The area surrounding the North Pole inside and on the outskirts of the polar circle. It holds a key situation in the physical, chemical and biological harmony of the planet. This region is the barometer of future climate changes because of it’s sensibility to the climate changes.

The arctic sea ice in 2010

(From Wayne Davidson, our Meteorological Observer based in Resolute Bay)

Since 1998, the Arctic sea ice is getting noticeably thinner, especially in a visual way and gradually each year that passes.

Since 1985, when I began to observe it, this ice has changed and is no longer the same at all: it is much thinner (according to the NASA maps you can see aside and to scientific journals) and the loss of thick ice will result in an increase in surface temperatures, which is part of what the Under The Pole team study.

This year during the extreme cold period of mid-February 2010, the ice appeared extremely unconsolidated, already with "leads" everywhere. In fact, we had very high temperatures for the period which has not helped the ice conditions. Then it was again cold mid-March, at the right time for the team, and it has consolidated so much the ice again.
Today, the situation is different, a lot of warm air is coming from the south, the sun rises higher everyday and therefore everything changes again:
They are actually working on a sea ice more fragmented than ever, giving stronger logistic problems with the winds, tides, the momentum of the ice and ocean currents. Since I am here, I have never seen temperatures like those we have these days: it is again far too warm.
The weather is nice for now for the quality of life of people who are on the sea ice but extremely bad for the ice conditions: it will become increasingly dynamic, change considerably and it will be more and more difficult for them to progress.

These large temperatures increases will therefore require shortly from all those who are on the polar arctic sea ice now to slow down considerably and study the logistics options remaining.

Information about the yearly sunrise at the North Pole

(From Wayne Davidson, our Meteorological Observer based in Resolute Bay)

The actual yearly sunrise moment at the North Pole, based on Resolute Bay Canada data, is about March 15 at about 10 pm Eastern standard time. Not at the Equinox on March 21.

This is due to atmospheric refraction, which is largely ignored even in modern textbooks. Cold air combined with temperature inversions, the phenomena which causes mirages, combine in very thick nearly horizontal air layer and create an amazingly slow but gradual sunrise, starting with the 24 hour sun line.
Only at the South Pole in Antarctica can this be seen.

I chose March 13, 2010 Resolute sunset pictures, as something similar to a slow but gradual expanding sun disk which literally takes days before it becomes a complete flattened disk, which should occur on March 18 at the Pole. Come the day of the Equinox the sun is well above the horizon almost round or ovoid, being in pristine air, the sun then appears bright yellow, so bright it cant be looked at.

Reverse the order of pictures taken on March 13, 2010 sequence. Every picture may encapsulate a day, the bottom March 15 at the Pole, the top March 21.

The top picture was taken with a million to one reducing sunlight brightness filter, the sun disk was extremely bright, continued being bright even at -1.5 degrees below the horizon, something occurring each year on about March 16 at the Pole. So bright it can't be watched even with an eight of its size.

Flying to the Pole is possible much earlier than at the Spring Equinox given a good clear day, eventually Global Warming will make this sunrise myth a bit truer, but good light and contrast would subsist even in much warmer clear air.

For now, all that is needed is to look at Polar light features during Arctic locations having the same sun altitudes, it may be very convincing if time is taken to observe. One day, a plane will land at the Pole during the Spring Equinox once the Myth of the sun rising first on March 21 at the North Pole is finally broken.