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www.masoncrest.com47
THE REGIONS AROUND THE NORTH AND SOUTH
POLES PLAY AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN
MANY WORLD ISSUES.
The ongoing process of climate change is literally remaking
the lands and waters of the Arctic as well as the vast
continent of Antarctica to the south. This series breaks down and explores the major
issues relating to the present and future of these vital places that might prove to be
the key to the future health of the entire planet. Each volume takes on a key area
relating to one or both areas and explores it in depth.
Set ISBN ..........978-1-4222-3863-9
Hardcover Set Price ...........$255.44
$191.60 (S&L)
Hardcover List Price ..............31.93
23.95 (S&L)
Multi-User eBook List Price ...39.93
29.95 (S&L)
Full color • Library bound
Trim Size: 7 x 9 • 64 pages
Grade Level: 7-12
HBK ISBN E-ISBN
Antarctic Wildlife............................................ -3864-6 -7919-9
Antarctica and the Arctic: Facts, Figures,
and Stories ................................................ -3865-3 -7920-5
Arctic Culture: The People of the Ice............... -3866-0 -7921-2
Arctic Wildlife................................................. -3867-7 -7922-9
Climate Change and the Polar Regions........... -3868-4 -7923-6
Oil and Gas in the Arctic................................. -3869-1 -7924-3
Polar Exploration: Courage and Controversy ... -3870-7 -7925-0
Polar Politics: Earth’s Next Battlegrounds? ..... -3871-4 -7926-7
8 VOLUME SET © 2018
E X P L OR I NG T H E
PO L AR R E G I ONS TODAY
COUNTRY STUDIES
14
OIL AND GAS IN THE ARCTIC
scape changes.Below the frigidwaters of theArcticOcean lies
the tundra,which is derived from the Finnish word
tunturia
,
meaning “treeless plain.”Themain feature of the tundra is its
permafrost
,a layerofpermanently frozenearthsometimesas
much as a thousand feet thick.Coupledwith cold air tempera-
tures and gustyArcticwinds, it isdifficult for trees to take root
The riversflowing through the taiga in theArcticCirclearehome tomany types of
wildlife, including several species of themightybear.
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The Arctic Landscape
15
in the tundra,soonlyshortshrubsand
grasses can grow there. South of the
tundra is the
taiga
, or boreal forest.
The taiga is the world’s largest land
biome, stretching across the northern
latitudesofSiberia (inRussia),Alaska,
Canada,and
Scandinavia
. It ismade
up of mostly coniferous trees such as
spruces andpines.
TheclimateoftheArcticisinfluenced
by its long,dark,and frigidwintersand
brief,coolsummers.Duetotheposition
of the earth as it orbits the sun, there
are periods of 24 hours of daylight in
thesummerandlongstretchesofalmost
totaldarkness inthewinter.Formuchof
theyearthedaysareveryshort,making
for a limitedgrowing season.
There is very little precipitation in
theArctic, since the cold air is unable
toholdmuchmoisture. It receives less
than 20 inches (50 cm) of precipita-
tionayear in rainand snow—aboutas
muchasanariddesert like theSahara.
Whilephotosmaymake it look like it’s
constantly snowing in theArctic, this
ArcticNational
WildlifeRefuge
America’s largestwildlife refuge,
theArcticNationalWildlifeRef-
uge encompassesover19million
acres (7.6million hectares)of
land in northeasternAlaska. Itwas
founded in1960 and is currently
home to awide array of animal
species, includingover200
speciesofmigratorybirds and
threemajor speciesofbear:polar,
black, andbrown.Musk oxen, car-
ibou, anddall sheep alsopopulate
the land.Adebateoverwhether
or not to open up sectionsof
the refuge to oildrilling hasbeen
ongoing since the1970s.Current-
ly,oil andgas companieswould
like to access a1.5-million-acre
(670,000 hectares)parcel of the
refuge theybelieve has upwards
of sevenbillionbarrels of oil
trapped underground.SomeAlas-
kanswho aredependentonoil
andgas revenue tomake a living
are in favor ofdrilling,whilemany
environmentalists, scientists, and
indigenouspeoples are against
it, saying itwoulddisrupt the
natural environment and its native
species.
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