Antarctica and the Arctic have many things in common: they’re both cold, icy and home to an array of wonderful wildlife not found anywhere else. But this is where the similarities end.
The Arctic is the polar region at the north of the planet, where polar bears roam. It is dominated by the Arctic Ocean and includes Greenland, Svalbard and several other landmasses. Humans have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years, and still do today. The Arctic landscape is extremely diverse, from the dramatic icebergs that calve off the Greenland Ice Sheet to the delicate flowers and berries that bloom across the Arctic tundra in summer, and brilliant displays from deciduous shrubs in the autumn.
Antarctica is the polar region at the south of the planet, home of the penguins. Antarctica is quite isolated from the rest of the planet. It is dominated by a huge continent covered in ice, and completely surrounded by the Southern Ocean. It was first visited by humans in 1820, the culmination of centuries of efforts to find it. Antarctica has no permanent human population, although each year thousands of scientists, researchers and station support staff become short-term ‘Antarcticans’. In the summer months, thousands of tourists make the journey to experience the otherworldly icescapes and wildlife of the south.
When people are deciding which to visit first, the Arctic or Antarctica, they’re often surprised to discover just how different they are. Let’s take a closer look at the Arctic and Antarctica and how to tell them apart.
Many penguins nest on land. Seals rest on land or ice. Microscopic invertebrates live amongst the moss.
Only two flowering plants, plus many mosses, lichens and liverworts.
Antarctica has no permanent human population. There are over 60 research stations, where staff reside seasonally or annually.
Antarctic ice sheet: 14 million km² (5.4 million square miles).
No.
Antarctica is governed collectively by 54 nations under the Antarctic Treaty.
Musk ox, reindeer, caribou, arctic foxes, arctic hares, wolves, lemmings, voles, polar bears.
There are many small shrubs, grasses and sedges in the arctic tundra.
Yes. Humans have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years.Today there are more than 2 million people living north of 60°N, many in modern settlements.
Greenland ice sheet: 1.71 million km² (0.66 million square miles).
There are 8 countries within the Arctic region: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland.
Although both poles are covered in ice, what lies beneath the ice is very different from north to south. If you could lift the ice off the South Pole in Antarctica you would find a rocky landmass (or landmasses) of gorges, canyons and mountain ranges, much like the other great continents on our planet. Antarctica was the last of the Earth’s 7 continents to be discovered by humans.
But if you lifted the ice off the North Pole in the Arctic, you would find the Arctic Ocean. There is no single Arctic continent under the Arctic ice, but there are many smaller landmasses including Greenland, Svalbard and parts of Asia, North America and Europe.
The Arctic and Antarctica have many things in common, and one is their size. The polar regions cover the ends of the Earth like caps, and the Arctic is just slightly larger than Antarctica.
The Arctic covers an area of approximately 14.5 million square km (5.5 million square miles). Antarctica comes a close second with an area of about 14.2 million square km (5.4 million square miles), roughly twice the size of Australia.
Antarctica and the Arctic are the two coldest places on Earth, but Antarctica is much colder than the Arctic.
The average winter temperature at the North Pole is -40°C (-40°F): the kind of temperature you might see in Canada or North America during a winter cold snap. The winter average at the South Pole is a seriously nippy -60°C (-76°F).
Summer temperatures also differ from pole to pole. The average summer temperature at the North Pole is barely freezing at 0°C (-32°F), while the South Pole remains much colder at -28°C (-18°F).
Fortunately for Arctic and Antarctic travellers, we steer clear of the polar regions in winter, and we never visit the chilly South Pole! When we visit in summer, the weather in the Arctic and Antarctica is quite pleasant!
Antarctica is covered by a massive ice sheet twice the size of Australia. It covers an area of 14 million square km (5.4 million square miles), making it the largest ice sheet in the world. This huge reservoir of ice cools the air above it and reflects most of the heat that reaches it back to space.
By contrast, the largest ice sheet in the Arctic, the Greenland Ice Sheet, is only one eighth the size of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Antarctica is the highest continent on the planet, due to thick layers of ice that raise its average elevation to around 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Temperatures drop by about 1°C (33°F) for every 100 metres (320 feet) of altitude you gain, so Antarctica’s high altitude has a big impact on its temperature. Although the Arctic has many rugged mountain ranges and stunning alpine peaks, much of the region lies at sea level, on the Arctic Ocean.
Water warms and cools more slowly than land, so areas near the sea have fewer extremes of temperature. Antarctica is a landmass surrounded by ocean and the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land.
Even when it’s covered by ice, the Arctic Ocean has a moderating effect on the climate, helping to keep the Arctic slightly warmer than Antarctica. Although Antarctica is surrounded by sea, the cooling effect of the massive Antarctic Ice Sheet counteracts any moderating influence of the ocean, except near the coast.
Antarctica is the windiest continent on the planet, which makes cold temperatures feel even colder due to wind chill.
The North Pole and South Pole are geographical (and polar!) opposites. The North Pole is the northernmost point on our planet, situated at sea level in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The sea beneath the North Pole is frozen into huge plates of sea ice, which are constantly moving, and there is no marker to mark the spot.
The North Pole is located to the north of Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the USA (Alaska). It doesn’t belong to anyone, but in 2007 Russia sent two submarines more than 4km (2.5 miles) below the surface to plant a one metre high titanium flag on the ocean floor.
Each year, a few lucky travellers visit the North Pole. Some even have the chance to stand on the sea ice at the northernmost point on Earth.
The South Pole is in the middle of Antarctica. It is situated high on the polar plateau, which is covered in ice 2.8km (1.7m) thick. The South Pole is so far above sea level that some people who visit will experience altitude sickness!
The exact location of the South Pole is marked with a stake, which has to be moved each year. This is because the Antarctic Ice Sheet moves about 10m (30 ft) per year at the South Pole.
Nobody owns the South Pole. Instead, it is governed collectively under an international agreement called the Antarctic Treaty. At the time of writing, 54 nations had signed on to share responsibility for Antarctica.
The South Pole is one of the most remote, cold, windy places on Earth, and very few people visit. There are no tours to the South Pole, but there is an Antarctic research station. The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, named for the first two expedition leaders to reach the South Pole, supports 150 researchers and support staff in summer, and 50 through the winter.
If you’re craving some time with the wonderful penguins of the world, make sure you go south to Antarctica, because you won’t find any in the Arctic!
Penguins aren’t known for venturing north of the equator, although in 1936, some penguins found themselves unexpectedly relocated to the Arctic. But almost all penguin species live in the southern hemisphere, seven of these in Antarctica.
Free from the perils of land predators such as the foxes and polar bears of the Arctic, penguins have flourished in Antarctica. They nest in the open, either on the ice or on little piles of stones.
Eight of the world’s 18 penguin species live in Antarctica and on subantarctic islands. This includes Adélie, chinstrap, emperor, gentoo, king, macaroni and rockhopper penguins.
These flightless seabirds are extraordinary swimmers. With streamlined bodies like torpedoes, they use their flippers like wings for propulsion in the water, and their feet (and sometimes tail) to steer their course.
Penguins feed at sea, coming ashore to breed, rest and replace all their feathers at once in an annual catastrophic moult. With their mathematically precise huddles and pebble-stealing antics, they have developed some truly remarkable ways of thriving in the harsh Antarctic environment.
There are six Antarctic seal species that flourish in the cool haven of the Southern Ocean.
Weddell seals are the most southerly breeding mammal on Earth. Crabeater seals mostly eat krill – never crabs! Leopard seals are the second-largest of the Antarctic seals. The largest is the southern elephant seal, which is the largest seal on the planet. Fur seals are the only Antarctic seal that uses fur for insulation, in addition to blubber. Some Ross seal eyes are 7cm (2.75 in) in diameter, to help them see in the dark.
Antarctic krill (Euphasia superba) are small, shrimp-like crustaceans with large, black eyes and many small legs called thoracopods. There are an estimated 500 trillion Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean, weighing 379 million tons. Scientists estimate that approximately half of this is taken up by the seals, penguins and whales that rely on krill as their main source of food.
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are home to a diversity of seabirds, which often follow the ship as we sail. Several species of albatross can be spotted in these parts, including the royal, black-browed and wandering albatross, which has a wingspan up to 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in), the longest known wingspan on Earth. It’s not uncommon to spot giant petrels soaring past the bridge as we sail, or delicate Wilson’s storm petrels dancing on the surface of the water, foraging for copepods. Cape petrels, Antarctic prions, skuas, terns, cormorants and snow petrels also thrive on the Southern Ocean.
During the Antarctic summer, Antarctic waters are teeming with whales, which migrate to southern latitudes to feed on a bounty of Antarctic krill (Euphasia superba). They generally begin to arrive in Antarctica in November, reaching peak numbers in February and March. Let’s take a look at some of the whales we see in Antarctica.
Find out more about some of the wonderful wildlife you could spot on a voyage to Antarctica here.
Thanks for staying with us to learn about some of the similarities and differences between our planet’s two polar regions, Antarctica and the Arctic. If you have any questions about these remarkable corners of the globe, feel free to drop us a line and we’ll be in touch.
If you’re interested in learning more about Antarctica or seeing for yourself what it’s all about, contact our expedition experts today.
Polar bears live in the Arctic, but not Antarctica. You can find polar bears across the Arctic from the U.S. (Alaska) and Canada to Greenland and Svalbard. They even make occasional visits to the Geographic North Pole, in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.
Polar bears spend most of their lives on the sea ice, roaming across this frozen, constantly moving surface, hunting seals through cracks in the ice. Polar bears can also cover amazing distances at sea: they can swim 48 km (30 mi) regularly, and up to 354 km (220 mi) at a stretch, before they need to find sea ice or land to rest.
Polar bears are the largest land carnivore in the world and the largest member of the bear family. They spend most of their time on ice floes in the northern Arctic, feeding primarily on ringed seals. These impressive predators are also incredible swimmers, with records of polar bears swimming some 80 km (50 miles) from any land or floe.
Musk oxen have historically been associated with the hunting cultures of early mankind. Their meat and hides were used for food, clothing, and shelter, while the horns and bones were carved to make tools and crafts.
There are no arctic foxes in Antarctica. Arctic foxes prefer to live in the arctic tundra, where they feed on lemmings, voles and other small mammals. Living in the Arctic also means they can tuck into a feast of rodents, insects and berries, none of which are found in Antarctica. Another favourite meal for arctic foxes is birds and their eggs – so it’s fortunate for penguins that they are only found in the Arctic!
Smaller than the familiar red fox and with more rounded ears and muzzle, the arctic fox is distributed all around the Arctic in high latitudes and out on the open tundra. Arctic fox are well-adapted to the Arctic environment, and remain active all winter and live in the open.
The arctic hare is one of five species of Lagomorphs (the order that includes rabbits, hares and pikas) that live in the Arctic. Their fur is longer and finer than most temperate hares, and they have shorter ears. Fossil remains of Lepus Arcticus have been found in a 12,000-year-old Eskimo site in northern Greenland. The Inuit consume the meat of arctic hares and use the hide for clothing and bandages.
Reindeer are vegetarians and they eat most available types of vegetation, including new-growth leaves, lichens and even fine twigs. Their coat is very heavy and dense, and is predominantly brown to olive, although some populations in Greenland are almost completely white. The broad, flat structure of their feet allows the hooves to splay widely and act as snowshoes to travel over winter snows and the summertime spongy arctic tundra.
The walrus is the largest pinniped in the Arctic, with distinctive tusks which they use as weapons, or levers to help them move around on land. Walruses are gregarious, and they may haul out in herds of up to several thousand individuals. During the non-breeding season, groups are sexually segregated, and dominance is based on the size of their bodies and tusks.
There are only a dozen or so arctic birds that live in the Arctic all year round, including the gyrfalcon, raven, ptarmigan, snowy owl, redpolls, gulls (Ross’s and ivory), guillemots and the little auk. Most of the other 100 bird species that breed in the Arctic migrate to warmer climes to escape the harsh winter, including the Atlantic puffin, arctic tern and white-tailed eagle.
The bowhead, beluga and narwhal are year-round residents of the Arctic. However, many other whale species such as orca, humpback, and sperm whales are commonly found in these waters during the summer, visiting the Arctic to dine on the rich bounty of marine life in these productive waters.
There are a number of seals that live in arctic waters. The ringed seal is the most common and widespread seal in the Arctic. Harp seals are best known for the pure white coats of their young pups. Bearded seals have a circumpolar distribution and are permanent residents of the Arctic.
Find out more about some of the amazing animals you could spot on a voyage to the Arctic here.
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Written with assistance from Nina Gallo, Aurora Expeditions’ historian and certified PTGA polar guide.
Nina has been drawn to the polar regions since her first otherworldly experience of the midnight sun in 2002. She has spent time in far northern Canada, the Himalayas, the Alps and deserts in America and Australia, always seeking out quiet, wild corners to explore.
Nina feels immensely privileged to travel to these places and shares her passions for the natural world, human stories and adventure with all the wonderful people she meets. Nina is the author of Antarctica, published by Australian Geographic in September 2020.
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