North Pole

The North Pole is the northernmost area on Earth. The geographic North Pole is located at the northern end of Earth’s axis—the imaginary line that runs through Earth’s center. Earth also has a magnetic North Pole, whose position is related to Earth’s magnetic field and is constantly changing. The North Pole is located in the Arctic Ocean but is covered in a layer of ice. While it is possible for people and animals to travel there on foot, few humans have done so. Most human interest in the North Pole concerns the resources found under the Arctic Ocean, though scientists are also interested in the site.

Background

The North Pole has various meanings. The first is the geographic North Pole, which is the location at the most northern point on Earth’s surface. The geographic North Pole is located in the Arctic Ocean and at 90-degrees latitude. It is the place where Earth’s axis meets its surface.

The magnetic North Pole is also in the Arctic Ocean, but its exact location is constantly changing. It is also not in the same place as the geographic North Pole. The magnetic North Pole is created by the electromagnetic field around Earth’s surface. This electromagnetism is caused by Earth’s rotation. Changes in the geology under Earth’s crust impact the location of the magnetic North Pole. Although it used to be closer to the Canadian arctic, it has begun moving closer to Siberia. The pole is moving at a speed of roughly 25 miles per year. Scientists predict that the magnetic pole will continue to move and Earth’s two magnetic poles could switch. If that happens, the magnetic South Pole will be close to the geological North Pole, and the magnetic North Pole will be close to the geographic South Pole. Earth’s magnetic field causes the needle on a compass to point north toward the magnetic North Pole.

Overview

The ice that covers the North Pole is relatively thin (about 6 to 10 feet), and its thickness is constantly changing due to changes in weather and climate. The ocean under the ice is more than 13,000 feet deep. Although the Arctic region is cold year-round, the average temperature changes during different seasons. In the summer, the average temperature can be as high as 32 degrees Fahrenheit. In the winter, it can fall to –40 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though people do not live as far north as the North Pole, animals such as polar bears and arctic foxes migrate close to the area during part of the year.

The North Pole is the location where the axis meets Earth’s surface. So, this part of Earth tips toward the sun for half the year, creating the season of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. When the North Pole tips toward the sun, the sun no longer dips below the horizon. When the North Pole tips away from the sun, the sun does not rise above the horizon. For that reason, the North Pole has one sunrise (the March equinox) and one sunset (the September equinox) per year. In the summer, the North Pole experiences twenty-four hours of sunlight per day. The reverse occurs in the winter; the North Pole has twenty-four hours of darkness per day.

Since the geographic North Pole is at the extreme end of the world, explorers and adventurers have been interested in traveling to it for many years. Unlike the South Pole, the geographic North Pole is located in the sea. The sea ice that covers the Arctic Sea makes it possible for explorers to travel overland, even though the North Pole is actually located in the sea.

Explorers attempted to reach the North Pole a number of times in the late 1800s, but all the expeditions failed before reaching the area. In 1908 Ahwelah and Etukishook, Inuit explorers, and Frederick Albert Cook, an American explorer, claimed to have reached the North Pole; however, the men provided little evidence of their discovery, and many historians doubt that they actually reached the North Pole. The next year, another team attempted to reach the North Pole. This team was made up of Robert Peary, Matthew Henson, Ootah, Seeglo, Egingwah, and Ooqueah. Although Peary claimed the team reached the North Pole, historians also doubt his claims.

The first verified claim of a team reaching the geographic North Pole occurred in 1968 when Ralph Plaisted, Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl, and Jean Luc Bombardier used snowmobiles to travel over the ice to the North Pole, and the US Air Force independently confirmed their position. The next year, the first team arrived at the North Pole on foot.

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, most people visiting the North Pole have been scientists, and not explorers. Climate scientists have a special interest in the arctic as the frigid regions of Earth are being impacted dramatically by the effects of climate change. Scientists monitor the changes in these areas to better understand the worldwide effects of climate change and the rate at which climate change is occurring.

Humans, who once saw the North Pole as unreachable, have now begun to find ways to exploit the region. The part of the Arctic Sea where the geographic North Pole is located has also become an important international shipping route, which is especially popular for ships traveling between Asia and North America. Companies can save up to $500,000 by taking a route through the arctic rather than a route through the Panama Canal. People are also making plans to extract oil from this part of the arctic. Improvements in transportation and technology as well as changes in the thickness of sea ice have made it possible for people to drill for resources in the area.

Although humans are interested in exploiting the resources in the region, the area around the North Pole is not actually controlled or owned by any country or group. The Canadian territory of Nunavut is the closest land to the North Pole. Greenland, an island nation in North America, is the second-closest land to the North Pole. Control over the resource-rich area has caused some international tension. In 2007 Russia planted its flag at the bottom of the ocean at the North Pole, signaling that the country planned on traveling through and exploring in the area.

Bibliography

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