The Arctic vs. the Antarctic - Camille Seaman

Translator: Elda Indria Sari Reviewer: Reno Kanti Riananda

On our planet,

we have two polar regions:

Di planet kita ada dua wilayah kutub:

the Arctic, whose name comes from

Arktika yang berasal dari bahasa Yunani, "arktikos," dari utara.

the Greek Arktikos, of the North,

and the Antarctic

from Antarktikos,

dan Antarktika dari "antarktikos,"

opposite of the North.

di sisi berlawanan dari utara.

But there's an easier way to remember them

Namun, ada cara lebih mudah mengingatnya,

if you just remember what surrounds them.

jika kau ingat apa yang mengelilinginya.

The Arctic, situated in the Northern hemisphere of our planet,

Arktika, yang terletak di belahan bumi utara planet kita,

is an ocean entirely surrounded by land.

adalah lautan yang seluruhnya dikelilingi oleh daratan.

On the other side of the world,

Di sisi lain dunia,

the Antarctic is a continent

Antarktika adalah sebuah benua

entirely surrounded by ocean.

yang seluruhnya dikelilingi lautan.

So, the Arctic has polar bears but no penguins,

Jadi, ada beruang kutub di Arktika, tetapi tak ada penguin,

and the Antarctic has penguins but no polar bears.

dan ada penguin di Antarktika, tetapi tak ada beruang kutub.

Let's talk about the Arctic first.

Ayo kita bahas Arktika lebih dahulu.

The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean

Wilayah Arktika terdiri dari lautan luas yang tertutup es

surrounded by treeless permafrost.

dikelilingi oleh lapisan es tanpa pohon.

The area can be defined

Area ini bisa didefinisikan

as the region between the Arctic Circle

sebagai wilayah antara Lingkar Arktika

and the North Pole.

dan Kutub Utara.

If you were to stand at the North Pole,

Jika kau berdiri di Kutub Utara,

everywhere you looked, in all directions,

ke mana pun kau melihat, semua arah adalah selatan.

would be south.

But standing at the North Pole

Namun, berdiri di Kutub Utara sulit dilakukan berlama-lama,

is difficult to do for very long

because it's in the middle of an ocean,

karena ia terletak di tengah lautan,

covered by constantly shifting, frozen sea ice.

tertutup es laut beku yang terus berubah.

If you were to fall into the water at the North Pole,

Jika kau jatuh ke air di Kutub Utara,

you'd fall into water that's 13,980 feet deep.

kau akan jatuh ke air sedalam 4.300 meter.

Above the water, average winter temperatures

Di atas air, suhu rata-rata di musim dingin

can be as low as -40 degrees Celsius,

bisa mencapai minus 40 derajat Celsius,

and the coldest recorded temperature

dan suhu terendah yang tercatat

is approximately -68 degrees Celsius.

sekitar minus 68 derajat Celsius.

Despite these incredibly harsh conditions,

Walau kondisinya amat keras,

humans have populated areas in the Arctic

manusia telah mendiami area Arktika selama ribuan tahun.

for thousands of years.

Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice,

Kehidupan di Arktika meliputi organisme yang hidup di dalam es,

zooplankton and phytoplankton,

zooplankton dan fitoplankton,

fish and marine mammals,

ikan dan mamalia laut,

birds,

land animals,

burung, hewan darat,

plants,

and human societies.

tumbuhan, dan kelompok manusia.

Okay, what about Antarctica?

Oke, bagaimana dengan Antarktika?

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent,

Antarktika adalah benua di paling ujung selatan bumi,

and it contains the geographic South Pole.

dan mencakup geografis Kutub Selatan.

It's the fifth largest continent on the planet

Ia adalah benua terbesar kelima di bumi,

at nearly twice the size of Australia.

yang hampir dua kali besar Australia.

Almost 98% of Anarctica is covered by ice

Hampir 98% Antarktika ditutupi es

at least one mile in thickness.

yang tebalnya kurang lebih 1.600 meter.

Conditions in Antarctica are some of the most extreme

Kondisi di Antarktika termasuk yang paling ekstrem

in the entire world.

di seluruh dunia.

On average, it's the coldest,

Rata-rata, Antarktika adalah benua paling dingin, berangin, kering,

windiest,

driest continent

and has the highest average elevation

serta ketinggian rata-ratanya tertinggi dari semua benua.

of all the continents.

You might think that it snows all the time at the Poles,

Mungkin kau mengira salju turun tiap saat di Kutub,

but Antarctica is so dry,

tetapi Antarktika sangat kering,

it's considered a desert

hingga dianggap sebagai padang pasir

with annual precipitation

dengan curah hujan tahunan

of only 200 millimeters along the coast

hanya 200 milimeter sepanjang pantai

and far less inland.

dan lebih sedikit lagi di pedalaman.

The temperature in Antarctica

Suhu di Antarktika

has reached -89 degrees Celsius.

pernah mencapai minus 89 derajat Celsius.

Because it's so harsh and hard to get to,

Karena sedemikian keras dan sulit dicapai,

there are no permanent human residents on Antarctica,

tidak ada manusia penghuni tetap di Antarktika,

but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people

tetapi sekitar 1.000 sampai 5.000 orang tinggal sepanjang tahun

reside throughout the year

at the research stations scattered across the continent.

di stasiun penelitian yang tersebar di seluruh benua.

Even the most extreme animals fight for survival,

Bahkan hewan paling ekstrem harus berjuang hidup,

and only cold-adapted organisms survive there,

dan hanya organisme habituasi dingin yang bertahan,

including many types of algae,

termasuk beragam ganggang,

animals,

hewan,

bacteria,

bakteri,

fungi,

jamur,

plants,

tumbuhan,

and protista.

dan protista.

But why is Antarctica colder than its northern cousin?

Namun, mengapa Antarktika lebih dingin dari sepupunya di utara?

Well, first, much of the continent

Pertama, sebagian besar benua itu

is more than three kilometers above sea level,

berada lebih dari 3 km di atas permukaan laut,

and temperature decreases with elevation.

dan suhu menurun seiring ketinggian.

That's why mountaintops have snow on them.

Itulah sebabnya ada salju di puncak gunung.

Second, remember that the Arctic

Kedua, ingatlah bahwa Arktika sebenarnya merupakan lautan beku.

is really a frozen ocean.

The water in the ocean beneath it

Air di lautan bawahnya

is warmer than the frozen ground in the Antarctic,

lebih hangat dari daratan beku Antarktika,

and that warmth is transferred through the ice pack.

dan kehangatan itu berpindah lewat kantung es.

This prevents temperatures in the Arctic regions

Ini mencegah suhu di wilayah Arktika

from reaching the extremes

mencapai kondisi ekstrem layaknya permukaan daratan Antarktika.

typical of the land surface of Antarctica.

Third, the seasons are conspiring against the Antarctic.

Tiga, musim-musim berkonspirasi melawan Antarktika.

During the aphelion in July,

Selama aphelion di bulan Juli,

when the Earth is the farthest away from the Sun,

ketika bumi berada paling jauh dari matahari,

it also happens to be winter in the Antarctic,

bertepatan dengan musim salju di Antarktika,

which creates a double-whammy of cold

sehingga dinginnya pun berlipat ganda di kutub bagian selatan.

for the southern pole.

But despite being inhospitable,

Namun, walau tak ramah,

the North and South Pole are a big reason

Kutub Utara dan Selatan adalah alasan utama

why our planet is the way it is.

mengapa planet kita seperti ini.

Both of our polar regions

are very important climate controllers.

Kedua wilayah kutub kita

adalah pengendali iklim yang amat penting.

They help moderate the temperature

Mereka membantu memoderasi suhu di zona beriklim sedang kita

in our temperate zones

and give us stable weather.

dan menghasilkan cuaca yang stabil.

As sea ice in the Arctic declines

Seiring berkurangnya lautan es di Arktika

due to climate change and global warming,

akibat perubahan iklim dan pemanasan global,

weather around the globe

becomes increasing more unstable.

cuaca di seluruh bumi menjadi semakin tidak stabil.