Portal:Arctic

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$\mathbb{THE}$  $\mathbb{ARCTIC}$  $\mathbb{PORTAL}$ Main page   Statistics   WikiProjects edit   Arctic - Arctic Circle The Arctic - There are many settlements in Earth's north polar region, the arctic. Countries with claims to Arctic regions are: the United States (Alaska), Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, and Russia. Arctic circumpolar populations often share more in common with each other than with other populations within their national boundaries. As such, the northern polar region is diverse in human settlements and cultures. Under international law, no country currently owns the North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. The five surrounding Arctic states, Russia, the United States (via Alaska), Canada, Norway and Denmark (via Greenland), are limited to a 200-nautical-mile (370 km; 230 mi) Exclusive Economic Zone around their coasts, and the area beyond that is administered by the International Seabed Authority. Upon ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country has a ten year period to make claims to extend its 200-nautical-mile (370 km) zone. Norway (ratified the convention in 1996), Russia (ratified in 1997), Canada (ratified in 2003) and Denmark (ratified in 2004) have all launched projects to base claims that certain Arctic sectors should belong to their territories. The North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, amidst waters that are almost permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice. This makes it impossible to construct a permanent station at the North Pole (unlike the South Pole). However, the Soviet Union, and later Russia, have constructed a number of manned drifting stations, some of which have passed over or very close to the Pole. Recently, scientists have predicted that the North Pole may become seasonally ice-free by 2050 due to Arctic shrinkage. More pessimistic predictions claim that the Arctic ice-cap may temporarily disappear in mid 2008. edit   Selected articles - The Climate of the Arctic is characterized broadly by long, cold winters and short, cool summers. There is a large amount of variability in climate across the Arctic, but all regions experience extremes of solar radiation in both summer and winter. Some parts of the Arctic are covered by ice (sea ice, glacial ice, or snow) year-round, and nearly all parts of the Arctic experience long periods with some form of ice on the surface. Average January temperatures range from about −40 to 0 °C (−40 to +32 °F), and winter temperatures can drop below −50 °C (−58 °F) over large parts of the Arctic. Average July temperatures range from about −10 to +10 °C (14 to 50 °F), with some land areas occasionally exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) in summer. The Arctic consists of ocean that is nearly surrounded by land. As such, the climate of much of the Arctic is moderated by the ocean water, which can never have a temperature below −2 °C (28 °F). In winter, this relatively warm water keeps the North Pole from being the coldest place in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is also part of the reason that Antarctica is so much colder than the Arctic. In summer, the presence of the near-by water keeps coastal areas from warming as much as they might otherwise, just as it does in temperate regions with maritime climates. edit   Selected biography - Uriel Sebree (February 20, 1848 – August 6, 1922) was a career officer in the United States Navy. He entered the Naval Academy during the Civil War and served until 1910, retiring as a rear admiral. He is best remembered for his two expeditions into the Arctic and for serving as the second acting governor of American Samoa. He was also commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1867, Sebree was posted to a number of vessels before being assigned to a rescue mission to find the remaining crew of the missing Polaris in the Navy's first mission to the Arctic. This attempt was only a partial success—the Polaris crew was rescued by a Scottish ship rather than the US Navy—but this led to Sebree's selection eleven years later for a second expedition to the Arctic. That mission to rescue Adolphus Greely and the survivors of the Lady Franklin Bay expedition was a success. Sebree was subsequently appointed as the second acting governor of American Samoa. edit   In the news - Wikinews Arctic portal September 4: Wikinews Shorts: September 2, 2010 September 3: Wikinews Shorts: September 3, 2010/Fuel tanker aground in Northwest Passage June 21: Greenland assumes self rule Sunday January 10: Canadian trio claim South Pole record for trans-Antarctic trip October 28: Arctic ice thickness decreasing, suggests satellite data study August 28: 73M-year-old fossilized fish found in Canada August 27: Canadian military exercise NANOOK 2008 travels through uncharted waters June 28: The North Pole may possibly be ice free by summer May 14: US says polar bears are threatened species March 19: NASA: Old Arctic sea ice continues to melt edit   Selected picture - Description: Peary Caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) Endangered species and smallest of the North American caribou. Author: L. David Mech U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ...Archive/Nominations edit   Did you know - ... that in 1937 a Soviet station became the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean? Read More... ...that Charles R. Stelck proved that ancient coral reefs had once existed in the Arctic and that oil could be found there? Read More... ...that geology professor Lawrence Wager was an Arctic explorer and mountaineer who in 1933 reached the highest point yet climbed on Mount Everest? Read more... ... that the 1991 Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy has been called a major political accomplishment of the post-Cold War era? Read more... edit   Categories ▼ Arctic ► Arctic portal ► Arctic-related lists ► Images of the Arctic ► Astronomy in the Arctic ► Culture of the Arctic ► Environment of the Arctic ► Geography of the Arctic ► Government of the Arctic ► History of the Arctic ► Military in the Arctic ► Arctic research ► Arctic society ► Transport in the Arctic ► Arctic stubs ► Arctic templates ► WikiProject Arctic edit   Quotation - Hidden in wonder and snow, or sudden with summer, This land stares at the sun in a huge silence Endlessly repeating something we cannot hear. Inarticulate, arctic, Not written on by history, empty as paper, It leans away from the world with songs in its lakes Older than love, and lost in the miles. Laurentian Shield Francis Reginald Scott CC edit   Features Featured articles: S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 · Arctic Tern · Bob Marshall · Uriel Sebree · Jake Gyllenhaal · Peregrine Falcon · Common Raven · Orca · Right whale Good articles: Franklin's lost expedition · Walrus · Muskrat edit   Things to do edit   Selected panorama - Panoramic view of the Hardangerfjord in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Featured panoramas | More information... edit   Topics edit   Related portals edit   Wikimedia

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