Problem
Threatened polar desert habitats
Other Names:
Endangered alpine desert habitatsThreatened cold rock desert habitats
Background:
Polar deserts are areas with annual precipitation less than 250 millimeters and a mean temperature during the warmest month of less than 10øC. Cold dry air prevails and moisture available remains frozen throughout the entire year. Polar deserts on the Earth cover nearly 5 million square kilometers and are mostly bedrock or gravel plains. Snow dunes occur commonly in areas where precipitation is locally more abundant. Temperature changes in polar deserts frequently cross the freezing point of water. This "freeze-thaw" alternation forms patterned textures on the ground, as much as 5 meters in diameter.
Broader Problems:
Threatened desert habitatsThreatened natural habitatsThreatened unvegetated habitats Narrower Problems:
Threatened glacial habitatsThreatened perennial snowfield habitat Related Problems:
IcebergsIce jamsFrozen groundIce-blocked seawaysInhospitable climate Aggravates:
Threatened species of Ursus maritimus Values:
EndangeredThreat Subject(s):
Climatology → Arctic zonesClimatology → Arid zones
Fundamental Sciences → Heat
Geography → Wild
Geology → Geology
Geology → Mountains
Societal Problems → Endangered species
Societal Problems → Vulnerability
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
D: Detailed problems Date of last update
29.05.2019 – 17:25 CEST