Ice cap climate

Solar radiation has a lower intensity in polar regions because it is spread across a larger surface area due to its oblique angle of approach. It also travels a longer distance through the atmosphere, resulting in increased absorption and scattering by air molecules in its path.[1]

An ice cap climate is a polar climate where no mean monthly temperature exceeds 0 °C (32 °F). The climate generally covers areas at high altitudes and polar regions (60–90° north and south latitude), such as Antarctica and some of the northernmost islands of Canada and Russia. Most of Greenland is under the influence of an ice cap climate, although the coasts are prone to more influence from the sea, providing more tundra climates. Some regions on the islands of Norway's Svalbard Archipelago facilitate an ice cap climate. Areas with ice cap climates are normally covered by a permanent layer of ice and have no vegetation. There is limited animal life in most ice cap climates, which are usually found near the oceanic margins. Although ice cap climates are inhospitable to human life and no civilian communities lie in such climates, there are some research stations scattered in Antarctica and interior Greenland.

  1. ^ Yung, Chung-hoi. "Why is the equator very hot and the poles very cold?". Hong Kong Observatory. Archived from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2010-12-02.