Aleena Arico

Mrs. Newman

Science Period 3

10/15

The Arctic Tundra is a harsh environment that only the toughest plants and

animals can survive in. The severely cold winters are brutal and provide many

challenges due to barren landscape. The Arctic Tundra is located in northern Alaska,

Canada, and Siberia. Most of the region is found within the Arctic Circle and above the

edge of the coniferous forests. Tundra means treeless, therefore most of the plants in

the tundra are low growing plants such as Arctic Moss, Arctic Willow, Caribou Moss,

Labrador Tea, Arctic Poppy, Cotton Grass, Lichens and Moss. Animals in the Tundra

have thick and warm feathers and fur which help them adapt to the harsh conditions.

These animals include Brown Bears, Polar Bears, Caribou, Moose, Wolverine, Lynx,

Arctic Foxes, Red Foxes, Musk Oxen, Ptarmigans, Ermine and Snowy Owls. These

plants and animals must be able to survive in harsh conditions such as extreme cold,

brisk winds and very short growing seasons. The Tundra Climate is very severe and

characterized by a sub-freezing average temperature and the large annual temperature

ranges. The average monthly precipitation in the Arctic Tundra ranges from 15-25 cm.

During the summer the average low temperature is 37.4 degrees fahrenheit and the

high is 53.6 degrees fahrenheit. During the winter the average high temperature is 33.8

degrees fahrenheit and the average low temperature is -13. In the Arctic Tundra there

are “Arctic Hurricanes” that come with a central eye with extremely low barometric
pressure and towering 30-foot waves that can sink ships and cover metal platforms with

thick ice, threatening oil and gas exploration. Blizzards are also extremely common in

the arctic tundra. The fierce and howling blizzards occur almost every single day during

the winter. During this season, the tundra may be marked with shallow bogs and

marshes as the climate is characterized by the presence of rain and fog. In the arctic

tundra there is some natural resources such as minerals that can provide utility or

economic benefit to humans. The mineral resources include major reserves of oil and

natural gas, large quantities of minerals including iron ore, copper and diamonds. In

total, only about 4 million people live in the Arctic Tundra. Although the extreme climate

makes it hard to permanently live in the Tundra people have found ways to live in the

Tundra. Anthropologists now believe that people have lived in the Arctic Tundra for over

20,000 years. Global warming will continue to have in inevitable effect on the Tundra,

the world’s most fragile biome. Rising temperatures will melt glaciers and permafrost,

flood the surrounding areas and kill the delicate plant species. The arctic tundra is

extremely fragile because of its climate and limited productivity. The slow rate of plant

growth means that any disruption to the ecosystem takes a long time to be corrected.