It would seem a strange hobby to travel to the poles of our planet. However, for Swedish entrepreneur Frederik Paulsen, it became a real passion. It took him thirteen years to visit all eight poles of the Earth, becoming the first and so far only person to do so.
Achieving each of them is a real adventure!
1. The magnetic north pole is the point on the earth’s surface towards which magnetic compasses are directed.
June 1903. Roald Amundsen (left, wearing a hat) makes an expedition on a small sailboat
"Gjoa" to find the Northwest Passage and simultaneously establish the exact location of the north magnetic pole.
It was first opened in 1831. In 1904, when scientists took measurements again, it was discovered that the pole had moved 31 miles. The compass needle points to the magnetic pole, not the geographic pole. The study showed that over the last thousand years, the magnetic pole has moved significant distances from Canada to Siberia, but sometimes in other directions.
2. North geographic pole – located directly above the geographic axis of the Earth.
The geographic coordinates of the North Pole are 90°00′00″ north latitude. The pole has no longitude, since it is the intersection point of all meridians. The North Pole also does not belong to any time zone. The polar day, like the polar night, lasts here for approximately six months. The depth of the ocean at the North Pole is 4,261 meters (according to measurements by the Mir deep-sea submersible in 2007). The average temperature at the North Pole in winter is about −40 °C, in summer it is mostly about 0 °C.
3. North geomagnetic pole – connected to the Earth’s magnetic axis.
This is the north pole of the dipole moment of the Earth's geomagnetic field. It is now located at 78° 30" N, 69° W, near Toul (Greenland). The Earth is a giant magnet, like a bar magnet. The geomagnetic North and South poles are the ends of this magnet. The geomagnetic North Pole is located in the Canadian Arctic and continues move in a northwest direction.
4. The North Pole of Inaccessibility is the northernmost point in the Arctic Ocean and the farthest from the earth on all sides
The North Pole of Inaccessibility is located in the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean at the greatest distance from any land. The distance to the North Geographic Pole is 661 km, to Cape Barrow in Alaska - 1453 km and at an equal distance of 1094 km from the nearest islands - Ellesmere and Franz Josef Land. The first attempt to reach the point was made by Sir Hubert Wilkins in an airplane in 1927. In 1941, the first expedition to the Pole of Inaccessibility by plane was carried out under the leadership of Ivan Ivanovich Cherevichny. The Soviet expedition landed 350 km north of Wilkins, thereby being the first to directly visit the northern pole of inaccessibility.
5. The south magnetic pole is a point on the earth's surface at which the earth's magnetic field is directed upward.
People first visited the South Magnetic Pole on January 16, 1909 (British Antarctic expedition, Douglas Mawson determined the location of the pole).
At the magnetic pole itself, the inclination of the magnetic needle, that is, the angle between the freely rotating needle and the earth's surface, is 90º. From a physical point of view, the Earth's magnetic south pole is actually the north pole of the magnet that is our planet. The north pole of a magnet is the pole from which the magnetic field lines emerge. But to avoid confusion, this pole is called the south pole, since it is close to the South Pole of the Earth. The magnetic pole shifts several kilometers per year.
6. South geographic pole - a point located above the geographic axis of rotation of the Earth
The geographic South Pole is marked with a small sign on a pole driven into the ice, which is moved annually to compensate for the movement of the ice sheet. During the ceremonial event, held on January 1, a new South Pole sign, made by polar explorers last year, is installed, and the old one is placed at the station. The sign contains the inscription “Geographic south pole”, NSF, date and latitude of installation. The sign, installed in 2006, featured the date when Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott reached the pole, and small quotes from these polar explorers. The flag of the United States is installed nearby.
Near the geographic South Pole there is the so-called ceremonial South Pole - a special area set aside for photography by the Amundsen-Scott station. It is a mirrored metal sphere standing on a stand, surrounded on all sides by the flags of the Antarctic Treaty countries.
7. South geomagnetic pole - associated with the Earth's magnetic axis in the southern hemisphere.
At the South Geomagnetic Pole, which was first reached by the sleigh-and-tractor train of the Second Soviet Antarctic Expedition led by A.F. Treshnikov on December 16, 1957, the Vostok scientific station was created. The south geomagnetic pole turned out to be at an altitude of 3500 m above sea level, at a point 1410 km away from the Mirny station located on the coast. This is one of the harshest places on Earth. Here, the air temperature remains below -60° C for more than six months of the year. In August 1960, the air temperature at the South Geomagnetic Pole was 88.3° C, and in July 1984, a new record low temperature was 89.2° C.
8. The South Pole of Inaccessibility is a point in Antarctica that is farthest from the coast of the Southern Ocean.
This is the point in Antarctica that is furthest from the Southern Ocean coast. There is no general consensus about the specific coordinates of this place. The problem is how to understand the word "coast". Either draw the coastline along the border of land and water, or along the border of the ocean and ice shelves of Antarctica. Difficulties in determining the boundaries of land, the movement of ice shelves, the constant flow of new data and possible topographic errors all make it difficult to accurately determine the coordinates of the pole. The Pole of Inaccessibility is often associated with the Soviet Antarctic station of the same name, located at 82°06′ S. w. 54°58′ E. This point is located at a distance of 878 km from the south pole and 3718 m above sea level. Currently, the building is still located in this place, and there is a statue of Lenin on it, looking towards Moscow. The place is protected as historical. Inside the building there is a visitor's book that can be signed by the person who reaches the station. By 2007, the station was covered with snow, and only the statue of Lenin on the roof of the building was still visible. It can be seen from many kilometers away.
You can find out more detailed information about the Earth's poles from the book
EARTH POLE
EARTH POLE
(Pole) - the point of intersection of the imaginary axis of rotation of the Earth with its surface.
Samoilov K. I. Marine Dictionary. - M.-L.: State Naval Publishing House of the NKVMF of the USSR, 1941
See what "EARTH'S POLE" is in other dictionaries:
Earth's magnetic pole- magnetinis Žemės polius statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: engl. earth magnetic pole; terrestrial magnetic pole vok. erdmagnetischer Pol, m; magnetischer Erdpol, m rus. geomagnetic pole, m; Earth's magnetic pole, m pranc. pôle magnétique de… … Fizikos terminų žodynas
Earth's magnetic pole- A point on the earth's surface where the magnetic field is directed perpendicular to the earth's surface... Dictionary of Geography
earth's magnetic pole- A point on the earth's surface at which the inclination of the main magnetic field is 90°. Note The location of the pole changes over time. [GOST 24284 80] Topics: gravity and magnetic prospecting... Technical Translator's Guide
- (from the Greek polos, the limb of the axis on which the wheel rotates). The tip of the imaginary earth's axis: the south and north poles. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. POLE 1) the extremity of the axis of the globe; 2)… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
Literally an axis, a pole. The Earth's pole is the world axis, the cosmic center, the point of rest. Signifies a stabilizing force and can take on the symbolic meaning of the Tree of Life. In addition, it carries symbolism of the phallus, childbirth and fertility. The American... Dictionary of symbols
This is the point that is most difficult to reach due to its distance from populated areas. The term describes a geographical point, but not a physical phenomenon, and is of interest more to travelers. Contents 1 North Pole of Inaccessibility 2 ... Wikipedia
Pole (Latin polus, from Greek pólos, literally axis), in the broad sense of the word: limit, boundary, extreme point of something; something diametrically opposed to the other (two poles). More specific meanings: Geographic poles of the intersection point... ... Wikipedia
POLE, poles, husband. (Greek polos, lit. axis). 1. One of two imaginary points of intersection of the earth's surface with its axis of rotation. North Pole. South Pole. Papanin and his companions traveled on a drifting ice floe from the North Pole to... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
POLE- (1) a special, highest, extreme point of something; (2) Geographical point (North and South) is the imaginary point of intersection of the Earth’s rotation axis with the earth’s surface. Geographical points are the only points on the earth’s surface that do not participate in the daily cycle... ... Big Polytechnic Encyclopedia
POLE, a, pl. s, ov and a, ov, husband. 1. One of the two points of intersection of the Earth’s rotation axis with the earth’s surface, as well as the terrain adjacent to this point. Geographical poles. Northern p. Southern p. 2. One of the two ends of the electrical circuit or... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
Books
- , Peary Robert Edwin. This volume of the popular Great Voyages series includes two wonderful books by Robert Edwin Peary (1856-1920) - Over the Great Ice to the North and The North Pole. In the first of them...
- On big ice. The North Pole, R. E. Peary. This volume of the popular Great Voyages series includes two wonderful books by Robert Edwin Peary - Over the Great Ice to the North and The North Pole. In the first of them, an outstanding...
The polar regions of the Earth are the harshest places on our planet.
For centuries, people have tried at the cost of life and health to reach and explore the Northern and Southern Arctic Circle.
So what have we learned about the two opposite poles of the Earth?
1. Where is the North and South Pole: 4 types of poles
There are actually 4 types of North Pole from a scientific point of view:
The magnetic north pole is the point on the earth's surface towards which magnetic compasses are directed.
North geographic pole – located directly above the geographic axis of the Earth
North geomagnetic pole – connected to the Earth's magnetic axis
The North Pole of Inaccessibility is the northernmost point in the Arctic Ocean and the farthest from land on all sides.
Similarly, 4 types of the South Pole were established:
South magnetic pole - a point on the earth's surface at which the earth's magnetic field is directed upward
South geographic pole - a point located above the geographic axis of rotation of the Earth
South geomagnetic pole - associated with the Earth's magnetic axis in the southern hemisphere
The South Pole of Inaccessibility is the point in Antarctica that is farthest from the coast of the Southern Ocean.
In addition, there is a ceremonial south pole - an area designated for photography at Amundsen-Scott Station. It is located a few meters from the geographic south pole, but since the ice sheet is constantly moving, the mark shifts every year by 10 meters.
2. Geographic North and South Pole: ocean versus continent
The North Pole is essentially a frozen ocean surrounded by continents. In contrast, the South Pole is a continent surrounded by oceans.
In addition to the Arctic Ocean, the Arctic region (North Pole) includes parts of Canada, Greenland, Russia, the USA, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
The southernmost point of the earth, Antarctica is the fifth largest continent, with an area of 14 million square kilometers. km, 98 percent of which is covered by glaciers. It is surrounded by the South Pacific Ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
Geographic coordinates of the North Pole: 90 degrees north latitude.
Geographic coordinates of the South Pole: 90 degrees south latitude.
All lines of longitude converge at both poles.
3. The South Pole is colder than the North Pole
The South Pole is much colder than the North Pole. The temperature in Antarctica (South Pole) is so low that in some places on this continent the snow never melts.
The average annual temperature in this area is -58 degrees Celsius in winter, and the highest temperature recorded here was in 2011 at -12.3 degrees Celsius.
In contrast, the average annual temperature in the Arctic region (North Pole) is -43 degrees Celsius in winter and about 0 degrees in summer.
There are several reasons why the South Pole is colder than the North Pole. Since Antarctica is a huge landmass, it receives little heat from the ocean. In contrast, the ice in the Arctic region is relatively thin and there is an entire ocean underneath, which moderates the temperature. In addition, Antarctica is located at an altitude of 2.3 km and the air here is colder than in the Arctic Ocean, which is at sea level.
4. There is no time at the poles
Time is determined by longitude. So, for example, when the Sun is directly above us, local time shows noon. However, at the poles all lines of longitude intersect, and the Sun rises and sets only once a year on the equinoxes.
For this reason, scientists and explorers at the poles use whatever time zone they prefer. Typically, they refer to Greenwich Mean Time or the time zone of the country they are coming from.
Scientists at Amundsen-Scott Station in Antarctica can make a quick run around the world, crossing 24 time zones in a few minutes.
5. Animals of the North and South Pole
Many people have the misconception that polar bears and penguins share the same habitat.
In fact, penguins live only in the southern hemisphere - in Antarctica, where they have no natural enemies. If polar bears and penguins lived in the same area, the polar bears would not have to worry about their food source.
Marine animals at the South Pole include whales, porpoises and seals.
Polar bears, in turn, are the largest predators in the northern hemisphere. They live in the northern part of the Arctic Ocean and feed on seals, walruses and sometimes even beached whales.
In addition, the North Pole is home to animals such as reindeer, lemmings, foxes, wolves, as well as marine animals: beluga whales, killer whales, sea otters, seals, walruses and more than 400 known species of fish.
6. No Man's Land
Despite the fact that many flags of different countries can be seen at the South Pole in Antarctica, it is the only place on earth that does not belong to anyone and does not have an indigenous population.
The Antarctic Treaty is in force here, according to which the territory and its resources must be used exclusively for peaceful and scientific purposes. Scientists, explorers and geologists are the only people who set foot on Antarctica from time to time.
In contrast, more than 4 million people live in the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia.
7. Polar night and polar day
The Earth's poles are unique places where the longest day is observed, which lasts 178 days, and the longest night, which lasts 187 days.
At the poles there is only one sunrise and one sunset per year. At the North Pole, the Sun begins to rise in March on the vernal equinox and descends in September on the autumn equinox. At the South Pole, on the contrary, sunrise is during the autumn equinox, and sunset is on the day of the spring equinox.
In summer, the Sun is always above the horizon here, and the South Pole receives sunlight around the clock. In winter, the Sun is below the horizon, when there is 24-hour darkness.
8. Conquerors of the North and South Pole
Many travelers tried to reach the poles of the Earth, losing their lives on the way to these extreme points of our planet.
Who was the first to reach the North Pole?
There have been several expeditions to the North Pole since the 18th century. There is disagreement over who was the first to reach the North Pole. In 1908, American explorer Frederick Cook became the first to claim to have reached the North Pole. But his compatriot Robert Peary refuted this statement, and on April 6, 1909, he was officially considered the first conqueror of the North Pole.
First flight over the North Pole: Norwegian traveler Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile on May 12, 1926 on the airship "Norway"
First submarine at the North Pole: nuclear submarine Nautilus on August 3, 1956
First trip to the North Pole alone: Japanese Naomi Uemura, April 29, 1978, traveling 725 km by dog sled in 57 days
The first ski expedition: expedition of Dmitry Shparo, May 31, 1979. Participants covered 1,500 km in 77 days.
Lewis Gordon Pugh was the first to swim across the North Pole: he swam 1 km in water with a temperature of -2 degrees Celsius in July 2007.
Who was the first to reach the South Pole?
The first conquerors of the South Pole were the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and the British explorer Robert Scott, after whom the first station at the South Pole, the Amundsen-Scott station, was named. Both teams took different routes and reached the South Pole within a few weeks of each other, first by Amundsen on December 14, 1911, and then by R. Scott on January 17, 1912.
First flight over the South Pole: American Richard Byrd, in 1928
The first to cross Antarctica without the use of animals or mechanical transport: Arvid Fuchs and Reinold Meissner, December 30, 1989
9. North and South magnetic poles of the Earth
The Earth's magnetic poles are associated with the Earth's magnetic field. They are located in the north and south, but do not coincide with the geographic poles, since the magnetic field of our planet is changing. Unlike geographic poles, magnetic poles shift.
The magnetic north pole is not located exactly in the Arctic region, but moves east at a speed of 10-40 km per year, as the magnetic field is influenced by underground molten metals and charged particles from the Sun. The south magnetic pole is still in Antarctica, but it is also moving west at a speed of 10-15 km per year.
Some scientists believe that one day the magnetic poles may change, and this could lead to the destruction of the Earth. However, the change of magnetic poles has already occurred, hundreds of times over the past 3 billion years, and this did not lead to any dire consequences.
10. Melting ice at the poles
Arctic ice in the North Pole region typically melts in the summer and freezes again in the winter. However, in recent years, the ice cap has begun to melt at a very rapid pace.
Many researchers believe that by the end of the century, and maybe in a few decades, the Arctic zone will remain ice-free.
On the other hand, the Antarctic region at the South Pole contains 90 percent of the world's ice. The ice thickness in Antarctica averages 2.1 km. If all the ice in Antarctica melted, sea levels around the world would rise by 61 meters.
Fortunately, this will not happen in the near future.
Some fun facts about the North and South Pole:
1. There is an annual tradition at Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole. After the last supply plane leaves, the researchers watch two horror films: The Thing (about an alien creature that kills the inhabitants of a polar station in Antarctica) and The Shining (about a writer who is in an empty, remote hotel in winter).
2. Every year the polar tern bird makes a record flight from the Arctic to Antarctica, flying more than 70,000 km.
3. Kaffeklubben Island - a small island in the north of Greenland is considered the piece of land that is closest to the North Pole, 707 km from it.
It would seem a strange hobby to travel to the poles of our planet. However, for Swedish entrepreneur Frederik Paulsen, it became a real passion. It took him thirteen years to visit all eight poles of the Earth, becoming the first and so far only person to do so.
Achieving each of them is a real adventure!
South geographic pole - a point located above the geographic axis of rotation of the Earth
The geographic South Pole is marked with a small sign on a pole driven into the ice, which is moved annually to compensate for the movement of the ice sheet. During the ceremonial event, held on January 1, a new South Pole sign, made by polar explorers last year, is installed, and the old one is placed at the station. The sign contains the inscription “Geographic south pole”, NSF, date and latitude of installation. The sign, installed in 2006, featured the date when Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott reached the pole, and small quotes from these polar explorers. The flag of the United States is installed nearby.
Near the geographic South Pole there is the so-called ceremonial South Pole - a special area set aside for photography by the Amundsen-Scott station. It is a mirrored metal sphere standing on a stand, surrounded on all sides by the flags of the Antarctic Treaty countries.
The magnetic north pole is the point on the earth's surface towards which magnetic compasses are directed.
June 1903. Roald Amundsen (left, wearing a hat) makes an expedition on a small sailboat
"Gjoa" to find the Northwest Passage and simultaneously establish the exact location of the north magnetic pole.
It was first opened in 1831. In 1904, when scientists took measurements again, it was discovered that the pole had moved 31 miles. The compass needle points to the magnetic pole, not the geographic pole. The study showed that over the last thousand years, the magnetic pole has moved significant distances from Canada to Siberia, but sometimes in other directions.
The geographic north pole is located directly above the geographic axis of the Earth.
The geographic coordinates of the North Pole are 90°00′00″ north latitude. The pole has no longitude, since it is the intersection point of all meridians. The North Pole also does not belong to any time zone. The polar day, like the polar night, lasts here for approximately six months. The depth of the ocean at the North Pole is 4,261 meters (according to measurements by the Mir deep-sea submersible in 2007). The average temperature at the North Pole in winter is about −40 °C, in summer it is mostly about 0 °C.
The North Geomagnetic Pole is connected to the Earth's magnetic axis.
This is the north pole of the dipole moment of the Earth's geomagnetic field. It is now located at 78° 30" N, 69° W, near Toul (Greenland). The Earth is a giant magnet, like a bar magnet. The geomagnetic North and South poles are the ends of this magnet. The geomagnetic North Pole is located in the Canadian Arctic and continues move in a northwest direction.
The North Pole of Inaccessibility is the northernmost point in the Arctic Ocean and the farthest from land on all sides.
The North Pole of Inaccessibility is located in the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean at the greatest distance from any land. The distance to the North Geographic Pole is 661 km, to Cape Barrow in Alaska - 1453 km and at an equal distance of 1094 km from the nearest islands - Ellesmere and Franz Josef Land. The first attempt to reach the point was made by Sir Hubert Wilkins in an airplane in 1927. In 1941, the first expedition to the Pole of Inaccessibility by plane was carried out under the leadership of Ivan Ivanovich Cherevichny. The Soviet expedition landed 350 km north of Wilkins, thereby being the first to directly visit the northern pole of inaccessibility.
The south magnetic pole is a point on the earth's surface at which the earth's magnetic field is directed upward.
People first visited the South Magnetic Pole on January 16, 1909 (British Antarctic expedition, Douglas Mawson determined the location of the pole).
At the magnetic pole itself, the inclination of the magnetic needle, that is, the angle between the freely rotating needle and the earth's surface, is 90º. From a physical point of view, the Earth's magnetic south pole is actually the north pole of the magnet that is our planet. The north pole of a magnet is the pole from which the magnetic field lines emerge. But to avoid confusion, this pole is called the south pole, since it is close to the South Pole of the Earth. The magnetic pole shifts several kilometers per year.
South geomagnetic pole - associated with the Earth's magnetic axis in the southern hemisphere.
At the South Geomagnetic Pole, which was first reached by the sleigh-and-tractor train of the Second Soviet Antarctic Expedition led by A.F. Treshnikov on December 16, 1957, the Vostok scientific station was created. The south geomagnetic pole turned out to be at an altitude of 3500 m above sea level, at a point 1410 km away from the Mirny station located on the coast. This is one of the harshest places on Earth. Here, the air temperature remains below -60° C for more than six months of the year. In August 1960, the air temperature at the South Geomagnetic Pole was 88.3° C, and in July 1984, a new record low temperature was 89.2° C.
The South Pole of Inaccessibility is the point in Antarctica that is farthest from the coast of the Southern Ocean.
This is the point in Antarctica that is furthest from the Southern Ocean coast. There is no general consensus about the specific coordinates of this place. The problem is how to understand the word "coast". Either draw the coastline along the border of land and water, or along the border of the ocean and ice shelves of Antarctica. Difficulties in determining the boundaries of land, the movement of ice shelves, the constant flow of new data and possible topographic errors all make it difficult to accurately determine the coordinates of the pole. The Pole of Inaccessibility is often associated with the Soviet Antarctic station of the same name, located at 82°06′ S. w. 54°58′ E. This point is located at a distance of 878 km from the south pole and 3718 m above sea level. Currently, the building is still located in this place, and there is a statue of Lenin on it, looking towards Moscow. The place is protected as historical. Inside the building there is a visitor's book that can be signed by the person who reaches the station. By 2007, the station was covered with snow, and only the statue of Lenin on the roof of the building was still visible. It can be seen from many kilometers away.
