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Finding the Arctic pole of inaccessibility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2013

Gareth Rees ,
Robert Headland ,
Ted Scambos  and
Terry Haran
Gareth Rees
Affiliation:
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER ([email protected])
Robert Headland
Affiliation:
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER ([email protected])
Ted Scambos
Affiliation:
National Snow and Ice Data Center, CIRES, 449 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0449, USA
Terry Haran
Affiliation:
National Snow and Ice Data Center, CIRES, 449 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0449, USA
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Abstract

The Arctic pole of inaccessibility (API), defined as the point on the Arctic Ocean that is farthest from any land, is commonly asserted to lie at 84° 03′ N, 174° 51′ W. We show that the true position is 85° 48′ N, 176° 09′ E, over 200 km from the traditional location. The reason for this error is unknown.

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 86 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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