Time: Arctic

Overview

The Arctic is a unique temporal region because of the combined effects of international conventions on times and dates as well as the axial tilt of the Earth itself. In most places on Earth, local time is determined by longitude, such that the time of day is more-or-less synchronized to the position of the sun in the sky (for example, at midday the sun is roughly at its highest). Time zones become less meaningful closer to the geographic North Pole, where all lines of longitude converge.

By convention, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +0) (ZULU) is used at the pole itself, although some polar expeditions use whichever time zone is convenient, such as the time zone of the country from which they departed. Donovia?s Arctic regions span seven time zones; Greenland and Canada?s Arctic regions each span four. Arctic daylight hours are also exaggerated compared to lower latitudes. The vast majority of the Arctic population is concentrated in time zones GMT +1 (ALFA), GMT +2 (BRAVO), and GMT+3 (CHARLIE).

Key Dates, Time Periods, Events

Northernmost Permanent SettlementArctic Circle

MAXIMUM DAYLIGHT HOURS BY LATITUDE North Pole

Twilight Only 25 SEP ? O6 OCT	Night 07 OCT ? 04 MAR	Twilight Only 05 MAR ? 17 MAR	Daylight 18 MAR ? 24 SEP
Twilight Only 27 OCT ? 12 NOV	Night 14 NOV ? 14 FEB	Twilight Only 15 FEB ? 17 APR	Daylight 18 APR ? 22 AUG
12 hours, 18 minutes 22 SEP	2 hours, 11 minutes 22 DEC	12 hours, 18 minutes 20 MAR	Daylight 06 JUN ? 05 JUL

Cultural Perception of Time (Cross-Border Indigenous Groups)

Although there are dozens of indigenous circumpolar peoples, they account for less than ten percent of the Arctic population. Two major cross--specific sections.

=== -cycles and prevailing weather conditions.

Saami Seasons

Season	Condition	Season	Condition
Spring-Winter	Pre-Autumn
Spring	Autumn
Pre-Summer	Pre-Winter
Summer	Much of this season is bathed in twenty-	Winter	Under a cover of twenty-

Inuit

Inuit Seasons

Season	Condition	Season	Condition
Ukiuq	Mid-January to Mid-March, Daylight returns but it remains cold, land is snow covered and sea ice is present	Aujuq	Mid-July to Mid-September, Long daylight periods, Warmest time of the year, seas are open
Upingaksaaq	Mid-March to Mid-May, Long daylight periods but cold, land is snow-covered and sea ice is present	Ukiaqsaaq	Mid-September to Mid-November, Increasing periods of darkness, Snow covers land but seas are open
Upingaaq	Mid-May to Mid-July, Longest daylight periods, Land is snow free but sea ice is present	Ukiaq	Mid-November to Mid-January, Dark during daytime, sea ice is present

Tactical Perception of Time

The Arctic will always remain a unique temporal region and its impacts will always affect forces operating in high latitudes. The Arctic crosses all time zones and multiple geographic combatant commands, operational forces cannot expect to have ideal contemporaneous battle rhythm with parent commands. During summer, long periods of daylight will remove cover of darkness as a tool in planning operations. During winter, persistent night will require more widespread use of night vision technology.

Integrated planning and coordination with indigenous partner forces and local civil authorities may be challenging because of perceptions of expectations and communication of time.