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45-511: Polynyas are often compared to oases as their open waters allow for an unusually early spring plankton bloom and an open water wintering area in a frozen world. This provides food for Arctic cod , a species that plays a critical role in supporting the entire ecosystem. Large concentrations of marine mammals , from walrus to seals and polar bears , feed at the ice edge until spring break-up. The same habitat provides vital feeding grounds for millions of seabirds, including an estimated two-thirds of

90-475: A "central pool of open water surrounded by a ring of water-dependent shrubs and trees…which are in turn encircled by an outlying transition zone to desert plants." Rain showers provide subterranean water to sustain natural oases, such as the Tuat . Substrata of impermeable rock and stone can trap water and retain it in pockets, or on long faulting subsurface ridges or volcanic dikes water can collect and percolate to

135-489: A current or past rest stop on a transportation route, or less-than-verdant location that nonetheless provides access to underground water through deep wells created and maintained by humans. Although they depend on a natural condition, such as the presence of water that may be stored in reservoirs and used for irrigation, most oases, as we know them, are artificial. The word oasis came into English from Latin : oasis , from Ancient Greek : ὄασις , óasis , which in turn

180-836: A particular route. For example, the oases of Awjila , Ghadames and Kufra , situated in modern-day Libya , have at various times been vital to both north–south and east–west trade in the Sahara Desert . The location of oases also informed the Darb El Arba'īn trade route from Sudan to Egypt, as well as the caravan route from the Niger River to Tangier , Morocco. The Silk Road "traced its course from water hole to water hole, relying on oasis communities such as Turpan in China and Samarkand in Uzbekistan." According to

225-411: A shovel is needed. Wells may or may not be equipped with pumps. Frequently the pumps are broken and useless, and a rope and bucket are then necessary to obtain water. Most of the wells in this region are less than 100 feet deep, but some are deeper, and 100 feet of rope is not too much to provide. As a rule the rope and bucket at a well, if they were ever provided, soon disappear, and one should never trust

270-467: A socially inclusive approach to meeting area-based conservation and Marine Protected Area targets." An Indigenous Peoples' Organization membership and voting category was also added at that congress. The only present protection is a 1983 promise by Denmark and Canada to develop "further bilateral cooperation in respect of the protection of the marine environment of the waters lying between Canada and Greenland and of its living resources..." In April 2016,

315-749: A special Pikialaorsuaq Commission led by the Inuit Circumpolar Council began collecting input of residents in the High Arctic communities of Canada and Greenland on future protections of the North Water Polynya. In April 2017 a Canadian report entitled “A new Shared Arctic Leadership Model” by Mary Simon recommended that Canada accept the Pikialasorsuaq Commission's recommendation for the creation of an Inuit-led management plan and monitoring process for

360-538: Is a direct borrowing from Demotic Egyptian . The word for oasis in the latter-attested Coptic language (the descendant of Demotic Egyptian) is wahe or ouahe which means a "dwelling place". Oasis in Arabic is wāḥa ( Arabic : واحة ). Oases develop in " hydrologically favored" locations that have attributes such as a high water table , seasonal lakes, or blockaded wadis . Oases are made when sources of freshwater, such as underground rivers or aquifers , irrigate

405-571: Is closely connected to Lancaster Sound ( Inuktitut ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᐅᑉ ᑕᕆᐅᖓ Tallurutiup Tariunga ) and the Baffin Bay by a powerful system of ocean currents that directly affect the region's climate and biology. In a sense, the NOW polynya is a result of the merging of three smaller polynya's Smith Sound, Lady Ann Strait , and Lancaster Sound . The West Greenland Current follows that country's coastline and moves warm and salty Atlantic water north, reaching all

450-633: Is evidence that the North Water was visited by the Vikings in southern Greenland in the 13th century. It wasn't until 1616 that the Discovery , captained by Robert Bylot and piloted by William Baffin , sailed into this region, naming its landmarks such as Sir Thomas Smith's Bay (now Smith Sound) and Lancaster Sound after those who financed their expeditions. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, European whalers arrived and hunted bowhead whales to

495-586: Is home to the northernmost self-sufficient human settlements in the world, and borders three Qikiqtani Inuit communities in Canada: Arctic Bay , Pond Inlet and Grise Fiord . These Inuit communities in Canada (Nunavut), along with the Inuit of Greenland (Avannaata) rely on the abundance of marine life in North Water for their food, clothing, shelter, and essential cultural and economic well-being. There

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540-480: Is integrated into its desert environment through an often close association with nomadic transhumant livestock farming (very often pastoral and sedentary populations are clearly distinguished). The fertility of the oasis soil is restored by "cyclic organic inputs of animal origin." In summary, an oasis palm grove is a highly anthropized and irrigated area that supports a traditionally intensive and polyculture-based agriculture. Responding to environmental constraints,

585-423: Is the date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera L. ), which forms the upper layer . These palm trees provide shade for smaller understory trees like apricots , dates , figs , olives , and peach trees, which form the middle layer. Market-garden vegetables, some cereals (such as sorghum , barley , millet , and wheat ), and/or mixed animal fodder , are grown in the bottom layer where there is more moisture. The oasis

630-823: The American cheetah , became extinct in North America at the end of the Pleistocene epoch (ice ages) in what is called the Quaternary extinction event . Mammals originally unique to the Nearctic include: One bird family, the wrentits (Timaliinae), is endemic to the Nearctic region. Two mammal families are endemic to the Nearctic, the pronghorns ( Antilocapridae ) and the mountain beaver ( Aplodontiidae ). The Holarctic has four endemic families: divers (Gaviidae), grouse (Tetraoninae), auks (Alcidae), and

675-691: The Circumboreal Region . The Western North America bioregion includes the temperate coniferous forests of the coastal and mountain regions of southern Alaska, western Canada, and the western United States from the Pacific Coast and Northern California to the Rocky Mountains (known as the Cascadian bioregion ), as well as the cold-winter intermountain deserts and xeric shrublands and temperate grasslands and shrublands of

720-573: The Western Desert of Egypt ( Kharga , Dakhla , Farafra , Baharyia , and Siwa ) once had "flowing spring and wells" but due to the decline of groundwater heads because of overuse for land reclamation projects those water sources are no more and the oases suffer as a result. Morocco has lost two-thirds of its oasis habitat over the last 100 years due to heat, drought, and water scarcity . The Ferkla Oases in Morocco once drew on water from

765-618: The Western United States . In terms of floristic provinces , it is represented by the Rocky Mountain region . The Northern Mexico bioregion includes the mild-winter to cold-winter deserts and xeric shrublands, warm temperate and subtropical pine and pine-oak forests , and Mediterranean climate ecoregions of the Mexican Plateau , Baja California peninsula , and the southwestern United States , bordered to

810-708: The temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Eastern United States and southeastern Canada, the Great Plains temperate grasslands of the central United States and south-central Canada, the temperate coniferous forests of the southeastern United States, including central Florida . In terms of floristic provinces , it is represented by the North American Atlantic Region and part of the Canadian Province of

855-484: The Ferkla, Sat and Tangarfa Rivers but they are now dry but for a few days a year. A 1920 USGS publication about watering holes in the deserts of California and Arizona gave this advice for travelers seeking oases: The usual watering places are springs or wells. Springs are frequently clogged with gravel or rubbish or sometimes even with the bodies of dead animals, and it may be necessary to clean them out. For this work

900-837: The United Nations, "Oases are at the very heart of the overall development of peri-Saharan countries due to their geographical location and the fact they are preferred migration routes in times of famine or insecurity in the region." Oases in Oman , on the Arabian Peninsula near the Persian Gulf , vary somewhat from the Saharan form. While still located in an arid or semi-arid zone with a date palm overstory, these oases are usually located below plateaus and "watered either by springs or by aflaj , tunnel systems dug into

945-432: The ancient supercontinent of Pangaea split into two about 180 million years ago, North America remained joined to Eurasia as part of the supercontinent of Laurasia , while South America was part of the supercontinent of Gondwana . North America later split from Eurasia. North America has been joined by land bridges to both Asia and South America since then, which allowed an exchange of plant and animal species between

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990-457: The brink of extinction. Since 1867 the North Water ecosystem has been a favourite study site for Western scientists trying to unlock the oceanographic and biological secrets of Arctic polynyas. Researchers have also conducted intensive studies on the region's response to global climate change because of its mid-Arctic latitude amidst a polar ecosystem warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. The North Water Polynya (Pikialasorsuaq/Saqvaaq)

1035-490: The chance of finding them there. Open wells are sometimes contaminated in the same way as springs and need to be cleaned out, particularly in little-frequented places where they are unused for months at a time. Nearctic realm The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America , including Greenland , Central Florida , and

1080-435: The city [ medina ] or village [ ksar ] with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system." The location of oases has been of critical importance for trade and transportation routes in desert areas; caravans must travel via oases so that supplies of water and food can be replenished. Thus, political or military control of an oasis has in many cases meant control of trade on

1125-718: The continents, the Great American Interchange . A former land bridge across the Bering Strait between Asia and North America allowed many plants and animals to move between these continents, and the Nearctic realm shares many plants and animals with the Palearctic . The two realms are sometimes included in a single Holarctic realm . Many large animals, or megafauna , including horses , camels , tapirs , mammoths , mastodons , ground sloths , sabre-tooth cats ( Smilodon ), short-faced bears and

1170-513: The dull bluish or gray green of the feathery crowns of foliage. It is small wonder that a whole folklore of poetic legends and proverbs has grown up around the date palm in the regions where it flourishes. Many historic oases have struggled with drought and inadequate maintenance. According to a United Nations report on the future of oases in the Sahara and Sahel , "Increasingly   ... oases are subject to various pressures, heavily influenced by

1215-510: The effects of climate change , decreasing groundwater levels and a gradual loss of cultural heritage due to a fading historical memory concerning traditional water management techniques. These natural pressures are compounded by demographic pressures and the introduction of modern water pumping techniques that can disrupt traditional resource management schemes, particularly in the North Saharan oases." For example, five historic oases in

1260-593: The entire North Water Polynya and consider recognizing the region as an IPA (Indigenous Protected Area). 76°35′N 073°57′W  /  76.583°N 73.950°W  / 76.583; -73.950 Oasis In ecology , an oasis ( / oʊ ˈ eɪ s ɪ s / ; pl. : oases / oʊ ˈ eɪ s iː z / ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment that sustains plant life and provides habitat for animals. Surface water may be present, or water may only be accessible from wells or underground channels created by humans. In geography, an oasis may be

1305-649: The garden resembles a tropical jungle. Very beautiful are these gardens in the spring, when the apricot and peach trees are in blossom here and there among the palms and the figs and vines are putting forth their leaves. In autumn, when the dates are ripening, the color effects, especially when the tops of the palms are lit up by the last rays of the setting sun, are something that once seen can never be forgotten. The great clusters of fruit, displaying every tint from bright yellow, through orange, vermilion, and maroon, to plum purple and chestnut brown, with their brilliant yellow or rich orange ivory-like stalks, contrast superbly with

1350-613: The ground or carved into the rock to tap underground aquifers." This rainwater harvesting system "never developed a serious salinity problem." In the drylands of southwestern North America, there is a habitat form called Palm Oasis (alternately Palm Series or Oasis Scrub Woodland) that has the native California fan palm as the overstory species. These Palm Oases can be found in California , Arizona , Baja California , and Sonora . People who live in an oasis must manage land and water use carefully. The most important plant in an oasis

1395-680: The highlands of Mexico . The parts of North America that are not in the Nearctic realm include most of coastal Mexico, southern Mexico, southern Florida , coastal central Florida , Central America , and the Caribbean islands. Together with South America , these regions are part of the Neotropical realm . The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) divides the Nearctic into four bioregions , defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than

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1440-688: The potential evapotranspiration of the areas was reduced by 30 to 50 percent within the oasis." The keystone date palm trees are "a main income source and staple food for local populations in many countries in which they are cultivated, and have played significant roles in the economy, society, and environment of those countries." Challenges for date palm oasis polycultures include "low rainfall, high temperatures, water resources often high in salt content, and high incidence of pests." The oases consist of almost unbroken forests of date palms, divided up into many gardens that are separated by mud walls and intersected by innumerable irrigation and drainage ditches… In

1485-399: The shade of the palms are grown many other kinds of fruit trees—oranges, olives, figs, apricots, peaches, pomegranates, and jujubes—interlaced with large grape vines that often hang in festoons from the palm trunks. Beneath the trees are small plots of garden vegetables, barley, and alfalfa. Neither date palms nor other trees are planted with any regularity, and the growth is often so dense that

1530-776: The south by the Neotropical Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt . This region also includes the only subtropical dry broadleaf forest in the Nearctic realm, the Sonoran–Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest . In terms of floristic provinces , it is represented by the Madrean Region . Although North America and South America are presently joined by the Isthmus of Panama , these continents were separated for about 180 million years, and evolved very different plant and animal lineages. When

1575-476: The species level (genus, family)." The Canadian Shield bioregion extends across the northern portion of the continent, from the Aleutian Islands to Newfoundland . It includes the Nearctic's arctic tundra and boreal forest ecoregions. In terms of floristic provinces , it is represented by part of the Canadian Province of the Circumboreal Region . The Eastern North America bioregion includes

1620-664: The surface naturally or via man-made wells. The presence of water on the surface or underground is necessary and the local or regional management of this essential resource is strategic, but not sufficient to create such areas: continuous human work and know-how (a technical and social culture) are essential to maintain such ecosystems. Some of the possible human contributions to maintaining an oasis include digging and maintaining wells, digging and maintaining canals, and continuously removing opportunistic plants that threaten to gorge themselves on water and fertility needed to maintain human and animal food supplies. Stereotypically, an oasis has

1665-474: The surface. Any incidence of water is then used by migrating birds , which also pass seeds with their droppings which will grow at the water's edge forming an oasis. It can also be used to plant crops. Oases in the Middle East and North Africa cover about 1,000,000 hectares (10,000 km ), however, they support the livelihood of about 10 million inhabitants. The stark ratio of oasis to desert land in

1710-426: The three strata create what is called the " oasis effect ". The three layers and all their interaction points create a variety of combinations of "horizontal wind speed, relative air temperature and relative air humidity." The plantings—through a virtuous cycle of wind reduction, increased shade and evapotranspiration —create a microclimate favorable to crops; "measurements taken in different oases have showed that

1755-648: The water into individual plots, soaking the soil." Oases often have human histories that are measured in millennia. Archeological digs at Ein Gedi in the Dead Sea Valley have found evidence of settlement dating to 6,000 BC. Al-Ahsa on the Arabian Peninsula shows evidence of human residence dating to the Neolithic . Anthropologically , the oasis is "an area of sedentary life, which associates

1800-535: The waters of the North Water polynya have not been given any formal protection. In 1982 the western waters in Lancaster Sound were listed as one of the greatest 188 natural areas in the world, and one of the only sites in the Arctic to get this recognition. Two sites within Lancaster Sound were chosen as the top 219 "The World's Greatest Natural Areas" by international work groups that met from 1980 to 1982. Of

1845-655: The way to the North Water Polynya. An upwelling of warmer water in this polynya helps keep it partially ice-free throughout the year, even when the ocean directly north and south is frozen. Another arm of the West Greenland Current reaches into Lancaster Sound, delivering Atlantic waters into the Arctic Ocean and contributing to that area's rich ecology. The lands adjacent to the North Water have been recognized internationally for their importance. In 1974 Denmark created Northeast Greenland National Park ,

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1890-400: The world means that the oasis ecosystem is "relatively minute, rare and precious." There are 90 “major oases” within the Sahara Desert. Some of their fertility may derive from irrigation systems called foggaras , khettaras , lkhttarts , or a variety of other regional names . In some oases systems, there is "a geometrical system of raised channels that release controlled amounts of

1935-479: The world population of little auk (dovekie) and thick-billed murres . This region has been home to the northernmost human settlements in the world for at least 5,000 years, through the Dorset and Thule cultural migrations. Present-day Inuit communities in Canada (Nunavut) and Avanersuaq (Greenland) rely on the polynya's concentration of marine mammals to sustain their traditional way of life. The North Water

1980-587: The world quality Nearctic sites listed, 31 years later only the two Lancaster Sound sites have not achieved national or provincial protection (nor any IUCN category Level I-VI of protection). There are presently no World Heritage Sites above the 73rd parallel north . At the 2012 IUCN Conservation Congress in Korea a resolution was passed calling on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to "promote Locally Managed Marine Areas as

2025-406: The world's largest national park in northeast Greenland. In 1977 it was designated an international biosphere reserve . Likewise, Canada created Canada's second largest national park, Quttinirpaaq in 1988 on the adjacent Ellesmere Island . Twelve percent of the world's land is protected, but only 1.6 percent of the global ocean area is protected. In a time of increasing Arctic industrial activity

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