Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
On 5 August 2001, while on a cruise with tourists from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, to the Geographic North Pole, we sighted a lone polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from the Russian icebreaker Yamal at a site we believe to be the northernmost record of this species. The adult bear was seen walking slowly on...
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Language: | English |
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The Arctic Institute of North America
2003
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Online Access: | https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63685 |
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/63685 2023-05-15T13:19:56+02:00 Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) van Meurs, Rinie Splettstoesser, John F. 2003-01-01 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63685 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63685/47621 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63685 ARCTIC; Vol. 56 No. 3 (2003): September: 219–319; 309 1923-1245 0004-0843 Algae Animal distribution Animal tracks Animals Arctic foxes Expeditions Polar bears Sea birds Sea ice Fram Basin Arctic Ocean North Pole info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion letter 2003 ftunivcalgaryojs 2022-03-22T21:20:58Z On 5 August 2001, while on a cruise with tourists from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, to the Geographic North Pole, we sighted a lone polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from the Russian icebreaker Yamal at a site we believe to be the northernmost record of this species. The adult bear was seen walking slowly on the ice toward the ship about 500 meters away. The location of the ship, as determined by the ship's Global Positioning System (GPS), was 89°46.5'N, 26°21.1'E, about 13 nautical miles from the Pole. No seals were seen in the area on that day, although on an earlier date (8 August 1993), one of us (JFS) sighted a ringed seal (Phoca hispida) in the water adjacent to the Yamal upon reaching the Pole. Many other sightings of polar bears were made on the August 2001 cruise, both prior to this date and also later, as the ship reached Franz Josef Land [Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa], Russia, the next objective after the Pole. The voyage began at Longyearbyen on 1 August and ended there on 12 August 2001. . Ice conditions in the area of the sighting on 5 August 2001 ranged from unbroken 10/10 multiyear sea ice to 8/10-9/10 broken multiyear ice. . Winds and currents can . be responsible for relatively rapid ice-cover changes in foraging habitats for polar bears, perhaps making it more opportunistic for them to move northward or in other directions in pursuit of prey. Whether those factors might have been instrumental in producing the conditions of our polar bear sighting only 13.5 nautical miles (15.5 statute miles/25 km) from the North Pole cannot be ascertained. Considering the water depth at the Geographic North Pole (4179 m, or 13 710'), with little likelihood of upwelling and generation of nutrients for seals and lower elements of the food chain, it is unlikely that seals and polar bears would normally venture this far north. However, Todd et al. (1992) noticed, as we did, light-brown algae frozen within some of the ice en route to the Pole, and they also mention sighting tracks of arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) in hard-packed snow at 89°11.15'N in July 1992. . Article in Journal/Newspaper Alopex lagopus Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Arctic Ocean Franz Josef Land Icebreaker Longyearbyen North Pole Phoca hispida polar bear ringed seal Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus University of Calgary Journal Hosting Arctic Arctic Ocean Fram Basin ENVELOPE(90.000,90.000,88.000,88.000) Franz Josef Land ENVELOPE(55.000,55.000,81.000,81.000) Lone ENVELOPE(11.982,11.982,65.105,65.105) Longyearbyen North Pole Svalbard Todd ENVELOPE(-85.933,-85.933,-78.050,-78.050) ARCTIC 56 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Algae Animal distribution Animal tracks Animals Arctic foxes Expeditions Polar bears Sea birds Sea ice Fram Basin Arctic Ocean North Pole |
spellingShingle |
Algae Animal distribution Animal tracks Animals Arctic foxes Expeditions Polar bears Sea birds Sea ice Fram Basin Arctic Ocean North Pole van Meurs, Rinie Splettstoesser, John F. Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) |
topic_facet |
Algae Animal distribution Animal tracks Animals Arctic foxes Expeditions Polar bears Sea birds Sea ice Fram Basin Arctic Ocean North Pole |
description |
On 5 August 2001, while on a cruise with tourists from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, to the Geographic North Pole, we sighted a lone polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from the Russian icebreaker Yamal at a site we believe to be the northernmost record of this species. The adult bear was seen walking slowly on the ice toward the ship about 500 meters away. The location of the ship, as determined by the ship's Global Positioning System (GPS), was 89°46.5'N, 26°21.1'E, about 13 nautical miles from the Pole. No seals were seen in the area on that day, although on an earlier date (8 August 1993), one of us (JFS) sighted a ringed seal (Phoca hispida) in the water adjacent to the Yamal upon reaching the Pole. Many other sightings of polar bears were made on the August 2001 cruise, both prior to this date and also later, as the ship reached Franz Josef Land [Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa], Russia, the next objective after the Pole. The voyage began at Longyearbyen on 1 August and ended there on 12 August 2001. . Ice conditions in the area of the sighting on 5 August 2001 ranged from unbroken 10/10 multiyear sea ice to 8/10-9/10 broken multiyear ice. . Winds and currents can . be responsible for relatively rapid ice-cover changes in foraging habitats for polar bears, perhaps making it more opportunistic for them to move northward or in other directions in pursuit of prey. Whether those factors might have been instrumental in producing the conditions of our polar bear sighting only 13.5 nautical miles (15.5 statute miles/25 km) from the North Pole cannot be ascertained. Considering the water depth at the Geographic North Pole (4179 m, or 13 710'), with little likelihood of upwelling and generation of nutrients for seals and lower elements of the food chain, it is unlikely that seals and polar bears would normally venture this far north. However, Todd et al. (1992) noticed, as we did, light-brown algae frozen within some of the ice en route to the Pole, and they also mention sighting tracks of arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) in hard-packed snow at 89°11.15'N in July 1992. . |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
van Meurs, Rinie Splettstoesser, John F. |
author_facet |
van Meurs, Rinie Splettstoesser, John F. |
author_sort |
van Meurs, Rinie |
title |
Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) |
title_short |
Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) |
title_full |
Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) |
title_fullStr |
Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Farthest North Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) |
title_sort |
farthest north polar bear (ursus maritimus) |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63685 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(90.000,90.000,88.000,88.000) ENVELOPE(55.000,55.000,81.000,81.000) ENVELOPE(11.982,11.982,65.105,65.105) ENVELOPE(-85.933,-85.933,-78.050,-78.050) |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Fram Basin Franz Josef Land Lone Longyearbyen North Pole Svalbard Todd |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Fram Basin Franz Josef Land Lone Longyearbyen North Pole Svalbard Todd |
genre |
Alopex lagopus Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Arctic Ocean Franz Josef Land Icebreaker Longyearbyen North Pole Phoca hispida polar bear ringed seal Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Alopex lagopus Arctic Arctic Fox Arctic Arctic Ocean Franz Josef Land Icebreaker Longyearbyen North Pole Phoca hispida polar bear ringed seal Sea ice Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 56 No. 3 (2003): September: 219–319; 309 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63685/47621 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63685 |
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ARCTIC |
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