Snow pack and topography are widely recognized as factors influencing the abundance and distribution of resources for large herbivores in mid to high latitude environments.
In most temperate and high latitude environments, including Yellowstone National Park, snow is a dominant characteristic of the landscape for much of the year.
Mesocosm studies using sub-Antarctic soil artificially contaminated with diesel or crude oil were conducted in Kerguelen Archipelago (49°21′ S, 70°13′ E) in an attempt to evaluate the potential of a bioremediation approach in high latitude environments.
The aim of this study was to find out if it also plays a role in higher latitude environments in peat litter decomposition and could contribute to an explanation to the patchy nature of peat litter decomposition.
The effects of moderate but long-term cold during winter season (meaning daily temperature below 0°C for several months), found in people living in high latitude environments (circumpolar residents), are definitely negative.
Because high latitude environments are experiencing rapid rates of change, and the distribution of POWV in North America is unclear, documenting potential sylvatic hosts of this pathogen is critical to evaluating its capacity to emerge into human populations.
Surficial geology evolves rapidly in this high-latitude environment through both depositional events and solar-driven albedo changes that occur daily.
Buried Pleistocene land surfaces in the region provide an opportunity to understand how humans adapted to this unique, mid-latitude environment prior to the Last Interglacial.
