Earth's Polar Regions

Do you wonder what Earth's Polar Regions are like? Where do polar bears live? Where do penguins swim? Why does the Sun never shine in winter in the Arctic? Why does aurora occur near the Earth’s Poles? How big are the Earth’s ice caps, and are they changing? The Earth’s Polar Regions are hosts to unique phenomena and ecosystems – both fascinating and beautiful. Explore the Earth’s Arctic and Antarctic through the links in this section.
A group of Emperor penguins wait their turn to dive into the ocean near <a href="/people/postcards/jean_pennycook_11_29_0.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">Ross Island, Antarctica</a> on November 3, 2004. Emperor penguins routinely dive to 500 meters in search of food. Scientists are interested in understanding how they can endure the stress of these dives in such an <a href="/earth/extreme_environments.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">extreme environment</a>.<p><small><em> Image courtesy of Emily Stone, National Science Foundation</em></small></p>A sinuous glowing band of <a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/aurora.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">aurora</a> (the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights) loops around the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_south.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">southern polar</a> region in the distance as viewed by astronauts onboard the space shuttle on <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-39.html">STS-039</a>. <a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/aurora/aurora_colors.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">Aurora are produced</a> when <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/particle_radiation.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">energetic particles</a> entering the Earth's atmosphere from space interact with <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/atom.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">atoms</a> and <a href="/earth/geology/molecule.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">molecules</a> in the atmosphere and release energy, emitted as light.<p><small><em>Courtesy of NASA, Astronaut Overmeyer and Dr. Hallinan</em></small></p>Roaming across Arctic <a href="/earth/polar/sea_ice.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">sea ice</a>, <a href="/earth/polar/polar_bears_jan07.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">polar bears</a> peer through cracks in the ice to look for ringed seals, their favorite food, in the water below. Almost all of a polar bear's food comes from the sea. The <a href="/earth/polar/sea_ice.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">floating sea ice</a> is a perfect vantage point for the bears as they hunt for food. Unfortunately, the amount of sea ice floating in the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_north.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">Arctic region</a> is shrinking each year, and getting farther apart.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Ansgar Walk. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.</em></small></p><a href="/earth/polar/inuit_culture.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">The Inuit</a> are the native cultures that continue to live on coastal areas of <a href="/earth/polar/arctic_tundra.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">Arctic tundra</a> in Canada, Alaska (USA), Siberia (Russia), and Greenland. This picture shows several Inuit constructing an igloo with blocks of <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_snow1.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">snow</a> in November, 1924. Traditionally, Inuit lived in igloos during the coldest months and tent-like huts during the warmer months.<p><small><em> Library of Congress Prints and Photographs, Photograph by Frank E. Kleinschmidt</em></small></p>Icebergs floating near Cape York, Greenland in September 2005. Icebergs are large pieces of ice floating in the <a href="/earth/Water/ocean.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">ocean</a> that have broken off of <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_glacier1.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">ice shelves or glaciers</a> in <a href="/earth/polar/polar.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">Earth's polar regions</a>. They are a part of the <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_intro.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">cryosphere</a>. Approximately 90% of an iceberg's <a href="/glossary/mass.html&edu=elem&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/triton_atmosphere.html">mass</a> is below the surface of the seawater. Because ice is less dense than water, a small portion of the iceberg stays above the seawater.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Mila Zinkova, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license</em></small></p>Greenland's <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/polar/cryosphere_glacier1.html">ice sheet</a> saw a record <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/headline_universe/olpa/greenland_10dec07.html">melt</a> in July 2012. Scientists studying this event have found that this melting event was triggered by an influx of unusually warm air and amplified by the presence of a blanket of thin low-level <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/cloud.html">clouds</a> which pushed temperatures up above freezing. For more information see the <a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/21638">press release</a> from the University of Wisconsin Madison.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison</em></small></p>

Explore Earth's Polar Regions

Geography and Geology at the Poles

Location The polar regions are the areas that surround Earth’s geographic North and South Poles. ...Read more

Magnetic Field at the Poles

Earth has a magnetic field. If you imagine a gigantic bar magnet inside of Earth, you'll have ...Read more

Polar Atmosphere

Phenomena in the Polar Atmosphere There are some unique phenomena that happen in the atmosphere ...Read more

Polar Oceans

There are two oceans in Earth’s polar regions: the Arctic Ocean, which occupies most of the ...Read more

Ice (The Cryosphere!)

The cryosphere includes the parts of the Earth system where water is in its frozen (solid) ...Read more

Polar Life

All sorts of living things call Earth’s polar regions home – from tiny lichens encrusting the ...Read more

Climate Change in Polar Regions

The effects of climate change are not felt with the same intensity in all parts of the world. ...Read more

Our Changing Planet

When we look around us, we can see that our planet's climate is changing rapidly. The National ...Read more

Arctic Cultures

There are people of different cultures and backgrounds who live in the Arctic region. Read ...Read more

Exploration at the Poles

Polar exploration includes the physical exploration of the Arctic and the Antarctica. The Arctic ...Read more

Postcards from the Poles

Antarctica is unique. It's cold. It's remote. And for the most part it is covered with ice. ...Read more

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Did you know?

Do you know what causes the different phases of the Moon?

Did you know that the Earth's magnetic pole in the Northern hemisphere is not aligned with the Earth's geographic north pole?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

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Chinook
xChinook : A dry down-slope wind which occurs on the downwind side of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind which results from the subsequent (adiabatic) warming of air which has dropped most of its moisture on windward slopes.

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Research Highlights

Scientists Find Signs of “Snowball Earth” Amidst Early Animal Evolution

Geologists have found evidence that sea ice extended to the equator 716.5 million years ago, bringing new precision to a "snowball Earth" event long suspected to have taken place around that time. Funded...Read more


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