Arctic desert - climatic conditions, flora and fauna. Ice desert A zone of arctic or icy deserts

Located on the northernmost outskirts of Asia and North America, including all islands in the Arctic Basin that fall within the polar geographic zone. The climate is arctic, with a long and harsh winter summer is short and cold. Seasons don't exist. During the polar night - winter, and during the polar day - summer. Average temperatures are -10 to -35°, dropping to -50°. In summer - from 0° to + 5°. There is little precipitation (200-300 mm per year).

Vegetation is sparse, so animal world Arctic deserts are relatively poor: these are the Arctic wolf, seal, walrus, seal, lemming, musk ox (musk ox), arctic fox, polar bear, reindeer and etc.; birds - guillemots, puffins, eiders, pink gulls, snowy owls, etc. Cetaceans are a separate group, for which the conditions of the Arctic do not create any problems.

The most numerous inhabitants of the harsh northern region are birds.

The pink gull is a fragile creature, with a weight of 250 grams and a body length of 35 cm, feels quite confident and freely spends harsh winters in the tundra, or above the sea surface, which is covered with drifting ice floes. Often joins the meals of larger predators.

Guillemot is a black and white bird that nests on high sheer cliffs and spends the winter in the ice without experiencing much discomfort.

The common eider is a northern duck that can easily dive in icy water to depths of up to 20 meters.

The most ferocious and largest among birds is the polar owl. A ruthless predator with beautiful yellow eyes, snow-white plumage preys on other birds, rodents, and sometimes on cubs of larger animals, such as arctic foxes.

Typical animals of the arctic deserts:

cetaceans

The narwhal is interesting for its long horn protruding from its mouth, which is an ordinary tooth, only with a length of 3 meters and a weight of 10 kg. Photo: One for all and all for one 🙂

The bowhead whale is a relative of the narwhal. But he is many times larger than him, and instead of a strange tooth, there is a whalebone in his mouth with a huge tongue, which is convenient for licking stuck plankton.

The polar dolphin or beluga whale is a large animal weighing up to 2 tons, with a length of up to 6 meters, feeding on fish.

Kasatka occupies the first place among the largest and strongest marine predators Arctic waters, where she preys on beluga whales, walruses, seals and seals.

Beasts

Seals are animals that make up a special Arctic cohort that has been living in this region for thousands of years.

This species includes the harp seal with a very beautiful patterned skin.

Plan

1. Location
2. Natural conditions
3. Plant world
4. Birds
5. Animal world
6. Power circuits
7. Population
8. Environmental issues

Zone Arctic deserts on the map highlighted in gray-blue
1. Location of the Arctic desert zone:

Geographical position: Arctic Ocean, northern seas and islands. The seas of the Arctic Ocean are very cold. All year round they are almost completely covered with ice, floating ice floes.
Islands: Franz Josef Land, New Earth, Severnaya Zemlya, New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island.
Seas: Barents Sea, White Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea

Rivers carrying water to the seas of the Arctic Ocean: Pechora, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Indigirka, Kolyma.

2. Natural conditions

Sun in the Arctic never rises high above the horizon. Its rays skim over the surface of the earth, giving it very little heat. That's why here realm of ice and snow . Long frosty winter 10-11 months, short cool summer. The surface of the ocean is covered with ice 3-5 meters thick or more. Blizzards rage over the ocean, frosts rage. Cold air this zone is able to spread far to the south. The icy breath of the Arctic is felt throughout Russia. Therefore, the ice zone is often called the “refrigerator” of our country. In winter it's as cold as a freezer. The air temperature drops to -40-50 degrees below zero. In summer, in the ice zone, the temperature rises to +4 degrees above zero. This is also the temperature in the refrigerator, but in the fruit compartment.

Sometimes there is an amazing beauty of the polar lights. The whole sky is sparkling. And the reflection of light everywhere plays on the ice. Masses of light are divided into brilliant multi-colored bands and intertwined in the most bizarre way, sparkling with unusually pure and bright colors of the rainbow.

3. Plant world

To the harsh conditions of the Arctic deserts few species of living organisms have adapted . Lichens are found on the stones of the islands, they are very small .. Mosses and polar poppies have also adapted to life on the stones. In the water column, not covered with ice, a large number of plankton and algae, which enrich the water with oxygen and purify it from bacteria. They grow rapidly in the water during the Arctic summer and serve as food for millions of animals, which in turn feed on fish, squid and even giant whales.

4. Birds

Of the animals in these parts most of the birds . In the summer on rocky shores gulls, guillemots, auks gather. noisy clusters sea birds on steep rocky shores are called "bird colonies". Living in such a cluster, on inaccessible rocks, has its advantages: the birds are well protected from many predators. Here the birds hatch their chicks. Interestingly, guillemots do not build nests, but lay their eggs on bare rock ledges. Why don't eggs roll off rocks? Because they are pear shaped. But in the bird market, guillemots, puffins and kittiwakes have enemies. Large gulls nest near the bazaar - glaucous gulls, long-tailed skuas. These birds have learned to use other people's labor. A skua will take a fish from any bird. He chases and pounces until the bird leaves the fish - and he will pick it up on the fly! For this, the Skua was nicknamed Fomka the Robber.

5. Animal world

Except warm-blooded birds in the ice zone large mammals live .

Feels great here polar bear . White wool helps him to disguise himself and quietly sneak up on the future victim. Thick long hair is lubricated with a fatty substance secreted by the skin glands; it does not get wet in water, and does not freeze in frost. polar bears travel on arctic ice, but they are also excellent swimmers. Polar bears hunt seals near ice holes, waiting for them to emerge for a breath of air. A thick layer of fat, evenly located under the skin, protects against cold weather. In the most severe frosts, polar bears bask in water, the temperature of which is + 2 ° C. When winter comes, bears dig a den in the snow, where they hide from adverse weather conditions(females).

Wandering in search of food wolves, foxes. The arctic fox is also called the polar fox. In winter, its fur becomes white and extremely thick. White color allows the arctic fox to camouflage itself in the snow and hunt with greater ease. It is omnivorous and feeds on birds, crabs or fruits.

Seals and walruses most They spend their lives in the water, and come to land for childbearing and molting. On hard ground, they are clumsy due to their sheet-like limbs. Walruses are larger than seals, walruses have tusks. The walrus uses bottom mollusks for food, the seal eats fish. A walrus can rest right in the water, while a seal needs to climb out onto ice floes to rest, where a polar bear can lie in wait for it.

The numerous aquatic animals that live in the ice zone include fish feeding on small crustaceans and algae. I live in the seas of the Arctic zone narwhal, bowhead whale, polar dolphin or beluga whale, killer whale .

6. Food chains that have developed in the Arctic.

1. Algae——> crustaceans——> fish——> birds

2. Algae crustaceans fish birds

seals

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White bears

7. Population

Here liveEskimos, Chukchi, Yakuts . A person is not a native inhabitant of the Arctic, but it has always attracted with its mysteriousness. The Northern Sea Route was laid. Scientific stations operate on the islands and in the ice of the Arctic Ocean. Brave explorers live and work here. They monitor the weather around the clock, day after day, and report it on the radio to big land. People are engaged in fishing and hunting. But this is not always done intelligently.

8. Environmental issues

Main environmental issues this region are

– climate change and melting arctic ice;
– water pollution northern seas drains of oil and chemical compounds, as well as by sea transport;
— Decrease in the population of arctic animals and change in their habitat.

In general, studies show that temperatures in the Arctic are rising faster than in the rest of the world. According to 2004 data, over the past 30 years, the thickness of the Arctic ice has decreased by half on average. In the 21st century, most of the Arctic waters will be completely ice-free. And by 2070, the Earth may completely lose the northern ice cap

The main sources of pollution are the mining industry and transport, military installations, and the processing industry. Another important problem is the decline in the population of Arctic animals. Every year in early March, seal pups are born. At the age of 3-4 weeks, when small seals cannot hide from danger even in the water, people catch them on the ice by the thousands and kill them for their skins. The main enemy of the fox is man. The arctic fox attracts him with its luxurious fur. Thousands and thousands of these animals are destroyed for the sake of luxurious fur coats. The walrus, the pink gull have become rare, they are listed in the Red Book of Russia.

The boom in commercial fishing and the growing exploitation of oil and gas fields since the second half of the 20th century are seriously threatening resources once considered inexhaustible. People thought about their behavior, took rare animals under protection, limited fishing, created nature reserves.

9. Reserve "Wrangel Island"

Reserve "Wrangel Island" located on two islands: about. Wrangel and about. Herald, it was organized in 1976. Through the whole island from west to east there are three chains of mountains, separated by valleys. She-bears come to Wrangel Island from different parts of the Arctic. Every spring, scientists count up to two hundred lairs on the island in which babies are born. Therefore, the island is called the "maternity hospital" of polar bears. The island is inhabited by the largest of the ungulates of the Arctic - the musk ox, brought to the reserve from America. The reserve has the largest concentration of walruses. A large number of birds come to the island for nesting. In the spring you can meet rare bird- a pink seagull, it is called the firebird of the north. Wrangel Island is the only place where white geese nest.

According to experts from the Wrangel Island Reserve, poachers kill 200-300 polar bears in the Russian Arctic every year.

You may be interested

), the predominant landscape of the northernmost (Arctic) natural land area. Characteristic in the main. for coastal areas. Snow and ice cover these areas all year round. The areas of glaciers are very large - up to several tens of thousands of square kilometers. Sometimes they cover more than 80% of the North Islands. the Arctic Ocean (for example, on Franz Josef Land). In some places they descend to the ocean, and huge fragments break off from them - icebergs. The climate is harsh and cold. A long severe winter gives way to a short (sometimes less than 2 weeks) cold summer. Wed the temperature of the coldest month is from -12 ° C in Svalbard to -38 ° C in S. Greenland; the very warm month 5°C. Precipitation will fall approx. 300 mm per year, mainly in the form of snow strong winds blown off into depressions of the relief, exposing lifeless rocks. Life in the icy deserts is practically non-existent. Occasionally, in the summer, multi-colored colonies of microscopic algae develop on the melting snow.

Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Under the editorship of prof. A. P. Gorkina. 2006 .

See what "ice desert" is in other dictionaries:

Exist., f., use. often Morphology: (no) what? desert, why? desert, (see) what? desert than? desert, what? about the desert; pl. What? desert, (no) what? desert, why? deserts, (see) what? desert than? deserts, about what? about deserts 1. Deserts ... Dictionary Dmitrieva

desert- I pu / cold and; and.; see deserts II are empty / nya and; pl. genus. you/n; and. see also desert 1) a) A vast arid area with low rainfall, sharp fluctuations in air and soil and sparse vegetation ... Dictionary of many expressions

DESERT, and, wives. 1. A large, uninhabited space, devoid of vegetation or with sparse vegetation. Anhydrous settlement. Icy, snowy settlement (translated: about large expanses of ice, snow). 2. Deserted or sparsely populated area ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

AND; pl. genus. tyn; and. 1. A vast arid area with little rainfall, extreme fluctuations in air and soil, and sparse vegetation. Boundless, sultry, red-hot, scorched settlement of Solonchakovaya settlement of P. Sahara. P. Karakum. Deserts... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (polar desert, icy desert), a kind of desert (see DESERT) with extremely sparse sparse vegetation among the snows and glaciers of the Arctic and Antarctic belts Earth. Distributed in most of Greenland (see GREENLAND) ... encyclopedic Dictionary

The same as the icy desert. Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. Moscow: Rosman. Under the editorship of prof. A.P. Gorkina. 2006 ... Geographic Encyclopedia

Labeled in gray The Arctic Desert (“Arktos” in Greek is bear) is a natural zone, part of the Arctic geographical zone, the Arctic Ocean basin. This is ... Wikipedia

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General characteristics of the Arctic desert

Remark 1

There are special territories on our planet - these are the northernmost outskirts of two continents, North America and Eurasia, as well as the island part of the Arctic, enclosed by the boundaries of the polar belt. Ice and snow cover huge areas here, and day and night last for half a year - this is the zone of the Arctic deserts.

The Arctic deserts of Russia are among the most unexplored natural areas. Their lower boundary is 71 parallels or Wrangel Island. The upper limit is 81 parallels or Franz Josef Land.

The Arctic deserts also include part of the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya, a number of Novaya Zemlya islands, and the New Siberian Islands.

Of the territories of other countries, this will be the island of Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the island of Svalbard, which belongs to the Netherlands.

The severity of nature is explained by the high geographical latitude, and the feature of the landscapes of the zone is snow and ice cover throughout the year.

The relief of the Arctic islands is quite complex - coastal areas, with flat low plains located on them, have a pronounced zonal landscape. In the interior of the islands there are high mountains and mesas. So, for example, on Franz Josef Land, the highest point has a height of 670 m, and on Severnaya Zemlya- about 1000 m.

The New Siberian Islands are dominated by flat landforms.

Up to 85% of the Arctic deserts are occupied by glaciers. The islands of the Russian Arctic have a total glaciation area of up to 56 thousand square meters. km. Continental ice tends to slide onto the coast and break off, forming giant icebergs. The thickness of the permafrost exceeds 500 m. There are fossil ices of glacier and vein origin.

The islands and archipelagos washed by the seas of the Arctic Ocean cover special ice– perennial arctic pack and fast ice.

Low annual temperatures lead to intense frost weathering, which in turn slows down intense chemical and natural weathering. This circumstance leads to the fact that the soils and soils of the Arctic desert are represented by large fragments of rocks.

Close proximity to the surface permafrost and frequent fluctuations in air temperature lead to the fact that the soil oversaturated with water flows down the frozen surface of the ice-cemented base (solifluction) and soil heaving.

Such soils, prone to the formation of ravines and erosion, are called polygonal. When permafrost thaws, lakes, dips, and depressions are formed, which are characteristic of thermokarst landscapes. Most often they are found on the New Siberian Islands.

Erosive erosion and thermokarst contribute to the appearance of conical earthen mounds - baidzharakhs, the height of which can reach 2-12 m.

There are rocky outcrops from the earth within this zone - these are dikes or fissures filled with magmatic melt. Their length varies from several tens of meters to hundreds of kilometers.

The presence of nodules is another feature of the Arctic desert. Concretions are circular mineral formations in sedimentary rocks. The growth of the concretion occurs according to the principle of pearl formation, i.e. around some core.

Characteristic of the Arctic deserts is the northern lights, shimmering in different colors.

There are no indigenous people in the Arctic and there are very few representatives of flora and fauna.

The climate of the arctic deserts

The climate of the Arctic deserts is distinguished by its severity, it is a zone of eternal snow and ice.

The climate of the continental part of the Arctic desert differs from the climate of the island part and the climate of the ocean. The reason is the heat transfer of the water masses of the ocean.

Water, during freezing, releases thermal energy, so the temperature in winter on the extreme coast and on the islands is about 30 degrees. The continental part of the zone has a temperature of -32 ... -36 degrees. In winter, it can reach -60 degrees. Arctic cold winds are not uncommon here.

Summer is short and cold, with temperatures not higher than 0…+5 degrees. This temperature is typical only for low-lying areas. At low temperatures, the air contains a small amount of water vapor, so there is little precipitation - up to 300 mm.

But, it must be said that their number increases to 500-600 mm on the northern island of Novaya Zemlya, in the Byrranga mountains and on Chukchi highlands. Precipitation falls in the form of snow, and the snow cover has a small thickness, mostly no more than 0.5 m.

The fallen snow can remain unchanged for several years. When cold summer period snow melting does not occur.

In addition to snow, rains fall in summer, and as moisture evaporates over the warmer ocean, dense fogs form. On Wrangel Island, and this is the southern island of the Arctic desert, winter comes immediately after a short Arctic summer, autumn does not happen here.

Formation arctic climate associated not only with high latitudes and low temperatures, but also with thermal reflection in the daytime. This phenomenon is called albedo. Reflection from the surface of ice and snow occurs all year round.

When the summer temperature is above zero, the effect of thermal reflection leads to the evaporation of moisture from the surface of the glaciers, and this, in turn, leads to the fact that the sky is constantly covered with lead clouds.

Permafrost plays an important role in the climate of the Arctic deserts.

Remark 2

Thus, the Arctic deserts are patches of rocky land, which are very short period released from under the snow. This is a territory of severe and long winters with a long polar night in winter, and the same long cold polar day.

Flora and fauna of the Arctic deserts

The harsh climate with low temperatures cannot create conditions for the flora of the zone, so it is not rich.

There are no more than 350 species of higher plants. There are no shrubs here, but only scattered places, moss and lichens. There are some types of flowers - polar poppy, foxtail, buttercup, saxifrage, etc.

Herbaceous vegetation includes sedge and grasses. Vegetation is forced to simply "bite" into everything, just to cling to something.

In the southern part of the zone one can meet polar willow shrubs. The productive production of phytomass, with a predominance of the above-ground part, is very low and amounts to less than 5 t/ha.

Peculiarity arctic flora affects the scarcity of terrestrial fauna, which is not very diverse.

Animals have adapted to the harsh conditions of their habitat. Arctic fox, polar bear, lemming live here.

The birds that come here from year to year are not afraid of the harsh climate - waders, geese, eiders, guillemots, gulls, etc.

Mammals “settled” in the coastal seas – beluga whale, seal, ringed seal, sea seal, walrus. In the cold seas, there is an abundance of phytoplankton, and this is food for such fish as nelma, cod, polar cod, and vendace.

The polar bear, the main symbol of the Arctic, leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle.

The main task of animals, with which they do an excellent job, is to adapt to the harsh climate and maintain a thermal regime. For this, for example, arctic foxes and polar bears have warm and thick fur, birds have loose plumage, and seals have a solid fat layer.

The characteristic color that they, depending on the season, can change also helps to adapt. But, polar bears do not have such a feature, and they remain white all year round.

natural area The Arctic deserts are the very top of our planet. Its lower border is located approximately at 71 parallels, so where is Wrangel Island. It covers all the islands of the Arctic Ocean and a few continents: Eurasia and North America.

Description Plan of the Natural Zone

In terms of describing any Natural Area, the following items are mandatory:

location geography;
climate;
vegetable world;
animal world.

Geographical position

Among all the natural zones of Russia, the Arctic desert zone is the most unexplored. Its lower borders are Wrangel Island (71 parallels) and the upper one is the island of the Franz Josef Land archipelago (81 parallels).

This area includes:

part of the Taimyr Peninsula;
land of Franz Josef;
northern land;
some islands of Novaya Zemlya;
Novosibirsk Islands;
Wrangel Island.

In addition, the territories of other countries belong to the Arctic desert zone:

the island of Greenland (Denmark);
archipelagos of Canada;
island of Svalbard (Netherlands).

Rice. 1. Arctic desert

Climate characteristic

Almost the whole year in these latitudes is winter. Temperatures in Celsius are very low. On average -30° in January with drops to -50° and -60°. In July, maximum warming is possible up to +5° - 10°. On average, in July it stays +3°.

Flora and fauna

The area where it is located arctic desert, covered eternal ice and snows. Only on those short warm days is it possible to see oases of green vegetation. In addition to mosses and lichens, on stony soil there are: polar poppy, grains, chickweed, bluegrass, buttercup, saxifrage. Sedge and grasses grow in swampy mud.

The meager flora does not give animals a chance to survive. From the earth they resort here: polar wolf, arctic fox, lemming. Seals and walruses live near the ocean. But the biggest pride is polar bears. Their lifestyle allows them to spend most of their time on land, but they prefer to hunt and breed in water, while diving quite deep.

Rice. 3. A family of polar bears

There is a nature reserve on Wrangel Island, in which about 400 families of polar bears now live. Each of them has its own lair.

What have we learned?

Arctic deserts are very harsh land, stretching in the very north of our planet. There is practically no vegetation and a very poor fauna, but at the same time, those daredevils who were able to get here will be awarded an amazingly beautiful phenomenon - the northern lights.