There’s much more in the northwestern portion of our planet than the frigid landscapes. Check out these fascinating Facts About The Arctic region and the animals and people that are part of it!
Facts About The Arctic
1. The BIRD POOP Helps keep the area cool.
A recent study released in Nature Communications found that the huge quantities of bird Guano within the Arctic release gasses that help to create cloud cover. This decreases slightly temperature of the air surrounding it.
2. The ARCTIC RETURNS TO LIFE in winter.
In certain Arctic Ocean habitats, wildlife is significantly more active during the region’s lengthy cold, solitary winter than during the summer. According to a study published by the journal Current Biology, “Biodiversity and expansion, abundance and reproduction within the habitats studied were at the same or greater levels than during warmer seasons.” Researchers spotted a lot of crustaceans, plankton, and other species that aren’t usually observed in the summer months, along with certain species of cod and haddock and a surprising number of birds.
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3. The world’s largest, most secure, and safest SEED storage facility.
Over 800 miles from that Arctic Circle lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault Storage facility that is managed by the Norwegian government. The structure, set into the permafrost layer, holds seeds of over 4000 species of plants, including vital food crops protected in natural or human-caused disasters.
4. The first man to reach the North Pole was a man who was ignored for decades.
Robert Peary (1856-1920) claimed to be the first person to reach the geographical North Pole, in 1909. Nowadays, however, experts believe Peary’s assistant was an African American man known as Matthew Henson (1866-1955) Henson, who was actually worthy of the title of. When Peary and Henson reached their destination, Peary was suffering from severe frostbite, which rendered him incapable of walking. (He had to be carried by a sled.) As they grew closer to the North Pole, Henson and two guides walked in a sled, however, the group missed their target, which meant Henson technically made it to the Pole approximately 45 minutes earlier than Peary did.
5. A LOT of PEOPLE reside there.
Despite its harsh environment, more than 4 million people are able to call the Arctic region their home. Arctic Circle Arctic Circle encompasses parts of the U.S., Russia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Greenland, and Norway. Its economic output is estimated at 230 billion dollars annually, roughly the same amount as Portugal or Ireland.
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6. There’s an INTERGOVERNMENTAL FORUM ON ARCTIC.
According to their website, States whose borders lie in the Arctic Circle are part of the Arctic Council “is an exclusive circumpolar platform for discussions about political Arctic issues that involve all Arctic states, with active participation from the Indigenous Peoples.” The Council examines and proposes solutions to the social and environmental issues confronting the population and wildlife that reside in the Arctic.
7. The word ARCTIC IS DERIVED FROM GREEK, ARKTOS.
Arktos is a reference to “bear,” and does not refer to the native polar bears; instead, to the constellation which contains Ursa Minor, which is the North Star, Ursa Minor. ( Ursa is Latin meaning “bear.”)
8. The ARCTIC OCEAN IS THE WORLD’S most compact.
It covers 5.4 million sq miles. In comparison, there are two oceans: the Atlantic Ocean covers 41.1 million square miles and it covers the Pacific, 62.46 Million square miles.
9. The NORTH POLE IS MORE HARDER THAN THE SOUTH POLE.
The Arctic is a vast area of land. The Arctic is mostly ocean-bound and surrounded by land, and Antarctica comprises mostly land that is surrounded by ocean. Therefore, large portions that are both covered with sheets of ice sea beneath is the Arctic caps of ice (which is just one foot above the surface) can trap heat and assist in warming the air around it.
In Antarctica the way that Scientific American stated, “the surface of the ice sheet that lies at South Pole South Pole is more than 9000 feet high, which is more than a mile and one-half above sea levels.” (Higher levels naturally cause colder temperatures.) The average temperature in summer in the North Pole is 32degF. At the South Pole, it’s -18degF.
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10. The NORTH POLE HOME OF SANTA WAS RE-imagined by a 19th CARTOONIST OF THE 19th century.
A famous cartoonist from the world of politics Thomas Nast began drawing cartoons of Santa Claus in an advertising program to promote Harper’s Weekly in the 1850s. In some sketches, he referenced how Santa’s postal address was the North Pole. It was a destination that already had captured the world’s imagination when they watched a variety of explorers try to get there. In regards to the actual St. Nicholas? His birthplace was in present-day Turkey.
