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Overview
Introduction
Vegetation
Indigenous people
This section of the atlas describes the environmental conditions in the
northern circumpolar area.
The northern regions are one of the last and most extensive
continuous wilderness areas left on Earth (see page 19). In the
northernmost areas plants are at their metabolic limits and small
differences in the total amount of summer warmth make large
differences in the amount of energy available for growth and
reproduction. Low summer temperatures cause the size, abundance,
productivity and variety of plants to decrease.
The northern circumpolar region is populated by numerous indigenous
peoples such as Iñupiaq, Yup'ik Inuit, Alutiq or Aleuts, Athapaskans
(Alaska); Inuit (Canada and Greenland); Sami (Fennoscandinavia);
Yakuts, Chukchi, Nenets (Siberia). These nations have learned
to adapt to some of the harshest conditions on Earth and scarce
resources. This makes them vulnerable to environmental changes
and industrial interventions. Recent discoveries of oil and minerals in
Arctic areas have had a severe impact on the traditional lifestyles of
indigenous people while not necessarily bringing them prosperity.
In the coldest parts of the Arctic, much of the ground is bare with
only a few plants such as lichens and mosses, along with a few
scattered grasses, can survive. To the south, a treeless landscape
with dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, herbs, lichens and mosses forms
the tundra zone.
Alaska
(United States)
481 054
Where the climate is less severe, the tundra is replaced by vast
expanses of forest dominated predominantly by coniferous trees
such as pine, larch, spruce and fir. This ecosystem is known as
boreal forest or by the Turkic term, taiga. Where the climate is
milder, the boreal forest can also contain broadleaf trees notably
birch, aspen, willow and rowan (see page 19).
Canada
92 985
Despite relatively low rainfall, a combination of low
evapotranspiration levels, gently undulating landscape and shallow
groundwater table result in the widespread occurrence of
wetlands. The associated bog vegetation (e.g. mosses, sedges)
leads to extensive areas of peat formation.
Russia
1 999 711
Greenland
55 419
South of the boreal forests, increasing aridity leads to the
predominance of wide-ranging grasslands which are called steppes
in northern Eurasia and prairie in North America.
Iceland
266 783
Fauna
Natural resources
y Ra
Nordaustlandet
Svalbard
(Nor.)
(Den.)
Bear Island
(Bjørnøya)
(Nor.)
Gunnbjørn Fjeld
Jan Mayen Island
12136ft
REYKJAVÍ
Arct
ic
Circle
ICELAND
0°
Vorkuta
60°
Ob
'
5304ft
Ur
Kolguyev
Murmansk
3862ft
Tromsø
30° E
D
30° W
Norwegian
Sea
Nordkapp
N
LA
FIN
(Nor.)
Strait
mark
Den
Novaya
Zemlya
B a re n t s
Sea
EN
GREENLAND
11021ft
t
ATLA N TI C
eri
Greenland
Sea
Kara
Sea
in
Upernavik
Ammassalik
Kap
Farve
Sib
5209ft
Nordostrundingen
NUUK
(GODTHÅB)
ft
Kap Zelanya
Peary Land
Pla
is
Franz Josefs Land
(Rus.)
ian
brador
Sea
17122ft
Kap
Morris Jesup
Siber
v
Da
al
A
60° tr
S
ait
90°
Noril'sk
Baffin
Bay
Iqaluit
We s t
A
I
S
e r i a
i b
75°
sula
D
Merville
Bay
ntr
S
in
Pen
Severnaya
Zemlya
North Magnetic Pole
(1997)
A
Ba
ffin
120°
Laptev Sea
Arctic Ocean
Thule
S
Tiksi
12461ft
Nares Stra
it
Ce
U
New Siberian
Islands
Ellesmere Island
Foxe
Basin
Yakuts
Boronuk
East Siberian
Sea
North Pole
Southampton
Island
nge
10322ft
yr
ym
Ta
N
Coastal climates are moderated by oceanic influences, experiencing
generally warmer temperatures and heavier precipitation than the
colder and drier interior areas.
75°
90°
150° E
R
A
The region is characterized by a harsh climate with low amounts of
solar radiation, intense cold during a long winter and a cool short
summer, all of which combine to provide a negative heat balance on
these lands (see pages 17 and 18).
Average winter temperatures are low and can fall to -40°C (a
temperature of approximately -70°C has been recorded in Siberia).
Summer temperatures can rise to 15°C (or higher in continental
central Asia). Annual precipitation is generally low with most areas
receiving less than 500 mm. Much of the precipitation comes in
the form of snow. In the polar regions, strong winds frequently stir
up snow lying on the ground to create an illusion of continuous
snowfall!
AMAP boundary
Wrangel
Island
Parry
Islands
Queen Elizabeth
Islands
Non-indigenous population
150 000
Arctic
Circl
e
180°
it
ra
St
Island
Climate
500 000
i
ersk
Ch
The northern circumpolar region includes sizeable natural resources
of oil, gas, minerals, and forests. Many analysts believe that
the Arctic Ocean contains as much as a quarter of
the world's undiscovered oil and gas resources,
20303ft
the tapping of which could greatly alter the Mt McKinley
Yuk
balance of the global energy market.
ALASKA
on
Fairbanks
150° W (U.S.A.)
Increasing human presence to exploit
Chukchi
these resources is putting pressure
Barrow
Sea
Prudhoe Bay
on the northern environment.
The region is particularly
Inuvik
B e au fo r t
susceptible to the abrasion
Great
Sea
Bear
of groundcover and
Lake
to the disturbance of
120°
wildlife habitats.
Banks
Victoria
Island
Indigenous population
The northern circumpolar region is populated by numerous
indigenous peoples. The exploitation of natural resources often
takes over vast expanses of territories leading to the displacement
of indigenous populations by non-indigenous people. (AMAP [2])
C
The Arctic Ocean is largely covered by sea ice throughout the year
(see page 16), the extent of which varies seasonally as the ice melts
and refreezes due to fluctuations in temperature and salinity levels.
The salinity is low due to reduced evaporation, heavy freshwater
inflow from a number of large rivers and limited outflow to
surrounding seas.
50 000
ng
Beri
The Arctic Ocean, at the centre of the northern circumpolar region,
is the world's smallest and shallowest ocean. The Arctic Ocean
occupies a roughly circular basin and covers an area of around 14
million km2, slightly larger than the size of the United States. The
coastline has a length of around 45,000 km and is surrounded by
Eurasia, North America, Greenland, and several large islands. The
Arctic Ocean is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Bering Strait
and to the Atlantic Ocean through the Greenland Sea.
300 000
SWED
The Arctic Ocean
2 000 000
NOR
WA
Y
The map illustrates the major ecological zones of the circumpolar region.
The treeline indicates the northernmost boundary of the occurrence of
trees. The boreal region occurs south of the subarctic. (AMAP [2])
Number of inhabitants
International Dateline
Low Arctic
Treeline
nd
Subarctic
Where conditions for life are marginal, ecosystems tend to be
fragile, slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or
damage. Nevertheless, the region is home to a wide range of
living creatures, some unique to this environment. Herbivores on
the tundra include the arctic hare, lemming, muskox, caribou and
reindeer. They are preyed on by the arctic fox, wolves and bears.
The polar bear, only found in northern latitudes, prefers to hunt for
marine life from the ice. There are many birds and marine species
endemic to the colder regions (e.g. seals, walrus, whales).
Finland
200 677
Sweden
263 735
Faeroe
Islands
43 700
Is
la
High Arctic
Norway
379 461
Le
na
For the purposes of this atlas, the northern circumpolar region is defined
as the region surrounding the North Pole above a latitude of 50° North.
This area includes the Arctic Ocean (which covers the North Pole) and
surrounding countries of North America and Eurasia.
The northern circumpolar region includes the High Arctic, Low Arctic,
subarctic and boreal regions (see map below). These regions are
defined on the basis of a number of landscape, climate and ecological
criteria. The 10°C July isotherm or the treeline marks the limit of
forest to the north. The Arctic Circle, the approximate limit of the
midnight sun and the polar night, is located at 66° 33’ North.
al
M
ou
n
Arkhangel's
This
map
shows
the
major
geographical features of the Northern
Circumpolar Region. The dashed
line indicates the Arctic Circle at a
latitude of 66° 33’ N. (LJ)
The Northern Environment | Soil Atlas of the Northern Circumpolar Region
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