Extreme environments

Alaska, Siberia and the Antarctic

The Sahel and central Australia

Polar:
Monthly temperatures usually below zero and never above 10 degrees.
Winter months- -20 to -30 degrees

Hot arid:
Long hot summers
Temperatures frequently above 30 degrees and never below 15 degrees

Polar:
Dry- less than 300mm per year
Precipitation is snow

Hot arid:
Dry- less than 500mm per year
Precipitation is short but rainstorms

Adaptions for plants

Adaptions for animals

Hot arid:
Water is stored in roots, stems or leaves of plants

Polar:
Plants form rounded 'cushions' 5-10cm high to protect from winds

Hot arid:
Desert animals are very small with large surface area

Polar:
Have thick fur and some have white fur for camouflage

Hot arid:
Indigenous people in Sahel plant crops in zai pits
They dig wells to trap ground water

Polar:
Farming is not possible
Inuit and Saami adapt for protein and fat diets

Hot arid:
Houses have flat roofs and small, shuttered windows in thick walls which keep heat out
Solar panels are modern adaptions

Polar:
Steep roofs to shed snow
Build on stilts to avoid melting ground

Hot arid:
The Masai are tall and slender
Clothing is light and loose

Polar:
Inuits are short and stocky
Clothing is multi-layered and uses local skins and furs

Hot arid:
Camels
Travel often at night

Polar:
Areas of the ground is frozen
Pipelines are built above ground in stilts and roads built on gravel pads to stop permafrost melting.

Hot arid:
Irrigated green areas can help reduce excessive heat
Buildings designed to reduce the need for air conditioning

Polar:
Energy use is high

Polar:
Inuit people are normadic, moving as herds moved
They live in igloos in winter and animal hide tents in summer

Hot arid:
Women have high status in Tuareg society

Polar:
Inuits treat people, the land, animals and plants with respect
They waste nothing and have strict hunting rules

Hot arid:
The Tuareg have become great traders
The trade means that can gain the resources they need

Polar:
There are jobs in the oil, gas and mining industries but work is physically hard
Isolation and lack of social opportunities

Hot arid:
The Sahel is affected by drought
Basic human needs are often not met so people migrate

Polar:
In Alaska industry and immigration by oil workers has damaged traditional culture
Diets have changed and alcohol have effected communities

Hot arid:
Masai people in Kenya and Tanzania often perform and sell souvenirs to people

Polar:
Oil and Gas drilling has changed landscapes
The land has roads and pipelines which disrupt migration routes for animals

Hot arid:
Sahel land had been overgrazed by cattle and ploughed for crops
More population increase means land has to be kept used

Polar:
Oil spills are common in Siberia. About 0.5 million tonnes leak into their rivers

Hot arid:
Desertification turns farmland into desert

Impacts on natural systems:
-increase desertification and erosion of topsoil
-more rainstorms causing floods
-species forced to migrate

Impacts on traditional economies:
-increased frequency of drought and famine
-forced migration

Environmental impact:
-melting permafrost as temperatures rise
-loss of Arctic sea
-increase of coastal erosion

Impact on people:
-traditional hunting style undermined as prey become scarce
-migration to urban areas
-threat to coastal communites because of erosion

• small earth damns can be built by local people to trap and store rain. They're cheap and easy
• conventional farming to help conserve water, increase crop yeilds and resist drought
• plant breeding to create new crop varieties

• in Shishmaref, costal erosion has been increasing and people are moving to the mainland
• in Greenland, cruise ship tourism has increased providing new income sources but can damage the environment thorough litter or air
• as permafrost melts, road transport will become difficult