The ice masses help to spark life in the otherwise barren Arctic environment. ... (6.4 centimeters) of precipitation each year — making it a polar desert, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.

What is the largest hot desert? The Sahara is the largest non-polar desert in the world, with an area of about 3.55 million square miles, according to the CIA.

Large amounts of dust from Asian deserts could be contributing to the warming of Arctic sea surfaces, but satellites are misreading these temperatures as being colder than they are.

A conveyor belt of Sahara Desert sand is sweeping dust to Europe and the Arctic Circle April 23, 2019 More than 6 years ago NASA model simulating concentration of dust in the atmosphere.