The Polar Regions

1. The Polar Regions Eric Kim

2. What are the Polar Regions? The polar regions are the areas around the poles of the Earth. The North Pole stands in the Arctic Ocean, and the South Pole in the continent, Antarctica. The Arctic circle is the region north of the 60° north latitude. The Antarctic is south of the 60° south latitude. The weather in the polar regions are frigid. The temperature in the areas are colder than countries closer to the equator. This is caused by the solar energy being less intense from travelling a farther distance, and being scattered and absorbed while entering the atmosphere. The countries within the arctic include the U.S.A., Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Russia. In Canada? The northern edges of the Canadian territories are within the Arctic Circle. However, much of the territories are cold sub-arctic. The Inuit people live in this area.

3. What conditions make it difficult to explore/survive in? I would say that the main condition that makes it difficult to be in the polar regions is the extremely cold temperature. Without proper equipment or clothing, you could suffer from hypothermia. The snow would also be very difficult to trudge through with just your normal boots or shoes. Finding food in the polar areas is also challenging. Antarctica is a desert. It has very little precipitation throughout the year. The air is also very dry and cold. Scientists and explorers have constant trouble with dry skin and cracked lips. Antarctica also lacks a diverse amount of vegetation, due to the extreme temperatures. These reasons don’t make permanent settlement in Antarctica ideal. However, there are many settlements around the arctic. There is more than 40 ethnic groups living in the arctic. This includes Canada’s own Inuit people.

4. Climates The Arctic The Antarctic Antarctica has the coldest climate on Earth. The coldest temperature ever recorded (-89.2° Celsius) was on Antarctica. No month has an average temperature above 0° Celsius. Antarctica has an average of 166 mm of precipitation throughout the continent, yearly. There are 3 climatic regions in Antarctica: The central area is extremely cold and has little snowfall. The costal areas are milder than the interior, but are still quite chilly, and the Antarctic peninsula region has the warmest climate, and above-freezing temperatures in the summer is common. January is generally the coldest month, with average temperatures between -40° and 0° Celsius. Temperatures in winter can sometimes drop below -50° Celsius. July is the warmest month with temperatures between -10° to 10° Celsius. Accurate precipitation amounts are more difficult to record than things like temperature. Each region usually receives less than 500 mm of precipitation annually.

5. Why is Investigation Important? Investigation in the polar regions are important because it can help us study colder climates. We can also see how animals in the area stay warm enough to survive, and use that information for equipment for similar temperatures. Scientists and researchers can also research the behaviors of the Arctic and Antarctic animals, and see how we could observe them without provoking them. There would be a lot to do with the ecology. Researchers could also conduct multiple tests there. The research could help find a way for humans to permanently live in the Antarctic. Eventually, they might find a way to make a nice, modern house that can withstand Antarctica’s strong winds and extreme temperatures with all the utilities a normal home has.

6. Past Explorations Many people explore the polar regions. Either as a challenge, for research, or just for sight-seeing. Being able to say that you’ve been to the coldest place on Earth is an honourable feat. In 1820, multiple expeditions claimed to have seen Antarctica. The very first were a Russian expedition led by Faddey Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. Approximately a year later, an American sealer named Captain John Davis first set foot on Antarctica. The first attempt to find a route from the coastline to the South Pole was made by a British explorer named Robert Falcon Scott in the Discover Expedition (1901-1904). Robert, along with Ernest Shakleton and Edward Wilson, aimed to reach as far south as possible, and made it to 82°16’ South in 1902. Ernest later returned as the leader of the Nimrod expedition with 3 others. In 1909, they reached 88°23’ South before being forced to turn back. The basic geography of Antarctica wasn’t known until mid-late 19th century. In 1909, the American explorer, Robert Peary, claimed to be the first person in history to have reached the north pole. However, many people argue whether or not he actually got there. The first people to reach the north pole without any outside help, dogs, airplanes, or re-supplies, were Richard Weber (from Canada), and MishaMalakhov (from Russia) in 1995.

7. Technologies To explore the regions, people use things like skies and snowshoes to prevent them from sinking into the snow. Some people use dogsleds to get around as they are a more efficient way to move. To survive in these regions, people need proper clothing for the frigid temperature. The clothes are to maintain your body temperature. People should also wear sunglasses or something similar because the snow reflects the sun’s light brightly, and could damage their eyes. People use igloos as a shelter; snow is a good insulator. Researchers or Scientists would live in a main research base. A Canadian invention that is commonly used in snowy areas is the snowmobile. It was invented by Joseph-Armand Bombardeir in around 1960.

8. How People could explore the Polar Regions Responsibly There are many ways to responsibly research the area. A person shouldn’t leave garbage that could possibly harm the environment or an animal. One big thing that is affecting the polar regions is global warming. Global warming is thought to have been cause by human activity. The mean temperature of the Earth rose approximately by 0.74° Celsius in the last 100 years. More than half of this warming happened in the last 25 years. This sudden warming is causing the Arctic and Antarctic to melt. This will make the sea level to rise and flooding will occur. There could be a way to counter global warming, or at least slow it. This is done by cutting power usage and consumption. You could turn the temperature of your house down, switch to more efficient light bulbs, or use a car that pollutes less. The temperature of both the Arctic and Antarctic are warming, and causing ice and snow to melt. The arctic ice is a source of fresh water, and it is a problem if the water is just melting away into the Arctic Ocean. Researchers predict that in the future, the warming will continue. Heavy precipitation and heat waves will become more common.