Ecosystems At Risk Class Research Task
Imagine you are a member of an environmental group competing for a monetary grant from the Federal Government ( it doesn ' t have to be Australia ). The main concern of your group is the protection of vulnerable ecosystems .
Part 1 : Name and describe the ecosystem you wish to protect .
Antarctic polar desert :
• Contains 90 % of all ice on the planet in an area just under 1.5 times the size of the United States
• Fifth largest continent
• Less than ½ a percent of the continent is free of ice
• Divided into East and West Antarctica
• East Antarctica takes up 2 / 3 rd of the continent , roughly the size of Australia
• Ice in this part of the continent averages 2km thick
• West Antarctica is a series of frozen islands , stretching toward the southern tip of south America , an extension of the Andes mountains
• Continuously changing expanse of ice
• Crevasse fields with cracks hundreds of feet deep span the continent , hidden by only a shallow layer of snow
• Classified as a desert due to the little precipitation that falls
• Inner regions receive an average of 2 inches , primarily in the form of snow , each year .
• More rain falls in the Sahara desert
• Summer – October � February
• Antarctic summers average just above freezing
• The lowest temperature in the world ( -89.6 degrees Celsius ) was recorded at the Russian Vostok station in Antarctica
• Factors such as location and climate play an important role in the diverse ecosystem
Describe where the ecosystem is located ( provide a map
).