Washington Land Research Articles

SULCIPENTAMERUS (PENTAMERIDA, BRACHIOPODA) FROM THE LOWER SILURIAN WASHINGTON LAND GROUP, NORTH GREENLAND

Abstract: The brachiopod Sulcipentamerus, previously considered a common endemic pentameride genus in the Lower Silurian (Aeronian) of South China, is reported from largely coeval strata in the Hauge Bjerge, Ymers Gletcher and Odins Fjord formations (Washington Land Group) of North Greenland. Two species are present. In eastern North Greenland, S. cf. dorsoplanus occurs in carbonate strata of Aeronian – early Telychian age, whereas in the western region, a new species, S. lunatus sp. nov., is described. The identification of both forms as Sulcipentamerus is indicated by their relatively long ventral median septum and dorsal inner hinge plates. The new species, Sulcipentamerus lunatus sp. nov., is characterized by a nonlobate shell, a narrow but sharply defined interarea bordering the delthyrium and a deeply concave pseudodeltidium. Despite the two known occurrences of the genus in South China and Greenland, the Sulcipentamerus‐bearing Harpidium Fauna of North Greenland (northeastern part of Laurentia) was quite distinct from both the Aeronian–Telychian brachiopod faunas of South China and the southern half of Laurentia. In general, the Aeronian pentameride brachiopod faunas of these three regions are strongly endemic, in contrast to their more tightly clustered counterparts from Avalonia, Baltica, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Tadzhikistan, Kolyma and Novaya Zemlya.

Second Isaiah Lands in Washington, DC: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” as Biblical Narrative and Biblical Hermeneutic*

Even though Martin Luther King, Jr. constantly cited the Bible, no one has seriously examined his rhetoric as biblical hermeneutic. Here I argue that in “I Have a Dream,” King explodes closed memories of the Exodus by reconceptualizing a hermeneutic of (Second) Isaiah as he interprets African-Americans' experience of oppression and exile in Babylon/America and their hope for a new Exodus. Drawing on African-American political rhetoric, King spotlights biblical writers' dialogue with each other and extends the arc of biblical narrative into the present. He also anticipates certain forms of liberation theology of the 1970s and beyond.

Timber Trends on Private Lands in Western Oregon and Washington: A New Look

Abstract Market model projections of private harvest in the Douglas-fir region over the period to 2054 suggest that harvests in western Oregon could be sustained at or above recent levels for the full period with ending inventories at least as high as in 2004. Western Washington, in contrast, may face some harvest reductions, particularly on other private ownerships, as a result of high harvests in the 1980s and continued rapid land loss. Projected silvicultural regimes in both half-states shift toward more use of commercial thinning on all private ownerships. No trend in future log prices is foreseen. In policy simulations, applying Washington's riparian protection policy to western Oregon led to a 4.4% annual private harvest reduction. Extension to intermittent streams in western Washington reduced annual harvest by 1.9%. Quintupling national forest harvest across the region increased annual regional harvest by 3.2% with more than a quarter of the public increment offset by private harvest reductions.

Monitoring late-successional forest biodiversity in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A.

The era of ecosystem management for federal forest lands in the Pacific Northwest began in 1994 with the adoption of the Northwest Forest Plan. This plan was designed to maintain and restore species and ecosystems associated with late successional and old-growth forests on over 10 million ha of federal lands in Washington, Oregon and California. The plan called for implementation monitoring, effectiveness monitoring, and validation monitoring for a variety of ecological and socio-economic components. Monitoring has become a central part of management of the federal forests in the region and managers and scientists have gained considerable experience in implementing this large and complex program. The components of the monitoring plan include late-successional/old growth vegetation, northern spotted owls, marbled murrelets, aquatic habitat and social conditions. The monitoring plan is strongly based on vegetation layer created with TM satellite imagery and on a regional grid of forest inventory plots. The lessons learned from the implementation of this monitoring plan include: 1) agencies need to devote considerable resources to insure that effective monitoring will occur at broad scales; 2) aggregation of local monitoring efforts is not a substitute for a designed regional monitoring plan; 3) vegetation structure and composition, measured with satellite imagery and inventory plots, is a cost-effective, broad-scale indicator of biological diversity; 4) some species, such as threatened and endangered species, are not necessarily covered with habitat approaches and may require population monitoring; 5) our scientific understanding of monitoring components will vary widely as will the approaches to data collection and analysis; 6) monitoring requires research support to develop and test metrics and biodiversity models; 7) links of monitoring to decision-making (adaptive management) are still being forged. Key words: aquatic ecosystems, endangered species, old-growth forests, Pacific Northwest, USA, regional ecosystem management

Palaeoeskimo dwellings in Greenland: A survey

In Greenland, Palaeoeskimo dwellings are mostly concentrated in the north and northeast parts of the island. Some are found in the southeast, in the west (from Nuuk to Disko Bay), and in the northwest (Inglefield Land and Washington Land). During the entire period, Palaeoeskimo dwellings show an emphasis on an axial element. In the Early Palaeoeskimo period (Saqqaq and Independence I) the fireplace is a separate square box inside two parallel rows of flags or boulders. Cooking and/or seething stones are common during Saqqaq and rare in Dorset. In Late Saqqaq, a shift in dwelling style to a platform-like dwelling is indicated by material from the Disko Bay region. During Independence II, the external borders of the axial feature often extend towards the front of the dwelling and may display "wings" at one or both ends. Late Dorset is only found in Northwest Greenland where the material from Inglefield Land documents the presence of at least four dwelling types with a clear axial element in the more substantial ruins.

Explanatory notes to the Geological map of Greenland, 1:500 000, Humboldt Gletscher, Sheet 6

Dawes, P.R. 2004: Explanatory notes to the Geological map of Greenland, 1:500 000, Humboldt Gletscher, Sheet 6. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Map Series 1, 48 pp. + map.
 These explanatory notes cover the map region bounded by latitudes 78°N and 81°N and longitudes 56°W and 74°W, with geology shown on the land areas between Nares Strait - the seaway between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, Canada - and the Inland Ice. The bedrock geology is composed of Precambrian and Lower Palaeozoic provinces that continue across Nares Strait into Canada. Map units and mineral occurrences are described in general terms and are proceeded by sections on physical environment, logistics, data sources and geoscientific research. The notes are aimed at the practical user and a guide for further reading.The bedrock is composed of three provinces separated by unconformities, each representing a hiatus of c. 500 Ma during which basic dykes were emplaced. The Palaeoproterozoic Inglefield mobile belt, forming the crystalline shield, is an E-W-trending belt of deposition and orogeny characterised by polyphase magmatism, deformation and high-grade metamorphism. Clastic deposition, with magmatism at c. 1985 Ma, are the oldest events recorded, followed by the accumulation of the Etah Group (carbonate, pelitic and psammitic sediments with supposedly coeval mafic and ultramafic rocks) between 1980 and 1950 Ma ago. These rocks were intruded 1950 to 1915 Ma ago by the Etah meta-igneous complex, that records polyphase plutonism (intermediate to felsic, with some basic and magnetite-rich rocks), followed by deformation and partial melting producing granites 1785 to 1740 Ma ago. The Mesoproterozoic Thule Basin, defined by the unmetamorphosed and little deformed Thule Supergroup, records sedimentation and basaltic volcanism at least as old as 1270 Ma. The faulted, north-eastern basin margin shown on the map preserves the passage from the basinal sequence to a relatively thin platform succession invaded by basic sills. The Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin is represented by a homoclinal Cambrian to Silurian shelf carbonate succession and a major Silurian reef complex, with coeval siliciclastic slope deposits. The map region includes the classical area for Franklinian stratigraphy, now composed of 29 formations and four groups - Ryder Gletscher, Morris Bugt, Washington Land and Peary Land Groups.The only younger units preserved in the map region are widespread Quaternary deposits, an isolated outcrop of coarse-grained fluvial deposits (Bjørnehiet Formation) and non-carbonised wood erratics of Neogene age.Five mineral occurrence types are shown on the map: in lithologies of the Inglefield mobile belt, sulphide-graphite rust zones, a magnetite deposit and copper-gold mineralisation and in the Franklinian Basin, commercially drilled, zinc-lead-silver and zinc-lead-barium mineralisations. The basic ingredients of a petroleum model exist in the Franklinian Basin but prospectivity is low.

Explanatory notes to the Geological map of Greenland, 1:500 000, Humboldt Gletscher, Sheet 6

These explanatory notes cover the map region bounded by latitudes 78°N and 81°N and longitudes 56°W and 74°W, with geology shown on the land areas between Nares Strait - the seaway between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, Canada - and the Inland Ice. The bedrock geology is composed of Precambrian and Lower Palaeozoic provinces that continue across Nares Strait into Canada. Map units and mineral occurrences are described in general terms and are proceeded by sections on physical environment, logistics, data sources and geoscientific research. The notes are aimed at the practical user and a guide for further reading.
 The bedrock is composed of three provinces separated by unconformities, each representing a hiatus of c. 500 Ma during which basic dykes were emplaced. The Palaeoproterozoic Inglefield mobile belt, forming the crystalline shield, is an E-W-trending belt of deposition and orogeny characterised by polyphase magmatism, deformation and high-grade metamorphism. Clastic deposition, with magmatism at c. 1985 Ma, are the oldest events recorded, followed by the accumulation of the Etah Group (carbonate, pelitic and psammitic sediments with supposedly coeval mafic and ultramafic rocks) between 1980 and 1950 Ma ago. These rocks were intruded 1950 to 1915 Ma ago by the Etah meta-igneous complex, that records polyphase plutonism (intermediate to felsic, with some basic and magnetite-rich rocks), followed by deformation and partial melting producing granites 1785 to 1740 Ma ago. The Mesoproterozoic Thule Basin, defined by the unmetamorphosed and little deformed Thule Supergroup, records sedimentation and basaltic volcanism at least as old as 1270 Ma. The faulted, north-eastern basin margin shown on the map preserves the passage from the basinal sequence to a relatively thin platform succession invaded by basic sills. The Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin is represented by a homoclinal Cambrian to Silurian shelf carbonate succession and a major Silurian reef complex, with coeval siliciclastic slope deposits. The map region includes the classical area for Franklinian stratigraphy, now composed of 29 formations and four groups - Ryder Gletscher, Morris Bugt, Washington Land and Peary Land Groups. The only younger units preserved in the map region are widespread Quaternary deposits, an isolated outcrop of coarse-grained fluvial deposits (Bjørnehiet Formation) and non-carbonised wood erratics of Neogene age.
 Five mineral occurrence types are shown on the map: in lithologies of the Inglefield mobile belt, sulphide-graphite rust zones, a magnetite deposit and copper-gold mineralisation and in the Franklinian Basin, commercially drilled, zinc-lead-silver and zinc-lead-barium mineralisations. The basic ingredients of a petroleum model exist in the Franklinian Basin but prospectivity is low.

An Analysis of Stream Habitat Conditions in Reference and Managed Watersheds on Some Federal Lands within the Columbia River Basin

The loss of both habitat quality and quantity for anadromous fish in the Columbia River basin has been identified as a major factor in the decline of many species and has been linked to a variety of land management activities. In this study, we compared stream reaches in watersheds representing both managed and reference conditions to determine whether we could detect differences in physical habitat variables. We divided stream habitat measures into three components: Stream banks, instream habitat (pools and pool depth), and stream substrate. We randomly sampled perennial streams within 261 sixth hydrologic unit code (HUC) stream reaches on federal lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The sample population represented stream reaches in 62 reference watersheds and 199 managed watersheds. An unbalanced, incomplete-block-design analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed on each of the habitat variables using geology type as the block effect and bank-full width, stream gradient, and average precipitation as the covariates. Watersheds containing reference stream reaches had a slightly higher percentage of federal lands, were smaller, tended to occur at higher mean elevations, and received more annual precipitation than did the managed watersheds. We observed differences in most measures of stream habitat between reference and managed watersheds, generally in the direction we expected. Stream banks were more stable and more undercut in reference stream reaches. Pools in reference stream reaches were deeper than pools in managed stream reaches and had less fine sediment in pool tails. Analysis of covariance was an effective way to compare data across a large, relatively heterogeneous landscape where sample site stratification may be impractical or sample sizes are limited. We believe that the comparison of reference conditions to conditions across managed landscapes provides a credible way to report on the condition of these systems in lieu of trend information at individual sites.

Fuel Reduction Strategies in Forest Communities: A Longitudinal Analysis of Public Support

Abstract This study uses panel data from a mail survey administered to the same individuals in 1996 and 2000 to measure change in public attitudes toward fire management programs on federal lands in eastern Oregon and Washington. Findings were generally similar between 1996 and 2000, but three noteworthy changes occurred over the four-year interval. First, the number of citizens who view smoke as a problem has risen. Second, citizens gave Forest Service information programs lower ratings and considered other sources of information more reliable. And finally, the relationship between the Forest Service and residents in the region appears to have eroded. Nevertheless, respondents continued to support prescribed fire and mechanized thinning for fuel reduction purposes in local forests.

Late Quaternary history of Washington Land, North Greenland

During the last glacial stage, Washington Land in western North Greenland was probably completely inundated by the Greenland Ice Sheet. The oldest shell dates from raised marine deposits that provide minimum ages for the last deglaciation are 9300 cal. yr BP (northern Washington Land) and 7600 cal. yr BP (SW Washington Land). These dates indicate that Washington Land, which borders the central part of Nares Strait separating Greenland from Ellesmere Island in Canada, did not become free of glacier ice until well into the Holocene. The elevation of the marine limit falls from 110 m a.s.l. in the north to 60 m a.s.l. in the southwest. The recession was followed by readvance of glaciers in the late Holocene, and the youngest shell date from Neoglacial lateral moraines north of Humboldt Gletscher is 600 cal. yr BP. Since the Neoglacial maximum, probably around 100 years ago, glaciers have receded. The Holocene marine assemblages comprise a few southern extralimital records, notably ofChlamys islandicadated to 7300 cal. yr BP. Musk ox and reindeer disappeared from Washington Land recently, perhaps in connection with the cold period that culminated about 100 years ago.

Late Quaternary history of Washington Land, North Greenland

Late Quaternary history of Washington Land, North Greenland

Washington State University

Washington State University is in Pullman, on the state's eastern border. It is Washington's land grant (state-operated) university, conducting basic and applied research and providing public service statewide. The university consists of 10 colleges and a graduate school. The Department of Teaching and Learning works primarily with preservice and in-service educators and emergent instructional designers. The program emphasizes the development of instructional media that often includes the design and production of digital instructional media. The Wazzu Widgets project is a project designed for students of instructional media production who have advanced digital production capabilities.

A new integalacial sequence from Washington Land, Northern Greenland

Macrofossil analyses of a Quaternary, till-covered sequence in Washington Land, north-western Greenland, are indicative of biotas similar to those of today. The only southern extralimital species found is Empetrum nigrum; its presence indicates slightly higher summer temperatures than today. AMS radiocarbon dating confirms that the sequence is pre- Holocene, and we suggest that the sequence belongs to the last interglacial stage.

A new integalacial sequence from Washington Land, Northern Greenland

Macrofossil analyses of a Quaternary, till-covered sequence in Washington Land, north-western Greenland, are indicative of biotas similar to those of today. The only southern extralimital species found is Empetrum nigrum; its presence indicates slightly higher summer temperatures than today. AMS radiocarbon dating confirms that the sequence is pre- Holocene, and we suggest that the sequence belongs to the last interglacial stage.

A new volcanic province: evidence from glacial erratics in western North Greenland

Mapping and regional geological studies in northern Greenland were carried out during the project Kane Basin 1999 (see Dawes et al. 2000, this volume). During ore geological studies in Washington Land by one of us (B.T.), finds of erratics of banded iron formation (BIF) directed special attention to the till, glaciofluvial and fluvial sediments. This led to the discovery that in certain parts of Daugaard-Jensen Land and Washington Land volcanic rocks form a common component of the surficial deposits, with particularly colourful, red porphyries catching the eye. The presence of BIF is interesting but not altogether unexpected since BIF erratics have been reported from southern Hall Land just to the north-east (Kelly & Bennike 1992) and such rocks crop out in the Precambrian shield of North-West Greenland to the south (Fig. 1; Dawes 1991). On the other hand, the presence of volcanic erratics was unexpected and stimulated the work reported on here.

Notes on the late Cenozoic history of the Washington Land area, western North Greenland

Information on Late Tertiary and Quaternary deposits in the Washington Land area is extremely limited. This is perhaps surprising since, as a central part of Nares Strait separating Greenland and Canada, the Washington Land area is crucial to the understanding of the much debated Late Quaternary history of the region. Three shell samples, two wood samples and a peat sample, collected in the mid 1970s, have been radiocarbon dated and discussed by Weidick (1977, 1978), Jepsen (1982), Blake (1987) and Bennike & Jepsen (in press); wood samples collected in 1997 were described by Bennike (1998). Much more information is available from Inglefield Land to the south, and Hall Land to the north (Nichols 1969; Dawes 1987; Blake et al. 1992; Kelly & Bennike 1992). Thus, when the opportunity to carry out field work in the Washington Land area arose in connection with the project Kane Basin 1999 (see Dawes 2000a, this volume), the chance was taken to attempt to fill this knowledge gap. The main aim was to locate the source of the wood – hopefully within a sedimentary sequence. In addition, observations and sampling of Quaternary deposits and landforms were planned. However, since the source of the wood proved impossible to locate, more time was spent on Quaternary deposits than originally expected.

Late Cenozoic wood from Washington Land, North Greenland

The arctic regions are north of the tree line, but nevertheless wood is quite plentiful. Most of this wood in Greenland is driftwood that has floated across the Arctic Ocean, to be eventually deposited on beaches. Following previous deglaciations and isostatic rebound, raised beaches are common, and driftwood may be common below the marine limit. Most driftwood is of postglacial age, but pre-Holocene driftwood has been reported from Greenland and elsewhere in the Arctic.
 Some of the pre-Holocene wood derives from trees that grew in the Arctic in the past, when climates were warmer than at the present. Best known are the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary diverse floras that comprise many warmth-demanding species including vines, but the wood from these time periods is more or less fossilised. Trees also grew in the Arctic much later, and some of this wood is remarkably well preserved and looks much like postglacial driftwood. Thus when the geologist Lauge Koch observed tree trunks up to 165 m above sea level in the hills of the Kap København area in eastern Peary Land (Fig. 1), he interpreted this as postglacial driftwood (Koch 1926). However, the Kap København Formation is now dated to the PlioPleistocene (Bennike 1990). Although no trees have been found in growth position in the Kap København area, it is obvious that the trees grew locally, since leaves, needles, seeds and cones are common, and the rich fossil insect fauna also comprises numerous species that are dependent on trees (Böcher 1995). At two other sites in Peary Land concentrations of pre-Holocene wood are present, namely at Jørgen Brønlund Fjord and at Baggården. The occurrence at Jørgen Brønlund Fjord is situated below the marine limit, and the wood could be driftwood, but the concentration of wood fragments is more indicative of local tree growth (Bennike 1990). At Baggården, wood is found along the shore of the lake and along Sydpaselv that drains into Øvre Midsommersø (Bennike 1990; E. Knuth, National Museum, Copenhagen, archive). A few specimens from this locality archived in the National Museum in Copenhagen (NM VIII A 4512M) are small, abraded and fragmented pieces that do not show the size of the trees.
 From Washington Land, pre-Holocene wood has previously been reported from the pre-glacial Bjørnehiet Formation (GGU 211926 and 211929; Jepsen 1982), and from a gravel river bed north of Humboldt Gletscher (GGU 206054). At the latter site many wood pieces were reported at an altitude of 245–260 m above sea level (Blake 1987), which is far above the marine limit of the area. Weidick (1978) suggested that the wood is interglacial driftwood that was redeposited by glaciers, but again the concentration of wood fragments is hard to understand, so a source from local tree growth seems more likely. The wood in North Greenland bears resemblance to wood from the Beaufort Formation and related deposits in northern Canada (e.g., Matthews & Ovenden 1990; Matthews et al. 1990; Fyles et al. 1994). The Beaufort Formation is assigned to the Miocene and Pliocene. On western Ellesmere Island (Fig. 2), so-called high-level alluvium is fairly widespread. A notable occurrence here, at an elevation of approximately 400 m, is the Mid or Late Pliocene Beaver Pond peat that also contains a rich mammalian fauna, including the extinct rabbit Hypolagus that is also present in the Kap København Formation (Matthews & Ovenden 1990; C.R. Harington, personal communication 1994). During field work in Washington Land in the summer of 1997 a new locality with abundant wood was located along the river that drains into Aleqatsiaq Fjord, at c. 80°31.9′N, 65°25′W (Fig. 3), and the purpose of this note is to describe some samples of wood that were brought to Copenhagen.

Carbonate-hosted Zn-Pb-Ag mineralisation in Washington Land, western North Greenland

The multidisciplinary research project ‘Resources of the sedimentary basins of North and East Greenland’ was initiated in 1995 with financial support from the Danish Research Councils (Stemmerik et al. 1996). In 1997, North Greenland field studies under this project were carried out by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) in Washington Land. A two-week field season included sedimentological and petroleum geology-related studies, and reconnaissance exploration for economic mineral occurrences. Washington Land is made up of Cambrian – Lower Silurian carbonate platform and Lower Silurian reef belt successions of the Franklinian Basin. In northern Canada, platform carbonates of the Franklinian Basin host a major producing Zn-Pb deposit (Polaris) and several other sulphide occurrences (Kerr 1977; Gibbins 1991). The platform succession in North Greenland has received less attention from an exploration point of view, and to date only a few, scattered carbonate-hosted sulphide occurrences have been discovered (Jakobsen & Steenfelt 1985; von Guttenberg & van der Stijl 1993; Lind et al. 1994). One sulphide occurrence was known in Washington Land prior to the 1997 field work (Norford 1972; Lind et al. 1994).

Airborne geophysical surveys in central West Greenland and central East Greenland in 1997

In order to stimulate mining exploration activity in Greenland the Government of Greenland decided in 1993 to finance a five-year programme of airborne electromagnetic surveys over selected regions of Greenland, Project AEM Greenland 1994–1998. By the end of 1996 three surveys had been undertaken in various parts of Greenland (Stemp & Thorning 1995a, b; Stemp 1996a, b; Stemp 1997a, b). In 1992 the Danish Government financed a small aeromagnetic survey (Project Aeromag 1992; Thorning 1993). Regional aeromagnetic surveying was taken up again when the governments of Denmark and Greenland jointly financed two aeromagnetic surveys in 1995 and 1996 – the projects Aeromag 1995 and Aeromag 1996 (Thorning & Stemp 1997). To this suite of airborne geophysical surveys of selected regions in Greenland were added two surveys in 1997, both financed by the Government of Greenland. The fourth year of Project AEM Greenland 1994–1998 encompassed a transient electromagnetic (GEOTEM) and magnetic survey over northern Jameson Land, central East Greenland, while Project Aeromag 97 added a regional aeromagnetic survey over Disko Bugt – Nuussuaq, central West Greenland. As in previous years, commercial geophysical contractors carried out the survey operations in Greenland according to an agreement with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) entered into after international tendering following rules of the European Union. GEUS manages the projects and organises the distribution and use of the results. The new maps and digital data from the two 1997 surveys, a total of 85 252 line kilometres of data covering 51 414 km2, were released to the public on 1 March 1998. This note provides some introductory information about the two surveys. Further information can be found in reports by Stemp (1998) and Thorning (in press); both include a number of full-page colour anomaly maps from the survey areas.
 The airborne geophysical programme will continue in 1998, and the areas to be surveyed have already been selected. The final year of Project AEM Greenland 1994–1998 will include combined GEOTEM and magnetic surveys over two regions in North Greenland: Washington Land in western North Greenland, where operations are expected to start in May 1998 operating out of Alert in Canada, and later in the season over J.C. Christensen Land in central North Greenland operating out of Station Nord in eastern North Greenland. Project Aeromag 1998 will continue the regional aeromagnetic survey programme in West Greenland, extending the coverage by including most of the region from 63°45′N to 66°N in southern West Greenland. This project will be based at Nuuk and start in March 1998. The Government of Greenland will finance all surveys in 1998. Figure 1 shows all survey areas for the electromagnetic and magnetic surveys of Project AEM Greenland 1994–1998 and the aeromagnetic survey areas of Project Aeromag 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Floristical and ecological characterization of the polar desert zone of Greenland

Abstract. Species composition and biomass of four plant communities were investigated in two coastal polar desert areas in eastern North Greenland, bordering the North East Water Polynya ‐ an ice‐free sea area kept open by upwelling ‐ and compared with inland areas in North Greenland. Herb barren, the poorest type, has a species richness of 6 species/m2, a cover of 0.7 %, and an aboveground biomass of 0.6 g/m2 (vascular plants). The richest type, Saxifraga oppositifolia snowbed, has 10 species/m2, 5.0 % cover, and 11.2 g/m2 biomass.A floristic and vegetation boundary exists a few kilometres from the coast. The coastal areas bordering the North East Water Polynya had an impoverished flora and vegetation compared to areas near the ice‐covered sea, possibly caused by very low summer temperatures and high frequency of clouds.A new delimitation of the polar deserts of Greenland is proposed on the basis of the number of vascular plant species, the occurrence of species with a specific inland distribution in North Greenland and the dominating life forms. At present the polar desert zone includes only areas within a zone up to ca. 15 km from the outer coast of high arctic Greenland ‐ north of ca. 80° N. Large areas formerly classified as polar deserts in eastern North Greenland, as well as in Washington Land in western North Greenland, are excluded. New floristic data confirm that Greenland is correctly included in the Canadian province of the arctic polar deserts, whereas there is no reason for subdividing the polar deserts of the Canadian province.