Upon ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country has ten years to make claims to an extended continental shelf beyond its 200 nautical mile zone. Depending upon the context, the Arctic Desert may refer to the larger Arctic region that receives little precipitation of any form, or in the context of detailing a collection of three North Pole islands located above 75 degrees North Latitude. The far northern portions of Asia (Russia, Siberia), Europe (Scandinavia) and North America (Canada, Alaska) lie within the Arctic Circle. The Antarctic is mostly land surrounded by water. [39], The effects of global warming in the Arctic include rising temperatures, loss of sea ice, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet. The arctic region of Russia, the most developed of all the arctic regions, is a vast storehouse of mineral wealth, including deposits of nickel, copper, coal, gold, uranium, tungsten, and diamonds. [7][8], The Arctic is characterized by cold winters and cool summers. Permafrost with 10 C July Isotherm. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781107337442. Line of Latitude The Arctic Circle is a line of latitude that separates the Arctic zone in the north from the Northern Temperate Zone in the south. IPCC. image of Eskimos as fur-clad hunters that live in igloos instead of a diverse group of loosely-related arctic cultures that have their far-northern latitude in common. The North Pole lies under a zone of dry, sinking air in the atmosphere (mass of air surrounding Earth), and the Arctic and is a windblown, frozen desert that receives very little snow each year (it almost never rains there because it is too cold). What and where is the Arctic Circle? To better understand high latitude communications, The Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) was installed on Polar Star to test its abilities at high latitudes in the harsh Arctic winter conditions. The surrounding six Arctic states that border the Arctic OceanCanada, Kingdom of Denmark (with Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Russia, and the United Statesare limited to a 200 nautical miles (370km; 230mi) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off their coasts. Of the two polar areas, the Arctic is more diverse. For example, Arctic warming could lead to a weakened jet stream resulting in more persistent weather patterns in the mid-latitudes. This food sources impacts the health of polar bears and increases the incidents of conflict with human communities in the Arctic. The Arctic Circle is the invisible circle of latitude on the earth's surface at 6633' north, marking the southern limit of the area where the sun does not rise on the winter solstice or set on the summer solstice - a geographic ring crowning the globe. . Starting at the prime meridian and heading eastwards, the Arctic Circle passes through: Northern Polar Circle Globe on Vikingen island marking the Arctic Circle in Norway, Arctic Circle sign by the Inland Line railway, Sweden, The white borderline of the Arctic Circle at the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland, Arctic Circle sign in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, Arctic Circle sign by the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, A sign in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia, Arctic Circle marker on island of Grmsey in Iceland, This article is about one of the five major circles of latitude. Extractive activities are allowed in the refuge, as long as the U.S. Congress approves. River mouths, calving glaciers, and constantly moving ocean currents contribute to a vibrant marine ecosystem in the Arctic. The largest communities north of the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia, Norway, and Sweden: Murmansk (population 295,374) and Norilsk (178,018) in Russia; Troms (75,638) in Norway, Vorkuta (58,133) in Russia, Bod (52,357), and Harstad (24,703) in Norway; and Kiruna, Sweden (22,841). "The Tundra." The Arctic Circle is a circle of latitude encompassing the northernmost pole of the Earth and is located at approximately 663345.6 north of the Equator. The Barents region has over five million inhabitants, including several indigenous peoples . The polar bear, the iconic apex predator of the Arctic, is equally able to hunt on land and around ice floes. The Arctic is the northernmost region of Earth. Most scientists define the Arctic as the area within the Arctic Circle, a line of latitude about 66.5 north of the Equator. The polar bear is also a predator, though it prefers to hunt for marine life from the ice. Over time, the Inuit have migrated throughout the Arctic regions of Eastern Russia, the United States, Canada, and Greenland.[21]. "Russia stakes its claim on North Pole in underwater search for oil". Logic might indicate that polar bears would migrate further north as their traditional range heats up. Nordland County, including Vikingen Island, "40 days without the sun. The Arctic Circle is at 66 degrees 32 minutes N latitude. Pielou, E.C. The members of the Arctic Council include the eight Arctic States (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Russian Federation, and the United States). Place names in the Arctic Region map from University of Texas. (Some icebergs, including the infamous 1912 sinker of the cruise ship Titanic, float south into "iceberg alley" in the North Atlantic Ocean where they are a hazard to shipping.) It is also the least salty, due to low evaporation and huge influxes of freshwater from rivers and glaciers. 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