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 At full moon and higher tides, the ice is much more dynamic; leads and compression zones are formed.

 Many spring days with dense fog or white-out conditions.

Antarctic

 The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was at Vostok Research Station at −89.2°C.

 Hardly any precipitation (yearly average of 500mm a year).

 Winds can blow up to 320km/h.

 During storms, the height of snowdrift increases with wind strength.

 Typically, katabatic winds roll down from the high plateau to the coastal areas with increasing velocity.

Animal and plant life

Similarities

 Lichen and mosses.

 Seals, whales and birds.

 Krill and fish.

Differences

 Polar bears in the Arctic; penguins in the Antarctic.

 No terrestrial animals in the Antarctic; many in the Arctic, such as musk oxen, reindeer, caribou, foxes, hares, wolves, lemming, bears.

 Algae in the Antarctic; not in the Arctic.

Human activity

 Human population north of 60° North in the Arctic is in excess of 2 million with modern settlements, while in Antarctica there are no permanent residents, only a sparse population at scattered scientific stations.