Nunavut`s Eureka: Tundra Biome
Description
Eureka is located in Nunavut, Canada. It is found in the polar zones and regions below the ice caps of the Arctic. This affects its climate because they don’t receive a good amount of solar insolation to keep them warm, due to its location that is far away from the Equator.
Features and Characteristics
Eureka is extremely cold and windy, with its temperature that ranges from -20o C to 15oC. This location receives approximately 50-40mm precipitation per year. This little amount of rainfall made tundras similar to deserts. There are almost no trees that are visible in Eureka, only a plain wide landscape that is covered with permafrost can be seen. Eureka has many unique plants that are able to survive in tundras including arctic moss, arctic willow, and pasque flower. Animals such as arctic foxes and caribou can also be found.
Climate graph of Eureka
The geographical process that forms Eureka
Eureka was formed by the natural hazards of Ellesmere. Ellesmere Island, which is where Eureka now is located, was separated to the east from Greenland and to the west from Axel Heiberg Island. Since then, the Ice Shelf shrank by 90% due to the Arctic’s warming trends. Because of the separation and shrinking process, large ice islands were formed in 1940. There are three lands which are now the three settlements in Ellesmere Island which are Eureka, Alert, and Grise Fiord. This is how Eureka was formed.
Effect of Human Activity on Eureka
Human activity on Eureka increased, especially for the production of food and building materials. Humans changed the tundra landscape to build roads and ski resorts. The activities that have the most impact on the environment are oil drilling and hunting, which result in pollution in many tundras including Eureka. People are now worried that the continuation of this pollution which comes from greenhouse gases and the ozone layer will cause more effects on Eureka. If human activity keeps going, it will destroy tundras and Eureka completely in a matter of decades. Not only that, it has an impact on the sustainability of the Arctic. Tundra fires would, unfortunately, increase which could then reduce the habitat of Caribou, one of the animals living in Eureka. This is because the coverage of lichens would lessen due to the tundra fires. The more human activity that destroys Tundras is the spill of oil in the making of buildings. It could kill wildlife and eventually, their ecosystem. This is why humans shouldn’t build many constructions on roads in tundras. Building roads will put some heat and melt the permafrost that covers the landscape. As a result, global warming would continue to rise in tundras. This would then affect on the sea levels as they could raise high, covering the land. Strategy Used by the Government to Protect Eureka and its Effectiveness, governments of the region tried to protect animals and wildlife in tundras and Eureka. They worked with WWF to protect polar bears so that their population increases. They protected 350,000 kilometers of tundras from any human activities (including hunting the wildlife, building, and roads construction) that would destroy the habitats of animals, especially polar bears. “Species like polar bears represent the Arctic ecosystem, which is responsible for moderating global climate” – Geoff York who worked as part of this progression. 10 years later, the population of polar bears has doubled, and more animals were found. This strategy is very effective as they helped to keep polar bears from extinction. Tundras would then continue to be a beautiful ecosystem for humans, animals, and plants. However, this strategy could also be unhelpful in some ways. If hunting is not allowed, there won’t be food to feed people in Eureka. The population of Eureka is approximately 150 in 2006 and without hunting any animals, people would starve in order to protect animals and their ecosystem. If we protect animals instead of humans, there will also be a problem because technically, the government wants to increase the population of animals by decreasing the population of humans.
Two Appropriate Strategies to Sustain Life in Eureka and Other Tundras
Reduce carbon emissions and the use of fossil fuels
I recommend people to stop or limit the use of carbon emissions and fossil fuels to help tundras in the Arctic. Try by using natural resources at home, transport, work, and in many other activities and places. If people use alternative energy, it could help lessen the global warming of the Arctic, which would then prevent the melting of the tundra’s ice shelves. There is so much natural energy that is found in Eureka such as uranium, soil-bound carbon, terbium, and dysprosium. People can start using these resources instead of greenhouse gases to protect the environment. This strategy is extremely useful for people because not only it protect tundras, it is also useful for other biomes.
Find out more about tundras by following blogs and articles on social media
It is important to be aware and to spread awareness about the importance of protecting tundras and keeping them alive for as long as possible. By following and sharing articles about any problem or accomplishment that occurred in tundras, you’re spreading the information to people. By doing this, more people would view and be aware because of your action. Do anything the blog wants you to do to help protect tundras. You could tell the government about a solution to keep tundras or animals alive, or simply just by telling anyone that will be helpful in doing so. Tell your friends and family about how indispensable the tundra biome is and how it could dangerously impact society if people won’t take care of it. Sometimes you could donate some money for charity to protect tundras and Eureka.
Bibliography
Websites:
- https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/experiments/biome/biotundra.phphttps://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tundrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka,_Nunavuthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellesmere_Islandhttps://www.britannica.com/science/tundra/Effects-of-human-activities-and-climate-changehttps://sciencing.com/efforts-protect-tundra-8590787.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/tundra-threats/https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra/Effects-of-human-activities-and-climate-changeVideos:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT6x5GVPFG8
