2017-18_MC_Catalog

COUNTRY STUDIES

THE REGIONS AROUND THE NORTH AND SOUTH POLES PLAY AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN MANY WORLD ISSUES. The ongoing process of climate change is literally remaking the lands and waters of the Arctic as well as the vast E X P L OR I NG T H E PO L AR R E G I ONS TODAY

continent of Antarctica to the south. This series breaks down and explores the major issues relating to the present and future of these vital places that might prove to be the key to the future health of the entire planet. Each volume takes on a key area relating to one or both areas and explores it in depth.

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OIL AND GAS IN THE ARCTIC

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The Arctic Landscape

scape changes.Below the frigidwaters of theArcticOcean lies the tundra,which is derived from the Finnish word tunturia , meaning “treeless plain.”Themain feature of the tundra is its permafrost ,a layerofpermanently frozenearthsometimesas much as a thousand feet thick.Coupledwith cold air tempera- tures and gustyArcticwinds, it isdifficult for trees to take root

in the tundra,soonlyshortshrubsand grasses can grow there. South of the tundra is the taiga , or boreal forest. The taiga is the world’s largest land biome, stretching across the northern latitudesofSiberia (inRussia),Alaska, Canada,and Scandinavia . It ismade up of mostly coniferous trees such as spruces andpines. TheclimateoftheArcticisinfluenced by its long,dark,and frigidwintersand brief,coolsummers.Duetotheposition of the earth as it orbits the sun, there are periods of 24 hours of daylight in thesummerandlongstretchesofalmost totaldarkness inthewinter.Formuchof theyearthedaysareveryshort,making for a limitedgrowing season. There is very little precipitation in theArctic, since the cold air is unable toholdmuchmoisture. It receives less than 20 inches (50 cm) of precipita- tionayear in rainand snow—aboutas muchasanariddesert like theSahara. Whilephotosmaymake it look like it’s constantly snowing in theArctic, this

ArcticNational WildlifeRefuge

America’s largestwildlife refuge, theArcticNationalWildlifeRef- uge encompassesover19million acres (7.6million hectares)of land in northeasternAlaska. Itwas founded in1960 and is currently home to awide array of animal species, includingover200 speciesofmigratorybirds and threemajor speciesofbear:polar, black, andbrown.Musk oxen, car- ibou, anddall sheep alsopopulate the land.Adebateoverwhether or not to open up sectionsof the refuge to oildrilling hasbeen ongoing since the1970s.Current- ly,oil andgas companieswould like to access a1.5-million-acre (670,000 hectares)parcel of the refuge theybelieve has upwards of sevenbillionbarrels of oil trapped underground.SomeAlas- kanswho aredependentonoil andgas revenue tomake a living are in favor ofdrilling,whilemany environmentalists, scientists, and indigenouspeoples are against it, saying itwoulddisrupt the natural environment and its native species.

The riversflowing through the taiga in theArcticCirclearehome tomany types of wildlife, including several species of themightybear.

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8 VOLUME SET © 2018

Set ISBN ..........978-1-4222-3863-9 Hardcover Set Price ...........$255.44 Hardcover List Price ..............31.93 Multi-User eBook List Price ...39.93

$191.60 (S&L)

23.95 (S&L) 29.95 (S&L)

Full color • Library bound Trim Size: 7 x 9 • 64 pages Grade Level: 7-12

HBK ISBN E-ISBN Antarctic Wildlife............................................ -3864-6 -7919-9 Antarctica and the Arctic: Facts, Figures, and Stories ................................................ -3865-3 -7920-5 Arctic Culture: The People of the Ice............... -3866-0 -7921-2 Arctic Wildlife................................................. -3867-7 -7922-9 Climate Change and the Polar Regions........... -3868-4 -7923-6 Oil and Gas in the Arctic................................. -3869-1 -7924-3 Polar Exploration: Courage and Controversy ... -3870-7 -7925-0 Polar Politics: Earth’s Next Battlegrounds? ..... -3871-4 -7926-7

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