Polar Regions

Welcome to the Polar Regions Portion of our Website!!

Polar Regions are the unique areas that surround our 'Poles', also known as the planet's 'Frigid Zones'.

The North pole and Arctic region are built upon polar ice supported by the Arctic ocean, while the South pole and Antarctic region lies on the continent of Antarctica.

Due to the axis tilt of the earth, our polar regions are the ones defined by climate extremities and frigid environments. Their geographical placement of the poles also causes them to receiving the least amount of sunlight on earth.

Polar Climate

The harsh environment of the poles is manifested by extreme temperatures, ice cold winds and water, and a land mass made up of heavy glaciation. Daylight hours vary immensely; depending on the time of year the poles can experience complete darkness or constant light.

Life

In the Arctic, human settlements vary in culture, numbers, and beliefs. Countries such as the U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Russia have land which is part of the arctic region, and their communities merge with the environment to create unique societies. Day to day life in the arctic is hard to imagine, as it certainly harbors little resemblance to the common lifestyle of populated, heavily developed and significantly warmer settlements on earth.

Antarctica is a world where humans have not dared venture and set up camp for good. Despite research stations and temporary workers, scientists, and explorers, the land has always been void of human settlement. However, despite having no permanent human residents, Antarctica is home to a vast ecosystem full of life.

Along with the arctic region, Antarctica is home for a multitude of wildlife species, living both on land and within the coastal zones.

Along the coast, massive 'upwellings' (upward-moving nutrient rich water) contain Krill, which in turn provides nourishment to small and large species. From Penguins to the majestic Blue Whale, the antarctic ocean gives and supports life, even in the harshest of environments.

July 28th, 2011

In the Polar regions, challenging living conditions require its inhabitants to develop coping mechanisms and ways in which to survive in a volatile environment.

Emperor Penguins are among the most fascinating and entertaining creatures to witness in the wild. Thankfully explorers and photographers venturing to the bleakest corners of the world are capturing some incredible behaviors and learning about intrinsic character traits they can in turn share with the rest of the world.

"Getting Air"

The body shape of Emperor Penguins facilitates their streamlined movements in the water. The adorable penguin 'wobble' visible when they are moving on land confirms these animals are simply built to swim, not walk!

However, researchers have now proved that not only do Emperor penguins fly through the water, they have a specific technique to ensure they gain momentum, speed, and enough propulsion in the water to break the surface and leap onto land, becoming momentarily airborne.

Given they have little in the way of legs, penguins put a lot of effort to successfully get ashore. After analyzing repeated behaviors, scientists are confidant that Emperor penguins use the air compressed beneath their feathers while submerged to create a 'lubrication' effect when swimming quickly.

When a penguin leaps into the water, air is trapped under their unique feathers and becomes more dense as the animal dives deeper. Once ascending, the air begins to expand and is released to coat the penguin's body, significantly reducing drag as they push towards the surface. This phenomenon helps penguins reach speeds of 19 km/hour while swimming, and allows them to break the surface gaining enough 'airborne' time to fly onto shore, landing happily unscathed on their breast.

This type of "air insulation" is a widely known technique studied and used by boat engineers to maximise ship speed at sea.