Arctic

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The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border
The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border
Satellite image of the Arctic surface
Satellite image of the Arctic surface

The Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. In the northern hemisphere, the Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean (which overlies the North Pole) and parts of Canada, Greenland (a territory of Denmark), Russia, the United States (Alaska), Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The word Arctic comes from the Greek word arktos, which means bear. This is due to the location of the constellation Ursa Major, the "Great Bear", above the Arctic region.


There are numerous definitions of the Arctic region. The boundary is generally considered to be north of the Arctic Circle (66° 33’N), which is the limit of the midnight sun and the polar night. Other definitions are based on climate and ecology, such as the 10°C (50°F) July isotherm, which also roughly corresponds to the tree line in most of the Arctic. Socially and politically, the Arctic region includes the northern territories of the eight Arctic states, including Lapland, although by natural science definitions much of this territory is considered subarctic.

The Arctic is mostly a vast, ice-covered ocean (which is sometimes considered to be a northern sea of the Atlantic Ocean) surrounded by treeless, frozen ground. It teems with life, including organisms living in the ice, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals and human societies.

The Arctic region is, by its nature, a unique area. The cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions. From the perspective of the physical, chemical and biological balance in the world, the Arctic region is in a key position. It reacts sensitively particularly to changes in the climate, which reflect extensively back on the global state of the environment. From the perspective of research into climatic change, the Arctic region is considered an early warning system.

During the Cretaceous, the Arctic still had seasonal snows, though only a light dusting and not enough to permanently hinder plant growth. Animals such as Chasmosaurus, Hypacrosaurus, Troodon, and Edmontosaurus may have all migrated north to take advantage of the summer growing season, and migrated south to warmer climes when the winter came. A similar may also have been present found amongst dinosaurs that lived in Antarctic regions, such as Muttaburrasaurus of Australia. The name Arctic comes from the ancient Greek αρκτος, meaning 'bear', and is a reference to the constellations of the Great Bear and Little Bear, which are located near the North Star.

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[edit] Nature

[edit] Temperatures

The Arctic’s climate is characterized by cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation almost always comes in the form of snow; it hasn't rained in over two hundred years. The arctic's annual precipitation is very low with an average of less than 51 cm (20 in.). Persistent winds constantly arouse snow to create the illusion of continuous snowfall. Its warmest average temperature can be -37°C (98.6°F) and the coldest average temperature is approximately -68°C (90.4°F). The climate is moderated by oceanic influences, having generally warmer temperatures and heavier snowfalls than the colder and drier interior areas. However, along the edge, the Arctic Ocean remains frozen throughout the year.

[edit] Animals

The main animals are polar bears, wolverines, Arctic foxes, ptarmigans and beluga whales.

  • Polar bears have white fur so they can camouflage in the snow. This helps them to sneak up on seals when they’re hungry.
  • The wolverine is part of the weasel family, and lives in holes in the ground. Though it is a small animal, it is very powerful.
  • Arctic foxes are hard to spot in the snow because of their thick white fur. In the summer, their fur turns a brownish-grey colour.
  • The Ptarmigan is a type of bird which nests in the snowy mountains, where they raise their young.
  • Beluga means “white one” in Russian. Adults are white and the young are grey. This is so that the young can’t be seen easily by their predators. (Type of whale)
  • Some other animals include the Arctic Wolf, Ringed Seal, Lemmings, and the Arctic Hare.

[edit] Pollution

Long-range pollution pathways to the Arctic
Long-range pollution pathways to the Arctic

Nature in the Arctic is comparatively clean although there are certain ecologically difficult localized pollution problems that present a serious threat to people’s health living around these pollution sources. Due to the prevailing worldwide sea and air currents, the Arctic area is the fall out region for long-range transport pollutants and in some places the concentrations exceed the levels of densely populated urban areas. An example of this is the phenomena Arctic Haze, which is commonly blamed on long-range pollutants.

[edit] Environmental impact assessment

It is known that from the perspective of positive development in the Arctic region, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is in a key position. In the Arctic region, it is important that in a process, special attention is given to assessing social impacts. It is generally known that scientific information focused on the Arctic region is insufficient, so the actors conducting an EIA do not get sufficient material in order to compile a precise assessment.

Developing a dialogue between new actors in the region, business life and the local population is important so that mutual understanding and often conflicting needs for development can be improved. Improving access to information by local inhabitants, well functioning participatory planning, and ensuring the optimum use of its results are part of this activity. The horizontal processing of administration by different sectors in society that is required for an EIA necessitates for its support the production of strong multidisciplinary information. Managing and analyzing the above-mentioned multidimensional and demanding process requires combining many scientific fields and methods and further scientific analysis and development of functional models.

[edit] Natural resources

The Arctic region includes sizeable potential natural resources (oil, gas, minerals, forest - if the subarctic is included - and fish) to which modern technology and the opening up of Russia have given significant new opportunities. The interest of the tourism industry in the cold and exotic Arctic is also on the increase. This is for example, seen in the rise in international tourism as a significant opportunity but also as a threat.

The Arctic region is one of the last and most extensive continuous wilderness areas in the world and its significance in preserving biodiversity and genotypes is considerable. The increasing presence of people fragments vital habitats. The Arctic is particularly susceptible to the abrasion of groundcover and to the disturbance of the rare reproduction places of the animals that are characteristic to the region.

See also : Petroleum exploration in the Arctic

External link: AMAP - the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme

[edit] International cooperation and politics

The Arctic region is one of the important focuses of international political interest. International Arctic cooperation got underway on a broad scale well over ten years ago. The International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), hundreds of scientists and specialists of the Arctic Council, the Barents Council and its regional cooperation have compiled high quality information on the Arctic.

[edit] Territorial claims

On December 20, 2001 Russia made an official submission into the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (article 76, paragraph 8). In the document it is proposed to establish new outer limits of the continental shelf of Russia beyond the previous 200 mile zone, but within the Russian Arctic sector.[1] The territory claimed by Russia in the submission is a large portion of the Arctic, including the North Pole.[2] One of the arguments was a statement, that the underwater Lomonosov Ridge and Mendeleev Ridge are extensions of the Eurasian continent. In 2002 the UN Commission neither rejected, nor accepted the Russian proposal, recommending to carry out additional research.[1]

Canada (citing the Law of the Sea) claims control over the waterways throughout the area.

[edit] Scientific exploration

Since 1937 the whole Arctic region was extensively explored by the Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations, scientific settlements that were established on the drift ice and were carried thousands of kilometers by the ice flow.[3]

[edit] A strategic military region

Some countries claim the Arctic has never been under the political control of any nation, although some nations' militaries have attached a strategic importance to the region. Canada has an outpost in the region (Alert), and has long laid claim to much of the Arctic. Several recent excursions by the Canadian navy have taken place, with more planned to underline Canadian sovereignty in the region. In the 1950s and 1960s, the arctic was often used by submarines to test new weapons, sonar equipment, and depth testing.

During the Cold War, the Arctic region was extensively monitored by the United States military and NATO, since it was believed that the first warnings of a nuclear strike from the Soviet Union would have been indicated by ICBMs launched over the North Pole towards the United States. The United States placed such importance on the region that two military decorations, the Arctic Service Ribbon and Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal, were established for military duty performed within the Arctic Circle.

In 2006, Envisat and EOS Aqua revealed a polar route connecting Spitzbergen and Siberia. [1] Increased Russian activity has also been detected, though this can be attributed to the Chelyuskin icebreaker wreck expeditionary force. [2]

[edit] Arctic Waters

[edit] Arctic Lands

[edit] The Arctic in Popular Culture

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines: Submissions to the Commission: Submission by the Russian Federation CLCS. United Nations
  2. ^ Area of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in the Arctic Ocean beyond 200-nautical-mile zone - borders of the 200 mile zone are marked in red, territory claimed by Russia is shaded
  3. ^ North Pole drifting stations (1930s-1980s)
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[edit] External links

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