The Arctic is one of the most hostile areas on the planet. It is a seasonally changing area, especially now with global warning. The Arctic has a variety of geographic areas from the ice sheet to the tundra. It is the home of several native peoples as well as animals who are tolerant of present and past conditions. Like the Antarctic, it is undergoing significant change as a result of climate change. This may have catastrophic effects on people’s way of life and the ability of Arctic animals to survive as they have in the past.

This page looks at The Arctic - the area, its exploration and those who explored it, Australian links, Arctic images, the Aurora Borealis, print material, student activities and more.

There are obvious links between this area and The Antarctic page.

The Arctic

Exploration

One of the last great unexplored areas. People, especially from the US and Scandinavian countries were involved in exploration.

• Arctic Exploration
  First attempts, Age of Discovery, Modern Exploration, notes, references, other links. Ypou can also check the List of Arctic Expeditions and List of Polar Explorers [Arctic and Antarctic], all from Wikipedia.
• Arctic Exploration : A Brief History
  Information, links on explorations in the Arctic area.
• Arctic Exploration Timeline
  Exploration and discovery. Individual pages covering explores from earliest times to the most recent.
• Arctic Explorers
  Annotated links to Arctic explorers from the 16th century on.
• Arctic Explorers/Adventurers : Modern
  [Post-1960]
  Annotated links to these.
• Exploration of the Northwest Passage
  Introduction, specific explorers, conclusion.
• Maps of Arctic Explorers’ Routes
  Includes major explorers, a link to the North West Passage Exploration Map.
• Vilhjalmur Steffanson : Arctic Explorer
  ‘The last explorer to discover new lands in the Arctic’.

General Sites

• About Arctic Animals
  Links to information, images of Arctic animals of all kinds.
• Animals of the Arctic
  Junior Thinkquest. Animals, activities, resources page, search page. Subscribe to an Arctic Animals Channel for updates.
• Arctic Circle
  Natural resources, history & culture, social equity & environmental justice, museum [with art gallery], virtual classroom, forum for visitors. Full of interesting information.
• Arctic Environmental Atlas
  Ever changing atlas depending on choice of zoom level, theme. Print maps.
• Arctic Studies
  Directories including special collections, research, more.
• ArcticStat
  ‘Permanent, public, independent statistical database dealing with countries, regions, populations of the Circumpolar Arctic. For the most part, data indexed in ArcticStat come from national statistical agencies of the countries of the Arctic or their regional offices’.
• Arctic Studies Centre
  The human element from earliest inhabitants, the Vikings to the present. Cultural resources, games [e.g. Polar Pairs]. Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian.
• Arctic Theme Page
  Two different resources about the Arctic. Curricular resources, instructional materials. Choose what you want, connect through annotated links.
• Arctic Theme Page [NOAA]
  ‘Access to widely distributed Arctic data, information for scientists, students, teachers, academia, managers, decision makers, the general public’. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Arctic Wildlife Portfolio
  ‘Learn about the animals of the Arctic ! Biologist Doug Siegel-Causey shares his knowledge and special insights about this icy world and it’s inhabitants. Birds, Mammals, Sea Mammals’.
• Discovering the Arctic
  The Royal Geographical Society. ‘The story of the Arctic is about people and place. Explore this region and how it is changing with the help of the people who live and work there’. Areas covered include Climate Change, Arctic Science, Resources from the Edge, Living on the Edge, Hunter or Hunted, Troubled Waters, Arctic Governance. Best suited at the secondary level. Done for students.
• Polar Ice Caps
  ‘Unit developed at San Diego State University in a course on Interdisciplinary Teaching with Technology. This unit is designed for tenth grade level instruction. Simply a starting point for studying the vast amount of information on the polar ice caps’.
• Sila
  Sila : Inuktitut word meaning climate and all things that surround us. ‘What’s up with climate change in the Arctic ? What does it mean for northern people, plants, animals ? Where else in the world are similar changes happening ? What can we do about it ? Discover how climate change at the top of the world is everyone’s business, no matter where you live’.
• Wild Arctic Activities
  Simple site by Seaworld, US. Information, activities related to the Arctic. Suitable for primary students.

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Other Information

Aurora Borealis

Information and images of the ‘Northern Lights’.

See the Aurora Australis section on the Antarctic page, for other aurora information.

• Aurora Borealis
  Pictures from several seasons of the aurora, FAQs, comparisons related to latitude, links, more.
• Aurora Borealis, The Northern Lights
  Multi-page article. Sections cover many aspects. Some images included.
• Auroras : What Makes Them Happen ?
  General explanation of what causes auroras. Easy to follow and understand.
• Aurorawebcam
  ‘Your source for viewing the aurora live. Located at the world premier aurora-viewing site north of Fairbanks Alaska. View the sky, chat with others on the webcam from the comforts of your own home’.
• How Does the Aurora Borealis Work ?
  Article, images, more. From How Stuff Works.
• NOAA POES Auroral Activity
  ‘Introduction, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, data plots, viewing, background information, how to use the plots, movies from both hemispheres’.
• Northern Lights
  The Aurora, noctilucent clouds, aurora viewing, forecasts, more.
• The Aurora Page
  ‘Information, links, images of the Northern Lights. On-line since the Web began’.
• The Northern Lights
  ‘What are the Northern Lights ?, Aurora in Science, Realtime Measurements, Auroral Mythology, Aurora in Arts, Land of The Aurora, more. Norwegian site’.

Graphics

• Arctic Images
  Portfolio by Ragnar Sigurdsson. Fantastic images collated under headings in the Gallery. Screen savers, what he is doing now.
• Freeze Frame
  ‘Freeze Frame is the result of a two-year digitisation project that brings together photographs from both Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. Here you can discover the polar regions through the eyes of those explorers and scientists who dared to go into the last great wildernesses on earth. Detailed catalogue entries are provided for each image. All image captions are taken from original sources, where known’. University of Cambridge.
• Gallery of Arctic Images
  Listed under directories including North Pole, Arctic, Animals [including specific animals], Ships & Boats, more.

Polar Information

Links may apply to all polar regions, including the Arctic and Antarctic.

• Crittercam Chronicles
  ‘National Geographic’s Crittercam is a research tool designed to be worn by wild animals. Video and audio recording with collection of environmental data such as depth, temperature, acceleration’. Opens to the Antarctica page, but there are also links to the Arctic, the Deep Sea, more.
• EducaPoles
  ‘International Polar Foundation’s educational site. Sets out to sensitise young people, the educational world to the importance of the Polar Regions and of climate change by proposing adapted teaching tools, projects. Three complementary websites focusing on IPF activities are listed below’. Projects, news, multimedia, educational material.

• ExploraPoles
  ‘Overview of polar expeditions, explorers. Picture section is worth visiting.
• PolarFoundation
• SciencePoles
  ‘Provides an overview of polar science, research findings, recent and forthcoming developments across scientific disciplines’.

• Ice Stories
  Dispatches from Polar Scientists. ‘For the International Polar Year, we gave polar scientists cameras and blogs and asked them to document their field work in real time. Follow their adventures, see what it’s like to be a research scientist in the Arctic or Antarctica’.
• Passport to The Poles
  ‘Uses the Polar First record-breaking helicopter journey by Jennifer Murray and Colin Bodill around the world via the two Polar Regions as a focus for a stimulating and engaging educational resource’.
• Tundra/Arctic
  Activities for Arctic and Antarctic regions, designed especially for younger children.
• What is the Cryosphere ?
  ‘Learn about snow, ice, the cold regions of Earth’.

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