Ecological problems of the Arctic deserts of Russia

Ecological problems of arctic deserts as a climate-forming ecosystem change the face of the whole planet. The international community is concerned about the melting of ice, as well as the impoverishment of the already poor flora and fauna of the Arctic territories and tundra. To realize the problems of this fragile, but such an important ecosystem is the first step towards preserving life on the planet.

Where it is thin there and is torn

The Arctic is a northern region of 27 million square kilometers, the southern boundary of which is considered to be the southern boundary of the tundra zone. Only 6 million square kilometers is the mainland of Europe, Asia and North America. About 4 million square kilometers are in the island territories.

Extremely sensitive to the slightest changes with a low capacity for self-healing, the ecosystem of the arctic desert and tundra is very vulnerable. The poor and often endemic species composition of flora and fauna requires a very careful attitude.

It is what it is

The factors that threaten the ecosystems of the Arctic and the tundra can be conditionally divided into natural and anthropogenic. But this division is conditional. All processes on the planet are interconnected by the finest threads, which sometimes at first glance are not obvious. But environmentalists and the world community have been actively introducing and developing the concept of sustainable development combining ecological, economic and social components since the 1990s. Potential threats to the Arctic are many, but we will highlight the most significant environmental problems in the Arctic deserts.

Warming the planet

In conditions of global warming, it turned out that the Arctic warms faster than other regions. And the consequences of rising temperatures here are of global significance. Studies show that in the near future Arctic ice can begin to completely disappear in the summer.

The consequences of this will be an even greater temperature increase. Indeed, it is the Arctic ice that reflects solar radiation, lowering the temperature on the planet. Even today, the facts of the death of polar bears are recorded because of the large distances between the ice floes. These strong native peoples of the North lost power and were drowned.

Rich resource region

Mining and exploration of minerals (oil, gas) leads to large-scale contamination of production products. The environmental problems of the arctic deserts are related not only to the development of deposits in the Arctic, but also to pollutants coming from other regions. Only the river runoff to the Arctic Ocean brings several hundred tons of waste products. Reclamation of contaminated soils in the oil production zone is often only a formality.

The danger is represented by leaks and spills of oil during its extraction. In addition, the by-product of oil production is methane gas, and its role in the processes of global warming is enormous.

Uncontrolled poaching

After the oil workers, poachers come to the Arctic zone. And this is not one hunter who came on a sleigh. The development of infrastructure in previously undeveloped zones is the path of organized poaching. There is evidence that up to 300 polar bears a year fall under the bullets of poachers. Illegal mining of whitefish and sturgeon in the lower reaches of the rivers of Western Siberia is only a small part of what brings ecological problems in the arctic deserts of Russia.

The problem of groundwater

It is impossible to determine what exactly degrades the quality of groundwater in the Arctic - the local consequences of oil development or the pollution of rivers and oceans. However, in the Nenets Autonomous District groundwaters contain a limiting amount of petroleum hydrocarbons, and sometimes this figure exceeds the norm by a factor of ten.

This phenomenon can create not only environmental problems in the Arctic deserts in Russia, but also be dangerous globally.

Gas and oil on the shelves

Modern technologies have enabled energy companies to extract resources from offshore fields. Environmentalists are alarmed, because the development of offshore fields is dangerous already at the stage of seismic exploration, not to mention the transportation by tankers or a pipeline.

The ecological problems of the Arctic deserts of Russia have already begun since the installation of the drilling platform Prirazlomnaya (Gazprom) at the offshore section in the Pechora Sea.

In the world there are no effective methods for eliminating oil spills in conditions of northern low temperatures. According to international experts, if the water area is 10% covered by ice, mechanical cleaning means are ineffective. Thickening of oil at low temperatures, remoteness of the platforms from the mainland reduce the possibility of liquidation of the oil spill.

Ecological problems of arctic deserts: flora and fauna

The problems of offshore developments are not limited to this. Whatever causes lead to oil leakage (a collision with an iceberg, for example, is not so impossible), this will lead to disastrous consequences for representatives of the living world. The Drilling Platform Prirazlomnaya is less than 100 kilometers in a straight line from the Nenets Reserve and several reserves of federal importance. And a similar situation is observed in other deposits of gas and oil on the shelves of specially protected natural areas of Russia.

The ecological problems of arctic deserts and tundra are not limited to the examples given. The Russian Federation and the countries that are members of the Arctic Council (1996) are carrying out large-scale international work aimed at preserving the still largely untouched ecosystems of the Arctic.