![]() ![]() Surface temperature inversions are prevalent in both regions. Arctic temperatures range from ~-30 ☌ in January to near 0 ☌ in summer, while at South Pole they are about 30 ☌ lower. The Antarctic plateau presents a persistent ice surface. Despite the polar night / day, the radiative regimes differ owing to persistent low clouds in the Arctic summer, a variable surface albedo, and winter cyclones. The Southern Ocean has a continuous Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) flowing eastward while the North Atlantic Current enters the Arctic Ocean via the Norwegian Sea and the East Greenland Current carries cold water and sea ice southward. Around Antarctica there is a circumpolar trough, while in the northern hemisphere there is the year-round Icelandic low, with an Aleutian low and Siberian high in winter. ![]() Both hemispheres feature a large upper tropospheric polar vortex surrounded by westerly airflows, but the low-level circulations differ greatly. The atmospheric and oceanic circulations of the polar regions and their climatic conditions are discussed. ![]()
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