# northern ice cap gone ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 17, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075 "2005-12-17T18:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![frostyhawaiian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a5b964/32.png) [@frostyhawaiian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frostyhawaiian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/1 "2005-12-17T18:32:10Z")
I resently downloaded googleearth which is a collection of satilite pictures that makes up the earth. anywho I noticed something missing the north polar ice cap. the photo is dated 2005. my question is what going on here. is it gone? this my first post I thought the teeming millions could answer this simple querry ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/2 "2005-12-17T18:40:30Z")
> [@frostyhawaiian](#): > > I resently downloaded googleearth which is a collection of satilite pictures > that makes up the earth. anywho I noticed something missing the north polar ice cap. the photo is dated 2005. my question is what going on here. is it gone? > this my first post I thought the teeming millions could answer this simple querry No. It’s still there. Thing is, the extent of the cap varies with the seasons, so Google have probably chosen to remove it all, rather than decide on how much to show. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/3 "2005-12-17T18:58:34Z")
Also, while the date on the photo is 2005, I believe that is just a copyright date. Most of the photos I have seen with that date are anywhere from 2 to 5 years old. Also, if you were looking for aerial views of Santa’s workshop, I’m sure they edit those out along with the pics of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/4 "2005-12-17T19:08:35Z")
It doesn’t look like the oceans in Google Earth are shown by photographs anyway, but rather they show the sea floor surface and are simply colored blue. Hence, you won’t see any ice anywhere except on or around land. ---
**Author:** ![frostyhawaiian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a5b964/32.png) [@frostyhawaiian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frostyhawaiian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/5 "2005-12-17T19:20:15Z")
> [@PigBoy](#): > > It doesn’t look like the oceans in Google Earth are shown by photographs anyway, but rather they show the sea floor surface and are simply colored blue. Hence, you won’t see any ice anywhere except on or around land. makes sense I just don’t understand why if thats the case why they include a few ice spots up there where no land exists ---
**Author:** ![frostyhawaiian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a5b964/32.png) [@frostyhawaiian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frostyhawaiian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/6 "2005-12-17T19:23:23Z")
> [@Rhubarb](#): > > Also, while the date on the photo is 2005, I believe that is just a copyright date. Most of the photos I have seen with that date are anywhere from 2 to 5 years old. > > Also, if you were looking for aerial views of Santa’s workshop, I’m sure they edit those out along with the pics of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. 😃 if you have any pictures of santa work shop the FBI wants them ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/7 "2005-12-17T19:24:16Z")
Google Earth is a really funny program. Go to St. Louis, mO. it’s summer. All the trees have leaves on them. Then go east, across the river to East St. Louis, Granite City and Cahokia. It’s winter. No leaves on the trees, patches of snow on the ground in East St. Louis. ---
**Author:** ![frostyhawaiian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a5b964/32.png) [@frostyhawaiian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frostyhawaiian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/8 "2005-12-17T19:25:23Z")
thank naita your reply seems to make the most sense. ---
**Author:** ![frostyhawaiian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a5b964/32.png) [@frostyhawaiian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frostyhawaiian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/9 "2005-12-17T19:27:19Z")
I noticed that too it’s a pretty cool program none the less. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/10 "2005-12-17T22:05:16Z")
Here’s a recent news article on the extent of polar melting. > **[Polar bears living on thin ice after record temperatures](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/dec/16/weather.frontpagenews)** > > This could be the hottest year ever recorded, posing a threat to Arctic wildlife including polar bears, ice-dwelling seals and several forms of vegetation, according to UN scientists collating data from across the world. > [@](#): > > Jarraud said that sea-ice was melting more than ever before, and that the average cover in the key month of September was down 20% on the average for 1979-2004. Separately, certain entrepreneurs are planning for the coming opening of the Northwest passage. (sub) [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A1FF734540C738DDDA90994DD404482](http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A1FF734540C738DDDA90994DD404482) ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/11 "2005-12-17T22:19:19Z")
> [@frostyhawaiian](#): > > makes sense I just don’t understand why if thats the case why they include > a few ice spots up there where no land exists Actually I think there is land in those spots, if we’re looking at the same places. See [this map](http://www.athropolis.com/map2.htm), for instance. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/12 "2005-12-17T23:23:39Z")
> [@PigBoy](#): > > Actually I think there is land in those spots, if we’re looking at the same places. See [this map](http://www.athropolis.com/map2.htm), for instance. Which gives me a chance to mention my other point. If they hadn’t edited out all the sea ice, it’d be so much harder to spot those islands. If anyone want the excuses I’d use for not editing all the ice around the edge of Antarctica, please ask. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/13 "2005-12-17T23:52:01Z")
> [@PigBoy](#): > > Actually I think there is land in those spots, if we’re looking at the same places. See [this map](http://www.athropolis.com/map2.htm), for instance. By the way, I’m going to ask a related question that doesn’t deserve its own thread. What’s the definition of the polar circle? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/14 "2005-12-17T23:56:31Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > By the way, I’m going to ask a related question that doesn’t deserve its own thread. What’s the definition of the polar circle? Do you mean the [Arctic Circle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Circle)? > [@](#): > > The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. This is the parallel of latitude that (in 2000) runs 66° 33’ 39" north of the Equator. Everything north of this circle is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south of this circle is the Northern Temperate Zone. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/15 "2005-12-18T00:17:08Z")
I was in Barrow in November and there was no pack ice to be seen. One lone polar bear made in onto shore while I was there; it was immediately hunted down and killed by the Natives in order to harvest the teeth, fur and claws for tourist trade. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/16 "2005-12-18T00:19:09Z")
> [@Rhubarb](#): > > Also, while the date on the photo is 2005, I believe that is just a copyright date. Most of the photos I have seen with that date are anywhere from 2 to 5 years old You’re right that there’s all sorts of differences. On Google Earth, search for _“City of Manchester Stadium”_, and you get to see a building site, circa 2000. The same location on Google Maps is some time around 2002/3, with the final section of the stadium being built. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/17 "2005-12-18T03:12:27Z")
Note that Google isn’t commissioning photographers to go out and take those photos. They are using existing photos that are available. It’s quite reasonable that places like the arctic ice cap, and the middle of ocean areas, etc. would not have a whole lot of photos available. There’s not much interesting to see there, the views don’t change much, and there’s probably not a lot of people who want pictures of these areas. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/18 "2005-12-18T03:35:27Z")
Actually, this month’s National Geographic has a good article about the [Greenland ice hunters](http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0601/feature6/index.html) and the problems they’re starting to have because the pack ice is breaking up months earlier than it used to. Their whole way of life is likely to come to an end because of it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-ice-cap-gone/336075/19 "2005-12-18T06:19:29Z")
On **clairobscur** ’s question, more to the point, the Arctic Circle is the latitude above which you can get midnight sun or noon darkness. Right on the Circle, the Sun never quite sets on the summer solstice, and it never quite rises on winter solstice. North of the Circle, there’s some period of days around the solstices when the Sun doesn’t rise nor set. All the way up at the North Pole itself, the Sun rises very slowly on the Vernal Equinox, stays up for six months, and doesn’t set again until Autumnal Equinox. This is because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis: The axis is tilted by about 23.5 degrees, and the Arctic Circle is 23.5 degrees from the Pole. Similarly, the tropic lines (of Cancer and Capricorn) are 23.5 degrees north and south of the Equator, and mark the limits of the region within which the Sun can be directly overhead (North of the tropics, the noon Sun is always somewhat south of the zenith). Standing on one of the Tropics, at noon on the Summer Solstice, the Sun would be directly overhead. At points closer to the Equator, there would be two days on either side of the Solstice when this occurs, and on the Equator itself, the Sun is directly overhead on the two equinoces.