Читать книгу Polar Exploration. A practical handbook for North and South Pole expeditions онлайн

14 страница из 66

Geographically speaking – and for simplicity's sake – the areas covered in this book are, on the one hand, the Arctic Ocean and all the landmass to its south as far as the Arctic Circle, and the Antarctic continent and South Georgia on the other. Clearly, there are more places on Earth with sub-zero temperatures and wide open spaces that could very well be used for polar training, but the biggest playgrounds for polar travellers – where most of the real action takes place – are the two so-called ‘no-man's lands’: the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic continent. Here any human activity is very difficult because of the brutal cold. Note that ‘polar regions’ are not defined merely as those with permanent snow or ice cover, as there are glaciers on and around the mountains of the world far away from the poles.

The Arctic

Antarctic polar regions (Source: ESA/AOES Medialab)

The Arctic

The Arctic circle sits at 66°33′44″ North

THE BOUNDARIES OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN

The official definition laid down by the International Hydrographic Organisation.