Bibliography

Gibbens, Sarah. “The Arctic Ocean, Explained.” The Arctic Ocean-facts and information, March 29, 2019. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/oceans/reference/arctic-ocean/.

Grum-Grzhimaylo, Olga A., Alfons J. M. Debets and Elena N. Bilanenko. “Mosaic structure of the fungal community in the Kislo-Sladkoe Lake that is detaching from the White Sea.” Polar Biology 41 (2018): 2075-2089.

“How Big Is the Arctic Ocean? And Eight Other Arctic Facts.” WWF. World Wildlife Fund. Accessed February 20, 2020. https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/how-big-is-the-arctic-ocean-and-eight-other-arctic-facts.

Ingold, Tim, and Moira Dunbar. “Animal Life.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., December 30, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic/Animal-life.

Ingold, Tim, and Moira Dunbar. “The People.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., December 30, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic/The-people

Katousha. “Arctic Animals Collection.” Depositphotos. Depositphotos. Accessed February 19, 2020. https://depositphotos.com/107990692/stock-illustration-arctic-animals-collection.html.

National Geographic Society. “Arctic.” National Geographic Society, October 9, 2012. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/arctic/.

“National Snow and Ice Data Center.” What is the Arctic? | National Snow and Ice Data Center. Accessed February 20, 2020. https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/arctic-meteorology/arctic.html.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Eskimo.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., January 21, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eskimo-people

YouTube. (2020). Traditional Inuit Music. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q005ElC2Ew [Accessed 19 Feb. 2020].

Arctic and the Environment

(Grum-Grzhimaylo, Olga A., Alfons J. M. Debets and Elena N. Bilanenko 2020).

Arctic Circle

The Arctic is usually defined as the region within the Arctic Circle with the latitude line about 66.5• North of the equator. The name "Arctic" originates from the Greek word for bear arktos. The name is not from the animal bear but from the star constellations viewed in the northern sky of the Arctic. The Arctic is spread across the northern part of eight countries Russia, Finland, Greenland, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and United States of America. The region contains very diverse ecosystems from  sea ice, tundra, mountains, and wide rivers. The Arctic Circle is almost entirely covered by water with much of it being glaciers or icebergs. The glaciers contain approximately 20% of the world's freshwater supply. The Arctic ocean basin is the shallowest ocean basin of the five ocean basins on Earth. The vegetation in the Arctic is very diverse for plant life including grasses and sedges but the most popular being mosses and lichens. The Arctic contains many of the world's natural resources including approximately 13% of undiscovered petroleum resources and 30% of undiscovered natural gas resources. The Arctic is very rich in minerals especially copper and nickel ore. The population of the Arctic is around four million with people spread across each country. 

The People of the Arctic

A Group of Indigenous Arctic People https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Ftopic%2FEskimo-people&psig=AOvVaw0wFdF-5Nn3KAKATpopdsdK&ust=1582240855358000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCIiXw9Pg3ucCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

According to Ned Allen Ostento’s article on the history of the Arctic, the majority of the people residing in the Arctic are indigenous to the northern locations of the world. Their ancestors migrated to this area from the Bering Strait on foot or came later by other means of travel. To survive, they hunt, fish and trap for food sources rather than farm, as the climate is anything but preferable for an agrarian society. In the arctic, there are certain forms of the region. The coniferous forest, or tundra, are areas with a small degree of flora, mainly cone-bearing evergreen trees [Ned Allen Ostento, Arctic: Northernmost Region of the Earth, (Maryland, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998)].

The Arctic that we are more accustomed to seeing are the tundra areas, which lie barren with ice and snow. Despite what the common person might seem as an impossible environment to survive in, the indigenous people of the arctic view the environment as generous and sustaining. The natives of the Arctic have a deep appreciation and respect for what they have. The Summer brings a slight increase in temperatures, which allows for small vegetation to grow and in turn more animals to come out, which consequently gives the natives more game to hunt. In addition to this, the warmer currents bring in more marine life to fish for sustenance. For the natives, natural resources such as food come in large numbers seasonally rather than decent amounts constantly.

The majority of the indigenous peoples in the Arctic are nomadic, following migration patterns of wildlife. There are four categories of people in the Arctic. The hunters intercept herds during migrations and pastoralists continuously follow herds. Eskimos, on the other hand, hunt by traveling based on the seasonal advantage. The fourth group lives in year-round in large settlements on the coasts and focuses on fishing. The Indian cultures of the Arctic are only practiced by those who live in the forest areas, while Inuit and Aleut cultures stick to the coasts (Ostento, Arctic). The people of the Arctic have no central government or economy, sticking to a culture based on survival and trading natural supplies. 

Inuit Folk Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q005ElC2Ew

Animals of the Arctic

(Katousha 2020).

Overview

The Artic is home to an eclectic mix of animal species; from the mighty polar bear to the small polar hare the Artic region is as diverse as it majestic. An interesting fact is that there are no reptiles in the Arctic, as they cannot survive the temperatures (Ingold and Moira 2020). Most Arctic animals have evolved to have a lighter color of fur coats to better adapt to their snowy environment. 

Hibernation and Migratory Patterns

Despite what many may assume, Arctic animals do not hibernate as there are no frost-free areas to “sleep” in. Instead, when the winter months come, the carnivores of the area head to the shore to feed on seal and fish while the omnivores feed on the fauna. (Ingold and Moira 2020).

There are some migratory patterns between the caribou and the musk ox, which migrate only a short distance. The musk ox, unlike the caribou, have been restricted only to the North American Arctic region, which includes the Northern portion of Greenland, sue to being, “on the defensive in the evolutionary sense.” They are then referred to as a “refugee” species. (Ingold and Moira 2020).