Editing Arctic (section)

{{Short description|Polar region of the Earth's northern hemisphere}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
[[File:Arctic (orthographic projection with highlights).svg|thumb|upright=1.5|The [[Arctic Circle]], currently at roughly 66° north of the [[Equator]], defines the boundary of the [[Arctic seas]] and lands]]
[[File:Political Map of the Arctic.pdf|thumb|upright=1.5|A political map showing land ownership within the Arctic region]]
[[File:Arctica surface.jpg|thumb|Artificially coloured topographical map of the Arctic region]]
[[File:Sunny Skies over the Arctic in Late June 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer|MODIS]] image of the Arctic]]

The '''Arctic''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑr|(|k|)|t|ɪ|k}};<ref name=ahd>{{cite American Heritage Dictionary|arctic |access-date=2019-01-04}} {{Cite web |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=arctic |title=Archived copy |access-date=11 November 2016 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142909/https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=arctic |url-status=bot: unknown }}.</ref>{{refn|The word was originally pronounced without the {{IPA|/k/}} sound, but the pronunciation with the /k/ sound is nowadays very common. The ''c'' was added to the spelling for etymological reasons<ref name=ahd /><ref>{{OEtymD|arctic |access-date=2011-11-16}} {{Cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=arctic&allowed_in_frame=0 |title=Archived copy |access-date=27 November 2015 |archive-date=13 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113183224/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=arctic&allowed_in_frame=0 |url-status=bot: unknown }}.</ref> and then began to be pronounced.|group="Note"}} {{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|ἄρκτος}}'' ({{grc-transl|ἄρκτος}})|[[polar bear|bear]]}}) is the [[polar regions of Earth|polar region]] of [[Earth]] that surrounds the [[North Pole]], lying within the [[Arctic Circle]]. The Arctic region, from the [[IERS Reference Meridian]] travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ([[Nordland]], [[Troms]], [[Finnmark]], [[Svalbard]] and [[Jan Mayen]]), northernmost Sweden ([[Västerbotten]], [[Norrbotten]] and [[Lapland (Sweden)|Lappland]]), northern Finland ([[North Ostrobothnia]], [[Kainuu]] and [[Lapland (Finland)|Lappi]]), Russia ([[Murmansk Oblast|Murmansk]], [[Siberia]], [[Nenets Autonomous Okrug|Nenets Okrug]], [[Novaya Zemlya]]), the United States ([[Alaska]]), Canada ([[Yukon]], [[Northwest Territories]], [[Nunavut]]), [[Danish Realm]] ([[Greenland]]), and northern Iceland ([[Grímsey]] and [[Kolbeinsey]]), along with the [[Arctic Ocean]] and adjacent seas.

Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying [[cryosphere|snow and ice cover]], with predominantly treeless [[permafrost]] under the [[tundra]]. Arctic seas contain seasonal [[sea ice]] in many places.

The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth's ecosystems. The cultures in the region and the [[circumpolar peoples|Arctic indigenous peoples]] have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions. Life in the Arctic includes [[zooplankton]] and [[phytoplankton]], fish and [[marine mammal]]s, birds, land animals, plants, and human societies.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Krembs|first1=Christopher |last2=Deming|first2=Jody |url=https://arctic.noaa.gov/essay_krembsdeming.html |title=Organisms that thrive in Arctic sea ice |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] |date=2006-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323190329/http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/essay_krembsdeming.html |archive-date= 2010-03-23}}</ref> Arctic land is bordered by the [[subarctic]].