Photography

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The world's No 1 magazine for Arctic Lover 28/04/2019

To The End Of How Can
The World You See

The Arctic Circle Northern
Lights In
An Arctic
Landscape?

What Makes The Arctic
Landscape Beautiful?

The frozen land within the Arctic
Circle has been an attraction for
the tourists and researchers for a
long time. The Arctic landscape
is equally eerie and captivating.
The landscapes typically consist of
the arctic glaciers, icebergs, Snow
Mountains, the arctic tundra and
Northern lights.

To The End of The World

T he Arctic Circle is more than just a barren, snow-driven region buried under an icy veil of perpetual
winter. There are many landforms and landscapes unique to the Arctic Circle that are of interest to
visitors, the area north of the treeline and the 66th latitude. It is the remoteness of these landscapes
that has kept their raw natural beauty intact. This environment has received more attention as of late,
as the phenomenon of global climate change threatens to alter it completely and permanently. The dominant
landscape type in most of the Arctic Circle, tundra is known for its abundance of water, low rolling hills
and soft, porous earth. Even grass is an uncommon feature, as the rocky, wet ground is instead covered with
lichens and low-lying brush. The permafrost and short growing season – 10 weeks at the most – prevents the
growth of any large vegetation. However, when visiting places such as Canada, the low Arctic tundra just
above the 66th parallel does yield smaller hardwoods such as birch and alder.

The Arctic can seem like such a faraway place, almost if not entirely mythical as it is the setting for so many
of our childhood stories. This elusive place existing north of everything familiar contains Arctic animals
just as magical and exciting. These unbelievable creatures’ innate ability to thrive in the most inhospitable
environment is magic indeed. Travel to the Arctic offers us a peek into their innovative and sometimes
seemingly odd adaptations, and to learn how Arctic wildlife relate in their world—and how we relate to theirs.

With recent advances in ship technology and range, the modern traveler now has the unique chance to visit
these remote locales with comfort and relative ease aboard a host of expedition ships and/or adventure lodges.
Learn about these incredible creatures and all their fur and blubbery, along with tips for spotting these iconic
Arctic animals, then get yourself on a trip to the Arctic to see them for yourself.

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in the permafrost for several millennia. Such finds, especially
mammoth tusks, are valuable fossil remains of mammoth

ARCTIC fauna.
The Arctic is really a special land. It is a peculiar region, unlike
The Arctic is the most unusual region on any other inhabited by people. There are several poles, there are
our planet and it is not surprising that it is no days and nights in the usual sense, in this region the polar
called enigmatic and mysterious, because day and polar night last six months each.
this region is hiding many miracles. The real miracle of the Arctic is the Northern Lights (or Aurora
The Arctic has a unique nature - the giant Borealis), which can last for several days, coloring the sky in
expanses of ice and snow, huge icebergs various iridescent tones. On this northern land there are other
of the most incredible and bizarre forms, amazing natural phenomena. For example, here you can see
drifting in the arctic seas. This is a land, the “icy sky” and find “ice flowers”, and each phenomenon
where polar bears and reindeers live, rare is unusual and unique. Probably, that's why they say that the
animals and birds inhabit, the Arctic seas Arctic attracts and leaves indelible impressions for life.
are full of valuable species of fish, and in the There are several poles, there are no days and nights in the
bowels of the Arctic lie the richest reserves usual sense, in this region the polar day and polar night last six
of natural resources. This is the only place on months each.
earth where there are large accumulations of
mammoth bone, which has been preserved

The real miracle of the Arctic is the Northern Lights (or Aurora Borealis), The Arctic is really a special land.
which can last for several days, coloring the sky in various iridescent tones. It is a peculiar region, unlike any
On this northern land there are other amazing natural phenomena. For other inhabited by people.
example, here you can see the “icy sky” and find “ice flowers”, and each
phenomenon is unusual and unique. Probably, that's why they say that
the Arctic attracts and leaves indelible impressions for life.

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Arctic Landscape

What Makes The Arctic Landscape Beautiful?

Climate change is pulling back the curtain and exposing an Arctic
landscape not seen by the Sun in 40,000 years or more.

Baffin Island is a rocky, frozen wonderland, located in the Arctic circle
between Greenland and the northern coast of Canada. With its deep
fjords and ancient glaciers, it's the perfect place to study ice age patterns.

Geologist and paleoclimatologist Gifford Miller from University of
Colorado Boulder has been travelling here nearly every summer for the
past 40 years, and the changes he has uncovered are disturbing.

I think everyone can relate to to the North Pole and Northwest Svalbard are the shapes you can
the beauty of Antarctica. What Passage. It has its dangers, but one see in the ice, like the face in the
surprised me is that I found the can survive there. It has a haunting image above.
Norwegian Arctic - Svalbard (or feeling to it. There is the tendency
Sitzbergen) equally beautiful. The to shoot in black and white to bring
ice, scenery, wildlife were equally out this historical perspective.
spectacular. But Svalbard had
another element - it had a quite I must say, it's quite a feeling for
the human history. Yes, Antarctica the Captain to "park" the ship in the
had its explorers, but one didn't ice in the middle of the Barents Sea
live there, at least not easily. and have everyone get out, have a
Svalbard has had its year-round bit of a walk, take a photo or two,
residents, mostly hunters and and feel the moment. It's surreal,
trappers. It was also the point of knowing the sea is frozen over
departure for many expeditions - but still! I've never felt anything
quite like that. Almost a haunting
feeling. The Guides carry rifles,
by law, because of the danger of
Polar Bears - hungry Polar Bears,
as they're not doing well with the
melting ice due to warming. But
fortunately, the Guides also carry
flare guns to scare the bears off.

There's so much in Svalbard, let's

start with the glaciatic blue ice (it

has absorbed the long wavelngth/

reddish part of the spectrum -

ergo blue.) The color shifts are

very subtle and very exquisite,

9 almost like jewelry. And

to add to the haunted overtone of

We’ve talked about the locations and some facts In Norway, the Northern lights are visible from
about the arctic. But what makes an arctic landscape October to March and in Greenland, they’re seen
so unique? The main components that give arctic from late-September to April. Northern lights are
landscapes their idiosyncrasies are the immeasurable only observable in clear and dark nights. There
amount of ice, the birch and fir trees in the Southern are dedicated services for tourists that arrange
arctic, very unusual animals, the northern lights, the witnessing polar bear safely to observing the
arctic tundra, polar barrens and tons of other things that northern lights. Some of those services are:
will be discussed below.
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Contrary to what the name suggests, the northern lights
can be seen both in the northern and southern poles of
the earth. It’s mostly seen on Alaska, Canada, Norway
and Greenland. But even Antarctica is prone to this
miracle of nature.

How Can You See Northern Lights In An
Arctic Landscape?

F ew experiences on this earth can rival that
of standing beneath the magical glow of
the aurora borealis, the legendary “northern

lights.” Seen best from the far reaches beyond

the Arctic Circle, against the backdrop of an ink black

sky speckled with more stars than you ever thought

possible, the shimmering green and purple hues of the

Northern Lights seem to dance across the unending

darkness. In Norway, the phenomenon of the aurora

borealis has profoundly influenced local culture and

folk heritage. The most popular Norse legend attribute

the glittering colors to light shining off the shields

and armor of the Valkyrie, female warriors who chose

who perished in battle and who lived to fight another

day. Dying in battle was a prevalent theme in Norse

mythology, and the aurora was also believed to be the

Bifröst, the pathway to Valhalla and the afterlife.

Outside Antarctica, Greenland has the second largest ice cap in the world. After that, look to Nordauslandet
in Svalbard. Icecaps are phenomenal accumulations of ice that developed from the deposition of snow. After
hundreds of years of snowfalls that fail to melt during the summer, the accumulation is so great that the sheer
weight of the snow compresses the crystals into ice. The pressure causes the crystals to melt and reform as ice
crystals to form huge deposits of ice.

Glaciers are similar to ice caps. They form in the same way, except that in glaciers the flowing ice is channelled
into valleys and becomes discrete streams. Some glaciers (especially in Greenland and Svalbard) are simply
fingers of ice flowing down valleys from the ice cap centred in the highlands above.

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TheArctic is a very cold, windy, and The most extreme Arctic land
often snowy biome located around (the closest to the North Pole) is
the North Pole. When referring to called the High Arctic Zone; this
the Arctic, people usually mean the polar desert supports very little
part of the earth within the Arctic animal or plant life (less than 5
Circle (an imaginary circle around percent of the land area is covered
the Earth, parallel to the Equator with vegetation) due to a very
and 23 degrees 28 minutes from short, dry growing season, dry air,
the North Pole, that is, above permafrost, poor soils, and a lack
about 75 degrees North Latitude). of pollinating insects. The warmer
Although there is no land at the Arctic region is called the Low
North Pole, the icy Arctic Ocean is Arctic Zone.
teeming with life ranging from the This area supports more life, with
microscopic (like zooplankton) to more than 90 percent of the land
the huge (like whales). area covered with hardy, cold-and-
dry-adapted vegetation.
There is also a lot of land within
the Arctic Circle 8

The Atlantic Ocean is the The Atlantic Ocean is the The Atlantic Ocean occupies
second largest of the world's an elongated, S-shaped basin
second largest of the world's oceans, with an area of about extending longitudinally
106,460,000 square kilometers between Europe and Africa to
oceans, with an area of (41,100,000 square miles). the east, and the Americas to
It covers approximately 20 the west. As one component
about 106,460,000 square percent of the Earth's surface of the interconnected global
and about 29 percent of its ocean, it is connected in the
kilometers (41,100,000 water surface area. It separates north to the Arctic Ocean,
the "Old World" from the to the Pacific Ocean in the
square miles). It covers "New World". southwest, the Indian Ocean
in the southeast, and the
approximately 20 percent Southern Ocean in the south
(other definitions describe
of the Earth's surface and the Atlantic as extending
southward to Antarctica).
about 29 percent of its water Ocean at about 8°N.

surface area.

It separates the "Old World"
from the "New World".

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With the advent of modern science, until 2024. However, just because The period of darkness is so long in
we know that the Northern Lights the sun isn’t going crazy right now the winter that you’ll have plenty of
are actually caused by electrically doesn’t mean you should postpone time to try and catch a glimpse. Be
charged particles from the sun your trip to Norway to see the on the lookout between 8 pm and
colliding with atoms in Earth’s Northern Lights. The Northern 2 am for a chance to see the best
atmosphere. This collision causes Lights are still a very frequent light show on earth. To increase
electrons in the atoms of the occurrence in Norway’s skies your chances of an aurora sighting,
Earth’s atmosphere to move to above theArctic Circle. The biggest plan to go out on multiple nights.
a higher-energy state. When the challenge to seeing the Northern The weather in Norway during the
electrons move back to a state of Lights in Scandinavia is finding winter months is mercurial, and
lower energy, they release photon clear skies, which can sometimes you may end up with cloudy sky
or light. The result is a beautiful be a legitimate challenge. on more than night of your visit. It
and dramatic aurora. is still possible to see the Northern
The Northern Lights are always Lights as early as September and as
The very best time to see the happening; they’re just not visible late as April, but the odds of seeing
Northern Lights is during a period during the day. The midnight them are much lower.
of solar maximum. The Northern sun of the Arctic Circle makes
Lights’ display is more intense it impossible to see the aurora 4
during these seasons due to the during the summer months. Peak
sun’s heightened activity. The next Northern Lights season in Norway
solar maximum isn’t projected is between November and March.

History of the Arctic. Mankind
tried to conquer the North Pole
many times, but it was not easy
and cost many lives. In 1827 the
British Rear Admiral Sir William
Edward Parry managed to get from
Svalbard to 82°45'N. Expeditions
of the Americans Charles Francis
Hall (1871) and George W. De
Long (1881) were ill-fated, both
researchers died.

1908

American Frederick Cook
claimed that he, for the first time
in the history of mankind, reached the geographical North.

AMAZING A polar day is a period when
FACTS
ABOUT Norwegian Arctic the Sun does not go beyond the
THE horizon longer than one day.
ARCTIC Arctic Poles. There are four poles in
the Arctic: the Geographic North
Pole, the North Magnetic Pole,
the Pole of Cold and the Pole of
Inaccessibility. These points in the
Northern Hemisphere are widely
scattered and do not coincide
with the Geographical North Pole,
where Earth’s axis of rotation meets
the surface.

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Shedding Some Light on the Northern Lights

One of the most striking and amazing phenomena of The most common forms of aurora are arches
nature is the Aurora or Polar Lights that light the sky and arcs, which are usually formed at an altitude
in the form of arches, arcs, swaying curtains of various of 60 to 100 kilometers. Glow in the form of
colors. A fascinating sight, which Arkhangelsk Pomors swaying curtains occurs at an altitude of 110-120
have long been called “spolokhs”, can last from an kilometers, and red lights are formed at the highest
hour to several days. This luminescent glow occurs altitudes - 900-1000 kilometers. A little lower their
from the collision of charged particles from the Sun color becomes purple, and in the layers closest to
with molecules and atoms of gases in upper, thin part the Earth, green rays and flashes form.
of Earth's atmosphere.

In 1872 aurora embraced This is the refraction of When a phenomenon
almost the entire northern light in the atmosphere, of abnormal refraction
hemisphere, and in 1938
which arises from occurs, the visible
it could be observed the difference in horizon either descends
throughout the European temperatures of the lower
layers of air and water. or ascends.
part of Russia.
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