*Antarctic Soil and Greenhouse effect*

Greenhouse Gases are created by cars, factories, and fossil fuels being burned. This has caused the world to warm up, not by much but enough to affect Antarctica. The north-east Antarctica peninsula has had a temperature change in the last 56 years. Flighty six years ago the Antarctica air would warm up to 2.2 Celsius during the warmest summer days. Now the Antarctica air warms up to 10 Celsius on the warmest summer days. The shift of winds and the effects of the greenhouse gases has recently caused ice shelf’s to break apart from Antarctica. The most reason example has been the Larsen B ice shelf that broke apart in 2002. The cause of the break-up was not only caused by the increase of temperature, but also because of the strong Antarctic winds. The increase of temperature caused the ice shelf to become thinner, making it vulnerable to the harsh Antarctic winds, causing the ice shelf to break apart from the cold Antarctic.

 (This is a Nasa Picture of the Larson B ice shelf. The Larson B ice shelf had an area of 3,250 square kilometers, or 1,250 square miles. The ice shelf was the size of Road Island)

Antarctica is not just a sheet of ice it also contains a body of soil. That body of soil is seen as the Antarctica Dry Valley.  The low humidity and the lack of snow and ice cover, makes the Dry Valley a visual place to see the artic soil. Dry Valley contains the coldest, driest and most oligotrophic soils making the Dry Valley soil known as arid soil. Arid soil lacks water; preventing the growth of plants and animals. Arid soil lacks vegetation; making Antarctica a dry, cold desert. Without the growth of animals and vegetation it makes Antarctica a hard place to, not only live, but also for organisms to be created.   

         (The Antartica Dry Valley; as you can see it is a dry, cold desert without vegetation)