Penguins, polar bears, endless white and… brrrr. Cold feet!
These are certainly things that come to mind when you hear the term «cold zone». But is it all true and do penguins really live here? You can find out in this article!
You can find more about other climate zones such as the temperate zone, the tropics or the subtropics in the respective articles in the topic block climate and vegetation within physical geography.
Cold Zone – Geographical Location
The cold zone includes the Antarctic mainland and the surrounding pack ice in the south. In the north, on the other hand, the area is defined as the limit in which the mean temperature in the warmest month does not exceed 10 °C.
Thus, the cold zone is located in both the south and north of the equator, roughly between the 90th and 60th latitudes.
Figure 1: The different climate zones. The cold zone can be seen in blue Source: haus-und.heimat.e
Cold zone with its subzones
In the following you will learn more about the individual sub-zones of the cold zone and their climate and vegetation characteristics.
Subzones are parts of a defined zone. For better differentiation, they subdivide the «main zone» into several parts, which are further differentiated from one another.
The climate refers to the average state of the weather phenomena of a place over a certain period of time. The period is at least 30 years.
polar climate
In the subzone of polar climates, extreme polar climates, inland ice and areas of frost debris prevail. This climate describes long, very cold winters with lots of snow and permafrost as well as cool summers with slightly thawing soil.
The word climate is the plural form of climate.
The average temperature of the warmest month is below 6 °C. Nevertheless, there are (very) high annual fluctuations in temperature. the Hygric conditions (moisture conditions) are therefore nival (icy).
The hygric ratios mean the ratios of precipitation or humidity. They describe the contrast between rain and dryness.
Nivality describes areas where precipitation lies on the ground as ice or snow.
Due to the freezing temperatures of the polar climates, there is almost no vegetation and only minimal soil formation. In addition, there is only physical weathering here.
tundra climate
Zones with a tundra climate have a short, frost-free summer with a mean temperature of 6 to 10 °C in the warmest month and a very cold winter with temperatures below -8 °C in the coldest month. There are high annual temperature fluctuations with humid hygric conditions.
The predominant potential vegetation is the tundra. There is little soil formation and permafrost. Just like in the polar zone, only physical weathering occurs.
The tundra describes a tree-free or tree-poor, low vegetation of the sub-polar regions. The image below shows what a tundra looks like:
Figure 2: Tundra Source: worldatlas.com
Extreme continental coniferous forest climate
In zones with an extremely continental coniferous forest climate, winters are extremely cold, dry and long, with temperatures ranging from 10 to 20 °C in the warmest month and below -25 in the coldest month. The annual temperature fluctuation is more than 40 °C. Humid humidity conditions prevail.
There is also physical weathering. Furthermore, podsolization occurs, which allows deciduous coniferous forests to grow.
Weathering describes the natural decomposition of rocks. The physical weathering is the crushing of the rocks by external physical influences such as temperature or salts.
During podzolization, iron and organic matter are transported into the subsoil. This creates an acidic environment and a lack of nutrients in the soil. Podsol soils can only be used to a limited extent for arable farming. Coniferous trees or heather grow predominantly on these soils.
Continental coniferous forest climate
The zones with a continental coniferous forest climate are characterized by long, cold, very snowy winters (below -3 °C) and short, relatively warm summers (10-20 °C). The annual temperature fluctuations amount to 20-40 °C.
The hygric conditions, the weathering and the soil formation processes are similar to those of the extremely continental coniferous forest climates.
However, there are evergreen coniferous forests with a vegetation period of 100 to 150 days.
Life in the cold zone
Figure 3: Life in the cold zone Source: easyviaggio.com
Below you will find out more about life in the cold zone.
The cold zone is actually a rather hostile area, but some animals have managed to optimally adapt to the living conditions there. These animals include polar bears, penguins, some species of birds, insects, and whales and fish.
Few people have settled in this zone either. The northernmost human settlement is Alert, Nunavut. This is at 82°,28′ north latitude.
However, plants are hard to find in the cold zone. The only plant species that can only emerge under sunlight, when the ice sheet melts, are some species of lichen, grass, and moss.
You can learn more about the cold zone in the article on the subpolar and polar regions.
Cold Zone – The Most Important
- Southern boundary: the Antarctic mainland and the surrounding pack ice.
- Northern delimitation: defined the area where the mean temperature in the warmest month does not exceed 10 °C.
- The subzones of the cold zone: polar climates, tundra climates, extreme continental coniferous forest climates, continental coniferous forest climates.
- Few people, animals (polar bears, penguins, birds, fish, whales and insects) and some plant species such as lichens, grasses and moss live in the cold zone.