Polar Regions By: Stephanie Nguyen

Research and Background Knowledge

Where Will I Research? I will research in the Arctic, where most the explorers have explored. From there, I will track their footprints and try to find other places that the explorers haven’t.

What Will I Research? I will search for the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. I will look for the campsites of the previous explorers and investigate for more information on what happened to them. This is how I am going to find the Northwest Passage and find other places too The Northern Passage is indicated by the red lines

What is the Climate? Average temp. for Antarctica: (summer): 20˚F or -6.66˚C (winter): -30˚F or ˚C Average temp. for Arctic: (summer): 37-54° F or 3-12° C (winter): -30° F or -34°C Average temp. for north pole: (summer): 32 ˚F or 0 ˚C (winter): -30 ˚F or -34 ˚C Average temp. for South pole: (summer): -15 ˚F or -36˚C (winter): -72 ˚F or -58 ˚C

Climate (continued) The average precipitation in Antarctica is less than ten inches per year The highest speed of the winds in Antarctica is clocked over 200 m or 322 km per hour The average precipitation in Arctic is less than 20 inches per year Average precipitation never go above the freezing point Snow and ice reflect the sun and maintains its cold temperature

Are there any Parts of Canada that Contain this Type of Environment? The answer is yes. Places such as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Northwest Territories, Nunavik (the northern part of Quebec) Nunavut, and Yukon. Canadian Arctic Archipelago (red region) Northwest Territories (red region) Nunavik (purple region)

What Conditions Make it Harder to Survive? The extreme cold Extreme locations at the top of the globe and bottom of the globe The limit of incoming sunlight affects the climate Shifting ice floes can crush people Spontaneous storms Rugged terrains Frequent howling winds

What are the Obstacles to Exploring this Environment? Thin air altitude Shifting ice causes the ships used by the explorers to be crushed in between Frequent howling winds causes more harsh temperatures because of the pushing of the cold air in a certain direction Rugged terrain makes footing more difficult for explorers Ice floes can collide causing icy ridges making it difficult to cross and can crush ships

Why is this Important to investigate? I may find the Northwest Passage I can open up new trade routes or places for pipelines Increase my knowledge about the polar regions I can spread awareness of what is happening in the polar regions

Exploration and Technology

Past Exploration ( ) In 1732, the Russian Admiralty organized the Great Northern Expeditions both on land and at sea to find the Northeast Passage along the coast of Siberia Many islands, gulfs and capes and bays were discovered during the expedition Many geological features were named in honor of naval officers such as Cape Cheluskin, Malygin Strait, Cape Ovtsyn, Cape Skuratov, and Cape Steligov Mikhail Lomonosov is a Russian physicist and philosopher. He organized polar explorations, having prepared the supplies needed for the journey. Mikhail participated in these explorations for twenty years.

What Technology is Used to Explore the Regions? Seismo and radio echo sounding devices that measures movements of ice Monitors measures heartbeats, swimming speeds, and depth of dive, helps understand survival rates Hydrogen balloons fitted with instruments for measuring aspects of the climate Helicopters are used extensively to support field teams in remote locations Vessels are used for transportation Deep ice core drills are used to observe Huskies provide flexibility and transportation

Snow houses provide protection and accessible building material Clothing maintains the body heat Snowshoes helps for walking on snow Boilers and a pots to make water out of ice Fish poles for fishing and putting monitors on the fish Snow mobiles help with transportation Bull dozers are used to ship food supplies Ice breakers are vessels designed to break ice as expeditions move

What has Canada Done to Develop Technology? Clothing for maintaining body heat Cryobots used to measure temperature, stress, ice movement, and seismic, acoustic and dielectric properties Microscopes used to look at minuscule objects Hydrofoil boats for transportation Snow mobile used for transportation Distilling kerosene for heating

How Can People Explore this Region Responsibly? Clean up after they explore Use biodegradable tools Don’t feed the animals Don’t invade the animals’ homes