10 Differences between the poles North (Arctic) and South (Antarctic)

10.Metamorphoses

9. Hole in the Ozone layer

8. Cold and Freezing Cold

7. Polar Bears and Penguins

6. Black Gold

5. No Man’s Land

4. Ice, Ice Everywhere

3. Continent vs. Ocean Mount Erebus

2. Polar Vortex

1. Magnetic Field and Mineral Deposits

1. Magnetic Field and Mineral Deposits

10 Differences between the poles North (Arctic) and South (Antarctic)

10.Metamorphoses The arctic area is located in the North Pole region and has a natural melting cycle during which almost half of the ice shelf melts away in the summer and then returns to its original size when it freezes again in the winter. On the other hand, the South Pole has almost the same size and shape throughout the twelve months.

9. Hole in the Ozone layer There is a very large hole in the ozone layer just above the Antarctic (south pole) region. The ozone layer above the Arctic region is getting thinner and thinner, but there is no hole, yet. The ozone losses from the north are less than those from the south due to higher Arctic temperatures.

8. Cold and Freezing Cold The South Pole is the coldest place on Earth with an average yearlong temperature of -49°C. On some parts of the continent the snow never melts In contrast, the average temperature in the Arctic region is -34°C and rises by a few degrees in the summer.

7. Polar Bears and Penguins In contrast to popular belief, penguins and polar bears do not share the same habitat. Penguins only live in the southern hemisphere and have no natural continental predators; therefore, penguins have developed into flightless birds. Polar bears are the largest land predator and an endemic species of the northern hemisphere. They feed on seals, sea cows, and sometimes stranded whales.

6. Black Gold Almost half of the world’s remaining oil deposits lie underneath the ice in the northern part of the Arctic Circle. There is an estimated to hold around 10 billion tons of crude oil. It is thought that there are oil deposits in the Antarctic region as well, but oil exploitation activities are currently forbidden in the region.

5. No Man’s Land The Antarctic continent is the only place on Earth that belongs to nobody. There are no traces of indigenous people. In contrast, more than 4 million people live inside the Arctic Circle. People rarely set foot on Antarctic ground. When they do so it is for research and scientific activities.

4. Ice, Ice Everywhere The southernmost continent of the planet contains 90% of all the ice on Earth, which makes up for ¾ of the global freshwater reserves. In comparison, The North Pole has far less ice than the South Pole.

3. Continent vs. Ocean The Arctic region is basically a frozen ocean. In contrast, the Antarctic continent in itself, is based on bedrock and various landforms, such as mountains, valleys and lakes, all surrounded by ocean. It even has an active volcano named Mount Erebus. Mount Erebus

2. Polar Vortex A polar vortex is a massive cyclone that forms near the vertical edges of the planet. They form part of the “polar front” The climate boundary between the polar area air masses and the neighboring warmer areas from both hemispheres. The Antarctic polar vortex is stronger and lasts longer than the Arctic one.

1. Magnetic Field and Mineral Deposits Since the Antarctic is a landmass, a lot of minerals can be found in the bedrock: nickel, gold, silver, platinum, and iron. No minerals exist in the arctic because it is all ice.

1. Magnetic Field and Mineral Deposits Speaking of magnetic poles of the Earth, one is near the north and the other near the south. When we talk about the magnetic north pole we refer to the geographic area with the same name, although the north pole of the Earth’s magnetic field is actually in the south, and the south pole of the magnetic field is located in the north.

1. Magnetic Field and Mineral Deposits One of the only common features we find between the two poles is that the magnetic poles do not coincide with the geographic poles. This is because the Earth’s magnetic field is changing. The magnetic north pole (the south of the magnetic field) is no longer located right in the Arctic region, but is moving East at a rate of 55-60 km per year. In contrast, the magnetic south pole (the north of the magnetic field) still overlaps Antarctica, but is also slowly moving westwards at a rate of 10-15 km per year.