Athropolis HOME   |   Maps   |   Arctic Links   |   Arctic Library
Click to go HOME
From our library of things you should know about the Arctic


Polynyas (No - not starring Hayley Mills)

Polynyas are areas of ice-free water in the Arctic ice pack that stay clear for up to 9 or 10 months of the year. These openings are caused by ocean currents, wind patterns, tides, or upwellings of warmer water.

The areas of open water vary in size, and some can be huge - spreading over an area of up to 50,000 sq. km / 20,000 sq. miles.

Some polynyas occur at the same time and place each year (so regularly that they're even mapped and named), and the open waters provide a predictable overwintering ground for marine mammals such as walruses, narwhals and belugas that do not migrate south.

In spring, the thin or absent ice cover allows light to penetrate the ocean's surface layer as soon as the winter night ends, and this triggers the early blooming of microalgae that are at the base of the marine food chain.

It is through openings such as this that submarines like the U.S.S. Skate sometimes surface. Subs are known to pop up through the Arctic ice from time to time, and openings that are already mapped just make things easier.

MORE...
Click pictures for more information and credits.
Library: Arctic, Ice, Animals
Whales/Fish, Boats/Ships/Subs
Links: Arctic, Arctic Animals, Boats & Ships
Arctic Maps & Weather Reports
Arctic Submarine Laboratory, What's a Polynya?
News Story: "Submarines Surface in Arctic"


Double-click any unlinked word DICTIONARY: Just "double-click" any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central.
Arctic Library ARCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic.
All sorts of Arctic Maps ARCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature...
Links to related sites. ARCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and "Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots".
A Guide to Arctic Sunrise and Sunset GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year?

Search for more on this topic...from Athropolis!
(1) Click the button for Web (below) to search the World Wide Web
(2) Click button for
WWW.ATHROPOLIS.COM to search this web site

 
Web WWW.ATHROPOLIS.COM
Icy Cold Jokes | Icy Games | E-mail | Athropolis HOME
Copyright © 2005 Athropolis Productions Limited. The content of web sites that this site has links
to is the property of their respective owners, and Athropolis is not responsible for their content.