The Arctic is the polar region at the top of the northern hemisphere. Its name comes from the Greek word “Arktos”, meaning bear, after the Ursa Major constellation. It is characterized as an icy wilderness, populated by polar bears, seals, and the odd explorer crossing a frozen tundra on a dog-sled. In reality, humans have lived in the arctic for roughly 20,000 years, on the edges of its 5.5 million square miles. The Arctic Ocean is covered in ice, and the average July temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The extreme environment hosts a teeming ecosystem, much of it as yet unstudied due to the harsh conditions (Polar Discovery).