ALWAYS COLD

ISSUE NO. 1

TUNDRA
YARMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL, MS. WOOTEN, DECEMBER 2009

Climatic and Vegetative

Characteristics
The tundra is a vast and treeless land that
covers 20% of the earth’s surface. The
tundra circles around the North Pole.
The tundra is the world's coldest and
driest biome. Average annual
temperatures is -70°F (-56°C). The
tundra’s ground is covered by a layer of
permafrost which is about 10 inches to 3
feet deep. In the summer the permafrost
starts to melt and that can be very bad.
The wind gets as fast as 30 to 60 mph.
During the winter some nights can last
for weeks because the sun never rises,
but during the summer it shines almost
24 hours a day.

The vegetation of the tundra is low

growing plants like moss lichen and
heaths. During the summer the top level
of the snow gets soggy, and then the area
is covered by lakes, bogs and streams.
As a result of this, thousands of insects
emerge and attract migrating birds. Since
there is little vegetation, the animals that
live there have to conserve on what they
eat.
Dangers to the Tundra
The tundra is threatened by many into the atmosphere. This will
things, but the biggest threat is cause the heat from the sun to be
global warming. The reason global trapped in atmosphere and make
warming is such a big problem is things melt. Another reason this is
because it melts the layer of bad is the stuff that take in carbon
permafrost. If the permafrost dioxide to change or die because
melts, the carbon dioxide which is of the massive amount of carbon
stored in the soil will be released dioxide in the air.

Plants of the Tundra

Animals of the Tundra
Animals like the Arctic fox,
caribou, ermine, and polar bears
are the kinds of animals that have
adapted to the coldness and the
wind over many years. These
animals also need to feed on the
types of vegetation that grow in
Future outlook for the next 20
years for the Biome
Plants like Arctic moss, Arctic
willow, bearberry, caribou moss,
Ifthe tundra keeps melting, the ocean
diamond-leaf willow, and others
level will rise to a threatening level.
are the ones that can survive the
By the year of 2030, the sea level will
harsh condition of the tundra. The
rise 18 cm and by 2070 the water will
only types of plants that can
rise 44 cm. With the rising
survive in this weather have to be
temperature it, will kill moss and
low growing.
lichen across 40% of the tundra.

Significant environmental
problems and the causes of
those problems
•••
The melting of the permafrost could
cause high winds, storm surges, sea
ice compaction, flooding, and
shoreline erosions. If it is warm
enough, the ice from the coastline
will melt and fall in the water
causing two different things. One is
that the sea level will rise and cause
threats to other places. The second
thing is the loss of ice.
Tundra
Most significant impacts to the
Political and/or social sides
living things in the biome
to this problem, including
Small changes, like if the temperature any controversy
surrounding them
increases by only .5º, could cause big
Some people in the world think
consequences like sea level rising because
that we should drill for oil in
of the melting. Another problem that is
the tundra, even if we risk
caused by global warming is the melting of
losing the tundra. Other people
that is under the layer of permafrost. If the
think that it would not be wise
soil starts to the melt, the nutrients inside
because the amount of oil
of the soil and carbon dioxide will be
underground in the tundra is
released into the air. Carbon dioxide also
not worth what it would cost to
goes in the ice, and when it melts it goes
drill. If we spent $2 million to
into lakes, and rivers and it will change the
drill and then collect the oil,
water chemistry. More plants will eat the
and we only get $1 million
rich soil and multiply and cause the
worth of oil, that would
permafrost to melt more.
counterproductive. It would be
Miscellaneous interesting info a waste of money and a waste
The tundras is the world’s youngest to destroy the tundra.
biome. It is only 10,000 years old.
Bibliography
"Alpine Biome." Blue Planet Biomes. Web. 11
Dec. 2009. <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/
tundra.htm>.
"Trouble In The Tundra | Science &
Technology | Chemical & Engineering News."
ACS Publications - Cookie absent. Web. 11
Dec. 2009. <http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/
87/8733sci1.html>.