This month's Challenge Question: Specs & Techs from IHS Engineering360:
The
two poles of the Earth contain ice. Why does Antarctica have much more ice
(about ten times more) than the Arctic?
And the answer is:
Ice
in the arctic circle is over the ocean,
while Antarctica is a solid landmass. Water has a high heat capacity, so it
takes a long time to absorb heat, but also a long time to lose heat. During
summer the Arctic water stores heat and in winter it releases it. On the other
hand, land does not have a high heat capacity so it releases heat very fast,
keeping the land to a lower temperature all year round.
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