| Summary: | In his map of the Arctic published in 1569, Gerardus Mercator imagined the North Pole as a mountain of iron encircled by swirling water, and in the centuries that followed, many Arctic explorers perished in the harsh weather, frigid seas, and shifting pack ice in their quest to find new lands, resources, and potential trade routes. Eventually the North Polar Region came to be understood as a semienclosed, ice-capped ocean surrounded by continental landmasses, where snow, glacial ice, ice-covered lakes and rivers, wetlands, and permanently frozen ground (permafrost) are major features of the terrestrial environment. In contrast to many of the early expeditions from Europe, Indigenous communities have lived in harmony with the Arctic environment, and have evolved cultures over millennia that are highly adapted to the rigorous northern climate, and to the hunting and gathering of food from northern ecosystems. Today there is a strong focus of attention on the Arctic because of its wide-ranging implications for the rest of the world. Global climate change is greatly amplified at these high northern latitudes by feedback processes (“Arctic amplification”). This is resulting in degradation of the Arctic cryosphere (the ensemble of ice-containing environments) that in turn threatens to destabilize the entire planetary system via loss of sea ice, melting of glaciers and ice caps, atmospheric changes, and mobilization of the large stocks of organic carbon that have been locked in permafrost soils. Specialized animals such as polar bears and narwhals that depend on sea ice integrity for their existence have become global icons of the dire consequences of planetary change, while the opening up of Arctic sea routes has attracted growing interest for commercial shipping and new opportunities for resource exploitation. The Arctic is also under pressure from other environmental threats including contaminant pollution, increased UV radiation exposure, and ocean acidification, all amplified by the unique characteristics of this ...
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