Cold Deserts

Aims and Objectives What is the climate and the characteristics of a cold desert? Where are the world´s cold deserts found and why do they develop in such locations? Antarctica – A case study Why is Antarctica considered to be important to humans? How is Antarctica and its resources “managed”? What are Antarctica´s tourist attractions and what are the advantages and disadvantages of tourism for the “Great White Continent”?

Types of cold desert There are two types of cold deserts: High altitude e.g. the Tibetan Plateau or Bolivia´s Altiplano. Air temperatures drop by about 1C for every extra 100m above sea level, meaning the higher the altitude, the lower the temperatures. High latitude e.g. Antarctica or the Arctic Circle region. At the poles, the curvature of the earth means very little solar heat is received, bringing very low temperatures. A lot of what solar energy is received, is reflected back into space by the snow and ice. The one thing that each of these location types have in common is their extreme cold and aridity (dryness due to lack of rainfall).

Characteristics Annual precipitation less than 250 millimetres. Mean temperature during the warmest month of less than 10°C. Snow dunes occur commonly in areas where precipitation is locally more abundant. Polar deserts on Earth cover nearly 5 million square kilometres and are mostly hard bedrock or gravel plains.

Cold Deserts of the World Name & Location Size Physical  features Plants & animals Atacama  Coasts of Peru and Chile 54,000 mi2  140,000 km2 Covered by sand dunes and pebbles. One of the driest areas on earth. bunchgrass, cardon cactus,, llama, Peruvian fox, nesting area for many seabirds Gobi  Northern China and Southern Mongolia 450,000 mi2  1,200,000 km2 Covered by sandy soil and areas of small stones called "gobi." camel's thorn, gerbil, jerboa, lizards, wolf Great Basin  Western United States (Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah) 158,000 mi2  411,000 km2 Covered by sand, gravel, and clay. Many mountain ranges, basins, and large expanses of salt flats. greasewood, sagebrush, sheep, jackrabbit, pocket mouse, antelope,, side-blotched lizard Iranian  Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan 150,000 mi2  390,000 km2 Covered by coarse gray soil, stony pavement, and salt flats. grasses, pistachio trees, lizard, oryx, scorpion Namib  Coasts of Southwestern Africa 52,000 mi2  135,000 km2 Covered by sand dunes along the coast and gravel farther inland. aloe, bunchgrass, lichens, fringe-toed lizard, golden mole, jackal, sidewinder, viper, web-footed gecko Takla Makan  Western China 600,000 mi2  1,600,000km2 Covered by sand dunes and rocky soil. grasses, camel, long-eared hedgehog, gazelle Turkestan  Parts of the Middle East and Southwestern Russia 215,000 mi2  559,000 km2 Covered mostly by extensive stretches of sand dunes. Thick ground desert tortoise, gazelle, gerbil, antelope

Case study - Antarctica The largest desert in the world at nearly 14 million km2, is also accessible for explorers and adventurers who want to take a wildlife cruise and go ice-diving and snow trekking. It is a desolate and remote continent, which is the coldest and windiest on Earth. As its edges, ice flows off the land to form enormous floating ice shelves which end up in steep ice cliffs. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1 mile (1.6 km) in thickness.

Annual precipitation 200 mm It has 90% of the world´s ice.(70% of the world´s fresh water) Antarctica is the only place on Earth that is not owned by anyone. It is now a continent of peace, environmental protection, and science. There is nowhere in the world except Antarctica where there is no military presence - it is entirely disarmed. No native peoples have inhabited Antarctica.

Antarctica - Average monthly temperatures in degrees centigrade Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec -32 -44 -58 -65 -66 -67 -68 -57 -43 -31 Task: use the data on the board to draw a climate graph for the Rostow Station, Antarctica (use the same layout as for your hot desert climate graph). Antarctica

Antarctica – Why it’s important? Task – copy out the points below, but in the order you think most important for humans It contains 70% of the world´s fresh water. Being so remote, it could be a good place to store toxic or nuclear waste. Its ice can be tested to show past levels of pollution and past climate patterns. It reflects heat energy from the sun back into space and so reduces global warming. An important source of krill and fish that could be fished for human consumption. Antarctica has significant mineral and fuel supplies stored under its ice caps that we require (oil, gold, coal). It is the world´s last great wilderness, largely untouched by human activities. Its tourism potential is large.

What is being done to protect Antarctica?

The Antarctica treaty 1961

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