ELSS - Arctic Tundra

How big is the Arctic tundra?

8 million km2

For how many months a year is there a negative heat balance?

9

What is the maximum temperature of the southern limit in summer?

10^oC

What is the mean temperature?

-15^oC but can reach -40^oC in winter

What is the annual precipitation in the Arctic tundra?

50-350mm/year

How much carbon does the permafrost hold?

1,500bn tonnes

How much biomass is there per hectare in the tundra?

4-29 tonnes/ha

How much more carbon is there in soils than above ground biomass?

5x

What is the NPP in the arctic tundra?

200 g/m2/year

For how long has carbon been locked away as decomposed plant remains in permafrost?

500,000 years

What is the discharge of the Yukon river in winter vs summer?

winter is 340m3/s and summer is 25,000m3/s

When was oil and gas discovered at Prudhoe Bay?

1968

How much of the USA’s domestic oil production did the North Slope account for in the 1990s? How much in 2019?

1/4 and 4%

How many people and animals died from anthrax in 2016?

1 boy and 2,500 reindeer

How much carbon dioxide is released from melting permafrost per year?

7-40 million tonnes/year

How much methane is release from melting permafrost per year?

24,000-114,000 tonnes/year

By how much have emissions increased from the North Slope?

73% since 1975

How deep is the pad that Spine Road is built on?

2m

What percentage of supercomputers have been delivered to the oil industry?

10%