The Arctic occupies an area at high latitudes, the boundary of which is the Arctic Circle. The fragile ecosystem of the region is negatively affected by natural factors and human activities. The proposed article lists specific environmental problems in the Arctic desert zone and the entire area, including the Arctic Ocean with seas, coasts and islands.
Environmental problems in the Arctic
The natural and geographical features of the region are associated with its position in high latitudes and the predominance of the aquatic ecosystem. In 1991, the governments of countries with territories beyond the Arctic Circle adopted the Strategy for the Protection of the Arctic Environment. After 5 years, the Declaration was signed in Ottawa and the Arctic Council was created. The main tasks of his work are related to ensuring the sustainable development of the polar region. The current UN environmental program, namely UNEP, has identified the main environmental problems:
- pollution of the Arctic seas with oil products;
- climate warming leadingmelting polar ice caps;
- increase in fishing and other seafood;
- changing the habitat of organisms in the Arctic;
- declining populations of polar animals;
- heavy shipping.
Climate change
On the map, the Arctic desert zone now occupies small areas on the coast of Greenland, Eurasia, North America, archipelagos and islands of the Arctic Ocean. The researchers argue that the average long-term air temperature beyond the Arctic Circle is increasing faster than in other regions. This has already led to a reduction in the area of the natural zone, and in the future it may disappear.
The climate is getting warmer, on the map the zone of the Arctic deserts is everywhere replaced by the tundra. This threatens with the extinction of many species of flora and fauna adapted to existing temperature indicators. The life of the indigenous Arctic peoples is also under threat, because for centuries the life of the population has developed in close interaction with the animal and plant world.
Melting Arctic snow and ice
The Hydrometeorological Service of Russia over the past 30 years has noted a decrease in the area of ice in the seas in the north. Melting rates increased in the last decade of the 20th century. During the same period of research, a two-fold reduction in the thickness of the ice cover was revealed. Experts believe that these processes will continue throughout the 21st century. Environmentalproblems of the seas, for example, in the summer the water spaces of the Arctic will almost completely become free of ice. The rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin will open earlier. The changes will affect vast areas hundreds and thousands of kilometers from the coast.
Air and water pollution
The main environmental problems in the Arctic deserts and tundra are associated with the transfer of air masses from the industrialized regions of the north-west of Russia, Central and Northern Europe. There is a fallout of the so-called acid rain - aqueous solutions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Such precipitation negatively affects the entire fragile ecosystem of the Arctic, destroys a thin layer of soil in the tundra, and negatively affects the vital activity of aquatic organisms, which are presented in the diagram below.
The main sources of pollution exacerbating environmental problems in the Arctic desert zone are mining and transport. The region also has military bases and industrial facilities that process natural raw materials. Ecosystem includes:
- Emissions and effluents from industry and utilities;
- products of production and processing of hydrocarbon raw materials (oil, gas);
- heavy metals and other waste from metallurgical production;
- certain toxic substances (phenol, ammonia and others);
- numerous contaminants from coastal military bases;
- waste from ships powered by nuclear fuel.
Forecasts of the environmental situation inArctic
Specialists believe that in the northern polar region the world around, the zone of the Arctic deserts in particular, will continue to be subjected to powerful man-made pollution. The volume of work on the continental shelf will increase, where the extraction and transportation of natural raw materials is already being intensively carried out. Tens of thousands of oil rigs are pumping oil in the Arctic, with one in two leaking oil, according to environmental groups.
Environmental problems in the Arctic desert zone. Biodiversity loss
The fauna of the cold ice expanses beyond the Arctic Circle is represented by a small number of mammal species. There are no reptiles or amphibians in this region. The number of bird species is about 4 times higher than that of mammals. This is explained by the high mobility of birds, their seasonal migrations, and the ability to roam long distances in search of food. On the islands and the coast, where there are small areas of Arctic deserts, the animal world is represented by mammals and birds. There are walruses, seals, polar bears, arctic foxes, lemmings. The most numerous representatives of waterfowl are ducks, eiders, guillemots and guillemots.
Environmental problems in the Arctic desert zone are associated with "bird colonies" - unusual colonies of birds. They are vulnerable due to navigation, and their protection is required, especially during the nesting season.
Nature conservation beyond the Arctic Circle
Specialistsargue that hunting causes significant damage to the fragile ecosystem of the Arctic. For example, poachers in the waters belonging to Russia annually harvest about 300 polar bears.
Other environmental threats in this region requiring the continued attention of environmental organizations:
- environmental degradation;
- growing anthropogenic load;
- increase in the amount of waste, the problem of their disposal;
- climate change.
Simultaneously with the melting of ice, the area of permafrost is also shrinking, and dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena occur on the rivers belonging to this basin. Indigenous and migrant populations above the Arctic Circle also suffer from pollution of the vulnerable nature of the region. The environmental problems of the Arctic have not only regional but also global significance. In the Russian Federation, Arctic reserves have been created to preserve the wildlife, protect nature from pollution and degradation. The largest of them: Kandalaksha, Bolshoi Arktichny, Wrangel Island, Taimyr.
