References

Other sources

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/siberian_tundra.htm

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/tundra-threats/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/21/siberia-climate-change-methane_n_786554.html

http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/siberia/0?gallery=
http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/archives/Animal-science-blog/1173912282-Feb-5-2007.htmlh

What can be done?

Switch to alternative energy sources
 
It is very important that we slow the rapidly moving process of global warming one of the most obvious ways to accomplish this is to reduce our dependence on fuel sources that become greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. If this happens, the melting of the permafrost in all areas of the tundra across the world would at the very least become constant and not consistently worse, which in turn, would slow the process of the toxins being released from the thawing permafrost itself.

Establish proteced areas and park reserves

Setting aside safe areas in which the animals and plant life are free from human harm can do wonders for the species facing exinction due to climate change and hunting.

Limit road construction, mining activities and house building

 Such activites put an enorumous amount of pressure on the ecoystem and cause the permafrost to melt at an even faster rate. Mining depletes this biome of its much needed resources and also damages the soil as well as the ice underneath. The tundra is a biome that takes a lot of time to recover from such harsh disruptions to its environment. It is even said that it would take over one hundred years to restore the tundra back to the state it was before the human impacts became so destructive.

Siberian Wildlife

Despite Siberia's harsh climate, there is an abundance of wildlife that can survive there. Most of the animals have developed special adaptations to exist in such an environment. The plant life consists of mostly shrubs, sedges, mosses, lichens and grasses. The growing season is very short because of the long winters, during which most plants are dormant. There aren't very many trees except for a few birches because of the poor nutrient qualitiy of the soil and the permafrost, inhibiting trees from growing very large. There are 48 species of land animals, such as hares, foxes and wolves. As for insects, black flies and deer flies are  abundant during the months of fall and spring, while a plethora of mosquitoes migrate to the area in the summer.

Siberian Arctic Fox

http://www.apertureacademy.com/instructor-scott-davis.php

 

Trees in Siberia

http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/siberian-tree-predicted-irene/

Human Impact on the Tundra

What is our interest in the tundra?

- The tundra is bountiful in minerals, oil and exploration of those resources is greatly damaging the tundra. The ever expanding population of people have lead to the development of roads and even homes in tundra areas, putting even more prressure on the permafrost, causing it to melt even faster.

                                                              Melting permafrost

                  http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/melting-permafrost-1962-pictures.htm





Global Human Impacts

Global warming is melting permafrost at an alarming rate and as a result, the gases locked inside Siberia's (and other tundra biomes) frozen soil and under its lakes has been seeping out since the last ice age. The toxic gases that are being released into the atmosphere are carbon dioxide and methane, two of the most prominent greenhouse gases warming our planet. This cycle is causing the permafrost to melt even faster, even as humans continue to pollute the air with higher levels of the same toxins.
         
Also in Siberia, many animals are being hunted into extinction for their thick fur coats and also for sport. The loss of habitat and hunting has diminished the populations of many of Siberia's magnificent species.

                        Thawing permafrost leads totoxins being released into the air.

http://www.research.gov/research-portal/appmanager/base/desktop;jsessionid=2LylPv6Sybj1VNwrmC4Q1qTPst77f7vpnnspWdZssFSKTPQp4ZSj!-745913081!634758419?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=awards_1&_urlType=action&awards_1_action=selectAwardDetail&awards_1_id=%2FresearchGov%2FAwardHighlight%2FPublicAffairs%2F18069_TheImpactofMeltingPermafrostontheGlobalCarbonCycle.html

A Siberian History

Siberia has had a lot of memorable events happen in the last hundred years, but nothing seems to be more interesting than the Tunguska explosion in 1908, an event that still remains a mystery. One June morning, residents near the Tunguska area reported seeing flashes and a boom. It was later reported that this was merely an earthquake, but later, upon further invesitgation, many scientists believed that an asteroid caused the explosion that was even more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima in World War II. This explosion is still a great mystery to the world, leaving us to wonder: could it happen again in a more populated area?

                                                                 1908 Explosion    
                            http://www.universetoday.com/92088/podcast-the-tunkguska-event/


                          http://blog.professorastronomy.com/2007/06/explosion-of-interest.html

                                                  The eplosion site nearly 100 years later

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5686713/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/russians-add-new-twist-old-ufo-myth/
                                                                         

Where is Siberia?

Siberia is located in the northeastern part of Russia between 60° to 80° North latitude, and 70° to 180° East longitude, located 4,000 ft. above sea level. The tundra biome covers 20% of Earth's surface just below polar ice caps.

                                                              Map of Siberia
                               http://metaldetectingworld.com/05_sib_index.shtml

What is a tundra?

The tundra is a biome that consists of long winters and short summers. The soil consists of two layers. The first, is the active layer, which freezes and thaws. The active layer also, although low in nutrients, is able to support a wide variety of vegitation with shallow root systems, such as lichens. The second layer is permafrost, which is a dense layer of permanently frozen ground. The tundra is one of the coldest and driest biomes, with annual temparatures plummeting as low as -70 degrees farenheit and an annual precipitation level of only 6 to 10 inches per year.

                                                       Siberian Valley at a distance
                          
  http://photos.igougo.com/pictures-photos-p188034- The_Siberia_Valley_from_a_distance.html