Portrait of polar explorer dressed for Arctic conditions, inland ice, Greenland, Polar Regions

Mountainous landscape, Axel Heiberg island, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic, Canada, North America

Mountainous landscape, Axel Heiberg island, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic, Canada, North America

Polar bear warning sign, Grise Fjord, most northern community in America, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic, Canada, North America

Canadian Mountie, Grise Fjord, most northern community in America, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic, Canada, North America

Snow covered road in arctic winter conditions, Lofoten, Nordland, Arctic, Norway, Europe

Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) hauled out on ice calved from South Sawyer Glacier, Southeast Alaska, United States of America, North America

Adult black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) feeding at the base of a glacier in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

Views of Austfonna, an ice cap located on Nordaustlandet in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, Arctic, Europe

Adult black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) feeding at the base of a glacier in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

An adult ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) on ringed seal kill on Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

A juvenile polar bear (Ursus maritimus) skull, possibly predated by adult polar bear, in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

An adult polar bear (Ursus maritimus) traveling from ice floe to ice floe in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) at breeding and nesting colony at Salisbury Plain in the Bay of Isles, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Adult black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) feeding at the base of a glacier in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

An adult polar bear (Ursus maritimus) leaping from ice floe to ice floe in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

An adult polar bear (Ursus maritimus) swimming and hauling itself onto ice floe in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

Adult Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) grazing on tundra in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), in snow storm at breeding colony at Brown Bluff, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, Polar Regions

A view of Cape Tegetthoff on Hall (Gallya) Island in Franz Josef Land, Russia, Arctic Ocean, Eurasia

Adult female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) walking on multi-year ice floes in Franz Josef Land, Russia, Arctic Ocean, Eurasia

Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), with chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica), on ice at Booth Island, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Views of the Trinity Church at Belingshausen Russian Research Station, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Volvo with winter tyres driving in snowy conditions in Tromso within the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway

Male on snow covered road in Arctic winter conditions with mountain back drop, Lofoten, Nordland, Arctic, Norway, Europe

Flat calm conditions in Crystal Sound, south of the Antarctic Circle, Antarctica, Southern Ocean. MORE INFO This area is full of flat first year sea ice, well developed icebergs, with many open leads.

Aufeis refers to ice that builds up in layers over arctic rivers. Windblown sediments collect on top of the aufeis frozen surface, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA

Polar bears in the wild. A powerful predator and a vulnerable or potentially endangered species, Manitoba, Canada