Extreme Environments

Extreme Environments

1. Characteristsics

   • Polar
     • Very cold because they receive very little sunlight from the sun as a result of their extreme latitudes
     • 66.3 degrees North and South
     • Sun never sets in the summer
   • Hot Arid
     • Very dry areas because they are areas of high pressure where air masses meet and air sinks meaning no clouds form
     • Receives very little rainfall
     • True deserts have less than 250mm of rain a year
     • Drylands around deserts receive around 500-700mm of rainfall a year
     • Onl;y rainfall occurs in a 3 month period in a year

2. Flora and Fauna Adaptations

   • Polar bears in polar regions
     • Can swim to hunt for food
     • Excellent sense of smell
     • Incredibly strong
     • Long hallow-haired fur for insulation
     • Two types of fur to trap in heat
     • Black skin to absorb heat
     • 4 inches of blubber for insulation
   • Pine trees in polar regions
     • Cone shaped to shed off snow
     • Flexible to stand high wind speeds
     • Evergreen
     • Pine needles to reduce water loss through transpiration
     • Grows in Northern Canada
   • Camels in hot arid environments
     • Stretchy nostrils to keep sand out
     • Leathery mouth to help the camel eat spikey plants
     • Padded feet to stop sinking into sand and to protect from heat
     • Hump on back to store water
   • Cactus in hot arid environment
     • Spikes instead of leaves to reduce moisture and protect from predators
     • Fleshy stem to store water
     • Thick waxy skin to reduce water loss from evapouration
     • Rapid life cycle- grows quickly when it rains
     • Long roots to search for water deep underground

3. Human Adapatations

   • Hot arid environments
     • Nomadic lifestyles- Don't settle in one place move frequently to not exhaust an area of resources
     • Both men and women wear loose fitting clothes to allow air to circulate
     • Solar panels used as an energy source since there's a high amount of sunlight
     • Have herds of animals adapted to the desert
     • Modern vehicles are usually 4x4 to avoid getting stuck in sand
     • Traditional desert houses have thick walls to keep summer heat out and winter warmth in
   • Polar region
     • Triple glazed windows to insulate houses
     • High steep roofs to allow snow to slide off and reduce risk of roof collapse
     • Houses built on stilts to prevent building melting the permafrost
     • Roads built on 1-2 metre thick gravel pads
     • Husky dogs essential to travel
     • Quick yield crops since there's a short growing season
     • Geothermal energy can often be used to benefit from volcanic activity
     • Footwear made from seal skins
     • Modern man-made clothing also used such as Gore-Tex

4. Cultures

   • Polar regions
     • Hunt using traditional techniques and use every part of the animal
     • Eat unusual foods such as rotten shark since it's hard to find a variety of food
     • Few sports that involve being outside from extreme temperatures so there's lots of indoor activities like yo-yos and throat singing
   • Hot arid environments
     • Nomads- move around to find water and resources in one area so they don't run out of resources in one area- a sustainable lifestyle
     • Excellent craftsmen that use every last inch of their resources
     • Ceremonies to honour the dead as funerals can't happen as they need to rapidly bury the dead
     • Women have high status as everyone in the society is involved in finding essentials to survive
   • Threats to cultures
     • Janajaweed militia support Arab famers
     • Oil companies in polar regions forcing Inuit off land to extract oil
     • Tourism leads to culture being lost as people put on traditional ceremonies to entertain tourists
     • 400000 killed in Darfur and villages burned to the ground
     • Millions flee in Darfur from the civil war between herders and farmers
     • Globalisation leads to culture degredation

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