Circumpolarity

The Arctic region can be defined as the area north of the Arctic Circle, which is the approximate limit of the midnight sun and the polar night. Alternatively, it can be defined as the region where the average temperature for the warmest month, July, is below ten degrees Celsius. Socially and politically the Arctic region includes the northern territories of the eight Arctic states (including Iceland, Sweden, and Finland), although by natural science definitions much of this territory is considered subarctic. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean surrounded by treeless, perma-frozen land. Due to global warming the planet’s isotherms move polewards, and consequently the Arctic region as defined by temperature is currently shrinking. 

(This text is an excerpt from "Arctic Architecture" by Andreas Müller, in Arctic Perspective Cahier No. 1. For full essay see: http://arcticperspective.org/)