Kingdom of the Midnight Sun: The Arctic Ocean

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'Arctic' means "of the north" and is derived from the Greek word "arktos" which means "bear"

There's something magical about the Arctic Ocean.

It's beautiful yet unassuming, crowning the top of the world with its 5.43 million sq miles of pure ice shattered and scattered across its blue like diamonds. Christened as the Land of the Midnight Sun, this kingdom never sees the sun set. And with all that light, it's not hard to believe that there's something fantastical waiting out there.

And no, I'm not talking about that conspiracy theory claiming that the wealthiest people are hiding out in "second earth" under the guise of the Arctic.  

The Arctic feels like a window to another realm, pure and untamed, ethereal and otherworldly. Perhaps this is because the Arctic is practically untouched by outsiders. People talk about the former glory places like the Great Barrier Reef and the Amazon Rainforest once had and how these great kingdoms have fallen. And I wonder, will this untouchable place fall as well? 

But the truth is, nothing on Earth is truly untouchable. Yet, the Arctic has been sitting quietly in its corner of the world for a millennium. And it should stay that way. At least then, I can carry on with my dreams of magic crystallized in ice and sunlight dissolved into mythical creatures. 

For me, the Arctic is a new world still waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, I'm not quite sure which is truer) scientists, adventure-seekers, conspiracy theorists, and others have already traveled to the Arctic and have brought back facts, not fiction, on what lies on top of the world. 

So, what's so special about the Earth's shallowest, smallest, and chilliest ocean? Perhaps the world I'm looking for isn't actually there on the ice, but there's a stunningly complex world under the Arctic's dazzling surface. And that's what I'll be introducing you to in this next series. 












Process modelling beneath the Arctic sea ice - CPOM

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