Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth

Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth — page 3

Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth — page 4 — 12000 WELCOME TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH Some of the harshest habitats on the planet are found in the polar regions In the far north the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land In the far south Antarctica is a land surrounded by ocean The Arctic as we know it today emerged at the end of the Ice Age approximately years ago Antarctica is much older having existed in its current form for almost 20 million years In summer the Arctic gets warm enough for plants to grow while almost all of Antarctica remains a frozen barren landscape While different in many ways the polar regions are also a lot alike They are bitterly cold freeze dried wildernesses where the wind can blow harder than hurricanes They are also the only places on Earth where daylight and darkness lasts up to six months And yet many animals not only survive in the polar regions they thrive Over thousands or even millions of years these species have adapted to the challenges of polar life Animal adaptations include body parts such as snowshoe paws and body functions such as making antifreeze Or they may be behaviors such as migration which some species use to escape deadly winters Adaptations help polar animals stay warm find food and raise their babies all in two of the most extreme environments on Earth

Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth — page 5 — Circumpolar WHERE ARE THE POLAR REGIONS ARCTIC The Arctic surrounds the North Pole and can be defined in several ways In this book the Arctic refers to the tundra a land based habitat so cold and dry that trees can't grow Cold oceans surrounding the tundra are considered part of the Arctic too Arctic Circle Tundra Antarctica South Pole Alaska Arctic Canada Antarctica Russia North Pole Greenland ANTARCTICA Antarctica surrounds the South Pole and is defined by a current of moving water within the ocean The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the longest strongest ocean current on the planet This current encircles Antarctica keeping the cold Southern Ocean isolated from warmer oceans to the north It's the main reason Antarctic habitats have remained unchanged for millions of years Antarctic Circle Antarctic Current

Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth — page 6 — June MIDNIGHT SUN AND POLAR NIGHT The polar regions get different amounts of sunlight at different times of year That's because the Earth is tilted on its axis as it orbits travels around the sun In March the Arctic tips toward the sun causing sunrise at the North Pole This begins a period of constant daylight called the midnight sun In September Antarctica tips toward the sun As the midnight sun starts at the South Pole the North Pole enters a period of constant darkness called polar night At the poles the midnight sun and polar night last six months each As you travel farther and farther away from the poles these periods of continuous daylight and darkness get shorter and shorter At the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle imaginary lines encircling the top and bottom of the world the midnight sun and polar night last just 24 hours each September March December

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