The polar regions are found at the top and bottom of the Earth. The North Pole is in The Arctic, and the South Pole is in Antarctica. They are characterized by their extremely cold climates, making them an important ecosystem with distinct physical characteristics, plant life, and animals.
In polar regions, the sun doesn’t set in summer; in winter, the sun doesn’t rise, leaving them in darkness for months. For example, the average temperature in the Arctic is 0 °C in summer and -40 °C in winter. In Antarctica, it’s -28 °C in summer and a chilly -60 °C in winter.
Keep reading to learn all about the human impact on polar regions.
The Arctic
The Arctic is an ocean covered in sea ice and surrounded by land from Europe, Asia, and North America. Although it is largely covered in snow and ice, its dramatic landscapes include wetlands, tundra, glaciers, mountains, and rivers.
Antarctica
Antarctica is land surrounded by the Southern Ocean. And with 98% of it covered in thick ice, it’s also the highest, driest, windiest, coldest, and iciest continent on the planet.
Unlike other continents, Antarctica is unique because it isn’t inhabited by different countries and is largely uninhabited. However, several countries have claimed parts of it, including the UK, New Zealand, Australia, France, and Argentina.
What animals live in polar habitats?
Overall, far more animals live in the Arctic than in Antarctica. This is large because the Arctic has more varied landscapes and is connected to areas of land, whereas Antarctica is a harsher, isolated continent.
Most animals are exclusive to either the Arctic or the Antarctic. Only a few have been recorded in both regions, such as grey whales or Arctic terns. However, scientists have been puzzled by the discovery of more than 200 species of sea creatures that live in both polar seas, despite the 11,000 km (6,835 miles) distance between them!
The Arctic is teeming with life both on land and in the sea. Arctic animals found here include:
- Polar bear
- Arctic fox
- Arctic hare
- Arctic tern
- Snowy owl
- Moose
- Musk ox
- Narwhal
- Beluga whale
- Polar bear
- Reindeer
- Greenland shark
There are no land-dwelling mammals in Antarctica! Marine animals found here include:
- Adélie Penguins
- Chinstrap Penguins
- Leopard Seals
- Elephant Seals
- Snow Petrels (one of 3 birds found at the South Pole)
- King Penguins
- Emperor Penguins
- Killer Whales (Orcas)
- Wandering Albatross
- Blue Whale
How have animals adapted to live in freezing temperatures?
Animals in the polar regions have adapted to the extremely cold climate by having some special characteristics.
Many have a thick layer of fat or blubber that keeps them warm or dense fur covering their bodies and feet. Birds also have a layer of thick, windproof, and waterproof feathers and migrate south during the coldest months of the year. In addition, many animals have made their homes under the ground where it’s warmer or by burrowing into the snow – like an igloo! Plus, they spend a lot of time hibernating until summer arrives.
Carnivores in the Arctic have a varied diet, ranging from small rodents and birds to larger animals such as reindeer. However, meat-eating animals will also eat berries and eggs when food is scarce. Because plants are short, herbivores have adapted to eat lichen to give them the necessary nutrients.
What plants live in polar habitats?
Both polar habitats experience extreme cold, lack of sunlight, and permafrost (frozen ground year-round), so it’s difficult for plants to absorb nutrients from the water, soil, and sun. However, despite these challenges, plants have adapted to thrive in these conditions.
Arctic plants
The Arctic is described as a ‘tundra’ from the Finnish word ‘tunturi,’ meaning treeless plain. Trees don’t grow here, but approximately 1,700 species of plants live on the Arctic tundra, including flowering plants, dwarf shrubs, herbs, grasses, mosses, and lichens. These include:
- Arctic willow – a dwarf shrub.
- Bearberry – a low-growing evergreen.
- Purple saxifrage – grows tightly together in a low clump.
- Arctic poppy – about 10-15 cm tall, with a single flower per stem.
- Cottongrass – named after its fluffy, white tufts.
Antarctic plants
Almost 98% of Antarctica is ice, up to three miles deep! So, it’s home to far fewer plants than the Arctic. Nevertheless, a total of around 800 different species of plant life have been recorded, many of which are lichens. Lichens are particularly suited to this environment, as they can survive long periods of dormancy and dehydration.
Only two species of flowering plants are found in Antarctica:
- Antarctic hair grass – grows mostly in rocky areas of the Antarctic Peninsula around penguin colonies.
- Antarctic pearlwort – found in rocky coastal regions of the continent, has small, yellow flowers that follow the sun.
How have plants adapted to survive in cold climates?
Many plants grow very low to the ground and close together to retain warmth and protect themselves from extreme weather. They have small leaves to prevent water from being lost through their surface. Flowering plants such as the Arctic poppy have cup-shaped petals to ensure the sun’s rays reach the center of the flower.
Many plants have developed the ability to grow under a layer of snow and have shallow roots which don’t need to go too far down into the permafrost. Because there is darkness for prolonged periods, they have also adapted to carry out photosynthesis more efficiently during daylight months and to produce flowers quickly once summer begins.
Do any people live in polar habitats?
It is believed that around 4 million people live in the Arctic today. Very few live in the icy regions, but many live on the mainland, where it’s warmer, and have access to schools, doctors, and jobs.
Around 12.5% of people living in the Arctic are indigenous people. These include:
- Aleuts – people of the Aleutian Islands (divided between Alaska and Russia).
- Athabascans – a native of Alaska.
- Gwich’in – from the northwestern part of North America.
- Inuit – from the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska.
- Sami – from northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
- Many indigenous peoples of the Russian Arctic.
Many indigenous peoples still live in remote areas of the Arctic, but their traditional nomadic lifestyles have adapted over time. Today, many people live in permanent, modern housing. Standard work, which would have been done by hand and on foot, is now done with snowmobiles and modern technology.
Due to its remoteness and cold weather, Antarctica is the only continent without an indigenous human population and no permanent residents! However, there are many researchers, scientists, explorers, and tourists, especially during summer.
Climate Change in Polar Regions
Polar regions contain a range of components that are made up of water in its frozen form. For example, glaciers, snow, permafrost, and iced-over water. Together, these components form the cryosphere, which is very sensitive to climate change in polar regions.
- Sea Ice
Sea ice is a key component of polar regions, covering huge areas of the Arctic Ocean in winter. Some parts of the ocean are covered all year round, but the edges of the ice tend to melt in the summer months, causing large packs of floating ice to break off and float away with the current. The result of this is that there is three times more ice in winter than in summer.
Sea ice in polar regions has greatly decreased in recent years. In addition to disappearing, the ice that remains is getting thinner. Studies have shown that the thickness of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean decreased by an average of 1.3 to 2.3 meters between 1980 and 2008. This means there are now numerous sections of the Arctic Ocean that are completely without ice for two months longer than they used to be.
Changes in sea ice are one of the biggest threats to polar regions. This is because it will greatly impact the wider habitat in the polar areas. For instance, animals like plankton, fish, seabirds, seals, whales, and polar bears have evolved to live on the edge of or just under the surface of sea ice. As the sea ice disappears, these animals will lose their habitats.
- Glaciers
Studies have shown that, as a result of climate change, almost all of the glaciers around the world are shrinking. Glaciers in the Arctic, Alaska, and northern Canada are up there, with the most affected worldwide. Disturbingly, the rate at which glaciers are melting is increasing, and it is predicted that the earth will lose anywhere between 15% and 85% of its glaciers by the end of the century.
One of the worst consequences of melting glaciers is their contribution to the rising sea level. The average sea level has been rising for many years and is expected to continue growing. The biggest cause of the rising sea level is the increasing temperature of the water. This is because, as the water gets warmer, its volume increases. The melting glaciers are the second-biggest contributors to the rising sea level.
- Snow
In the Arctic, the ground is covered in snow for three-quarters of the year, but studies have shown snow is decreasing. The decline in snow cover is primarily due to climate change in polar regions and is most obvious in warmer areas. It is predicted that the snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere will continue to decrease throughout the rest of the 21st century but as much as 25%.
The result of this decline in snow cover is a longer growing season, which may, in turn, lead to a change in vegetation. This may not sound bad, but a change in vegetation can result in less food for some animals and more for others, thus changing the entire ecosystem.
Human impact on the polar regions through climate change, and the consequent higher temperatures, will also lead to increased rainfall in the wintertime. This is bad because when rain falls on top of the snow, a layer of ice forms on the surface. This prevents grazing animals like reindeer from reaching forage (plant material) under the snow.
- Permafrost
A large portion of the land in the Arctic is permafrost, which is ground that has been frozen. Scientific observations have shown that permafrost temperature has increased in most places since the 1980s. For example, in certain areas, permafrost is now two °C warmer than it was 20-30 years ago.
Moreover, due to climate change, in certain areas of Scandinavia and Russia, the active layer of earth that lies on top of permafrost (and thaws in summer) has become as much as 20 cm thicker. As a result, there have also been huge reductions in permafrost in the European parts of Russia.
The situation with permafrost is so dire that the total area of the Northern Hemisphere with surface permafrost is predicted to decline by as much as 80% by the end of the 21st century.
One consequence of the decreasing permafrost is that when it thaws. When the permafrost thaws, it will hurt the water cycle in the area.
More threats to polar regions
Even though the polar regions seem isolated from the rest of the world, the activities of humans thousands of miles away can have a huge impact here. As a result, regular polar regions have many threats
Fishing
One of the biggest signs of human impact on the polar regions is fish, specifically overfishing in the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Fishing on a small scale can be harmless for the environment, but in polar regions, it is being carried out on a large scale. Industrial fishing boats are coming in and removing fish from the ocean at a faster rate than the fish can reproduce. The result is that there are fewer fish in the sea, meaning less food for animals that eat fish.
Some of the biggest effects of overfishing are:
- There is a potential for over-fishing of targetted species of fish
- A lack of fish greatly affects predator populations, which depend on the target species of fish as a food source
- Other non-target species of fish are also killed when caught in fishing equipment
- Habitats in polar regions are being destroyed.
Long-line fishing, a commercial fishery that uses a long main line covered with baited hooks, is particularly harmful to fish. This is because it increases the risk of fish being caught on the line while fishermen seek another species of fish. So, essentially, way more fish are being killed than necessary.
Introduction of New Species
Another example of human impact on polar regions is introducing new species. While this may not seem harmful at first glance, the introduction of new species greatly risks the biosecurity of polar regions. Biosecurity prevents disease-causing species from entering or leaving any place that poses a risk to the animals. When new species are introduced into polar regions, they risk bringing in new diseases that could kill or harm the animals that live there.
The introduction of new species is of particular concern in Antarctica.
Rubbish
Perhaps the most obvious sign of a human impact on polar regions is litter. Nowadays, humans are much better at cleaning up after themselves, but this was not the cause just a few years ago. In the past, instead of disposing of waste in a way that wouldn’t harm the environment, people just got rid of rubbish in whatever way was easiest. If the debris were flammable, it would likely be burnt. However, if it wasn’t explosive, the destruction was:
- Thrown into the sea
This method of waste disposal is harmful as it pollutes the water and endangers the animals in the sea. If the objects were big, such as old or damaged vehicles, they were often taken onto the sea ice and dumped there. Then, when the ice broke up in spring, the large pieces of rubbish would fall into the sea.
- Just dumped on land somewhere and ignored.
Very little care was given to the rubbish disposed of on land in polar regions. Most of the time, the waste was either dropped down a crevasse or just left where it was. This littering is particularly harmful in polar areas, as the harsh winds can blow even large, heavy objects for miles. This means that old oil drums could be transported miles away from their original dumping spot, thus spreading the rubbish issue.
Seal Hunting
In addition to the human impact on polar regions caused by fishing, seal hunting greatly harms these regions. Seal hunting has been going on for many years. For instance, the Antarctic fur seal was nearly extinct in many locations through seal hunting by 1830. Primarily, seals were hunted for their fur, but there were also markets for ‘seal oil’ and parts of their bodies. Since then, efforts have been made to protect seal populations in polar regions. Seal hunting has been made illegal in many areas worldwide, reducing the number of seals affected.
Whale Hunting
Another old and harmful form of human impact on polar regions is whale hunting. Whale hunting began in the Southern Ocean towards the beginning of the 20th century and became very popular quickly. Whale hunters would target the species that was most profitable at the time and then move on to another species once they became more popular. Typically, whales were hunted because there was a large profit to be made from their meat and various body parts. For instance, some pharmaceuticals and health supplements use whale oil, fat, and cartilage. Moreover, whale meat was even used in pet food.
While whale hunting is illegal in most countries, dolphins and small whales are still being hunted in many parts of the world.
Oil and Gas
The Arctic is a sought-after destination for oil and gas companies, as it has one of the largest untapped reserves in the world. Drilling threatens polar regions by destroying polar habitats, draining fresh water supplies, and disrupting migration routes. Oil spills have a devastating impact on the environment.
Pollution
Toxins from pollution and the rubbish we throw away are transported to the polar regions by strong ocean currents. Ingested by sea creatures, these toxins are carried through the food chain, becoming more concentrated the higher up the food chain. Polar bears have high levels of these toxins, and even humans are affected! In addition, plastics in the ocean can entangle and kill wildlife and take hundreds of years to break down.
