 | North Pole: Encyclopedia II - North Pole - Geographic North Pole
North Pole - Geographic North Pole
The Geographic North Pole, also known as True North, is close to the northern point at which the Earth's axis of rotation meets the surface. Geographic North defines latitude 90° North. In whichever direction you travel from here, you are always heading south. The pole is located in the Arctic Ocean. Classically (19th century) this pole was exactly where people believed the pole of rotation met the Earth's surface, but soon astronomers noticed a small apparent variation of latitude as determined for a fixed point on Earth by observing stars. This variation had a period of about 435 days and the periodic part of it is now called the Chandler wobble after its discoverer. It is desirable to tie the system of Earth coordinates (latitude, longitude, and elevations or orography) to fixed landforms. Of course, given continental drift and the rising and falling of land due to volcanos, erosion and so on, there is no system in which all geographic features are fixed. Yet the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service and the International Astronomical Union have defined a framework called the International Terrestrial Reference System that does an admirable job. The North pole of this system now defines geographic North and it does not quite coincide with the rotation axis. Also see polar motion.
On the basis of the sector principle, Canada claims its sovereignty to extend all the way to the Geographic North Pole. There is no land at this location, which is usually covered by sea ice. The theory under which Canada has claimed sovereignty to the North Pole is controversial as there is in fact 770 km of ocean between the pole and Canada's northernmost land point, and several nations, most notably the United States, have challenged the notion that the North Pole does not lie in international waters.
North Pole - Expeditions
The Polaris expedition, an American attempt in 1871 led by Charles Francis Hall, ended in disaster.
The first expedition to the pole is generally accepted to have been made on April 6, 1909 by African-American Matthew Henson, Anglo-American Navy engineer Robert Edwin Peary, and four Inuit men named Ootah, Seegloo, Egingway, and Ooqueah. Polar historians believe that Peary honestly thought he had reached the pole. However a 1996 analysis of a newly-discovered copy of Peary's record indicates that Peary must have been in fact 20 nautical miles (40 km) short of the Pole.
The first undisputed sight of the pole was on May 12, 1926 by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his American sponsor Lincoln Ellsworth from the airship Norge. Norge, though Norwegian owned, was designed and piloted by the Italian Umberto Nobile. The flight started from Svalbard and crossed the icecap to Alaska. Nobile, along with several scientists and crew from the Norge overflew the Pole a second time on May 24, 1928 in the Airship Italia.
On May 3, 1952 U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher and Lieutenant William P. Benedict landed a plane at the geographic North Pole. Flying with them was scientist Albert P. Crary.
The United States Navy submarine USS Nautilus (SSN-571) crossed the North Pole on August 3, 1958, and on March 17, 1959, the USS Skate (SSN-578) surfaced at the pole, becoming the first naval vessel to reach it.
Ralph Plaisted made the first confirmed surface conquest of the North Pole on April 19, 1968.
The Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika on August 17, 1977, completed the first surface vessel journey to the pole.
On April 6, 1992 Robert Schumann became the youngest person to visit the north pole.
See also: List of firsts
Other related archives1600, 1831, 1871, 1903, 1909, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1952, 1958, 1959, 1968, 1970, 1977, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 4179 Toutatis, Airship Italia, Alaska, Albert P. Crary, American, Antarctic, Antarctica, April 19, April 6, Arctic, Arctic Islands, Arctic Ocean, Astronomers, August 17, August 3, Aurora Borealis, Autumnal equinox, Canada, Canadian, Chandler wobble, Charles Francis Hall, Denmark, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Earth, Ellesmere Island, Equator, Eurostar, Greenland, Hubert Wilkins, Hyperion, IAU, Indian oceans, International Astronomical Union, International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, International Terrestrial Reference System, Inuit, Io, Italian, James Clark Ross, Joseph O. Fletcher, June 1, Jupiter, Lincoln Ellsworth, List of firsts, Lomonosov Ridge, March 17, Matthew Henson, May 12, May 24, May 3, Norge, North Pole depot, North Pole, Alaska, North Pole, New York, Northwest Passage, Norway, Norwegian, Pacific, Polar drift, Polaris expedition, Pole of Inaccessibility, Qaanaaq, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth Islands, Ralph Plaisted, Roald Amundsen, Robert Edwin Peary, Robert Schumann, Russian, Santa Claus, Saturn, Seegloo, Siberia, South Pole, Soviet, Svalbard, True North, UK, USS Nautilus (SSN-571), USS Skate (SSN-578), Umberto Nobile, United States, Vernal equinox, William Gilbert, William P. Benedict, aircraft, airship, antipode, astronomical, axial tilt, celestial pole, celestial sphere, chaotically, circumpolar constellation, continental drift, dipole, dipole moment, erosion, gas, geomagnetic field, geomagnetic reversal, global warming, gravitational, icebreaker, iron, latitude, longitude, magnet, magnetic compasses, magnetic declination, magnetic field, magnetic poles, magnetosphere, moon, mythos, nadir, nickel, north, northernmost, orography, petroleum, planet, polar motion, retrograde, sea ice, solar system, summer, summer solstice, synchronous, volcanos, west, winter, year, zenith
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Geographic North Pole", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
