Internal gravity waves measured under the Arctic pack ice were strikingly different from measurements at lower latitudes. The total wave energy, integrated over the internal wave frequency band, was lower by a factor of 0.03–0.07, and the spectral slope at high frequency was nearly −1 in contrast to the − 2 observed at lower latitudes. This result has implications for theoretical investigations of the generation, evolution, and destruction of internal waves and is also important for other processes, such as the propagation of sound, and the wave‐induced turbulent diffusion of heat, plankton, and chemical tracers.