Polar Ice caps: A hope for our future

One of the prized treasures of our planet because losing them can mean losing the planet. A lot of news and research studies one must have observed focus on the melting of the glaciers buildup of the poles. Global warming and the green house gases are to be blamed. A ton of documentaries, Global international summits and high profile press conferences seem to have worked as nations unite in cutting emissions responsible for the heating up of the earth.

One of the most unwelcoming places on the face of the planet where shelter against the raw nature is scarce, storms loom on the horizon, darkness spans for time infinite and the stinging cold is the only constant. The region is impenetrable leaving the periphery. The polar ice caps are an odd contender for the sash of the natural wonder of the world. But they are winner deserves more understanding of these widely misunderstood regions.

antarctica- Polar Ice caps

Will we be able to salvage these ancient natural reserves only time will tell, but for now we can aim to be aware of their impact before they are permanently etched into the pages of history. The polar ice caps can be found on the various planets and their moons. The polar region is also known as the frigid zones and is the region surrounding the poles of the globe.


The polar ice caps are found in the North Pole and the South Pole; they rest on the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica continent respectively. The sea sheets in these regions are receding and the sea level seems to be rising around the globe. This tends to affect the ecological balance as well as the climate of the world.

The dawn of the twenty first century has rekindled the attention that these mind blowing frozen expanses of water deserve. They are the key to future of every life form that calls planet earth its home. According to many experts who nominated the Polar ice caps as a natural wonder, they describe it as a wonderful specimen of a phenomenon which is being seen in a new light.


The scientists have realized how catastrophic the melting of the ice caps due to global warming can be. The Science Journal recently published an interesting study which claimed the sea levels of the world would rise by many meters towards the end of this century. An alarming situation can develop as the ice caps can give way faster then widely speculated. This could lead to the regions from Bangladesh to that of Florida being indefinitely submerged underwater.

Various benefits of the ice caps have been discovered over the years. These ice caps behave and act like huge reflectors and deflect and bounce the heating rays of the sun back into space. They play a vital role in keeping the planet cool. Even the melting of ice cap triggers more such events. When they melt they expose land ocean water which is less reflective. Thus the earth ends up absorbing more sunlight then usual. This causes it to get hotter and hastens the process of melting of the ice.

Above the massive importance of the ice caps in preservation of a delicate balance they are also very beautiful and understandably vast. They are very different and a wonder on a mammoth scale. While the ice caps on the South Pole are situated on the land surface the North Pole ice caps are hundreds of sheets of ice floating in the Arctic Ocean.

These floating ice sheets which at some places are only few feet thick are home to the roaming white polar bears, birds, penguins and seals. South Pole is covered by the huge continent of Antarctica. Also known as the frozen continent it is bigger in size than Europe. The continent is covered by layers upon layers of ice fields which in some places are as thick as ten thousand feet.

The region is home to the maximum percentage of the world’s fresh water bodies. The terrain of the continent is full of Glacier covered giant mountains which are grand and monumental in heritage. Bays here are complete with icebergs floating here and there. The brief summer that is experienced here in the Antarctic sees the animals of the region coming together to rejoice. A spectacle of the many types of penguins, seals and the mighty whales is seen here.

The Polar ice caps might never be an important tourist destination and we hope they remain untouched and pristine. They play a crucial position in the existence of the planets species and the future of earth itself.

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