What’s the Arctic Circle?
The Arctic Circle is commonly associated with the 66°32 North Latitude – a geographical line crowning the earth and characterized in accordance with the annual sun cycle.
In fact, the regions above the 66°32N are as from the 21 of December (winter solstice) in darkness whereas as from the 21st of June (summer solstice), these regions are under continuous sun, the so called “midnight sun”.
The Arctic Circle defines then the boundaries of the Arctic (1).
We are looking at an immense ocean of 14.056 millions km square strewn with many islands. The arctic converge up North to a single point at 90° North Latitude – the Geographical North pole.
This central point and its contour to the South for at least 800km (500miles) is covered by a permanent frozen arctic ocean. It’s the pack ice with a thickness of +- 4 meters which does not melt during summer. What about several alarming forecasts poiting out its extinction in summer?
Beyond this polar pack ice, only 50 % of the ice will melt with the first rays of spring. This is the break up ice with thousands of floes drifting away & helped along by currents and the wind.
Subsequently, the first signs of arctic lands will appear (2).
(1) The arctic borders are sometimes designed on the basis of the following theories:
- Isotherm 10° (50°F) in July: the arctic regions are those where the average temperature for the warmest month is below 10° (50°F).
- Permafrost: the arctic regions are those where the ground is permanently frozen at 1-2 cm of the surface and even in summer.
- The tree line : the arctic regions are those where trees of above human size can’t grow anymorea.
(2) Grimsey island in Iceland – Svalbard – the North West of Siberia (Mer de Barents and Kara seas) : New Zemble, François-Joseph Earth… the Center North of Siberia (Laptev sea) : North Earth island, New Siberia, …the North Est of Siberia (Oriental Siberia sea – Tchouktches sea and Bering Détroit ) : Wrangel island…Alaska (Béring – Tchouktches – Beaufort seas) – North of Canada : Banks – Melville – Victoria – Ellesmere islands – Baffin Earth – Greenland (Baffin bay – Greenland see)…
