When we think of an oasis, the first image that comes to mind is usually that of a lush green area amidst the endless sands of a desert, with camels quenching their thirst at a spring and caravan drivers dozing in the shade.
How did the Arctic Council come into being? As all enthusiasts of polar regions surely know, the Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, the islands and archipelagos located in the Arctic seas, and the northern edges of North America, Asia and North-eastern Europe.
As aptly pointed out by the Polish Nobel prize-winning poet Wisława Szymborska, humanity has adopted a number of aesthetic and moral resolutions with regard to nature.
Another face of polar research
The history of polar research is, among other things, the history of national aspirations of countries which have over the years organized and supported expeditions to ice-bound edges of the world.
Read more Are polar researchers diplomats? A run-through of science diplomacy in polar regions
Even a child knows that poles are the points at the Earth’s very top and very bottom. The thing is, though, that the Earth is spherical and spheres, by definition, do not have tops or bottoms.
Read more The magnificent nine. An overview of the Earth’s famous and not-so-famous poles
The melting of glaciers and the massive ice caps of Greenland and the Antarctic is responsible for about 60% of the rise in sea level.
Read more Glaciers are speaking to us. All we need is to listen
