The Arctic: Ocean of Ice

The Arctic: Ocean of Ice
By Genny Anderson
Marinebio.net

The Arctic is almost all an ocean including just the northern parts of Canada, Alaska, Russia, Scandinavia, and Greenland. It can be defined in a couple of ways. One way is to use the area inside the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is a line of latitude at 66 degrees 27 minutes north, about 1,630 miles south of the North Pole. This is where the sun stays above the horizon at least one whole day each year (never setting). The farther north you go the longer the sun stays above the horizon in the summer. This is the area of the 'midnight sun.' Another way to define the Arctic is to use the area inside a line drawn around the arctic inside of which there are no trees. This is called the 'tree line.' An additional way is to define the Arctic is where the 50 degree summer isotherm is located. This is the line above which it is always colder than 50 degrees F.

Most of this page is pictures of glaciers with descriptions, which are interesting.