Deserts — Part 2: Cold
Last week we learned about hot deserts, mostly the Sahara. The Sahara is actually the third largest desert on earth, behind the Arctic and the Antarctic. A cold desert is defined as an area of land with less than 10 inches of precipitation a year and a mean temperature under 50 F in the hottest time of year. While it hardly rains or snows at all, strong winds can give the illusion of snowfall. Based on this definition, Antarctica and the Arctic are not entirely desert, but a very large portion of them are. We’ll start up north.
The Arctic
The arctic is made up of portions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, the U.S., and the waters between them. These countries also make up the Arctic Council, an organization that oversees things like environmental protection, sustainable development, research, and shipping routes. By all accounts, the relationships between member nations and the Arctic indigenous people, who are also part of the council, are stable and productive in accomplishing its goals. Everyone helps out and they get shit done. The council does not, however, oversee territorial disputes.
While there are treaties and the like in place preventing people from claiming the north pole and other arctic lands, there are still territorial disputes. Apparently Denmark and Canada are both trying to claim “several rocks” between Canada and Greenland.
The may be more complications upcoming. While the current average temperature is -40 F (the lowest recorded temperature is -90 F), we’re all aware of what the snowflakes (pun intended) are referring to as “global warming.” This will open up more waterways and create general confusion around the future of the Arctic. The Arctic holds 1/5 of the world’s water supply, but half of predictive models have a complete elimination of Arctic sea ice by 2100.
“Oh no! What will happen to all of the polar bears???” — everyone
Calm down. It turns out that the images we’ve all seen of polar bears struggling to swim in an iceless ocean, unable to find food, etc., are likely sensationalized. The current estimated population of polar bears is between 20,000 and 30,000, which is well above the population 40 years ago and perhaps ever. We can all agree that we can’t have 500,000 polar bears running around based on their place in the food chain. Disclaimer: I don’t deny climate change.
That being said, it’s hard to tell how they’ll fare once significantly more of the sea ice is gone. For now, though, you can sleep tight knowing that they’re doing just fine in the Arctic. “Arctic” actually comes from the Greek word arktikos meaning bear.
Antarctica
The Arctic may be big and cold, but Antarctica is bigger and colder. The coldest temperature ever recorded was at Russia’s Vostok Station: -129 F. It’s hard to say just how big Antarctica is because it doubles in size every winter. The delta between summer Antarctica and winter Antarctica is 1.5 US of As. While the Arctic holds a measly 20% of Earth’s water, Antarctica holds another 60–70% and 90% of our ice. The ice covers over 99% of Antarctica. It is also the only continent with no bees or ants.
What isn’t bigger in Antarctica is the plant and animal life. In the Arctic there are shrubs and bushes in certain parts, some up to 6 feet tall, but the Antarctic has essentially 0 plant life. The Arctic boasts large, majestic polar bears, but the biggest land animal in Antarctica is the Belgica antarctica, an insect less than half an inch long that lives near penguins (which are apparently not considered land animals). Since 1994, it has been unallowed to bring any non-native species to the continent (military activity, mining, nuclear explosion and waste are also unallowed). This means that people have to rely on motor vehicles and not dog sleds. Another difference between Antarctica and the Arctic is that Antarctica has no native people or permanent residents. Argentina did, however, try to claim the land by sending a woman there to give birth. In 1979, Emile Marco Palma was the first person born on Antarctica.
The Antarctic convergence is a thin strip of water, about 25 miles wide, that circles all the way around the continent. It is where northward flowing waters from Antarctica meet the rest of the ocean, and it forms a strong biological barrier. On opposite sides of the natural barrier, the temperature and chemistry of the water is vastly different so different, in fact, that most species on either side never cross to the other side.
If you want to go swimming down south, you can visit Deception Island. Here, one of Antarctica’s two active volcanoes heats the water to temperatures as high as 70 F.
You probably won’t want to take a plunge in Don Juan Pond, however. This tiny lake (1–3 feet deep, 0.012 square miles) exists not because of heat, but because of salinity. It is the saltiest body of water on Earth at over 40% salinity, allowing it to stay liquid even at -58 F.
Pretty chill.
