Polar desert

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/polar-desert

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the location?High-latitude polar regions, including Antarctica and the Arctic
2. What is the average annual precipitation?Less than 100 mm (4 inches), primarily as snow
3. Why is a polar desert called a desert even though it has ice?Deserts are defined by how little liquid water they get, not how much snow or ice. In polar deserts the temperatures stay below freezing most of the year, so the water never melts and the area stays dry.
4. Where can we find polar deserts?Polar deserts are found in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, covering huge areas of ice sheets, glaciers, and frozen ground.

Albedo Effect: The measure of how much of the Sun's energy is reflected by a surface.
Paleoclimatology: The study of past climates, often using natural archives like ice cores.
Extremophiles: Organisms that thrive in physically or geochemically extreme conditions detrimental to most life.
Cryosphere: All the parts of the Earth's surface where water is in solid form, including ice sheets, glaciers, and permafrost.