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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polynya | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynya | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:21:13.001767+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Human dependency == Polynyas have also supported human populations throughout history. For example, the North Water Polynya, the largest and most biologically productive Arctic polynya, serves as a critical source of food in an otherwise barren region, enabling the existence of high-latitude human communities in the region for thousands of years. It may have served as a stepping stone for the original settlers of Greenland as they traversed through what is now northern Canada 4500 years ago. There are also indications that the North Water Polynya has aided Thule, Inuit, Norse, and western explorers throughout history. Today, the North Water Polynya enables the existence of Greenland's northernmost towns, such as Qaanaaq, Qeqertat, Savissivik and Siorapaluk.
== Arctic navigation ==
When submarines of the U.S. Navy made expeditions to the North Pole in the 1950s and 1960s, there was significant concern about surfacing through the thick pack ice of the Arctic Ocean. In 1962, both the USS Skate and USS Seadragon surfaced within the same large polynya near the North Pole for the first polar rendezvous of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
== See also == Lead (sea ice)
== References ==
== External links == Francis, Diana; Eayrs, Clare; Cuesta, Juan; Holland, David (24 April 2019), "Polar cyclones at the origin of the reoccurrence of the Maud Rise Polynya in austral winter 2017 (NOW)", Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124 (10): 5251–5267, Bibcode:2019JGRD..124.5251F, doi:10.1029/2019JD030618 International North Water Polynya Study (NOW) at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 February 2009) Polynya north of Alaska at NASA Earth Observatory