Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 12:28
Forums
High Arctic Change 2011

I have 4 questions from Hello Svalbard, Goodbye Darkness, July 11, 2011

What kinds of flowers and deciduous trees grow there (in the Arctic)? Are any of the trees similar to those we have here, in Massachusetts? When summer is changing to winter, and vice versa, does the change from lightness to darkness and darkness to lightness happen gradually (like over the course of many days) or suddenly (like in only a few days)? And lastly, what is the typical temperature for summer and winter there?

Thanks

Izzy

Mon, 08/01/2011 - 23:09

Mark Goldner

Hi Izzy! Thanks for the questions. The answer to your first two questions are really easy - there are *no* trees here in the Arctic! It's just too cold for trees to grow! The only plants that can live in this harsh environment are some very short grasses, mosses, and some beautiful little flowers. Nothing taller than an inch or two grows here.
Apparently the change in spring and fall happens very very quickly. The sun will finally set for the first time on August 24 - then the sun will go down for the winter at the middle of October. So you'd see the sun's angle changing very quickly through September. We are already seeing the angle of the sun dropping, although we leave on the 14th so we won't see the sun go down here.
Typical summer temperature here is what we've been having - high temps in the 40's. Low temp's in the 40's (can you understand why there isn't much difference between high and low temps. in the summer?) In the winter it would normally be well below freezing for all of the winter. The temps would normally range between about -10 and 10 above (in ºF).