Download Greenland*s biomes - Mrs Waight`s Classes

Polar Ice Cap and Tundra
By Jasmine Brierley
A biome is a large, natural environment that
includes fauna and flora in it.
There are two biomes in Greenland – Polar Ice
Cap and Tundra.
A polar ice cap area has a permanent layer of ice.
There is very little vegetation in this biome as the ice
isn’t a very good source for plants. Ice biomes can
only be found in the Northern and Southern areas of
the world. Polar ice caps rarely exceed zero degrees
Celsius. They are covered in snow and it’s hardly ever
warm enough for rain.
The Tundra biome is similar to the polar ice
cap biome in many ways. As it has an
everlasting frozen layer of sub-soil which is
called permafrost, (permanent frost). It also
has no trees and little plant life, though
there are lots of rocks. It’s always cold and
dry. The tundra gets approximately 76cm of
rain per year. The average temperature is -56
degrees Celsius.
It is thought to be one of the newest biomes
forming only 10 000 years ago.
Animals and plant life
in Greenland
In the polar ice cap region of Greenland there are
many different animals that live in the water such
as the beluga whale, penguins, killer whales,
polar bears, and the harbor seal.
The occasional algae can be seen in this biome
growing in the snow, which can make it turn pink.
Beluga Whale, Penguin
Polar Bear, Harbor Seal
There are many animals that live in the Tundra
region, they include the polar bear, snowy owl,
caribou, arctic fox, arctic hare, musk ox, rock
ptarmigan. There are four main plants that grow in
the tundra biome, they are the Arctic Willow, Arctic
Moss, Caribou Moss, and Tufted Saxifrage.
Musk Ox
Arctic willow
Caribou, Arctic Fox
Arctic Hare, Rock Ptarmigan
There are three main threats to Greenland’s
biomes:
* Global warming/climate change
* Oil drilling
* Pollution
Global warming could be one of the biggest
threats to this biome.
Thinner and younger ice melts faster than
thicker, older ice. Scientists predict that in 2030
the Arctic ocean will have no ice left in the
summer. Many animals depend on the ice to stay
alive. There could also be many undiscovered
species that depend on the ice as well. If all the
ice melts, one by one the animals will start to
die out and eventually there won’t be any
animals left. The ice in Greenland melting will
also contribute to rising sea levels.
As of the ice melting, oil companies are taking
the opportunity to drill for oil on Greenland. It's
very dangerous as the weather can turn bad,
making oil spillages very hard to clean up.
Collisions with ice-bergs and oil platforms is also
a concern. If people weren't burning as much oil,
the oil companies wouldn't have this opportunity
of going to Greenland.
Wind current bring in unwanted toxic chemicals
or particles (such as DDT which is an insecticide)
from burning diesel that comes from Europe,
Asia and South America. Animals and plants then
inhale theses deathly chemicals. In a matter of
time these animals may become extinct.
There are many ways to help reduce the effects
of climate change. You can drive less by using
public transport more often or walk or ride a
bike, turn off electricity when you aren’t using
it, use water efficiently, recycle and have a
compost bin. If everyone made these small
changes, it would all add up and climate change
would decrease. This means the animals would
have more of a chance of survival and the oil
companies wouldn’t have the opportunity to drill
in Greenland.
In our everyday lifestyle we use oil all the time.
You can basically say that the human population is
addicted to it! If we switched to renewable energy
sources, (that come from the sun, wind or rain
etc.) we wouldn’t rely on oil nearly as much. So oil
drilling would decrease.
There is also research being done on how oil
spillages can be cleaned up more efficiently and
quicker so it doesn’t pollute the ocean and areas
around it.
One way to reduce pollution in Greenland is for
Europe, Asia and South America to use cleaner
burning diesel engines and engine filters, so less
toxic particles are emitted into our atmosphere,
this will make Greenland’s air cleaner. As of the
cleaner air, the animals will be able to breathe
easier and cleaner air.
Bibliography
References
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