1. THE ARCTIC OCEAN
Background
The Arctic Ocean is the body of
water between Europe, Asia , and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle. It is the smallest
of the world's five oceans.
Polar climate is characterized by
persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters are characterized
by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies;
summers are characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and
weak cyclones with rain or snow.
Economic activity is limited to
the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish,
and seals.
Transportation
Churchill (Canada), Murmansk
(Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US); sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land
routes; the Northwest Passage (North A
Environment: Endangered marine
species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow
to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack due to global
warming.
Geopolitics:
In recent years the polar ice pack has thinned
allowing for increased navigation and raising the possibility of future
sovereignty and shipping disputes among countries bordering the Arctic Ocean;
major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific
Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and
Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western
Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia.
Canada and the United States dispute how to divide the Beaufort Sea and
the status of the Northwest Passage but continue to work cooperatively to
survey the Arctic continental shelf; Denmark (Greenland) and Norway have made submissions
to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental shelf (CLCS) and Russia is
collecting additional data to augment its
2001 CLCS submission; record summer melting of sea ice in the Arctic has
renewed interest in maritime shipping lanes and sea floor exploration; Norway
and Russia signed a comprehensive maritime boundary agreement in 2010.
More Maps from The Arctic Council:
2. THE ARCTIC BIOMES
Map from uaf.edu
In Siberia
Boreal Forest in Alaska (Britannica.com)
Photograph by Rich Reid - National Geographic
Arctic Tundra in Norway (picture from biotope.no)
More on Theme 4:
