Abisko Aurora & Snow Igloos
Abisko Valley, Lapland, Sweden · Arctic & Subarctic · polar
About this place
Explore Fennoscandian rain-shadow tundra, the subnivium thermal boundary layer, and lemming population cycles.
For kids: Peek beneath fluffy Lapland snow where lemmings build warm secret tunnels under green northern lights!
Abisko Aurora & Snow Igloos · 360° Habitat Camp
What to look for
- Fluffy subnivium snow blanket — Lemmus lemmus winter runways. Locate deep snowpack trapping geothermal heat inside the subnivium
- Mountain birch treeline — Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii. Centre the subarctic mountain birch ecotone browsing zone
- Abisko blue-hole clear sky — Orographic rain-shadow microclimate. Scan the rain-shadow sky dome created by the Scandinavian Mountains
Source: Pauli et al. (2013), Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment — The subnivium: aseasonal winter thermal refuge.
Ask together: Why does fluffy, airy snow keep animals much warmer underneath than hard, solid ice?
Field quiz
Kids' question: What makes fresh snow work like a warm blanket for tiny animals underneath?
- Millions of tiny air pockets trapped between snowflakes
- Snowflakes are actually hot inside
- Underground campfires lit by squirrels
Answer
Millions of tiny air pockets trapped between snowflakes
Adults' question: How do rain-on-snow events disrupt Fennoscandian lemming cycles and Arctic fox breeding?
- Basal ice crusts lock away mosses and collapse subnivium thermal insulation
- Rainwater washes lemmings out to the Baltic Sea
- Birch trees absorb all oxygen beneath the snow
- Aurora magnetic fields repel small rodents
Answer
Basal ice crusts lock away mosses and collapse subnivium thermal insulation
360° photo: Jojoo64, CC BY-SA 4.0
See it live: Live check: Nordic Winter Woodland Birds & Squirrels
- By day
- Eurasian red squirrels, bullfinches, willow tits & great spotted woodpeckers Boreal willow tits cache thousands of seeds in bark crevices and drop body temperature by 10 °C overnight in regulated hypothermia.
- By night
- Quiet snowy Nordic pines & nocturnal forest hares or owls Cavity roosting and snow-burrow sheltering cut overnight metabolic costs for resident Scandinavian passerines.
Other language: Русский