On opposite ends of our planet, there are two mysterious places - the South Pole and the North Pole. Because of the low temperature and severe cold all year round, it is difficult for humans to live in these two places. Except for the local aboriginal residents, only a few researchers and explorers have ever set foot in this area, which is even more mysterious.

We all know that most of Antarctica is a continent, and the continental part is Antarctica. Antarctica, as a relatively independent continent, is surrounded by seas on all sides; most of the Arctic is an ocean, dominated by the Arctic Ocean.

Then, the same polar regions, what caused the huge difference in the geographical environment of the two? What explorations and discoveries have been made in the Antarctic and South Pole for a long time?

The origins and differences of the North and South Pole

When it comes to the origin of Antarctica, we have to mention one person, that is the great meteorologist Wegener. Wegener had a deep interest in geography. In 1912, he discovered that the rocks and geographical structures on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean were similar. In 1915, he formally proposed the hypothesis of continental drift. The hypothesis holds that the continents were originally united and pulled apart by some force. Unfortunately, due to the limited level of technology at the time, this hypothesis has not been recognized by people.

With the development of the times, Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift has been generally accepted, and Antarctica was part of the combined ancient continents 200 million years ago.

About 50 million years ago, the Earth's rotation caused centrifugal force that caused the continents to move horizontally . The Antarctic continent gradually moved south during this period, reaching its present location. 35 million years ago, the temperature around the Antarctic gradually decreased. The originally warm Antarctic continent gradually disappeared due to the temperature drop , and the forests and vegetation gradually disappeared, replaced by ice and frozen soil .

With the passage of time, the Antarctic continent gradually separated from other continents, and due to the long-term snow and cold weather, it was covered by ice and became what it is now.

The Arctic, dominated by the Arctic Ocean, has a simpler formation process. The North Pole does not have a continent moving here, the ocean is widespread, unlike the South Pole, which has an independent continent, only scattered islands. Five million years ago, the temperature in the northern hemisphere was higher, the Arctic was not as cold as it is today, and the ocean did not freeze. About 2.5 million years ago, the temperature in the northern hemisphere dropped, and the Arctic Ocean became a glacial ocean with widespread glaciers, which is the current Arctic Ocean.

In addition to the differences in geographical environment, the North and South Pole are also different in many aspects, which cannot be generalized.

First of all, in terms of temperature, the annual average temperature of the Antarctic is minus 50 degrees , which is a veritable "cold pole", while the annual average temperature of the Arctic is higher, with minus 18 degrees ; the Antarctic has very little precipitation, with an average of only 55 milliliters per year. , The precipitation in the Arctic is concentrated in summer, with an average annual precipitation of about 200 milliliters; the Antarctic wind speed is extremely large, known as the "wind reservoir", and the wind speed in the Arctic is smaller than that in the Antarctic.

Therefore, in terms of climate, we can see that the North Pole is much "friendly" than the South Pole, and it is not as terrible as people think.

In addition to the above differences, there are also differences between the North and South Pole in terms of humanities, animals and plants. There are no cities in Antarctica, let alone a resident population. There are only a few scientific research stations, and researchers also take turns to be stationed. There are many cities in the North Pole, and there are people living there.

There are no trees, flowers and other vegetation in Antarctica, only cold-resistant mosses. There are grasslands, forests and other vegetation in many places in the Arctic;

Representative animals in Antarctica include penguins, Antarctic wolves, and krill , while in the Arctic are polar bears, arctic foxes, caribou , and more. It can be said that although the two places are located in the polar regions, they are still very different in terms of climate and species.

Discoveries in the North and South Pole

With the continuous advancement of science and technology, the temptation of the North and South Pole to human beings has gradually increased, and more and more people want to set foot there, uncover their mysterious veils, and conquer the few unknown areas on the earth.

Generations of scientific researchers and adventurers have entered the polar regions in various ways. Some of them have gained a lot, and some of them have lost their lives here with regret. However, the North and South Pole are not inaccessible after all, and people are discovering more and more about the North and South Pole .

In the Antarctic, humans have discovered tens of thousands of meteorites , and it is worth noting that these meteorites are all clustered together, with a pile distributed in the same area. And these meteorites did not gather together at first, they came from many different places and were brought together by ocean waves through the movement of ocean currents.

Fossils of many tropical plants have also been found in Antarctica. That is to say, Antarctica was once warmer and suitable for tropical plants to grow. This is consistent with people's records of Antarctic temperatures and proves that this continent has an unusual experience. Similarly, people have also discovered dinosaur fossils in the Antarctic continent, which also proves that dinosaurs once lived on the Antarctic continent. This continent did not exist independently, but was connected to other continents.

A British camera team once captured a terrifying scene in Antarctica: in the deep blue water, there are many icicles swimming, and creatures near the icicles will be attracted by the icicles and freeze. The icicle will continue to expand in size, the range of adsorption can continue to expand, and the creatures attracted by it will die immediately. This terrible natural phenomenon is called "death icicle" . The reason is that the temperature in the sea near the Antarctic is too low. This leads to the accumulation of salt precipitation in the seawater, which in turn causes the seawater to freeze into icicles, forming this magical natural phenomenon.

Antarctica is also considered to be one of the birthplaces of human civilization , from which both ancient Egyptian civilization and Semitic civilization originated. The Antarctic climate at that time was suitable, there were many human imprints, and the level of civilization reached its peak at that time. Pyramid-type objects have also been found in Antarctica , but the status quo is still uncertain whether this is the same building as the Egyptian pyramid, but similar in appearance.

However, it is increasingly recognized that the Antarctic, which is now barren, did indeed have human civilization many thousands of years ago.

There are also many secrets under the huge ocean of the Arctic. Scientists have found an animal carcass from 57,000 years ago under the permafrost of the Arctic . After research, this carcass is the carcass of a young wolf . After continuous investigation, scientists found that the cave where the wolf lived had collapsed, causing it to be buried and died, and as the temperature continued to drop, it was frozen in the permafrost and was well preserved.

Humans have also discovered vast amounts of oil and natural gas under the permafrost of the Arctic. The Arctic Ocean used to be a warm lake, where a large number of animals and plants lived. During the accumulation process of tens of millions of years, the bodies of animals and plants were deposited under the land and slowly turned into rocks. Under the action of pressure and heat, organic matter is transferred into oil and natural gas, so there is a lot of energy underground in the Arctic.

There are also a large number of oil and gas fields on the seabed of the Arctic, but because of the harsh climate, people have rarely developed the Arctic, and most of the oil and gas fields have not been discovered.

According to scientists' estimates, the Arctic holds about 12.2 billion tons of oil and 44 billion barrels of natural gas , accounting for a considerable proportion of global energy, and the energy reserves are astounding.

However, as the secrets under the permafrost of the Antarctic and South Pole are gradually discovered, human beings have also realized the crisis in addition to the surprise: there is also the existence of viruses under the permafrost. Scientists have discovered viruses in the Arctic Circle. A virus has been stored in permafrost for 30,000 years. As global temperatures warm, the virus has gradually been exposed.

This virus can replicate in the host, and once it spreads, the consequences will be disastrous. This is the recovery of a virus that has been sealed by ice and snow for tens of thousands of years. Russia has set up a virus research institution to explore these ancient viruses in order to deal with the threat they pose to humans.

Whether it is the reappearance of biological corpses under the permafrost, or the threat of ancient viruses, all point to the warming climate .

In the process of the rapid development of global industrialization and the acceleration of urbanization, a large amount of fossil fuels have been used, followed by a large amount of carbon dioxide emissions. This greenhouse gas has gradually raised the global temperature, and the North and South Pole bear the brunt. The methane that exists under a large amount of permafrost is continuously emitted as the permafrost thaws, and it is also accelerating the rise of the temperature in the North and South Pole.

The melting of permafrost and glaciers in the Antarctic and South Pole will bring a series of hazards.

First , the melting of glaciers will cause sea level rise , the global land area will decrease, and many island countries will even be submerged by sea water; secondly, a large number of polar animals will lose their suitable living environment , and in severe cases may become extinct; finally, climate warming will also lead to polar Forest fires and other situations pose a serious threat to the local ecological environment; viruses under permafrost will also break out, causing global spread.

In order to deal with this potential threat, human beings must effectively protect the ecological environment and curb climate warming. All countries in the world should unite to formulate strong environmental protection policies, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, create a comfortable environment for the earth, and make their due contributions to environmental protection.

The Antarctic and the North Pole are the few pure lands on earth. As a global village, we have the obligation and responsibility to protect this area and keep pollution away from the North and South Pole.