The Top of the World
The history of the North Pole as both a place on the map and in our imaginations. Today, it symbolises a warming planet but is still linked to exploration and mythology.
The North Pole lies at the very top of our world. Covered in a thick layer of sea ice, this uninhabitable frozen point in the Arctic Sea has fascinated us for centuries as both a physical location on a map and as a far away place in our imagination. Warmer than the South Pole, the northernmost point of the Earth鈥檚 axis sits outside of any time zone in a place where the sun rises and sets just once a year. Today, it has come to symbolise a warming planet but remains linked to exploration and mythology.
Joining Bridget Kendall to discuss the North Pole are the explorer, author and former climate scientist Felicity Aston MBE; Klaus Dodds, Professor of Geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of the forthcoming book The Arctic: What Everyone Needs to Know; and Michael Bravo, Senior Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, Head of Circumpolar History and Public Policy Research at the Scott Polar Research Institute and author of a new book called North Pole.
Photo: Robert Peary's North Pole Expedition. (Getty Images)
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Why there鈥檚 no time at the North Pole
Duration: 00:57
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- Thu 31 Jan 2019 09:06GMT大象传媒 World Service
- Fri 1 Feb 2019 00:06GMT大象传媒 World Service
- Sat 2 Feb 2019 14:06GMT大象传媒 World Service News Internet
- Sun 3 Feb 2019 15:06GMT大象传媒 World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East Asia & South Asia
- Mon 4 Feb 2019 04:06GMT大象传媒 World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East, News Internet & West and Central Africa
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