Every year, tens of thousands of icebergs are spawned by Greenland's glaciers, and their number is steadily increasing as the climate continues to warm.

 

The breakup of the bergs fills the base of the Arctic with exquisite ice sculptures. It also releases great volumes of cold fresh water into the sea. Greenland's melt water influences the course of the ocean currents, which in turn has an effect on the weather around the world.

 

The Arctic is closer to home than many of us realize. It includes the northern most parts of the three continents on which most of us live, Europe, Asia and North America.

 

The first bare land we reach on our journey south is a bleak treeless wilderness known as Tundra. Each spring, animals travel up from the south to be ready for the rich grazing that will be unveiled by the spring melt. For the caribou, the timing is critical; arrive earlier and a winter storm could kill you; delay too long and you may fail to lay down the fat needed to survive a polar winter.