The North Pole is located at the highest point in the globe, and is one of two axis points that the Earth rotates on. It has no land mass and consists only of ice, which constantly moves making it difficult to explore or construct any kind of station there. The ice forms are located upon the Arctic Ocean, the most northern body of water on Earth. The ocean depth at the North Pole has been estimated at just over 4200 metres. …show more content…
There is little inhabitation there, due in part to the cold climate which on average during the winter is as low as negative 43 degrees Celsius. The few exceptions that remain in the North Pole are polar bears, several arctic bird species, arctic seals, and arctic foxes. Although the North Pole is extremely cold, it has a warmer climate than the South Pole. This is a result of the Arctic’s location, which is at sea level in the middle of an ocean which acts as a reservoir of heat. Recent oil discoveries have caused research and exploration to increase in the Arctic in hopes of utilizing any resources there may be. Scientists fear however, that global warming is currently destroying the ice caps, and predict that by the summer of 2014 they will have completely melted. This prediction was made earlier for the year 2008, but it failed to come true. There are two North Pole’s, The Terrestrial North Pole and the Northern Magnetic Pole. The Terrestrial North Pole is what appears on the map, at 90 degree latitude, while the Northern Magnetic Pole is a field of magnetic rock and metals that are used for compass bearings. The Arctic has no official time zone nor is there ownership over any part of the North Pole, with all manners of telling time being conducted from the sun. There have been many expeditions sent out to explore the Arctic Circle, dating as far back as the early 16th century. Most of these attempts have failed however, due to the difficult conditions and constantly moving ice flows.
The South Pole is on the opposite end of the globe from the North Pole, and is a slightly more developed region than its counterpart.
The South Pole boasts a permanent station referred to as the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station constructed by air in 1956, as well as many daring expeditions used to further explore its icy landscape. As far back as 1487, explorers sailed around the barren countryside hoping to discover more about the geographical oddity. It boasts the likes of famous explorers like Sir Francis Drake, James Cook and more recently Sir Edmund Hillary, all trying to discover more about the continent than their predecessors. Like the Arctic, the Antarctic hosts cold and difficult climates, making development a slow and seemingly impossible feat. In fact, temperatures in the South Pole reach as low as negative 49 degrees Celsius. Unlike the Arctic though, the Antarctic consists of both land and ice, with rocky areas of elevation reaching 2800 metres. There is also small forms of vegetation there, and more animal life, the most famous of such inhabitants being Penguins. The South Pole houses 90% of the Earth’s ice supply, tying up more than 75% of the world’s fresh water supply. There is a ceremonial sign placed in the ice sheet at the South Pole Station, used for photographs and publicity. This polar ice sheet moves an average of 10 metres per year, causing the exact location of the pole to constantly
change.
Although the North and South Pole couldn’t be farther apart geographically, scientifically there are still many similarities between the two places. Both represent an axis, on which the Earth rotates constantly, and are located at the two most extreme locations on the planet. This positioning combined with the inclining angle of the Earth results in the pole’s seasonal polar light regimes. They both consist of thick, heavily frozen areas and have almost no exposure to the civilized world. The location of these two poles accounts for a very cold climate, which keeps both habitation and plant life to a minimum. Both regions are currently being affected by global warming, resulting in a hole in the Antarctic’s ozone layer three times the size of the United States. While the Arctic’s ozone layer hasn’t become a hole just yet, it’s still become substantially weak and fragile. The Antarctic’s ice surface has cracked and melted, reducing its depth from 12-15 feet to no more than a foot in some places. Regardless of their changing masses, both poles manage to have approximately the same surface area, an estimated 14 million square kilometers. The sheer size of the two poles, combined with their locations and climates make the civilization of these landscapes impractical and unlikely.
Regardless, the importance of the North and South Poles are undeniable, and without them the Earth’s rotation would not be complete. Even though both the Arctic and Antarctic remain in isolation, there is hope for future exploration and the examination of life forms, or the use of the natural reservoirs of clean water and oil.