The polar regions are the areas of the Earth located around the north and south poles of the planet. In the case of the northern hemisphere, the polar region called the Arctic is made up of ice and masses of liquid ocean water. While in the southern hemisphere there is a continental land mass, Antarctica.
They extend from the 66º parallel to the extreme north in the northern hemisphere and from the 60º parallel to the south in the southern hemisphere. The polar regions are characterized by an extreme cold climate and the presence of permanent ice sheets. Temperatures drop to -98 ºC in Antarctica and down to -68 ºC in the Arctic.
The flora is scarce in both polar regions, being restricted to the presence of mosses, fungi, herbs and algae. The dominant angiosperms are grasses and sedges and the fauna is abundant, especially marine mammals.
In the marine waters the species of seals and whales abound, as well as many species of fish. In the Arctic polar region there are also the polar bear, reindeer, Arctic wolf and many other terrestrial species.
The relief of the Arctic polar region is mostly flat, with a seascape dominated by floating ice masses. While Antarctica is a continent with many areas above 2,000 meters above sea level.
The polar regions are of great geopolitical importance due to the large amount of natural resources that exist there. These include fresh water, hydrocarbons, and mineral and fishery resources..
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Both polar regions have in common the extreme cold climate and the presence of ice as the protagonist of the landscape. Beyond that, these regions show important differences.
It is an oceanic area dominated by layers of floating ice, where there is only land on the peripheral continental coasts and islands. The floating ice or ice pack varies from 1 to 5 meters thick, frequently forming the so-called icebergs or iceberg.
Icebergs are large masses of hard ice that are swept away by currents and only an eighth of their volume emerges. This makes them a danger to navigation, as demonstrated by the famous case of the sinking of the Titanic..
The most relevant of the soils of the few terrestrial areas of the Arctic polar region is the presence of permafrost. These are soils with a permanently frozen layer, which occurs continuously in areas with average temperatures below -5 ° C.
In those areas with temperatures between 0 ° C and -5 ° C, intermittent permafrost occurs during the year.
Global warming is causing the Arctic ice to melt, causing serious environmental disruption. Among these, marine currents are affected, as temperatures change, as well as ecological imbalances..
This region is the fourth largest continent with 14 million square kilometers. Except for the Antarctic peninsula, which is the northernmost territory, the rest of the continent is covered by a 1.9 km ice sheet.
One of the serious problems in this region is the melting caused by global warming. As it is land covered with ice, the melting of said ice adds volume to the sea water.
Therefore, the rise in sea level is generated with the negative effects that this entails worldwide..
As a result of this thawing process, the largest icebergs are generated in Antarctica. However, the marine currents in the area keep them confined close to the mainland..
In the upper part of the atmosphere there is an ozone layer (O3) whose function is to filter the ultraviolet rays from the Sun. This layer has been affected worldwide by the effect of certain polluting gases that destroy ozone.
The ozone layer is thinner over the polar regions, these areas are called holes in the ozone layer. It is an annual cyclical phenomenon, reducing the thickness in the spring and increasing in summer..
This has the consequence that the penetration of ultraviolet radiation is much greater in the polar regions, with the consequent effects on global warming. This is especially relevant due to the impact on the melting of polar ice that is more marked on Antarctica..
The polar regions are the areas that form ice caps around the North and South geographic poles of the Earth..
This corresponds to the north polar region the area delimited by the Arctic circle north of the parallel of latitude 66 ° 33'52 "N.
For its part, for the south polar region it encompasses the area defined south of the parallel of latitude 60º, called the Antarctic polar circle..
The areas that belong to the Arctic polar region are defined by the isotherm of 10 ºC in the month of July. That is, the line that joins all the points whose temperature reaches a maximum of 10 ºC in the month of July.
In these terms, the Arctic encompasses the entire north coast of Alaska (United States), Canada and the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Greenland (Denmark) and almost all of Iceland. It also includes the northern coast of Norway, northern part of Sweden and Finland, northern coast of Russia, the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and part of the North Atlantic..
The Antarctic Treaty (1959) delimits this region from the 60th parallel, to include the whole of Antarctica (with the entire Antarctic peninsula). The sovereignty of Antarctica is governed by this treaty signed by 12 countries and signed by another 38.
Argentina and Chile have territorial claims in the Antarctic Peninsula, as do Australia, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom..
Generally speaking, the polar regions present an extreme cold climate with long winters that, at the geographic poles, last almost the whole year. Solar radiation is lower due to the oblique angle in which the sun's rays strike, but ultraviolet radiation is high due to the reflection of the snow.
In both regions there is at least one day when the sun does not set completely in 24 hours (summer solstice). There is also a day when the Sun does not rise completely (winter solstice). At the poles, both north and south, winter lasts six months and summer the other six months.
In mid-winter the temperature can drop to -68 ºC, with winds that can reach up to 97 km / h. In the peripheral areas the temperature in summer rises up to 10 ºC and the precipitations in the form of snow and rain reach between 600 and 1,200 mm per year..
It is a vast frozen desert with little rainfall (average of 10 mm) and temperatures that can drop to -98 ºC. The average temperature in the summer does not exceed 0 ºC, being the coldest region on the planet.
In these regions, thermal inversions are common, that is, an unusual increase in temperature with height. This is because the denser cold air remains at ground level, while the warm air rises..
Due to the extreme climate the vegetation of the polar regions is scarce, but it is possible to find some groups represented.
Vegetation in the Arctic region is restricted to the peripheral continental coasts and islands. The Tundra biome dominates these lands, consisting mainly of mosses, as well as some grasses and sedges..
The 10 ° C isotherm limits the northern tree line, so no forests develop from the Arctic Circle. Among the most common species of mosses are those of the genera Sphagnum Y Scorpidium and there are more than 1,000 species of lichens.
Among the common sedges in this region are species of the genera Carex Y Eriophorum. In the case of grasses, species of the genera Poa Y Deschampsia.
The cold and dry interior of the Antarctic continent lacks vegetation, being restricted to the coastal, insular areas and the Antarctic peninsula. In these areas grasses and mosses predominate, with relevance of grasses.
Angiosperm species in the few coastal vegetated areas are Antarctic grass (Antarctic deschampsia) and the Antarctic carnation (Colobanthus quitensis). It is noteworthy that Antarctic grass has the peculiarity of being resistant to ultraviolet radiation.
On the other hand, mosses, lichens, fungi, terrestrial and aquatic algae abound. About 75 species are known of fungi and the same number of species of mosses.
Although terrestrial fauna is found, especially in the Arctic polar region, the greatest diversity is in the aquatic fauna.
Carnivores such as the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), the arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) and the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). Also herbivores such as reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) and the arctic hare (Lepus arcticus).
Marine mammals include the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and various species of seals such as the bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus). Also inhabiting this region are the narwhal (Monodon monoceros), the beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) and whales such as the Greenland whale (Balaena mysticetus).
Among the birds is the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) and the arctic tern or arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea).
The most characteristic birds of this region are the penguins (Spheniscidae family), with 6 genera and 18 species. Among these species are the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes fosteri) and the royal penguin (Aptenodytes patagonica).
Albatrosses also live here such as the so-called wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) and petrels such as the giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus). Likewise, the cormorants (family Phalacrocoracidae) are presented, with the blue-eyed cormorant (Phalacrocorax atriceps) that inhabits the Antarctic peninsula.
In the Antarctic polar region there are 5 species of seals, including the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) and the crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus). We also find the marine leopard or leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) and the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina).
Species from two orders of whales, toothless and toothed whales, inhabit the waters of the Antarctic region. Among the first is the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), while between the toothed is the killer whale (Orcinus orca).
Almost the entire area of the Arctic polar region consists of water, the mainland being restricted to Greenland and the continental coasts. These are mostly coastal lowlands, with the exception of the Siberian plateau and the Taimir peninsula in Russia.
Likewise, the northernmost foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alaska in North America and the Scandinavian Mountains in northern Europe are presented..
It is the continent with the highest average height, reaching heights above 2,000 meters above sea level in many areas. Although the maps using radar images show a rugged relief, the thick layer of ice that covers it makes it very uniform..
The deepest land point on mainland is in eastern Antarctica, under the Denman Glacier. This glacier is a 20 km wide canyon filled with ice with a depth of 3.5 km below sea level.
The polar regions have great geopolitical importance due to the existence in them of strategic mineral deposits. In the same way, the climatic processes that take place in them are decisive for the environmental balance of the planet..
On the other hand, fishing resources and maritime and air navigation routes are also of great strategic relevance..
According to the Council on Foreign Relations of the United States, the Arctic is strategic given the extensive hydrocarbon resources that exist there. According to the United States Energy Information Administration, 61 large oil and natural gas fields have been discovered in the Arctic.
Of these fields, 43 belong to Russia, 11 to the United States, 6 to Canada and 1 to Norway. Taking into account that these areas are the subject of territorial disputes, they should be considered a potential source of geopolitical conflicts..
Unlike the Arctic polar region, in Antarctica there is greater uncertainty regarding existing mineral resources. This has to do with technological limitations to explore the earth under an ice sheet more than two kilometers thick..
On the other hand, there are limitations for the exploitation of minerals imposed by international treaties. Most of the accessible hydrocarbons are estimated to be in the Weddell, Bellingshausen and Ross Sea basins.
Due to the climatic difficulties for the exploration of the territory, it is considered that there must be mineral resources still unknown in the polar regions. However, from what is already known, there are important natural resources in both the Arctic and Antarctica..
Antarctica has 90% of the planet's ice and stores more than 70% of fresh water.
It is estimated that 25% of the hydrocarbons not yet discovered are in the Arctic, 80% of which are in the oceanic subsoil.
It is estimated that in the subsoil of the Arctic Ocean there are important reserves of tin, manganese, gold, nickel, lead and platinum.
In Antarctica there are large deposits of coal in the trans-Antarctic mountains and iron near the Prince Charles Mountain of East Antarctica. Similarly, it is considered that there are important gold and copper reserves on this continent..
The cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans are rich in nutrients and are home to a large number of fishery resources. An example of this is the Arctic cod fishery in the Barents Sea..
Recently (2017) an international convention was established to prohibit fishing in the central Arctic Ocean. This seeks to allow the scientific studies necessary to carry out a rational exploitation of these resources..
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