Polar Ice Cap and Tundra By Jasmine Brierley Greenland’s biomes Polar Ice Cap and Tundra By Jasmine Brierley

Biomes in Greenland 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.

Polar Ice Cap 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.

Tundra 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

Animals and plant life in Greenland 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

What are the threats to Greenland’s biomes? There are three main threats to Greenland’s biomes: Global warming/climate change Oil drilling Pollution

Global Warming/Climate Change 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.

Oil Drilling 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.

Pollution 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.

What can be done to reduce climate change? 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.

What can be done to reduce oil drilling? 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.

What can be done to reduce pollution? 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.

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