- published: 04 Sep 2015
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Earth's polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles also known as frigid zones. The North Pole and South Pole being the centers, these regions are dominated by the polar ice caps, resting respectively on the Arctic Ocean and the continent of Antarctica. Polar sea ice is currently diminishing, possibly as a result of global warming.
The frigid zones.
Location of the polar regions.
Northern Hemisphere permafrost (permanently frozen ground) in purple.
The Arctic has numerous definitions, including the region north of the Arctic Circle currently (Epoch 2010 at 66°33'44" N), or the region north of 60° north latitude, or the region from the North Pole south to the timberline.
The Antarctic is usually defined as south of 60° south latitude, or the continent of Antarctica. The 1959 Antarctic Treaty uses the former definition.
The two polar regions are distinguished from the other two climatic and biomatic belts of Earth, a tropics belt near the equator, and two middle latitude regions sandwiched between the tropics and polar regions.