Differences Between North and South Poles

The North and South Poles and the areas around them, are cold and unknown to most commoners. Though they may seem similar, differences come upon them in many ways. The Arctic region includes Canada, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the United States, and Greenland, while the bottom is the continent of Antarctica. The arctic area is basically frozen ocean surrounded by land, while Antarctica on the other hand, is filled with mountain ranges, lakes, and is surrounded by an ocean. Also, Antarctica has about 90% of the world’s ice. That means that nearly three-fourths of the Earth’s fresh water is locked away there. This is because in Antarctica, oil drilling is off limits. Conversely, untapped oil reserves are found in the arctic region and Russia claimed it. Some people have thought of towing icebergs to the dry, quenched areas on the world.

Did you know that Antarctica remains the only land mass in the world that is not owned by anyone? Despite the pictures of flags on the South Pole, Antarctica is unclaimed. It is governed by the Antarctic treaty, which states that the land and resources will be used for peaceful and scientific reasons only. In opposition, the arctic region is very diverse in countries. In addition, the arctic is sensitive to climate change. In the summer, it becomes warmer and the temperature breaks the ice. While in the Antarctic, it is extremely cold and the snow never melts.

The final difference has to do with the future of our planet, the ozone layer. The Antarctic has an ozone [invisible] hole that has grown to be around three times the size of the United States’ land mass. On the other hand, the Arctic’s hole is not as big, but is growing. As said in the article, “In truth, there is no actual hole; the 'hole' is a region of severely depleted ozone, a chemical that helps protect the planet from harmful solar radiation.” This is saying that the hole is just something used to picture in your head, so you can visualize how bad the situation is. The reason why there is a larger hole in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere is because it is warmer in the Arctic, which limits the cloud that is killing the ozone while in the Antarctic it is the opposite.

Personally, I am glad I read this article. I never knew the differences between the Poles of the Earth. To me, they were both just two cold places that most people did not go to. Now I see the distinction between the two areas. It made me realize that we do not learn that much about these lands. For example, almost everybody knows about the ozone layer, but most people don’t know why or how it is destroying our earth, and specifically where. It made me take a new perspective on why scientists study so much about these kinds of places. They research and learn, then teach the rest of the world. All in all, this was a very helpful article to have read and I feel much more informed about our planet now.

I got my information from: http://www.livescience.com/environment/top10_polar_differences.html