About the North Pole Environment in 2002
From the NOAA/PMEL Live North Pole Web Cam!


Last North Pole image from camera 1 Last image received in 2002. Click to see Moods of the North Pole in 2002.


North Pole: 9/17/02, 15:46 UTC   North Pole: 9/9/02, 9:32 UTC   North Pole: 9/18/02, 22:45 UTC
9/17/02, 15:46 UTC   9/9/02, 09:32 UTC   9/18/02, 22:45 UTC

What is happening to all the images from the North Pole? The North Pole is starting to cool down for the winter, and it's darker now because the sun is lower in the sky. You can see the cold temperature of the camera housing on the lower left corner of each image. There is snow fall, and apparently, blowing snow or ice has covered the camera lens. There is still a bit of possible sunlight left in the season, and the melting from that sunlight, or sublimation by dry winds, may serve to remove the snow from the camera lens, so it is possible we may get more images. However, it is also possible that with the onset of winter, the camera may remain snow covered. At the Autumn Equinox, approximately September 21, the sun sinks below the horizon at the North Pole, and the Pole is in twilight until early October, after which it is in full darkness for the Winter.

The red spot you see in the upper left corner of a few of the images is the light emitting diode (LED) on the front of the camera reflecting in the glass of the housing. In future deployments, the camera will be positioned closer to the glass to eliminate this problem. September 2002.


Why is it so cloudy now at the North Pole? The North Pole is experiencing the usual Spring warming and the beginning of Summer melting right now. Water is evaporated from the melting snow surface, forming the fog and low clouds that are seen in recent pictures from the North Pole. June 2002 Cloudy at the North Pole: 6/17/02, 18:22 UTC


North Pole: 5/3/02, 20:34 UTC   North Pole: 6/6/02, 16:01 UTC
5/3/02, 20:34 UTC   6/6/02, 16:01 UTC
5/3/02 Bright sunshine with warm temperatures of 15 F. Sun light from the Pacific Ocean side of the globe. The variations of snow depth can be seen in the image. 6/6/02 Spring melting can be seen by comparing the snow in this photograph with the preceding image from 5/03/02, just a month ago.

4/29/02, 17:25 UTC Sun light from the Pacific Ocean side of the globe (shadows cast to the right). Jumbled ice on horizon is the pressure ridge at the edge of the floe. From looking at the anemometer, you can see the wind has shifted from the first image and is blowing towards Europe. North Pole: 4/29/02, 17:25 UTC
North Pole: 5/1/02, 00:24 UTC 5/1/02, 00:24 UTC Sun is a little lower in the sky and the rosy colors are typical of twilight at the North Pole. The white spot in the left is the sun. The haze on the horizon is either clouds or "sea smoke". "Sea smoke" is moisture which has evaporated from small regions of open water.
5/1/02 19:06 UTC In this image, the surface is covered by fog and low clouds. Radiation energy is trapped near the surface and thus the temperatures have increased to a very warm 27 F. North Pole: 5/1/02 19:06 UTC
First North Pole image received First image received from the North Pole, 4/28/02 10:28 UTC, Sun is on the European side of the globe (shadows cast to the left). Snow conditions are typical for cold temperature of 6 F. In the foreground we see 40-50 cm of snow on top of the ice floe which is approximately 2.5 meters thick. From the anemometer, you can see the wind is blowing from Europe.

What is Universal Time? GMT and UTC explained here

More Information :

Web cam Home and Acknowledgments
Daylight and Darkness at the North Pole
• All images 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
• Moods of the North Pole 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
• About the environment                 2003 2002
• About the instruments 2011 2010   2008       2004 2003 2002
• About the web cam(s) 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005   2003 2002
• Weather data 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002