Ocean

The Arctic is located at the top of Planet Earth, the location of the North Pole and rumored home a certain Santa Clause. Here’s an overview of the Arctic.

Long thought to be a continent covered in ice like Antarctica, we now know the Arctic is a small land mass covered by ice that spreads well out from the land. Put another way, the area is mostly a giant flow of ice. It is so large, it is four times the size of Texas. As has been reported in the news recently, it is melting at a fairly alarming rate.

66-33 is the magic number. Everything above it is considered the Arctic Circle, which puts parts of countries such as Russia and Canada within the circle. Greenland is included in this group, an island covered in over one mile thick slabs of ice.

The Arctic Ocean surrounds and submerges under the massive ice flow. Although the ocean is the smallest in the world, roughly eight percent the size of the Pacific, more fish live in it and along the edges than in any other ocean.

Although Antarctica and the Arctic seem similar at first glance, they are strikingly different. The Arctic has animals, plants and people living on it throughout the year. Antarctica has none of these things with the exception of penguins, which bread on the ice in Antarctica. Whereas Antarctica is nearly always below freezing, temperatures in the Arctic can get as high a 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Of course, they plunge far into the negatives in the winter, but why quibble.

Surprising to many, the Arctic receives very little snow from the atmosphere. Total precipitation for the year averages only 8 inches. This makes the current melting of the ice flow somewhat troubling. In the last two decades, the Arctic has lost over six percent of the ice flow to melting. The amorphous greenhouse gases and global warming are blamed or refuted depending on your particular point of view. What isn’t debated, however, is the climatic impact of all this new water.

The oceans of the Earth are actually one body of water. Through this body of water flows a monstrously long current known as the Conveyer. This current controls climates because it circles the entire globe and brings warm water to areas that would otherwise be very cold. The warm water stabilizes and warms the climate in such places as Europe. Nobody is exactly sure how much fresh water is being added by the melting of the Arctic, but recent evidence shows it is negatively impacting the conveyor.

The nature of the conveyer is beyond this article, but the massive fresh water is slowing it down. Recent evidence shows it may have lost up to 40 percent of its pace. If it stops or reverses, which has occurred numerous times in the history of the planet, climates will change all over the world. These changes would occur quickly, often within five to ten years. Temperatures in Europe would drop 20 degrees, while other areas would see wild swings as well. Hurricanes and such would appear in unexpected areas and be much stronger than we currently see. Put another way, our relatively calm climate would become a bit more aggressive.

The Arctic is generally out of sight out of mind unless they see a documentary. If it continues to melt, people are going to learn more about it than they ever imagined.

Richard Monk is with FactsMonk.com - a site with facts about everything. Visit us to read more about continents and Arctic Facts.

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We all see the patterns, cycles and flows of our current home planet and indeed we understand much about how they work. But we need to know more and understand the current climate change cycle and how this will affect mankind. We study wind patterns, jet streams, Hurricanes, rivers, volcanic ash clouds, smoke from wildfires and thunderstorms; it all seems so difficult to predict in any absolute sense.

Ocean currents with any crevasse of the ocean may be very simple to study as the earth spins in the water flows it is relatively constant in certain places. Near the surface of the ocean where the water is less dense and more obvious and numerous factors play a part in the direction and flow it will be more difficult to predict, as more factors exist. However once all those factors are known it will not be as difficult as it once appeared.

Now let’s take the atmosphere which can change rapidly and has to take into consideration the ocean flow, temperature, height of the waves along with the heat of the land mass which could include; Urban heat, clouds, barometric pressure, precipitation, static electricity, wind, land formations, man-made pollution, man-made structures and many other non suspecting conditions and in many variations. This however should not scare away the scientists, the dreamer or the funds of those with the imagination to take this species to the next step.

We have come a long way in the study of our planet; its cycles and flows, we are learning more every day. Soon we will be able to use this data to stop droughts, put out fires or steer the extreme weather storms, which threaten our civilization. Think on it.

Lance Winslow

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“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink…”
I first read Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner when I was in high school. Alongside with Poe’s Annabel Lee, Ulalume, and Raven, this was one of those first verse-epics that made me love narrative poetry.

The ancient mariner himself was an alienated traveler as most of us are on earth. As blundering roamers on our planet, we too slip and slide into unwanted, dangerous predicaments. No wonder! When one becomes alien to the inner workings of any thing or place, one is destined to make mistakes in or out of water.

Water is one of the most important natural resources, vital for any living thing. All kinds of theories on water conservation, from water harvesting to desalination to waste water management, has been put on the table. Specifically, drinking water has encouraged the creative urges of the public health professionals as well as the sales pitches of the fly-by-night, money-hungry, and wily sales people.

Commercial concerns aside, betraying nature has its consequences as the ancient mariner did by shooting the albatross. Still, the nature was kind and forgiving since it forgave the ancient mariner when he showed remorse, and I am sure nature will also forgive our past mistakes and keep providing for us if we change our messy ways.

If we don’t know how to use our resources, our water supply, or our oceans, whose fault is this?

Water connects us to life, as do our relationships and our bond to humankind. With nearly six billion people on earth, at one time or another, most of us have felt not just alone but also lonely.

When we watch the way our own body systems and our psyche works, we understand the value of water. Without water there is no cleansing; without tears and true remorse, forgiveness or transformation is hard to obtain.

In technical sense, there is such a process called desalination that takes the salt out of sea water and makes it usable and drinkable. If so, why can’t we take the salt out of relating to one another and never feel the thirst?

As there has to be a catalyst to take the salt out of the sea water, and I believe there are catalysts to take the salt out of the ocean of people in regard to our relationships with them. One of these catalysts starts with will for good, not just to do good, but also to see, hear, say, think, and intend good. These are very difficult things to do and they may take more than a lifetime to perfect, since we first have to unlearn age-old suspicions and the way we look at each other.

Another catalyst has to be love and acceptance. For this, we have to get rid of our fear of getting hurt. This too is very difficult because self-protection is a natural instinct.

Yet, man becomes human only when he can corral natural instincts and tame them to feel his own positive presence on earth. When we identify ourselves with our fears, we influence and restrict our emotional make-up into loneliness.

How we look at ourselves and how we identify ourselves within an ocean of people, with no fear, with acceptance of others, with good intentions will help us transcend our limitations and will facilitate our unity with others. Then, we won’t need to say: “water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”

Joy Cagil is an author on a site for Creative Writers (http://www.Writing.Com/ )
Her education is in foreign languages and linguistics. She has also trained in psychology, science, mental health, and humanities. Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/joycag

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