Polar Ecology - Climate

Climate

Polar climates are cold, windy and dry. Much of the radiation from the sun that is received is reflected off the snow making the polar regions cold (Stonehouse, 23). When the radiation is reflected, the heat is also reflected. The polar regions reflect 89-90% of the sun radiation that the earth receives (Stonehouse, 24). And because Antarctica is closer to the sun, it receives 7% more radiation than the Antarctic. Also in the polar region, the atmosphere is thin. Because of this the UV radiation that gets to the atmosphere can cause fast sun tanning and can cause snow blindness

Polar regions are dry areas; there is very little precipitation due to the cold air. There are some times when the humidity may be high but the water vapor present in the air may be low. Wind is also strong in the polar region. Wind carries snow creating blizzard like conditions. Winds may also move small organisms or vegetation if it is present (Stonehouse, 44). The wind blows the snow making snow dunes which may exist even in the spring when the snow is thawing out (Stonehouse, 44). It is hard for meteorologists to measure the amount of precipitation. This is because it is expensive to take care of the stations that collect weather data and it hard for them to measure snow fall amounts because the wind blows the snow too much to calculate exact amounts.

The temperatures are similar between the Arctic and Antarctica. The temperatures in the Arctic are different depending on the location. Temperatures in the Arctic have a higher range than in the Antarctic. Temperatures can range as much as 100 °C. Along the coast in the Arctic temperatures average -30°to-40o Celsius in December, January and February (Stonehouse, 48). The ice melts along the coast during the summer months which are around June, July and August and the temperature may rise a few degrees above freezing causing there to be some vegetation. During these same months in the northern regions there will be 24 hours of daylight. Arctic regions also receive a lot of snowfall. The Arctic Basin has snow 320 days out of the year while the Arctic Seas have snow cover 260 days a year (Melnikov, 14). The thickness of the snow averages 30–40 cm (Melnikov, 14). In Greenland, temperatures have an average temperature of -40 °C in the winter and in the summer the temperatures reach -12 °C. Iceland on the other hand is in a subarctic region meaning it is near the temperate zone. Because of this the temperatures are above the freezing point throughout much of the year. In Russia temperatures are extremely cold. In Verkhoyansk, Siberia it has reached the coldest temp of -68.8 °C in the northern Hemisphere (Stonehouse, 51). The temperatures in the summer in Siberia can get to 36 °C.

In the Antarctic there is less temperature variations. Temperatures only range by around 30 °C. The winter months are May till September while the summer months will be October till April. The sun reappears in September which then starts the 24 hours of daylight. The temperatures are different between the plateaus in Antarctica and between the coasts. The plateaus are the coldest regions of Antarctica (Stonehouse, 52). In the summer months there is low precipitation with light winds. Vostok has received the lowest temperature worldwide getting as low as -88.3 °C in 1960. The West Antarctica plateau reaches snow levels of around 30 cm. This area is also warmer but it receives the heaviest snow and receives more wind. Because of the cold desert like conditions on the plateaus there are very little plants and animals. Some species of birds though have been seen.

On the coasts in the summer there is more wind, and it is cloudier. Coasts with higher latitudes have a temperature of -24 °C in the winter months whereas lower latitude coasts get down to -20 °C. Coastal areas may receive 40 cm or more of snow.