The Arctic

Antarctica is a continent, land covered by a sheet of ice. The Arctic instead is an ocean, top frozen. 

It is a "mediterrian sea"; an ocean surrounded by land, thus called the "Arctic sea basin". The ice is around 16 million sq. km, (greater than the US), shrinking in summer to 9 million sq. km.

The South Pole is at 3000 meter altitude; the North Pole is at zero. Antarctica is the world’s driest place, drier even than the Sahara dessert. The Arctic is instead the most humid place on earth, wetter even than the Amazon rain forest.

At Antarctica T&T were once lucky to encounter a Skua, the bird migrating between poles. That was the only time the team encountered life on the journey. 

The Arctic will instead be very much alive with marine life, seals, Polar bears and Arctic Fox.

The coldest temperature measured in the Arctic is -68C. Salt water freezes at -1.8C and the sea never goes below that. 

The waters are thus warmer than the air and the ice is salty. The Polar cold is caused by the earth’s incline away from the sun, with the ice further reflecting away 80% of the sunrays reaching there.

Although the Arctic is warmer than Antarctica (min temp -89.2C), it feels colder and is colder in the beginning of a Polar expedition. The sun stands low on the horizon in May, causing temperatures of -40-50C and a dusky light. The humidity adds to the cold. The team cannot go later in the season, due to leads opening up. No airplanes can land on the 81st degree, should the team run into troubles they must ski back. Furthermore, T&T must arrive at the North Pole end May at the latest, for the plane to have strong, solid ice to land on.