BIOL 1070 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Arctic Ground Squirrel, Silene Acaulis, Cladonia Rangiferina
9 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Abundant evidence collected over a long period of time clearly shows that carbon dioxide (co2) in the air in uences the overall mean temperature of the planet. Rising atmospheric co2 levels from burning fossil fuels and other anthropogenic activity therefore contributes to a warming of the earth. The arctic is a special concern in this regard as it is warming at a much higher rate than most parts of the world, and because its ecosystems are based on the properties of cold habitats. As citizens of a polar nation with approximately 50% of its land and 65% of its coastline in the. Arctic, this should be particularly alarming to all canadians. As shown in the graph, the north pole may become 8 - 11 c warmer unless we slow down greenhouse gas emissions. However, even at very high latitudes, there are both freshwater (rivers, ponds, lakes) and marine (arctic ocean) habitats.
