore, the interactions between organisms are better described
as a food web. Food webs can be simple, with only a few species, or they
can be extremely complicated, with thousands of species involved.
Food chains are ordinarily short because most food energy is not
passed along to the next trophic level but is used by an organism for its
own life processes, such as reproduction. It is likely that less than 10%
of the total food energy that is consumed is ever passed from one tro-­
phic level to the next. The higher an organism lives on the food chain,
the more prey it needs to meet its energy requirements. In addition, the
more difficult it is for an organism to capture enough prey, the smaller
the population of hunters will be. Top carnivores, therefore, are fairly
rare and must cover a wide area to meet their nutritional needs. Marine
food chains have more trophic levels than terrestrial ones because of
the abundance of organisms in the sea. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus),
carnivorous whales, and humans (Homo sapiens) that are at the top of
the marine food web may live at the fifth or sixth trophic level.
 Life on Land in the Polar Regions 25

Primary producers such as phytoplankton and zooplankton support the Arctic food web. These
organisms are followed by small fish and invertebrates, larger fish, seabirds, seals, land
mammals such as foxes, and finally polar bears and Inuit (not shown) at the highest trophic
level. There are five or six trophic levels represented here, more than nearly all other food webs.
26 polar regions

Although energy can only travel up a food chain, nutrients and

water are recycled between different trophic levels. Decomposers
such as bacteria and fungi break down organic matter (dead plant
and animal tissue and waste products) into nutrients, which can be
used by plants to make food. Without decomposers, each food chain
would move in only one direction: Nutrients would not be recycled
back into the system, and life on Earth would have ended soon after
it began.
A change in one species in a food web will affect the other species in
that web. For example, if a species at the third trophic level decreases
in population or dies out, other species at that trophic level will have
more predators chasing them, but they also will have more prey of
their own to eat. How this plays ­out—­whether the population of other
species in the food web increases or ­decreases—­depends on many fac-­
tors. The food web will not collapse from the loss of one species unless
that organism is a keystone species, named for the top center block
in a stone arch that holds the other blocks in place (if the keystone is
removed, the arch will fall). A top carnivore often acts as a keystone
species, but keystone species also can include predators that keep prey
animal populations from growing too high, large herbivores that keep
plant life in balance, or organisms low in the food web that support the
rest of the web.

Polar Ecosystems
In the extremely harsh conditions of the polar regions, polar organisms
have developed adaptations that allow them to remain active during
the months of darkness and extreme cold, or they have evolved to avoid
these conditions by hibernating or migrating to warmer climates. (An
adaptation is a structural or behavioral modification that is passed
from generation to generation.)
Due to the harsh conditions, polar ecosystems are relatively simple,
with low primary productivity and low species diversity. Simple eco-­
systems tend to be less stable than more complex ecosystems: Each
species is more important to the food web because of the relative few
 life on land in the polar regions 2

species that make up the food web overall. For example, when condi-­
tions are good for small mammals, the population of lemmings, an Arc-­
tic prey species, explodes. This results in a rapid increase in predator
species such as snowy owls and Arctic foxes. When conditions decline

Adaptation and Evolution

evolution is responsible for the incredible Many young organisms will be eaten by
diversity of life found on Earth. Evolution predators or will die in a harsh environ-­
means change over time, so the theory ment before they reach reproductive age.
of evolution describes how creatures Because of this, each generation produces
changed over time to become successful more offspring than are needed to replace
in the extraordinary number of habitats the parents. The traits of these young
available to them. (A habitat is the place in organisms are different: Some are faster,
which an organism lives, as defined by its or have more camouflaged coloring, or
climate, resource availability, and preda-­ have longer necks or tongues. Because of
tors, to name just a few factors.) Habitats this (and a bit of chance), some offspring
are as different from each other as Arctic have an edge in competing for resources
tundra, the Kalahari desert, a tropical rain and avoiding predators. These young are
forest, and deep sea trenches. Each habi-­ more likely to survive to reproduce and
tat is full of organisms that are uniquely pass on their favorable traits to their off-­
suited for those conditions. If the envi-­ spring. The organisms that are less fit for
ronment changes, a species must adapt their environment are likely not to survive
to the new conditions: In other words, it to reproduce. Over time, the favorable
must evolve. As Charles Darwin, origina-­ traits are selected for and the unfavorable
tor of the theory of evolution, said, “It traits die out.
is not the strongest of the species that Entirely new traits are introduced into
survives, nor the most intelligent that sur-­ a species’ genes—the unit of inheritance
vives. It is the one that is the most adapt-­ that may be passed on to the next genera-­
able to change.” tion and that determines a particular trait—
natural selection is the mechanism for by mutation. Mutations are random, and
evolution laid out by Darwin. The natural-­ most are neutral or harmful. Occasionally,
ist recognized that the world is a danger-­ one is beneficial and helps a species adapt
ous place: Organisms must compete for to its environment. If enough changes take
food, shelter, living space, and mates. place over time, a new species will arise.
28 polar regions

for small mammals, there are few lemmings and fewer predators. By
contrast, a change in the population of a single species in a tropical
rain forest does not have such great effects.

Arctic Terrestrial Life

The tundra biome refers to land where the ground is frozen much of
the year instead of being permanently covered by ice. It is estimated
that 1,700 species of plants and 48 species of land mammals live in
this biome. When compared with an estimated 5 to 50 million species
of organisms in tropical rain forests, tundra biodiversity is very low.
Winters in the tundra biome are frigid: Temperatures average -18°F
(-28°C) but dip as low as -94°F (-70°C). Summer temperatures aver-­
age 35° to 41°F (2° to 5°C) and must rise above freezing for at least
one month for tundra plant to grow. The environment is very dry: About
6 to 10 inches (50 to 250 mm) of precipitation falls each year, mostly
as snow. Winds are high, reaching speeds of 30 to 60 miles per hour
(48 to 97 km/h).
These severe conditions determine the types of plants that can live
in the tundra biome. Tundra plants grow small and close to the ground
where the air is somewhat warmer and calmer. These plants must be
adapted for dark, cold winters. Most of them lie dormant during the long
sunless months when they cannot photosynthesize. During the linger-­
ing summer days, plants grow rapidly, and the tundra biome flourishes.
When the thin active zone thaws, the water trapped above the main
permafrost layer makes the ground very wet, creating marshes, lakes,
bogs, and streams. Insects time their life cycles for the spring bloom,
and in summer, the air is alive with buzzing mosquitoes and other
winged insects. Birds and large mammals emerge from hibernation or
migrate back to the region from their warmer winter habitat. However,
the growing season is typically only 50 to 60 days long, so despite the
seasonal abundance, annual productivity is low.
Conditions vary from the North Pole southward through the Arctic,
and the numbers and diversity of plants vary, too. The higher latitude
Arctic has shorter, cooler, and drier summers, and biodiversity is lower.
 Life on Land in the Polar Regions 29

Like deciduous trees, tundra brush turns colors in autumn. (Graphicjackson /

Dreamstime.com)
30 polar regions

This region is sparsely vegetated with grasses, dryas (small ­herbaceous

plants), sedges, and dwarf shrubs. Mosses (small, soft plants that live
in clumps) and ­ sedge-­moss meadows are common in poorly drained
regions. Conditions in the high latitude Arctic mountain highlands are
so extreme that the vegetation is mostly found growing in cracks in the
frost. Some flowers, such as the Arctic poppy (Papaver nudicaule), are
solartropic: They track the Sun’s movements across the sky so they can
absorb the maximum amount of heat and light.
Conditions in the low Arctic are less severe, and most land surfaces
are vegetated. The lower latitudes of the Arctic support about twice as
many species of vascular plants as the high Arctic. (Vascular plants
have roots, stems, and leaves for transporting water and food, and a
cuticle that helps them resist desiccation.) The tundra has tall shrubs,
such as willow (Salix sp.), birch (Betula sp.), and alder (Alnus sp.),
and many low plants such as blueberry and cranberry (Vaccinium sp.)
and Arctic heather (Cassiope sp.). Dryas and saxifraga are found in the
low Arctic mountain highlands, where lichens (a fungus coupled with
an algae) and mosses are also common.
No amphibians or reptiles are found in the Arctic or Antarctic due
to the harsh conditions. The diversity of Arctic mammals and birds
increases from north to south as the climate warms and the hours of
daylight increase. The highest Arctic latitudes, above 80°N, have only
a few mammal species. These animals are adapted to the most extreme
conditions and include herbivores such as the musk ox (Ovibos mos-
chatus), Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus, subspecies pearyi), Arctic
hare (Lepus arcticus), and collard lemming (Dicrostonyx sp.). Their
predators include the wolf (Canis lupus), Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus),
wolverine (Gulo gulo), and ermine (Mustela erminea). Conditions are
so extreme here that when the weather becomes too harsh for too long,
a population of animals such as musk ox may become locally extinct
(meaning that no member of the species survives to reproduce) and
will replenish only after conditions have improved to a state where
others of their species can migrate in from elsewhere.
Further south, mammals can be found that also live only in the
polar environment, including herbivores such as caribou (reindeer)
and lemmings. There are also mammals that are common in more
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ANDICOOT

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287 saddle weather

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46 kill Company

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109

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XII

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