Polar Ice Cap on Mars, seen by the Hubble Telescope

A polar ice cap is a high-latitude region of a planet or moon that is covered in ice. Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is A natural satellite or moon is a Celestial body that Orbits a Planet or smaller body which is called the primary. Ice is a Solid phase, usually crystalline, of a Non-metalic substance that is liquid or gas at Room temperature, such as Ammonia There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap, nor any geological requirement for it to be over land; only that it must be a body of solid phase matter in the polar region. Earth's polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles also known as frigid zones. This causes the term 'polar ice cap' to be somewhat of a misnomer, as the term ice cap itself is applied with greater scrutiny as such bodies must be found over land, and possess a surface area of less than 50,000 km²: larger bodies are referred to as ice sheets. An ice cap is an Ice mass that covers less than 50 000 km² of land area (usually covering a highland area An ice sheet is a mass of Glacier Ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km² (20000 mile²)

The composition of the ice will vary. For example Earth's polar ice caps are mainly water ice, while Mars's polar ice caps are a mixture of solid phase carbon dioxide and water ice. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single

Polar ice caps form because high-latitude regions receive less energy in the form of solar radiation from the sun than equatorial regions, resulting in lower surface temperatures. Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature

The polar ice caps have changed dramatically over the last 20 years. According to prevalent scientific theory, this change can be attributed to global warming resulting from climate change caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fossil source Fuels that is Hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the Earth’s crust. Seasonal variations of the ice caps takes place due to varied solar energy absorption as the planet or moon revolves around the sun. A season is one of the major divisions of the Year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in Weather. Additionally, in geologic time scales, the ice caps may grow or shrink due to climate variation. Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of See ice age, polar climate. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Regions with a polar climate are characterized by a lack of warm summers (specifically no month having an average temperature of 10 °C or higher

Earth

Extent of the Arctic ice-pack in September, 1978-2002

Extent of the Arctic ice-pack in February, 1978-2002

Earth as seen from Apollo 17, with southern polar ice cap visible (Courtesy NASA)

North Pole

See also: Arctic shrinkage

A satellite composite image of Antarctica

Earth's north pole is covered by floating pack ice (sea ice) over the Arctic Ocean, the Arctic ice pack. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program Arctic shrinkage is the marked decrease in Arctic sea ice and the observed melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in recent years EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is subject to the caveats explained below defined as the point in the northern Drift ice is Sea ice that floats on the surface of the water in cold regions as opposed to Fast ice, which is attached ("fastened" to a shore Sea ice is formed from Ocean water that freezes Because the Oceans consist of Saltwater, this occurs at about -1 The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major Polar ice packs are large areas of Pack ice formed from Seawater in the Earth 's Polar regions known as Polar ice caps the Arctic Portions of the ice that don't melt seasonally can get very thick, up to 3–4 meters thick over large areas, with ridges up to 20 meters thick. One-year ice is usually about a meter thick. The area covered by sea ice ranges between 9 and 12 million km². In addition, the Greenland ice sheet covers about 1. The Greenland Ice Sheet is a vast body of ice covering 171 million km² roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. 71 million km² and contains about 2. 6 million km³ of ice. ^[1]

While the International Panel on Climate Change 2001 report predicted that the North polar ice cap would last to 2100 in spite of global warming caused by climate change, the dramatic reduction in the size of the ice cap during the northern summer of 2007 has led some scientists to estimate that there will be no ice at the North Pole by 2030 with devastating effects on the environment. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences ^[2]

Other scientists such as Wieslaw Maslowski, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, estimate that there will be no summer ice by as soon as 2013. The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS is a research university at the graduate-school level operated by the United States Navy. He argues that this projection is already too conservative as his dataset did not include the minima of 2005 and 2007. ^[3]

South Pole

The land mass of the Earth's south pole, in Antarctica, is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet. The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth. The Antarctic ice sheet is one of the two Polar ice caps of the Earth. It covers an area of almost 14 million km² and contains 25-30 million km³ of ice. Around 70% of the fresh water on the Earth is held in this ice sheet. Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as Ponds lakes rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved Salts and other Total dissolved In addition, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet covers 3. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet ( WAIS) is the segment of the continental ice sheet that covers West (or Lesser Antarctica, the portion of Antarctica 2 million km² and the Ross Ice Shelf covers 0. The Ross Ice Shelf ( is the largest Ice shelf of Antarctica (an area of roughly 487 000 km² and about 800 km across about the size of France) 5 million km². See Climate of Antarctica. The Climate of Antarctica is the coldest on earth the lowest Temperature ever recorded on earth being −89

Global warming has increased the volume of summer meltwater on glaciers, which has weakened ice shelves. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the The dramatic collapses of The Prince Gustav Channel, Larsen Inlet, Larsen A, Wordie, Muller, and the Jones Ice Shelf show the impacts of climate change on the Antarctic ice cap. The Prince Gustav Channel ( was named in 1903 after Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden (later King Gustav V by Otto Nordenskiöld of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition The Larsen Ice Shelf is a long fringing Ice shelf in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea, extending along the east coast of Antarctic Peninsula from The Wordie Ice Shelf ( is a confluent Glacier projecting as an Ice shelf into the SE part of Marguerite Bay between Cape Berteaux and Mount Climate change is any long-term significant change in the “average weather” that a given region experiences ^[4]

Mars

Main articles: Planum Australe and Planum Boreum

Mars's north polar region with ice cap, composite of Viking 1 orbiter images (Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The planet Mars also has polar ice caps, but they consist of frozen carbon dioxide as well as water. Planum Australe ( Latin: "the southern plain" is the southern polar plain on Mars. Planum Boreum ( Latin: "the northern plain" is the northern polar plain on Mars. Earth's polar regions are the areas of the globe surrounding the poles also known as frigid zones. Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of NASA 's Viking program, and holds the record for the longest Mars surface mission The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. The ice caps change with the Martian seasons-the carbon dioxide ice sublimes in summer, uncovering a surface of layered rocks, and then reforms in winter. Sublimation of an element or compound is a transition from the Solid to Gas phase with no intermediate liquid stage These polar ice caps are one of the main reasons that people believe that life exists on Mars.

See also

Polar ice packs

References